Ojos Asi [[private -- nyrax]]

Akiko pursed her lips. "Well, you're a taijutsi fighter, so wind wouldn't be as useful to you as it would be to Xerion, so I'll teach you earth. That way you can manipulate your surroundings to fit your needs." She nodded certain and walked over to him. "Ok..." it looked like she was really focused on something. "Alright, so basic earth jutsu is Selket, Reshpu, and Anubis." She showed him three hand signs that didn't look anything like the ones they were taught in the academy.

Once she finished the seal, she touched the ground and rose something that looked like a small mountain, but was bit enough to be one all the same. Pushing down the earth again, she landed on her feet and the ground didn't look disturbed at all - like nothing ever happened.

“That’s true”, Kiba remarked as Akiko said that it would make more logical sense for him to use earth instead of wind right now. “Okay then I am ready”, he said as he focused on Akiko. He listened with a nod as she said what the basics of earth jutsus were. What the hell? He looked down to see her making strange hand signs that he had never before seen. He just watched open mouthed as Akiko demonstrated her ability with the jutsu.

Kiba probably looked quite stupid, staring open mouthed at the display that had come. “Okay then……..I have never seen those hand signs in my life”, Kiba admitted with a shrug. “So would you mind showing me again?”, he asked, feeling stupid that this girl seemed so far above him in everything.

Akiko blinked. "You haven't...?" She asked, and her eyes widned. "Oh! Youki taught me these... they're like, from my clan. Only we use them, but I'm so used to being around people who can. Ok umm... roughly in the other shinobi hand signs is... pig, ox, dog, deer." she formed another hand sign that was much easier and put her hand on the ground, this time making a pillar, but didn't go up with it.

"Want me to teach you how to make it explode?" She asked, smirking at him. "Maybe teaching you to move it explode it will make something like moving it easier." She said, looking into his eyes. "Sound like a plan?" She walked over to him and held onto his hand. Turning it out, she made it so they were palm to palm, showing how small her hands where in comparison to his.

Concentrating, she pulled some of the chakra from his body. She pointed. "Touch it, it'll explode."

Kiba did his best to try to remember the hand signs that he was shown, this was much easier to accomplish considering that he recognized them from the academy. These ones were much simpler to remember. “Okay that’s better”, he said as he watched while Akiko continued to show him several different tricks that he could do with earth and how to use it.

“Alright Akiko, I am going to learn these by day’s end!”, he shouted as he quickly began to devote every part of himself into the jutsu.

Several hours later and a few miles away……

Shino found himself walking with Aaliyah as they made their way ever closer to the Leaf Village. “No one knows that you are supposed to exist though”, he pointed out. “Are you going to henge yourself even?”, he asked curiously. He wanted Aaliyah to be safe, but he wasn’t sure what the consequences of her being here would do. He was just being overly concerned.

Akiko looked up at him. She was tired and hot, but she felt a lot better. She was watching Kiba, and he seemed content with himself. "You look happy." She said, watching him move the earth around, controlling it at will. "How do you feel?" She asked.

Aaliyah sighed. "Well..." She trailed off. She wanted to be around him, and she didn't feel ready to leave him yet. "I hate to say it, but I want to go into Konoha." She looked over at him. "I want to be able to know where to find you when I want to see you, and I should report to Tsuande. If she knows Akiko is there, I know she's worried. She's an S ranked criminal, even if she doesn't look like one."

She rubbed the back of her neck. "And I'm sure she'll want to know how you found out what you did, and telling her you found me will make ANBU worry. I should see them." She shrugged. "I haven't checked in, in... wow, months I guess." She smiled at him, her hand sliding into his, wrapping around it and interlacing with his fingers. "Just... relax, ok?" She said, leaning up to kiss his cheek. "I'll be fine, and if Youki finds out, I'll just steal something and give it to him, claiming that it was fake to get something for him."

“Oh believe me that I am”, Kiba said with a grin as he continued to use jutsu after jutsu, trying to move the earth in the way that he desired. He had never really been able to get used to jutsus so fast. Although he couldn’t tell, Akiko’s plan to make him a better leader was definitely working, Kiba had never been this confident before.

