“Miki?” Hisoka called out, staring at the girl in surprise.

Her katana had slipped from her fingers, they were trembling so hard. Without a word, she pressed her hands to her temple, attempting to push back the memories assaulting her mind. Flashes of needles and orders, pain and fear, things that she was better off without. Things that she’d done her best to forget since being brought to Konoha.

Things that just the simple sight of him,Yukio, brought racing back.

“Miki?” Yukio echoed, that smile on his lips growing even bigger. “Is that what they’re calling you, little pig?”

“You leave her alone,” Hisoka ordered, stepping closer to Miki and cautiously placing his fingers on the top of his weapon’s pouch.

At the same time, he was drawing up how they might escape in his mind. The person in front of them was an adult, who obviously Miki knew and was frightened of. He might have been one of the better shinobi in the academy, but he was just that, an academy student. He wasn’t even a genin yet. There was no doubt in his mind that the person in front of him was probably much stronger than he was.

Hikari, seeming to come to the same conclusion, whistled softly, causing Sake to tense on her shoulder. The bird ruffled his feathers, whistling in response, and launching itself into the air. Yukio pursed his lips, dropping down from the tree the moment that the bird took off.

“Now, now, that’s no fun,” he complained. “I haven’t even gotten the chance to talk to her very much yet and you’re already calling for help?”

“Miki doesn’t talk,” Hisoka retorted, slipping his fingers under the lip of the cloth covering the top of the weapon’s pouch. “So there’s no reason to wait.”

“Ha, you’re a smart kid, aren’t you?” Yukio questioned. “If that’s the case, how’d you end up hanging out with her? Hm? Smart people avoid strange things.”

“How long?” Hisoka asked, not bothering to answer Yukio’s question.

Hikari, realizing that he was talking to her, hesitated, running over what she knew in her mind.

“Ten, maybe fifteen minutes,” she supplied. “Sake is fast, but I gave a pretty generic order.”

“No need to get so worked up,” Yukio broke in with a sigh. “I said, I just want to talk to her for a moment.”

Before either of them could react, the shinobi had darted forward, instantly placing himself right in front of Miki. He simply raised his hands, tugging her hands down and offering that same, bright smile.

“Get away from Miki-chan!” Hisoka ordered, raising a kunai in his hand.

Yukio laughed, ignoring him. At the sight of how hard that kunai was shaking in the air, no one would have felt threatened by the boy’s words.

“Orochimaru-sama sent me to tell you something,” he informed her, amused by how frightened the girl appeared to be. “It wasn’t hard for him to figure out where you’d gone, Ryou had a pretty decent idea about it all. He said that if you were well again, that I should tell you that he’s going to let you play house for a little while. When he needs you, we’ll come get you, whether you’re willing to stop playing or not, understood?”

She didn’t respond and Yukio simply shrugged, reaching down to pick up her katana. Startled into action, she immediately went to snatch it back from him. The older boy laughed, holding it high enough that she couldn’t reach and studying it with a curious eye.

“Did they give you this?” he questioned, then continued without giving her a chance to answer. “Not bad. I bet you might even be able to hurt someone with it, given a chance. Would you want to hurt me with it, I wonder?”

She glowered at him, causing surprise to appear on Yukio’s face. He’d never seen an expression even remotely close to it on the red-head’s face before. A second later he started laughing. Not far away, Hisoka gritted his teeth, still running through any possibilities in his mind on how to escape, and hitting into a dead-end with each one of them. The stranger had showed his speed with the simple movement that put him in front of Miki, no doubt there were more hidden skills that were equal to that. Hikari on the other hand was keeping an eye out for Sake, knowing that whoever the bird would fetch was their best shot.

“Of course you couldn’t hurt me,” Yukio continued a moment later, pushing his shock away for now. “How could you? We’re best friends, aren’t we… what was the name… Miki?”

“Don’t call me that!”

Everyone stared at her in shock, no one more surprised than Yukio himself. Miki jumped, snatching the katana from his grasp in that moment and shooting him a harsh glare.

