Ojos Asi [[private -- nyrax]]

"Yeah?", Kiba asked as Akiko said his name as they arrived at the estate. He heard her question and thought about it for a few moments. He could see what she was getting at, but in the end he just smiled. "They just mean that on paper. We've still mated and are mates because we're going to stick together forever", he said with a smile. "It just won't be fully official until you turn seventeen", he explained.

Akiko blinked but nodded. "Oh." So, legally they weren't together, but in every other aspect they were. It was stupid, but she would just have to deal with it. "I've been meaning to tell you something." She looked up at him and smiled, rolling up her sleeve to show her ANBU tattoo. When they had first met, it was dull and faded. When giving the tattoo they used a special ink that faded after a year. The minimum time one could serve ANBU was a year. If the tattoo wasn't given again, it would continue to fade until it was just a dull outline.

Now, on the other hand, her's was dark and it was clear the mark had been placed anew under her flesh.

Kiba just smiled and watched as she rolled up her sleeve. The tattoo and ink were fresh, Kiba could even smell it now that he was looking for it. So she had made her decision. He just nodded for a few moments before turning to look at Akiko. "So you joined back up with ANBU", he said simply with a smile. "When do you fully start?", he asked curiously.

Akiko nodded happily. "Yep! I decided that it would be better for me to do something while Youki was still active. After we stop him and I turn seventeen I want to be with you. If I can do something worthwhile for a few years before then, that means I can be a mom after that." Through all that happened, Akiko still wanted to be a mother, though she knew very little of what that would entail (particularly the part about being pregnant and birthing the baby). But she liked kids and was good with them.

"You want that too right?" She asked, a smile on her face. "To have kids when I get older?"

"I understand, and it truly makes sense", Kiba said as he turned to enter his house, however he stopped as he heard Akiko's last question. He quickly turned around to face her fully. "Well of course I do. I don't want anything but that", he said before kneeling down and taking her hands into his own. "Akiko, I'd throw away being clan leader forever if it meant that I could be with you. For now I just need to be patient and I can have you and help my clan, that's what I want most of all", he said before leaning forward and hugging her. "If they ever forced me to pick one and not the other..........I'd pick you every time"

Akiko smiled at him, hugging him back. "They already did have you pick, and you chose me." She said matter-of-factly before leaning up and kissing him softly. "I know that both mean a lot to you, Kiba-kun. I love my clan too, but I will choose you over them because I love you and you're my mate. Forever, right?" She laughed softly, holding his hand as they moved into the house.

Kiba returned the kiss as Akiko delivered it to him, feeling the same kind of warmth that she always brought to him. God how he loved her. "You're right Akiko, absolutely right", he said with that same grin that he always had on. Hard to believe that she was mad at him earlier, she seemed so happy now. He was glad things were okay again. As they walked into the house Kiba scratched his chin. "What were we going to do again?"

Akiko thought about his question, trying to remember herself. "Um..." She stated uncertainly before laughing softly. "I don't really remember... I think it had something to do with me cooking for you or taking a nap." She looked up at him uncertainly. "Whichever you'd want to do more."

Kiba let out a laugh as neither of them could remember what it was that they were planning on doing. They were so spacey sometimes. "Well, I think a nap is actually sounding pretty good right about now", he said with a smile. "Mind if we wait to have dinner till afterward?", he asked curiously.

Akiko nodded. "Yeah, I think a nap is a good idea." She said honestly, rubbing her eyes. "I'm tired, and we've had quite the day." She told him honestly, taking his hand. "Come on."

Youki wandered through the village, in a body quite distinct from his own, eyes flickering from person to person, calculating. Considering the time they had, the village had been rebuilt rather well. Though, it was to be expected. The village destruction wasn't what he wanted, it was just the distraction he needed. It seems Xerion hadn't completely gone against his wishes, but there was something else still bothering him. Something that just didn't add up. Akiko's pregnancy and the time period in which she was carrying that child. It was impossible for her to conceive before returning to them, Lillian would have noticed and she'd have been sick sooner. Though Kiba was there, Akiko was never alone. Someone was always with her-Lillian, Xerion, Kaliegh, and Aaliyah.

The next day, Kiba awoke with a yawn coming from his throat. He had slept soundly, but he still felt just as tired. He felt like it always went that way, there were nights where no matter how much you slept you just ended up not getting the rest you needed. Oh well, it didn't really matter to him. He turned over onto his side, moving up against Akiko who was sleeping beside him. He just cuddled up next to her for now, not wanting to wake her up earlier than she wanted to.

