Meet the Ninjas chapter 2

Chapter 2 -  Tightening up With Tora

Hiro sighed and tiredly got up out of his bed. He was still getting used to this "wake up every morning at 6:00 A.M." thing. He went into his bathroom, quickly changed, and walked out the door. He noticed that nobody but the town's people and some animals in the village were in sight. 'Probably off training again,' Hiro thought to himself. He wasn't surprised that the ninjas trained for what felt like 24/7- he was just somewhat annoyed. He wondered if all the ninjas would do is train, until something big came on, or if the Master sent them on a mission or something. Then again, he had only been at Ninja Mountain for three day, and he hadn't known exactly what to expect.

A quick, silent rustle in the grass snapped Hiro out of his thoughts. He looked around frantically, waiting for something to jump out right at him. Just when he least expected it, Tora popped out of the tall grass, right next to him. Even under his mask, Hiro could see the wide and joyous smile that Tora beared on his face.

"Hi, I'm Tora," he greeted in a chirpy tone, joy and excitement filling his brown eyes. Hiro silently wondered how the oldest of the ninjas could have such a squeaky voice.

"Yeah, uh.. you've told me that for, like... the fifth time, now,"Hiro replied, lowering his voice at the end of his sentence. He still had bad mental images of Tora slicing peoples' skin off, and he didn't want to become one of those people. But Tora didn't seem to care about his statement. He just seemed to be mentally counting to himself.

"Oh, sorry about that, heh heh," Tora laughed after he finished mentally counting. Hiro just smiled to himself. "So, you wanna be friends?" he asked, full of energy.

"Um, I think we're gonna HAVE to become friends one way or another, since we're gonna be in the same clan and all," Hiro pointed out. Tora just frowned and put a clawed finger to his chin.

"Good point," he finally said, pointing his finger at Hiro. Hiro finally took it that Tora was a little mentally challenged, and that obvious things didn't come to him that quickly. He began to think that maybe Tora wasn't as ferocious and crazy as Hiro thought he was. "Oh yeah, I got something to show you," Tora told him. "Follow me."  Tora got down on all fours, and started running down the hill. Hiro quickly chased after him, trying to keep up with the tiger-ninja's amazing speed. 'How could he run on his hands and feet, and still go that fast?' He thought to himself. 'Must've taken him a whole lot of practice.'

Hiro followed Tora through the village and past the Ninja Training Fields into a small, narrow tunnel. The tunnel led into a large area of bamboo and all kinds of plants that surrounded a clear blue pond. A few rabbits and foxes were jumping around in the grass, enjoying the calm and peacefulness of the scene. Although it was a large area, the place seemed to be devided into six different parts, all with different themes and items placed in them. Except for one. The only things that inhabited the area were a few wild plants that grew in the region and the occasional animal that leaped by.

"The Ninja Master showed us this place when we arrived here, and were old enough to maintain it," Tora finally spoke. "Only him and the ninjas know about this place." Hiro looked at him with curiosity.

"What's it used for?" he asked.

"Its sort of a place to relax and empty the troubles from your mind," Tora explained. "Each of us have our own little place to call our own. And that little empty space over there," he gestured to the non-inhabited spot, "that's yours." He walked over to the empty space with Hiro following closely. "I know, it looks bland now, but you'll get to customize it the way you want when you have some free time," he explained.

Hiro wandered around the area, nothing but a sigh of amazement escaping his lips. "This place is amazing," he finally managed to whisper. Tora laid back against a boulder, closing his eyes.

"Yeah, I know, its great, huh?" he replied. A sudden rustle in the grass surprised both of them. Hiro turned to the entrance of the area to see Suzume walking over to them.

"Hey guys, whatcha doing?" she asked.

"Just showing Hiro the Forest of Spirits," Tora replied. Suzume just smiled and walked closer to the two.

"Oh, well, the Ninja Master just sent me over here to tell Hiro that he wants to see him in about an hour," she informed. Hiro nodded understandingly. He guessed that it was probably just for some more training. But until then, he wanted to brush up on the information on all the people and places on Ninja Mountain, and soon found himself conversing with Tora and Suzume in the Forest of Spirits' pond. He got lots of information about all the villagers there, and even a few tips and pointers on how to talk to everybody.

After chatting with the two ninjas, Hiro found out that Tora really was very friendly, and not as ferocious and mean as he had pinned him to be. Hiro was also finding himself falling for Suzume, slowly but surely. He tried to convince himself that it wouldn't work out, that she wouldn't give a care, but his heart told him otherwise. Time flew, and Hiro had to return to the Ninja Master. As he was walking out, Hiro could tell he was being followed, but he didn't have time to turn around – Tora sprung out in front of him, the usual smile on his face. Hiro kept walking, not having time to stop and chat, but Tora kept following him.

"So, are we gonna do this again some time?" he asked, walking backwards, trying effortlessly to keep up with Hiro.

"I guess," He replied, "I wouldn't see why not." Tora jumped in delight.

"Great!" he exclaimed. "See ya later, I gotta go train." Tora ran off into the distance on all fours, waving back at Hiro as he ran. Hiro couldn't help but smile to himself, knowing that he had just made  himself a great friend, and teammate. He waved back at Tora, and continued walking down the path in front of him.