Chapter 13: Like Cats
The next day Suigetsu looked like a zombie. Hibiki walked with Karin today, while Juugo seemingly daydreamed as they moved on. Suigetsu couldn't even look at Hibiki without feeling a pain in his chest he couldn't quite place. The group moved for a few hours before Suigetsu felt like falling over.
"I can't go on." Suigetsu groaned. "Let's take a short break."
"As long as you drag your feet like that, we'll never get there!" Karin yelled.
"Well, pardon me. But unlike you, I have a very delicate constitution." Suigetsu said sarcastically.
"Huh? Look, just evaporate, you water ghost!" Karin yelled.
"Why don't you get lost instead? I thought you had somewhere else to go?" Suigetsu yelled back.
"We're here," Sasuke announced, shutting the two up.
In the valley below them sat an abandoned town. It was ghostly and gave an eerie feeling. Buildings decayed and grew mold from the rain and lack of care. As they entered deeper into the desolate town, Sasuke came to a stop before a seemingly random building.
"What a creepy-looking place." Suigetsu yawned. The group entered the building and walked through the dark halls.
"A hideout in an old ruin like this? It's news to me." Karin brayed.
"Orochimaru has nothing to do with this. My clan used this as a weapons store. We'll prepare for the battle here." Sasuke explained.
"The passageways look so similar, it's easy to get lost in here." Suigetsu observed.
"But what a depressing place. It stifles my breath." Karin cringed.
"Sorry if it's depressing here." a voice called from the darkness.
"It's been a long time, Denka and Hina." Sasuke turned and greeted two cats as they emerged from the shadows.
"It's young Sasuke, after all." One said
"What's your business here?" said the other.
"Weapons and medicine and various other things. We're preparing for battle." Sasuke explained.
"This is Oh, a talking raccoon dog? Hey, come over here." Suigetsu bent down and called to the animals but jumped back when they hissed and scratched at them.
"They're ninja cats, don't approach them carelessly," Sasuke warned.
"You should warn us about stuff like that from the beginning." Suigetsu complained to Sasuke.
"Did you bring us a present?" one cat asked.
"Here, a bottle of catnip." Sasuke offered.
"Thank you." one said.
"Follow me. I'll take you to Granny Cat." Said the other.
They continued through the building until they reached a bright room, cats of various ages were scattered about. The room filled with soft mewing. Sasuke walked forward and greeted an old woman as Hibiki found a wall and sat down, a few cats took interest and began to investigate. They climbed on her and sniffed. Hibiki smiled and let the cats do as they pleased, petting a few when they pushed their heads into her open hand. The others began to wonder the room as Sasuke dealt with the shopping. Growing board of the shop's wears, Suigetsu squatted and did his best to attract the attention of some of the cats. A few came close to sniff before retreating when Suigetsu reached to pet them. This continued to happen, annoying Suigetsu. He looked over at Hibiki who was surrounded. Some got into her lap and meows for attention, others climbed onto her shoulders and looked like parrots on a pirate. She smiled as she got soft noses pressed to her skin in curiosity. Suigetsu smiled at the sight. He walked over and sat closely next to her.
"How are you doing that?" Suigetsu asked as the two cats on Hibiki's lap growled at him.
"I'm not doing anything. Cats just tend to like me." She giggled. Suigetsu pouted,
"Why do animals not like me? Birds and other small animals run. So do cats apparently." he said gingerly trying to pet one. But it fled from his hand.
"Well first off, you carry a big ass blade around with you, most animals will feel at least defensive." Hibiki joked. Suigetsu rolled his eyes, though he agreed that may be a contributing factor. "Secondly you need to let them come to you, and only interact with them when their ready, you know go with the flow." She giggled.
"Hibiki I can turn into water, I'm always with the flow." Suigetsu said nudging her with his arm. After a few moments, Hibiki smiled as she came up with an idea. She reached out and after a little searching found Suigetsu's forearm. She slid her hand down to his and brought it closer to her. She put her hands beneath his, his fingers in the spaces between hers. Her hand was smaller than his, but he didn't engulf hers as Juugo's did. Suigetsu felt a little proud of this. She used their combined hands to stroke a cat who had wandered into Hibiki's lap. It purred and laid down. Together they gently stroked the cat until it began to purr loudly. Suigetsu's hand moved with Hibiki's and slowly she slipped her hand out, letting Suigetsu continue the motion with his hand.
"You're a lot like a cat Suigetsu, you can't just try and grab a cat. You have to approach it with good intentions and a gentle hand." Suigetsu leaned back and the cat looked at Suigetsu with an angry face. It meowed as it climbed into his lap. He started to pet it by himself.
