Color Me Emotional *Chapter 7* Azure
*((Revised!))*
By: Kitty Amani
The first couple of days went by quickly. In fact, Tylina did not feel like they had been in the forest for very long before Shikamaru informed them that they would be at his village in a few hours. She found herself slightly disappointed in the news. This was because Tylina felt she was getting some decent training during the travel. Controlling her chakra as a way to jump from branch to branch was a skill that came easily to Tylina. She made sure to scan the area with all her senses, wanting to be ready in case of an attack. The thick, tall trees of all kinds made it difficult to see, and the pines made it especially hard to detect other smells. The young girl was on edge, shaking slightly from both nervousness and excitement. The formation of the group was Temari in the lead, followed by Gaara with Tylina and Yukio on either side. Lastly, Shikamaru brought up the rear. Tylina found herself stealing glances at her companions, analyzing their facial expressions and movements to see if they had sensed anything. Everything so far seemed pretty calm and quiet, but wasn't that what they thought last time they were in a place like this, right before Masura-sensei had been attacked and killed?
"Are you okay, Ty?" Gaara's voice, full of concern, entered her ear. She plastered on a fake smile as she glanced over, locking eyes with him.
"Of course, Lord Kazekage," She promised, nodding her head and holding up one of her hands in a sort of 'forget about it' gesture. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Now I know something is wrong with you," He told her, cracking a small smile. "You never call me that, not even around the village elders." He glanced forward again, his smile fading as fast as it had come. "I've noticed that you tend to use my title when you do not wish to directly answer me." Tylina continued to stare at him, before sighing and biting hard on her bottom lip.
"I'm fine, Gaara, I promise," She mumbled lightly, moving her gaze forward again, suddenly becoming interested in Temari's movements as she soared through the trees. "I'm just not used to the large, open space yet." Gaara nodded and then there was silence again. Temari, who had obviously been listening to their conversation, glanced back when the two stopped speaking and let out a low chuckle.
"You guys are going to love it here," Temari called back to Tylina and Yukio, who stole a quick glance at each other. "And there are definitely some people we would like you to meet!"
"Exactly how far are we?" Yukio questioned with a weird tone in his voice, revealing he was feeling the same emotions as his teammate. Also, just as Tylina, he had lost track of time due to obsessive observation of his surroundings.
"Not too far," It was Shikamaru that answered, sounding as if he'd rather be anywhere but there. "This traveling back and forth is such a pain. It's going to be nice to rest for a while."
"Did you hear that Temari?" Yukio teased with a smirk. "Your body guard is tired. Maybe you should hire a new one for a while." Temari glared daggers at him over her shoulder, making him howl with laughter and Tylina could have sworn she heard a small chuckle escape through Gaara's lips. Tylina looked back at Shikamaru, smiling at the confused and slightly frustrated look on his face.
The rest of the journey wasn't as entertaining. In fact, the conversations that occurred were brief and lacked anything truly interesting. Gaara stayed almost completely silent, as always, keeping his thoughts and emotions to himself. Tylina eventually withdrew herself from the pathetic ramblings and allowed her mind to soar. They were almost there, almost to Konohagakure, and the young girl was now to a point where she was having trouble deciphering how she felt. She couldn't tell if she was more excited or nervous, or more happy or scared. They all rushed over her in waves, almost too quick to fully comprehend. She scolded herself for being too emotional and was slowly shaking herself from her thoughts when it happened. The trees suddenly disappeared and bright, mid-morning sunlight dominated over her vision. She squinted, following Temari's form as she fell toward the ground, landing gracefully on her feet. The other four did the same behind her.
"Wow, constant darkness takes a toll on a person after a while," Yukio rubbed his eyes, keeping his head down. Tylina nodded in agreement, even though he couldn't see her, before glancing up. Her eyes widened quickly at the sight of a giant gate that stood before her. It was obviously just a small opening in the giant wall the extended itself around the village. The gate stood open, but it was apparent that when closed, there was a giant leaf symbol painted over the two, like the one on Shikamaru's ninja headband.
"Heh, Bitchin'," She heard Yukio mutter, bringing a smile to her face. She filled in the gap between her and Gaara, surprising him by locking both of her arms around his right one and squeezing it into a tight hug.
"Oh, I'm excited," She squealed, earning an amused look from the red head. Temari smiled back at Tylina, giving her a wink before started forward and through the main gate. Yukio's snickers filled the air as Shikamaru rushed up to the blonde's side, shoving his hands into his pockets and falling in stride beside her.
