Demon Talking
Human Thinking
Demon Thinking
Dream
All three students stared at Anko with varying thoughts; Naruto looked faintly amused, Hinata was nervous but up to the challenge nonetheless, and Tei seemed unable to keep still with the prospect of a fight. The brown haired girl was bouncing around, shouting her excitement to Hinata who froze up at the loud voice and seemed ready to say something but Tei stopped her.
"Hinata, forgive me. I was just…happy that we get to fight Anko-sensei. Dealing with fights is easier than dealing with people you know? Anyway, I wanna get to know you better and the boy too." she added hastily, looking at Naruto.
Hinata simply nodded, slightly put-off by this odd girl. Maybe if she hung out with her she wouldn't feel so awkward. At the nod she received Tei gave a little bounce and took the other girl's hand and grabbed Naruto's, dragging the duo off without Anko's consent. The snake Jonin just blinked before shrugging her shoulders and walking off. "Genin"
XxXx
Tei pulled Naruto and Hinata to the outskirts of the village which gave way to glassy fields and pleasant hills. The young girl sat down on the grass, sighing. She almost looked ready to fall asleep again but motioned for the others to sit too.
"I love coming here, the quiet, gentle breeze and the sweet sounds of the nearby forest. It puts a body at peace, don'tcha think?"
Naruto settled down slowly while taking in the scenery around him. It definitely was peaceful; he wouldn't mind coming here again sometime. Hinata followed Naruto's actions while gazing all around her, she had never been here before and this place was absolutely beautiful. The grass was soft underneath her and the wind felt good on her face, turning her head she could see Tei staring at intensely.
"What?"
The brown haired girl started at being caught staring, she swiftly looked away while muttering, "Nothing. Nothing at all."
Hinata gave Tei a strange look but decided not to comment; meanwhile Naruto was wondering about their new teammate, Tei. He had never seen her at the Academy and he was certain that Iruka-sensei would never allow someone from the outside to just join a Ninja team. She didn't even have a headband. Scowling at the thought and shaking his head, Naruto reassured himself that Anko would not allow anything to happen to her Genin but no matter what the mystery that is Tei bothered the boy.
"Tei, just who are you?"
Naruto looked up when Hinata voiced the question that he was struggled not to ask. The former Hyuuga heiress stared unflinchingly at the reddish brown haired girl who just smiled moved closer to the duo. The girl stared at her two new teammates and gained an almost sorrowful look in her brown eyes.
"You fleeting little children who know nothing of the world, there are some things that you are never to find out. There is so much death in this world, sometimes your most precious treasure, the one person you loved the most can be brutally taken from you. And all you are left with is with crushing loneliness, despair, anger, and the overwhelming desire to kill. It's so sad but that is the truth. One can lose themselves and get lost in those feelings. But I will not leave you to wander alone, I will not let suffer alone. I will not let you wander that path. I will protect you, no matter what."
The two look at the girl in front of them, their gazes holding wonder and slight fear within them. Confusion was also written on their features and this was something they knew they couldn't shake, at least not right away. Hinata shook her head to clear it and noticed that Tei looked almost regretful at what she said and refused to look the other girl in the eye. Naruto seemed to be coming to his senses; he stared at Tei for a moment before opening his mouth to ask a question.
"Tei, have you ever lost anyone close to you?"
Both Genin saw their teammate flinch before giving a bright smile and waving them off.
"No, of course not, you guys are way too serious. You gotta lighten up, yeah."
Without a another word, Tei got up and started to walk to the edge of the clearing, she turned back when she noticed the other two wasn't following and waved for them to come on. Giving each other a weary glance Naruto and Hinata went up to join Tei but not before Kuu came out of nowhere to sit beside the strange girl.
Surprised by the wolf's relaxed stature Hinata wondered what has gotten into the gray and red furred beast and why she seemed so tame around Tei. When she got closer to the canine, Hinata tried getting Kuu to talk but the wolf just grinned nastily at her.
"Little warrior, there are some things that you will never understand. So instead if trying to force someone's hand, just wait and watch. Then you will truly see."
