"Do as you wish, Hibiki. You think you can handle several of us on your own?" The man known at Ichirou Kahsuo said.
"I can kill all of you." Hibiki replied.
Minako weakly pulled herself to her feet as she jumped beside Hibiki. "Wh-what the hell is going on?" She asked, barely audible.
"Get back on the boat." Hibiki whispered to Minako.
Minako glared at Hibiki. "No. You'll need my help." She told him, trying to ignore the whicked pain in her head.
"They have no effect on me, Minako." Hibiki said earnestly. "They'll only cause you immense pain."
Minako sighed. "I can't think of any pain worse then seeing another person I care for die... by my own hands or anothers..."
Daichi took a step closer to Hibiki, a look of anger on his face. "You knew about this attack, and you controlled that ... that thing that just killed Uchimii? Are you actually Koro Tiniko!"
Minako grabbed her head with one of her free hands as she took a step back from Hibiki with widened eyes. "H-Hibiki?"
"I told all of you to keep your eyes shut; that beast has never been steady and if you look at it, it cannot control itself. I knew by the symtoms Minako was having that it was the Kahsuo clan because I studied along side of them when I was younger; I was forced to. Now, how does this all connect to me being Koro Tiniko? You really think the Kazekage would put the man that the mission was based on on your team? Think about it, Daichi." Hibiki shook his head and turned back to Ichirou who simply chuckled deeply.
"You better stop that, Ichirou!" Hibiki said as he pointed at Minako.
"Why? I am not your underling." The man shrugged and smirked as he strengthened the pain in Minako's head.
Minako screamed in pain as she gripped her head tighter and fell to her knees gasping.
"Ichirou!" Hibiki hissed and began to run at the man.
"This is different, you usually don't use close combat." Ichirou stated as Hibiki used Taijutsu.
"Stop it, Ichirou!" Hibiki said and he slipped underneathe Ichirou and kicked him hard in the gut, sending him backwards several feet.
"Since when did you learn Taijutsu?" Ichirou asked as he climbed to his feet and stretched his back.
"Since I was a child...my father taught me." Hibiki narrowed his eyes.
"Your father? You aren't supposed to... Nevermind."
"You're dead, Ichirou! And all the rest of you!"
Hibiki started to preform three quick hand seals before disappearing in with the fog.
"We can see through that, idiot." Ichirou said as he threw a kunai at the outline of the figure that wa coming closer. The man dropped to his knee's and the fog cleared slightly to reveal one of Ichirou's own teammates.
"I-Ichirou.." The guy coughed as he collasped onto his face.
"You've become too cocky." Hibiki whispered.
"Hibiki, what is this?" Ichirou exclaimed.
"I told you not to screw with her mind, to stop!" Hibiki lurched forward from Ichirou's back and held a kunai to the man's throat. "You are to caught up with the bosses sick tricks; you need to understand that you have your own mind and should start doing what you need to do." Hibiki pulled the sharp end of the kunai across Ichirou's throat and let him fall to the ground before quickly killing off the others.
Ichirou and Hibiki had grown up together, and he hated the fact he had to kill him but he knew the boss had changed him anyways. Hibiki sighed as he walked back to the rest of his team and washed the blood off himself with the water.
"They're defensless to me, but they could easily destroy all of you." Hibiki said and closed his eyes as he washed his face. "Do you feel better, Minako?"
Minako nodded weakly from the ground as she looked around at all the bodies.
"Do you all still think I'm Koro?" Hibiki asked as he stood up and wiped his face on his shirt sleeve.
Minako shook her head as she looked up at Hibiki.
"I do!" Daichi called from the boat; his eyes glaring at Hibiki.
"What would make you think such a thing?" Hibiki asked as his eyes slowly turned from Minako to Daichi.
Daichi shrugged. "You're too mysterious, you seem to be able to connect with the only monster we still have in the sand, and the Kazekage is too damn secretive of you!"
Minako flinched. "M-Monster?" She echoed; her voice dull and quiet.
"We should keep moving before anyone else ambushes us. The fog is thick, so we have to stick close together." Hibiki turned to face the massive wall of fog. "I know of a place we can stay, but we have to move quickly if we want to make it there before night fall."