"I don't think I've ever seen him move so fast," Yukio came over and elbowed Gaara gently before the three of them followed. Tylina continued to cling to Gaara in an attempt to ease her nervousness.
"Welcome back Shikamaru, Temari!" The guards just inside the gate nodded at the two in front of the group. They responded by smiling brightly and holding up their hands in greeting. The two men then glanced at the ninja following them, and their smiles faded when their eyes landed on Gaara. That's when they started, the whispers, ones that Tylina herself was familiar with. The ones that she had heard thrown in her friends direction too many times before. Yukio shoved his hands in his pockets in frustration, hearing the low spoken words as well. He adjusted his stride so that Gaara would be blocked from view until they were out of the guard's sight. Tylina hand snaked down to Gaara's and she entwined her fingers with his.
"I thought you said they were accepting here," Tylina whispered into his ear, glaring back at the guardian shinobi who were now staring after them. Yukio turned around and childishly stuck his tongue out at them.
"There will always be haters, Ty," Yukio took the initiative to answer when Gaara remained silent. "Not everyone likes everyone." Tylina shook her head, thinking that, so far, the leaf village hadn't made too great of an impression on her. Slowly, the streets began to become more crowded and many shops began to appear along both sides of the crowd. Tylina stared in amazement because it was so different from Suna. Everything here was colorful, full of life. There were tiny cafes and fancy looking restaurants, flower shops and bakeries, stores with odds and ends, all painted in bright colors, or having brightly colored hangings falling over their entrances. Tylina's eyes then moved to the people, who reflected the same mood as the town itself. Children ran around, chasing each other and laughing loudly. Their parents watched while conversing with each other, bright smiles on their faces. Teenagers, both ninjas and civilians, were gathered around a poster advertising a concert that would be in a nearby village in a few weeks.
"I think it's a little too happy here for me," Tylina finally stated her thoughts out loud, observing a couple who were enjoying their early lunch at one of the many diners along the crowd.
"It's not as peaceful here as it may seem," Gaara informed her, also glancing around.
"I'm guessing that is where we are going," Yukio pointed to a building not too far ahead of them that rose high above the others and contained a fire symbol on the front. Gaara nodded as Tylina gently placed her chin on his shoulder.
"Hey, Shika," Tylina called up to the leaf shinobi that was a few feet in front of her. "Is Lady Hokage nice?" Shikamaru seemed to hesitate in his response, causing a worried look to cross the sand kunoichi's face.
"Just be respectful," Was his answer.
"Shika," Temari nudged him before glancing over her shoulder and smiling brightly. "Lady Hokage is a very beautiful, strong, and independent woman. I think you will really like her, Ty!" Tylina nodded slowly as they entered the building and began to climb the many flights of stairs.
"Hey, Ty," Gaara's voice entered her ear. "I think you're cutting off the circulation in my arm." Tylina blinked at him a few times before glancing down and noticing the tight grip that she held on his arm and hand, almost digging her nails through his crimson attire and into his flesh. She quickly detached herself from him, laughing nervously.
"Sorry, Gaara," She knew her face was bright red, so she hung her head low, allowing her hair to cascade in front of it. She heard him chuckle at her before placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Chill a little, Tylina," He addressed her by her full name. "It will be okay." The stairs came to an end soon after that. Temari and Shikamaru stopped in front of a large door, to which Temari raised her fist and knocked loudly.
"Enter," Came a woman's voice. Temari gave Tylina a wink as Shikamaru pushed opened the door and entered. Tylina held her breath and glanced over at Yukio as Temari and Gaara followed the leaf ninja. Yukio flashed a bright smile and ran his fingers through his hair before he followed as well. This left Tylina to, slowly, bring up the rear.
When she laid her eyes upon the woman behind the giant oak desk, her mouth dropped open slightly. A beautiful blonde lady set there wearing a confident smirk. Her skin was flawless and she seemed to gleam in the sun that flowed through the windows that semi-circled the office. She wore a low cut top, revealing her obviously large breasts, with her Hokage robe pulled over her shoulders, in an attempt to look somewhat formal. Tylina, however, got the feeling that she was not too fond of the work that she had to do as Hokage. Suddenly, all of Tylina's nervousness evaporated as she cast an honest smile at the leader of the leaf, appreciating the bold and self-satisfied air that she gave off.
"Welcome back, you two," She nodded at Shikamaru and Temari. "Lord Kazekage," She nodded at Gaara as well before her eyes landed on the two who stood the furthest back. Surprising everyone, including herself, Tylina took two giant steps forward and bowed.
"My name is Tylina, my lady," She then straightened up with a prideful smile, earning a satisfied nod from the beautiful woman. She then glanced back at the remaining ninja who she didn't know. "And you would be?"
