The Slow Burn of the Sands

The sun rose high in the sky, covering the Hidden Sand Village in its rays while bathing the locals in its warmth. It was a beautiful morning in Suna, as people began about their daily business. A young woman with vibrant purple hair walked among them, pausing to look at the sky above. She sighed peacefully, before continuing on her way through the village. Her thoughts were filled with two things as she stopped to pick up breakfast on her way to a meeting; the children she and Zenjou had rescued, and the young man himself. It was shocking to think that a year had passed already since they had completed that mission, one which at times looked doomed to fail. It was a weird feeling indeed as she sat under a small portion of shade to finish her breakfast. Most of the children had adapted to Suna well, and most were either training or on various missions for the village, with the one child she oversaw progressing greatly. Then there was the matter of Zenjou himself, who after that somewhat chaotic operation had become slightly distant. They had indeed gone out for sake after successfully completing their assignment, but since then, they hadn't seen much of each other.

It made her a little depressed on the inside, the thought of not seeing Zenjou for another long period of time. This in particular surprised her, as when it came to emotions, Tengai was not the most expressive person. But she had indeed been thinking about Zenjou a lot lately, whether it was during her regular Suna missions or her Nanabake ones. While she knew enough of ANBU training to kill her emotions during critical conflicts, that didn't mean that her mind wouldn't become bogged down with the thoughts of him later. She knew that he was a popular figure within Suna, the admiration on the faces of citizen and shinobi made that all too clear. Tengai shared their admiration for Zenjou, yet her feelings for him ran deeper then that. Part of her wanted to understand further what this emotion was that Tengai was feeling. It felt similar in a way to the protectiveness she felt for her twin brother, but different as well. The word that she was looking for continued to elude her conscious, annoying her slightly. It was decided by Tengai that she would need to find a way to sort out these turbulent emotions after the meeting that she had in a few minutes. Sighing, Tengai stood up before continuing to make her way to the Kazekage's office.