Hey guys! I know many of you want a Love Hinata update and not this story, but I have really been enjoying writing something unique. I do plan to continue Love Hinata after this chapter though. I wasnt going to continue it, the NaruHina plot thing has kinda been dead to me since it became canon. I've been watching Boruto (disappointing) and seeing Naruto and Hinata as an already married couple kinda kills my drive to make cute fluff moments in Love Hinata. I guess its a 'been there, seen that' kind of feeling. But i will continue to try to add updates to that story because so many people want more. But, if you can, please try to read and review this story as well. It is kind of my big adult project that involves some actual original writing. It is just my little thought-baby right now. Please enjoy!

Miki had been in the Sound for several weeks now. The silver hair boy had placed her in a group with the other female recruit. She had said her name was Harumi, but for some reason Miki suspected that wasn't her real name. Harumi was nice enough and mostly kept to herself. They shared a small room together in a tall building that had several floors of small apartments. They received no pay as recruits; their accommodations were their compensation. Somehow, though, Harumi always managed to get her hands on small luxuries. Fancy soaps, perfumes, and lotions that were clearly not standard issue kept accumulating in their shared shower.

Miki hated sharing a shower. Harumi didn't have a single shred of modesty and would hang around the bathroom completely naked. She would often do this around the bedroom as well. The girl was fairly attractive with modest, but shapely breasts and a small, athletic frame. Miki, however, refused to shower around Harumi and had kept her breasts bound the entire time. She had considered removing them when she was in the apartment, but the bindings had started to give her a sense of familiar comfort. Plus, there was no telling how Harumi would react. She had already lost one friend that way…

"Hey, Tits!"

Miki let out a sigh. Even with them bound, they were still big enough to earn her nicknames like that. Girls could be quite cruel…

"What's up, Harumi?" Miki asked as she continued to fold her clothes. It was getting close to midnight and she was just finishing up her nighttime routine. Her tone might have been slightly cranky, but Harumi didn't seem to notice.

"I have to go meet a friend for a bit sooo do you think you could cover for me?" Harumi asked with a big, plastic grin.

Miki nodded. "Yeah, if anyone comes looking, I'll tell them you're taking a walk. Same as usual."

Harumi blew her a kiss and strolled out the door in an outfit that Miki would have been embarrassed to wear. She knew that she would be held responsible if Harumi was up to anything shady, but the girl treated her pretty well and that was such a pleasant change that Miki was willing to look the other way. Besides, she had her own suspicions on what Harumi was doing. Those fancy gifts were enough of a clue…

Miki waited for several minutes after Harumi left before she relaxed her guard. She could be quite forgetful sometimes and would burst back into the room just to grab a hat or some frivolous item. Now that Miki was undoubtfully alone, she reached down and pulled her shirt up over her head. She stared down at her breasts, still wrapped in the bindings. Deep down, she really hated the things, but they were literally attached to her so maintaining the feeling seemed pointless. She gave a heavy sigh and started to fumble with the ends of the bindings. Bit by bit, they fell to the floor around Miki. Her breasts, finally free, dropped and hung comfortably in their natural position.

Miki let out a long breath. It always felt so good to release the bindings. Like taking off a backpack that was filled with rocks. Miki rubbed her sore shoulders and then continued to massage down her chest and around her breasts. The bindings made things a little rough so she always had to apply lotion at night to keep them from chafing. She grabbed a bottle from the drawer next to her bed and squirted a fair amount into her hand. She rubbed the lotion into her breasts and around to her back where the bindings had been.

Once she was done, Miki laid back on her bed, still topless. The slightly cold air made her wet skin tingle and she enjoyed the feeling. Her bed was also quite soft. The moment was so relaxing, Miki forgot entirely all the dangers that existed just outside her room in this hellhole of a village.