Akiko was curled on beside Kiba, her back resting against his side. His arms wrapped around her and she shifted back and rested against his body, contently cuddling closer to her mate. She slowly came back to consciousness, warm body close to hers. She let out a soft moan and turned her head to look over her a shoulder. A smile appeared on her lips and she wrapped her arms around the back of his head. Her lips pressed against his softly. "I missed you." She whispered after the kiss, laughing softly. "How did you sleep, Kiba-kun?"

Kiba smiled and pressed his lips softly against Akiko as she gave him his good morning kiss. "And I missed you my love", he said as he pulled her even closer to him. He smiled widely when he heard her question. "Like a log, it was so comfortable and relaxing", he said with a tiny laugh before glancing down into his mate's eyes. "And what about you? How did you sleep?"

"I slept well." She answered honestly, rolling over to face him. Resting her head on his chest, she smiled. "I'm glad to hear that you're better when I'm around."

A loud booming sound echoed as the door to Kiba's house flew open and then the room to his bedroom slammed against the wall after it opened with the same amount of violence. "Kiba!" Hana said, panting, fully dressed, and clearly having been awake for a while. "You need to get up and get dressed now. Youki broke into ANBU and managed to steal some of their records. He knows that Akiko has reenlisted." She was flushed from running, and looked slightly panicked.

Kiba let out a tiny chuckle at her last comment. "Was that some kind of secret? I always just assumed that was common knowledge", Kiba said with a wink before leaning in and giving Akiko a soft kiss on the forehead.

Even though it was early Kiba's ears still worked quite well. His head snapped towards his door as the door to his house was opened quickly. However, soon enough he could smell Hana's familiar scent coming from there. As she came in he just looked up at her, listening and taking in every word that she said. "Damn it. Should have known that this day was going by too smoothly", he said before leaping up and out of bed. He was wearing pants so socks, shirt, and shoes were all he needed. "When did this happen?", Kiba asked as he looked at Hana.

Akiko looked up when the door burst open and tensed, leaning toward Kiba. "Hana-Onee-san..." She whispered. Then her eyes widened when she realized what was said and jumped up, changing her clothes and pulling her shoes on. "When did he do this?" She asked, fear in her eyes. "How long did he stay in the village?"

Hana looked at them. "He did this some time after it got dark and before the sun rose." She answered, not exactly sure of the timeline he had to work with. "He's killed several members of ANBU, but one survived. They're in a coma, but the way they were killed was his style of execution. Shino is going to meet us at the ANBU tower. Neither one of you have been inside of it, and as non-ANBU you should feel privledged."

Akiko nodded. "Which one? The one inside the village?"

Hana nodded. "Yes." She lead them out of the village and to the top of the hokage mountain, off centered on the head of the second Hokage. There was a small mark which Akiko touched and a door appeared. They went inside and were moved underground into the headquarters, out of the sight of the village.

"Shino." Akiko ran over to his side, smiling at him and his father. "Why are you here too?"

A dark haired male rested his hand on Akiko's head. "We're uncertain of what Youki stole and what he was looking for. Part of your mission log is missing." He turned to Shibi and Shino, who had not yet been told why they were here. "Aaliyah's records were supposed to be transferred here during the night. Currently, we're uncertain where they are, and if they even arrived."

Kiba strapped on his leather belt with weapon pouch attachments on the sides around his waist. It was the last accessory to his usual outfit. He wasn't sure what all was going down, but the moment Youki's name was brought up he had to get ready for battle. With any luck they'd be making ready to pursue and throttle the man. Kiba of course know that today was not going to be his lucky day. It already wasn't going that great.

"Pardon me if I don't weep with joy", Kiba said simply before making his way out with Hana and Akiko. He had no idea where they were going, but if ANBU was calling them to make it to this meeting, than it must be urgent. Kbia didn't know what was gonna get discussed but he'd make sure to memorize any word. He was really tired of this bastard ruining his and Akiko's life.

As Kiba and Akiko entered into the ANBU headquarters Shino watched them, smiling for only a moment before they were interrupted. The news was enough to make Shino want to throw up. Shino opened his mouth, but his father beat him to the punch.

"Are you telling us that Aaliyah's secrets might be compromised?", Shibi asked in an even voice. A hand rested on Shino's shoulder, telling his son to be patient for just a little while longer.

THe male before them stood straight before them, his arms behind his back, one handing holding the opposite wrist. He didn't flinch, eyes fixed on father and son. "We're unaware of what Youki has stolen at this time. We know that some files are missing, such as Akiko's mission logs. Aaliyah's were requested, but there is no confirmation of their arrival. They might not have even arrived yet, in which case, Youki would not have them. However, Konoha has acknowledged that there is a chance that her identity may be at risk and her mission is therefore compromised. Otherwise we never would have alerted you. I felt that it was too soon to alert you, but this was a matter the Hokage and I disagreed on."

