It was a week after the Hokage's funeral, and the teams were training like usual. Except Naruto was busy with Jiraiya. Kakashi allowed the other two to take the day off as he wandered to where Gai's team was training. He was curious on just how strong his niece was; if it had gotten Ibiki all riled up, he wanted to see why. Once he reached them Gai approached him loud as usual; but noticed Hikari was missing.
"Kakashi! What brings you here today?" Gai asked. Kakashi looked at his comrade, "I came to see Hikari. Is she not here today?"
"Actually I was about to send Lee to go ask Shino is she is alright. She's hasn't been here since our mission just past the outskirts three days ago. Why?"
"I just came to check on her. See why Ibiki is snooping into her business. Is she really that strong to have someone like him be worried?"
"Oh Kakashi, you doubt her abilities? She's as promising as Lee has been to me!"
"Mhmm, and have you been treating her right?"
"Of course! Why wouldn't I? She's Reiko's daughter after all! She looks almost just like her too… She seems to hold a grudge against him for what happened…" Kakashi nodded, then it hit him. He knew where she might be.
"Alright, well I'll go look for her. I have an idea where she might be," he said. Gai nodded.
"I was going to check there too if Shino didn't know," Gai said, before turning back to his students. Kakashi walked off and Lee walked up.
"What did Kakashi want sensei?" Lee asked.
"Oh, he was just asking about Hikari."
"I heard, that's why I asked. Who is Reiko?" Lee asked. Gai had tears form in his eyes as he smiled.
"One of the most beautiful women I have ever seen in this village! Oh, and she was sweet. I'll never forget the day I saw her." Lee was slightly amused by his sensei's passion for the woman.
"Was she special to you?" Lee asked. Gai nodded.
"She was also special to Hikarou. Oh, how I loathe him still! But, he made her happy. That's all I could have asked."
"Who was she exactly?" TenTen joined.
"Reiko Maki. Hikari's mother, and Kakashi's sister," Gai told her with a smile. The three teammates all gasped.
"So you're saying that Kakashi-sensei is Hikari's uncle?" TenTen asked.
"Oh! I wasn't supposed to let that out until he told her himself… Oops," Gai muttered, "Back to training!" the three went back to training like nothing had happened.
Shino was trying to help Hinata with a stance to get better balance when she kicked when Kimiko walked up with a slight worried expression on her face. Kiba had noticed Kimiko was a little depressed today as well.
"Hey Shino? Can I ask you something?" Kimiko asked, walking up. He nodded.
"Did you see Hikari this morning? Was she alright?" she asked.
"When I woke up, her and my dad were gone. I guessed she went to training early. Why?"
"Well… You see, today is, well… Kind of a, well," Kimiko didn't know how to put it. Kiba caught on and Akamaru barked, only confirming Kiba's thoughts. Kiba whispered it in Shino's ear and Shino nodded.
"You're afraid she might be distracted today?" Shino asked. Kimiko nodded. Akamaru barked at Kiba again and Kiba sighed.
"I told you, later okay? We have plenty of time to figure it out," Kiba told him, distracting Kimiko from her conversation. Hinata asked, and Shino explained the situation to her.
"Later what?" Kimiko asked. Akamaru kept barking at Kiba and Kiba was growling at Akamaru.
"It's something I have to talk to Hikari about. Don't worry. Shut up Akamaru!" Kiba shouted. Akamaru barked once more and faced away, giving him the cold shoulder.
"Again? Really? You can't stay mad at me forever Akamaru. After training, we'll track her down okay?" Kiba asked. Akamaru barked and wagged his tail. Kimiko sighed annoyed and rolled her eyes.
"Anyways, thanks Shino. If you see her, just try to make her smile alright?" Shino nodded and went back to helping Hinata.
Hikari was standing in front of a large house. It was still abandoned. It didn't surprise her any. Who would want to live here now? She pushed open the door and took a step inside. It smelt murky and still slightly reeked of blood. She fully stepped in the house. The room was empty except for the stains on the floor. She knelt down and ran her fingers over the huge stain on the ground. Tears formed in her eyes as she stood up and walked to her old room. The room wasn't empty; but it was trashed. It had been the first time she had been here in eight years. Since that night. She looked around the room and found that the board where she hid her old desirables was still untouched. She got on her knees next to it and pried it open. Everything was still there. Pictures she had long forgotten about when she was just an infant, a couple of old dolls her mother had made for Kimiko and her, a blanket she had since she could remember. She looked through the pictures. There was one of her parents holding her when she was just a few weeks old. Another one of when she and Kimiko were just a year old and playing in the play pin. One of Kakashi holding her as she fell asleep in his arms, and another of Shibi sitting with her on the floor with another child. It wasn't Kimiko, or Sasuke… she gasped as she realized the other baby in the photo was Shino. There was more. Pictures of her and Sasuke and their parents and Itachi. One of Hikari pulling on Itachi's hair when she was an infant. All her baby pictures were hidden under this board and she had just found them all. She was glad she had brought her backpack with her. She put all of her old belongings in the bag and put the board back after she put it back on. She heard someone walk in and quickly ran across the hall into her parents old room. She moved the wood from the closet and pulled out her mother's old katana. She held it up right and stood behind the door.
"Hikari? Are you here? The door was half way open you know," she heard Kakashi say out loud. She exhaled in relief and walked out from behind the door. He was standing in the door way, looking at her.
"I see you found your mothers old katana. If you learn to use that just right; you'd be very strong, though I don't think it's you," he said.
"It's not. I think maybe Kimiko is off having it," Hikari said. Kakashi nodded.
"I thought I would find you here. Why exactly would you come here after so long?"
"I had things I left here. I thought it was finally safe to come back… I didn't think you'd find me either," she told him.
"Eight years today. How could I not forget? Gai said you haven't been to training in three days."
"So I've been upset. So what? They were my parents Kakashi, how can I not be?"
"Don't forget she was my sister as well. I'm sure Kimiko misses them as much as you do. Gai sure does, and Iruka does too. None of us have forgotten," he said.
