Ojos Asi [[private -- nyrax]]

Kiba smiled as Akiko said that she wanted to go and see the house. The mention of his family made him stop suddenly. “Hana……….I hope she’s okay”, he remarked softly. Kiba still felt somewhat responsible, it was his attraction to Akiko that made her get attacked after all. “Well, guess we’ll just have to see what Shino says”, he said to change the subject.

Shino just shook his head. “God I hate this village sometimes”, he muttered, not caring if it was treason or not. It was putting him and his love through hell, it wasn’t right. “You, the Kage, has absolutely no power to save one shinobi? I can’t see why Naruto would want such a title, watching people that he knows he can’t help. It would make him feel so………..weak”, he said as he stared off at a wall. For Shino being Shino this was some pretty harsh stuff for him to be talking about. “I don’t know what she has to do, nor do I know if she’ll be able to act it out for me”, he commented slowly. “The only thing I know, is I’m tired of having to stand here and pretend to be okay while she’s gone. If I can’t save the people I care about, than I have no right to care about them”, he whispered softly. Shino never felt so weak.

Akiko looked up at him. "Hey... do you want to go and see your sister?" She asked, taking his hand to hold it. "I want to see if she's awake too. She got badly hurt and... I..." Her eyes seemed like she was about to cry, but didn't. "I didn't even do anything... I just... stood there. Sani scared me.."

Tsunade glared at him. "Shino..." She trailed off. "This will not be the answer you want to here, but I've seen Youki's power, his determination. I've seen what he's capable of. If Roots and ANBU are in an agreement that Aaliyah's life is worth the sacrifice to SAVE the thousands of people that I have promised to protect, then I'll let one die to save thousands. Her love for you was against all protocol and I never should have allowed for it to go on. I said nothing about it because I know what it's like to be in love. But as someone who lost the only love of their life; I can tell you that nothing you say, do, try, or anything along those lines will make it any easier on you." She turned around and left. "You can stay here and pity yourself or go and find her and do something about it and stop being a little whiny baby."

Kiba looked up as he felt Akiko taking his hand in a gentle way. It wasn’t a playful one, but definitely one of concern. He gained a small smile. “I think I would, she had bad injuries as well so she’s probably awake by now”, he remarked with a smile. “If you don’t mind I really would like to go see her……man where is Shino with that food anyways?”, he asked as he suddenly remembered how long his teammate had been away.

Shino just turned and started walking away, having the feeling that he really didn’t want to hear what she was about to say. Shino suddenly stopped dead though as Tsunade said something that Shino found to be extremely arrogant for her to say. He waited for her to finish speaking, deciding not to interrupt her. Once she finished he turned to her, his entire body language practically sending a glare at her. “As I recall…….you abandoned the village and ran away to gamble your life savings as a worthless drunk, and what two of your loved ones died was it?”, he asked. “You were one of the sannin, and you left us to wallow in your own self pity”, he growled as he stared at her. “You aren’t worthy of the title of Kage, Jiraiya let his personal feelings for you get in the way when he wanted you to lead this village. I look forward to the day when Naruto replaces you……….he won’t let this shit get to him. He won’t stand by while people die for the greater good”, Shino said intently. “I’m not going to be like you Tsunade, I’ll save her, even if you think I’m foolish enough to try”, he said before turning and walking down the hall. “I will NEVER become like you”, he shouted back one last time.

Akiko shrugged. "Let's go see Hana and then we can find Shino. Maybe he ran into Aaliyah and forgot about us." She said laughing slightly. Holding his hand, she stood beside him. "Come on, I wanna see Hana."

Tsunade stopped dead when he started talking. her entire body started to shake, but it was from anger, not anything else. Spinning around, she rounded on him, and punched him in the face as hard as she could. She wouldn't at all be surprised if she broke some of the bones in his face. His back slammed into the wall and broke it into pieces. "Shut up! Don't you DARE assume that you know what it's like to lose what I did! I lost the love of my life and my brother! The two focuses of my life! You've known Aaliyah for a few months and you can say you're in love with her all you want! That doesn't change the fact Youki loves her! That her fear for you is most likely centered in the fact she'll die or be in his arms. She told me more than once that she expects to die!" She walked over to him, standing over him.

