The Wolf Within| The Possesions of the Wild series| Volume 2

4| Chiyo's Curiosity

The next morning, Team Guy was in a rush. They had slept a little longer than planned and were now hurrying through the desert to reach the Sand Village.

"Sensei, you always wake up when the sun is rising!" Tenten exclaimed.

Guy pursed his lips, his expression twisting and tensing in shame. "I'm afraid that even I fail sometimes. I'm sorry, Tenten."

"I can try and go ahead, if you want," Kaiya suggested, "to let them know you're coming."

Guy grunted. "That'd be good. Wait for us at the main building in the Village."

"Kaiya-san!" Lee exclaimed, "Let me come with you. For- For safety. It's not safe to travel on your own."

Kaiya looked in Lee's eyes and sighed at the way his eyes pleaded for her approval. It felt difficult to refuse him.

"Fine, but only if you can keep up with me."

Lee's smile grew from one ear to the other. "That's a deal!"

The two began running ahead of the group and within just a few minutes, they weren't visible anymore through the dunes of the Land of Wind. As the group continued running at their usual pace, Tenten turned to Guy. A smile was present on his face, along with a certain expression of thoughts and nostalgia.

"It's really nice to have her back," Tenten said, "I haven't seen Lee smile like that in ages."

Guy only hummed in approval. It was true that after Kaiya left two years ago, a change shifted within Lee. It was something that maybe not even the boy thought would be so obvious, but anyone who knew Lee to a certain degree and had spent enough time to know him well noticed him change. After Kaiya's departure, it felt as if a part of his presence and motivation wasn't present in Konoha anymore, but somewhere far, far away where no one could ever find it. Now that the girl had returned, it seemed as if the piece that Lee had missed had returned, his heart now filled itself complete.

The idea of the boy's joy growing this way along with his heart filled Guy's heart in its own turn. Guy couldn't help but feel overjoyed and proud that one of his students, the one that needed the most help to see his future and success if he only worked hard enough found himself once more and exposed himself in a manner that'd only better his life along another person who'd give him even more hope for the future. The joy that Lee felt by Kaiya's presence, Guy thought, was something so often found but so rarely found genuine that it was a blessing from Heaven to experience. The search for such joy was as difficult as a blind's person's quest through life with no guidance, everyone around them dismissing that they are different and that they are worthy of help and empathy, up until they'd find one person who understood it as easily as they'd breathe. It was a quest that began at the beginning of times and would go on until the end of times.

Yet, guy sighed. With his students developing more and more as their own people, Guy was not only brought pride on their success, but a reminder on how their time together was limited. How, soon enough, their team would break as each student will go on their own path, the matter of their bond being only a question of time and situations in which they must decide wether they want to hold on to the memories they had or leave all these years behind them and pretend like it's a far memory and nothing more. Guy pursed his lips lightly and let out a quiet sigh. He had never married and nor had he children of his own. Yet, the team that he had cared for for the past few years had felt more like a family to him than he had ever felt since his own father had passed away. The thought of his children parting ways and pretending as if they're strangers broke his heart. For all he could hope, their life would be full of success as shinobi and that any loneliness that they might feel would be filled by the team they were once in.