"Is that why some of the ninja ignore me? Ibiki he… didn't seem fond of me during the first round of the exams. I started laughing when the others were confused at the end."
"Don't worry; your father did the same. It probably just brought back old memories of him. Is there anything else you want to get while we're here?" Kakashi asked. Hikari thought for a moment then nodded, crawling under her parents' old bed. She grabbed an old shoe box and pulled it out. Kakashi looked at it puzzled and Hikari opened it to reveal a scroll.
"He told me that if something was to ever happen; wait until it's safe to get it. Then open it when I feel the time is right. I still don't know what's inside; but I don't want to open it yet."
"Understandable. Let's go, this place kind of gives me the chills," Kakashi admitted. Hikari giggled and agreed. They left and started heading back to the village. They walked silently until they got back inside the gates and he walked with her back to the Aburame's.
"You should go put your stuff away. I'll let Gai know your fine, just taking a small break for now," Kakashi said and walked off. Hikari walked inside and went upstairs. Before she reached the top, she heard someone upstairs and she could smell Kiba.
"Get out of my room! You stink Kiba!" Hikari shouted as she finished going up the stairs.
"Hey! Good your home before Shino! I need your help- what is all that?" he asked when she walked in. She put the stuff on the bed and looked at him.
"Stuff from home. That's where I went, what you need?" she asked him.
"You went to your old house? What for?"
"It's not important."
"Alright. I want your help in picking out a puppy for Kimiko. You've known her since you guys were little; and you know what she'd like. There are a few pups for adoption at the shelter my sister and mom work at, and they said it might be a good idea to get her one. What do you think?" Hikari smiled.
"That's a great idea! Let's go, if you're off of training; there's no doubt Shino will be home soon to see if I'm here," Hikari said, grabbing Kiba's arm and pulling him along out the door. They walked to the shelter and were able to not be seen by any of their teammates. When they walked in, Kiba took her over to the pups he was talking about. Hikari's eyes landed on one that she knew Kimiko would love.
"That one. No doubt," Hikari said.
"Really? She's like Akamaru, but chocolate instead of white," Kiba said. Hikari nodded with a smile.
"Yeah. I can tell Kimi loves Akamaru; and well Kimi loves chocolate too," Hikari said and scratched the back of her head. Tsume walked up with a smile and laughed.
"Looks like Akamaru was right, Kimi would love that one," she said. She picked it up and the puppy barked and licked her face.
"She's kind of shy at first; but she's really sweet. Kind of like Kimi," Tsume said, "We'll keep her here until Hana and I get off and we'll surprise her tonight. Thanks Kari."
"You're welcome Tsume. Oh and Tsume? How well did you know my parents?" Hikari asked. Tsume looked at her and laughed.
"Because of me yelling at your mom and threatening her, they got together. Your father though, he was a nuisance. I never understood why your mother loved him like she did until I had Kiba. He's half as annoyed sometimes. You're just like him though. A mirror image of your mom; but you act just like your father. Anyways; you two should get going, Shino is walking inside right now. Use the back door," Tsume told her. Kiba nodded and pulled Hikari with him out the back door. Hikari laughed.
"We got close to being caught," she said with a smile.
"My mom called me annoying! That was harsh…"
"Hey, she meant it with love. Get over it," Hikari said and patted his head, "Where's Akamaru?"
"With Kimi; and um, you're bugged. Shino is trying to find you."
"Well, let's just make it more difficult," Hikari said with a smirk. She picked up the beetle and put it on Kiba.
"Just leave it alone. Head back to his house, I've got somewhere I have to go," she said. He nodded with a playful smile and took off. Hikari started walking toward the academy. Iruka was busy trying to fix the roof and Hikari jumped up to help him with a heavy piece of board.
"Ah, there you are. I was starting to think you might not show up Hikari," Iruka said with a smile. Hikari smiled back.
"Sorry, I kind of got a little side tracked. I'm not too late am I?"
"No, no. After we get done up here I said we'd help out with repainting the classes."
"Great! I'm not supposed to really be doing anything today, just trying to keep my mind busy," she said as they put the board down and made sure it stayed in place. Iruka surprised Hikari with a hug. His body was hot from working in the sun.
"You know, it's okay to be upset today if you want. It's alright," he told her.
"I'm fine; but after we repaint some of the classes I need to go meet up with some of the younger girl students. Moegi wanted me to dance with them today."
"Dance? Sounds like fun," Iruka said with a smile as he pulled away from her. Hikari nodded and they went back to work on the roof. Hikari saw Jiraiya walking toward them and he smiled up at her.
"Hey there Hikari! I was just on my way to go get Naruto to go on a mission with! Would you like to come?" he asked.
"No thanks. I'm kind of busy right now, sorry! Maybe next time? I'm still thinking about your offer so I'll let you know soon enough," she told him.
"Fair enough. You have a nice day now, buh-bye," Jiraiya called over his shoulder as he walked away. Iruka was a little confused.
"Offer?" he asked.
"A training offer to help me control myself," she said, pointing to the necklace. Iruka nodded and they moved more boards. After a few hours, they moved inside to repaint the classrooms. Konohamaru had come up from behind and painted her cheek. He laughed as he ran away, and she chased him laughing.
"Be glad I'm wearing just normal clothes!" she shouted as he ran. He turned around and splashed her shirt and got it on the wall. Iruka sighed.
"Stop messing around you two! Get back to work!" Iruka shouted. Konohamaru nodded and went back to painting with his friends.
"Iruka c'mon. We were just having a little fun," Hikari defended as she went back to painting.
"There's too much work to do right now," he told her as she sighed.
"Someone get the ceiling," someone else called. Hikari took off her sandals and start walking up and painted the ceiling.
"This is a lot more difficult than it looks, but it's fun!" Hikari said with a smile. Kimiko walked in and laughed as her best friend was getting paint in her hair and on her clothes.
"Hikari, ever heard of a ladder?" Kimiko asked.
"Hey! Don't ruin my fun with your logical stuff!" Hikari defended herself with a smile.
"You know Shino has been wondering where you have been for the past three days. I guess I found out," Kimiko said.