Minako sighed deeply as she pulled herself to her feet. She still had a slight pounding in her head. "H-Hibiki..." She whispered, grabbing onto his arm to keep herself for falling.
Hibiki frowned and picked Minako up on his back. "You can rest until you feel you're okay again." Hibiki turned to the rest of the group. "You can believe that I'm Koro Tiniko all you want, but I suggest that you should follow me instead of going your own way. The Mist village is a dangerous place, and you don't want to be stuck out in the middle of the night in this fog." He looked at Daichi. "I'm sorry that you think I'm Koro, but if you want to be responsible, follow." Hibiki turned back around and began to walk into the fog.
Minako let her eyes close as she rested on Hibiki. Daichi growled as, like the others, he folllowed Hibiki's lead.
"Um, Hibiki?" Lira asked. "Is Minako okay?"
"Yeah, she just needs to rest. The Kahsuo clan is not the friendliest. Like I said, I worked along side them for a short while and studied under Ichirou's father. They're masters at manipulating the mind; controlling it, genjutsu, locking or making you forget your memories, they can instill such pain in your mind that feels one hundred times worse then a migrane.. they are not the friendliest clan."
Lira nodded nervously. "W-well, okay... I... I've just never seen her look that bad..."
"It isn't the best feeling either." Hibiki shook his head. "When I first met the clan, they werealways tempermental towards me; Ichirou and I had a big arguementative debate and when he realized he was losing he inflicted such pain into my mind that if his brother hadn't stopped him I would have been killed. Since being with them for a good amount of time I learned the tricks and figured out how to see the manipulation and counteracting them."
Lira shuddered. "Th-that's horrible..."
"It is." Hibiki agreed. "We'll have to pick up the pace; we have a ways to go yet." Hibiki picked up his pace to a light jog while he held Minako as close as he could without making her uncomfortable.
Hibiki led the group through the forest and led them to a small, eerie wooden house.
"Stay here for now." Hibiki said and let Minako to her feet before jogging up the steps and stopped infront of the door.
"Kokoro Fugime?" Hibiki called out softly as he knocked on the door. A moment passed before the door opened a crackle and an older woman looked peaked out.
She gasped and quickly shut the door to unlock the chain and then reopened the door to quickly bring Hibiki into her arms.
"Oh, my son! My beautiful son! I have not seen you in so long!" She cried.
"It has been a while." Hibiki said as he hugged her back. When she pulled back to get a good look at his fqce, Hibiki began, "I'm on a mission with some of Suna's jounin and we need a safe place to stay, do you have enough room?"
"Yes, yes! Come on in, quickly!" Kokoro said and quickly looked around the house to make sure there wasn't anyone nearby who would cause trouble.
"Quick, all of you!" Kokoro motioned to where they were hiding.
Minako stumbled into the house, followed by the others. She found the nearest chair and sat down, wincing.
"Daichi..." Lira called as she touched his shoulder. "I-I'm sorry about Uchimii..."
Daichi shrugged off the comment as she walked passed her; the two of them were best friends.
"You have lost a member?" Kokoro asked from the kitchen as she immediately began to prepare the guests some tea.
Daichi nodded. "Yeah."
"I'm sorry about that!" Kokoro said with sorrow in her voice. "The Mist village is a dangerous place, ad there are many vicious people here."
Minako nodded; she knew that from a visit she had taken there as a young girl.
Kokoro finished preparing the tea and handle each of the visitors a cup of tea. "Hibiki, how could you not introduce your friends?" Kokoro tsked.
Minako stared at the tea as it sat in front of her.
"Yes, how rude." Daichi hissed in a mocking tone.
Hibiki pointed around the room, "Minako, Daichi, Lira, Tamichi, and Aichi." He moved beside Kokoro and placed his arm around her shoulders. "This is Kokoro Fugime, everyone. I guess you can call her a mother. I spent a lot of time here."
Kokoro smiled. "He was a hyperactive kid yet very determined. If only..." Kokoro's eyes suddenly filled with sorrow and she looked at Hibiki.
"I always told you I would get revenge."