Miki could feel sleep start to tug at her eyelids when suddenly a small device on top of her drawer started beeping loudly. It also had an intermittent vibration that sounded like a mini chainsaw. Miki rubbed her temples. Of course it would go off now. She had just started to unwind from the last call.

The silver haired boy had given it to her. Kabuto was his name, Miki recalled. He had personally assigned the job to her. She was responsible for body detail, which was a fancy title for someone who collected corpses and took them to the morgue. She had initially imagined that she had gotten the cushy job. She didn't have scheduled shifts or any site to report to. She was free to do whatever she wanted until she got called in by the beeper and how often did people randomly die in the streets?

She had been wrong. Her buzzer went off constantly and almost exclusively at night. Miki would have sworn the damn thing was haunted as it always seemed to go off at the worst times. She never got a full night's sleep and it even went off if she tried to nap during the day. Most cases were simple though. She would show up to the location on her beeper and it would be just some random guy that she would have to bag and carry to the morgue.

But sometimes, it wasn't simple. Sometimes, there were mangled bodies and limbs strewn around. Almost as if some monster had ripped apart several people. Miki had almost lost it a few times, but she steadied herself by counting body parts. They weren't people, they were puzzles. She just had to collect all the pieces until the puzzle was complete. And there hadn't been a single puzzle that was missing a piece. So… at least no one was being eaten…

Miki shook her head and bolted out of bed. She quickly threw her shirt over her head and grabbed her beeper before it buzzed itself off the dresser.

The location this time was much further away than usual. It was well after midnight, but it was always dark in this underground base. Still, the lateness tugged at Miki's every movement, her body begging her for sleep.

Miki finally arrived at the specified location. It was a small building that looked like more like a shed than anything else. Miki reached up to knock on the door, but it was already slightly ajar. Despite her instincts telling her to walk away, she stepped into the building and yelled out.

"Hello? Anyone here?" Miki knew that she was most likely talking to a dead body, but sometimes the person who reported the body would still be on the scene. When no one replied, Miki continued into the building. There was a rather short entryway that gave into a single large room. There were several desks with beakers and lab equipment on them.

Miki's first thought was to look around for colored gas. Maybe the dead person had spilled some kind of toxic chemical? All the beakers in sight were empty and there wasn't any broken glass around. Content with her surroundings, Miki walked around the lab, looking for a dead guy. There was a faint unease in her stomach, but nothing more than usual. It only took a moment for Miki to spot the lifeless corpse heaped up against one of the wall. Miki stepped closer to inspect the body, her curiosity proving too great to resist, as it did on every other outing.

The body was a hunched over with both hands holding his stomach. There didn't seem to be any external injuries, but the man's face was contorted in pain. Must have been poison, Miki reasoned. But why would he be here, hunched over, instead of outside trying to get help? Maybe it was some rapid onset poison that the guy had, for some reason, drank. There was some piece missing, Miki could just feel it. She took another step closer to inspect the man's clothing.

"You looking for something?" A voice called out from behind Miki. She instantly spun around and placed her back against the wall. Her heart raced as her eyes scanned the area around her looking for the source of the voice.

A shimmer of light flashed from the darkness and the silver haired boy stepped out from a shadow against the opposite wall. Miki visibly relaxed and let out a long breath. Kabuto adjusted his glasses and repeated his question.

"You seem to be looking for something…"

"You scared the crap out of me!" Miki retorted with a half grin. "Have you been in here the entire time?" She had been trained in infiltration her entire life, but she had zero clue on how or when Kabuto had arrived.

Kabuto smiled slightly and his glasses flashed from the faint light above. "I asked you a question…"

Miki froze and snapped to attention. "Sir! I was merely inspecting the body for any kind of toxic residue that might have endangered my life, sir!" Miki wanted to add in a salute, but she was worried it might seem overly dramatic and sarcastic.

The boy laughed, his warm smile spreading across his face. "You don't have to call me 'sir'."

Miki nodded, still slightly worried she had upset him. "Okay, boss."