"Oh, and he planted a beetle on me. I put it on Kiba about five hours ago, so he should be on his way here now since there is one on you too," Hikari told her. Kimiko looked and saw it on her shoe, kicking it across the room. Hikari jumped down and picked it up.
"Hey, these guys have feelings too. It's like kicking a puppy!" Hikari said. Kimiko sighed and Iruka gave Hikari an awkward look.
"Well… you'd be afraid if a giant kicked you across the room! Right?" Hikari asked. Moegi tapped Hikari's arm and she looked down.
"Yeah Moegi?"
"Konohamaru told me something and I wanna know if it's true or not," she said. Hikari crouched down.
"What'd he say?" Hikari asked.
"He said that the bug kid you guys are talking about is your boyfriend," Moegi said. Hikari's smile fell and she glared at him.
"Konohamaru! Do you know how many times I have heard that? Don't run from me, get back here!" Hikari screeched as she chased him out into the hall. Iruka and Kimiko laughed and he came running back into the room and hid behind Iruka. Hikari ran back in, and Kimiko grabbed her from behind.
"I was only joking Hikari! I didn't really mean it! I'm sorry!" he cried. Hikari squirmed and got free from her friends arms. He ran out from Iruka and she caught him. He was about to cry because he was scared; but she kissed his forehead.
"Next time ask before you say something like that okay? Rumors aren't nice to start and they hurt people's feelings. Understand?" she asked him. He nodded and hugged her.
"I'm sorry Hikari," he said. She hugged back and smiled.
"It's alright, now go back to painting okay? You guys are doing a great job," she said and stood back up. She walked over to Iruka and he was smiling.
"I've never seen someone mix fear with a lesson like that," he said.
"You scare them bad enough then confuse them like that they'll remember it every time it happens. You just don't have the heart to be mean like that," Hikari told him and he laughed.
"Still so much like your father… He was the same way with me when I didn't listen during class sometimes. Though your mother said that when I was over it was like having two more of him around," he said.
"I believe it," Hikari said, grabbing her paint can and brush going back up the wall to finish. Shino walked in and looked up at her.
"Does Dad know you're here?" he asked.
"Why? As long as we're both home before it gets dark I don't think he really cares unless we're on missions," Hikari said. Shino shrugged.
"You moved the bug onto Kiba. Did you not want me to find you?"
"I did it for fun. A little trick," she said with a smile.
"I'm sorry if she's been giving you any trouble Shino. She's always been that way," Iruka said.
"She's not any trouble at all. Just a bother to find," he said.
"So I like to play hide and seek, sue me," she said playfully. Kimiko giggled. Hikari went to dip her brush in the can and dropped the can. It landed on Iruka, spilling the paint all over him. Hikari and Kimiko gasped.
"I am so sorry Iruka! I didn't mean to drop it!" Hikari said, jumping down Iruka took the bucket off his head and sighed.
"It's alright. It'll take a while to get it out, but it's fine," he said.
"Are you sure?" she asked. Iruka nodded and rubbed his head before smearing it on Hikari's face. Her eyes went wide with surprise and she laughed.
"See! You can still be fun! Unlike Shino, he's boring," Hikari teased. Shino merely sighed and shook his head at her amusement of poking fun at him. She only smiled and put her arms around his neck from behind.
"Well you are. I mean come on, when Sasuke and I were kids he was more entertaining than you," she said, before she kissed his cheek and walked over to help Konohamaru and his friends. Kimiko and Iruka blinked completely confused.
"What was that about?" Kimiko asked him. He hid his blushing cheeks as he answered, "Pay back."
"Pay back?" Iruka asked, looking between the two.
"Long story," Shino said. Kimiko and Iruka looked at each other puzzled before shrugging it off. Shino moved quickly over to Hikari and caught her. The other two hadn't even realized she had frozen up and was about to collapse.
"Hikari!" Kimiko shouted running over. Iruka followed her. Hikari had her eyes closed tightly as she was shaking.
"Hikari, open your eyes. Look at me," Iruka said. Hikari shook her head and Shino helped her stand up right.
"What's wrong?" Kimiko asked. Hikari pulled down her head band and looked at them all.
"My eyes… Th-they're stuck. I didn't even do it either. It just happened and I can't stop them," she said. Her sight went from looking at the room she was in and started moving. She saw Kakashi with Asuma, Kurenai, and Gai. She caught a glimpse of two others before a pair of red sharingan eyes burned into her vision.
"Gah!" Hikari shouted, pulling her headband of and trying to cut off her sight. It finally worked and she sighed, looking at them again.
"Something's wrong with Kakashi…" she said, rubbing her eyes, "Man I've got a headache… that's never happened before." She noticed Shino had the other two step back.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Kari, your eyes… They're different colors around your pupil," Kimiko said.
"Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon, get out of here; now," Iruka demanded. The three of them ran out of the room. Hikari felt her left arm get hot then cold and then a shock went through it.
"Ow!" she shouted, looking at it. She touched her index finger tip to her thumb and when she separated them, a small strand of electricity was between them.
"Um… what on Earth?" Iruka asked. Hikari looked down to realize her necklace was gone.
"It must have slipped off while I was upside down… Do you guys see my necklace anywhere?" Hikari asked. She was actually really calm for what was going on.
"Hikari, are you alright?" Kimiko asked.
"Course I am; but um… I dunno, I think my eyes were playing tricks on me. I think Kakashi is hurt and there's two other people but I don't know… I'm just looking for my necklace," she said. Shino nodded, signaling that Hikari was fine.
"Kari, your leg!" Kimiko shouted. Hikari looked down and her leg had turned into water.
"Uh… Maybe I should… I'll be back," Hikari said, jumping out the window and took off.
"Let's just find the necklace," Shino said.
"Kakashi and Gai told me her leg had turned to fire when she kicked a sound ninja when they invaded… I don't think this is good, it's trying to find ways to get out," Iruka said. Kimiko nodded.
"I have a few parasitic insects on her, she saw them. That's why she left, it'll take a while for them to drain her out of enough chakra to keep everything under control." The other two nodded and helped him look for the necklace.
Hikari kept running until she ran into Gai who was with the other four Jounin and she fell backward.