“Don’t call me that, only they can! You’re stupid, and mean, and I hate you!” she continued, holding the sword in a ready position.

Staring at her for a moment longer, Yukio once again began to laugh. With a single hand he ruffled the top of her hair, moving out of the way before her instantaneous slash could make contact.

“You’re cute. I didn’t know you had this side to you. Perhaps Orochimaru-sama’s decision was a good one,” he mused, then shook his head. “Nope, I changed my mind. I wouldn’t like it if my little piggy actually fought back, you just wouldn’t be the same. I’ll tell him that these Kohona people are a bad influence on our little Miki. That way we can get you back before they mess you up too much, alright?”

Nodding to himself, Yukio slipped one hand into the weapon’s pouch strapped to his leg.

“I think I’ll be going now. I wouldn’t want to get caught up in any trouble when those shinobi your little friend called show up. You two kids, what are your names?”

“I’m not a kid,” Hisoka snapped. “And it’s Hisoka, remember that cause I won’t ever let you take her away.”

None of the conversation had made much sense to the boy, seeing as, as far as he knew, Miki was a distant relative of the Gekko’s who came to stay with them. At the same time, he’d learned enough to decide there was more to it than that, and wasn’t about to just stay silent and let Yukio do as he wished.

Yukio chuckled, even further amused than before. Rolling the ball he’d pulled from the pouch over in his palm, he turned his eyes to the girl who’d stayed silent throughout this entire event, offering her that unsettling, bright smile of his.

“And your name, girly?”

She simply glared at him. He laughed, scratching the side of his head with his free hand.

“Not going to tell me?”

“I’m not an idiot,” she retorted. “I agree with Hisoka-kun, though. You can’t have her.”

“Hm, this should be fun,” Yukio declared. “If you want to keep her, than try. I’m not sure how well that will work, but go ahead. I’ll be seeing you.”

Within an instant, he’d chucked the smoke ball towards the ground and retreated through the trees. All the kids began coughing, Miki dropping her katana as she covered her hands. None of them had been expecting the motion, which meant they’d gotten a mouthful of smoke. A second later several figures darted through the trees, coming to a standstill next to them.

“What happened?”

Miki’s head snapped up at the voice, her eyes settling on Kakashi as the smoke began to clear. He was wearing the mask he’d worn when they’d met, something she’d learned was a symbol of his status as an ANBU shinobi. Despite that fact, she knew it was him, his voice was one she’d recognize anywhere. As she stared, Hisoka cleared his throat and stepped towards where Kakashi, another ANBU, and a shinobi he didn’t recognize, stood. Within a moment he’d pulled to mind a story that remotely resembled an accurate report.

“There was this guy…” he began, pulling up all the information in his mind. “He mentioned Orochimaru, that’s the guy who abandoned the village, right? I heard Okaasan talking to Otousan about it. Well, he said that he had a message for Miki..”

At this point Hisoka trailed off, his eyes turning to Miki. Just at the mentioning of their recent encounter she began trembling once again. Despite this, the girl leaned down and retrieved her katana from the ground, before silently tucking it back away in the sheath on her back.

“Yukio,” she whispered, knowing that was about as much as she’d be able to get out.

Hisoka blinked, then turned his attention back to Kakashi and the others.

“His name was Yukio. I remember him perfectly, so I can give a description of him. Hikari, too. She’s the one who got your guys’ attention, right?”

He’d noted the fact that Sake was once again resting on Hikari’s shoulder. Kakashi nodded, turning his attention to where Miki stood. A quick study of her revealed that she, like the others, didn’t appear to be injured. Gesturing to one of his companions, he made a quick decision.

“Escort them back to the village, we’ll check to see if there’s anyone still around. Make sure that everything that happened is recorded and reported directly to the Hokage- no one else.”

There was agreement on all sides and the shinobi quickly began starting towards the pathway back towards the village. Before they’d exited the clearing, however, Kakashi came to another decision.

“Miki, you stay here.”

Hikari and Hisoka shot her worried looks, but she shook her head and they hesitantly continued to follow the others back towards the village. As soon as they were out of sight, she turned to face Kakashi, although her eyes were focusing on the forest floor.