Kabuto chuckled at her choice of words and Miki made a mental note to always call him that. The boy was pleasant enough and he did always seem happy to see her. Maybe the two of them could be friends?

"So, uh… how do you think this guy died?" Miki asked with an awkward laugh.

"Do you always investigate the dead bodies?" Kabuto gave her a strange look. He really couldn't tell if this girl was up to something or just ridiculously naïve.

Miki shook her head, realizing her question was probably extremely strange. "No, boss. It isn't my place to ask questions."

Kabuto was silent for a moment, trying to get a read on the girl. "No. No, it isn't." The girl was pouting like a small child and doing a crappy job of hiding it. He decided that he should throw her a bone on the off chance she was just an innocent moron. "But I do like people who can think for themselves. How do you think he died?"

Miki brightened slightly before her brow furrowed into a puzzled look. She folded her arms under her chest and took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts. Kabuto blinked several times in surprise. The girl's breasts were damn near massive! He had noticed her body during their last encounter, but she had nearly doubled in cup size since then. Kabuto felt his cheeks heat up as he watched her chest puff out as the girl breathed in.

Were her breasts bigger? Kabuto surveyed her again while Miki stewed on the cause of death. Yes, Kabuto was certain of it. How could she have increased her chest size so drastically in such a short amount of time? Miki released her chest to reach up and adjust her bun, her breasts bouncing as she untied and retied her hair. She must not be wearing any kind of bra then, which completely ruled out the possibility she was wearing a push up. Was it a ninjutsu then? Then again, as insanely buxom as she was, her breasts were in proportion to her ample hips and rear. It gave her an exaggerated hourglass figure even in her baggy recruit clothes. So, what was she protecting by hiding her body and why go through the trouble? An infiltrator with those kinds of assets could really rob a man of their critical thinking.

"Well, in a lab, my knee jerk instinct is an accident." Miki gestured to the equipment. "Everything looks like it's in order, though. The hoods aren't running, there aren't any odors, no broken glass, or spilled liquid. There are no visible injuries to the outside of the body." Miki stepped closer and bent over to inspect the corpse again. Kabuto tried and failed to not stare at Miki's pronounced rear end.

"I haven't, you know, pulled off his clothes or anything, but if he was cut bad enough, he'd be in a pool of blood. Also, his posture is suspicious. He's grabbing at his gut like he's in distress and his face is contorted in pain." Miki explained. "I would think poison ingestion. But, then again, if he had accidentally ingested something, why would he be backed up against a wall in the back of the room? Wouldn't he have collapsed en route to the door?" A cloud passed over Miki's face as she ran through the possibilities. After a moment her expression brightened and she shook her head. "Then again, what do I know? His appendix might have burst."

"There would be vomit if that happened. Acute appendicitis is accompanied by intense abdominal pain and vomiting." Kabuto said, his expression unreadable. "Keep going. What else?"

Miki looked around the room. "I'm thinking he must have died almost instantly." She remembered missions she had been on, watching enemy shinobi die. Miki hadn't witnessed a lot of death in her career but she had seen enough in the field to glean the basics. "People flail when they're dying. Their thrashing knocks over furniture, they claw at the walls, and they tear at clothes. If it were slow, we would have seen evidence of that. A hunk of the attacker's pants or upturned tables. But there's nothing. Everything is pristine, like this guy walked in, leaned against the wall, and just keeled over."

Kabuto cocked his head. "Your other cases, have they been similar?"

Miki shook her head. "They're all different, really. Most of them, though, the cause is clear. The bodies have been torn in half or a kunai is wedged in an eye socket; there was one guy, jealous lover cut off his…parts. This isn't so obvious. It's like…" Miki glanced at Kabuto and gave him a nervous smile. "This is me totally taking a shot in the dark, but it's like a professional hit. Someone came in and took him out so fast and so efficiently he didn't have time to react."