"Ow… Oh, Gai-sensei. Hey there…" she said rubbing her head. She still had a major headache and it was taking its toll on her.
"Hello Hikari, I think you know this; but your leg is… Water…" Gai said, a little puzzled by it.
"Yeah… I'm having some… Issues. First my eyes turned themselves, then I saw what was going on and then a pair of sharingan eyes ended up giving me a massive headache and- that's what it is! It was Itachi wasn't it? He's here?" she asked. Gai put his finger to his lips to tell her to be quiet. She nodded and noticed Kakashi nodding, answering her question. She sighed, she knew things were going to get bad.
"Do you know where Naruto is?" Kurenai asked.
"Yeah, he's with Jiraiya going on some kind of mission or something… Why?" Hikari asked. The look in Kakashi's eye gave it away. They wanted the fox. She realized it was a good thing Itachi thought she was dead. Just hopefully she didn't run into him herself…
"Alright. Anyways, I'm going to try and blow off some chakra right now. You'll be alright Kakashi?" she asked standing back up. He nodded and she walked off, realizing her leg was normal now. She could still feel the beetles eating at her chakra, so she decided she'd walk back to the academy now. She was halfway there when she saw two men dressed in cloaks. Black with red clouds… She had seen them before, and she knew who it was now. She darted down an alley and took another route to the academy; where Shino and Kimiko were waiting with Iruka outside. She skipped up with a smile; but couldn't hide the worry in her eyes as they darted around, checking out the area.
"Any luck?" she asked.
"We found it… But…" Kimiko said, Shino held up the necklace and pointing out a large crack going straight down the middle of it and through the swirls. Hikari sighed and put it on.
"Better together than broken," Iruka said. Hikari nodded. Moegi walked up with a few other of the girl students and smiled.
"Are we going to go?" she asked Hikari.
"Uh… Yeah! Let's go," Hikari smiled.
"Go where?" Kimiko asked.
"Oh, they started this cute little dance group and wanted me to join them. Wanna come?" Hikari asked her with a smile. Kimiko nodded.
"I'll watch; but I'm not coordinated to dance. You know that," Kimiko said. Hikari nodded and looked at Shino.
"How about you? Or would you rather go do something else," Hikari asked with a playful tone.
"No, I have other things to do. Maybe next time," Shino said, turning around to walk off. Hikari scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"He can be really boring…" she muttered as she walked with the girls to a small grassy field. Kimiko leaned over to whisper to Hikari, "Why do they ask you to come?"
"This is why," Hikari whispered back. The girls spread out and Hikari jumped up onto a rock nearby as she made hand signs and when she took a step, there was a sound of music like a piano with every step. The girls started mimicking her moves and soon they were all doing the same thing. Hikari jumped down and kept at it, having a blast. Kimiko smiled and giggled to herself and realized someone was watching them. She looked closer and noticed it was Lee watching from under a tree. He looked a little shy to walk out, so she walked over to him. He didn't realize she had since he was watching Hikari with the kids.
"She's surely something isn't she?" Kimiko asked with a smile. Lee jumped and Kimiko chuckled. He looked at her and smiled, rubbing the back of his head while he nodded.
"How can someone do that? Mimic a sound with their feet as they walk?" he asked.
"Something she came up with to entertain herself when we were kids and it rained outside. Dad taught her to make other sounds too; she just has to imagine the noise. I tried learning it; but when I tried musical instruments it didn't work out well."
"Amazing… Gai-sensei said her mother was beautiful and if she's a mirrored image of her than I can believe it," he said; then blushing furiously when he realized he had said it out loud. Kimiko laughed and smiled, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"You're not the first one to think she's pretty. She got Shikamaru to admit he was starting to like her the other day. Actually, I think she was supposed to hang out with him today. Either way, all you have to do is just talk to her. She doesn't bite," Kimiko told him. He nodded, and she pulled him out from the trees. The others had stopped, tired from their fun. Hikari had quit her jutsu and leaned against the rock. She looked over to see Kimiko and Lee walking over.
"Lee! Good to see you back on your feet again," Hikari said with a smile. Lee smiled back and nodded.
"Yes, I am very glad to be back on my feet as well. Are you okay? You've been gone for three days from training. We were all worried about you," he said.
"Even Neji?" she asked, her lip curling up in curiosity and disbelief. He nodded.
"Yeah. I guess you're doing fine huh?" Lee asked and smiled.
"Sorry, I've been helping out at the academy."
"By the way Hikari, don't you have somewhere to be by now?" Kimiko but in. Hikari looked at her and blinked, her face showed nothing but innocence and confusion, then she remembered.
"Shikamaru! Thanks Kimi! I'll see you tomorrow Lee!" she said before she took off running. Kimiko laughed lightly and waved. She watched the girls with Lee and took them home.
Shikamaru was talking with Chouji when Hikari reached him. She was out of breath and smiled.
"Sorry Shikamaru, I lost track of time. Been busy today with helping out the academy and all…" Hikari said. He shrugged.
"Whatever. I'll see you later Chouji," he said. Chouji smirked and nodded, leaving the two.
"You look tired," Shikamaru pointed out.
"Really? Cause I thought I looked pretty wide awake," she said sarcastically. He sighed.
"Are you going to be like this all day?" he asked.
"If you ask anymore stupid questions yes. Where do you want to go?" she asked. He shrugged.
"Your choice."
"How about just walk for now?" Shikamaru and they began walking around the village, talking about miscellaneous things from training to about their teams.
"How about Kimiko? I saw her and Kiba training earlier, she knocked him into a tree. She can be rough huh?"
"Oh yeah. You see me ever try to make her mad? I am never going there again. You think I'm mean… Make her mad, you might as well move to the next nation."
"That bad?"
"Depends on what you do… Kiba seems to be teasing her for the fun of it and he's able to handle her, surprisingly. I observed that you shouldn't use the small f word with Chouji, unless you're talking about it being on actual meat."
"With his jutsus he needs to eat as much as he can. Least he enjoys food. What can I say? He's a good guy too."
"He seems like it. Everyone does."