Shino just shrugged. “I just don’t want this to end up hurting you in the end”, he said as he looked at her. They were in public again, so his glasses had of course come back on. “Tsunade is probably going to kill me after everything that has happened”, he admitted before looking down and taking Aaliyah’s hand into his own as well. “But it was worth it so much”, he said honestly. “I would have repeated that event a thousand times if I had to”

“I’m just concerned”, he repeated. He didn’t want Aaliyah to be hurt because of something that they had done. He loved Aaliyah, of this he was starting to feel quite certain. He sighed slowly as he felt the kiss on his cheek. “Just remember the promise that we made to each other. Neither of us can break it without hurting the other”, he said slowly. “So please, just be careful”

Akiko smiled. She was sitting in the grass, her hands supporting her chin. She was looking at him affectionately, and she felt good. he felt good, confident, strong, and seemed os much happier than he had earlier that morning. "I'm glad."

Aaliyah nodded. "I won't get hurt. I'm really good at lying. It's my job." She said, looking up at the sky. "Tsunade doesn't have to know everything that happened. I don't need to share what I do in my private life with her, and she doesn't have to share what she does with me." She looked at him. "You don't have to tell her what happened Shino, she's the hokage, but you can lie to her about who you have sex with. It's really none of her business." she said, shrugging her shoulders.

"I know you are, and you have no idea how much I love it. Someone caring about me is new, but I love it more than anything. I know that without hesitation and doubt. I'll live and I'll come back to you. I promise, but I can't guarantee that..." She trailed off. "When we're not alone and if the village is around or if Youki is, we're enemies, and eve if it's an act, the battle can't be. You'll have to hurt me, and we'll have to fight - you know that right?"

Kiba finished using the earth. “That’s right world”, he said before throwing a few punches before doing a back flip and using a kick in it as well. “You will never know what hit ya when Kiba Inuzuka fights ya!”, he shouted before turning to Akiko. “And I owe it to you……….thanks Akiko”, he said with a large smile.

“I doubt that would be one of the questions that would come up”, Shino remarked slowly. “Plus Tsunade believes that I would never do something like that, I have to admit that not even I saw that coming last night”, he admitted slowly. “But don’t worry, even if it did come up that is definitely a question that I would not answer honestly, not even to her”, he said with a small smile.

As Aaliyah spoke her next few words Shino said nothing for several moments. Of course she was right, but that didn’t mean it was one of those things that he really wanted to acknowledge right now. He slowly turned to Aaliyah, grabbing her by the hand before pulling her into a soft kiss. “First of all, you’d kill me before I could even touch you if it was a real fight”, he said simply. “But yes I know you are right……..and I will cross that bridge when it comes, but I won’t think about it until then”

Akiko smiled at him and got up, then hugged him. She nodded sweetly and looked up at the sun. "it's setting..." she said, sighing. It was like the day was too short, which she did not like. "The day should be longer." She stuck out her tongue and giggled slightly. They'd trained all day, so they'd just eaten breakfast. "Are you hungry?" She asked, turning to face him. The flower she'd put in her hair was gone. It had flown away and been destroyed in their training.

She pretended not to notice, but she really wanted it..

Aaliyah smiled at him, leaning up into his kiss. She wrapped her arms around him and stopped walking. Man, it felt so good to kiss him. "I didn't either." she said honestly. "To be honest, I never thought I'd have sex with anyone, and that certainly wasn't my intention when we met." She smiled however. "Some surprised in life are pleasant." She added, leaning forward to kiss him again.

They walked on, and the gates of Konoha came into sight, which made Aaliyah let go of Shino's hand and walk a couple feet away from him, and it was as much as she really didn't want to... She wanted to touch and be close to him, but in Konoha or in public, it just couldn't be that way. As more time went by the harder it got. They started to run, darting into the village past the guards. Some of them knew her, or at least knew to let her in. Besides, she was with Shino?

They ran through the village to the Hokage Tower, where Aaliyah didn't bother knocking before going up to her office and walking inside. "Hello Tsunade." She said, sitting in one of the chairs in her office, crossing her legs. "Sup?"

Tsuande sighed. "Sakura!" her voice was loud and seemed to echo in her office. "Summon Kiba, NOW!"

Aaliyah groaned. "What did he do?" She asked dully.

"He brought Heisha Akiko into the village.. And YOU!" she pointed at Shino accusingly. "What happened to your mission?! I told you to report to me LAST night! By hawk or through your insects. ANYTHING!" She yelled. "But NO! Where the hell where you?"

Aaliyah sighed. "He was observing with me. He knows, but Kiba doesn't."

