It only took seconds for Hikari to lose sight of Miki- not that she was too surprised. She’d easily figured out what they were talking about and with her stuck escorting Hisoka, who wasn’t moving slowly by any means, she just couldn’t keep up. The only thing that surprised her was that Miki didn’t use the body flicker jutsu, and from what she had seen, wasn’t traveling in a completely straight line.

By the time Miki made it to the village gates, she had to pause for a moment, her head spinning. She closed her eyes, clasping one hand over her mouth as if it could make the nauseous feeling disappear. Running around the village while debatebly drunk, possibly a bad idea. Perhaps, a faint part of her mind considered, that was why it was all too easy to ignore the reasonable part of herself and just go with her emotions that were urging her to act.

Within a moment she was moving again, an excuse slipping out of her lips for the guards without her actually giving much thought to it. Whatever she’d given them must have seen reasonable, because within moment she was out and darting in the direction of the clearing.

It didn’t take her long to find it. The spot was burned into her memories.

She spotted him instantly. He was perched on the branch, his lips twisting up into a gleeful expression the moment she appeared. Without a word, he dropped to the ground and shoved his hands into his pockets.

“I’d call you little pig, but you’ve gotten so big,” he informed her cheerfully. “Just look at you! Why, you actually look like a woman!”

A feeling of disgust rippled through her as he appraised her for a moment, the feeling of his eyes sweeping over her entirely unsettling. Yukio simply grinned, comparing the image in front of him to the one he remembered. She was taller, just barely. Nothing could change the fact that she’d been malnourished in the years before coming to Konoha and had already had a rather small build.  Her hair was hanging down to about chest level in untamed, fiery waves and her mud colored eyes narrowed. He hadn’t taken a step towards her, but she’d already pulled her katana from its sheath.

The way she held it made his grin grow. It had the look of someone who felt completely at home with it.

“I should have brought the sword I brought last time!” he complained. “I left it with my things. Hey, no fighting right now, alright? We have to wait for proper circumstances. A fight isn’t any fun without spectators and stakes! I just came to see how my piggy is doing!”

Wordlessly, Miki lunged forward, sweeping her katana towards his chest. With a click of his tongue, Yukio lightly leapt back into the tree, raising one hand to wag a single finger back and forth.

“Bad girl! I said no figh-”

He cut off, startled when she suddenly seemed to disappear. With a surprised expression, he rocked forward on the branch, studying the clearing. For a moment, it was all silent. That was until he suddenly dropped, hooking his hands onto the branch and launching himself around it, a blade cutting through the air where his head had been seconds ago. Before she could move out of the way, he used his trademark speed to thrust his feet into the small of her back, sending the already unbalanced girl tumbling out of the tree and to the ground with a loud thud.

As she dropped her katana to cover her mouth, attempting to stay the nausea once again, Yukio just grinned at her, his hands still hooked around the branch in question. Then, without a second’s hesitation, he dropped to the ground and kicked the katana out of reach. Her body instantly seemed to fade slightly, a cloud of black smoke swirling around her form. She’d barely dropped her hand away from her mouth, however, when the curse mark sent a sharp, searing pain through her and her form instantly solidified. Clicking his tongue like one might do at a disobedient child, Yukio simply shoved her forward with his foot, then settled it on the small of her back, firmly planting her in the dirt.

“You’ve gotten better,” he informed her cheerily. “Actually, it surprised me that you didn’t get back up.”

Cocking his head, he leaned forward and took a whiff of the air. A second later he started laughing, his foot lightening up somewhat.

“You smell like alcohol!”

She slammed her elbow into his leg causing a loud curse to escape from his lips. Without pause, she flipped over and grabbed the leg he’d started to pull away. With a heavy sigh, as if the situation wasn’t concerning to him in the slightest, Yukio shot her a disapproving look at the same moment that she grabbed his leg.

“Fire Release: Bodily Flames.”

The soft spoken words were accompanied by a sign preformed with one hand. His icy blue eyes watched a she instantly released his leg and rolled away, flames lighting up the air around the limb she’d been holding seconds ago. He released the jutsu, placing his foot gingerly on the ground.