"Except Sasuke. I don't think he really cares for anyone much. I don't see why all the girls are always all over him either."
"Sasuke cares, he just hides it. Well, he hides everything really. He didn't used to be like this you know. I don't see why they are either. If they knew him like I knew him, they would probably go all over Kiba or you."
"Why Kiba and I? How long have you known him?"
"Well, Kiba's the playful teasing and flirting type. You're the chilled laidback lazy type. Sasuke and I have known each other since before I even left Konoha eight years ago."
"Eight years?"
"Today."
"Oh... I'm sorry."
"It's alright. I mean, yeah I'm upset; but sometimes you have to be able to let go and move on right?"
"Right; but what that person did was…"
"Yeah… That's what makes it hard. That I can't get over. I don't understand why he would target them unless he was after something… But their gone now and there's nothing you can do about it," Hikari told him with a smile. He half smiled back.
'She's got a strong punch and spirit. I guess she's not as troublesome as I thought.' Shikamaru thought, "Why wouldn't they go for someone else, say Shino?"
"Bugs."
"That's kind of mean if you think about it. I mean, he was kind of born into that clan. He can't help it," Shikamaru said. Hikari was slightly shocked and nodded.
"Yeah. You shouldn't let what his clan can do affect how you see him… If they really got to know them like I have over the past month he's actually a nice guy. Sure, he's quiet and holds a grudge at times; but still, he's a nice guy. I'll give him the boring score, yes; but creepy? That's like calling Naruto annoying. You don't know why he is the way he is until you get to know him well. You don't judge a book by its actions. You have to open it and read about it before you can started to get the idea; but what on the pages shows much more than the summary."
"Well, he can be annoying; and loud."
"Kiba is loud and annoying too; but yet you tend to think of Naruto when you say those words right? Naruto can't help it; he was shut out his whole life by others… they all looked at him with… Those same eyes."
"Eyes?"
"Those eyes that said get lost, you're a freak. No one wants you here… They were either full of anger or fear… Those eyes that made him feel lost and all alone; and since he had no one else there to help him through it and to tell them their wrong just made it worse, I'm sure…"
"What do you mean?" he asked, "How do you know how they looked at him like?"
"Because I got looked at the same way when Kimiko and I fled to the grass nation. I was always looked at like I was a murderer… Just because I got stuck having a demon sealed inside of me doesn't make me any different than someone else does it?"
"You don't seem any different. You seem like a normal person," he told her.
"As does Naruto. See, you can't just say something about someone and not know their background. You though; I can say you're lazy, and actually get away with it. You've been spotted laying on hills watching clouds and sleeping all around."
"Well it's obvious I'm lazy. It's obvious your protective of those your close to. It's obvious Naruto and Kiba are both idiots. It's obvious Shino and Hinata are quiet, and that Sakura and Ino like Sasuke."
"I'll agree that their idiots. Especially Kiba."
"Speaking of Sasuke," Shikamaru muttered, his eyes darting at Sasuke walking this way toward them. Hikari sighed.
"Hikari, can I speak with you?" Sasuke asked when he reached them. She raised a brow and looked at him with the same bored expression as Shikamaru.
"Bout?" she asked. He looked at Shikamaru.
"Something… Personal," he answered, looking back at her. She looked back at Shikamaru and he nodded. She glared and he smirked.
"I'll catch you later Hikari," Shikamaru said walking away. She sighed and looked back at Sasuke and started walking with him.
"What do you need? I'm kind of busy," she lied. He knew she was.
"No you're not. You're just talking to Shikamaru."
"So? What do you want?"
"Is there a reason you're avoiding me lately?"
"I'm not avoiding you. I haven't even seen you since the Hokage's funeral."
"Even then you wouldn't speak to me. I tried calling you out the past three days too when I saw you; but you just kept walking."
"You called me out? I didn't notice," she said. She really hadn't.
"Somethings on your mind. What is it?" he asked. He remembered how when they were kids and if he ever called her name; she'd hear it unless she was thinking to herself deeply.
"It's nothing," she said. They were walking on a stone path next to the woods. Sasuke grunted and kept pace with her.
"You're lying," he claimed. She glared and shoved him.
"It's not right to assume something so quickly," she snarled. He glared back.
"How can you say you have nothing on your mind today? Do you even remember?" he asked rudely. She gritted her teeth.
"Of course I remember! I'm trying to not think about it. Is that an issue? Not everyone deals with their problems the same way okay? Just get off my back about it Uchiha!" she shouted, walking from him. He grabbed her, making her turn to look at him as he planted a kiss on her lips. She jerked back from him as her fist came down on his face.
"Do that again, and I won't hesitate to break your neck," she hissed. He smirked.
"Still so resisting. Any other girl would have melted."
"I'm not like other girls; you should know that by now," she told him and continued to walk away from him. He snickered and looked at her.
"I don't want to push any further; but one day you won't be able to resist anymore. I'm sure of it. Also, Sakura and Ino just saw that," he warned her. She sighed annoyed and kept walking.
"In your dreams," she told him. She heard him say something; but didn't bother with it as Sakura and Ino were running up to her.
"I thought you said you didn't have feelings for him like that? You liar!" Sakura screamed. Ino was about to hit her when she grabbed Ino's wrist.
"Drop it girls. Listen, I don't. I can't stand him anymore. He's changed and he's ignorant and just a downright jerk. I don't see what you see in him; but I didn't kiss him, he kissed me. Take this to him, not me. There's no chance in hell I'm going to end up with that Uchiha, go back to fighting over him now and leave me out of it," she told them. The look in her angry eyes scared them both and they nodded, dropping it and backing away. She sighed and sat on the bench and looked up at the sky.
"This day never can go by easily can it?" she murmured.
"Talking to yourself?" someone asked sitting next to her.
"I'm not crazy if that's what you think," she told them as she looked to see Gai sitting next to her. He laughed and smiled.
"Oh I know you're not. Just ambitious. Lee told me you had been helping out with rebuilding the academy and taking care of the kunoichi to be when they take their break. Seems you've been quite busy huh?" he asked.