Tsuande sighed. "Well, Kiba knows now! Why is Akiko here!?"

Aaliyah bit her lip. "She... promised me to not tell Youki that I was with Shino, a konoha shinobi, as long as she got to come home. She met Kiba and the village and seemed attached to him. He agreed to take her here."

Kiba just gave a deep sigh as he was asked if he was hungry or not. “Good lord yes I am”, he muttered weakly as he turned to Akiko. He tilted his head as he realized that the flower in her hair was gone. Well that wouldn’t do. He knew how to make her feel better, since she had lost it she probably felt terrible. “Yeah if you don’t mind would you go in while I did a few more practices out here?”, he asked with a smile. Kiba of course had a few other plans on his mind.

Shino just leaned into both kisses as Aaliyah spoke those kind words to him. “I never thought that it would happen either”, he admitted softly. “I always assumed that I was destined to just live alone and that was that”, he said slowly. “But no matter what happens I am so happy about what happened”, he said softly, giving her a kiss of his own.

As they ran through the village Shino could see the several strange looks that he was getting. He could recognize even a few classmates that were shocked to see Shino with someone like HER. He continued and eventually made their way over to the Hokage’s office. This was not going to be a pleasant meeting, or at least so he thought until Akiko seemed to just completely take over everything. She treated the Hokage with less respect then Kiba did! Shino just remained silent as Aaliyah decided to explain the situation. He just stood there, ready to speak when he was truly needed.

Sakura ran off through the village and slowed down when she reached the Inuzuka estate. She slowed down when she heard Kiba's voice. "Kiba!" She called, surprised she could choke all that out. "Tsunade-sama... wishes to see you in her office now." She said, catching her breath. She blinked, seeing Akiko again. She bit her lip. "But, she never said if she wanted her..." she didn't seem sure if Akiko would come, so she looked at Kiba as if he would know.

Tsunade seemed more angry than usual. This made Aaliyah smile. "Lillian's right... you are just like my sensei." She said with a laugh. "And you didn't train Ai." she smirked, and shrugged her shoulder. "Look, I took care of it, ok? Youki made an alliance with Akatsuki. He traded his brother with the tailed beast, and in return, Youki will help capture Naruto." She said seriously.

"They're either going to send my team, because he is Jiriya's student after all, or, they're going to send in Xerion." She said simply. "Shino and I looked over things, and that's what we found. I kept him with me so he could report this back to you,but you're too busy screaming." She looked up at the sky. "You remind me of my dad and his warped ideals of perfection and grace." She sighed.

The Hokage calmed slightly. "And..?" She asked, starting at her, biting her lip.

"Umm..." Aaliyah thought it over. "Youki's planning to help extract the bijuu within his brother so that he'll survive and only the beast will be removed. He needs all 12 of the others for that. He sent Akiko after me. Kiba seemed to be able to put up with her, so he distracted her while..."

Tsunade cut her off. "Is she dangerous?"

Aaliyah shook her head. "She's easy warped and misguided. she'll do anything for affection because Youki so rarely gives it to her. I think she likes being around Kiba because he makes her feel good around herself." She shrugged. "That's just what I saw, I could be wrong but..."

Kiba turned down over to Sakura. Of course, he was just about pick a few flowers for Akiko and he had to be interrupted. He watched her come over and listened as he was told that Tsunade wanted to see him. “I see, that must mean that Shino is back right?”, he asked as if he was completely expecting this, which of course he was. He glanced back at Akiko before turning to Sakura. “We can have her tag along, if Tsunade doesn’t want her there than I know what we can do”, he answered simply.

Shino just gave a slow nod as Aaliyah explained the information that he already knew. He couldn’t help but wonder how they were going to work past this. If the family was as powerful as Aaliyah had described them than they would have to use everyone to fight them off. A large amount of people would die. Shino just slowly stepped forward next to Aaliyah, as if waiting to be addressed or waiting for an opportunity to present itself so that he could show his own understanding.

“Akiko seemed like someone who would stay by Kiba just because he treated her like a real person”, Shino said simply. “I would ask that you not hold anything against him for what might have happened since he joined me in this mission, it is my responsibility”, he admitted. “I couldn’t give Kiba more details about what was going on since Akiko was with him at the time, so while some of his actions might seem stupid in truth he just received no warning”

Sakura looked over at Kiba and Akiko and smiled. "You can most likely change if you need to though. She's in a foul mood today, so make it fast, ok?" She said, smiling at them both. "Hurry up..." She waved and took off. "I have work to do, so good luck!" he called, taking off towards the hospital.