"You can call me Yukio, my lady," He stepped beside Tylina and bowed respectfully as well.
"These two have been friends with the Kazekage, Temari, and Kankuro since they were kids," Shikamaru informed the Hokage, giving her a little background information. "There is one other, but she remained behind to help watch over Suna. The three of them are highly skilled ninja and have taken the job as the Kazekage's personal body guards."
"I see," She voiced, studying the two of them closely. "Tell me a little about what you can do."
"Yes, my lady," Tylina acknowledged. "Ninjutsu is my best defense, and I have three different types of chakra natures, fire being my best. My wind and lightening chakra natures are much weaker and I find that I do not fight as long when using the two of them, so I stick to fire if at all possible. My taijutsu would be next great defense, being almost as good as my ninjutsu, for I have great speed and accuracy. My ginjutsu I'd say is my worst defense, and I don't use it very often, that way I do not waste my chakra. Also, in a way, you could say that I am the level headed one of the team. I analyze the situation and play the outcomes over in my head, and I usually come up with the plans of attack."
"For me, my lady," Yukio addressed her with a smile. "Taijutsu is my best defense, and when Tylina and I use our taijutsu together, we are almost unstoppable. I'm in very good shape, making me quick and strong. Ninjutsu is my second greatest defense, although it is definitely not my strong suit. I have the main chakra nature of water, and my secondary, which is almost as strong as my first, would be lightening. I'm very poor at my third though, which would be earth. Lastly, I have no ability to do genjutsu whatsoever, for my sensei felt if I attempted, it would just show me down. She told me I needed to focus on my speed and accuracy."
"The one who remained in Suna," Temari acted as our third member. "Her name is Sunshine, and she is best in genjutsu, almost relying completely on it, which reveals how good the three of them could be when they work together. Her ninjutsu is her second best suit, having the chakra natures of lightening, being her strongest, earth being her second strongest, and her weakest being water. Her taijutsu isn't very good and when you get to know her you will see why." Tylina chuckled to herself, knowing that Temari was referring to the fact that Sunshine hated to sweat and didn't want to 'break a nail.' The Hokage nodded as she easily took in all the information that was just recited to her and smiled.
"Impressive shinobi you have watching over you, Lord Kazekage," She said to Gaara, who nodded in agreement. "Well, now that I know who you are, I would like to welcome you to Konoha. I know you guys have had a long trip, so I'll go ahead and dismiss you to get some rest. We will meet again the day after tomorrow to discuss some things, but until then," She smiled sweetly at Gaara. "Go see your friends." At that moment, Tylina gained a respect for the Hokage that she would never be able to describe to anyone. As the others went to leave, Tylina hung behind and approached the Hokage's desk.
"Um, thank you, my lady," Tylina bowed. When she straightened up, the woman in front of her had a confused look on her face.
"May I ask what for?" She blinked a few times and Tylina felt her face get a little warm.
"For being so nice to Gaara," She basically whispered. The Hokage's face softened and she smiled gently at the girl.
"No need to thank me for that," She climbed to her feet and walked to the large window that stood behind her and stared down at the village. "Run along now, and go meet some of the kids your age. I think you'll like what you see." Tylina hesitated before bowing one last time and turning to leave.
"What was that about?" Yukio asked as Tylina pulled the door the the Hokage's office shut behind her. Glancing up, she noticed that all four of her friends had stopped to wait on her.
"Oh, it was nothing," She assured them with a wave of her hand. "So, um, what are we going to do now?"
"I'm tired," Yukio complained, stretching his arms high above his head. "I'd like to take a nap."
"Gaara, why don't you and Yukio go check into the hotel for us," Temari offered, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a change purse, which she handed to the Kazekage. He nodded in agreement.
"We could stop at a store as well," Yukio suggested, looking at Gaara. "You know, pick up some food and anything else we might need."
"That's a good idea," Gaara said as he started for the stairs, but he stopped suddenly and glanced over his shoulder when he heard Tylina go to follow him. "Ty, I'd like you to go with Shikamaru and Temari." Tylina blinked a few times.
"But..." She attempted to protest. Gaara just shook his head and held his hand up, as if telling her to not say anything else. With that, he turned and began to descend the stairs. Yukio looked at Tylina, who pouted her lips and gave him a pleading look. He just gave her a reassuring smile before taking off after the Kazekage.
