A few days later, the group was getting closer to the Northern Hideout. They kept a slower pace these last few days, A silent way for Sasuke to be considerate of Hibiki.

"We have to walk again? I'm exhausted." Suigetsu yawned. Stretching his arms above his head.

"Humph, close to the northern hideout now. At this rate, you'll be killed the moment we get there." Karin snapped.

"I only know it through maps but is the place really that bad?" Suigetsu yawned again.

"The northern hideout is no ordinary hideout. That place is where the worst of human experiments are conducted. And the unmanageable monsters that result are kept locked up there." Karin explained.

A pang of guilt squeezed Hibiki's heart, but she quickly pushed it away.

Karin had Hibiki on her back, she insisted that Hibiki not walk for at least one more day. Hibiki had tried to tell Karin she was fine but it didn't work. As of now, they walked blindly. Hibiki's head still hurt, and she couldn't muster the energy to have a good look at what was to come.

'No one needs to know, everything will be ok', she thought anxiously. She didn't like not knowing her way. She felt nauseous, nervous, and anxious.

The pace was slow but steady. Karin looked back on Hibiki every few minutes to make sure she was okay. Each time she peaked, Hibiki was deep in thought.

Every yawn from Suigetsu was a pin in Hibiki's heart, and every step was a reminder of her failure to keep the group moving. Two days were wasted because of Hibiki. Those two days, however, felt more like 10 years to her.

The group ventured into a canyon area, with tall walls of rocks and large boulders scattered about. They were getting close.

"Stop!" Hibiki yelled. The group stilled and Karin let Hibiki off her back, she fell onto her knees still weak, Suigetsu sat down on a nearby rock.

Hibiki closed her eyes and furrowed her brows in concentration. She had a flash vision, a short undetailed look at danger. However, she needed to know more, for the others. She watched the future unfold in a blur, like static on TV when the antenna is out.

"The Prisoners know of Orochimaru's death. They have escaped and are all over the hideout. Most of the jailers are dead." Hibiki reported, as she squeezed her left eye shut. A splitting headache coming from even that little effort.

With the others warned of the danger they were approaching and the caution they needed employed, Hibiki was on Karin's back again.

"I don't know what your goals are but you sure Juugo is the best choice?" asked Karin.

"I know him a little. We fought each other once. He had an unusual ability and was quite formidable. But I couldn't figure out what he was thinking, and I didn't really like him. I

understand he sought out Orochimaru. He's got to be crazy." Suigetsu replied.

"According to rumors, Juugo usually has that unusual impulse well under control. But when he loses it, he transforms into a ruthless killer. His personality and appearance change completely." Karin continued glaring at Suigetsu.

"In other words, he's a maniac who loves to kill people." He summed up.

"But to Orochimaru, Juugo's ability was enticing. He invented an enzyme, based on Juugo's body fluids, which induced the same condition in other Shinobi. You guys know it too, right? That's The Curse Mark. Juugo is the one and only original carrier." Karin said.

Then something crashed on the ground in their path. It looked somewhat grotesque, its skin red and had gained the features of what could be a scorpion.

Hearing the crash Hibiki slid off Karin's back and slowly moved her way backwards and to the side, hitting a boulder, she hid behind it. Being with them now, she would be extra weight.

"What is that?" Suigetsu asked.

"He's already in the Curse Mark Second State." Karin announced, tense and ready for an attack.

But Sasuke's patience was thinning, Hibiki had slowed them way down, But he still needed her. Taking his sword, he sliced the guy in one move, the man transforming back into his human state from the shock of the blow.

"The northern hideout is over there. Let's go and see Juugo." Sasuke said as he walked away.

"Huh? Hey! Wait, Sasuke!" Karin ran after him. Suigetsu approached the man and nudged him with his foot.

"Huh? Who is this guy?" He asked jealousy, he didn't get to be the one to hurt him. With a pout, he turned around to see Hibiki behind a nearby boulder.

"Hibiki, come on," he called. She stood and slowly felt her way around the boulder, once in an open space, she walked as quickly as she could. He watched her walk forward and she found his arm. Together they continued and caught up with Sasuke. Standing before the entrance, corpses of the guards filled the area. The prisoners lined up eagerly waiting for new prey to come.

"Where is Juugo?" Sasuke ordered. Hibiki closed her eyes and searched.