Akiko looked over at Kiba and smiled. "Come on, let's go change and see her." Akiko seemed excited. "I've always wanted to meet her face to face. Youki always used to say that woman are too weak to be Hokage, and it's so cool that there is one now!" She jumped up and down slightly, taking his hand. "Let's go..." She paused. She still didn't have any cloths of her own here.

Biting her lip, she sighed. "Well, you can change..." She said, laughing slightly. "I'll just have to get something else to wear." She rubbed the back of her head giggling.

Tsunade sat at her desk, lacing her fingers and leaning back in her chair. It seemed like she was thinking. "Jiriaya would know what to do..." She said aloud, but softly. "I'm not sure where to proceed from here. You may live with Akiko, but her being in Konoha is a huge danger. It makes the village a target, and you shouldn't be away from Youki." She pointed at her. "You of all people should--"

Aaliyah glared. "YOU of all people should know what he's capable of. Jiriaya was just like your ridiculous sensei - the fool you called the third hokage! He keeps training men that are trying to destroy Konoha. Two good ones doesn't negate the two more powerful, and still living that are trying to destroy it. One of which I have to live with and have to deal with!"

Tsunade had a disgusted look on her face. "He's dead, Aaliyah. Show some respect for him." She was standing now, and both woman were glaring. Looking over at Shino, the blonde woman sighed. "I know that Kiba trusts her. I've seen it." She looked up at the sky. "He attacked another member of his clan because of Akiko today. And he won." She looked over at Shino. "His mother told me about it before she left on her mission. Kiba's becoming too attached to her."

Kiba glanced down at this clothes, as if wondering what was wrong with the clothes he was wearing. That didn’t take very long to figure out though. “Oh right, that might be best”, he said with a laugh before waving. “Thanks for the warning Sakura, I appreciate it”, he said as she took off towards the hospital.

He turned to Akiko and gave a small nod as he began to make his way inside. “Well I can’t say that I really have anything that will fit you”, he admitted. “When we get back from the meeting we can wash your clothes again, I owe you after that training after all”, he admitted with a laugh. He quickly made his way into his own room and changed. “Ya ready to go Akiko?”, he asked wondering if she needed to do anything before they left.

Shino was silent as the two woman argued. He couldn’t really side with either, part of him wanted to defend his village’s honor, but after what Aaliyah had told him Shino couldn’t say he was too pleased with his village as of late. He gave a small sigh and just addressed Tsunade as she addressed him. “Kiba actually challenged one of his own clan mates over her?”, Shino asked almost surprised. Even he knew what that meant in their clan. “I can now see why you are concerned”, he admitted with a small sigh. “We can’t put him in danger, he wasn’t even supposed to be involved with this mission at all except my mistake forced it on him”, he admitted. “What should we do about him?”

Akiko smiled at him. "Ok! I want t take a shower too." She said, smiling at him. "Do you think any of your sisters or mom's cloths will fit me?" She asked, knowing the answer was no, but there had to be something that she could wear when her cloths were washing again. She should most likely go and get her own cloths.

As she smiled at him, she grabbed a bottle of water while he changed and handed him one, knowing he was definitely thirsty. Filling up another cup, she handed it to him and then drank another one herself. "Do you want to eat when we get back?" She asked, looking up at him.

Tsunade nodded. "He did. Apparently he ripped open Kiba's shoulder, but Akiko healed him, which is yet another ability she possesses that I wish she didn't..." Looking up, she shook her head. "Kiba won the fight, but Tsume seemed more proud of Kiba than worried about what could happen if Youki found out. I'm sure even he knows what such a fight signifies among the Inuzuka clan." She bit her lip gently.

"You'll have to return soon." She told Aaliyah slowly, trying not to start a fight. "And... I don't know what to do about Kiba. It would be better for Kiba and for the village if Akiko returns to her brother and doesn't cause any more problems here. I don't want a war to start, and if she's as naive as is rumored, then she might accidentally mention being here or Kiba, or anything to one of her siblings, which might start another war, maybe even the fourth shinobi war. I've seen enough of them. I refuse to get into another one."