"Well, let's go," Shikamaru stated as he and Temari headed for the stairs. Tylina hesitated before following, wondering where exactly it was that they were going. She guessed it would be better than the shopping and laying around that Yukio and Gaara would be doing. She walked behind her two companions silently, listening to their mumbled conversations and Temari's random quiet giggles. Tylina smiled slightly to herself as she thought about how the two of them were absolutely made for each other. She then began to wonder when they would actually admit to the other how they felt. How could people as smart as they are not see something so obvious?
"Shikamaru!" A high pitched voice brought Tylina from her thoughts. Glancing around Temari, she saw a young blonde kunoichi running towards them, waving her hand above her hand furiously. She wore a purple midriff and short purple skirt, with her long hair pulled into a ponytail and her bangs cascading down over one of her eyes.
"Ah, Ino," Shikamaru smiled. "Just the person I was looking for."
"Huh, you were looking for me?" She came to a stop in front of him, a questioning look on her face, but she quickly recovered and flashed Temari a brilliant smile. "Hey, Temari."
"We were wondering if you'd like to make a new friend." Temari pointed over her shoulder to Tylina, who immediately felt her face grow hot. She knew that she was blushing. Ino peered at her before letting out a high pitched squeal.
"Oh, yeah, you know I'd love too!" She quickly pushed between them so that she was in front of Tylina and extended her hand in greeting. "I'm Ino Yamanaka!" Tylina laughed nervously as she shook the girl's hand.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Tylina." She informed Ino, who nodded quickly. Tylina cast a sideways glance at Temari, who winked in an attempt in ease her on. Tylina then knew that this had been previously set up without her knowledge. Temari, Shikamaru, Yukio, Gaara. They had all had a secret meeting about her having a fear of meeting new people, so now she was standing in front of an obviously hyperactive girly girl. She assumed that Ino probably enjoyed things like shopping, make up, and getting her nails done, which Tylina had no interest in whatsoever. As she continued to ponder how she felt about the situation, Temari took the initiative of pushing the pre-planned relationship further.
"Tylina's never been here before," She informed Ino with a smile. "Maybe you would like to show her around." Tylina felt her face fall. Now Temari was going to send her off with a total stranger? Exactly what was wrong with her friends?
"Oh yes!" Ino immediately agreed, reaching forward and taking Tylina's hands into hers. "We're going to have so much fun!"
"Eh, great!" Tylina tried to force excitement into her voice. She believed she was unsuccessful, but Ino didn't show any sign of disappointment. The blonde then began to pull her away from Temari and Shikamaru. She started going on about how she knew the perfect place to get the best clothes in the village and how she knew exactly how to do the sand ninja's hair to make her look absolutely stunning.
"Have fun!" Temari called after them, making a string of curse words trail though Tylina's brain.
Surprisingly, Tylina's morning with Ino wasn't as bad as she thought it was going to be. She ended up having a lot of fun. Spending time with Ino, Tylina learned that she was a sort of carefree spirit and slightly egotistic, loving to swoon and coo over her own reflection. She was extremely nice to Tylina, asking about her likes and dislikes, her past boyfriends and relationships, which allowed them to quickly get to know each other. Ino told her the story of Sasuke Uchiha, and how he was the love of her life. Tylina doubted this considering the blonde had been barely twelve when she was head over heels for the dude. The way she described him it also seemed that he was adored by every other young girl her age in the village, making him more of a lust object then a crush. By the time the two stopped for a lunch break, the sun was high in the bright blue sky. Ino seemed really nice, even though Tylina was almost a hundred percent sure the girl had a mean streak. She couldn't explain the feeling, Ino just kind of gave off that sort of air.
The blonde was able to make Tylina laugh as she told her stories from about a year ago, when she made ventures with her team. It was made up of her, Shikamaru, a boy named Choji, and their sensei, Azuma. Tylina smiled and nodded, listening to every word. She loved hearing about the missions the girl used to have and the amazing team work they had. It was almost like a book to her, one she didn't want to put down. The stories also made her recall memories about her team. She missed those days. If anything, Tylina wished she could rewind time. She wished to be carefree again, to be happy again, and to see her sensei again. As Ino continued on, Tylina's eyes drifted back to the sky.
'Azure,' Her thoughts danced around the clouds that floated high above her. 'Such a bright, happy color. Joyful, like this village, like Ino. If all of the sibling's friends here is this nice, and this enthusiastic about life, then maybe it wouldn't be so hard to make them my friends too. But, I can't help but wonder; would these people stick around and still want to be my friends, even if they knew my horrible past, and how I am cursed? Probably not. In this village, it's like I'm starting over new. Maybe the brightness of the sky and the villagers could change my outlook on life, just like Gaara. Yes, Azure is such a mood lifting color.'