"How DARE you, a shinobi that's so young and up until a few months ago had no interest in woman, or love, rumors floated around that both you AND Kiba were gay and that's why the two of you were always together. You have the nerve to tell me I have no right to be Hokage? I NEVER wanted it! I only agreed because of Naruto! I KNOW that he'll surpass me one day. But to suggest that I let Jiriyah die? No! OH NO! He left on his own, I begged him to take someone, to stay here and not leave. He's like me. Once his mind's made up, he'll do something! He was NEVER supposed to fight! He was supposed to find out who the Akatauki leader was and return. You spoiled, pathetic, stupid child! You're always had everything come easy to you! Your daddy gave you everything you needed, spoiled ou, pampered you, but being strong comes with a price. A pretty girl shows up and you're so willing to throw everything away? You're clan, your honor, your status, you're very livelihood as a shinobi? What will Aaliyah do with no village to show her refudge!

MY position is to protect ALL those in these walls. I feel for Aaliyah. I want to help her and I've done EVERYTHING to keep her safe. YOU did this to her shino!" She slapped him. "She never had any problems before she got involved with you! Now Kiba's had sex with Akiko because YOU said that they could be left alone. Youki is angered because YOU took the woman he wanted to marry. Aaliyah is in danger because she loves YOU. She's scares because she wants to be with YOU. To abandon everything for the sake of love. For YOU. Face it, you're looking for anyone else to blame. For someone to make it not the fault of yourself! You're pathetic! A little child that is unable to see a bigger picture because you're so lost in her pretty face that nothing else matters. GROW UP! There is NEVER a happy ending! NEVER! Boy meets girl, boy likes girl, they don't get married and live happily ever after and have beautiful babies! I've NEVER seen that happen! Ever!" She screamed. "I've seen that fail so many times. You're father never even got his love, what makes you think YOU will!?"

Kiba gave a small smile. “For his sake I hope so, he could really use some cheering up right now”, he admitted with a smile. “Shino’s a good guy, even though a lot of people can’t see that”, he admitted with a shrug. “Seeing my sister would be nice though, I just hope she’s okay……she really loved him”

Shino heard movement. That wasn’t good. He turned his head just in time to see a fist pummeling him straight in the face. Not everything was broken, but it sure felt like it. As he crashed into the wall he felt a large amount of pressure on his back. He refused to cry out in pain, refused to give her the satisfaction of thinking that all of her strength could break his iron will. Not even Tsunade was that strong. Nothing, could break these feelings that he had. The village was weak, its systems and leaders were nothing more than death merchants. That’s all shinobi were, tools to be used by those in command. When would it be Shino’s turn? When would he be sent on a mission and never come back? With this outburst probably a few years sooner than planned.

“Who’s the one trying to assign blame now?”, he questioned as he slowly forced himself to stand. “You came to be our leader because of one child? You think that makes you sound noble or something? That doesn’t change reality, action does”, he said weakly. He was having troubles breathing after being hit by Tsunade. If he wasn’t being pressed by pure anger than he probably would have just stayed down. He loved Aaliyah, and that was never going to change. He wouldn’t let that love die, no matter what it took. “She chose to take that mission because she was able to get away from her father, it wasn’t duty that drove her to do this. It’s because she had nothing to live for”, he growled before letting out a string of coughs. He felt to a single knee for a moment but slowly rose up. “If you lost your loved ones than you should know how I feel. Yours died in battle and on the field……..I KNOW my love might die. I know it’s the most likely thing to happen”, he said seriously. “And just because all of YOU knew that sending her in there, you think that makes me ignorant? She wants to live and because of your master she might not be able to live another life. She wants children, she wants love, she wants what everyone in this goddamn world wants”, he said miserably. “Spoiled is getting everything you want, I’ve never been given what I want, I’ve taken it through my own work”

“I’ve always wanted love…….just some people never could see beyond me, and they didn’t want to”, Shino said as he stared right at his kage. “Keep beating me until I die, either way I’d rather die than just sit here and wait for you to come by and throw me some pity and comfort by telling me personally that she’s gone………I can’t live that life”, he said as his breathing was starting to become more normal. “Maybe there aren’t any happy endings Lady Tsunade…….but why must I let that stop me from trying?”, he asked before letting out another cough, this time sending a spray of blood to the floor.