"I know I shouldn't blow off training; but how can I not help them? They need all the help they can get right now… I'd feel bad if I didn't. I talked to him for a little bit before I had to meet up with Shikamaru. Then I got pulled off by Sasuke, now here I am."
"Lee has just been itching to train with you since we were given the okay to let him train again. I think you two could come up with some two person strategies to use on missions," Gai said with confidence. Hikari nodded. She already had a few in mind. Most of them would need the use of Lee's speed and her jutsus.
"How about you and Lee have a training session just you two? I don't want him to over do anything, and you'll be there to help him in case. I'm sure he'd enjoy it," Gai asked. Hikari smiled.
"Just what I need to keep my mind off things. Great idea Gai-Sensei!" she said as she got up. He laughed.
"I know! I came up with it after all! He's still at the training grounds three we were at this morning," he told her. She nodded and hopped off to go find Lee. When she found him, he was doing pushups. She heard him count to two hundred before he got up to do squats.
"You know, you keep doing this you're going to overdo it an end up in the hospital again," she warned him. He jumped a little when he heard her.
"Hikari! You startled me! I'm sorry; I have just been cooped up for so long it feels good to be back out," he said with a small smile.
"I would be out here too. Gai suggested we have a training session just you and me. I saw how fast you were against Gaara; so I wanna use that as an advantage in a few new tricks."
"Alright! Sounds good," he said. She nodded.
"Okay. Let's see… there was one with fire I wanted to try; but I don't want to burn you. Let's start with something more simple," she said. She rubbed her chin, trying to decide on either water or air. She didn't realize Lee was up close in her face.
"Your necklace is cracked. Gai told me what it does for you. Kakashi also explained it to me too. Being able to use elements is a great advantage. Let's start with water!" Lee said. Hikari stepped back from his closeness and nodded.
"Alright. Cup your hands," she said. He nodded and took the necklace off and sticking it in her pocket.
"Are you sure you can train in those clothes?" he asked.
"Yeah, if they get dirty they get dirty," she said. He cupped his hands and she created a ball of water in them. She pulled back, her hands still up focusing on it.
"Okay, don't worry I still have a handle on it for now. Start slowly running around me in a circle and speed up as you go around each lap," she directed him. He nodded and started jogging, his pace started to quicken. She had more water going around, following behind him. Once he was running at a normal persons pace, she decided to make him go fast.
"Lee now!" she shouted. He took off and soon all she could see was a ring of water around her. She had the water get thicker.
"Now, throw it at a tree!" she told him. He did so, and the water broke a hole right through the tree to the other side and splashed against the one behind it. Lee laughed in surprise when he heard the crack and saw the hole.
"That was cool!" he shouted, walking back over to her.
"I knew your speed and my ability with the elements would be a great idea!" she shouted, hugging him. He hugged back and spun her in a circle.
"If we can learn to do that with each element, it would be a great technique. Especially fire," she said when he put her down. He nodded with a smile.
"We shall work on it until we get it perfect then!"
"Just not in one day. Looks like we already have water down, which means air won't be a problem… If I was able to have you run in a circle and get you to run on air then I could probably have a spiral of fire surround the enemy but that's too risky to work with right now… Lee can I ask you a favor?" she asked, looking at him. He nodded.
"Take off your weights and run in circles like you just did and strike at me at any given moment you wish. I want to get a hang on something," she said. He tilted his head to one side.
"Of what?" he asked.
"I usually don't let others see this but for you I'll make an exception because I'll be needing to use this if we create more techniques," she told him. She put her hands into a triangle shape and closed her eyes, moving one hand toward Lee to focus on him in stage one of her 'crystal ball sight'. She opened them and Lee gasped.
"Suishougan!" he shouted. She squinted, then pulled her headband over her eyes.
"What? Sorry, trying to keep my eyes uncovered makes me go blind. I can't really see directly in front of me with it like normal."
"Suishougan is like Sasuke's Sharingan. It's a bloodline trait, and I thought maybe it didn't exist anymore because my academy teacher said the clan that used it was wiped out. It's stronger than Sharingan and Byakugan. Are you really able to see what kind of fate someone else has?"
"Fate? I only know three stages. How many are there?"
"Three? There's about ten I think."
"Wow, well my dad never taught me how to use them except for the first one. See what the person or enemy is doing and see their moves before they even make it so you can protect yourself. Second stage I can focus on two opponents near me or one that's far away. Third is to see what someone else sees through their eyes."
"Wow, that's really cool Hikari."
"Thanks," she giggled and he started running around her after he took his weights off. Every time he struck at her, she blocked it. He struck one hundred times and he thought she was going to block all of them when he heard her gasp and realized she didn't guard her stomach. She flew into a tree and her head band came off. Her eyes were back to normal and she spat out blood.
"Ninety-nine. Not bad Hikari; but are you okay?" he asked, walking over. She stood up and wiped her lip.
"Okay Shino, come on out," she said, ignoring Lee's question. Shino stepped out from the tree line.
"You made me miss one. Don't sneak up on someone like that when their busy," she told him.
"It's the best time. I didn't think you wouldn't have been able to block it in time," he said. She just smiled.
"Just ninety-nine," Lee said.
"Ninety-nine what?" Kakashi asked walking up with Gai.
"Gai-sensei! You missed it! Hikari and I made that hole in a tree with just water! Then she blocked ninety-nine out of one hundred hits," Lee said, jumping up and down. Kakashi was a little surprised and Gai was in complete shock.
"I used what Lee told me was a Suishougan? I've used it ever since Dad taught me. I would have blocked all hundred but my attention was directed when Shino showed up. He was hiding, so I was just checking it out," she said with a shrug.
"Ha-ha! You sure you want her on my team now Kakashi? She may be able to take that Sasuke of yours down now!" Gai claimed confidently.
"Yes, she certainly could take Sasuke down. Maybe even Neji as well; but could she defend herself against two Jounin like us?" Kakashi said. Hikari sighed, afraid she knew where this was going.
"What do you mean?" Gai asked.
"He means he wants to see if I could fight you two by myself," Hikari said with a hand on her hip and a raised brow.