“You know, I wonder what would happen if you lit someone full of alcohol on fire…” he mused for a moment, then shook his head, dismissing the idea. “I’ll figure that out later. Lighting my piggy on fire wouldn’t be good.”

She lurched to her feet as he crossed his arms, showing her a small frown. A shiver racked down her spine at the sight. Yukio rarely did anything but smile or smirk. When he frowned, she’d learned at a younger age to stay silent and attempt to see if he’d forget her. It’d rarely worked.

“Now, I said no fighting. Maybe I should punish you for not listening,” he muttered, furrowing his brows. “Such a bad girl. See, I knew the Leaf would be bad for you. The thought tastes bad, you being like them.”

“What’s so bad about being a shinobi from Konoha?”

Startled, both figures spun to face Hisoka and Hikari as they appeared in the clearing. Hisoka pulled his arm from Hikari’s before he’d spoken, not wanting to be seen having to be lead. Not in front of this man.

Not that the effort did much good at hiding his nerves. His words were cold, but his body trembled at the thought of who he was standing in front of. No amount of mental preparation could keep the reaction from happening- his body could still remember the pain of having his sight stolen away. Hisoka’s instincts were screaming for him to get out of there.

“Simple,” Yukio replied, nonplussed. “Konoha-nin are yucky.”

Hisoka bit back his instant anger that flared at the opposing man’s childish response.

“How would you know?”

Yukio cocked his head, an almost thoughtful expression crossing his face for a moment. The usual, unbalanced look to him disappeared in that moment, giving him an oddly serious feeling that was unsettling to both of those that could see him. Then he grinned, sticking out his tongue in their direction. Whether or not he was purposely showing it, Hikari wasn’t certain, but she could easily spot the black lines making their way down the man’s tongue. A curse mark, she realized, taking note of it. If they got out of this safely, she’d have to check the books for it. Perhaps it’d give them some clue of who the man was.

“Trust me, they’re yucky. Orochimaru-sama is so much more fun!” he announced. “You’ll see! You finally get to meet him this time!”

The ache on Miki’s neck seemed to grow more prominent with Yukio’s words. As if he’d only just then realized what he said, a slightly sadistic edge seemed to come into his smile as he turned his cheerful expression towards Hisoka.

“Well, most of you will see. Hey, I’m just surprised to see that you’re still alive! I thought for sure you’d die like that man… what was his name... “ Yukio informed them, tapping his chin with one finger as he tried to pull the name to mind. “Oh, well, it isn’t that important. He’s dead anyways.”

Before any of them could stop her, Hikari surged past Hisoka. She didn’t have a weapon on her- she wasn’t an active shinobi. Hikari didn’t have a jutsu in mind. She just knew she couldn’t stand there and listen anymore.

She struck out, her body remembering the taijutsu training she rarely used anymore. Without flinching, Yukio simply caught her leg and stuck out with his other hand, sending a splintering pain shooting through the limb. His hand nimbly plucked a kunai from his pouch the second he’d released her leg and he swung it around, tucking it beneath the girl’s throat.

Hisoka couldn’t breath. He’d heard her cry of pain, he’d heard the sound of something metal being drawn, and how it was deathly silent.

It was far too similar to last time.

Miki simply stared, her eyes uncomprehending. With his freehand, Yukio plucked a slip of paper from his pocket and held it up for Miki to see.

“I told you, didn’t I? No fighting. You really should learn to listen to me like you used to.”

Then, without moving his eyes away from Miki’s, he simply tucked the paper into Hikari’s pocket. That done, he patted the outside of it, amusement clear. Hikari was trembling in his hold, whether from fear, or anger, he wasn’t sure. Either idea seemed even more amusing to him than how easily he’d captured her.

