Innocence In A Demon ( A Naruto Story ) Pt. 30 Maybe It's Not So Bad

Recap: After the defeat of the Siren you and Naruto are too tired to even move. Not to mention it's still day time and the heat's not getting any lower.



Quiz Start!


Beads of sweat collected on your forehead. Your eyelids were as heavy as lead. You were face first into a sand pit. "Naruto...," you started. "Yeah?" he replied slowly. "Do you wanna sleep until the sun goes down?" you asked. There was no answer. "Naru-?" you started to lean up when you felt Naruto's hand on your back pushing you back down. "Nnnnhhhh." Naruto grunted in agreement. "Agreed..." you murmured and fell into a hot, uncomfortable sleep.
~9:00 pm~

A low throb awoke you from your sleep. Grains of sand clung to the cheek you slept on. You opened your eyes to blackness. You ached all over. You listened to see if Naruto was awake. There was just a chilling silence. You sat up and slapped your cheeks to wake you up and knock the sand off. The phase of the moon was 'waxing'. It was fairly dark out. The sand was completely black except for the dark blue marks of the top of the small gatherings. The sky was clear and full of stars. "Well...here we go..." you sighed. You got up and dusted your thin kimono. *This is gonna ba a long night.* you thought to yourself. You stepped out of the pit and nearly stepped on Naruto. He was sound asleep. His blonde hair was scattered with sand and his lips were slightly parted. His hands made a pillow underneath his cheek which gave him the look of a young boy. The stripes on his cheek even made him look like a little fox in the curled up position he was in! You had to confess; he was adorable. Before you realized what you were doing your pale reached out and you touched his cheek. It was soft and warm to the touch. A smile crept on your lips. *You want the fox inside him!* a voice shrieked through your head. You withdrew your hand in an instant and looked all around you. *You want his power. His strength...* it whispered in your mind. You felt defensive. "The twin tailed wolf..." you said aloud. She hadn't talked to you since you departed your village. *NO! I don't!* you fought back putting up a little mental barrier. A major headache erupted and you let out a little gasp. "What the hell..." you groaned grabbing your head. After a few minutes the pain left you feeling exhausted all over again. You let out a sigh and let your hands fall on your lap. Naruto didn't even stir. You stared at him. A sudden feeling of connection took hold of you. The past months had been with no one but you, Naruto, and Hinata. You felt that you knew them better than anyone and that the closeness you felt with them was above normal. "Hinata..." you whispered aloud. It'd seem like months since you last saw when in fact it's only been a few days. "What are you doing right now...?" you asked yourself.
~The Junsui Okiya / Shinobi Female Geisha Training School Thinger 9:30 pm~

"Taeko- sensei...can I please go home...?" a voice murmured into Taeko's ears. "What, Hyuuga? Are you getting tired?" Taeko asked as sweetly as a woman talking to her child. Hinata was in tears. Her hair was waxed in place in lobes beside her head and she was wearing ivory skin cream. Her whole face crumbled instantly at Taeko's horrible sweet attitude. Her knees felt as if pitchforks had lodged themselves inside and were using a seesaw technique to rip them out. Her side was leaned over to the far right in a demanding position. She wore brown and blue lacqured zori and buttoned tabi socks. The kimono was exquisite, complex and had at least 5 layers. Pretty much impossible to sit in. Her legs shook with the effort of trying to be in perfect posture and in her hands was a waxed shamisen. Her fingers were raw and bleeding down her wrists. "Hyuuga,...you played the worst throughout the whole class. You think I'm going to let that go unnoticed?" Taeko said whirling around. Her lips were in a tight frown. She wore a simple grey kimono with a blue underrobe and a light pink obi that didn't match. The small tatami room was lit by a single oil lamp. Hinata looked up with a pained expression on her face. *Sakura and Ino played it so well...why can't I?!* Hinata demanded to herself. Before Hinata could answer Taeko put down her calligraphy brush and looked across the room at Hinata. "Play 'Rushing Waters' again and we shall see." she smiled answering Hinata's earlier question. Hinata's fingers trembled as she tuned the shamisen as fast as she could. One of the strings got caught in her cut and gave a low mournful 'twang' as it spun around the tuner and her finger. With panic Hinata fumbled it out and let the blood run down the string. She let out a shuddering breath as she positioned her fingers. Taeko's face had remained the same the whole time and was watching amused. Hinata began to play. The song started out low and slow at first to represent a small river that would soon lead to the ocean. She played this part with certainty and sounded quite professional. Her finger twitched as she struck the top string to signal the storm on the ocean. It was completey off and sounded like a cat's shriek. Taeko made no movement as Hinata stared in fear. A drop of sweat washed down the side of her temple. *It's o.k...just one note...keep going...* she assured herself as she gulped and switched to high, quick, sharp notes to represent the waves crashing and ending. This was Hinata had messed up the whole time and spent 6 hours after school practicing it with Taeko. After a few minutes with only three wrong strokes out of 20 Hinata looked up from her deep focus on the shamisen for Taeko's report. There was a long silence that kept Hinata on alert. She stared intetnly at Taeko's fingers that made no movement."Well...," Taeko started. "I'm getting tired of hearing your sickly play. You can go now, Hyuuga." she finally concluded. Hyuuga stood up immediately, dropping the shamisen on the floor. She stubmled a step but quickly stopped and bowed before rushing for the door. Her hand rested on the door pane when Taeko quickly cut in: "Oh, and I expect you back early tommorow to clean the floor, shamisen, and kimono you got your dirty Hyuuga Clan blood all over." she said icily. "Yes, Sensei." Hinata said glaring at the door. She rolled it open and stepped outside as fast a liquid. Taeko kept her eye on the door for a long while. Scratch marks were clearly visible even from the otherside of the dark room. She smiled at picked up her brush as she dipped it in black, shiny ink.

...^-^
Thank you for reading. Not the most interesting result but one nonetheless. :) And you never would've thought that maybe being in the desert is better than being with Taeko...