The days had grown darker, colder. It was only a short time before the shelters became pitch black by day, and freezing cold by night. Our meals became candlelit, as our eyes adjusted to the darkness. The clouds high in she sky, blocked the sun. Each breath became hard. The very air inside the shelters became stale. The ninja inside grew hopeless, but restless. Each one of us still bore the desire to take our village back. We waited for the day when the Jonin had prepared an attack. That day never came.
To this day I know in my heart, Lee's optimism is what kept us going. Naruto and I had none left. We were fully prepared to live our lives inside these shelters forever. Never again smelling the sweet scent of the asphodels. The crisp feel of the autumn wind. It seemed unattainable. A dream once so alive, gone into the deep darkness of where out hearts used to be.
I can tell you now that none of us have fully recovered. The troubled past still lies in the backs of our minds. In the deep places we all deny exist. It motivates everything we do. To keep Konoha out of the hands of another tyrant. The day the village hidden in the leaves felt the crushing grip of the Sound village leave its throne was never was never a true victory. We had to rebuild. Repopulate. Start over again. Konoha was once a world power. And we had to begin its reign again.
It was cold again, as usual in those times. The typical meal of cold soggy rice balls was old to all of us. We had nothing but rice and vegetables for sometime. Our immune systems grew weak. The small area we called the kitchen stank of rotting vegetables. In the darkness, it was hard to distinguish the ripe from the rotting. One would more than likely pick up an old moldy cabbage, than a new ripe one. This lead to a good bit of starvation. We were malnourished, but it was the best our Jonin's could do. The risk f finding food was higher than your own life. If you were caught, you gave up the secrecy of all the other shelters. The entire community would be in jeopardy. That's why we only sent Jonin. That's why they only left once a month.
Lee had never show up to eat. It was difficult at the time to tell why. After scraping down my own meal, I grabbed his and headed for his 'bedroom'. As I came close he turned. He was on the pile of blankets he called his bed. Just sitting. Starring.
Thinking back on it now, I think my course of action was best. I said nothing as I sat down beside him I took interest in the wall he seemed so entranced in. It was blank. A simple clean-cut wall of dirt, with a thin layer of metal around it. The coating was dull. You couldn't see your reflection in it if you washed it ten times over. I still do not know what it is he saw in that wall. Perhaps it was a reflection of our situation. Maybe he even sought answers through it.
For hours we sat. Silently gazing at the slab of poorly crafted steel before us. My head found itself resting on Lee's shoulders. His hand found mine. We stayed that way through the night, to find ourselves arm in arm in the morning.
That was the first bright day. If it was a sign, it fooled me. I ignored the omen of the light, and looked at Lee. Still asleep. Before he woke, I broke away, and crept into my own bed, where my dreams consisted of emptiness.