Kiba gave a smile. “I’m sure that a shower can be arranged”, he said with a smile. “But I’m afraid my mom and sister long outgrew the need for clothes that would fit you”, he admitted with a smile. “Well I am not sure what we will do but we can figure that out later”, he said with a small smile.

He grabbed the water bottle and took a long drink from it. “That was good”, he said before slowly pulling something out. It was of course another flower, just like the one Akiko had lost. “I wanted you to have this from me, because I saw that you didn’t have yours anymore”, he said with a small smile. “And I just wanted you to have this from me”, he said as he placed it in her hands.

Shino just scratched his chin. “This girl is much more talented than I thought”, he remarked to himself. It doesn’t sound like Kiba to do something so rash amongst his own clan though, he’s smart enough to try to avoid making himself look like a fool since he’s the only male clan heir”, Shino pointed out. “But even so, if Youki were to find out what Kiba did he would make sure that Kiba never lived to do it again, he would crush him. For his own safety we need to separate him and Akiko”

Shino continued to be in deep thought. What could they really do about Kiba? He was too prideful to just back down, it was nowhere near that easy with him. “We can only hope at this point that she doesn’t let anything slip”, Shino said slowly. “We can’t make Akiko forget and we can’t control her”, he pointed out. “But the Inuzuka clan will be furious, if Youki’s wrath is directed at their heir we will have two enemies to deal with, I doubt Kiba’s clan would be too happy about the fact I forced him into this. It’s my fault he is at risk”

Akiko nodded. "I... I'm pretty good with cloths. Little girls cloths fit me..." She said, biting her lip. "I haven't ever really grown or anything at all. I got a little taller, but for the most part, my weight and body proportions haven't changed. My waist just got thinner. That's it." She bit her lip. "I can wear even a little girls clothing if it's convenient for you. I'm not picky. I'll wear anything. I'm used to it considering that most of my cloths are for younger girls because girls my age aren't normally my size." She rubbed the back of her head.

Her eyes widened. He was give her... a flower? She looked at the red, brown, and orange petaled flower. She looked at it when it was in her hands and looked up at him. Her eyes lit up and she jumped up into him, wrapping her arms around his neck and smiled. For life... His words rung in her ears and she smiled.

Looking up at him, she smiled and then put the flower in her hair, moving her hand through it. The two started to walk off and she smiled, much happier than she ever had been while around him. "Alright! Let's go see Tsunade-sama!" Her voice was strong and confident.

Aaliyah bit her lip. "This isn't your fault Shino. It's mine. They sent Akiko after me like they sent Kiba after you. She tends to draw a lot of attention... She met him and it had nothing to do with you or me..." She trailed off. "It's as much mine as it is yours, and once they're separated, it won't matter. She'll forget about it and he'll move on. She's young."

Tsuande shook her head. "I don't think the Inuzuka clan will start a war with yours Shino. The two of you get along exceptionally. You're friends and teammates. Your mother and his father starting a war is very unlikely and improbable." She shrugged her shoulders. "I just want to see her... I need to talk to her before I decide the best choice of circumstances."

Kiba just gave a slow nod as he listened to everything that Akiko was saying. He really just didn’t have anything for her though. He supposed they could go out and buy something. “Well if it works better for you I promise that after we have the meeting I can take you out shopping if you would like?”, he asked with a large smile. He wasn’t really sure what to do here, he just figured they would do what they did last night. One of his older shirts covered her up nicely enough after all.

As he saw the look on her face when he gave her the flower he couldn’t help but give a larger grin in return. “I am glad you like it”, he said before she leapt up and wrapped his neck completely around with her arms. He just let out a low chuckle, happy that Akiko seemed so happy. As she let go he gave her a grin. “Come on now we shouldn’t keep her waiting anymore”, he said as he walked out of the Inuzuka building with Akiko right behind him.

“Still one of my only friends is at risk because of my involvement in this, I just feel a bit responsible”, Shino said honestly. In truth he was very much worried about Kiba’s safety. He always treated his teammates coldly, well he treated everyone coldly actually. But still if because of him Kiba got hurt or even worse killed, Shino just didn’t know what he would do.

“You’re right, I suppose that is illogical”, Shino remarked. “Forgive me Lady Tsunade, this mission has caused me to get rather distracted”, he said, of course him and Aaliyah knew the truth about that. “I am just worried is all, the sooner we can make a plan the better”

As the two walked off, Akiko smiled. She liked being around Kiba. She looked at his hand and then took his in her own as they walked side by side towards the Hokage's office. She felt safe in his presence, and that was all she needed from him. "Why is she mad when people are late?" She asked, knowing that being late was the one thing that Youki hated more than anything.

