Chapter 27

Kakashi and Inari were wandering around, looking for the rest of the team.

"Damn... no signal." said Kakashi "Where in the hell did they go?"

An idea popped into Inari's head "Kakashi-sama, can your equipment be interfered by rock formations?"

Kakashi nodded, "Only if the equipment is surrounded by rocks all around, so if there's a mountain in between two signals, they will bend around and not be interrupted."

"So what? Like a cave?"

"Yeah."

"Then let's find any caves on record." suggested Inari.

"That'll take too much time, if they are in a cave, they are safe. So for now we have to consider the worst case scenario and search for their signal, they might be in danger, and have a limited time."

Inari sighed, "Fine... Oh yeah, why don't you use the ninja dogs of yours?"

"We're on water, they won't find any scent in the water."

"I thought you were the pro at tracking?"

"Shut up."

Kiyoshi was going over what he was going to say to Hikari, His conversation with Naruto opened his eyes to see that he isn't prepared. Not dating for three years has its consequences.

Kiyoshi was walking by Hikari's open door, so decided to walk into the girl's room. She was laying on the bed, reading a book "Hey Hikari-chan, how would you like to take a walk with me?" asked Kiyoshi coming up to her.

She smiled and put her book down, reaching her hand up to Kiyoshi. He took her hand to pick her up, but she pulled him down onto the bed instead. "How about we talk here?" she whispered in his ear.

Kiyoshi looked around "Umm..."

"Oh my god..." gasped Hikari "You're shy!"

Kiyoshi bit his lip in response "Let's take a walk outside... Please?"

She pecked him on the forehead "Alright" replied, getting up.

Kiyoshi got up after her, and she put her hand around his waist, he went along by putting his hand over her shoulder, and they walked out. The violet-haired girl smelled like fresh jasmine flowers, and her skin felt really soft to Kiyoshi, the years of wielding weapons and fighting made his skin extra-hard. "I'm sorry for dragging you out, it's just that I wouldn't be able to concentrate if I were in constant worry that Naruto would barge in."

Hikari put on a hurt expression "Are you afraid to admit that you like me?"

"No, that's not wha..."

She cut him of with laughter "I'm just kidding, stop being so uptight." Kiyoshi fell silent, looked down and smiled. "Come on, talk to me" continued Hikari "What was it that you wanted to tell me?"

"I just wanted to talk, I guess." replied Kiyoshi "Tell me about yourself, thanks to your drugs you know almost everything about me, yet I still have to get to know you."

Hikari smiled "Where do you want me to begin?"

"First of all, your attitude. You're a sweet girl, but back on the ship you were a reckless rebel. You're not schizophrenic, are you?"

The girl giggled, "No, I'm just a good actor. In order to be the leader of that crew, I have to seem heartless. But after two years of being there, you become one of them, and truly start losing your heart."

Kiyoshi agreed on this, a captain couldn't be soft. "I see. But how did you end up a pirate anyways?"

"I was bored," replied Hikari "My family died before I was able to remember them, and my life was too meaningless."

"That's not an answer"

Hikari sighed; she was going to have to tell him the truth. "I joined up with the pirates for revenge."

Kiyoshi's eyes widened "What?"

"Long before the pirates, I lived with my older brother. We inherited a teashop from our parents, and we were able to make a living. Life was good, it seemed that everything was set up for us, to enjoy this world." Hikari was smiling; the happy times were reflected by the joyful expression. Kiyoshi frowned, knowing that the only way to not get disappointed is by expecting the worst. "Then they came, burning everything to the ground." The cheery expression was already faded away.

"Who?"

"The pirates. They came, burning, stealing, and killing for nothing but personal gain."

Kiyoshi was in shock, the girl before him was the leader of the criminals that destroyed her life. Before saying anything, he decided to hear the whole story first. "What happened to your brother?"

Hikari's eyes were now full of hate, scorching the girl's beauty. "The former captain killed him."

"Why?"

"The captain was advancing towards me, telling me about horrid things, things that he had done, things that he was going to do... things that would become of me." The hate in Hikari's eyes was now dominating all else. "My brother jumped in to stop him from hurting me, only to be pierced by a sword. He kept getting back up and cut down again, buying me time to run away."

Kiyoshi didn't know how this story could possibly lead to Hikari being the captain of several pirate ships. "And you ran away..."

"Yes. I ran, leaving my brother's screams behind me. I ran until my veins pumped rubber and my lungs inhaled razor blades... and then I ran some more. I didn't feel as if I was running away from the pirates, I was running away from my brother's misery."

Kiyoshi looked down at the ground. For the first time in his life, he felt fortunate for not having a family, he couldn't even imagine the pain that she felt. "I'm sorry about your brother."