"Even this one is too small." the cat girl whined.
"Sorry." Juugo apologized. Hibiki smiled and called out to Sasuke.
"I told you they wouldn't have anything that would fit him." She teased.
"Granny, don't we have something bigger for him to wear?" The girl asked.
"In that box over there!" granny responded.
"Nothing fits," she reported.
"Then just wrap that curtain around him! I don't run a clothing store!" Granny yelled back.
"Granny! What a rude thing to say, considering he paid us!"
Juugo grabbed a curtain that hung closest to him and wrapped himself in it.
"Fine," he concluded. Not two seconds later did Suigetsu burst out laughing. Juugo needing a curtain as clothing? How Big was this guy? The cats ran off leaving the loud area.
"Suigetsu!" Hibiki warned, hitting his arm. He slowly calmed his laughter.
"Hibiki, Suigetsu," Sasuke called. Hibiki reached found Suigetsu's arm, he helped her get up, and they all walked back out to the villages main entrance. The rain fell harder, and each member of the group put a hooded cloak on, ones they had acquired from the shop. Sasuke looked up at the clouded sky and considered his options, how to handle the situation. He turned a looked at Hibiki.
"Hibiki?" He asked. She smiled and closed her eyes for a moment.
"A cave, northwest until we hit the border, then due west to a small mountains base." She instructed. Karin got Hibiki on her back and the group set off in the directions Hibiki had told them.
...
The cave was tall enough so that Juugo didn't have to duck, and deep enough so a fire's smoke dissipated enough so it couldn't be seen from outside. The cave sat hidden behind rock covered entangled roots of a tree. Well hidden from common view. Some ways inside the cave it has a tunnel that curves and has a small pocket with mostly flat walls and a smoother floor. They made this a base camp where they could rest and regroup. Paying for a hotel right now may work against their search for Itachi. While they had money, spending it too much could be a mistake. Itachi was not going to be found easily, so saving the money helped prolong the period of time which they can search.
As Juugo started a fire, Karin went to a nearby village for some basic food, and Sasuke left to get wood. Hibiki took her sweatshirt off, to dry some from the rain, she found the fire and took her seat. She closed her eyes her brow furrowed. She sat still, with her legs folded under her.
The rain only got heavier for the next two days, and Hibiki had not moved. Suigetsu laid on his back and watched the shadows dance on the cave walls, Boredom set in. By noon the rain became lighter and by that night it had stopped. Suigetsu went out to stretch his legs and when he returned, Sasuke, Karin, and Juugo were all standing.
"Stay with Hibiki, we are going to do scouting for the area." Sasuke ordered as the three quickly vanished. He yelled after them in frustration but took a seat in front of Hibiki. She was not moving even a little. Her breath shallow and eased. Hibiki's nose was almost back to normal. That was good.
It has been around 21 days since they met again.
Has it only been that long? Suigetsu thought. It felt like much longer. On that note she had been traveling with Sasuke for about 26 days. Suigetsu leaned forward, He brushed her hair up, to clearly see her. Her eyes had purple bags; she hasn't been sleeping well since the night at the inn.
Suigetsu studied her face a little longer before an odd thought came to him. Slowly he leaned closer and let their foreheads touch ever so slightly. Their faces were so close, Suigetsu frowned, silently wishing Hibiki would open her eyes and see him.
What would it be like to have Hibiki look at you? He wondered.
He fell back and was laying next to her. If Suigetsu wasn't careful Karin might get the wrong impression again. He closed his eyes for a nap.
…
A tentative poke had him sitting up and awake. Next to him Hibiki smiled.
"Did you just poke me?" he asked.
"You poke me, so it's an even trade." she teased, Hibiki stood and stretched, wasting no time, she started eating the food Karin had left for her. Two days was a long time to go without food.
Not long after that the three others returned. Karin, seeing Hibiki was awake, hugged her and sat next to her. Sasuke sat directly across from Hibiki, the fire between them. Sensing Sasuke's intense stare, Hibiki took a breath and sat up straight. Sasuke was in no mood to beat around the bush.
"Alright Sasuke, here's the breakdown. I've told you about blind spots, right? Well, it has been hard to work because a blind spot keeps moving. He has been giving me headaches. His name is Naruto? You know this kid right?"
"Yes I did, what's the problem?"
"Well, he's looking for Itachi too. Him and some ninja from the leaf. If he would be still I'd be able to give you Itachi's location. But Itachi's moving because Naruto is. And I can't see how Itachi reacts because he reacts to Naruto." Hibiki groaned.
Sasuke looked pissed, he closed his eyes and considered his options.
