Minako and Yuuki had dragged their boyfriends out of their homes to hang out once again. Shortly after arriving, Minako and Yuuki snuck off to train alone - they had no idea if the boys would hang out and talk or leave back home, but honestly they didn't care.
"They were easier to escape than I expected." Minako laughed.
Yuuki smiled and nodded. "I wonder what they will do..."
Minako nodded. "Oh well! It's time I whip you into shape Miss. Reilna!"
Yuuki blushed faintly. "Don't go too hard... I want to be able to feel my body tomorrow..."
"They're taking a long time in there." Red murmured.
Hibiki nodded in agreement. The two had both needed to use the washroom, so the guys had waiter outside while the girls took their washroom break. It hadn't been until both girls were about to leave the washroom when Yuuki had come up with the plan to sneak out the back way and disappear. It had been almost ten minutes now.
Red sighed. Yuuki...
Yuuki was training hard. She landed on her back on the dirt and gritted her teeth when she heard Red's voice. Kaito, my love! she smirked as she got to her feet to attack Minako.
This is not funny... Red sighed.
"Don't like being alone with me when you don't know what I'm thinking?" Hibiki smirked.
Red narrowed his eyes at Hibiki before sighing and leaning back against the wall. "Alright, Hibiki, you got me. I do not like the fact that - despite it being my family jutsu - I can't read you, but you managed to take it from me and you can read me. You annoy me a lot..." He paused and ran his hand through his hair. "But for Yuuki's sake, I'm willing to put my differences aside." He stuck his hand out towards Hibiki.
Hibiki stood there for a few seconds and sighed himself before taking Red's hand in mutual agreement of putting both Yuuki and Minako's interests first. "I will try not to read you as much."
Red stared at Hibiki with a blank expression.
"Alright, alright!" Hibiki chuckled. " I just won't."
Red nodded. "Better. Now, let's see if we can scare them."
Hibiki smirked. "Sounds good."
We thought we'd give you boys some alone time. Yuuki stated before being thrown into a tree. "Gah!"
Minako laughed. "Yuuki! Do you ever train?"
Yuuki winced as she stumbled to her feet. "K-Kinda..."
Minako shook her head. "Apparently not enough. You've barely landed a hit on me!" She smirked.
Yuuki quickly pulled her hands together and formed several hand seals before water appeared below Minako's feet, slowly climbing up her body. Minako gasped and quickly tried to escape. She formed her own wind style jutsu's, but it had no effect.
"Now who wins?" Yuuki giggled.
Minako winced as she tried to hold her breath as the water consumed her. When Minako made no sign of giving in, Yuuki released the jutsu, letting Minako fall to the ground.
"M-Minako?" Yuuki stuttered nervously.
"T-Trying to drown me?" Minako laughed weakly. "I'm already afraid of water as it is..." she murmured. She moved to sit up when her nose caught Hibiki and Red's scents. She smirked to Yuuki who was smirking back in return, had already sensed their chakras.
The girls shared a look that they both understood. Minako stepped closer to Yuuki and nodded. Yuuki surpressed her giggle as she held her hand out. Minako laughed, unable to hold back. Despite Minako being shorter than Yuuki, Minako still pulled Yuuki onto her
Back and bolted off into a run. The girls knew that no matter how hard they tried, Minako would be too fast to catch.
"Think they will be mad?" Yuuki asked Minako as she held on tightly.
Minako shrugged. "They probably are from the first time we ran off." She smirked.
Yuuki!
Red called out to Yuuki, beginning to feel frustrated. The two guys already had known that it would be very unlikely that they would be able to scare the two females. Hibiki sighed and shook his head, stopping in mid stride to turn back to look at Red.
"Are you wanting to persue them?" Red asked, shrugging.
Hibiki didn't respond. He knew Minako was fast, and it would take a lot of energy to out due her. He finally shrugged. "We'll try one more time just to reach them, I guess." Hibiki murmured.
Red nodded and they both begun to move forward. Yuuki and Minako's minds were racing through where they were heading, giving the two men an easy route to where they were.
Yuuki tugged on Minako's shoulder to get her to stop running. "Stop here..." Yuuki smirked.
Minako looked at Yuuki with a raised eyebrow, but stopped to let Yuuki down. "Why? We're not gonna run anymore?"