"No, Hibiki. I told you to forget about it. It's over an done with, no need in commiting suicide."
"If not for her, than for myself."
Kokoro sighed as she returned to the kitchen. Hibiki bit his lip to hold in the rising anger.
Minako watched Hibki with curiosity. ''What was that about...?''
"Just forget about it, it's something from the past that has never been left or forgotten." Hibiki said and took a sip of the tea.
Minako shrugged as she turned to look out the window.
"Something's up..." Daichi mumbled to Lira.
"If you must know, Daichi." Hibiki hissed. "A friend of mine had her throat slit simply for the fact that we were hanging out. That girl was Kokoro's daughter and I've vowed to get revenge for Kitsune's death."
Minako looked over at Hibiki as she searched him. "Huh..." She mumbled before looking back at the window.
"I mean more than that!" Daichi yelled.
"Daichi-"
"Shut up, Lira!" Daichi hissed.
"Now, now!" Kokoro said as she entered the room. "I wish for no fights tonight, please."
"I'm sorry, Kokoro." Hibiki mumbled.
Kokoro shook her head. "Now, we only have four spare rooms, so some of you will have to share if you do not mind."
Hibiki nodded. "Minako, would you mind sharing a room with Lira for the night?"
Minako nodded before standing up and walking outside. She ignored the people who called for her to return as she followed her gut. She quickly found a nearby cave that she huddled into. "I-I don't understand..." She whispered to herself.
Back at the house, some of the others were trying to find Minako.
"Dammit! I can't see anything in the fog!" Daichi growled as he squited his eyes.
"It's very dangerous." Hibiki murmured as he listened closely to all the sound around him.
"It's your fault!" Daichi hissed.
"Daichi!" Lira snapped. "Can't you just shut up? Minako could be in serious danger!"
"You can think I'm Koro Tiniko all you want, but this situation is more important than your hate for me."
"You probably just controlled her and are leading her to her death right this moment!"
"Now you're just being ridiculous." Aichi whispered as he squinted his eyes and tried his hardest to see.
"I think I know where she is." Kokoro muttered.
"I really wish you would've stayed home, Kokoro." Hibiki sighed.
Kokoro shook her head. "You know just as well as I do that I hardly ever get out anymore. Besides, what host would I be if I stayed behind as if I don't care?"
"What if-"
"Son! I may be old but I can still fight like I was twenty."
"I wasn't refering to that." Hibiki mumbled and looked away.
"I think I can sense where she is." Kokoro said and began to walk diagonally to the location she was being drawn to.
Minako looked closly around her, noticing that there were paintings on the walls. As she looked closer, she made out names like, Hibiki, Kitsune, and Akira.
"Huh... guess he cared for someone else..." Minako mumbled as she noticed some of the drawing with hearts. She leaned her head against the stone as she heard cracking of branches. Minako pulled out a kunai and held it close, ready for anything.
"She's in there..." Kokoro pointed ahead.
"In where?" Lira asked as she squinted into the fog.
"It takes a long time to get use to this kind of fog." Hibiki said as he quickly ran forward. Hibiki sighed as he saw Minako standing there, but she had a kunai in her hand ready to attack.
"It's alright!" Hibiki said calmly.
Minako dropped her hand lifelessly to her side as she stared at Hibiki. "So you liked that girl then?" She asked him, her other hand pointing toward the cave.
"Kitsune?" Hibiki asked as he realized what she was pointing at. The memories flooded back into Hibiki's mind and he rubbed his eyes.
-Flashback-
"Shhh..." Hibiki hissed as he glanced outside the cave.
Akira had came only a few minutes ago but they still felt like they were being persued.
"You guys are too paranoid, there is no one. Will you just trust me for once?"
"You don't know that!" Hibiki turned to find himself inches from Kitsune.
"How about now?" Kitsune said with a grin.
"You're so persistant." Akira shook his head.
"I'm sorry, Kitsune but you know how I feel." Hibiki said and turned back to looking outside.
"I don't want you to think of me that way! I want you to think of me as more and just kiss me!" She pouted.
"I wish I could think of you some other way, but for some reason you'll remain as you are."
