"No! Don't!" Hikari screamed, sitting upright in bed. She gasped, breathing heavily. Kimiko slammed the door open, looking at Hikari worried.
"That's the third time this week you've shouted in your sleep before you woke up… Are you alright?" Iruka asked, standing behind Kimiko. Hikari held her side and looked down at her hand. Her scar had opened up again…
"I need to be bandaged up again… Kimi a little help this time? You do it better than I do," Hikari said. Kimiko nodded and walked in, grabbing the bandage wrap from the shelf.
"You're starting to worry me Kari… You've never done this more than twice a month… You should get dressed, the boys are going to be over soon," Kimiko told her. Hikari nodded as Kimiko re-bandaged her.
"Thanks. I'll be ready in a few minutes," Hikari said, getting up. Kimiko nodded and walked out, closing the door. Hikari sighed as she got dressed. She sat back on the bed, holding her head between her hands. She was shaking. She was upset, tired, scared, angry. The door opened and when she looked to see who it was, Shino was standing there.
"I heard you shout from outside. I see your window isn't open. You're very loud," he said, walking in and closing the door.
"Sorry… I was having a, uh, bad dream," she explained. He sat down next to her.
"This is the worse time to lose sleep, the exams are tomorrow."
"I'm well aware of this, thank you," Hikari told him a little harshly. She sighed and rubbed her forehead.
"Sorry, it's just already been a bad morning," Hikari apologized. Shino nodded.
"Hana is a healer, you should go see her," he said. She looked at him confused.
"I'm fine. I'm not hurt," Hikari said, but regretted the words when she tried to stand up and a surge of pain ran through her side.
"Gah! Ugh…" Hikari slipped and Shino caught her. She was gasping for air, holding her side. Her teeth were clenched as her nails dug into Shino's arm.
"You're not fine. You're seriously hurt. I'm taking you to Kiba's to see Hana," Shino said, picking her up bridal style and walking out of the room. Hikari was shaking more than before from pain.
"Kari! Is she okay?" Kimiko asked, panicking.
"She's bleeding badly. Kiba, we're going to need your sister. How did this happen?" Shino asked. Kiba opened the door as they walked out and started running off.
"I-It's an old wound… She's had it since we were seven. When we left our old home; she was bleeding. Every time she has the same nightmare; it reopens. It's opened three times this week, it's never been this bad!" Kimiko said.
"Hana is working at the animal center today, this way," Kiba said, taking a turn. Kimiko and Shino followed.
"Ugh… K-Kimi, h-he did this. Ack!" Hikari muttered.
"Who did?" Kimiko asked worriedly.
"Th-The guy who k-killed our parents… I-I'm sorry I never told you before," Hikari said. They arrived at the center and Kiba ran in.
"Hana! I need your help!" he yelled.
"I'm busy! What is it?" Hana asked.
"My friend, she's hurt. The girl you met! Hikari Maki, she's bleeding badly. Just come on!" Kiba shouted, pulling Hana out.
"I-I'm alright. I can stand Shino. P-Put me down," Hikari said, trying to get out of Shino's arms. Shino tightened his grip until Hana walked out with Kiba.
"Oh dear, what happened?" Hana asked, putting a hand on Hikari's wound. Kimiko explained what happened and what Hikari just told her through tears. Kiba tried to keep Kimiko calm.
"She'll be alright, she just needs to rest. Take her back home," Hana said.
"No! Sleeping is what made this happen," Hikari said, "I don't want to dream it again… I'll just stay at home and study today."
"Alright. Just don't do anything intense like training. Take it easy today," Hana said. Hikari nodded and Hana went back inside. Shino put Hikari down and she was hugged tightly by Kimiko.
"Don't scare me like that again! I-I was so worried!" Kimiko cried, not letting go of Hikari. Hikari hugged back.
"Sorry, I didn't think it'd ever get this bad. Thank you guys…" Hikari said smiling at Kiba and Shino.
