R.F: By the way, just so you know, this story takes place from and during Kaori's time at the Katabami Gold Mines.


Chapter 20: The Story of Hikari and Kiba...

Kaori sat in a chair near the hospital window dressed in her usual attire. Only a day had passed since her mission at the Katabami Gold Mines so Tsunade gave her a break. Kaori's thoughts were still going though the events that had happened to her when a cough interrupted her thoughts.

"Kaori? Kaori?" called a voice that snapped Kaori back to real time. The girl turned to face her sister, Hikari, who sat in one of the hospital beds with a bandaged foot.

"Nani, Hikari-oneesama?"

Hikari frowned in annoyance and folded her arms. "Moh, Kaori! You haven't been listening to a single word I've said haven't you?"

"Gomene..."

Hikari sighed and shook her head. "Don't mention it. After what happened on your last mission I don't blame you for spacing out. I'll start from the beginning," offered Hikari as she began her story.


A Few Days Ago...


"Hora! Ri-kun! Hurry up will ya'?" yelled Kiba over his shoulder to the red head who ran behind him.

"Arf!" barked Akamaru, poking his head from Kiba's jacket.

"U-ru-sa-i!" retorted Hikari and Akane, who popped her head out from under Hikari's hair, stressing each syllable.

Up ahead was the gates of Konoha where Shino stood leaning against one of the doors waiting patiently.

"Yo! Shino!" greeted Kiba cheerfully.

"You two are late. You should never be late. Why? Because it's rude," replied Shino, obviously sulking.

"Gomen, gomen..." replied Kiba while Hikari folded her arms and rolled her eyes.

'Tch, men...' "Let's go already, the sooner we get this mission done, the sooner I can stop hanging around you guys..." said Hikari in distaste as she walked ahead of the guys who quickly went after her.

Unknown to them, a chair from Tsunade's office came flying down seconds later and crashing through the roof of the guard stand landing right smack on Izumo's head.


"Hora, Ri-kun. Shino's the leader for this mission, as least show some respect," chided Kiba as he jogged behind the girl while Shino walked behind the two.

Hikari scoffed before folding her arms again. "My respect is earned, not given. Besides, no way am I letting myself being ordered by a guy! And who're ya' callin' 'Ri-kun'? I'm a girl!"

"It's because of your damn attitude! You're too boyish to even be referred to as a girl!" snapped Kiba in irritation.

Hikari's hair flared out in anger like an angry cat at Kiba's retort. "Say that again! I dare you!" snarled Hikari whipping around to face Kiba who began snarling back.

The two glared at each other so fiercely that Akamaru and Akane quickly ran to Shino and cowered in his arms. A snarling cat and dog could be seen in Hikari's and Kiba's backgrounds just ready to start fighting. They both would've gone at it too if it weren't for Shino interfering by pulling them apart with his insects.

"That's enough you two. Hikari-san, even if you are a new member, you are under my charge as Tsunade-sama has ordered. If you really want this mission to be done with quickly then I suggest you will save your arguing for later."

Hikari struggled violently but was restrained tightly by Shino's bugs though he had already released Kiba earlier. Akane jumped from Shino's shoulder and was on the ground looking up at her mistress worriedly.

"Onegai, Hikari-sama! If not for Shino-dono, at least do it for Tsunade-sama!" pleaded the kitten with huge eyes.

Hikari's eye twitched at Akane's cuteness. 'Damn it...I hate when she does that...' "Ugh! Fine!" sighed Hikari as Shino finally released her.

The girl glared at Shino as she tossed her hair and stomped off but not before purposely stomping on Shino's foot. Kiba cringed at the sound of impact as he watched Akane quickly run after Hikari.

"Dude, she just stomped on your foot!"exclaimed Kiba turning his head back to Shino who still appeared stone faced.

"Aru?" asked Akamaru in concern.

"Yes, and it was very painful," replied Shino simply despite his obviously throbbing toes which would have probably been screaming if they had mouths.

