Demons Thoughts/Speech

Human thoughts

Dreams

Anko walked carrying Hinata's weight on her back with a huff of exertion, the unconscious girl wasn't really heavy but her wounds were bothering her, and with Naruto carrying Tei they were pushing their luck. Hopefully they would arrive to the Land of Waves soon, at least the mist that rolled in gave them some cover. Tazuna was leading them to a disused port and although the mist surrounding them and the water was thick, the snake Jonin was still nervous. Tazuna led them forward, pass the still intact dock and through some long standing weeds where a man standing in a motor boat was waiting for them.

Anko instantly stopped as did Naruto upon seeing the boat while Tazuna looked back with a crooked smile. "Come on, you brave ninja should know that this is not a trap. Besides how else do you think we're supposed to get to my home? Swim?"

The old bridge builder let out a quiet laugh and got in the boat, Anko and Naruto slowly followed. The ferry-man started the engine and soon they were off. The mist seemed to thicken the further out they got and for this Anko was grateful, she told Naruto to rest for as long as he could and after a moment of decision, the boy was asleep in an instant.

"Do you think it was wise to bring children on this mission? I mean, I'm not ungrateful for what they did but look at them! Two unconscious and one who was barely able to keep his eyes open." Tazuna gave the injured children a soft look and shook his head.

Anko kept a biting retort to herself and and instead watched as Naruto as he breathed deeply in sleep. "If we knew that people would be after your life, my Hokage would have done more than just send "children" to guard you. However, these three would of have to face a challenge like this eventually, I guess a little hardship now wouldn't be so bad."

Tazuna grunted in response but avoided Anko's eyes. The purple haired woman gave her students another look before once again turning her gaze on the bridge builder. Tazuna tried to keep his eyes away from the young woman who stared at him until he finally cracked.

"Our village was never a wealthy one, they didn't have ninja to protect us either. I guess that's one of the reasons it was so easy for that bastard Gatou to take over. He was a business tycoon and used our village as a base of operations, anyone who rebelled against his harsh ways were killed. He prevented any trade to go out or come in to the village and we slowly began to starve. We were too poor to pay for a higher ranked mission so I had to take what I could get."

Anko heaved a great sigh before it turned into a quiet growl. This mission wasn't something that could be handled by her mere Genin team, this was something that was way beyond them but at the same time they couldn't just leave Tazuna alone. Not after coming this far. With another growl, the young Jonin made her decision, she would finish this mission and even if this meant dragging her team down with her then so be it. She had a feeling that her team would have felt the same anyway.

For the rest of the ride everything was silent with the exception of the waves, it had a calming effect in Anko and soon she was fighting sleep. The old bridge builder watched out of the corner of his eye and like before told her to get some sleep and that he will wake her when they reached the shore.

For the next two hours Anko and her team slept as easily as their wounds would allow and for Anko herself it was the best sleep she had in a while. Yet the peace was broken when Tazuna woke the snake ninja and she blearily lifted her head to take in the sight.

The first thing she noticed was that the ferry-man was rowing towards the shore but Anko knew that was because Gatou could have men nearby ready to jump on them and kill them all. It was bi enough risk the man took transporting them here. The second and most obvious thing that came to Anko's vision was a half-finished steel bridge that disappeared off into the mist. Anko saw Tazuna gazing at it fondly with a small smile on his face before he turned to her.

"Once this bridge is complete, there will be nothing to stop us to shaking off Gatou's control. He fears the completion of this bridge and in a way he fears me but even if I die someone else will take my place. Until the bridge is finished, we just have to hold on and then the people can hope again."

Although still drowsy from sleep, Anko bowed her head slightly to the old man. "I promise you, my cell and I will do everything in our power to protect to see your ambition come true. You have my word as a ninja."

Tazuna gave her a small smile then simply nodded. It wasn't long before the group finally reached the shore with Anko waking Naruto and Tazuna having a small muttered conversation to the ferry-man before he waved to them and drifted away. Tazuna turned to see Anko and Naruto securing Tei and Hinata to their backs and beckoning them to follow.

"Don't worry, my home isn't too far away. Hopefully those two will wake up soon and you won't have to carry their carcasses around anymore." Tazuna said to the two, laughing at his own comment but the other two remained silent.