Hinata stared at the wolf for a moment, trying to figure out what she meant. Why did Kuu have to sound so cryptic? Shaking her head Hinata thought it was best to just ignore the wolf until she could decipher what she meant. Besides there were other things the young Kouniochi had to worry about, Hinata watched as Naruto and Tei started up a conversation that quickly ended with Naruto scowling and Tei turning her head away, her expression dark.
Tipping her head to one side Hinata went over to Naruto, asking him what was wrong. The blonde haired boy gave a humorless laugh while pointing to Tei who had walked off and was talking to Kuu.
"I tried asking her about her family when she got angry and clamed up, I didn't understand so I tried asking if she anything to hide and I swear she looked as if she was about to hit me. It' strange she doesn't seem to want to talk about anyone who might know her or about family ties. Do you think she's an orphan?"
Hinata gave Tei another glance, seeing that she looked comfortable around Kuu who still didn't seem to want to attack her. It was odd, the wolf hated strangers and any chance she got to attack them she would with gusto. Hell, she didn't even like Hinata and she knew the girl from the time she was a little mite. The dark haired girl hummed in thought but after a while gave up, there was no point in trying to figure out Kuu and her ways; it could never be done. Suddenly with a jolt Hinata realized she didn't answer Naruto, giving the boy a quick apology she said her piece.
"She could be an orphan but that doesn't explain why she looked so full of regret when she was talking to us earlier. Remember how she said that losing someone can lead a person into despair and giving them the urge to kill? Maybe she felt like that once, maybe someone she knew was killed. But the question is why is she telling us that she will protect us, is she some sort of guardian sent by the Hokage?"
Naruto scoffed at the notion before turning his back and walking off, "The old man may had my best interest at heart but he never had sent any guardian to protect me back then so why would he do it now?"
Hinata took in what the boy said and found herself nodding, it was true although the Hokage did love Naruto he never did anything to stop the villagers from being openly hostile towards him. The Hyuuga girl narrowed her eyes at it all but soon forced herself to stop thinking about it. Maybe someday she'll go confront the village leader about it, but not now.
With nothing else for them at the clearing the three Shinobi and wolf made it back to the village, there they were treated the usual stares of slight uneasiness, fear and a small amount of hate all directed at Naruto. The boy for the most part ignored them as the villagers never really did anything to physically hurt him, save that day when he was first seen with Hinata. Tei seemed bothered by the stares at Naruto was getting and pulling a face wondered how the boy was able to go through his life with the tension directed at him all the time. The reddish-brown haired girl gave a blonde a curious look, everything about him to her seemed…off. He was way too calm, too content with the situation.
"Why?" she muttered, more to herself than to anyone else.
However Naruto and Hinata both heard her and looked at each other, should they tell her anything, even the slightest tidbit of info? Naruto stared at the sky for a moment, gathering himself before turning to Tei to speak.
"Since we're teammates you have a right to know. 12 years ago a demon attacked our village, the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the nine tailed fox. All of Konoha's ninja stepped up to fight the monster but many were killed. In order to stop the beast from destroying the village and killing more people the 4th Hokage sealed the demon inside a newborn infant. He died in the process and it was his dying wish to see the baby was seen as a hero to be celebrated. Yet all the remaining villagers saw was Kyuubi itself instead of the boy so they hated and feared him. That baby was me."
Naruto turned his head to look at some young kids who were walking towards them only to be pulled away by their parents. The blonde boy's eyes narrowed for a second before sighing and going back to Tei.
"You see the villagers have never actually hurt me physically except when they once saw me with Hinata but that's another story; they only glare and stay away from me. It's was lonely because the parents would really let me play with their kids but it wasn't too bad. But still the villagers made it hard; they distrusted me so I don't care much for them."
Naruto shrugged at this and watched with disinterest as the rest of villagers went on about their way. Tei watched them too but soon her attention went back to the blonde ninja, she stared at him trying to think of the right words before going for it.
"If you have no interest in the village then why did you become a ninja, why would fight to protect a place where no one truly accepts you?"
At this Naruto gave a somewhat cold smirk while making a sweeping gesture with his hand. "Although this village is far from welcoming to me, there are a few people here that I want to protect. There is also the sense of pride of doing something to protect what matters the most. For those reasons I have become a ninja."
"But you said you wanted their respect, once again why, if you don't care for them?"