Kiba and Akamaru looked at each other and shrugged before jogging after Hikari. Once they had their backs turned, Shino twitched violently and chewed his sleeve before taking a deep breath.

"Ow..." he managed to squeeze out before limping after the two.


It was a few hours before the group finally reached their destination, the Flower Village. But to their surprise, the place was a wrecked ghost town right down to the random tumbleweed bouncing past. House and shops were ransacked and doors were smashed while windows were shattered. Obvious signs of a bear invasion. Not a soul was in sight.

"Hello!" called Kiba as the group walked into town. "Anyone?"

"We were summoned from Konoha about your bear problem!" added Hikari looking around. "What a mess..."

All of a sudden, the group heard a sound causing them to look in that direction. There, up the road was a large black bull pawing its hoof against the ground. It's eyes were blazing red as it snorted loudly, causing dust to fly.

The bull was huge and it's horns were especially long and sharp. It's black coat was dusty and covered with large visible scars, remnants of a vicious fight.

The boys quickly tensed up when they saw the bull..

"Nobody move a muscle..." whispered Kiba cautiously.

Hikari smiled confidently as she made eye contact with the bull. "So you wanna fight? BRING IT ON COW!" she challenged loudly.

"RI-KUN ,WHY THE HELL ARE YOU PICKING A FIGHT WITH IT ?" exclaimed Kiba when the bull suddenly lowered it's head and came charging full tilt at the group.

"Beast Transformation Jutsu!" exclaimed Akane as she quickly transformed into her panther form and carried away the two boys while Hikari just stood there.

"Akane! What about Hikari?" yelled Kiba as Akane brought the boys onto the roof of a nearby building.

"Just watch," replied the panther simply, not seeming the least bit worried.

"MOOO!" bellowed the bull angrily as it got closer to Hikari when the girl suddenly stuck out her hand as her pupils became slits while she grinned.

BOOM! A huge explosion of dust appeared. Kiba, Akamaru and Shino quickly covered their faces.

"RI-KUN!" called Kiba when he stopped and looked down to see the dust clear up.

Hikari was still standing and she was looking tougher than ever as she stared down the bull who appeared to be in shock. Hikari's hand had a tight grip on the bull's nose, stopping the bull in it's tracks.

Kiba and Akamaru's mouths fell open while Shino raised his eyebrows. "As I thought...she is strong..." Shino muttered.


With Hikari and the bull...


With a single twist of her hand, Hikari forced the bull to the ground and stared at it in the eye. The bull snorted and bellowed angrily at Hikari and tried to struggle a little but not too much due the grip on it's snout.

"Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you..." said Hikari in a soft but firm voice.

The bull snorted again but less fiercely until Hikari started started to stroke it's head gently. "There, there...just relax Big Guy...That's a sweetie..." she cooed.

Finally the bull looked at Hikari in the eye and finally decided to relax with a final snort. Slowly, Hikari released her grip on the bull and allowed it to stand up as she petted it on the nose. She then turned towards the others and stuck a thumb in the air. Akane looked down and nodded.

"We're good," informed Akane as the group jumped down. Hikari then stepped back to let Akane take the lead with the bull.


After witnessing Akane converse a bit with the bull, the cat turned to the group.

"This bull is Kuroushi, he serves the village leader," introduced Akane. "According to him, due to the frequent bear attacks, the village leader had everyone evacuated from here. The only people left are he, his son and nephew, and Kuroushi."

"Take us to him," commanded Shino furrowing his brows.

The bull nodded and grunted before turning and leading them towards the village leader's house with Akane sitting on Kuroushi's head. Kiba side-glanced a little at Hikari, a little impressed at how well she handled the bull.


A few minutes of walking soon led the group to a large house that was surrounded by a gate that was made of wooden spikes and lined with barbed wire. Near the front was a boy who looked around 14 years old. He had golden eyes, short navy blue wavy hair and a tiny star shaped mole next to his right eye.