True to his word, Tazuna's house come into view a mere 15 minutes later, there to greet them was a young looking woman with long black hair who seemed around Anko's age. She waved to them and ran to hug Tazuna before noticing the bloody and still tired group and ushered them inside without a second thought.

Anko whipped her head behind her, trying to tell the woman that this wasn't necessary but she stumbled over her words due to the woman talking over her.

"Nonsense, I had a feeling that my father would bring someone from the Leaf village with him. It's no trouble at all, you all need medical attention and I'll be damned if you're not looked after. I'm Tsunami by the way."

"Anko," the snake ninja muttered, awed by the rapid way of talking that Tsunami seemed to possess.

"Don't worry, it'll get easier to understand her. It's really not that hard." Tazuna said with a soft laugh, while Tsunami pushed Anko and Naruto to the large spare room upstairs.

Once upstairs, Anko and Naruto gently placed Tei and Hinata down with Tsunami hovering over them before turning to Anko.

"What happened to them?"

"Can you please just treat my students' wounds? I don't feel like talking right now." Anko growled coldly, she was staring at Hinata and Tei, wishing that there some way she could help them.

Tsunami flinched at her harsh tone but got started nonetheless, she decided to go with Naruto since he didn't seem to be as hurt as the others and would just need a few bandages. The blonde hissed softly as the antiseptic seeped into his wounds but stayed still the rest of the way, soon he was done in about 15 minutes. She tried taking care of Anko's wounds but the slightly younger woman shook her off and told her to see to Tei and Hinata.

With a shaky nod, Tsunami went over both and wrapped both of their wounds then she lightly pressed her hands over Tei's and Hinata's skulls when both actually twitched before settling again. Tsunami gave Anko a confused yet regretful look before shaking her head.

"I'm sorry but their skulls seem to be cracked. There's nothing I can do for them and we don't have a major hospital here."

Anko growled softly but soon her gaze turned soft as she stared at her two unconscious girls. "Is there truly nothing anyone can do?"

Tsunami lowered her head and shook it sadly. "I'm sorry, the only thing that I can say is that rest will help them heal."

"Please leave, I want to be alone with my students." Anko muttered, not looking at Tsunami but down at the ground, her hands clenched in fists.

Tsunami nodded and left without a word leaving Naruto to stare at Anko who remained silent for a while.

"Do you think that I am the right choice as your sensei?"

Naruto started at the question and closed his eyes thinking for the right words. Tipping his head to the side, Naruto thought of all that Anko had done for him so far; giving him a home, treating him with concern and kindness as well as taking him under her wing.

"I think you are a fine friend and that I want to stay with you. You saved us from Zabuza and for that I thank you. Please, don't go away. I want to stay with you."

Anko smiled at the boy, shaking her head. "That's not what I asked you bit I'll take it. I wonder if those two feel the same."

Naruto looked to his unconscious teammates and nodded. "Believe me, I know they do."

All throughout that day and night Naruto and Anko stayed by the girls' side, only leaving to eat and use the bathroom but even them they brought their food with them and ate in silence. It was getting close to one in the morning when Naruto saw Tei's eyes begin to twitch. He quickly roused Anko who was dozing and thought giving the girl enough space, they watched her closely. However they joy was short lived as Tei just let out a deep breath and settle back down. Anko deflated a bit at this but picjed herself up nonetheless.

"They'll wake up soon, I know they will." Naruto promised, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah but what about their skulls? They are cracked, remember? And no one around here can fix this...what if..."

She was then cut off by Naruto, who softly slapped her face with a small smile. "Everything will be alright. I don't know how but they will wake up soon and we can finish this mission."

Anko stifled a sigh and lightly smacked Naruto's hand away. But on the inside she hoped the boy's words were true, she didn't want any of her students ending up killed or crippled because of her actions on this mission.

The two stay up for a little longer before sleep finally claims them. As they slept as close to their downed teammates as they could, neither were aware of Tei slowly opening her eyes to look at them before smiling and closing her eyes, being forcibly dragged back to unconsciousness.

A/N: So finally got this out. Sorry for the long wait. Tei and Hinata might finally wake up in the next chapter, maybe.