"Tei, I don't think you should be probing Naruto-kun's mind like this." Hinata whispered, giving the other girl a hard look.
Naruto's cold smirk widened and he simply waved Hinata off, the blue-black haired girl's eyes widened, why would let Tei go on? Tough still watching Tei, Hinata kept silent she was sure that Naruto knew what he was doing.
"I did say I wanted the villagers' respect, didn't I? But let me answer your question with a question. Doesn't everyone want someone to respect them even if they don't care for the person themselves?"
Tei nodded her head but turned away, Naruto's words echoed deep in her mind, he cares nothing for the villagers themselves but fights for a few precious people and for his pride, he just want their respect but not their welcome. It was possible for all of this to make sense and Tei saw that sense too, she wasn't going to question Naruto anymore, she saw what the boy was going to try to achieve in his life so maybe she would help him. Besides isn't that what teammates do, help each other?
With a smile on her lips, the reddidh0brown haired girl turned back to her teammates, Naruto seemed to relax after his little talk but Hinata seemed much more pensive. Uh-oh, didn't mean to cause any trouble, she could get the girl to calm down, make her more friendly.
However, Tei's plan would have to wait as both Naruto and Hinata walked as one away from her and started down the street. Stunned the scruffy looking girl stayed where she was until the duo was a good distance away. Hinata then stopped turned and waved to her, calling out to her to hurry up. Shaking her head to clear it, Tei run after the rest of her team and the threesome spent the rest of the day together.
XxXx
In was late in the evening when Hinata and Naruto walked into Anko's ―no their house, that was still going to take some getting use to, and found said woman slouched over the kitchen table with her eyes tightly closed and her breathing coming out in slow, relaxed breaths. Soft snores also emitted from the new Jonin instructor signaling her state to her young roommates. Upon entering the kitchen and seeing two plates of cold food, both young ones felt a rush of guilt run through them. How long did Anko sit here, waiting for them until sleep overcame her?
Hinata gently placed a hand on her sensei's shoulder and gave a semi-rough shake; the dark haired woman didn't budge leading Hinata to shake her harder. Still no luck, after the fourth or fifth shake Anko began to groggily open her eyes. When she saw it was Naruto and Hinata standing over her she gave a sigh of relief.
"You two are okay, thank god. When you were gone longer than I thought you'd be I went out to look for you. I must have passed you a couple of times but didn't realize it because I was worried, but you're fine now and I can rest easy."
With another sigh, Anko wearily put her head back down and closed her eyes then without opening them and with a bit of her usual attitude she smirked, muttering. "Oh and if you two worry me like that again, I'll cut off your feet, stew 'em in pickle juice and make you eat them."
Hinata and Naruto laughed nervously at the statement and resolved to never make Anko look or worry her ever again. The two then turned to the cold food, it looked appetizing but looked…strange.
"Come on, you two act as if you never seen baked fish, mashed potatoes, and salad before." Anko said moodily. "You know it's not going to bite you."
"It's not like it doesn't seem good, we just never had it before." Hinata muttered weakly, not wanting to anger her housemate.
"I remember Hinata saying that you got these recipes from a friend, where did this friend live? Their food preparation is really…different." Naruto added, looking anywhere but in Anko's general direction.
"She was from the west; they of course they have different ways and things of eating there. She came here for some time away from her family and stayed at my place for a while. She taught me how to cook in return for sleeping in my house."
Despite the explanation the two still seemed reluctant, so Anko did what any caring and patient person who do. She got up, grabbed two forks and shoved both food loaded utensils into the young ones mouths before they could protest then watched in cold satisfaction when they swallowed it and remarked how good it was.
"Now we can do this the easy way, "Anko remarked cheerfully as if nothing happened. "Or we can do this MY way." She then thrust the forks a hairsbreadth from their eyes, leaving both to shiver in slight fear for their lives.
"We promise not to question your cooking and will willingly eat and enjoy anything you put in front of us." Naruto and Hinata spoke in unison that it was enough to placate the snake Jonin.
Anko nodded and smiled happily, patting both young ones on the shoulders before walking off, she then stopped as if forgetting something and addressed them.
"You might want to eat as much as you can because tomorrow I going to put the three of you through hell. You'll need the strength you can get."