Tsunade wanted to kick in his skull, but knew that his insulting her was a defense mechanism. Her body started shaking and she let out a sigh. He was right, but there was so much he still didn't understand. Aaliyah had nothing to do with her. He was unable to blame the shadows that held Aaliyah's life on a string. It was as easily lost as if they were the fates, holding the scissors to sever the threads of flesh and spirit. It made her feel for him, but he had a point. Running away would save nothing.

Walking over to him, she bent down, starting to heal the damage that she'd done. "Being angry and insulting me won't save her, will it?" Her voice was soft now, almost motherly. "Shino she's unable to tell you directly what this mission is, but it might not be as bad as you think. From her reaction of running the way she did, it most likely has more to do with betraying you than death. Think about it. Why else would they seal her tongue? It's probably a trap. Youki's crafty. I remember when he was a kid." She sighed, shaking her head. "If he knew about you and her, she'd be dead." She finished healing him.

"I should check on Akiko." She turned to face him. "Go find her and stop trying to pick a fight with me. Abandoning your village won't help you, and it certainly won't save her."

Shino just basically began holding himself back in his mind, trying to make sure that he didn’t scream and lash out at her the moment that she got close. She was healing him, perhaps she just wanted to beat up someone that wouldn’t die from another punch? He said nothing as she spoke, knowing that he would have some sort of backlash comment that would just lead her to shouting at him again. She made it sound so simple, so technical. Did she not understand? Or just not care? Shinobi died all the time, perhaps she was finally learning how to numb herself from it all. Shino could relate to that. It was exactly who he was the first ninety nine percent of his life. Things had changed so quickly though, perhaps he was just foolish. Having a dream isn’t bad though, all he wanted was to save his love.

At the order to get Akiko he just stood up. “Yes Lady Hokage”, he said before turning and walking down the hall. It was obvious that he was still upset, at her, ANBU, root, the village, at anyone that didn’t understand how he felt. Was this why Kiba was attracted to Akiko? Right now Shino felt like she was the only one that would understand. Abandoning the village won’t save her…..well the village wasn’t doing much to help her now. Shino just sighed and rubbed his eyes. Why was this all happening?

Akiko looked up at him. "Do you know what room your sister is in?" She questioned, knowing he could find her if he didn't. He could just track her scent.

It didn't take Aaliyah long to find Shino. Taking his hand, she led him to a part of the village that was all trees and wisteria. "Shino..." She whispered, looking up into his eyes. She wiped blood from his face and looked at him, showing how scared she was. "What happened...?" She asked, slowly very careful of how she asked it, not wanting something bad to happen. "I'm so sorry... I never should have run but I can't... even mention..."

Kiba took a small scent of the air. “Do now”, he said with a grin as he began to walk down the hall and up a flight of stairs, heading towards the room where Hana was. “Hope she can see visitors”, he said as he glanced down at Akiko.

Shino suddenly looked down as he felt someone grabbing his hand. Aaliyah!? Tsunade could bite him later all she wanted, this was far more important than finding Akiko. They went out to the woods and she could tell that she was still scared. “I got into a fight with Tsunade, I told her to screw off because of what the village was doing to you”, he said before looking at her. “Aaliyah, I just don’t know what to say anymore. I know my love for you is true, but this fear is making me go mad. I am powerless to help you, even Kiba could defend Akiko and yet I can’t do anything for you”, he whispered weakly. “Just tell me what to do, I don’t care what it takes anymore. I’d rather leave just the two of us and live happily, we could make it ya know”, he said softly before looking down and breathing heavily. “Tsunade told me….that you should try to act out what you must do. I just have one question……….is it going to kill you?”, he asked as the tears began to come.

Akiko looked up at him. "Well... you're her brother, how can they say no?" She asked, holding his hand as they made it to the door. They went inside and she looked around. "Wow... there's a lot of machines in here." She said, putting her thumb in her mouth again childishly.