"A weak child? You've seen me fight, argue and even chase boys away."
"And for some reason I can't register that."
"Please?" Kitsune pleaded as she took Hibiki's face into her hands.
"I want to, but I can't." Hibiki earnestly tried to lean forward, but for some reason his body refused.
Kitsune groaned and crawled over to the wall.
"Someday, Hibiki, you will." She said and took out one of her charcoal pencils and began to drawn on the wall.
"What if that gets found?" Akira hissed.
Kitsune stuck out her tongue as she drew the three of them with hearts between her and Hibiki. "It'll be a reminder to all of us, especially Hibiki that he will kiss me."
-Flashback end-
"It's complicated, Minako." Hibiki murmured.
Minako nodded. "Okay."
"No, you don't undertand. That was years ago, and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't return those feelings to her. We were in a relationship, but I couldn't bring myself to think of her any more than a weak child that I needed to protect." Hibiki said. "That wa a simple reminded that she was going to make me kiss her one day."
Minako just nodded again. "Okay... I don't care."
Daichi growled. "I knew you would hurt her..." He hissed under his breath.
"Minako, she is simply a past memory. There can't be anything between us, there never really was. No matter how hard I try, I could never break the mental wall I had between woman who loved me; yet for some reason I can feel something with you. I can't understand it, but you're different like I said. I don't understand it myself."
Minako smiled. "But I thought you were smart." She teased.
Daichi felt his jaw drop. 'S-she's not mad at him!'
"I know a lot of things, Minako, but until I kill..." Hibiki breathed to calm down. "Until he is dead, I cannot control as much as I would like."
Minako walked forward and wrapped her arms around Hibiki. "I don't care about your past. I trust you as I know you now, and if you need my help, just ask."
"I'm sorry if Kitsune caused you to worry, Minako, but Hibiki is a great guy to have." Kokoro winked at Minako and laughed. "Only if you knew." She laughed and turned around. "We should get back to my house, I'm starting to get a bad feeling around here."
Minako nodded as walked ahead of the others, following her memory back to Kokoro's place.
Back at the house, Hibiki showed the men to their room, allowing Daichi to have his own room while Tamichi and Aichi shared a room and Kokoro showed Lira and Minako to their room.
"I hope you both have a nice stay," Kokoro smiled gently while she provided extra warm blankets for both of them
Minako clamied the bed by the window as she pulled her knees to her chest and looked outside.
"Why do you always do that?" Lira asked Minako.
Minako turned to look at Lira. "Do what?"
"L-Look out the window all the time?"
Minako sighed deeply as she turned her gaze back. "W-when I was growing up... w-when I couldn't escape... I-I looked out the window... wishing to one day be free..."
Lira stood awkwardly while looking at Minako, almost feeling her sorrow wash over her. "M-Minako... what was your past... like?"
Minako snapped her head around to glare at Lira. "None of your damn business!"
Lira stepped back as she felt her heart pound. "S-sorry..." She mumbled.
A soft knock came at the door.
Lira walked over and opened the door.
"Are you settling alright? I know it isn't an overly big room, but is it satisfying?" Hibiki asked with his arm stretched above his head holding onto the door frame.
Lira nodded before lowering her head. "I-I think you should talk to Minako... s-she's acting ... sad... again..." She whispered to Hibiki with a look of sorrow.
Hibiki looked at Minako. "Hey, you sad?" Hibiki surpressed his chuckle but allowed himself to smirk.
Minako looked over and forced a smile. "Course not!" She lied.
"This is where my knowledge comes in." Hibiki sighed. "You mind?" He asked Lira. She shook her head and exitted the room.
"Oh, hello, Lira." Kokoro smiled as she slipped some tea.
"Hello, Kokoro." Lira forced a smile.
"Is everything alright?"
"Hibiki is just speaking with Minako."
Kokoro nodded in understanding and motioned for Lira to sit beside her.
"I can't help but allow it to bother me, but you know a lot about Hibiki... and Daichi seems to think that he is Koro Tiniko..."
"Koro...Tiniko...?" Kokoro raised her eyebrow.
AN: Heheheh :3
XxSoulNoteWritterxX