Hikari wiped her tears off and smiled "It's all in the past now, nothing we do will change it." Hikari couldn't stand recalling her painful memories, but Kiyoshi wanted to know, the only thing she could do was tell him the rest and hope to not lose his respect. "And so I trained, I sought power and strength to avenge my brother. Every day doing nothing but training for eight years, driven by hate."

Kiyoshi smiled, revenge never ends nicely, but at least her intentions were noble to some extent. "Do you want to stop there for now?" he asked the weeping girl.

Hikari shook her head, no matter how unpleasant and misguided her actions were in the past, she had to tell him, put it all out on the table, and keep nothing hidden. "Two years ago I went out, seeking that murdering bastard and his crew, when I found him, I ripped him apart. Limb by limb, I was trying to satisfy myself with his pain. But the more I made him suffer, the more hate I felt."

"So you found your revenge."

"Yes, but with a price. No matter how much I tortured him, it didn't bring my brother back, and in the process I was losing myself as well."

Kiyoshi stopped walking and gave her a shoulder to cry on. Thinking to himself "These lessons can only be learned the hard way, or not at all."

After a few minutes, Hikari's crying had lessened, and she carried on, "After that, the crew took me in as their captain, only if I promised to never use my powers against them. I joined them, hoping to stop their criminal acts."

"Never happened, did it?"

"No, what happened was the exact opposite of what I wanted. Instead of changing them, they changed me, and I became the very evil that I sought out to destroy."

"You can't change pirates, they're like kids, all about peer pressure."

"Mutiny would be imminent."

Kiyoshi was shocked to find their relationship in the stage where they complete each other's sentences. "You're strong, two years of being on a ship with the same pirates that destroyed your life, and your heart survived." smiled Kiyoshi "I don't blame you, and you shouldn't either."

Tears of joy appeared in Hikari's eyes, she couldn't be happier from the fact that Kiyoshi accepted her. She felt light, as if every little worry and sin was lifted from her. "Thanks Kiyoshi-kun" said the violet-haired girl, giving him a hug and digging her face into his shoulder.

Kakashi's monitor had been giving off a signal for the past five minutes; he and Inari were following it to a nearby island.

"Do you think they're safe?" asked the kid

"If they are safe, they're very inconsiderate of my feelings," replied the masked ninja

"That brings me to the next question, aren't ninjas supposed to be emotionless?"

Kakashi was tired, and didn't feel like giving Inari a history lesson. "At one point, we were trained like that, but times change."

"Will you tell me about later?" asked Inari

Kakashi nodded "Yes, but for now let's focus on the task at hand."

Naruto took the opportunity of being alone to sort his mind out. He took a pencil and the notebook Kiyoshi gave him, and started writing his thoughts out in point-form notes. After a long and thorough observation of his scribbled brainstorming, he concluded "There's no more doubt about it, I have to tell Hinata about the Kyubi."

"Hey kid!" yelled the fox for Naruto's attention

"What is it fatass?" replied Naruto in a calm manner.

"Do you really thing that she'll accept you if you tell her about me?" asked the fox.

Naruto found the Kyubi's input to be strange, "why do you care? Are you afraid for my social life?" scoffed the blonde.

"Not really, I just don't want my host to go loopy on me," replied the Kyubi.

Naruto thought about everything that was just said, finding it difficult to believe that the beast inside him was concerned for his sake, "I don't think that's the reason you don't want me to tell her. If anything, telling her will strengthen the relationship. So from what I gather, it seems that my relationship with Hinata is posing as a threat to you."

The Kyubi backed off, "whoa, chill out Mr. Detective, it was just a suggestion."

"As of now, all your opinions are excluded from the matter," thought Naruto to the Kyubi, and then tuned the fox out completely.

Hikari hung off of Kiyoshi's back, chin resting on his shoulder. They were sitting on a ledge, over the sea, watching the sunset.

"Hikari, do you really think you want to go out with me?" asked Kiyoshi "After all, I have that..."

She put her index finger on his lips, "I don't care, I won't leave you."

The sun was shining its last rays on them, until the sky engulfed it completely, and the darkness crept over the red sky. "I've never felt this before. It's like I got a strong grasp on life, and it's not going to get out."

"I feel the same." replied Hikari, arms around Kiyoshi's shoulders.

That eerie feeling which Kiyoshi was already used to come to his attention, he barely noticed it anymore, but it was still there, like a gash on the roof of his mouth, it was bothering him.

Hikari noticed his discomfort "What is it?"

"I've had a strange feeling ever since I came to this country, it's as if something big is coming." explained the boy "do you feel it?"

Hikari frowned, "No, I don't."

"It's probably nothing."

"Don't concern yourself with petty things, and kiss me."

Kiyoshi dropped his head back, and his lips met Hikari's in a soft kiss.