Kabuto chuckled at the girl's astuteness. Once again, he felt like he was in an intense game of cat and mouse. Was she slyly letting him know that she was onto him? It was giving him quite a thrill. His heartrate always skyrocketed when he was against a fearsome opponent. One misstep and she might have him. He chose every word with the precision of a surgeon and she seemed completely oblivious to it.

Kabuto's suspicions had lead him to personally pick this assignment for her and he made sure to make it as hard as possible. If she was just a pretty girl that had been kicked from her village, she would have been weeded out by now. Now, she was here throwing her body at him and baiting him with her words. She was like a coiled snake, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Kabuto could barely keep the excitement out of his voice.

"It looks more like someone cut his renal artery. He would have bled out in seconds and it would have been incredibly painful. The kidney has sizeable bed of nerve endings… but that's just the opinion of a professional."

Miki nodded and smiled at him. She had figured he was a medical ninja or doctor. He always seemed to be hanging around the infirmary. She folded her arms over her chest again and turned away from Kabuto to face the body. She had become painfully aware of her attire, or rather, the lack thereof when she had adjusted her hair earlier. She had been trying to play it cool with Kabuto, but it was clear that he had noticed. He wouldn't stop staring at her and he was talking so smoothly. Is he flirting with me? Miki thought as her heart hammered in her chest. Why didn't I put a freakin bra on!? She had been using the binding so much recently that she had fallen out of practice of wearing a bra. Miki silently cursed at herself and took a deep breath. There was a very small chance that he had not noticed yet and was just being friendly. He had been super polite to her so far…

Kabuto bit his lip. She was really tempting him now. She had turned away from him and was squatting in an awkward position near the body. Her guard was completely down, almost like she was begging him to attack her from behind.

Kabuto took a long breath. This was most surely a trap. She must be very confident in her ability if she was giving him this much of an opening. He thought back to the small knife he had felt her carrying when they first met. She didn't seem to be wearing it now. Her shirt really didn't leave much to the imagination. But he had seen enough crafty woman to know better than to assume they were weaponless. His brow furrowed as he weighed his options. He snapped back to attention at the loud sound of a zipper. Miki had unfolded a large black body bag and had laid it down next to the corpse.

Miki took a deep breath and rolled the dead body over onto the unzipped body bag. It took most of her strength to move the body, but at least she managed to keep her back towards Kabuto preventing him from seeing her breasts jiggle as she worked. She jostled the body until it was snug inside the bag and then rezipped it up. She then tried to pick up the upper portion of the bag and floundered under its weight.

Miki adjusted, planting her feet and lifting with her knees as she hoisted the body with the intent of throwing it over her shoulder. The slippery material of the body bag derailed her motion. Miki was left fumbling for the body, barely catching it before it smacked back down on the floor. The silence in the room was deafening, a thick thing like cotton in her ears. The heat was rising in Miki's cheeks and the tips of her ears. Kabuto's eyes were on her back and for a moment she was more self-conscious than when she thought he was ogling her boobs. Mustering all the dignity and professionalism she could, Miki began to drag the body bag towards the door occasionally having to wiggle it across cracks in the floor.

Kabuto was dumbfounded. Part of him wanted to believe that this was all just an effort to make her seem helpless, but no one would have been willing to humiliate themselves like this. Could he have been wrong this whole time? Was she not a cunning snake, but a clueless rabbit? Kabuto just stared at her as she struggled to move the body past him. She kept her back to him the entire time, but Kabuto didn't know how to interpret that anymore. Finally, the silence became unbearable and he decided to probe her further.

"You're just going to drag it to the morgue?"

Miki froze and stood up, letting her part of the bag sink to the floor. She adjusted her breasts as discreetly as possible and turned towards him, secretly thankful the lab was not cold.

"Is that a problem, boss?" She asked with a puff, the body bag resting awkwardly against her legs.