"Let's get back to Iruka's and study like we planned? I think that'd be best for all of us right now," Kiba said. Shino nodded and transported back to Iruka's with Kimiko's help. They walked inside and sat around the table. Iruka sighed when they walked in and Hikari was alright.
"You gave me a heart attack… Are you guys okay to be left here alone while I go to the academy?" Iruka asked.
"Yeah. I just can't do anything too intense. As long as I stay here I'll be fine. We're just going to study today," Hikari told him. Iruka nodded and walked out. They picked up where they left off last night, and Kiba started complaining with Hikari again.
"You two are so difficult, how did Iruka pass you Kiba?" Kimiko asked.
"Because I was smarter than Naruto," he said. Hikari sighed and laid back.
"If I was actually doing something with these equations it'd be easy!" Hikari complained.
"Then visualize it," Shino told her.
"You visualize it! I'm tired of this… We've been sitting here for three hours… I need to do something!" Hikari said, sitting back up.
"She can't sit still for very long," Kimiko told them. Akamaru barked.
"Why don't you take Akamaru on a little walk so he can use the natural bathroom?" Kiba said. Hikari stood up.
"Better than sitting here," she said walking to the door, Akamaru behind her.
"If you're not back in ten minutes we'll come looking for you," Kiba said. Hikari nodded and walked out with Akamaru. Once she closed the door; Kiba, with no hesitation, looked directly at Shino with a grin.
"You like her! I can tell! You never talk this much ever! Well, not unless I'm not listening while you're trying to explain something," Kiba said. Shino leaned back a little, glad Kiba couldn't see the nervous look on his face. Kimiko punched Kiba's arm.
"That's not how you ask! You probably just embarrassed him! Idiot!" she shouted. Kiba rubbed his arm.
"Ow! I've known him since we started going to the academy together Kimi, I can tell. I'm right, aren't I Shino?" Kiba asked. Shino stayed silent.
"You shouldn't be like this to your best friend," Kimiko sighed, thinking about how Hikari called her out on liking Kiba last night.
"Well, if he won't tell me anything now; do we know who Hikari likes?" Kiba asked. Kimiko's face fell and she frowned, putting her head on the table.
"No… She's always been good at hiding that kind of thing… I only knew she liked Kankuro a month ago because she told Temari and I…" Kimiko said.
"Wow, who doesn't know who their best friend likes?" Kiba said.
"Hikari knows who I like. It's surprising how I guess she hadn't called it out before," Kimiko said.
"She told me. She thought it was a funny coincidence," Shino said. Kimiko looked at him worriedly.
"What? Shino knows and I don't? Why didn't you tell me?" Kiba said.
"I didn't tell him! Hikari did! I didn't even tell her! She found out on her own! I'm telling you; she may not be good with math; but she's very sneaky. She can figure things out before you even realize it," Kimiko said. Shino caught his breath; worried that she might have even found out before he was even completely sure. He shrugged it off like nothing though.
"I figured she was a smart person underneath. If she could push me out of the way before Sasuke could even strike, then she's always a step ahead," Shino said.
"Actually she stays two steps behind, so she is still a step ahead. Wait, what?" Kimiko asked.
"Last night, he threw a kunai. Before he even had it in his hand she pushed me out of the way and stepped back," Shino told her.
"She's always been quick," Kimiko said with a smile. Hikari walked back in with Akamaru, speaking out the door to someone.
"I'm sorry. Things will never go back to how they used to be. You can apologize all you want now; but for not seeing through something so simple, thinking that I'd actually survive the attack he hit me with… I won't forgive you for," Hikari told him trying to close the door.
"Hikari, come on. I-"
"I'll see you tomorrow. Bye," Hikari said, closing the door. She turned around and the three of them looked at her confused.
"What? It was Kankuro. He told me what all happened, I just still don't feel like talking to him," Hikari said, sitting back down next to the others.