His brow was furrowed as he concentrated intently on reinforcing the barricade with more wooden spikes.

Kuroushi snorted loudly to grab the boy's attention as Akane hopped back onto Hikari's head while Akamaru climbed onto Kiba's shoulder.

"Oh! Kuroushi! Where've ya been?" exclaimed the boy happily as he greeted the bull when he noticed the rest. "Who are you guys?"

Shino took a step forward. "We are the team sent from Konoha regarding your bear issue."

The boy raised his eyebrows as he looked at the group clearly unimpressed and shrugged.

"Ok then, come on in, my Uncle and cousin are inside," he said as he led them inside. "I'm Yoru by the way."

"Nice to meet you," replied Shino curtly as the genin walked inside.

Kiba glanced around the front at the spike barricade and whistled. "Wow, you did all that?"

"Some of it, it was my cousin's idea ever since the bears started coming in," answered Yoru glancing over a little as he led them down a hall. "They're the only thing protecting this house from the bears, aside from Kuroushi."

It wasn't long until the group found themselves in a large room where a rough looking man was sharpening a katana. His expression was stern but his build suggested that this man was a lot stronger than his age implies. His hair was gray, but the genin could see the faint traces of blond hair the man once had.

Next to him sat a young man whom the group guessed was the son, was close to 20 years old in estimate. Like his father, he was blond and well built. His sleeveless shirt revealing some well defined biceps on his arms.

"Asa-jii, Shogo-niisan, the ninjas from Konoha have arrived," informed Yoru as he sat the ninjas down and left the room.

The genin sat down and waited as the young man glanced at them, particularly at Hikari, unimpressed just like the boy before.

"You're the group sent by Konoha?" said the man incredulously."You're just kids!"

Shino and Kiba furrowed their brows while Hikari suppressed growls from within her chest as she clenched her fist tightly on her lap.

"Akarui Shogo-san, I believe?" addressed Shino being ignoring the young man's remark.

The older man finally put his sword down. "Yes, this one here is my son, Shogo, he was the one that sent in my request. I'm Akarui Asa, his father and also the village leader. I believe you have met my nephew, Yoru."

"Briefly..." muttered Hikari curtly under her breath while Kiba gave a warning cough.

"As I assume the Hokage-sama has explained, the Flower Village has been experiencing these bear invasions for a couple of weeks now," began Asa, not noticing the girl's remark.

"The thing is, these bears have been living in the neighboring mountains for a long time and have never once entered our village before until now. They seem to be enraged at something, I believe. That's why I had the villagers evacuated until this problem can be sorted out."

Hikari narrowed her eyes a little as her suspicions were perked a little. Kiba glanced over discreetly, noticing the slight change in her demeanor.

"Anyway, we just need you three to help us take out the bears so we can relocate them back to the mountains using these," explained Asa as he placed a vial of bear tranquilizer in front of them. "We would have done it ourselves, but these bears are quite fast and we need all the help we can get."

Shogo narrowed his eyes at the trio in front of him. Judging from the look on his face, it was no secret that he disapproved of the help. "Tou-chan, can I see you outside please?" he asked calmly as the two got up and went out the room just as Yoru came back with a tray.

He flinched a little as his cousin slammed the door behind him.

"Yeesh..." muttered Yoru as he brought the tea tray to the group and began serving the drinks. Milk was poured into to small saucers for Akamaru and Akane to share. "You have to excuse my cousin, he's not as open-minded as my uncle."

"Really? I haven't noticed..." replied Kiba with blunt sarcasm.

Hikari didn't say anything. She wasn't even paying attention to the boys. With her sharp hearing, Hikari could hear everything going on outside clearly.


Hikari's hearing

"Tou-chan you can't be serious! They're nothing but kids, they'll screw this up!"Hikari heard Shogo in loud whisper.