"But I did get you a lead." Hibiki smiled, Sasuke looked at her. "It's the best choice you have for info on Itachi right now. It's this big red castle, sticks out really bad. Some Gang, bossman owns it. It crawling with just the worst type of people, the boss's room is on the 16th floor back right." Hibiki paused, she held her head high and spoke clearly and as seriously as she could.
"Sasuke this is serious, those men won't hesitate to kill you by any means necessary, as well as I can see it should be an in and out job. Get to the boss, get info and leave. Naruto is in our area Sasuke, and the situation can change instantly."
Sasuke nodded and stood up.
"Tomorrow night I'll get the information. Until then I'm going to sleep. Hibiki can you give me blueprints or a guard layout?"
"A sketchy one yes, it won't be my best," she warned him. He nodded and went to the far side of the cave, where he laid and slept. With Karins help, Hibiki described the basic layout of guard roots and a very simple blueprint of the castle top few floors.
After this Karin went to rest as well, and left around the fire was Hibiki, Juugo and Suigetsu. It was silent for a while before Juugo called Hibiki's attention.
"Hibiki, how accurate is your vision?" Juugo asks. Hibiki pulled her knees to her chest.
"It's hard to describe in detail, but I guess you can say there are events most likely and, least likely to happen. All choices for a situation are possible, but people are predictable, and more often than not, they choose a predictable path. Sometimes people make a choice that is not a predictable path, and depending on the event, can change the course of reality. One choice has the ability to drastically alter the course of the future. I only focus on the most likely paths, but sometimes unlikely events happen, and it throws me off completely. It's hard to know one future, then suddenly have everything changed. It doesn't happen often but when it does, it's uncomfortable. I have to spend time familiarizing myself with the new reality, and that's always a pain in the ass."
Juugo nodded in understanding. The air felt thick and it made Suigetsu uncomfortable.
"This Naruto kid must be really annoying then, changing everything all the time." Suigetsu teased. Hibiki forced a smile then excused herself, she went and slept near Karin.
...
In the morning Karin, Juugo and Sasuke left, leaving Suigetsu babysitting again. It's been his job for a while, and Suigetsu wanted to leave and get his hands dirty. He wanted to interrogate people too. As he pouted Hibiki found her way to him and tapped his shoulder. He turned to look at her, she seemed a little uncomfortable.
"Suigetsu I know this may be a lot to ask, and I know you hate being stuck with me all the time, But could you do me a favor?" she shyly asked.
Hibiki being shy was a little weird for Suigetsu.
"What?" He asked.
"Could you bring me to a river, I'm sure there is one nearby, but I might get lost on the way back." Somehow Suigetsu ended up agreeing, she held his arm as he brought her to the closest river. It was a small waterfall. Suigetsu brought her to the water, and then left to hide behind a tree.
Hibiki felt gross, sweaty, and grimy. She really needed to rinse off at least. She was grateful that Suigetsu agreed to bring her here. The waterfall was loud and the river was ice cold. Hibiki stripped to her underwear and slid into the river. She was waist deep, and she felt so much better already.
Suigetsu stood stiffly behind a nearby tree. His face burned and his heart raced a little.
You've seen her naked before, what the hell is the problem?
That was different, she needed help and I helped her.
How is this different?
She wasn't herself then… this situation feels different.
Ya, it is different, and you'd better calm down before shit gets real.
Fuck.
Suigetsu's internal battle with himself at least kept him distracted enough to not focus on what was just behind him.
Hibiki got out of the river and used her sweatshirt as a makeshift towel. She put her pants and t-shirt back on. Carrying her sweatshirt she listened for Suigetsu, He was mumbling to himself. Hibiki followed the noise and gently touched his shoulder.
"Fuck!" He yelled turning to see Hibiki was done.
"Did I scare you?" Hibiki giggled.
"Yeah you did, you could have said something instead of just grabbing my shoulder!" Suigetsu complained. Hibiki's giggles turned into laughter. SHE had scared Suigetsu. With his other thoughts shaken from his head, he led Hibiki back to the cave.
Inside Suigetsu noticed Hibiki's hair was tied into a bun, exposing her neck and collarbone. Suigetsu turned his head and looked away before he could think about anything. After a quiet meal of leftovers, Suigetsu felt worse. His thoughts traveled from Hibiki's body, to the other night with her and Juugo. He felt angrier, and irritated than he had before. His two thoughts battled but what happened with Juugo won. She never tells him anything, He deserved at least a little trust by, now right? Did she trust Juugo, Or Sasuke more? Then he snapped.
"Hibiki, I saw you and Juugo the other night." he said as calmly as possible. Hibiki was startled by the sudden change in atmosphere, she could feel anger rolling off of Suigetsu.