Aaliyah shook her head. "No, it won't kill me. Only if I refuse..." She said biting her lip. "Akiko." She said slowly. "Kiba." The names themselves wouldn't choke her. Biting her lip, she wasn't sure how to tell him, and she wasn't even sure she wanted to. He'd never forgive her. What could she do? Truth be told there was nothing that would make up for what she was about to do. Besides breaking Akiko's heart, she'd destroy Shino's in the process. "If I run, they'll hunt me down. Especially now."

“If she’s hurt badly enough or in the middle of being examined and treated they could say no”, Kiba pointed out. “Some things only doctors can see”, he pointed out to her. Kiba pushed opened the door and froze. Akiko was right, there definitely were a lot of machines in here. “Sis? Hana?”, he asked as he made his way over to the bed. “Sis, can you hear me?”

Shino raised an eyebrow at Aaliyah’s words. Kiba and Akiko? She had to do something to them or with them? “Aaliyah, did they ask you to hurt them?”, he asked worried. He knew that Aaliyah would never agree to something like that, but he wasn’t thinking on a best case scenario right now though. “Aaliyah, I know that this is hard but please try to tell me what’s going on…..I can’t just sit here in the dark anymore”, he said softly as he took her hands into his. “What do you need me to do? Name it and it’ll be done”

Hana rolled over, covering her head with a pillow. "Yes... Kiba, you're voice is sorta hard to forget. Even when you were a baby. You cried and glass shattered." Her head was turned to the side, exposed from under the pillow, a smile formed on her lips as she looked at him. "Hi runt. Hi Akiko."

Akiko's face lit up. "You're ok!" She bent down beside the bed and took her hand.

Aaliyah bit her lip, trying to figure out how to tell him. If she tried to speak, she'd choke. She literally couldn't talk about it. Youki had been afraid she'd tell Akiko. Then she seemed to get an idea. She touched his chest, resting her hand over his heart. She pointed to it and held onto it. It seemed like she was trying really hard. It hurt a lot not to be able to just talk to him. However, she was scared of what he'd do, especially when he found out that she'd agreed.

Kiba could only grin as Hana moved, even if her first words were insulting he didn’t care. “What can I say, I was one really cool kid”, he pointed out with a large smile as he kneeled down to be face to face with her. “Hana……I am so sorry”, he said weakly. “I didn’t know, I was just trying to protect Akiko……I NEVER wanted you to get hurt……I love ya sis”, he said softly. Kiba didn’t say that to Hana often enough.

Shino looked down as Aaliyah rested a hand on Shino’s heart and squeezed. Shino looked at her and tilted his head, not quite knowing what to say, mainly because he had no idea what she was trying to get at. “Kiba……Akiko….heart”, he said to himself softly as if trying to fit all the pieces of the puzzle. Suddenly his eyes widened and he looked at her. “No…..you don’t mean that. Youki wants you to take Kiba’s love?”, he asked weakly. Aaliyah had that power, it wasn’t real but whoever she used it on thought it was real. “Tell me I’m wrong. Aaliyah please, tell me I’m wrong”

Hana reached up and poked his forehead. "I love you too, pup." She said, a smile on her lips. "Suppose this just goes to show that I should listen to you more often than I do." Looking over at the smaller girl, she looked at the small girl and then at Kiba. "So, anything you want to tell me?" Her voice seemed on edge. "Because something tells me that what happened has to do with your attraction to this lovely little girl." She said, moving some hair from Akiko's face. "She my sister yet?" Inuzuka got married, but they considered relation once mating took place.

Aaliyah nodded, then shook her head. She touched his chest again, just above his heart and looked around. She picked up a rock and it shattered, pieces of the broken stone falling all over the ground. She touched his chest again and looked into eyes. Their eyes were still in contact and she was scared of how he was going to react. He was half right... It wasn't so much that she was going to take Akiko...

Kiba could only give a small chuckle as his sister produces the strength to poke him in the forehead, something that she used to do all the time. As they grew older it had become less and less frequent, especially with all the fighting that had taken place over the years. Kiba hadn’t been the easiest person to deal with. As she mentioned his attraction to Akiko he already knew that the truth wasn’t going to come out yet, he still wasn’t ready. “No not really”, Kiba said with a laugh. The Inuzuka was thankful that Akiko didn’t know what their definition of family was.