"She certainly catches on quickly too," Kakashi said with a smile. Gai didn't like the idea of having a student of his fight against him and his friend/rival.
"Come on Gai-sensei, it might actually be fun," Hikari said a little tauntingly. She liked the idea of a challenge.
"Maybe another time. Right now, I want to see how you and Lee put a hole in that tree," Gai said. Hikari nodded. Lee walked over and put her headband back on her forehead and cupped his hands. They repeated the technique and it did the same thing as the first one. Gai shouted in happiness and Kakashi chuckled.
"You are a promising student! I knew you would be! I don't see why you dropped from the exams," Gai said. Hikari stayed silent.
"She didn't want to ruin Sasuke's chances of fighting Naruto," Kakashi said.
"I also didn't want to be stuck going against Kankuro. If I had been stuck against him, he'd be dead,' Hikari said with a half smirk.
"You must really not like him," Lee said.
"He knows exactly how to push my buttons," she said.
"Can we see you do that trick with another element?" Kakashi asked. Hikari swallowed and bit her lip.
"If we do an Earth element, there is less chance of me getting hurt right?" Lee asked. She nodded.
"First let's see what happens with air," she said. Her hands hovered above his and worked around them in circles.
"It'll be around your hand since air is a lightly element then the rest. You'll just have to tap the tree,' she told him. He nodded and began running around her. They could hear the wind building up and he ran and tapped the tree. He was back next to her with a frown as nothing happened.
"Wait for it," she said, "Now." Right on cue, the tree fell over and was sliced cleanly in half. Lee jumped in joy.
"Good job Lee and Hikari!" Gai said, giving them a thumbs up. Hikari gave a lose thumbs up back and crossed her arms as the tree behind it fell too.
"I think we might have over done that one. The third tree is all scratched up," she said as she went back to thinking to herself. If they did a fire technique, he'd get burned because she wasn't good at controlling it. Lighting he'd get shocked. If they hit it with darkness, it'd die. Maybe they should do that? No, she didn't know what kind effects it could have. Light? Still didn't know. She was starting to think she should go with Jiraiya after all when Kakashi stepped into view.
"Hello? Earth to Hikari? We would like to see the Earth technique now if you please," he said. She snapped out of her thoughts and nodded. Lee cupped his hands, but Hikari shook her head.
"This one is different, I'll create small rocks, and toss them. You hit them toward the trees. Let's use this for target practice once you get used to hitting them," she said. He nodded and started running. Rock after rock, he hit it and it would fly into a tree with inhumane speed. He slowed down, breathing heavily from fatigue.
"You should sit down Lee, you're about to overdo it," she said. He nodded and sat down to rest.
"Amazing! You two would be great for a two person team if the team was to split up," Gai said. Kakashi limped over and leaned down to her.
"I see your abilities are getting better," he whispered. she nodded and he started breathing heavily and leaned on her.
"K-Kakashi? Kakashi, are you alright? Uncle Kakashi!" she shouted. Gai was over there and helped Kakashi back up; but he had already passed out.
"I'll be taking him now. You two keep at it alright?" Gai said. Hikari nodded and looked at Lee. He smiled.
"Let's try the blocking again. Shino, would you like to join?' she asked. He shook his head, "I'll just watch."
"Suit yourself, Hikari is an excellent opponent and teammate!" Lee said getting back up. They started at it again as Kimiko came running up with Kiba and Akamaru, she had the puppy Hikari helped choose out in her arms.
"Kari!" she shouted. Hikari was distracted; but still caught Lee's ankle and stopped him.
"Hm?" Hikari looked at the four running up. Kimiko smiled and held out the puppy.
"Isn't she adorable?" Kimiko asked. Hikari smiled and nodded. Kiba smiled and rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
"Kimi, Hikari helped me choose her out. She said you'd love her. She was right," he told her. Kimiko looked at Kiba with realization and then hugged Hikari, who still had a hold of Lee's ankle.
"What should we name her?" she asked Hikari.
"She's your puppy. You name her," Hikari told her and let go of Lee's ankle, she took a step away.
"You can't talk and fight!" Lee complained.
"Oh yes she can. Just go at her!" Kimiko shouted at him. Lee continued where he left off striking at Hikari.
"How about Reiko? " Kimiko asked. Hikari froze and jumped over Lee's kick.
"Like Mom… Yeah, if you like it," she said, looking at Kimiko. Lee stopped, going to hit Hikari's back; but instead wrapped his arms around her waist and picked her up.
"Lee! This isn't a part of the training!" Hikari squealed.
"Neither is talking to your friends!" he said, spinning her. Hikari grabbed a tree branch and pulled herself up. Lee laughed and smiled.
"Missing something?" Lee asked, holding up her necklace. Her eyes widened.
"How did you even grab it?" she asked, standing upside down on the branch.
"When you were talking. That's why," Lee said, putting it back on her.
"Well, for me it's something the opponent should be worried coming off. Not me," she told him. She jumped out of the tree. He sat back down and smiled.
"I'm going to rest a bit. I'm kind of tired," Lee said. Hikari nodded.
"Maybe you should take a break too," Kiba asked. Hikari shook her head.
"No, there's something I want to work on," she said. Kimiko tilted her head in confusion.
"I did it earlier with fire, I want to try to do it with water," she said with a smile. They all looked at her puzzled and she closed her eyes and clasped her hands together, starting to spin. Before they knew it, she had created a dome of water around her.
"I wonder…" Kiba mumbled as he threw a kunai at it. It went in; but shot back out at him. He ducked.
"That was cool!" he shouted with a open smile. Hikari stopped spinning and the water was spinning in a ring around her. Her brows were furrowed as she concentrated on the water in front of her. Both palms facing it at her sides.
"Don't over work yourself!" Kimiko shouted at her.
"I'm… Not… I've got this…" Hikari huffed as it turned into vines. She smiled then yelped as it turned into lightening and shocked her hand.
"Let it go!" Kiba shouted. Hikari shook her head and bit her lip.
"She's going to over work herself," Kiba said to Kimiko.
"I know… Just look though," Kimiko said, pointing at Shino. He was standing there, doing nothing.
