After the introduction had finished, there wasn’t much to say about her, Miki was ushered to a seat on the front row. Originally the only seat that was open had been in the middle of the back, but after a bit of thought Yuu asked one of the students if they’d open up a seat next to where Hisoka normally was, in hopes to keep Miki from falling too awfully far behind on concepts that might be difficult for her to understand. She seemed to be at least slightly comfortable around the boy.

Unfortunately, as always seemed to happen after a lesson started, Hisoka promptly propped his head up on his arms and fell into a strange state of sleep. His eyes might have been slightly open, but he was in no way awake. Miki realized this after only a few minutes, and while she mimicked his way of sitting, she was careful to pay complete attention to the lecture that began. The concept of chakra wasn’t something she was completely unfamiliar with, she’d known faint basics of molding chakra even before she’d begun living in Konoha.

They’d been required for the experiments.

Then, within the last few weeks, Hayate, Kaminari, and Tomi had taught her a few more details in hopes of giving her at least a small foot up when she joined the class. As such, she may not have had knowledge of special jutsu like some of the children in her class, but she did at least know the basics of performing it. Despite that, however, she began to pick up on several unfamiliar terms as the teacher spoke. She made a mental note to question someone about them later, or attempt to look them up. Her reading skills had improved a little with Hayate and Kaminari’s help, although she doubted that she’d actually be able to find the information she needed on those flimsy skills alone.

At one point in the lecture, the teacher’s eyes fell upon Hisoka in the seat next to her, and he pursed his lips in annoyance. He’d long since realized that the little shinobi often fell asleep during his lessons. Snapping his book shut, the teacher stepped forward and placed a single hand on the table in front of Hisoka. Snickers echoed through the class as he gave the boy a thin lipped smile. Like Yuu, none of Hikoka’s classmates were unfamiliar with the boy’s habit.

“Now, I’m sure that you all would like to move on from the lesson to practice, wouldn’t you?” their teacher questioned and a murmur of agreement swept through the room. “How about we have Hisoka-kun give us an example of one of the basic techniques I mentioned?”

Startled awake by the sound of his name, Hisoka blinked, eyeing his teacher blearily.

“What?”

Laughter replaced the soft snickers, and Yuu’s patience frayed even further. Miki on the other hand cocked her head, curious to see what her self-proclaimed big brother would do. He yawned, straightened up in his seat, and offered their teacher a slightly amused smile.

“Did you need something, Yuu-sensei?”

“I believe I asked if you would demonstrate one of the justus on the board,” his teacher replied wearily.

His irritation that had been building up died away within an instant when he remembered just who he’d been attempting to embarrass in front of the class. Hisoka simply grinned, slipping out of his seat and offering his teacher a slightly mocking bow.

“Sure thing!” he replied, then turned his eyes to Miki. “Oh, and pay close attention to this, if you want help I’ll show it to you again later.”

With that, he moved to the front of the classroom, glancing at the board for a second before spinning around and clasping his hands together in the simple sign required at the beginning of the technique.

“Henge no Jutsu,” he announced, changing the sign as needed and giving a cocky grin just as a small puff of smoke appeared around him.

His teacher sighed as the boy was immediately revealed to have transformed himself into a perfect copy of Yuu himself. The class on the other hand cheered him on.

“Anything else, Yuu-sensei?” he questioned cheekily.

At that moment, their teacher reconsidered his choice in allowing Hisoka to be the one to watch over Miki during the class period. While the young boy was indeed one of their more intelligent students, he also happened to be completely aware of that fact and enjoyed showing off, as well as slacking off. He was able to get by with both, however, because of the simple fact that he had a photographic memory. He only had to see it once to remember how to do something, and when that was combined with his natural chakra control, the child was far above his peers. Despite Hisoka’s young age, none of them would be surprised if he graduated with the next group, well, as long as he actually remembered to attend class on the graduation day this time around. To put it simply, his ability was great, but his behavior not the best example for a girl who didn’t know how she was supposed to act around others.