"You didn't finish this problem yet," Shino told her.
"Its boring!" Hikari whined.
"Don't start complaining again, come on. If I have to suffer you do too," Kiba said. Hikari sighed. They went back to studying for the next few hours, until there was a knock at the door. Kimiko got up and opened the door.
"Oh hey Naruto. What's up?" Kimiko asked.
"Where's Hikari? I wanted to train with her today, but Iruka said she wasn't supposed to today. Is she okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine. Just a little cut. How about you study with us?" Hikari asked Naruto as he walked in.
"Um, sure! I don't see why it won't hurt!" he said, sitting down.
"Alright, I'm going to go to the store to get something to make for dinner tonight. Kiba wanna come? We can use the break," Hikari said getting up. Kiba nodded.
"We'll be back soon," Kiba said, walking out with Hikari.
"Here, Naruto I'll help you figure this one out to start with," Kimiko said, walking over and showing him a problem.
"Are those two dating or something?" Naruto asked. Kimiko looked at Naruto and laughed.
"You're joking right? If Hikari was to start dating Kiba, she'd shoot herself. She doesn't like him like that; and she kind of scares him," Kimiko told him.
"Kiba doesn't like her that way either. You did that wrong," Shino said to Naruto. Naruto went back and redid the problem.
"Do you think she could help me out with Sakura?" Naruto asked.
"Hikari doesn't like to get involved like that… She doesn't like getting into people's personal lives, unless it's mine," Kimiko told him. He nodded.
'She's more to herself than I thought… She must be hiding so many secrets with how strong she is!' Naruto thought. It was about an hour later when Kiba and Hikari came back.
"We got stuff to make teriyaki chicken for tonight. Iruka should be getting home soon, so I'll get the marinate ready," Hikari said walking to the kitchen.
"I hope it's as good as your stew the other day!" Naruto said excited. Hikari smiled. Kiba had a smirk on his face when he sat back down next to Shino.
"What?" Shino asked.
"Oh, nothing. Just that I got information that not even Kimiko has. Never thought you'd have a soft spot," Kiba said.
"Shut up," Shino said, figuring out Kiba was talking about last night when Hikari and he had gone to the park.
"I'm just saying, she probably needed someone to talk to. According to Kimiko; she needs someone to talk to," Kiba whispered. Hikari came back out and handed Kimiko her necklace.
"Hold that? I need to find another ribbon for it… It kinda just broke out of nowhere," Hikari said.
"Mhm. There's ribbon in my bag," Kimiko told her. Hikari nodded and walked down the hall to the room.
"Can I see that? Hikari told me yours has some kind of voodoo spell on it or something. That it helps you out?" Naruto asked, trying to take the necklace. Kimiko held it away from him.
"Mine helps me, so it's kind of my weakness. You break this, you'll get hurt badly," Kimiko told him.
"Does hers do anything to her?" Kiba asked. Kimiko hesitated, looking around the room.
"That doesn't concern you Kiba," Hikari said, taking the charm and putting it on a new ribbon.
"You're so full of secrets. We're your friends, you can tell us!" Kiba said, standing up. Hikari looked at him seriously.
"No. I will tell you what I want to; but for now, it's nothing for you to worry about," Hikari said with a smile. Kiba looked at her puzzled then nodded.
"I'm going to get back to cooking now; good luck studying guys," Hikari said with a smirk.
"You're not getting out of it that easy! You know you have to let the chicken marinate another five minutes. Get over here," Kimiko said, pulling on Hikari's arm.
"So close… Yet so far," Hikari sighed and sat down. She looked at the paper and smiled, solving it in fifteen seconds.
"How do you have a problem with the fifth one but not the last one? That one is the hardest!" Kiba shouted.
"When it comes to being difficult; I find it easy. My mind doesn't do simple," Hikari told him.