Kabuto chuckled softly. Maybe she was just a helpless girl in way over her head. "Nothing. Just, you know, that man probably had a family."

"Had," Miki grunted as she bent over and grabbed at the bag, trying to lift it over the door jam outside the lab. "Whoever he was, he's just a sack of meat now." Miki winced slightly at the coldness in her tone, but there was no room for sadness here.

Kabuto watched her as she slowly slipped out of sight, his mind running a million miles an hour as the scraping sound died away. Just who the hell was this girl and why couldn't he get her out of his mind?

Nearly an hour later, Miki found herself on the familiar dark path home. She had her arms folded over her chest, but there really wasn't anyone out at this time of night. She kept her eyes steeled forward until she was walking up to her apartment building. She quickened her pace inside, dashing up the stairs to her room. She closed the door and heaved a sigh of relief. Walking home alone was bad enough but walking home with no bra was almost asking to get abducted. The sigh caught in her throat as she saw Harumi. She was sitting on the end of her bed, clearing waiting for Miki. The most alarming thing was the pile of bindings sitting next to her.

Miki opened her mouth to try to explain, but nothing came out. She didn't even know what she could say. Sorry, I have big breasts? Just thinking that made her sound dumb.

"So…" Harumi started as she noticed Miki's massive chest underneath her sweaty shirt. "Guess that explains why you have been so reclusive."

Harumi picked up the bindings and handed them over to Miki. Miki took them gratefully, but there was a confused look on her face.

"I was thinking you had some hideous disfigurement or injury. I gotta admit, 'big boobs' is kind of a disappointment." Harumi chuckled and stretched backwards on her bed.

Miki was stunned. She thought for sure Harumi would dislike her if she found out. "It doesn't bother you?"

Now it was Harumi who wore the confused look. "Why would your tits bother me?"

Miki felt an overwhelming feeling start to build up inside her. It had been quite a taxing day already and Miki was more than slightly sleep deprived. She had been so damn terrified of being rejected if anyone saw her secret. It would have been just like before…

"It's just… in my last village… my friends…" Miki tried to force the words out, to swallow the feelings down, but they kept getting caught in her throat.

Harumi could see that Miki was starting to get flustered. "It sounds like your friends probably just got jealous or something. Pretty dumb, if you ask me. Huge breasts are overkill." Harumi scoffed and Miki clutched at her breasts protectively. "If anything, I would be jealous of your rump. You may be able to bind your tits down, but there's no hiding that monster. Any man that gets a feel of that in his lap won't stand a chance."

Miki's cheeks burned with a mixture of emotion and embarrassment. She would give anything to have her old body back. To have people approach her for her personality instead of her curves. To be able to trust people again. She was tired of being treated nice and people giving her things in an attempt to get with her. Several men had offered her free food, room and board, even jobs after she arrived in the Sound, but they always expected something from her. And that 'something' was always her body.

Miki clenched her grip around the bindings. There was a small part of her that was mad at herself. Mad at her weakness. Mad that she couldn't just force people to respect her. Kabuto always seemed to do it. No one ever talked back to him.

Miki sighed and collapsed onto her bed. She would never be able to look Kabuto in the eye again. Showing up to move a dead body with no bra on? He probably thought she was some sexual deviant. Miki wanted to scream. The one normal guy in this village and she already blew it. She had trouble making friends before all this, at least she could find comfort in how some things stayed the same.

"You know…" Harumi started as she watched Miki. "You really don't seem like you belong here."

Harumi's words were soft spoken, but they still stung Miki. She really didn't belong anywhere. She sat up, holding a pillow to her chest as a comfort.

"It's the only place left for me."

Harumi frowned and was quiet for a moment. "How can a pretty girl like yourself have nowhere to go? You could get whatever you wanted with a body like that."