“No, Hisoka-kun, thank-you for the example,” Yuu sighed. “Would anyone else like to try?”

Hisoka released the jutsu and sauntered back to his seat as the question hit the air. There was an instant show of hands and after a moments thought, he called out an order for the students to come down and try the technique. The first was a girl who appeared to be about the same age as Hisoka. Her brown hair fell just to ears, her eyes a rather strange shade that almost resembled amber. The girl’s clothing consisted of a simple blouse and trousers, a cloth tied around her upper right arm in place of where she planned on putting her forehead protector upon graduation.

She pursed her lips in concentration, furrowing her brow as well as she attempted to produce the constant amount of chakra needed to copy the technique Hisoka had shown off. A second later she began the handsigns.

“Henge no Jutsu!”

A flash of smoke later, the class was staring at her as she gave their sensei a hopeful smile. Yuu sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, shooting a disapproving look at a nearby student who snickered. Her smile dropped away as she figured out that while she’d managed to perform the jutsu, she’d somehow ended up making herself into a rather decent copy of Hisoka instead. She’d been so distracted about wanting to do as well as he had, that she’d performed the jutsu with him in mind.

Hisoka simply looked amused.

“You look pretty awesome, Hikari.”

Flushing red, she released the jutsu instantly as laughter ran through the class.

“Sh-shut up!”

He grinned, leaning back in his desk.

“Just saying.”

Miki cocked her head, taking a mental note of the girl’s name. It seemed that she and Hisoka were friends.

“Your such a butthead, Hisoka-kun!” Hikari declared as she stomped back to her seat. “I really do hate you!”

He leaned his head over the back of his seat so he could watch her as she went up the steps.

“Nu-uh. No one can hate me.”

“I do. I hate you!”

“Nope.”

“I do!”

“Nu-uh.”

Suddenly a book came flying down in their direction, Hisoka ducking just in time for it to fly by and hit the back of their sensei’s head instead. He’d been distracted by watching another student attempt the technique, which meant he had no way of knowing about the flying object. Miki just watch with interest as he gasped, putting a hand to the back of his head, and spun around. Hikari had a panicked look on her face as she instantly pointed a finger at Hisoka.

“He did it!”

Hisoka blinked, then shrugged, offering their sensei his trademark, cocky grin.

“Sorry, Yuu-sensei. I thought it was time for target practice.”

Shocked, the girl stared down at him, unable to belief that he’d actually covered for her. As Yuu began chewing him out, she slowly shook her head, dropping down into her seat and folding her arms on her desk so she could lay her head on them. Within that moment her companion, a small bird given to her by her family, jumped up on her head and perched there. Hikari didn’t reach other than to wince slightly at the feeling of the talons digging into her scalp. Her eyes had never strayed from where Hisoka stood.

“I do,” she mumbled into her arms. “I really do hate you.”

_____________________________________

“Hey, you want me to walk you home?”

Miki paused outside of the academy entrance, then turned slightly to regard Hisoka with surprise. He grinned in return, rubbing the back of his head.

“I told your mom I’d watch you,” he supplied as an answer. “She’s not here, so you want me to walk you home?”

Miki considered the question silently for a moment, her eyes wandering around the street. To be honest, she had a small sense of which direction to go in order to reach the Gekko’s house, but knew that she also had a horrible sense of direction. Before she answered, however, a certain sight caught her attention and she darted away without a word. Confused, Hisoka simply watched her go.

Keeping her lessons in mind, Miki carefully trailed her target, much more careful than she had done on other occasions. Despite this, it was only moments before Kakashi sighed and stopped walking to turn and face her. He rose a single brow in question causing her to fidget and clasp her hands behind her back.

“Miki.”

He blinked, regarding her with surprise. Not once had he actually heard the girl speak, and now it was to say a name that the only connection he could make was that it was in a book he’d recently finished. At the thought his face threatened to heat up, a feeling that he instantly, and easily, beat back. That book hadn’t been one of his more appropriate choices, but it had made for an interesting read.