"Is he planning on cutting off her chakra?" Kiba asked. Kimiko shook her head.
"He hasn't moved yet. When he does is when she needs to stop," Kimiko said. Kiba nodded and Reiko barked and started to play with Akamaru. Their owners smiled at them and chuckled lightly.
"Yes! I got it!" Hikari said as it turned into air, and then flames surrounded her as a ring. She had a smile, and then realized it was slowly turning into light.
"You're pushing it! Remember what happened when you tried to use light last time? You need to stop!" Kimiko screamed at her. She was starting to get deeply worried about her friend. The ring turned into a glowing white light, and then burst into darkness. It surrounded where Hikari was at in a large black ball.
"Hikari!" Lee shouted.
"I'm over here! My bad, at least this time I got away from it!" Hikari called from behind Shino. Shino looked behind him.
"How did you move so quickly?" Lee asked.
"I got scared," she said quietly. Kiba laughed.
"You afraid of the dark?" he teased. Hikari glared at him and lightening ran through the dark ball. Hikari jumped as she saw faces.
"Oh no, not again… Kimi, we got an issue!" Hikari shouted over. Kimiko looked at her worriedly and looked at the orb. She gulped.
"What do we do this time?" she asked.
"I don't know! Kakashi is out cold, he might not wake up for a while! Lee… G-Go get Gai-sensei," Hikari said. Lee was up and gone as soon as she spoke.
"What is that thing?" Kiba asked, walking toward it.
"Don't! Stop!" Hikari shouted. A voice started to come from it. A soft, sweet, caressing voice. It was calling out to them, asking for help. Hikari and Kimiko's legs started shaking. Kiba almost took a step forward when Kimiko held him back.
"Don't… It's dangerous," Kimiko warned him. Shino stepped back beside Hikari.
"What did you do?" he whispered.
"I…I let the shadows of my nightmares out again…" she responded, her whole body shaking.
"How did you get rid of it last time?" Kiba asked. Hikari swallowed.
"I don't remember…" she admitted. Gai was back with Lee a few seconds later. Gai was taken back when he saw the dark orb, growing slightly bigger with each passing moment.
"Help… Me… I just want out… Please," the voice begged.
"What on earth is that thing?" Gai shouted.
"The shadows of her nightmares… She went a little too far with her jutsu and it got out again," Kimiko told him.
"A… Again?" he asked, looking at Hikari; who was completely terrified. She looked as if she was going to breakdown any second.
"Hikari, listen to me. Just face it, it should go away!" Gai yelled.
"Should? I don't know how I got it to go away last time! I don't want to…" Hikari didn't finish. She took a deep breath and walked toward it, step by step.
"Yes, come here and help me child. You can do it. I know you can. Come closer," it said. Hikari bit her lip and put a weary hand up to it. A discolored hand reached out and grabbed her arm. Hikari held in her scream as it pulled her in slowly.
"Hikari!" Kimiko shouted. She tried to run to her, but Kiba held her back. A face showed itself and Hikari couldn't breathe. They face looked familiar as the eyes mimicked her own; but she knew it wasn't her mother.
'Wh-Who is that?' Hikari thought.
"Help me child!" it screeched as it pulled her in. Kimiko cried out and Hikari wasn't visible anymore.
"What did you do?" Kimiko shouted at Gai. Gai stood there, frozen. He knew this wasn't good; but the orb slowly got smaller.
"She's almost out of chakra and you sent her in there! What kind of sensei are you?" Kimiko screamed at him.
"I-I… I don't have a clue what that thing is," he said quietly. Someone in a mask jumped out of the tree in front of it. There was a scream as he cut through the orb, his blade glowing vibrantly as he did so. Soon, the ball was gone and he carefully put Hikari on the ground.
"Take her home. Now. Let her rest," he said, and before anyone could say anything, he jumped back into the tree and was gone. Gai went over to Hikari and picked her up.
'She's hardly breathing, shouldn't I take her to the hospital?' Gai thought.
"No. I said, take her home," the man said, hanging upside down from the tree.
"Who are you?" Gai asked.
"No one of importance; just someone who knows what to do when that thing appears, I've been trained to watch and take care of her from afar. Now just take her home," the man said. Gai looked at him, not trusting him exactly; but nodded.
"Alright; but I will be looking for you later," Gai told him.
"Good luck finding me," he said, and then used a jutsu to transport. Hikari gasped and woke up, sitting up in Gai's arms.
"What happened?" Hikari asked.
"You… Don't remember?" Kiba asked.
"I remember the black ball and a face…" she said quietly.
"Some guy showed up and cut you out," Lee said. Hikari blinked and Gai started walking to Shino's house with her.
"I can walk Gai-sensei," she said annoyed.
"How do I know you won't run off?" he asked.
"Cause Shino won't let me go anywhere," she told him. He put her down.
"Make sure she goes home with you. I need to go report this to the other Jounin. No more training today," Gai said, then was gone. Hikari stumbled and Lee caught her.
"Thanks… My legs feel like jelly," she told him.
"Shino, you should take her. I'm going to go home and rest… I'm worn out," Lee said. Shino nodded and Hikari leaned onto him. Lee ran the other direction from them and Hikari sighed.
"I told you to stop didn't I?" Kimiko nagged her. Hikari rolled her eyes.
"At least I was able to last longer than last time," she defended herself.
"You should have listened to her," Shino said.
"You know, you have no say in this what so ever. I don't care what you think; it's not your problem. I've dealing with this with Kimiko only the past several years. I don't need your help," Hikari snapped. Kimiko closed her eyes and pushed on a pressure point in Hikari's neck to make her pass out. Shino caught her and looked up at Kimiko as he got Hikari on his back.
"What was that for?" he asked her.
"She's tired and at the moment still scared. She'll be a little mean and rude when she wakes up; but you have to learn to calm her down," she answered. He nodded.
"I'll see you guys tomorrow," Shino said quietly before walking off home. Kiba took Kimiko's hand. She looked and laughed when both pups were on his head.
"C'mon, let's go home," he said. She nodded and they didn't let go of each other's hands.