"Still in his cell."

"Well then, I can fight without worrying who they are." Suigetsu smiled with joy, pulling out his blade.

"Just avoid killing them," Sasuke ordered.

"You're from the Hidden Leaf all right, You should've killed that guy back there too, you know." Suigetsu frowned.

"Let's go."

Hibiki took Karin's sleeve and the two snuck around the side of the battle, going mostly unnoticed. They stood at the front entrance and paused. Hibiki heard Sasuke and Suigetsu approach.

"Suigetsu take Hibiki,"

"Babysitting again?" he complained while grabbing the end of Hibiki's sleeve.

Karin and Sasuke hurried on, with Suigetsu and Hibiki close behind them. Every so often Suigetsu swung his sword but the majority of the prisoners have either backed off or are already taken care of.

Karin obtained the keys from the Guards room and the group moved deeper into the hideout. The halls become indistinguishable from each other. They stopped at a major junction.

"Karin, which way?" Sasuke asked

"Sasuke! Why're you ordering me around, huh?!" Karin yelled.

"Can you just hurry and check? The ability you pride yourself on, right?" Suigetsu teased.

Glaring, she shot her hand up "That way!" she declared. Suigetsu led Hibiki down the hall they were directed down. Suigetsu looked down at Hibiki, she looked better than she had in days.

"The halls are empty so I'll let you walk on your own," he said, letting go and creating a small distance between them.

They haven't been alone since the time at the Inn. He had no idea how to talk to her now. He felt embarrassed, again being glad she was blind, his face was a mess of emotions. What should he say? How are things? Are you feeling better? Do you even remember what happened?

"Thank you." in the midst of Suigetsu's mental panic, she spoke.

"What?" he asked, turning his attention to her. She stopped.

"Thank you, Suigetsu," she repeated, she lifted her head to the direction his voice was coming from. She was looking at him without seeing him. His overall uneasiness faded when he watched her.

"Yeah, whatever. I was the only one there so I did what I had to do." his hands hid in his pockets. His eyes venture up to the ceiling. One good thing about Hibiki, was he didn't have to look at her while they talked, social graces about expressions didn't apply.

"I'm sure Karin or Sasuke would have done better. He was worried about you." he sighed.

He froze when a small body pressed against him. Her arms wrapped him in a hug. Awkwardly he put his arms around her. From a distance, it looked like two siblings forced to hug after a fight, a loose hesitant touching.

"Hugs are weird." Hibiki said. Suigetsu burst out laughing and the two separated as he gripped his side in pain from how hard he was laughing.

"Yeah they are." He agreed. Hibiki smiled and chuckled along with him.

Hibiki heard Suigetsu stop laughing, she was confused at his sudden silence.

"God damn it Karin!" he yelled.

"What's wrong?"

"She sent us down the wrong hall, must have dragged Sasuke with her. Why the hell didn't you say anything!" Suigetsu asked in shock and slight embarrassment.

"What? I'm Blind shit head, How the hell was I supposed to know?" she yelled back.

"You could have at least noticed they weren't making any noise!"

"What's your excuse? You have vision! You should have noticed them gone first! How long have we been walking without them?" She asked.

"Probably 30 minutes at least." Suigetsu said into his hands. He squatted down and double facepalm.

"Then let's turn around and go find them," Hibiki grumbled. As the two walked down the hall they continued to argue about whose fault it was that neither noticed they were alone.

"You should have noticed something first." Hibiki yelled.

"You're the one with magic sight! Why didn't you know this was going to happen?" Suigetsu yelled back.

"It's not magic dumbass!" She snapped

"Why didn't you foresee them leaving?" he asked sarcastically, correcting himself. Hibiki punched his arm, surprised she actually hit it. She could hear that he was next to her, and close, but didn't know how close. Suigetsu rubbed his sore arm. She may be blind but she was not weak.

"My vision isn't magic, it's complicated and requires focus. Plus I don't use it for every little thing!" She yelled. They continued in silence. Much to Suigetsu's anguish, he had noticed His solitude with Hibiki but didn't connect the dots. He was never going to admit it though. They walked on back to where Suigetsu guessed they had split up, but the damn halls were too similar.