After having his heart poked at again Shino watched as Aaliyah broke a rock. Broken, but what did that mean? A broken heart? Aaliyah wasn’t making sense, or at least Shino wasn’t clever enough to realize it till a minute later. “You’re going to break…….Akiko’s heart?”, Shino asked. It made sense, it would be the perfect way to get her away from Konoha and even against it. Making Kiba unfaithful to someone that Akiko loved like a sister. “Aaliyah…..what are you going to do? You can’t do that”

Akiko's head popped up and she looked at Kiba. "H-hey! Why can't I be her sister?" She asked, grabbing his hand. This time she whined and pulled his arm, shaking it. "Kiiiiiiiiba!" She whined, this time much more childishly. "You said that... mmmm..."

Hana covered Akiko's mouth with her hand. "He's not going to Akiko. Not yet anyway." She said, moving her hand through her hair. Looking up at Kiba, she looked exhausted. "Are you sure?" She asked, arching a brow. "Because... her scent has changed the last time I saw her." She arched a brow. Hana was unable to notice a change in Kiba's scent because they were so closely related, but Akiko on the other hand...

Aaliyah looked at him and finally nodded. "Exactly." She said, closing her eyes tightly, unsure of what to say. She seemed torn. "If I refuse, I'll die." She told him, knowing it was true. "Youki didn't give me a choice. Do this or die." She looked into his eyes, not sure how to proceed.

“Yeah I’m sure sis”, Kiba said seriously. “She isn’t your sister yet”, he explained as he smiled down at Akiko. “Maybe later Akiko”, he whispered with a small wink before turning back to Hana. “I don’t know how to explain the change of scent, it wasn’t like that last time I saw her either”, he lied.

Shino didn’t even know what to say. He covered his mouth and looked away for a moment and tried to find the words. “Can we tell her before hand? Make sure she doesn’t find out? Anything?”, Shino asked as he strived to find an answer. “It isn’t right, we can’t do this to her. We still need her with us……and she’s your little sister”, Shino added. He knew there was little Aaliyah could do. “Is there anything to be done?”

Hana poked his forehead. "I love it when you try to lie. It's cute." She winced as she moved, closing her eyes tightly. "I'm assuming that his love for me was never real, right?" She asked, the look on her face was clear that this wasn't something she wanted to talk a lot about. "Who was he... really..."

Aaliyah shook her head. "Kiko... runs back... Youki... comforts..." She said slowly, as if she was trying not to choke. Sitting down on a rock, she sighed, drawing her legs closer to her body. "I don't know what to do... He'll know. There's no real way around it. And... I have the feeling they'll send someone to make sure I go through with it. If I don't..." She muttered. "They'll kill me or report me to Youki so he can kill me."

Kiba hung his head for a moment, not verbally saying that she was right. HE had the feeling that she knew, but perhaps what he saved her from was blocking the anger. “No, it never was real sister. He was using you to get to me and Akiko and the village as a whole. He is a former shinobi from here, known as Sani”, he said seriously. He wasn’t sure if she knew the name or not.

Shino said nothing as the plan was revealed. He was right, it was a plan to get Akiko to run back to Youki. He would show her through Kiba that all of Konoha was evil and that his love wasn’t genuine. Devious. Shino turned to her as an idea came to him. “If someone needs to see you do it…..than do it to me”, he said slowly. “I know the henge jutsu, I can make myself look like Kiba, you can do it and Akiko won’t get hurt”, he said seriously. “Maybe they’ll think that something else is going on, but at least you won’t be blamed”

Hana sighed, closed her eyes. "I started dating him long before Akiko even appeared..." She said slowly. "How could that even matter?" She pointed out, but didn't say anything else on the matter. "Come here you." She pulled Akiko onto the side of the bed and looked into her eyes. "You're pretty cute for a girl so young. Wait until Mom finds out." She grinned at Kiba. "Do you have any idea what she's going to do to you?"

Aaliyah's eyes widened. "Y-you... can do that?" She asked, looking into his eyes. "Like... for an extended period of time while you're tired?" Then again, Akiko could always give him chakra. This had to do with her. But, even though she couldn't say it because of the jutsu, the fact that Akiko had to see them in order to run back would make it awkward. Not that she had anything against Akiko seeing her body, but Akiko seeing someone else's body... You know... Shino's body. Akiko was too young to see someone else have sex. Not that it was ever really something that someone should watch.

