Demons Thoughts/Speech
Human thoughts
Dreams
Under Anko's gaze and constant orders, her cell was worked to the bone. After the push ups, she made them run laps and even climb the trees around them. When one of them slowed she would lash out with an agonizingly hard punch to the ribs and yell at them to keep moving. By dusk, the trio were exhausted and they all laid in a heap together, panting. Out of all of them, Tei seemed to be the best off, sure she was tired but she wasn't panting as hard as Naruto and Hinata.
The reddish-brown haired girl sighed softly as her teammates leaned heavily against her, but she didn't mind. She closed her eyes for a moment only to open them with Anko kneeling towards her and holding out her hand. Getting her teammates' attention, Anko helped them back to the house where Tsunami was cooking and Tazuna was having himself a drink. The elderly bridge builder took in the sight of the kids and shook his head, smirking.
"You all look like crap, do you think all this work is good for you? I mean you just got on your feet today."
Hinata smiled gently at the older man and motioned for him to calm down. "We are ninja, this sort of thing is normal. Besides we want to better protect you in the long run and the only way to do that is to get stronger and train."
"Yeah, we won't go down like last time! We'll be even better than before." Naruto boasted lightly, getting Hinata, Tei, and Anko to nod in agreement.
"Hmph, brave words. But it won't do you any good against Gato's men, you'll just end up killed." the voice of a young child piped up, revealing a short boy wearing green overalls and a off-white hat.
"Inari, watch your tongue. These ninja might be just what this land needs! They are brave and strong and they helped your grandfather survive!" Tsunami chided the boy who responded with turning his back and heading upstairs.
The four ninja looked at their hosts who just sighed in confusion. "Inari is...a handful at times. He believes that there is nothing anyone can do about Gato. He thinks that there is no such thing as a hero."
Tei looked at the spot where the boy once been and frowned a bit. "Then we'll make him see. We'll make sure the bridge is built and restore hope to this land."
Tsunami nodded at the girl's statement but didn't look to hopeful herself. Tazuna, meanwhile got up and started to head out the door, at the doorway, he turned back on the ninja with a slight smirk.
"Well what are you waiting for? We have a bridge to build! C'mon!"
Before Tazuna set out for thew bridge, it was decided that Anko and Naruto went with the bridge builder to guard him while Tei and Hinata opted to train some more. Anko told the two girls to meet them around noon and to have plenty of energy in case it came down to a fight to protect Tazuna.
Anko and Naruto helped with the bridge as much as they could, but they were ninja at heart and always stopped to keep on alert. While Tazuna understood somewhat, he did roll his eyes and told them to back off. "You're better ninja than bridge builders. Stick to what you know." Anko and Naruto had to reluctantly agree with him.
Tei pushed Hinata hard, almost as much as Anko, it was all the ex-Hyuuga heiress could do to stay one step ahead of her teammate. After three grueling hours, Tei called a stop to the training and Hinata sat down heavily on the ground, panting hard while looking over at the other girl. Bruises and large cuts littered Tei's body and she avoided putting weight on her left leg, Hinata couldn't help a small smile from forming on her lips. She was improving, while she didn't wish her companions to be put in any long standing harm, she was happy that she was able to put someone like Tei on her guard. Hinata was cut from her musings when Tei eased herself to the ground beside her, all while lightly leaning against the Hyuuga with a soft sigh.
"You really did a number on me, Anko would be pleased." Tei mumbled softly, letting out a tiny grunt as she moved her bum leg to a more comfortable position. There was a moment of silence between them before Tei turned her gray eyes towards Hinata and tilted her head. "Do you think it's possible, can Tazuna really save this land?"
Hinata dipped her head a little, her tiny smile growing as Tei praised, a warm feeling was filling up her chest as the other spoke. She shifted as the red/brown haired girl leaned against her but Hinata didn't mind, in fact she quite enjoyed it. The last couple of days, Hinata had started to feel safe around Tei, like she just knew the other was capable and handling everything and keeping things from going to shit. It was almost like being with Suzuran when the wolf was in a good mood.
Hinata allowed herself to relax further against Tei, feeling her do the same before thinking about her question and narrowing her eyes. "There's only one thing we can do and that's hope. Hope that the bridge can be built, hope that Tazuna will see it through. But we must do our part as well, Tazuna can't do it alone. We need to do evrything we can to make his dream a reality."
Tei looked over at Hinata, heeding her words and smirking. "Yes, you're right. We must do our part. We have to show this land there hope still exists, no matter what."
Hey everyone. Sorry for the very, very long absent. I've just been trying to get myself together and really I still have a ways to go but I want also get back into the swing of things. So for now, the chapters might be really short, I have to get those writing juices flowing again. Hope you can stick with me. Enjoy.