“You knew him?” Kakashi questioned.

She was still for just a moment, then nodded.

“He was one of Orochimaru’s, then.”

Another nod.

“Do you know where he went?”

This time she was still for a long moment, running his words over in her mind. Kakashi simply watched, slightly patient, as she did.

“Just tell me what you know,” he commanded when that small amount of patience disappeared.

She stared up at him then, wide-eyed at the thought.

He wanted her to talk?

It took her a full moment to gather together the needed words into an order that could be understood.

“He… said that he… was going back to… him.”

Kakashi frowned behind his mask, thinking it over.

“What about you? Why did he just leave?”

“... I get to stay.”

Kakashi considered questioning her further on that matter, but then decided that whatever had been said would be reported by the other two.

“I see. Come along, I’ll take you to the others. Remember, they can’t know the truth about this all.”

She nodded, following him as he began to lead the way back towards the village.

If not knowing would keep the others safe, she wouldn’t tell them anything.

________________________________

The events of that day were kept a secret from most, although the few who’d known who Miki truly was were informed. As time passed, Hisoka and Hikari almost began to forget about it in the excitement of the graduation exam and their team appointments. Miki, however, noticed little things that changed as a result of Yukio’s unwanted visit.

There always seemed to be someone with her, or at least watching her. She never commented on it, of course, but it was slightly unsettling to be watched so often. She knew it was for her own good, but that didn’t change the fact that she couldn’t even practice her katana drills on her own. The Gekkos also seemed to be slightly more worried than before, it showed when she came home late sometimes and got in trouble, or when Hayate would be home and insist on escorting her to and from class.

Yet, there were some things never changed.

“Shouldn’t you be on your way to class?” Kakashi questioned with a sigh, snapping his book shut.

Miki pursed her lips, then shook her head as she peeked around the fence, not completely coming out of hiding just yet.

“Don’t lie,” Kakashi retorted with another sigh. “Your teams are announced today, right?”

She blinked, surprised he’d remembered. A second later she nodded in agreement. He rose a brow at the same time, perhaps a tiny bit amused.

“I thought you said you weren’t supposed to be in class.”

Miki turned slightly red, but didn’t respond any further. Tucking his book away, Kakashi turned from the direction that he’d been going and started walking towards the academy. Miki simply stared after him, not moving from her position against the fence.

“Well, are you coming or not?” he demanded.

He wasn’t being nice, he commented to himself. Kakashi simply hadn’t seen or heard Hayate accompanying her, so it would only be right that he make sure the girl showed up on time. He’d known her long enough by now to be aware of a fact that had become readily obvious. Miki had a horrible sense of direction most of the time.

“Yes.”

He blinked, focusing on her for a moment.

“You’re talking more, recently.”

She simply stared back at him, as if to question why this mattered. A second later she peeled herself away from the fence and hurried to catch up. Kakashi frowned slightly, but dismissed the matter as they began walking in the direction of the school. His mind flickered back to the information he’d received regarding her team and it’s leader. This was followed by the realization that with her becoming a genin she wouldn’t have as much time to follow him around anymore.

‘Good.’

____________________________

“Miki! Sit here, sit here!” Hisoka ordered the moment she stepped into the room.

Not seeing a reason to argue, or anywhere else she’d prefer to sit, Miki easily moved to where he’d positioned himself in the middle of the last row. She silently noted that sitting only a few seats down from them was Hikari. It didn’t surprise her, despite the fact that the three were often seem together and considered as friends, Hikari had yet to give up on her stance that she hated Hisoka.

“Hey, Hika-chan~” Hisoka called out the moment Miki sat down. “Why don’t you join us up here? Or are you afraid that you’ll be too distracted by being so close to me?”

Hikari snorted, not moving an inch. One of their classmates seated between them snickered, shooting Hisoka an amused expression.

“Looks like you were shot down, Hiso-kun. Maybe she’d listen if you’d listen, didn’t Hikari-chan tell you to stop calling her that?”

Miki nodded her agreement. She’d heard Hikari tell him that on several occasions since their adventure in the forest.

