Chapter 16: Home

Sasuke slept as the others occupied themselves. Karin…. Watched Sasuke sleep, Suigetsu was cleaning and sharpening his sword, and Hibiki was trying to re-acquaint herself with her vision. It was slowly clearing again. As a result, from straining her vision during the fire, she was getting nose bleeds again, her ears rung lightly and her head hurt. However, it wasn't so bad that she couldn't use it.

So much has shifted, she needed to learn the flow of time Again…

This Naruto kid was becoming a problem, one Hibiki could try to take care of. She could try and kill Naruto, but that too would cause major shifting in the future. If it's not one thing it's another. She tried her best to focus in on Naruto's actions, but they simply couldn't be predicted. Hibiki slowly blinked her eyes open.

She could hear Suigetsu snoring next to her, it must have been late, or early morning. How long had she been looking? Hibiki got her shoes on and walked outside. The area felt oddly familiar, a hum in her heart that ached. Hibiki walked down the road,

There is only one way to be sure. She thought.

The road led her to the spot she thought it would go, she bent down and felt the thin path. Smiling to herself she followed it.

The sun was bright in Suigetsu's eyes, he stirred awake. Karin was sleeping near Sasuke, Juugo was by the window, he turned to find Hibiki not next to him. He scanned the room, where was she?

"She left, maybe an hour ago…" Sasuke sat up.

"Why didn't you stop her?" Suigetsu groaned.

"Hibiki is fine on her own. She doesn't always need people." Sasuke explained.

"Then why do I have to babysit her so much," Suigetsu asked.

"Just like when she saw the fire. She is capable by herself, but if something changes and she needs to tell us, she'll only get lost, and never warn us in time." Sasuke stretched. He turned over and fell asleep again.

He's no help Suigetsu thought. Suigetsu got his shoes on and left to find Hibiki. Outside the Hotel only a few people had come out of their homes. Suigetsu scanned the area,

How far did she go?

He saw a shop keeper setting up, he jogged over.

"Hey man, have you seen a short brunette walkthrough here? Probably Haphazardly?"

"Yeah, she walked down the road and followed the old trail."

"The old trail?"

"Yea it's a path that goes up to a burned cabin, we try and keep the kids away, it doesn't look stable." the man said.

Suigetsu turned and found the path. It was narrow, steep, and surrounded by foliage. He started up the path with some difficulty, overgrown trees had branches blocking some parts. He finally reached the top, walking out into a small clearing. The grass was overgrown and knee-high, the house was across the field, the cabins back faced a cliff wall, and a ghost of a fence marked off most of the clearing. The house itself was small, black, and falling apart, the roof was mostly caved in, and it looked ready to fall over. Suigetsu walked over to the house, two steps lead to a porch, or what was a porch. A lot of it was gone.

He sees Hibiki's shoes on the second step. He sighed in slight relief, at least he knew where she was. He cautiously climbed the two stairs and went into the house. The door was missing, leaving only a door frame. Inside was a small living space, what were a kitchen and a living room. The skeletons of furniture were somewhat visible. He carefully made his way through the house to a back room. Inside was small, a dresser was against the far wall, and Hibiki stood in the center of the room, her head looking to the ceiling, that let a stream of light in. She obviously felt the warmth and decided to stand in it... She looked lonely.

Suigetsu walks up to her a reaches out to tap her shoulder, "Hibiki?" he asked. Her sudden scream startled Suigetsu. She had moved away from his touch and fallen over. She was sitting on the floor.

"It's just me?" Suigetsu said. Hibiki placed her hand on her heart, it was beating so fast from the shock.

"Fuck Suigetsu, you scared the living shit out of me!" she complained. Suigetsu sat across from her, laughing,

"You have such a dirty mouth sometimes," he said reaching forward, taking Hibiki's arm and bringing her back in the light. "You look so innocent, it's weird." he laughed and Hibiki frowned and punched his arm. Hibiki's faced moved from shock and fear to being horribly sad. They sit for a long time in silence, sitting across from each other in the small beam of light. She turned her head away from Suigetsu, her face sometimes straining before relaxing again. She looked like she needed to cry.

"It's just me, the others are back at the hotel, you don't have to be so tough," he said petting her head. "It's ok to let go a little." With her face still turned away, her buried emotions began to surface. At first, only a few tears rolled down her face, but then she closed her eyes and the tears poured. She sobbed quietly. Suigetsu sat and watched her not knowing what to do. She crossed her arms and hugged herself, bending over and resting her forehead on her knees.

Slowly and somewhat hesitantly, Suigetsu guided her into his lap. Her head rested near his heart, he held her tightly and let her continue her hushed sobs. After a few minutes, she began to calm down. Slowly she regained her composure. She began to get up and Suigetsu helped her to her feet. She quietly walked back outside and sat on the porch steps. Suigetsu right behind her. She slipped her shoes on and then sat there, resting her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands. Suigetsu sat next to her. The morning was bright, the sun rising into the sky. They sit there for a few minutes, Hibiki letting the cold breeze to dry her tears.

She leaned back held her hand's palms up. She used her right hand to feel the scars on her left hand. They felt a little hard, coarse, probably didn't look good. Hibiki traced her scars with a sad but accepting look. Suigetsu reached out and took her left hand into his. He too studies it.

"Gross huh," she frowned

"It's a little weird yeah." He joked.

"I should have put my gloves on," she said.

"Nah, your hands are fine the way they are," He nudged her.

"You're talking shit, aren't you?" she glared.

"Maybe, but they're still your hands Hibiki. Can't exactly grow new ones," he said

She smiled softly.

"This is my home," she says. Suigetsu looks around him and recognizes the place she talked about in her story.

"It's nice?" he tried.

She smile widened, "I lived here with my mom. My own little world, here inside the fence. I always knew where I was inside. I never felt lost. I felt free in the yard, I could do anything. I was caged, but I loved my cage." she sighed. Suigetsu took her hand in his and intertwined their figures.

"The house was always old. It creaked when you walked through. The creaks let me know where I was. I didn't like staying inside though. I was almost always outside. I ran along the fence; I'd do cartwheels and somersaults and all kinds of gymnastics. I never wore shoes then; I liked the feeling on my feet. The grass was shorter then."

"We had a garden that I took care of. I really enjoyed growing different veggies that mom and I would eat. It made me proud to know I helped my mom. She worked so hard. She was a seamstress, she worked in the village from early morning to after dark. I couldn't see her, but I could hear the smile in her voice when she came home. Always so happy to listen to my stories of the day. During winter I went to work with my mom on some days. I was taught to sew, I'd sew small holes closed for them."

"The people of the village were so nice, always excited to see me. They called me their 'butterfly' for some reason."

"This was also when mother would teach me. About my clan. She would do it at night, all the windows shut and covered, she would only whisper to me. I didn't know why then. I do now. She instructed me on how to use my foresight, how to get to it. She would read me stories from an old book and from the stories, I understood what to do."

"I won't go into details, but when she committed suicide, she burnt the book and herself. I know why she did it, and understand her reasoning. But I feel so responsible for it. I'm not sure what happened in the village, I just found it like that. I had no one left." A sad smile rested on her face. She smiled and stood up,

"let's go back," she said. Together Hibiki and Suigetsu walked with their hands connected until they reached the inn.