Tsunade looked up at Aaliyah then Shino. She snorted. "I can't imagine why in the world you'd be distracted." She looked out the window and sighed. "If he doesn't show up soon, I'm going to make Sakura run from here to Suna and back..." She muttered grumpily. Apparently her apprentice didn't run fast enough for her liking.

Aaliyah sighed, sitting on her desk, looking out the window as well. "Akiko isn't dangerous, Tsunade. She's mainly used for scare, she rarely ever battles. She CAN, but Akiko has never killed anyone. I don't even think she knows how to? She will if she has to, but she's so innocent that I doubt she'd ever want to." She sighed, glancing up as the door opened.

Kiba glanced down as he felt Akiko taking his hand into hers. He just smiled, knowing that for some reason she always felt safe around him. He still wasn’t sure why this was, Kiba never really felt like he had done anything super special for her after all. But he didn’t complain, knowing that he was just a good guy to her. “Well she is the Hokage so she has a lot to do”, he pointed out. “If one person is late then it makes her entire schedule messed up”, he said as they made their way to the office. They made their way through the building and all the way up to the office, slowly pushing the door open and making their way inside.

Shino just nodded. “He will be here soon, Kiba is hard headed at times but he listens to his orders when they are given to him”, he said honestly. “We just have to give him a minute”, he said before Aaliyah began to speak. Shino couldn’t really argue, he didn’t know anything about this Akiko girl after all. He only saw her once when Kiba walked in on him and Aaliyah kissing. Shino suddenly turned his gaze to the door as he heard something.

“Here Lady Hokage”, Kiba said as he and Akiko entered the room. The tension was so thick that Kiba could already feel it. “Hey Shino, Aaliyah”, the Inuzuka said with a light hearted wave.

Akiko ran over and hugged Aaliyah once they opened the door, letting go of Kiba's hand as she moved. She smiled at Tsunade and looked up at Aaliyah. "What's going on?" She asked, backing up a little. "Why do I feel like I'm in trouble."

Tsunade shook her head. "No, Akiko, you're not in trouble... I want you to..." She paused. "Aaliyah?"

She sighed. "You can't tell anyone that you were here. No one, especially Youki, ok?"

"Why?"

"Bad things will happen. Cyon doesn't like dogs. If he finds out, he'll tell Youki, and if Youki finds out and tells Cyon, he'll come and find Kiba." She looked at Kiba and then at Akiko. She wasn't lying to her. Cyon and Youki really would kill him if they find out she had prolonged contact with their little sister. Not to even start what they'd do to Aaliyah when they find out she lied and she didn't go with her.

Akiko's eyes widened and looked over at Kiba and nodded. "Alright." She said, closing her eyes tightly. "I won't tell anyone, including all my siblings." She bit her lip. "Nothing?" She asked. "About being here and you?"

Aaliyah nodded. "We went to a spa, ok?" She asked, slowly, making sure she was paying attention. "The one at the edge of Suna and Ame at the northern most boarder near the oasis, alright?"

Akiko nodded. "Ok! Can Kiba and I go home now?" She asked.

Tsunade rose her head, shocked by this. She... wanted to go home with him?! "Akiko, you have to go home.... to your siblings. You can't stay in Konoha..."

Akiko bit her lip. "Yeah, but I want to stay here with Kiba..."

Kiba just smiled as Akiko let go and ran over to go hug Aaliyah. Those two really did act like sisters. It was one of the sweetest things that Kiba had seen in some time. Akiko was so kind to everyone but seeing her interact with Aaliyah was something else. It was at this moment that he remembered that he was going this all for a mission. Anything could happen at any time that could cause this all to go downhill. The thought made him frown before he turned and listened to the conversation that took place. He couldn’t help but feel goosebumps as Aaliyah spoke of his death so easily, it was the right tactic to scare Akiko but part of him couldn’t help but believe it. Akiko put him in danger, but at the same time he didn’t care. At Akiko’s final comment Kiba’s eyes widened. She wanted to stay with him!?