"Shogo, don't be an idiot! We can't afford to pay for better ninja! We are already spending a lot on repairs for the village just as it is! Besides, we're just tranquilizing the bears!" came Asa's retort.

(Hikari's eye twitched a little as she brushed her hair behind her ears.)

"Oh come on! Tranquilizing? Seriously? Those beasts will just come back down the mountain again! I still say we should just kill them off and be done with them once and for all!"

"Shogo-"

"And look at those kids! I bet they won't last five minutes! One minute for the girl!"

(Now at this point, a vein began to throb on Hikari's forehead at that last remark. In her head, she was beginning to think of all the various torture methods she could inflict on Shogo.)

"SHOGO! You listen here, while I'm standing, these bears are to be protected! I promised your mother-!"

"Don't you even dare bring up Kaa-chan's name!" growled the man as Hikari heard him stomp back.


The group quickly sat up straight as Shogo roughly shoved the door open.

"Alright so here's the deal," began Shogo putting his hands on his hips. "We're gonna give you kids a week to help take care of this bear issue!" he said when his eyes suddenly traveled over to Hikari. "Don't slow us down!" he said in a condescending tone.

Kiba and Shino shifted their gaze to Hikari, worried about how she would react. The girl said nothing as she bowed her head a little. Kiba gulped a little as he began playing the many possible worst-case scenarios in his head like Hikari going crazy and beating up the client or something.

That is why what happened next took the boys completely by surprise. It was a tense, heart-pumping moment as time seemed to slow down when Hikari raised her head.

'Oh god...oh god...oh god...' thought Kiba in panic when Hikari's lips parted. 'Here it comes...'

"Ok then, it's a deal~!" replied Hikari with a bright, cheerful smile on her face that practically lit up the room.

Shino's and Kiba's mouths dropped open slowly in silent shock. But in their heads they were practically screaming, 'WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?'

Shogo quirked an eyebrow at them before grunting and leaving the room while Asa gave the kids an apologetic nod.

"You three better well tonight, we shall go searching for the bears tomorrow at dawn," informed the old man before he made his leave as well.

Akane narrowed her eyes after the younger man. "Tch, what a grouch..." she muttered to Akamaru who was beside her, who yipped in agreement.

Yoru and the rest got up and straightened themselves out as the two animals jumped into the arms of their respective owners.

"Come on, I'll show you guys to your room," offered Yoru leading them up a flight of stairs.

Kiba continued glancing over at Hikari who still wore a sparkly smile on her face. However the moment, Yoru had his back turned, the sparkly facade disappear in an instant with a black expression of pure rage on Hikari's face making Kiba and Akamaru cling together in fight.

At one point Yoru turned back to face them, and much to Kiba's surprise, Hikari appeared with a sparkly expression in mere seconds.

Kiba gulped as he turned his head into the shadows. 'Out of all the women in the world...I get the demonic one for a fiancee...Oh Kami-sama, I beg of you what was the sin so great I have committed?' he lamented dramatically in his head.

Sitting on Hikari's soldier, Akane could sense Kiba's sense of dread. In her own mind, Akane was mentally sighing and praying for Kiba's mental health. 'Kiba-dono...you have much to learn about your future wife...'

"Ano...Yoru-san, was it?" spoke up Hikari still keeping her 'nice, ditzy, girl' act up. "Can you tell me if there is a lake anywhere nearby here? Or maybe a river?"

Yoru turned and looked at Hikari questioningly before thinking for a while. "Well, there is a river and waterfall just a little outside the village towards the east."

"That'll do, I'll be right back," said Hikari with a smile still plastered on her face as she walked off with Akane.

The moment Hikari was gone, Yoru let out a long whistle. "Your friend is pretty weird, if you don't mind me saying."

Shino shrugged while Kiba twitched before forcing a weak smile.

"Dude...weird barely even scratches the surface..." said Kiba bluntly.

"Aru..." whimpered Akamaru in agreement...