“Miki?” he repeated in question.

She nodded, giving him an expectant look. Kakashi sighed, mulling the name over in his head. It would be much easier if the girl could just come right out and say what she wanted. A second later it occurred to him and he studied her once again.

“That’s the name you chose?”

She nodded, a faint smile almost appearing on her face. Snapping his book shut, Kakashi couldn’t help the small sense of curiosity that formed with her answer. As if reading his mind, she pursed her lips and tapped his book with one finger. His single, visible eye widened slightly as his suspicion was concerned.

“You read that book?”

She shook her head.

“You got the name from that book?”

She nodded this time, pleased that he’d understood. Kakashi actually felt faintly embarrassed, tucking away the book he’d was holding.

“You shouldn’t read books like that.”

Disappointment appeared on her face this time, accompanied by a small scowl. A second later Kakashi shrugged, and turned around to start walking again. Without a word, she trailed behind him. After they’d left the streets behind and were walking through a less populated part of town, she leaned forward and gave his sleeve a small tug. When he looked at her with a faint hint of annoyance, she shrugged and pointedly looked around them.

“I’m going to train. Alone.”

She frowned, then brightened and gestured to the katana strapped to her back. Realizing that he’d noticed it, but not actually thought anything of it’s presence.

“Shouldn’t Hayate be with you?” he questioned instead of responding to what was obviously an offer from the younger girl. As far as he knew, Hayate was always with her, or attempting to be. He’d also noticed that she had a habit of running off when he was involved, much to his confusion.

She shook her head, simply watching him. Kakashi sighed, then began walking again without a word. Following suit, she followed him until they reached an open area near the forest that was obviously a typical training ground. Straw figures littered the area and the nearby trees were covered in scars from kunai and shuriken. Even the ground itself had signs of practice, patches of grass missing in a few places and just beginning to grow in a few others. Miki’s eyes lit up with interest as she watched Kakashi stand awkwardly in the center of the clearing. He wasn’t quite sure what to do about her.

It wasn’t exactly in his interests to practice with the young girl staring at him like that. He’d made a habit of avoiding people to the best of his abilities, even his friends. Or perhaps former friends, he corrected himself in his mind. As often as he blew them off, he wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t view him as they’d done before… all of that happened.

Despite his thoughts, he didn’t send her away. Even as little as he’d been around her he already knew Miki had a stubborn streak a mile long, it would be more trouble than it was worth to try and get her to leave. An uneasy feeling swept over him at the same time. He hadn’t trained with anyone for quite some time beyond the simple training that had been required as he rose in the ANBU ranks. Eventually, he reached a single hand up and drew his forehead protector up, revealing his hidden eye.

A small, startled noise escaped Miki at the sight. A hazy memory rose in her mind of when they’d first met, when he’d taken her away from the Ishidas. That was the same, striking eye that she’d faintly noticed even through the fever that had raging at the time. The memory was one that had been buried and she could only now recall.

I was right. He really was the one that… rescued me.

Taking a deep breath, Kakashi closed his eyes for a moment, putting his hands together in front of him. He would just have to pretend she wasn’t there. It was the only solution he could come up with, much to his annoyance. It should have been a simple enough effort, seeing as she was silent as a ghost at most times. Gathering his chakra, he focused on his hand, snapping his eyes open the moment he was ready.

He’d just pretend that Miki wasn’t there.

He’d pretend that those memories didn’t race through his mind the moment he activated the technique.

He’d pretend that the noise didn’t bring Rin’s voice to his mind

He’d pretend that the air didn’t suddenly seem to be carrying the scent of blood.

He’d just pretend.

It was simple.

Kakashi darted forward, his hand striking through the straw figures with sickening accuracy. Despite himself, he managed to hit every one of them exactly where he’d aimed. A sick feeling boiled in the pit of his stomach, but he pushed it away. This was why he didn’t train with others, and he was completely aware of that fact. It was easier for him to use the technique in battle when he didn’t have time to think as on comparision to training, where it was entirely too easy. That sick feeling felt as if it would never go away. It hurt. He knew if he closed his eyes, he’d probably see her face. Hear that last, breathless murmur of his name.

