I remember the light blue of the sky as I set foot through the gates that marked the training grounds; I remember feeling an overwhelming sense of calm as the wind blew through my hair and made the leaves dance as if dancing to their favorite tunes; I remember the growing excitement building in the pit of my belly as I approached our old meeting spot; My hands laced behind my back as I ran through possible scenarios, ones where I actually land a hit on you; I remember my excitement, feeling it slowly grow to a roar while I sat propped against one of the trees you favored to read Icha Icha under, I also remember my excitement dulling to a simmer before it nearly vanished...Of course, In my haste, I forgot you would be late.
You, with your leisurely gait and gravity defying hair, arrived promptly an hour late; I could feel your chakra yards away, no doubt at the memorial stone, still mourning those you lost, but I did not dare interrupt the moment of tranquility we, as ninja, so seldom receive. I hauled myself to my feet and made my way over to your lone figure, standing there, waiting for me to yell at you.
The feeling wasn't sudden, it was miniscule, but as I reached your statuesque form, it skyrocketed. A clenching; The weight of memories that were once moments I'd lived, and cherished, and dreamt would never end; The weight of those memories sinking in the depths of my gut; The feeling of reliving my unrequited, prepubescent feelings being crushed; The feeling of longing for a mismatched, circus of a family to be reunited. It hurt me to see you standing in front of those three pillars; It hurt to see the memory of my old self, a misunderstood blonde, and a future killer replaying in front of my watering emerald orbs.
Looking at you, I knew. Your eye seemed to tell all, you were reliving my memories, our memories, the memories we created together, as a team; You were reliving them alongside me. You said I wasn't acting like myself and that you noticed the improvement immediately; I threw a kunai at you.
You caught my kunai and told me not to drown in the past; I told you that it's hard not to drown when I don't know how to swim. Within at least one second, you were standing mere feet in front of me, your eye in its signature, jovial crease; In a light tone you said "Well then, you just earned a life-preserver" I laughed, knowing that you were drowning just as much as I was, but you seemed to be treading water at the moment, so I took your word and said it was a deal.
Our spar commenced, nothing but the sounds of my grunts of frustration, clinging metal and your "Hey now! You almost hit me" could be heard. Your teasing was, unfortunately, unrelenting; You would dodge my punches, barely!, and then comment on how I slowed down, how dare you say I SLOWED down, since the last bell test. Needless to say, your provocation worked, it had me blindly reaching out for you, just one little scrap of you, and BAM! Down you would go.
I clipped your jaw after you commented on me growing up to look an awful lot like a character from your 'Romance' book. Various cuts and splotches of mud littered and soiled my once clean, youthful appearance; It was an understatement to say I looked tired. Rips with tiny specs of blood could be seen, though not many, upon your form, and dirt sullied your hair, making you look like you had a rather vigorous training session in the dirt with your pack of ninken; I came to this conclusion because in the future I would learn that you trained them especially hard when I would bring them treats (You dictator), and after one certain session, you would look like this.
Both of our bodies collapsed on the once lush green grass, now we lay upon broken earth; My handiwork, of course. Our panting soon turned into even breathing and the cicadas made their presence known with their song. The bright, torrid globe in the sky faded into flames that danced across enchanting purples, stunning pinks and of course, the ever-fading, tranquil blue sky. I looked over to see your breathing deep, eye closed and body still; The picture of you was...beautiful. They way the oranges and yellows of the setting sun played upon your defiled hair, made you suddenly seem...Captivating. I remember realizing why your features suddenly had me so mesmerized; You had me in awe because even covered in dirt, your features portrayed peace.
After that training session, you stopped coming to the hospital. Instead, we would train once a week; Once a week turned into twice a week, and eventually when we could spare the extra time. You taught me jutsu that Lady Tsunade just didn't have the time to teach me; It didn't come without a price though. For every jutsu you taught, I would complete one favor for you; It usually consisted of cooking dinner, paying for your dinner, which you did anyways, bathing Pakkun and, begrudgingly, doing your laundry; ONCE and never again because, really?! WHO HIDES THEIR PAPERWORK in their flak jacket; ONLY you, that's who.
Your reactions to my chakra enhanced strength always boosted my ego, especially when I put a dent in your wall; Which by the way, is still there. Your eyes caricatured saucers when I got both bells from you; You got them back when I gloated about how awesome and stupendous I was and demanded that you run around the village proclaiming that you got beat by me while stopping every thirty seconds to do Lee and Guy's 'Good Guy' Pose; Wink and tooth catching glimmer of light was manditory.
During our spars, you weren't one for much talking; I learned to hold it all in and wait until after. When we were relaxing in the hues of the fading sun, I would spring questions left and right; Some about your past; Some about why you were still single...Ninjas just can't afford to have families, you told me. I would ask and most you would avoid with clever quips or just plain old "Hey look at that one-eyed bunny" and of course, every time, I would look; When I would turn around, all that greeted me was a dissipating cloud of smoke. You sneaky man.
I remember the day we met for our spar and you asked if I would like to become a two-man team with you.