The two looked at Anko who at this moment was not the woman who opened her home to them but their sensei, the one who would teach them what it meant to be a ninja and soldiers to their village. Staring into her milky brown eyes, they saw a will to turn them into true warriors, in truth killers for the Hokage to use however he saw fit. They nodded and Anko nodded as well then left them to eat, though secretly hopping that they would be able to handle what was to come on the morrow.
XxXx
Naruto woke up pale dawn light in his eyes; he turned over but jolted himself properly awake when he realized what today was. Quickly picking out a light brown shirt and baggy pants to wear, the boy slipped on his ninja sandals and ran for the kitchen.
He was somewhat surprised to see that Hinata and Anko were already sitting at the table, eating. The smells of eggs soon hit his nose and Naruto felt his mouth water at the delicious scent. Sitting down quickly, Anko passed the blonde boy a plate and muttering a quick "thank you", Naruto dug in like a ravenous dog.
Anko smile the two seemed to be keeping their promise in earnest, once all three were done the snake ninja led the pair to training ground 27(Anko's personal second favorite). She was somewhat surprised to see that Tei was all ready there, lounging in a tree she but quickly shook it off. She motioned with her hand that Naruto and Hinata could go to Tei and talk for a bit before they began. The duo nodded and walked up to the tree only to find that Tei was sleeping soundly, with only a small twitch now and again. Hinata tipped her head to one side and looked at Naruto, the blonde boy's expression was equally confused and for a moment they did not how to deal with the situation.
However, Tei did that for that for them as she stirred slowly before looking down and seeing her two teammates staring up at her. Her muddled mind struggling to register why they were here and with an annoyed huff she scrubbed her hand across her eyes. Unknowingly she began to lean out of the branch she was laying on and soon collided head first on the ground.
Hurriedly Hinata and Naruto helped her up while Anko hung back, snickering quietly at the incident which Tei took note of and turned her face away.
"Okay, enough of that now (snicker) let us begin with the briefing." Anko waited until all three were standing before her. "Remember that you have beat me in battle if you want to continue learning from me. You have to come at me with the intent to kill because I won't hold back. Use whatever fighting styles you're comfortable with just make sure it's enough to kill me property."
All three students nodded while their expressions were mixed, Hinata's was full of nervousness, Naruto fidgeted but his eyes were shining, and Tei could not keep in her excitement and was bouncing lightly on the heels of her bare feet.
Anko gave the trio one last look before spreading out her arms and yelling, "Begin!"
Immediately the young ninja scattered, leaving only Anko alone on the field, the dark haired woman gazed around and shrugged her shoulders, just as she was about to take a step a kunai lodged itself into the ground an inch away from her foot. Looking up from the kunai, Anko saw Tei a few feet in front of her with her arms crossed. A strange light was dancing in her eyes along with a feral grin, and then she gave a small snort before charging at the older woman.
Anko barely had any time to think up a strategy as Tei swung out at her, ducking quickly the older woman gave a mighty kick that sent Tei flying. The girl landed hard on her back and lay winded for a moment before getting up swiftly and charging Anko again. Snorting softly the snake Jonin ran forward as well yet as she got close she side-stepped Tei to put her in a tight headlock.
For a minute Tei struggled, growling before bending her head forward to head-butt Anko, she smirked in slight satisfaction at the grunt of pain that the other woman let out. Staggering back, Anko gently touched her nose, relieved to know that while it hurt like hell, it wasn't broken. Looking at back at Tei, she studied the girl in front of her; the reddish-brown haired girl wasn't standing in any type at all, she simply just had her arms at her side. The air she gave off though was focused and wild and Anko knew that Tei was searching for an opening as well.
'What would be a good way to come at her? She hasn't pulled out any weapons and her first two strikes were hard, could―'
Anko was interrupted and forced to move back as Tei surged forward, aiming a low kick at her sensei's ankle. However the snake ninja was a second too slow as the kick caught her and she could feel it trembling as she put weight on it. Deciding to ignore it for as long as she could, the brash shinobi launched forward, catching Tei on the side of the head with a hard punch. She then followed up with another punch to the gut before sending Tei to the ground with both fists pounding on her back. The young ninja kissed the ground hard, immediately she tried to push herself up but her body wouldn't obey causing her to lie there, seething.