"What were you guys doing?" He demanded.
"That's none of your business," Hibiki said plainly, growing angry too.
He clenched his fists and could feel emotions that had been building over the last few days, (or was it years?). Hibiki could feel his anger, frustration, irritation, loneliness?
"Don't pout," she said. Trying to move away from the situation.
"What the hell Hibiki? I saw you holding Juugo's hand and your faces got really close," he reached and grabbed Hibiki's arm. Keeping her from moving away from him.
"Your hiding a shit ton of stuff and I'm sick of it. You won't tell me about the inn, you won't tell me about your weird behavior with Juugo, and you and Sasuke always seem to have an oddly close relationship. Did you tell Him about the inn, did you tell Karin? Am I the only one who doesn't get to know? I helped you and you tell everyone but me? What the fuck Hibiki!" he yelled.
Suigetsu watched Hibiki's face, her always even, controlled face. Her often fake smile fell and her cheeks slowly pinkened then turned red. As pissed as he was, Suigetsu couldn't help but adore the unfamiliar look of real, embarrassment on Hibiki's face, the discomposure. He let go of her arm, after a moment Hibiki covered her face with her hands and sat for a few moments. When she looked at Suigetsu again, she was composed again. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. She reached forward and tugged Suigetsu closer, together they sat their knees touching.
"I can't tell you about Juugo, it was a personal matter between us. We shared a friend and we just spoke of him together. I showed him something, and that's it,"
"You showed him?" Suigetsu said, confused.
Hibiki found his face with her hands, holding it. Hibiki leans forward and brings Suigetsu closer. She closed her eyes and gently connected their foreheads.
(Suigetsu is suddenly in a room, on the wall the seven swords of the mist were displayed. The room was big and had tools for caring for the swords. He feels prideful of his collection.)
Hibiki disconnected their foreheads. Suigetsu felt a little dizzy from the transition from the room back inside the cave.
"I can share images of the future with others, but only events that involve them. I showed you a possible future," she explained. Hibiki's face was solemn and empty looking. Suigetsu looked into her eyes and was surprised to see her staring unknowingly back. His anger subsided, and a new feeling rose from within. It felt weird.
Suigetsu heard Karin at the entrance of the cave, for once grateful for her loud annoying voice. Suigetsu pulled away fast, he gave them some distance and landed on his back in a nonchalant way. Hibiki turned to the fire, her thoughts wild. The afternoon was slow, Suigetsu polished his blade, Karin watched Sasuke, Juugo was outside with the birds, and Sasuke looked over the plans Hibiki had given him. Hibiki was searching the future again, to ensure everything was in its place. As the sun set, Sasuke stood and left quietly. Juugo came inside and helped Karin with dinner. The four ate quietly, then Karin took a walk while Juugo cleaned the cookware. By night Karin and Juugo were asleep.
Suigetsu sat against a smoother wall of the cave and rested. He wasn't all that tired but he was bored as fuck.
Hibiki took a deep breath, "Suigetsu?" she called in a hushed voice. Suigetsu opened his eyes and saw Hibiki over by the fire. The fire burned low, the shadows overtook the light, and people became barely visible.
"Yeah?" he called back. Hibiki heard him and crawled over to the sound. Once she found him she sat next to him.
"Remember when we first met? You were in a tank and I was finding my way through the hideout." Hibiki quietly asked.
"Yeah, I remember," Suigetsu said.
"We spent what? Three months together?" Hibiki guessed.
"I have no idea, I had no real concept of time then," he said.
"I asked you a lot of questions," Hibiki said.
"Yeah you did, I felt like I was being profiled or something." he chuckled.
"I remember what you told me. I know your birthday is February 18th. You hate cuttlefish. Your brother, Mangetsu, you looked up to him when you were a kid, and when he died you were sad."
"I never said that!"
"I know but, you were."
"Whatever."
"Like a cat, you can be indifferent, mean, hostile, and you love the hunt. You act like you don't care, but I know that you do. You're not good at saying how you feel. You push emotions away until they are too much. You were taught this to survive, to live in the shinobi world were caring, trusting can be deadly. You like animals because they are simple, and never have ulterior motives like humans." Hibiki said.
"Where the hell are you getting this from?" Suigetsu asked surprised by her accuracy.
Hibiki Laughs softly.
"Suigetsu I'm blind, I have to use my other senses to live. You didn't have to say anything, I figured it out by your voice, and the words you chose."
"Yeah alright, what's your point?" he asked.
Slowly Hibiki leans over and rests her head on his shoulder. Sitting close enough that she could whisper and still be heard clearly.