It hurt.

“Pretty.”

Startled, Kakashi spun around to face Miki, both eyes wide open. She blinked, realizing she must have surprised him. A second’s worth of hesitation flickered through her, followed by the decision that she might as well attempt to get her point across. The worst that could happen was that he got mad like she could faintly remember others doing when she spoke before coming to Konoha. For a moment she struggled to pull a sentence together, acutely aware that her trouble doing so came simply from lack of experience.

“It was pretty. I… haven’t seen…” she began, struggling to get the words to come out clearly enough for him to hear. One word was simple, she could get it out clearly, even if her voice cracked from disuse. Several words, however, happened to be tough. It immediately gave off the strange feeling of her throat being tired, although she’d hardly done anything with it. “Chakra like that.”

If anything, his eyes widened even further as he lifted up one hand and gazed at it.

“Pretty,” he echoed.

He’d thought of several words over the time that had passed since he’d created the jutsu to describe it, but he’d never even remotely considered that single, simple word.

Pretty. The technique that had caused Rin’s death was pretty.

The scene flashed through his mind as if to argue with that idea. He shook his head, pursing his lips and using his opposite hand to pull his forehead protector back into place. Without another word, he turned on heel and performed a set of signs with his hands that she didn’t recognize. Within a second a cloud of smoke appeared as he disappeared, not willing to be there to hear any other thoughts she might have on the matter. She was wrong- the last thing that technique was, was pretty.

Staring at the spot where Kakashi had been standing, Miki pursed her lips just as he had done before leaving. She’d been right, speaking wasn’t worth it. He’d left because she’d spoke. People always got upset when she did that. As the thoughts passed through her mind, her eyes flickered to the straw figures that were now charred and run through. Vaguely she wondered if he’d set those up himself and if he had plans of replacing them. A second later she reached up and clumsily drew her katana from it’s sheath.

Her eyes focused on the blade as she turned it over in her hands. She’d been surprised when they gave her the weapon. Before that moment they’d only allowed her to wield wooden practice swords or blunt swords that while they could cause horrible bruises, couldn’t cut someone.

They trust me, she’d realized when given the weapon.

It was strange. They had no reason to trust her. Actually, most people wouldn’t. Strangers weren’t accepted in ninja villages, she’d learned. They were often shunned, distrusted, watched with cautious eyes. She’d heard a few of the adults talking when she walked by. She’d seen a few different faces darken at the sight of her. She didn’t look like someone who belonged in the village, and of those few that knew who she actually was, many held that belief.

Yet she’d been given a weapon. She was being taught to be a shinobi, one of those entrusted with the safety of the village.

Her eyes strayed from the katana to the straw figures that Kakashi had struck through. Even Kakashi practiced. Her fingers tightened around the hilt as she began drawing up the practice movements that she’d been taught. It was simple for her to fall into step with the memories, the katana cutting through the air in quiet, fluid motions. She shut her eyes and practiced, drilling the motions into her body.

She would do it. She’d make herself into one of them. She’d become a shinobi and be accepted by the village. She’d grow strong enough to protect them. She’d repay Hayate, Kaminari, Tomi, and everyone for their trust. She’d make sure that none of them ever regretted trusting her.

She would do it.

She’d do it silently.

Miki wouldn’t tell a soul what she was doing.

She’d make them understand by watching her. Words had never done her any good. They only caused problems and upset others. She’d make it so that everyone of them trusted her and understood her without a doubt.

The only way she knew to do that was to become strong.

The only way to become strong was to practice.

________________________________

Hours later, with the helpful pointers of Asuma and Kurenai when she happened to pass them, a sweaty and tired Miki trudged through the door of the Gekko household. Immediately she had two adults standing in front of her wearing expressions that were a mixture of anxiousness and irritation. Tomi swept her up in a hug that startled her enough to cause smoke to envelop her body while Kaminari placed both of her hands on her hips with a relieved scowl surfacing.