Anko jumped a good few feet from the girl and waited, while she did this she casted out her senses to try and locate her two remaining students. Unsurprisingly they weren't too far from here, only a couple hundred meters away. The rough teacher allowed herself a small smirk; they were trying to hide their chakra but they intentionally let the smallest sliver of their charka flow free. Humming to herself, Anko walked back to Tei who was trying and failing to get back up. Actually she was on her knees when Anko came up kicked her in none too gently in the stomach forcing her on her hands and knees before placing her foot on the girl's back and applying so much pressure that Tei was forced on her belly with barely any room to breathe.
"Hmm, I wonder what sound your body would make if I were to crush it? Would it go "crack' or would it go "grate-y grate"?" With both sound effects, Anko pushed down horribly on Tei's back and kept the pressure on, making it a struggle for the girl to breathe, and it was all she could do not to pass out.
Suddenly as the darkness started to swamp Tei's vision a kunai pierced Anko's arm, causing a grumble of pain to leave her lips. Staring off in the direction of where the kunai was thrown Anko sneered while pulling out the steel weapon before stomping on Tei's poor back. The older solider then called out to the trees.
"Hey, I don't think your friend is going to make it, you might want to help her out and safe her, lest she'll be too dead to e of any use to you?"
Another kunai along with a shuriken followed her words which she dodged and from there Anko could just make a rustle in the treetops. Pinning Tei to the ground with the very kunai that had wounded her arm.
"Don't move." she said to the half conscious Tei who only response was to weakly struggle with the kunai embedded in her forearm.
Anko quickly sprinted into the tree line with a grimace, to the untrained eye she looked fine but if one could look closely they would see that she was slightly dragging her left leg. The low kick that Tei had given her just moments before was starting to affect her running, if she went on she wouldn't be able to keep herself up for long. Entering the shadowed forest, Anko glanced around cautiously; she knew any sound could betray her.
She walked for a good hour not finding anything before deciding to stop and rest her ankle; the young woman easily pulled herself onto a low hanging branch and sighed in relief as the pain in her ankle slowly dissipated. Closing her eyes for naught a second she was made to move from her resting spot when a sharpened stick whizzed just over her head. Anko gazed the stick in question while narrowing her eyes. Why use something as crude as a simple wood spear to attack her?
Trying to keep some of her weight off her injured ankle, Anko picked up the spear and inspected it. There were words scrawled messily on the branch, the snake ninja had to squint to read the writing.
"Don't breathe out."
'What the hell is that―?'
Anko felt two pairs of hands grip her neck and as she tried to kick out she felt herself being lifted in the air and slammed very, very hard on her stomach. Anko let out a pained cough as she looked up to see what hit her, Naruto and Hinata were standing over her looking quite pleased with themselves.
Hinata even bent down to give her teacher a pat on the cheek before stomping viciously on her injured ankle causing Anko to let out a hiss of pain.
"Naruto-kun, I want to fight Anko. Would you mind going and helping out Tei, I'm sure she'll appreciate it."
When Naruto left to do as she asked, Hinata backed away a safe distance and gave Anko a once over. She was sure that the older woman wasn't too hurt despite what she did and true to form Anko was already pushing herself up. Once on her feet the sensei gave her student a quick smile before moving quickly to give the girl a resound punch to the face.
As Hinata went down the dark haired woman cracked her knuckles and smiled, her ankle felt as if it was on fire now and she intended to pay Hinata back in full for what she did. Said pale eyed girl got up rubbing her face while glaring lightly at her opponent, she then shook her head and readied herself for Anko's next move.
Anko felt her smile grow on her lips; she had been smiling a lot lately. Maybe this whole sensei thing isn't so bad.
"So, ready to show me what you can. You had better be a superior fighter than Tei."
"Tei was just unprepared, she won't lose again and neither will I." Hinata muttered, willing herself to stay calm.
"Big words, well then bring it!"
A/N: Sorry for the really long wait, I had to attend to my pretend life as well as a job interview that went nowhere T.T Anywho, I'm not dead and I'll try to get the next chappie in sooner: key word being try. Also the short fight was such for a reason, but I suck at writing fight and I only hope that the one between Anko and Hinata will be some kind of good.