“She doesn’t mean it, do you, Hika-chan?” Hisoka replied with his typical cocky grin.

“I do! I hate it just as much as I hate you!” she declared instantly.

“Seems like she means it,” the classmate commented.

“Hm… then you must really love it when I call you that,” he mused in return, choosing to ignore the other boy’s words.

“I don-” Hikari began, cutting herself off as she turned bright red. “You’re a jerk!”

Hisoka’s eyes lit up with amusement.

“Wow, twelve and using such adult language already,” he commented sarcastically. “What would your mother do if she heard that?”

“Better than ten and a brat!” she snapped. “Will you ever grow up?”

Hisoka grinned at her this time, spreading his hands in the air.

“Why should I? As you pointed out, I’m just ten.”

“Jerk.”

“Love you, too~.”

Hikari’s mouth opened, closed, opened again, then closed once more as her face flushed as bright as it could be. Most of their classmates started laughing as she spun around to face the front of the room.

“W-who could l-love you?” she demanded.

Hisoka simply continued to grin.

“She won’t like you if you keep being mean,” Miki commented quietly.

Startled, Hisoka glanced to her, then shrugged.

“Nah, Hikari-chan will always like me. She’s just made that way.”

Miki opened her mouth to say something else, but was interrupted when Yuu entered the room. He quickly glanced over the students to make sure they were all there- he wouldn’t have put it past Hisoka to be late, or for Miki to be late because of him- then offered them all a bright smile.

“Shall we get started?”

Miki tuned out the majority of the assignments, only noting the ones that interested her, which were very few. She was mainly just interested in where she would end up, well, that and her friends.

“Team four: Gekko Mikki-”

Hisoka straightened up in his seat, nudging Miki with his elbow.

“Asari Hisoka-”

“Yes!” he called out, pumping his fist in the air.

The class, predictably, started laughing, even Yuu sent the boy a slightly amused look. Hikari on the other hand turned so she could glare at him.

“Don’t interrupt!” she chastised.

Hisoka simply rolled his eyes in response.

“And Yasui Hikari.”

“Yes!”

Hisoka started snickering as Hikari realized what had slipped out of her mouth. Turning just as red as before, she buried her face in her arms in an attempt to hide it.

“Excited, Hika-chan?”

“Sh-shut-up!” she sputtered. “I’m… I’m just happy to be with Miki-chan!”

“Team five…”

Miki eyed her two teammates with apprehension. They were the two people in class she knew the best , yet she couldn't help but wonder how well this would work. Hikari and Hisoka couldn’t be around each other for one minute without arguing.

‘I hope our sensei knows what he’s doing.’

________________________

“Shit. I’m so sorry!” a voice declared, reaching the classroom before the person had even stepped through the door.

“Don’t wo-’

“Sorry! I really didn’t mean to!”

“It’s just a bum-”

“Sorry!”

“Kenshin!” the second voice interrupted, sounding rather irritated. “If you apologize one more time, I’m going to hit you!”

“Sorry!” the first sputtered. “I didn’t mean to keep apol-”

The genin waiting in the classroom simply stared at the door as a loud thump reached them from the otherside. A second later a man stepped through, a scowl settled on his lips.

“Team six,” he called out. “You’re with me. I’ll give introductions as well go. If we stay here any longer that dumbass’ team with be left without a leader.”

“Sorr-”

“Dammit, Kenshin!” the man declared and took a step back towards the door. “One more word. Jus-”

A figure appeared in the doorway, his right hand clasped to the top of head. One look at the other man’s face and he clamped his left hand down over his mouth, as if that was the only way to stop the apologies. The man’s black hair was cast around his face in messy, uncombed locks, his bright blue eyes focused on the first person.

“... it’s not even worth it,” the first sighed before checking to make sure his three genin had joined him by the door. When he noticed they had, he nodded to himself and glanced back at Kenshin. “Just get in the damn classroom, before you embarrass yourself further.”

Kenshin nodded, dropping both his hands as he stepped past the first man.

“S-”

“Let’s go!”