Yuuki shook her head. "Red and Hibiki are only going to try once more, then they are gonna give up." Yuuki smirked. "Our thoughts cannot be hidden, and I dont want them to just go away..."
Minako crossed her arms over her chest as she looked up at Yuuki. "What are you thinking, Reilna?"
Yuuki smirked. "To play with their heads of course."
"B-But... they can hear our thoughts?" Minako murmured, confused.
Yuuki nodded. "But I can change our appearances."
"Whaa? But our thoughts...?"
Yuuki nodded. "Our thoughts will still be our own, which is where they will grow confused."
"They will see right through it if we're thinking it..."
Yuuki laughed. "I've talked to Red's father alone. I figured out how to make temporairy barriers in the mind!"
Minako smirked. "Epic!"
Yuuki nodded and pulled her hands together in a hand seal. Water wrapped around the two and changed their ourside appearances, so Minako looked like Yuuki and vice versa. Minako looked to Yuuki and blinked in surprise. "D-Do I really look like that?"
Yuuki raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Can't imagine how annoying it is being so short..."
Minako laughed. "I don't mind..."
Yuuki shrugged and formed another seal. "There are barriers in our minds that block that we ever had this conversation. It only lasts about fifteen minutes though." She laughed nervously. "Do not let Red touch you though!"
Minako smirked. "Don't let Hibiki touch you..."
Yuuki nodded. "Just keep your distance."
Minako chuckled. "They're close..."
"You two together accumulate more energy then Yuudai." Hibiki said and shook his head. "I didn't think that was possible." The two men had rounded the corner and found the two standing beside each other, smiling.
"What?" Red asked, curiously. He tried to read them, but he couldn't find anything in the immediate sense of what could be going on; indicating only one thing, barrier. Red eyed the two suspiciously, he wondered if Hibiki had caught on. He could at least feel that Hibiki seemed a bit uncomfortable, and he eyed them suspiciously as well.
The girls smiled innocently. "Yuuki" had a few cuts and looked more beaten up than Minako, only because that was how she looked prior to the jutsu.
"Did you not like our prank?" 'Minako' smirked.
'Yuuki' nodded and smirked as well. "We thought it was funny."
Red's brow rose and he stepped towards the two with a blank expression before turning to 'Yuuk'i and pulling her close. "I should take back my apology." He whispered just so that 'Yuuki' could hear. His voice held a tone of joking around.
'Yuuki's' eyes widened as she shoved Red back, turning to look at 'Minako' nervously. 'Minako' sighed, she was beginning to think this prank was a bad idea.
Red looked at 'Yuuki' with confusion. "I was only joking." He murmured, raising his hands in defence.
Hibiki stood back and watched the whole situation. He couldn't help but feel that both were acting odd. Hibiki raised a brow and stepped forwards towards 'Yuuki', pushing Red lightly away to look into 'Yuuki's' eyes suspiciously.
'Yuuki's' eyes widened as she tried to force back the blush creeping up onto her cheeks. 'Minako' sighed - she knew they were done for. "H-Hibiki!" 'Minako' gasped. "Wh-What are you doing to Yuuki?" She asked, trying her best to be like Minako.
Hibiki turned and smirked at 'Minako' and turned back to 'Yuuki' leaning forwards slightly.
Red stepped forward and places his hand against Hibiki's chest, pushing him back. "Alright, Yuuki,what's your biggest fear?" Red asked, staring into 'Yuuki's' eyes.
'Yuuki's' eyes widened as she looked between Red and Hibiki, taking a quick glance at 'Minako'. 'Minako' sighed again. "You guys suck." A light glow went around the girls before they returned to themselves, the barriers lifting, and Minako now standing where Yuuki was.
Minako laughed nervously as she took a step back, the same time as Yuuki. "W-We were bored..." Minako murmured.
Yuuki let out a nervous laugh as well. "G-Guess our boyfriends know us too well, Minako..."
Minako nodded as she put on an innocent smile. "P-Please don't put me through insanity again, Hibiki..."
Yuuki chuckled nervously. "A-And don't keep yourself from me, Kaito..."
The girls continued to step back with their hands up in defence. They had hoped the prank would go better than it had, but apparently, they needed to get to know each other better first. The girls also knew their boyfriends and expected a punishment for what they had just done, however Yuuki knew that the only punishment Red could give, almost killed them both once, that and Yuuki was already beat up from training with Minako and didn't think her body could take much more.