“Where were you?” she demanded. “School released hours ago! It’s starting to get dark outside! We thought something might hav-”

“We’re glad you’re okay,” Tomi cut in, shooting his wife a repremanding look. She gave him a glare in return, which caused him to flinch back slightly and turn his attention towards Miki once again. “We’re simply concerned. Where did you go?”

When he realized that the girl was beginning to become much less solid in his arms, he quickly put her back down on the ground. The smoke continued to swirl around her for a moment before slowly clearing up as she glanced between the two of them, confused.

They’d been concerned?

Silently, she lifted one hand and gestured towards her katana. Kaminari furrowed her brow in confusion as realization crossed Tomi’s face within an instant.

“You were practicing?” he questioned.

She nodded and he laughed, rocking back on his heels. Of all the reasons she hadn’t shown up at the house, that was the last one he’d expected.

“Listen, Miki,” he began when his wife shot him yet another glare. He’d told her before Miki showed up to let him handle it, knowing that her temper would probably get the better of her. “You can practice here, you know. There was no need to go somewhere else.”

She simply shook her head, not willing to speak up to explain. Tomi blinked, slightly confused. A second later he realized just how worn out she looked and stepped back, glancing to Kaminari who had narrowed her eyes in his direction. A sheepish grin reached his lips as he gestured towards the stairs.

“She’s fine, so I say let her go clean up,” he suggested. “Then we can all sit down for dinner. I’m not as good at understanding her as Hayate, and neither are you, so how about we just leave this be? We probably won’t be able to figure it out without him.”

Kaminari continued to stare at him for a moment with those narrowed eyes. When he’d asked to handle it, she’d known that he would go soft on Miki, he had a soft spot for the little girl. A second later she sighed and gave a small nod, turning towards the stairs.

“Come on, I’ll prepare the water for you while you pick out some clean clothes. Also, no weapons at the table, leave your katana in your room.”

Slightly disappointed, Miki reluctantly nodded her understanding as she followed Kaminari up the stairs.

It was strange. She hadn’t expected them to be so upset about her not coming straight home.

Had they really been worried about her?

_____________________________________

As time passed, things slowly began to make sense to her that hadn’t before.

Miki understood that the reason Hisoka made such a fuss about going to class was because he hated leaving his little sister alone. Hikari argued with Hisoka a lot and told him she hated him, but she always seemed to be watching when Hisoka when he wasn’t looking and always looked to him first when she did something right, as if to make sure he’d seen it. To Miki it seemed that Hisoka and Hikari were actually really close friends. She also learned that Hikari’s family raised birds, and the one sitting on Hikari’s shoulder all the time had been named Sake by her dad.

Another thing that became obvious to her was that while her skills with her katana seemed to come naturally, she had a hard problem with anything academically focused and with the more complicated jutsu. She found herself practicing jutsu twice as long as anyone else just to keep up with them. Hayate would tell her it was was alright, seeing as she had her bloodline limit and her skill with the katana to make up for lacking in the other departments. Hisoka on the other hand seemed to be better than almost everyone in their class, even if he didn’t pay a single bit of attention when he didn’t have to.

It also seemed that his clan wasn’t that respected, which explained his comment from when they first met. The Asari clan had once held a very powerful bloodline limit that allowed them to go into battle without any concern about getting injured, because the injury would heal almost instantly. Unfortunately those with the bloodline limit seemed to die at early ages due to the high chakra consumption the ability required and the bloodline limit had begun to die out in their clan, making the clan itself begin to die out. Hisoka happened to be from the head family of his clan and with his natural ability seemed to have high expectations placed on him when it came to their survival.

Which sometimes led to reckless decisions on his part.

“I’ve decided,” Hisoka announced, raising one hand to gesture towards Miki from his position in front of the target. “I want to go check it out.”