“Now, I’m leaving, but I’m sure we’ll meet again. After-all, Orochimaru-sama has business in this place. Tata for now~”

Suddenly slipping the blade out from under her neck, he slammed the hilt of it into the side of her head before dropping the kunai. Just as Miki darted forward, Hikari was left to cumple to the ground and he retreated to his favorite branch in the tree, fingers digging a smoke-bomb out of his pocket. With a grin, he shifted the item around in his hand.

“Remember this? I left this place the same way last time. Hope you enjoyed seeing me as much as I enjoyed seeing you.”

Miki knelt down next to Hikari’s unconscious frame, her eyes glaring daggers in Yukio’s direction. The man simply aimed a mocking salute at her before dropping the smoke-bomb and slipping away from the clearing.

He’d escaped, again.

She couldn’t chase him and leave Hisoka and Hikari alone.

Faintly, Kakashi’s request flashed through her mind. He’d said to come and get him if something happened.

Maybe it would have gone differently if he’d been there.

____________________________

After Kazue had set up and told the others of the positions of the tags, Jun took a position in one of the trees lining the area, saying that he’d get a better view of our surroundings from there. She kept an eye on him for a moment to make sure that he was actually going to do as he said and keep his genjutsu activated for a decent amount of time. Pleased to discover that it seemed like he would, she resumed her sprawled out position on the ground.

It wasn’t long before she peeked her eyes open, having the unsettling feeling that someone was watching her. When she spotted him, his lips simply twisted up a little, causing her to sigh and adjust herself so she was in a sitting position.

“Yes?”

Kabuto opened his mouth as if he might say something, then glanced past her and pursed his lips thoughtfully. A second later he offered a bright, sheepish smile.

“I wanted to get water, but I’ve forgotten where you laid the traps. Would you mind accompanying me?”

She frowned slightly, glancing over her shoulder and spotting Noriaki. He’d positioned himself in the middle of the cleared area and happened to be watching the two of them with narrowed eyes

“I’ll come, too,” he started to say, but cut off when she shook her head.

It was partly logic, partly curiosity that caused her to reject his offer. The curiosity came from wanting to know what he wanted to talk about that Noriaki’s presence made difficult. That part of her choice she doubted Noriaki would accept as reasonable, so she decided to inform him of the logical part.

“If you come with me, that only leaves Jun guarding the camp, and he might not notice if someone slips past his jutsu. If you’re here, you’d be able to make sure he doesn’t get hurt if that happens. Besides, if Kabuto-san was going to attack, he would have done so by now.”

“She’s right,” Kabuto spoke up. “It’d be a bad idea to leave him alone.”

Noriaki studied the two of them for a moment, shifting in his position in the dirt, then reluctantly nodded.

“Stay within eyesight.”

Rolling her eyes, Kazue held out a hand in his direction.

“Yes, sir. Now may I have your water bottle, I’ll fill that up while we’re there.”

With a nod, he dug the bottle out of his bag and tossed it over. Then, without another word, she turned and started over to where the river was cutting through the rocks a good ten, fifteen feet away. It wouldn’t have been a big deal if it wasn’t for the fact that the rocks weren’t all even, the river actually sitting a bit lower than the area they’d settled their camp in. That, plus the fact it was dark, made for a risky trip. Her lips twisted up in amusement as she realized Kabuto was easily avoiding the concealed explosive tags.

“So, what is it?” she questioned, not bothering to make her tone anything less than blunt.

Kabuto’s amused expression appeared once again, the one that reminded her of Jun’s. As they dropped down to the lower level of rocks, where the river was, he simply shrugged.

“I was curious, you mentioned your brother earlier. He’s older than you, isn’t he?”

Confused, Kazue simply nodded, stopping where she stood.

“He is. Why?”

“You’re the heir to the clan, aren’t you? Why not him?”

The familiar, slight irritation that appeared whenever her brother’s incident was brought up swept through her. It wasn’t as much of an irritation at the person as much as her feelings on the matter. If he’d been able to have that position, everything would be so much easier.

“He’s blind.”

Kabuto’s expression turned surprised.

“But I heard he was a genius and even graduated the academy at a younger age than his teammates. Is that possible of a blind person? No offense, but it seems strange.”