Red turned to stare blankly at Yuuki. "Maybe it'd be easier this time." His left brow rose slightly.
Hibiki ignored the impulse to read what Red was thinking and turned to look at Minako. "I knew something was up the moment you shoved Red away. You were the same with Daichi." Hibiki chuckled.
Minako blushed brightly as she looked away from Hibiki. "S-Stop knowing me so well... Now that you have this mind-reading thing, it makes it impossible for me to do anything to you... y-yet you can do anything to me..." Minako murmured quietly with a pout.
Yuuki laughed nervously. "K-Kaito... please don't..."
Red smirked and turned to leave, leaving behind Yuuki and the other two. Hibiki sighed as he looked to Minako. "I already told you..." He murmured, his voice trailing off.
Minako frowned and wrapped her arms around Hibiki. "D-Don't look at me like that..." She murmured into his chest. "I-I don't like when you look so.. upset..." She whispered.
Yuuki smiled before stumbling after Red. "K-Kaito..." She said nervously, grabbing his arm. "P-Please don't... L-Last time we did this I almost died from not eating or drinking anything... w-we were both empty..." Don't put me through hell over a simple prank... She murmured into his thoughts.
Red smirked and glanced over his shoulder at Hibiki and Minako before returning his gaze to Yuuki. He leaned in to place his mouth near her ear before whispering, "It amuses me about how conscious you are about when you know you're in trouble; using my name as if it's a "get-free" card." He turned around and began to head back down the street him and Hibiki had come from.
Hibiki sighed and pulled away from Minako to look into her eyes. "You're too self-conscious Minako." He murmured under his breath.
Yuuki blushed and chased after Red again. "Red! Come back... please... I'm sorry!" She grabbed his arm and tried to stop him from walking, but she knew it was futile - she was always weaker than him in strength, and with her being wounded and drained from training made it worse.
Red just sighed and pulled Yuuki up onto his back in one fluid motion. "Fine, I won't completely ignore you..." He chuckled.
Minako blushed faintly. "Wh-Why... I-It's true..." She murmured.
Hibiki shook his head and sighed. "I can't do anything to you, Minako, and there is a lot of things you do do to me. Just because I can read you, doesn't mean anything. I already knew you well before I took this jutsu from Red. The only thing now is that I can remember your memories as you do, and I know what you're thinking...Sure, there was a lot of irrelevant, not as important things I didn't know about you that I do now, but that doesn't stop you from asking me whatever you want to know at any time. Stop thinking that you don't influence me." He said.
Minako pouted as she looked to the ground, a deep blush on her face. "I'm sorry... I guess... I just feel inadequte to you, Hibki... you..." She sighed. "You can just do so much, and are so much more civil and social then I am. I mean, sure I've improved lots since we met but... I still feel like nothing.." She shook her head. "I know I mean the world to you, Hibiki, but one day... this monster may possess me forever, and I will never be the Minako you know and love. That is what separates me from everyone else, like you, Red and Yuuki... I cannot control who I am..." She sighed deeply and lowered her head as she wrapped her arms around herself, gritting her teeth.
Hibiki frowned and reached to lift her chin. "Minako...do you remember..." He stepped towards Minako so that his body was an inch from hers. "...How you felt..." He lifted her face a little more and leaned down to kiss the side of her jaw. "...When my jutsu was over? You felt happier, and I know you may not be as happy right now, but you are generally more happy." He said slowly and kissed her jaw again. "You're not inadequte."
Minako closed her eyes as he kissed her gently. She bit her lip as she frowned. "B-But... Hibiki..." She murmured. "I.. you don't understand what it's like... when it takes over me..." She whispered, pushing back her emotions of anger, sorrow and frustration.
Hibiki shook his head. "I know I don't, but it doesn't define who you are, Minako." He whispered and placed his hand on her neck as he kissed the corner of her lips. "You are who defines you, no one and nothing else."
