"Damn it what's with all that noise!"
Opening the sliding doors the moonlit night illuminated the training ground where a lone figure stood swinging his sword against a wooden training dummy.
Smack then dodge, smack and dodge, rinse and repeat. The swinging arms of the wooden doll avoided and a counter was thrown in retaliation. This kept on happening, he didn't even realise that the old man was walking up to him, too focused on training.
"What in god's good name are you doing on my training ground in the middle of the night?"
"Training." Andrew responded not looking back and still hitting the wooden doll with his sword.
"At this time?"
"I have to train."
"Have to?" The old man quizzically asked, probing for more answers.
"I can't focus on sleep, my head won't let me."
"All the more reason to hit the hay."
"Hitting hay won't work nearly as well as this"
'sigh' the old man gave up and with parting words went back to bed.
"Don't make too much noise and make sure that old hag knows where you are."
Without a reply Andrew continued fighting, his arms hanging low feeling as though they might fall off.
Yet regardless he continued, the scene from Bels apartment still vivid and replaying in his mind. With that he fought on through the night training. Swinging his sword again and again until it grew dull. His dedication came from a place of anger, frustration, annoyance. He couldn't act rashly or else make things worse for Bel. All he could do was make his presence known to her, be her sword in times of need like how she acts as his shield, keeping him in check. To protect the shield he needed a sharper sword. And to do that he needed to train. So that's exactly what he did.
At the Hyuga household, the day Andrew left for the Uchiha.
Making his way in a group of four with a Hyuga at the head leading the way, Aozora took in the sights of the traditional wooden buildings and open courtyards. It was like something out of a book. The village before was lively and his smile never faltered. Until that day. When he passed through the gates into the Hyuga clan the atmosphere changed and as the gates closed behind him that was when the first sign revealed itself. The Hyuga wouldn't let them leave. He tried to shake it off as a coincidence but as they continued on, the stares they were getting were far from welcoming. They were accusatory and filled with rage stemming from grief. Aozora felt suddenly colder despite the warm weather and clear sun. What happened next almost sealed his fate, confirming his doubts.
"Here's where you will be staying." A broken down shed not fit for life with squirming rats and nature taking control. Even the noblest of families wouldn't offer their servants such accommodation, but they weren't servants, they were the equivalent to slaves now. A push to his back forced him inside and the extenuating smell made him want to gag and be sick as the others were. But he had to keep up his smile, the natural charismatic smile that helped brighten the mood. That smile. He forced himself to make sure it never faltered and find the good in everything, but there was no good to be found here. The shed door slammed close and he was left in darkness. This was far from the welcoming party he had expected.
He got to work calming the others down as they cried and sobbed calling out for help or their parents which were far from what they now had to call home. When hunger was calling they got food. If you could call the slob they were given food. It looked like white paste and had a smell that complimented the shed they were staying in. Aozora knew right away but didn't say anything, handing the food out with a smile on his face. As he watched the others eat he sat alone watching from a corner. He looked down at his own food and when no one was looking, poured it out for the rats to scavenge through.
The door slid open not long after they were done eating and they were put to work. The Hyuga just watched from the sidelines as they made the kids do their work. Some of it was physical labour carrying buckets of water from point A to Point B, endlessly painting a fence or wall that was never good enough. Some tasks included clipping the elders toe nails or massage their muscles and then they would get hit for doing it wrong.
The kids cried and wept but no help was coming, only more abuse as a result of the tears. All the while Aozora put up a smile apologising for his mistakes and happily carrying out his work, but on the inside he felt dread.
Would all the other kids he knew have to go through the same as him? What about Andrew? Knowing him he wouldn't put up with it and try to start a fight he couldn't win.
Aozora could only smile and hope that he would earn the stubborn Hyuga's respect and trust through his work. He smiled, but it didn't hold that same brightness as it had mere hours before. It wasn't as wide or welcoming, it was just that smile. Nothing more, nothing less. A smile slowly losing its brightness and meaning. It was becoming an expression he put on for others' benefit, the meaning behind it gone as he worked day and night and ate, ignoring the taste and fooling himself into believing it was good. The others had broken long ago, carrying out their work with blank expressions, their cries for help silenced and replaced with the affirmation of work. They had become zombies who listened to the Hyuga's every whim. Aozora's hope seemed far-fetched but he held onto it because it was the only thing keeping him human amidst an apocalypse.