Miki sighed. "That's the issue. Ever since my body became like this, everyone treats me differently. Either they don't like me or they aggressively try to be my friend. It's like 'I' don't actually exist. I'm just walking eye candy or a potential screw toy. And everyone stares. I can feel their eyes on me." Miki grabbed at her head, her breathing intensifying. "Their eyes burn into me from every angle all day long. I can't take it!"

Harumi stood up and placed a hand on Miki's shoulder. This was far more than she had expected. The girl clearly had some issues.

Miki took several deep breaths and let her arms fall to her sides. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to freak out like that. I just… hate my body."

Harumi was quiet for a long time. Finally, she stood back up and turned to face Miki. "Don't ever tell anyone about this." Then Harumi pulled her own shirt over her head. She was wearing a small, cotton bra that was clearly meant for sleeping. Harumi paused for only a moment before pulling that off as well. She now stood right in front of Miki completely topless.

Miki opened her mouth to protest, but Harumi shook her head. "Just watch."

Miki had seen Harumi naked before. Her breasts could have been the poster image for 'average'. They weren't large by any means, but they had a round shape and were quite perky. Her areolas were puffy, pink and slightly bigger than Miki's, but while Miki's breasts were perfectly symmetrical, Harumi's drifted slightly to the sides. Still, they were still quite pleasant to look at.

Miki wasn't exactly sure what she was supposed to be watching for, but it was getting quite awkward staring at another girl's breasts.

A short moment later, Harumi made a single hand sign and slide her hands down her from her neck to her breasts. Where there was once olive toned skin, there was now a massive scar. It ran across Harumi's chest like a white wave of anguish. The tissue was raised and jagged almost like someone had pierced her chest with a large rock. Harumi stood still for a moment as Miki's eyes widened.

"Was that some kind of jutsu?" Miki asked as she continued to inspect the heavily damaged skin.

Harumi let out a long breath that she had been holding in for quite some time. "Yeah…" Her voice was much softer now, almost on the verge of breaking. "I was in an… accident. During training. I got cut with a knife and nearly died."

Miki squinted. The scar was nearly six inches in length and ran from breast to breast. "Must have been one hell of a knife."

Harumi let out a dark laugh. "It was a hunting knife, smooth on one side and jagged on the other. It felt like teeth." She let out an involuntary shudder and pulled the sleeping bra back on, then the shirt. "I know what you mean though, about hating your body. I hate this scar. Before I started hiding it, it was the same for me. Any time my shirt was low, any time I was in a swimsuit, I felt the eyes. They whispered, just loud enough for me to know but too softly for me to hear. I can hide it, so I do now. I don't get asked about it anymore. When people's eyes are on me, its because I want their eyes on me now. That's what you need to do, Miki. If you don't want their eyes looking you over, you give them something else to look at."

Miki sat there in silence, overwhelmed by Harumi's advice. It was genuine and friendly. Harumi had a dark terrible secret and when Miki showed her vulnerability, Harumi shared hers. Such behavior was considered foolish in the Sound. Harumi could have just filed away Miki's secret for later use but instead gave Miki a bullet of the same caliber. It created a familiarity in the atmosphere of the room. This was a safer space somehow now that both girls literally had secrets off their chests. Harumi sat on her bed and kicked her feet self consciously, probably cursing herself for a brief lapse in her shinobi training. Instead of letting the quiet loom, Harumi filled it:

"I hate how the scar looks but in a weird way I'm proud of it. That scar means something to me, it means I survived. It means that this body is mine to do with as I please, that no one can take it away from me without my permission."

Miki looked down at her hands. Over the course of her lifetime, her hands had been the most useful part of her body. Unfortunately, they didn't share such a profound symbolic significance, so instead, Miki took another leap of faith and reached out to her roommate:

"Harumi, how do you know if a boy likes you or if he's just being friendly?"

Involuntary laughter burst from the small form like she'd sprung a leak. "You're kidding, right?" Harumi wiped away a tear. "Tell me how much you hate that body all you want, but I won't buy you can't tell the difference between friendly and flirting!"