Shino too was also surprised for the turn that his conversation took. “You might want to stay with Kiba but right now that isn’t really an option”, he said honestly, hoping to help the girl understand. “If you care about Kiba then you have to realize that you are putting him in far greater danger by staying with him”, he said seriously. Shino was never really good with kids, but Akiko seemed like she understood a lot despite her personality. “You want Kiba to be okay don’t you?”

Akiko looked at Shino and shook her head. "I.. I know that it's not safe for him if I stay, but why do all my other siblings get to do what they want and I can't!?" She asked, stepping forward. "Xerion comes back and stays in Konoha ALL the time! So do Sani and Suki and they always come back with stuff they've taken from the Hokage tower and..." Her voice was louder than it normally was, and it sounded like she was going to cry.

"Konoha is my home, it's not far that I have to leave! I'm not a baby and I can do what I want..." Her eyes gained much more shine then they normally had, making them glossy and she looked away, trying not to let the tears fall from her eyes. "I don't want to go back..."

Aaliyah sighed. "Akiko, this may not seem like something you want right now, but it's the best for all of us. Next time I come around here, I'll take you with me, ok? I'll let you see Kiba as long as you'll leave when it's time to go, ok?"

Akiko pushed her away slightly. "Yeah, but I can't leave! Kiba said that he--!"

Aaliyah covered her mouth glared at him slightly. "Akiko... it doesn't matter what Kiba said, or what he did. We don't have time for this..." she looked at Tsunade. "The best thing you can do right now is to leave with me. Youki sends me around Konoha a lot, but if he doesn't trust you or me to leave without you running away then he won't let you leave again."

She sighed, looking over at Kiba with a look on her face that was a mixture between betrayal and crying, even though she wasn't. "Let's go..." She looked away from him and Aaliyah opened one of the window and jumped out of it. She turned to face Shino and smiled at him. "I'll be back soon." She winked at him and then took off, pulling Akiko by teh wrist.

Shino raised an eyebrow. Some of her siblings were here all the time? That was not good news to be hearing. Did Tsunade know about this? He doubted it, after all it seemed like one of those things she’d destroy if she learned that people were taking valuable information out of Konoha. Shino just knew one thing; Kiba had made this mission a lot harder by getting close to Akiko. He supposed he couldn’t really get mad at him though, Shino did not consider himself a hypocrite.

Shino watched as Akiko got her sentence cut off by Aaliyah, clearly she had stopped her from furthering how deep of a hole Kiba was in right now. Tsunade was probably already going to beat the shit out of him for what happened here. Shino just hoped that she went easy on them both, god knew that when Tsunade was angry……well there was a reason that people compared hell to an angry woman. Tsunade contributed to that one greatly.

Kiba just watched with a frown as Akiko tried to fight so desperately to stay, that was because she knew what was at risk here. Odds are was that she might never come back after all the trouble that everyone got into. This mission was going to go in several different directions, and Kiba needed to make sure that he was ready to do that when the time came. He could be asked to do anything, but what could he really do to her? He wasn’t sure there was anything he could do to hurt her.

As both the women left, both Shino and Kiba said the same thing. “Goodbye”, they said nearly simultaneously. They both stared off as they left for a moment before slowly turning to Tsunade. Whatever was going to happen, it was not going to be pretty.

Tsunade turned to face the two, a dark look swiping across her face. "Alright." She pushed some of the documents to the side of her desk. "You two better have a really good explanation for this..." She looked up at Shino and was staring intently at him. "Why did she tell you who she really was, and why did you go with her and not report to me like I expressly told you to? I wanted to know to make sure you survived, but considering you can't FOLLOW the orders of a missions of this rank, I don't think that you'll be doing one again."

She leaned back in her seat. "I'm disappointed in both of you!" Her voice was loud and booming this time. "You brought an S-rank criminal into the village without second thought! She doesn't have a headband, yet you ALLOWED her into the village!" she screamed. "What if she killed you?! Or someone else!?"

She rounded on Shino again. "And you! the disgrace of disobeying one of my expressed orders and a missions that I had the choice to send ANYONE on, but chose YOU over Kakashi because i thought you were ready for this, and you defy my orders, and not for the reasons Aaliyah claimed! That's enough to end your life as a shinobi, strip you of your rank, and put your clan in shame for their ONLY heir being a removed shinobi! If you'd have done all that Aaliyah claimed, you'd have been back my noon, not by sundown... Tell me Shino, what was so important that you decided not to report to me and return when i expressly told you to?"