Miki blinked, cocking her head to the side. Hisoka sighed, realizing that she must not have been listening to his rant up till that point. He slowly gripped the kunai that was buried in the target and drew it out with only a bit of trouble.

“I told you,” he began, twirling the weapon around his finger. “I heard that a couple of travelers came into Konoha hurt yesterday. Some big animal attacked their caravan. I want to go see it, don’t you?”

She simply stared at him, then slowly shook her head. With a small sigh, Hisoka started back towards where she stood. In that moment he stopped twirling the kunai around his finger and gripped the hilt of it in his palm.

“Well, I want to. You’ll come with me, won’t you? It’ll be fun. I bet if we beat it everyone will be super impressed.”

Miki froze, her eyes widening slightly. Seeing that he’d caught her attention with that comment, Hisoka grinned and gave a cautionary glance towards where Yuu stood towards the other side of the school yard, helping someone with their stance. A second later his attention moved back to Miki as he took up the correct stance and aimed towards the target once again.

“Afterschool,” he decided. “Well go then.”

“Go where?”

Startled, Hisoka watched as the kunai he’d thrown soared over the target and buried itself in the fence behind it. Hikari snickered, glancing between him and the fence with amusement.

“You have bad aim, Hisoka-kun,” she commented cheerily. “How are you supposed to help Miki-chan like that?”

Swearing under his breath, he spun to face her. Hikari placed an innocent expression on her face, one arm raised in front of her as she slowly stroked Sake’s back.

“Shut up, Hikari,” he grumbled, causing her face to go red.

“Don’t just drop the honorific like that!” Hikari snapped. “You’re not allowed to!”

He rolled his eyes, drawing another kunai out of his weapon’s pouch.

“Because you hate me, right?” he asked.

“Exactly!” she said, then paused, remembering her original question. “Where are you going after school?”

It wasn’t as if she wanted to go with them, she was just curious. There was no way she’d want to spend more time around Hisoka. Not a chance.

“None of your business, baka,” Hisoka replied lightly, this time hitting his mark when he let the kunai fly. “You’d be too scared anyways, ‘cause you’re a baby a lot of the time.”

“Am not!”

“Haha, see?”

“I’m older than you!” she protested. “I’m not a baby! I’m coming.”

Hisoka turned to face her, amusement coloring his expression. Meanwhile Miki slipped into place behind him, drawing out her own kunai and taking aim. She held little interest in who came with them, simply figuring that either way she’d need to at least be able to hit the target once before doing something like this.

“You’re coming? I thought you hated me, why would you want to come?”

“I do hate you,” she snapped. “I going because…. because… because of Miki-chan! She’ll probably end up getting hurt if I leave her alone with you!”

Snickering, Hisoka turned his back to her once again and watched as Miki’s kunai mysteriously managed to hit a tree a good three feet to the right of the target. Her face lit up in embarrassment and he simply threw an arm over her shoulder before shooting Hikari a look that said he’d figured something out.

“We’re not doing anything dangerous. I’m just going to help Miki-chan get a bit more practice in before the exams.”

_____________________________________

“Miki-chan~ Hisoka-kun~” Hikari called out as she ran out of the school grounds. “Wait for me! I said I’m coming.”

Both of the young shinobi in question paused, turning their heads just enough to watch her as she ran to catch up with them. Hisoka wore an expression showing just how amused he was, while Miki didn’t seem to care either way. Hikari slowed down upon reaching them, Sake landing on her shoulder and digging her talons in, causing Hikari to wince. No matter how many times she felt the slight pain that came from the bird’s grip, she doubted she’d ever get used to it.

“If you slow us down, we’ll leave you behind, Hikari-chan,” Hisoka commented as they began walking again.

“I’m faster than you!” Hikari complained. “Stop talking to me like I’m a baby!”

Hisoka rolled his eyes, allowing his trademark, cocky grin to appear.

“You might be faster, but that doesn’t do you any good if you suck at fighting.”

“I don’t suck at fighting!”