"I know a lot about you, but you know little about me. That's one of the reasons you were angry right."
"No…." Suigetsu blushed.
Hibiki became silent, she breathed slowly and clearly, Suigetsu thought she had fallen asleep when she spoke again, in a soft hushed voice, like she was sharing a secret.
"After my mother died, I was scared. I rarely traveled outside our fenced yard, and when I did, I was always with my mother and it was to a small village a few miles away. That day, I fumbled my way through the forest. I did my best to follow a worn path my mother used. It took so long…."
"When I got to the village, I smelt smoke and burned flesh. I called for help, but no one answered. I tripped and I found a body. It was bloody and hard, and there were bugs all over it. The village had been destroyed and ransacked. My world was so small, I never thought about what was outside it. I never needed to. I was happy in my little world, but that world was shattered. I hadn't learned how to use my vision properly yet. I had prolific dreams, but they were bright and hard to understand. I stayed in the burnt village for a few days. The smell of rotting burnt corpses still haunts me sometimes."
"I spent these days, doing my best to look, to see where I could go, if I could live. I had to leave, I was hungry and tired. I followed a road; I could feel the difference between the grass and the road with my feet. I used this to keep me on it. The road had to lead somewhere. It rained and I drank rainwater, and over the next few days, I drank from the puddles on the road. I had been alone for a week on that road. And I was exhausted, hungry, lonely, scared… I had my first real vision then. It was bright but I could see a snake-like man, they called him Orochimaru, I saw him in disguise on the road, when I was back in the real world, I felt a direction. I felt a pull forward. I followed it. I came to a road junction and ran left, and soon I had fallen over from an impact. It was Orochimaru."
"I was brought back to a hideout. He poked and prodded at me with needles, he did test after test. I heard he was going to cut me open…. Before he could I screamed my surname. My mother had always told me to never reveal my family. But she was dead, and I was alone. Orochimaru recognized it and set me up. I told him I was from that clan and I could see the future. He demanded that I prove it. I told him I needed rest and food first."
"He fed me, and I was given a bed to sleep in. It was hard to fall asleep; I could hear people screaming all night. In the morning he sat me in a chair in a room, he wanted me to prove my heritage. I closed my eyes and focused. Before I would get sick from trying to use my abilities, Mother told me that I didn't need my powers. She was wrong."
"I pushed past a splitting headache, the throbbing in my ears, the blood that poured from my nose. And I broke through. For the first time, I could see everything. It was overwhelming. I was in there for what had to be weeks, months, I had followed people's lives, seeing the way others do. I would stay in there forever, but they didn't see me. I was a ghost. And the gripping solitude is what motivated me to come back. I found what I needed for Orochimaru and opened my eyes."
"It was devastating to be blind again, I had forgotten the darkness. It was like I hadn't been blind my whole life. I forgot how to move, how to do anything. What I swear was months turned out to be a minute maybe? In the real world. I gave Orochimaru what he wanted, and after a day or so later, he came back, very happy."
"My prison clothes were replaced with a dress, I was given a room for myself, I had a bathroom to myself. I could bathe again. I don't know how long I was a test subject, so I couldn't tell you how long ago my mother died. I couldn't remember her face well."
"The more Orochimaru used me the better I became. I stopped getting nose bleeds and the ringing left my ears. I found a method to use my vision more efficiently. But every time I returned to the real world; I was shocked by my blindness. I forget how to exist. I can see, then, its ripped from me. I found a way to see in front of me with my vision, but it made me so sick. Waking up to the real world after seeing the world of color and light, to nothing but sounds and smells."
"It's better now. I don't come back surprised as often. I come back knowing my blindness, but it still is hard to live with. But still sometimes I come back to the real world, and I have to relive the devastation." Hibiki then closed her eyes, her head on Suigetsu's shoulder, and she fell asleep. During her story, she had come closer and now she was wrapped in Suigetsu's arms. He felt like Hibiki had become a different person. She wasn't just the blind girl; she was a girl who found herself blind. No wonder she is so dependent on others, why she obeyed Orochimaru, why she clings to Sasuke. Suigetsu looked at Hibiki as she slept.
I don't know her birthday or her least favorite food. I knew little about her mother, or about her time before Orochimaru.
I do know Hibiki is strong. Far stronger than me or Sasuke or Karin. She never allows her real emotions to show, but when she does its sobs from deep in her being. Hibiki was distant and hesitant. She approached others with great caution, and she never let her guard down.
Even now she was still tense, she slept, but she kept herself braced for anything. Suigetsu rested his head on the cave wall. And he closed his eyes and fell asleep. His arms bring Hibiki a little closer, a little more defended.
She's just like a cat.