Akiko's brown eyes widened. "Leader-sama..." She whispered, staring at him, worried. "What you mean to say is that you're doing nothing to protect or verify Aaliyah's safety. You're--"

"Aaliyah was well aware of the risks before she entered ANBU. We all take the same oath--to die in the name of Konoha if it benefits the village." He interjected.

"And that's it!?", Shino shouted out of nowhere. How could they have such disregard for human life!? Trying and failing was one thing, but to absolutely nothing when there was still a chance?! What was wrong with them? "She's one of your own and that's all you're going to do? All shinobi are willing to die to protect the village, Aaliyah and ANBU are no different than the other shinobi when it comes to that. You're just going to stand there and do nothing while her executioner might be walking closer and closer at this very moment?", Shino asked as he stared at the man. "Don't you even care at all? Doesn't the fact she's one of you mean anything?"

"And what if he doesn't have her information?" The male snapped. "What if she's in no danger and we rush in there? Not only do we risk the lives of the shinobi we send in to save her, but it guarantees that Aaliyah will be executed. Besides, no one knows where Youki's new hide away is; this location has never been disclosed. Akiko is not certain were he would run to avoid here, and there are many places she was never brought to. Xerion refuses to tell us any information that will compromise Kaliegh's life, and affirms that Youki would hide in a location that he is nor familiar. It's doubtful that he is with the rest. Even if he was, he is not the type of man that would execute her instantly. Whether we move now or two days from now, she will still be alive."

Shino grew silent at the man's words. He just stood and listened, absorbing every word that he had said. It was true that there was a chance that Aaliyah would not be found out, but Shino didn't want to take that risk. Still, he couldn't just go and attack some place that he wasn't even sure where it was. What was he supposed to do now?

"So why did you call this meeting than? Just a heads up since Youki passed through town?", Shino asked simply. If this meeting was to simply tell him that his love might die than his anger with ANBU would never be quenched.

"Youki was inside the village. You knew of this and said nothing, to no one. That makes you guilty of hiding information from the village. Tsunade-sama insists that you are not to blame. I agree with her, but only because we spoke with Xerion."

"Bullshit." Xerion countered, standing a few feet from them. His guitar was on his back, hands resting on his side, clearly in pain. "It was more of an interrogation, less of a nice little chat. If Youki would have known I'd told someone he was inside the village, he'd have killed everyone he came and contact with, and you know it. If Youki knows, he wouldn't have left the village silently. He'd have murdered as many people as he could get his hands on and burned the Aburame estate, slaughtering everyone inside of it. Youki is not stupid. Akiko and Aaliyah are often together; if Akiko is mated to Kiba, it's not hard to figure out who Aaliyah was dating."

Kiba scratched his chin as he listened to all of this. So all of these guys had known about this the entire time and not really said anything? Kiba glanced from ANBU to Xerion, wondering what on earth he could possibly say. He wanted to just scream and curse ANBU to the ground, they were all talking as if Aaliyah didn't stand a chance. Still, with Akiko right there Kiba decided to refrain himself for now.

"While we appreciate all this information", Shibi began. "We still would like to know why exactly you want us to be here", he remarked. "If you wanted nothing of us I doubt you'd just be sharing your information like this"

Sighing, the man glared in Xerion's direction. "I asked you here for a completely different reason." He stated honestly. "Though I did not want to tell you of the risk to her life, I have no choice. When Aaliyah turned 16, she suspended our notification of her father should anything happen." He pulled a form from his pocket and showed it to both Shibi and Shino. "Before last month, she had no contact in the event of her death. However she resubmitted a new form; stating that power of attorney is transferred to her fiance, Aburame Shino." The form verified this in Aaliyah's handwriting.

"But, there is another reason that I brought this up. You two have spent time with Youki and know of his methods. Is there any way that we can track him besides using his former accomplice, the Oto kunoichi, Karin?"

Shino and Kiba glanced over at each other, wondering what kind of solution they could come up with. Kiba didn't put forth that much effort, after all it was Shino who was the thinker. If he couldn't come up with something than it probably wasn't anything that Kiba would come to. Kiba just shook his head and looked away.

Shino turned towards the man and shook his head. "Not a thing, Youki seems to have a plan or defense for anything that hits him", Shino said seriously. "Now that we have Karin, he's probably trained to mask his own chakra or something or other", Shino said distracted. He looked to the forms that made him power of attorney should go to him should he die. He only hoped that he never had to use that power.