“You do. I’ve beat you every time we’ve spared.”

“That’s because you’re…”

“Amazing?”

“Anything but!” Hikari snapped. “You’re a meanie.”

“Ooooh, so that’s how older kids talk.”

“Shut up!”

“That’s a bit better,” Hisoka commented as they drew closer to the village gates. “Still, you’d probably have a heart attack if you actually had to say a cuss word.”

“Okaasan says a lady doesn’t use vulgar language,” Hikari retorted. “If she does, all witnesses must be disposed of, so that the lady can still have the illusion of innocence.”

Hisoka blanched, shooting her a disbelieving look.

“No wonder your mom seems so scary.”

“Hiso-kun, what’re you doing?”

Pulling his attention away from Hikari, Hisoka gave the village guards a bright smile that was missing his usual cheekiness.

“Okaasan and Otousan wanted me to gather a few herbs for the store,” he told him. “They said that we ran out. Miki-chan and Hika-chan volunteered to come with me.”

Hikari’s mouth dropped open at the nickname, and he barely kept himself from laughing at the expression. The guard on the other hand nodded, a frown appearing for a moment.

“Just be careful to avoid any trouble. There’s a rumor that there’s some-”

The man next to him harshly jabbed the guard with his elbow and shot the children an entirely too cheerful smile.

“Some dangerous animals in the forest right now. Don’t wonder off of the path and stick to the places you usually go when you’re sent out and you should be just fine,” he told them.

Miki furrowed her brow as Hisoka and Hikari exchanged surprised expressions. A second later Hisoka just nodded, giving the two guards that bright smile.

“We’ll be careful! We know better than to go searching for trouble, right Hika-chan?”

Hikari barely kept her cheeks from lighting up with embarrassment and pleasure at hearing the nickname again.

“R-right!”

Once they were far enough from the village exit, Hisoka started snickering. Irritated, Hikari swiftly hit him over the top of the head and moved so that Miki was between her and Hisoka.

“What was that for?” Hisoka demanded, holding his head.

“You were laughing at me.”

“Your face was hilarious,” Hisoka agreed. “But just because you made a stupid face doesn’t mean there’s a reason to hit me.”

Hikari seethed for a moment and was about to snap an insult in return when Miki silently reached up and slid her katana from it’s sheath. Surprised, Hikari eyed her warily.

“Is something wrong?”

Miki shook her head and pursed her lips, gripping the sword tightly. Hisoka frowned, turning his attention to the forest around them as they walked. It seemed that while Miki hadn’t spotted anything, something had set her on edge. His own fingers itched to draw a kunai from his weapon’s pouch.

“I get it,” Hisoka muttered. “I have the same feeling, I just didn’t feel it as quickly. It feels like we’re being watched, doesn’t it?”

Hikari’s eyes widened in surprise and she tensed, but kept herself from suddenly looking around like she wanted to. Hisoka had spoken quietly for a reason.

“Well, let’s look for the animal,” Hisoka announced after a minute had passed and nothing had happened. They could have been wrong about the feeling. “If we kill it, think about how awesome that would be!”

Miki nodded her agreement as Hikari began to go off on Hisoka now that she knew what they were actually doing out in the forest. Something about the forest had put Miki completely on edge and she barely noticed as the other two continued to argue. They’d gotten off the path through the forest and only gone in a few feet when Miki froze, her eyes widening. Hikari and Hisoka stopped, both of their eyes following Miki’s line-of-sight in an attempt to figure out what had her attention.

Sitting on a branch of one of the trees a short distance away was a man, dark hair falling in front of his face and obscuring any features that they might have seen. Miki didn’t need to see them, however, to know just who it was. Her entire body began to tremble as she simply stared at him. A second later the man lifted his head and bared his teeth in a frighteningly pleased smile.

“You know, he was pretty sad when Ryou showed up without you, kid. You’re one of his favorite toys.”

A/N: To the side is Hikari, a bit of an older version of Hikari... but Hikari none-the-less! It only took an hour to do... xD