"So you're saying you have keen eyes, a strong punch, and you can figure out a puzzle easily; but when it comes to a simple math equation, you can't figure it out?" Kiba asked. Hikari nodded.
"When you're a ninja; simple doesn't do anything. Everything is going to be complicated and difficult, not easy and simple. If you've had to defend yourself and learn enemy tricks, you would suspect them to be difficult and try to stay a step ahead of you right?" Hikari said.
"Well… Yeah, but that doesn't explain why you can do it," Kiba said.
"Yes, it does Kiba. She's had to protect Kimiko for the past seven and a half years right? She's had to teach herself jutsus and learn enemy tricks. She's a self taught kunoichi. She knows what she's talking about," Shino told him.
"Exactly. Even a Sanin was surprised in my abilities with no actual teachings. I was put in the sound academy with Kimiko because they were looking for ninja. We qualified; but we didn't want to be put on any teams and be stuck there. So we left, and came here. Expect the unexpected and stay two steps back so you're still a step ahead of your enemy. Also, never doubt your opponent; it may cause you to end up dead," Hikari said, getting back up to walk to the kitchen.
"She can be scary… Remind me to not make her mad," Kiba said. Kimiko smiled and nodded.
"People think she's just as innocent as can be… No one ever realizes she isn't what they think. If only she didn't have to pretend to be so happy…" Kimiko sighed. Hikari started humming while she cooked as the others continued to study. Iruka walked in, looking tired as usual, and took a sniff of the air.
"You know you girls didn't have to cook. I feel kind of bad when you do," Iruka said with a laugh. Hikari walked out with a platter of teriyaki chicken on sticks with a smile.
"You're tired, we did nothing but study while you worked. You make us breakfast every morning and you let us stay here. It's the least we can do," Hikari told him, putting the platter on the table. Iruka sat down and nodded.
"Thank you. Did you guys study all day?" Iruka asked.
"Yeah, I even came to join and see if Hikari was okay," Naruto said, taking a stick. They all started talking and eating.
'A cover of innocence and happiness? Since when does one have to live like that?' Shino thought.
'What does her necklace do? I want to know now… Ugh, it's going to drive me crazy!' Naruto thought.
'Why does everyone's eyes keep flickering back at me? Is there something on my face? I hope Kimiko didn't make them curious or I'll never hear the end of this!' Hikari sighed mentally.
"That was great Hikari! Thanks," Kiba said with a smile. Akamaru barked in agreement and jumped up on Hikari's lap to lick her face. Hikari giggled.
"Thanks guys. It's getting dark, shouldn't you guys start heading home?" Hikari asked.
"Yes. We should be. We'll see you tomorrow at the exams," Shino said, standing up with Naruto and Kiba. Kimiko got up and so did Hikari.
"Thanks for the study session and dinner! See you tomorrow!" Naruto said walking out after giving Hikari a hug.
"You're welcome. Make sure you get a good night's rest," Hikari told them. Kiba and Shino left going the opposite way than Naruto.
"I'll clean up, you two go ahead and go to sleep," Iruka said. The girls nodded. Iruka caught Hikari's arm before she was out of reach.
"Are you sure you want to participate tomorrow?" he asked her in a whisper. She nodded.
"I'll be fine as long as I can sleep. Don't worry about me," she told him. He nodded and let her go. She followed Kimiko into the room as they changed and got in their beds.
"We were talking to Shino when you took Akamaru on a walk. Shino made a note that you like someone; but none of us know who. It got me thinking… What kind of secrets are you keeping from me?" Kimiko asked, laying on her side to look at Hikari. Hikari looked back, but couldn't get herself to smile.
"I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want to worry you. I still won't until the time is right. Understand that please? I know I seem distant at times; but that's only because I don't want to hurt you. As for the necklaces, we must never let anyone know what will happen if they touch. It's only for a dire emergency. Can we just sleep now?" Hikari told her. Kimiko nodded and laid back on her back, closing her eyes.