As he spoke, he closed the distance between them and the river and bent down to put his bottle in the water. She bit her lip, the habit making her next words come out easier.

“He wasn’t born that way. There was a mission when he was a genin, I’m not sure about the details. All of this is common knowledge- he got injured by the enemy. I was the only other child in our family, and I had the bloodline limit. It’d be strange for me not to take his place after that.”

Kabuto twisted the cap onto his bottle and stood, turning to her with a rather curious expression on his face.

“I remember hearing about that, now. At the same time… your clan is known for their medical jutsu, aren’t they? It’s unfortunate that they couldn’t keep that from happening. I would think that it might be difficult, but that that Asari clan could have done something.”

She simply stared at him. He smiled, shrugged, and tucked his bottle away.

“Shall we rejoin the others?”

Kazue nodded, her mind stuck on his words. Until he’d said it, she’d never even considered that fact. A second later, she gave a shake of her head, attempting to dismiss the idea.

If they could have done something, they would have, wouldn’t they?

As they made their way back up to the camp, a nagging feeling started to develop in the back of her mind.

Despite all of their faults, her clan would have tried everything to save Hisoka.

Right?

______________________________

“I’ll leave you here,” Kabuto announced as they neared the tower the next morning.

Surprised, each of the other genin paused on their respective branches. The person in question simply smiled.

“I think I saw a sign left by one of my teammates a little ways back. Most likely, they’re nearby. I wouldn’t want them to mistake you for enemies. You’ve already gotten me this far, so I should be fine.”

“See you in three days, then,” Kazue replied, glancing over to where Noriaki stood.

He seemed no less wary of the shinobi than when they started. His eyes were focused on Kabuto with an unreadable expression. A second later he nodded his agreement with Kazue’s words. Jun on the other hand just offered the silver-haired boy a bright grin.

“See you. Don’t get yourself killed- it’d be irritating to find out we helped you just for you to die.”

“Of course.”

With that, he dropped out of the tree and to the ground. As they watched, he disappeared into the thick greenery. Slightly more wary than before, but still excited to reach their destination, the team took off once again. Using Jun as a detector for suspicious areas and Kazue for the obvious traps, they managed to avoid running head-on into another team  before reaching the building. Tired and ready to get home and change, Kazue tugged open the door and gestured for her other teammates to head inside ahead of her.

It took a bit of time, but they easily figured out their next steps with the help of the words on the wall and unfurled the scrolls. When the resulting smoke disappeared, Kazue was rather shocked to find her brother standing in front of them with a bright smile, his blonde hair blocking view of his eyes as per-usual. That nagging feeling picked up in the back of her mind once again just at the sight of him.

Could her clan have done something more? Was it really impossible for him to have been able to keep his sight?

“Great job, you guys!”

“Why you?” Jun questioned, bluntly. “Why not Miki-sensei?”

Hisoka hesitated, then shrugged, spreading his hands in the air.

“I’m not good enough?”

Jun nodded.

“I’d rather have Miki-sensei.”

As her brother visibly deflated, Kazue found herself laughing. Noriaki simply continued to study the words on the wall, obviously not interested in why Hisoka was the one to greet them.

“Well, your sensei was busy, so I requested to get to come,” Hisoka informed them, reviving himself. “So, I should get to the explanation! Alright, h-”

“I really don’t care,” Jun informed him, bracing his hands behind his head. “Hey, do we get to rest now? I’m beat.”

Pushing her unsettling thoughts aside, Kazue stepped into deal with her brother and her teammate. Kabuto was wrong, of course. Her family wouldn’t have done that. What benefit would there be in leaving her brother blind and putting her in the position she was in?

There wasn’t one.

It was a ridiculous idea.

Wasn’t it?

A/N: This is a little shorter than I planned on making it, but I really like this ending! What do you guys think? Did you see figure out what just happened here? ;D I'd love to know if you did!

P.S. Not you Momo~ Only in PM if you did since you already know~ <3. Jk-ing. I love your feedback.