"Which way do we need to go?" He finally asked. They stood in the center of the junction. Hibiki crossed her arms and made her best angry face. Seeing her pouting made Suigetsu think of a grumpy hamster. Repressing a smile, and failing he gave in.

"Fine It was my fault, now will you look please?" He asked. Hibiki's face lights up.

"Fine," she said. Hibiki took a deep breath, closed her eyes. Her brow Furrowed in concentration. It was only a few moments before she snapped her eyes open.

"Suigetsu, we need to hurry!" she said in a panic.

Hearing the urgency he scooped Hibiki up and ran in the direction Hibiki told him. As they got closer, they could hear a fight, crumbling cement and the ground shaking. Suigetsu found Karin Quickly, her red hair a dead giveaway that could be spotted from space. He dumped Hibiki onto her feet.

He then turned to Karin, "You're a mean bitch. You tricked me didn't you?" Suigetsu accused.

"You got lost on your own!" Karin objected.

"Following your directions!" He argued.

"How would I benefit from tricking you anyway?" Karin opposed.

"So you can be alone with Sasuke." Suigetsu teased with a knowing smirk.

"You were alone with Hibiki!" Karin teased back while blushing.

"Th-that's different, You ran off with Sasuke!" Suigetsu blushed.

"A-As if I'd want such a thing! Umm, I mean Well, whatever." Karin turned, ending the argument. Suigetsu too dropped the subject, He peaked at Hibiki who was not with them, she had her eyes closed and her brow furrowed in concentration.

"Wh-whatever. What's going on here?" Suigetsu asked.

"Juugo went wild," Karin answered.

Hibiki stood in a void, watching the river move, She took the opportunity to reassure herself of her path. She reaffirmed the course of events. Opening her eyes, Hibiki felt a little disoriented. Karin had her by the arm, ready to move if danger came.

"Suigetsu?" Hibiki called out.

"He's helping Sasuke," said Karin.

"Are we by Juugo's cell?"

"Yes. Do we need to move?" Karin asked.

"Yes, let the boys have their fun, they should circle back around and eventually make it outside." Hibiki sighed. Karin shrugged and left the boys alone.

Outside it was still warm. The sun is growing close to setting. Karin watched Hibiki cartwheel and walk while in a handstand… Hibiki always liked doing this, but the opportunity rarely came. Karin stopped Hibiki when she heard the three moving toward the exit. Hibiki's clothes are a little dirty from her own fun.

Sasuke emerged into the sun and did not stop, he walked on. The four followed him. He brought them to a place where all four could sit down at. Much to Suigetsu's joy.

"Now I have all the members I had in mind. So I will tell you my goal. My goal is to kill Itachi Uchiha of the Akatsuki." Sasuke declared in a calm voice.

"Thought so." Suigetsu said while Karin took on a face of worry.

"And I want to borrow your strength for that. Naturally, I won't force you. Karin, You said you had business to take care of." Sasuke asked. "What will you do?"

"W-Well On second thought, it's not that urgent" Karin stuttered.

"Karin Be honest with yourself. Isn't being with Sasuke all you really want?" Suigetsu teased.

"Th-That's not true! Whoever said such a thing? That's! I!" she began to panic.

"See, I hit it right on the mark. That's why you're speechless. So obvious. I know all about it. Long ago you had a crush on Sasuke." Suigetsu smiled meanly. Suigetsu's head was promptly hit by Karin, Turning into Water before impact.

"Suigetsu, don't get Karin so worked up I thought I told you to be cooperative," Sasuke ordered. Feeling like a father with misbehaved brats.

"All right Sorry, Karin. But as much as you hate it I'm sticking to Sasuke like glue. With Kisame Senpai a member of the Akatsuki, I'm sure to run into him if I Follow. Once I find him I'll take possession of one of the Seven Hidden Mist Blades, The Great Shark Fin sword." Suigetsu smiled.

"So you're just sword collecting? How lame." Karin sneered. He and Karin began a staring contest of hatred.

"Juugo, what about you?" Hibiki asked.

"Kimimaro used to say that you were his reincarnation, Sasuke and he bet his life to protect you. So I want to see with my own eyes just how great of a Ninja you are." Jugo announced.

"From this point on, we move together. And henceforth, we will call ourselves Hebi." Sasuke officially announced, proud of finally moving closer to his goal.

Update: 3/7/2023