Tears brimmed in her eyes as she searched Hibiki's eyes. She couldn't seem to get him to understand how she was feeling, even with his ability to read her mind. "A-All... I've ever wanted since you first kissed me... and made me yours... w-was to feel whole... to feel like a human and not a creature... I still feel empty, Hibiki... I don't feel completely human yet... I-I want to end this demon that claims me..." She whispered, her voice shaky as a tear slipped from her eye. She shook her head and lowered it as she placed her hands over her eyes, her body starting to tremble. "I... I know how much you h-hate when I talk like this, Hibiki... but it's my feelings... a-and you always say for me to voice them." She whispered, a choked sob escaping her throat.
Hibiki nodded and wrapped his arms lightly around her shoulders. "You are a human, Minako. You're just burdened with so many things; memories, thoughts, words...inadequecies." Hibiki murmured. "If it makes you feel better, Minako, I want you to voice these things to me. I don't care if I can read you, I want you to tell me."
She let out another sob as she buried her face into his chest. "I... I'm still sorry..." She whispered. "Even if you don't act it, I-I know I anger you sometimes, yet you continue to put up with it and pretend that you aren't upset..." She whispered. "I-I don't care if you tell me you're upset... it will help me correct myself." She murmured quietly as she let out a shaky breath.
Hibiki shook his head and pushed Minako up against the fence to their right. He lifted her face and peered into her eyes. "Minako, I'm not going to tell you to put your feelings of just so that our relationship can remain levelled. If you are not truly happy, I don't want to play pretend. I want you to be happy. What angers me is..." His words caught in his throat and he continued to stare at Minako. Finally, he let out a breath. "What angers me is how cruel a word can be to push a young girl over the edge to create within herself an entirely new persona that takes on the form of a demon-monster. The amount of people's words that were tossed at you like you were some garbage bin, the amount of times people walked by and spat on you. How people would ignorantly ignore you and downright disrespect you all because of a stupid mistake, and you were, what? Five?"
Hibiki relaxed slightly and went to step back, but instead stepped forward and hugged her tightly, pinning her against the wall so she couldn't run or hide as she always tried to do. "If I could go back..." Hibiki whispered and leaned in to put his mouth near her ear. "I'd kill him."
Minako couldn't contain her tears as they fell rapidly from her eyes. She gritted her teeth as lowered her head as she tried to contain the sobs the best she could. "Y... You..." She shook her head, unable to get the words to form. She bit her lip as her body trembled in his hold. She wanted to cry out loudly, but she continued to try and contain the screams building in her throat. It had been three years since her and Hibiki had spoken of her father and it had been that same about of time since Hibiki had to witness her father almost beat her to death. She hated her father with a passion. It took until Minako met Hibiki for the Kazekage to believe that the abuse she had was from him and not self-inflicted as her father had always claimed. Minako knew Hibiki would kill her father without a second thought, but she had refused him of that.
Minako's knees gave out and she slumped in his hold - had he not had his arms around her and pinned up against a wall, she would have fallen to the ground. She still couldn't form words, but she knew Hibiki was reading her mind and would know what she was unable to vocalize.
Hibiki gritted his teeth and moved his arms around her waist, pulling her tightly to himself as he buried his face into her neck. "I'm sorry, Minako. I can't say I would've known if I had been there at the time. If I would have known to be able to stop it. I can't change the past, no one can, but you still have the future, and it's what you do with it. Don't allow this to overwhelm you as it has, it's weaker than you realize. You're strong, Minako. I know you are." He said and squeezed her slightly.
Minako choked on a few sobs before trying to calm herself down. "I... If you had been around to s-stop my father..." She whispered. "I would not b-be different anymore." She slowly lifted her face to search his eyes, tears streaking her face and a playful smile at her lips. "Th-That difference i-is what made you fall for me." She whispered.
"Whose to say that I wouldn't have if you were different than you are now?" He whispered and kissed her skin lightly.
She gave him a soft smile. "N-No one I suppose..." She whispered.
"Exactly." He whispered and kissed the side of her jaw. "No one." He pulled back slightly to show her his half-hearted smile. "I love you, Minako. I love you for who you are, for what you can and have done. I love you because everyday you prove to me why I should love you."
Tears slipped from her eyes again as she searched his face. Sometimes she felt like she didn't deserve Hibiki, but when he spoke to her like that, she knew there was no one else he wanted, and she also knew she'd never give herself to anyone else. "H... Hibiki..." She murmured as she wrapped her arms tightly around him. I want to try something later... She thought quietly.
