Fearless [Naruto]

Chapter Three: Memories

She could hear the cipher shinobi whispering. No doubt they assumed that her closed eyes meant that she'd fallen asleep. They felt sorry for her-- that was the main consensus. Apparently, she was to be treated like a widow or the like. It wasn't like he was dead-- far from it. Every time he moved about, she could hear it through the cool metal door she'd laid her shoulder against. It helped that she'd shifted her head to the side, ear pressed up against the surface.

The few who didn't feel sorry for her seemed to view her as obsessed. Honestly, she didn't blame them. At this point she barely recognized herself. How long had it been since she'd slept? Time kept slipping past her, the girl in such a constant state of sleep deprivation that she had trouble deciphering dream from reality. For all she knew, the cipher shinobi that had a favorable view of her were all in her mind. Perhaps she was going crazy, that happened to people who didn't sleep, right?

"You're there, aren't you?"

The quiet words almost caused her to jump out of her skin. As it was, the brunette's eyes snapped open, focusing on the shadowed wall across the hall from where she sat, curled up against the door.

"... yeah."

Silence followed her admission. She almost thought he must have left without her noticing, returned to the other side of the room where he spent the majority of his time. After a few minutes, however, she heard what sounded like a rather dramatic sigh.

"You're stupid."

Those words prompted a laugh from her.

"Perhaps."

"No," he muttered after a moment. If she'd been able to see him, she would have known the noise was Kurai settling his own back against the door. "Not stupid. Masochistic. He's not here."

"I know. I'm not expecting him to suddenly return... Kurai."

Silence descended once again. In those moments, she could practically hear how just this little conversation had sent her heart into overdrive. It was pathetic. Just because she'd seen him for a few seconds... she was stronger than this. The old her would have been able to pick herself up and go out into the world. She would have tracked Kazue down, demanded answers about whatever had sent the girl out of the village. She knew it had something to do with him. After all, why else would Kazue leave at a time like this?

"Then why are you here?"

All thoughts of leaving escaped her the second he spoke. He sounded so confused, as if the answer to this question was something he just couldn't grasp. He probably couldn't. Tenten hated to admit it, but she'd seen glimpses of this... child-like personality far too many times before his mind had finally collapsed. She knew more of him than Kurai could have possibly guessed.

"It'd be wrong to leave a child alone in this place."

Silence again. It seemed that every word she spoke took time on his end to comprehend. It was a slight victory in Tenten's opinion. To anyone else, Kurai had a witty retort within seconds of whatever they had to say to him. For her, he had to think. What was it that he'd once told her? She... was annoying? Was that what it meant to be annoying?

"You... a child?"

"Yeah."

Another period of silence ensued.

"I'm not a child," he announced. "I'm fifteen.. Sixteen, maybe. I'm not really sure what day it is anymore. My birthday might have passed by now. That's practically an adult, you know."

A smile threatened her lips. Now that sort of protest sounded like the boy she knew.

"Perhaps," she replied. "But... I've been reading--"