“He also just wanted to get into the village, and you were a great choice since you’ve long been the favorite to become clan leader” Kiba remarked until Hana began speaking to Akiko. Kiba’s heart dropped as Hana reminded him about mom. “Well, I have the feeling that when she’s done with me I won’t be able to fight”, he said with a weak laugh. “I don’t know…….I’m tired or lying though”

Shino nodded. “For you I have the strength and determination to do anything Aaliyah”, he said softly as she questioned his abilities for something like this. He didn’t care what it took, he’d do anything. Shino sighed though. “But if Akiko has to see us she’ll still return to him, is there nothing that we can do to make her stay Aaliyah?”, he asked softly. “If we let her go back there, I don’t think anyone would be able to hold Kiba back”

Hana shrugged. "What do you think mom'll do to you? She wants you to have kids, so I doubt she'll be too keen on taking it that far." She winked at him. "she's cute though. Very sweet and pure. And lying won't get you anywhere, just start telling the truth. Our clan has other rules and guidelines that means nothing can happen to you even though she's young. Not that it excuses how young she REALLY is..." She warned.

Aaliyah sighed. "Well, she's going to have to know. I want her to trust me. Then when she runs back..." She started to cough, falling to her knees. Closing her eyes, her body jerked and she threw up blood harshly. Wiping her mouth, she sighed. "That's... what... seal... does.." She muttered, closing her eyes. Forcing herself to stand up shakily, she looked at Shino. "Go get Kiba and Akiko. We need to talk together."

Kiba couldn’t help but laugh, knowing that Hana was right. A parent would never kill their own child over something like this, but that didn’t mean Kiba was going to enjoy what was going to happen to him now would he? “Well, Akiko is someone that I love despite what everyone thinks. I marked her so that she would be with me…..she even keeps the flower I gave her alive each day, never lets anyone else touch it”, he said with a soft smile. “I’ll talk to mom, she deserves to know the truth”

Shino nodded and listened to Aaliyah right up until she fell and coughed up a stream of blood. “Aaliyah!?”, he shouted as he ran forward and knelt down next to her. Why was he so powerless!? Why couldn’t he ever help her!? Shino just gave a weak nod as Aaliyah told him to go get Kiba and Akiko. He kissed her forehead. “I love you” ,he said reassuringly before turning and running back to the hospital.

Hana raised an eyebrow. "You mean the flowers that grow everywhere in the clan grounds?" She asked, remembering that she'd had one in her hair. She nodded slowly, understanding her attachment to it. "Well, looks like you beat me." Sitting up, she pulled Kiba over to her, putting him in a head lock and messing up his hair. "You never know, you might just become clan leader." A laugh escaped her and she let him go. "I'm proud of you Kiba, you picked a cute mate, but that just proves that mom and I were right when we right saw the two of you together."

Aaliyah shook her head, as if knowing what he was thinking. "You're not useless. It's... the stupid seal. There are a lot of reactions, but Youki's personal favorite is to vomit blood. It'll make someone die faster if their being tortured, but he would rather this because it's less painful than the others he has." She looked at him and she sighed. Closing her eyes, she had no idea what to do. Hopefully... this would work out.

“Yeah, I gave her one a long time ago”, Kiba admitted with a small smile as he remembered how precious it had been to Akiko, and apparently still was. His eyes widened though as he suddenly found himself in a headlock and getting a massive hair job done by his sister. He laughed before pushing away and fixing his hair. “Ha, I doubt that”, he remarked before suddenly growing very tense at her next words. Hana had definitely just said the wrong thing. Kiba just opened his mouth to say something when someone appeared.

Shino just gave a nod. “Don’t worry I know….just rest”, he said before kissing her forehead and running off. He needed to get Akiko and Kiba now, and he didn’t care how long it took them to find. First, he ran to their room and realized that they were gone. After his bugs surveyed the area they found them upstairs, causing Shino to run off again. He slid into the doorway. “Akiko, Kiba, I need you both immediately”