Before Kenshin could finish speaking, the first man had left, his genin scurrying out behind him. Kenshin sheepishly turned to face the rest of the genin, his eyes flickering over the ones that were left. Not recognizing them directly off the bat, he frowned.

“Ah, team four,” he said, brightening when Hisoka, Hikari, and Miki stood up in response. “I’m Muto Kenshin, I’ll be your team leader. Let’s go...ah… sorry, I haven’t done this before. Hm… let’s go … yeah. Somewhere.”

The three genin exchanged looks, all of them obviously unsettled.

This was who was going to lead them?

___________________________________

“Well… I don’t really know what to say… sorry about that. Um… I introduced myself earlier, but I’ll do it again with a bit more information. Muto Kenshin, I’m a jounin, obviously, this is my first year as a team leader… hm… I’m slightly apprehensive about all of this … but I’m sure I’ll be able to keep all of you from dying!”

Hikari simply stared at him.

“Dying?”

He frowned in response, scratching the top of his head.

“Well, yeah. Shinobi business is dangerous stuff, right? So, I’ll have to be careful.”

“We’re just new genin, though,” Hikari replied with a disapproving voice. “We won’t be getting any dangerous missions for awhile!”

Hisoka started snickering at the disappointed expression that appeared on Kenshin’s face.

“That’s right…” he muttered, then brightened a moment later as he surveyed the three genin. “Well, nevermind that! Our training will be dangerous enough to make up for it! How about all of you introduce yourselves, hm? The I’ll tell you what we’re going to do.”

“Dangerous?” Hikari echoed.

“Awesome!” Hisoka declared with a grin. “Fine, I’ll introduce myself first. I’m Asari Hisoka. The most talented-”

Hikari snorted, shooting him an annoyed expression.

“Handsome-”

Her face flushed a bright shade of red.

“Amazing genin from our class! I’m going to make everyone remember my clan!”

Kenshin eyed him for a moment before offering a bright smile.

“I see. You’re very egotistical. Next?”

Hisoka visibly deflated as Hikari began laughing. A moment later she stopped, focusing on her own introduction.

“I’m Yasui Hikari,” she began, folding her hands in her lap as Sake shifted on her shoulder. “I’m okay with my skills… and … I just want to be a good shinobi.”

“Ah, you’re that one. Your mother was a Uchiha before she got married, wasn’t she?” he asked thoughtfully receiving a nod from Hikari. “I see. You’re related to the Uchiha’s, yet you’re average. And how about the last one?”

Miki simply stared at him with slightly narrowed eyes. Recovering from Kenshin’s slightly harsh comment, Hisoka perked up and offered another grin.

“Miki doesn’t talk a lot. She’s a bit weird like that.”

Realization crossed Kenshin’s expression as he eyed the girl for a moment. A second later he offered that bright smile of his.

“I see. Very weird indeed.”

Both of her teammates glared at their sensei, crossing their arms in almost identical, irritated stances.

“Only we’re allowed to call her weird,” they announced simultaneously.

Kenshin rose a brow.

“Well, at least you two can agree on something,” he mused.

The two genin glared at each other.

“Don’t say what I’m going to say, baka,” Hikari snapped.

Hisoka rolled his eyes.

“Don’t call me a baka, Hika-chan.”

“Don’t call me Hika-chan, butthead!”

“Oh, wow, butthead this time, is it?”

“Yeah, you’re a butthead!”

“Hm, I’d like to think my face is a bit more appealing than that. Isn’t my face the whole reason you like me? Do you like buttfaces?”

“I… I…” Hikari sputtered, flushing red. “I don’t like you, I hate you!”

“Right, I forgot. You ‘hate’ me,” Hisoka mocked in return, making quotation marks in the air with his fingers.

Miki sighed, laying her head in her hands.

“I think they need to cool down,” Kenshin commented aloud, pursing his lips throughtfully. Ignoring the bickering genin, he snapped his fingers a moment later, a pleased expression appearing. “Ah! How about we move onto your test, hm?”

Three blank expressions appeared.

“Our test?”

A/N: Tada! Another update, wow, I'm on a roll.

<3