Miki instantly regretted her decision but it was too late to back out. She had always been a jump in with both feet kind of girl and now didn't seem like the time to stop. "This one's tricky. He's not like the obvious ones. He doesn't ogle, he always looks me in the eye. He actually has conversations with me."

Harumi had sobered but her eyes still sparkled with repressed laughter. "Either he's smarter than you or he's gay."

"So, what's a good thing to ask to weed out which one it is?" Miki asked.

"Hm," Harumi played with a strand of hair, then smiled. She held out a hand as if holding an invisible piece of string, then shook it. "You have to dangle the bait a little bit. If he takes a bite, you have your answer."

Miki cringed. "Won't that make it hard to back out if I'm wrong?"

Harumi shrugged. "You can do whatever the hell you want. Just make sure you can follow through. If you like him, go for it. If you don't, don't bother."

Miki scratched her back. "It's not so much whether I like him or not. Just…I want to know how much I can trust him."

"Zero. That's how much you can trust guys in the Sound," Harumi clapped. "There you go, Miki. Mystery solved."

Miki nodded. "I guess that's true. It's just hard to keep my guard up 24/7."

"Ninjas do or they die." Harumi fell backwards onto her bed. "Speaking of which, what you need to do is get your ass in the shower. You stink like gym bag and rot."

Miki inhaled sharply. "Crap, I'm sorry. I totally forgot-"

"Shh," Harumi pointed to the door. "Just go."

Miki grabbed a fresh change of clothes and slunk away into the bathroom. The shower only took up a small space in their bathroom. There was no sliding glass door or curtain. Just a nozzle facing a wall with a drain in a small enclosing. The toilet was on the opposite wall and there was a small sink separating the two.

Miki always felt cramped in when she stepped into the bathroom. Undressing in the small space was almost impossible. She would end up with some part of her body pressed into the wall trying to get the last bits of her clothes off. She wished she could undress in the actual room instead of this, but she had been hiding her body.

Miki thought quietly for a moment. Did she really need to hide it from Harumi, though? She already knew everything. She pondered it for a moment before deciding against it. She still liked the comfort of being naked in private. Showing without a curtain was already revealing enough. Miki started the water and let its cold mist wash the day's grime off her body.

She used to love showers. The warmth and privacy made her feel so safe and comfortable. She used to hum or sing and if the mood struck her, she might even dance a little. The cold mist served as another daily remainder where she was. There was no safe and comfortable here.

Miki could feel herself start to unwind a little. Her breathing grew heavy and a fierce fear threatened to drag her beneath the surface. She wrapped her arms around her chest and squeezed tightly trying to hold the last reserves of her body heat in. She could feel hot tears building up in her eyes as her mind brought up every miserable thing that had happened to her recently. Her team, her only family, all turning on her like she was some sort of villain. They all thought she had betrayed the village and brought death and destruction upon them. But she knew the truth. She knew whose hands carried that blood.

Miki choked back her tears and gathered herself. It didn't matter. No one was going to believe her. She had tried everything to get someone to listen to her, but nothing worked. The words of a traitor were meaningless.

It took several cold minutes for her to regain her composure. She really hoped Harumi had fallen asleep and didn't hear her pathetic whimpers. She shut off the water and quickly toweled herself off. She struggled to get her new pajamas on and, as quietly as she could, step out of the bathroom. The room was dark now and Harumi's steady breathing was the only sound. Miki tip-toed over to her bed and dived beneath the blankets.

The darkness of her past tugged at the back of her mind, but Miki shook them away. Desperate to find something to fill the void, Miki thought back to the silver haired boy, Kabuto. She didn't really take the time to notice, but he was really quite attractive. She had no clue what she would do if he really was flirting with her. She really didn't want a boyfriend. A friend, however, would be life changing. She wished with every ounce of her heart, that she could just find one friend who would take the time to know her for who she really was…