Emi sighed as she sat on the couch watching television. With Ryuu and Tonoko both out of the house, there wasn't a whole lot for her to do. She still worried about them greatly and fought herself back and fourth a few times on whether or not to go after them. She let out a sigh when a knock came to her front door. She got up off the couch and opened it to see Kasha - a friend of hers whom she had not hung out with in a long time.

"K-Kasha?" Emi smiled slightly. "What a nice surprise to see you."

Kasha grinned. "How you been? I mean, I see you've been... busy." She snickered as she eyed Emi's stomach.

Emi let out a nervous laugh as she blushed faintly. "Yeah, yeah. So-"

"I heard that Ryuu went out to fetch his cousin and Tonoko snuck out."

Emi blinked a few times before sighing. "I don't know how you-"

"Chrone." Kasha laughed.

Emi nodded and smiled. "Your daughter is very kind though. She offered to help me out."

Kasha nodded. "May I come in?"

"By all means." Emi smiled and moved aside. "I've been so bored without the boys around." She sighed and moved to sit on the couch.

Kasha nodded and sat down beside her. "Well, you're always tending to their needs, right?"

Emi nodded before shrugging. "I'm just worried about them."

Kasha nodded. She rested her hand on Emi's stomach. "Don't stress, Emi. It won't do you or your child any good."

Emi let out a sigh and nodded. "I know... it just bothers me..." She murmured.

Kasha smiled gently. "I had an idea."

Emi smirked. "Oh no, you're not-"

Kasha pulled out a book that spoke of all known clans to that current date. "Yes! I want to test your IQ again! Makin' sure your boys aren't killing those amazing brain cells!"

Emi sighed before smirking. The two moved on the couch so they face each other head on. Kasha often enjoyed testing Emi's mind and tried to always stump her - never had before - but she still continued to try.

"Alright! The clan with the fastest known runn-"

"The Uma clan." Emi smirked.

Kasha frowned before flipping the next few pages. "An eye clan that has two certain features of red s-"

"The Hitima clan - now known as the Hitama clan after a change in events many years ago."

Kasha groaned and flipped pages again. "Feathery wings, eye-"

"The Namagaki clan - also a betrothing clan along side the Hitama clan."

Kasha's mouth gapped as she looked through the page. "I-It doesn't say anything about betr-"

"Then your book isn't as good as mine." Emi smirked. "A female by the name Natsumi Hitama - one of the first known survivors of her clan was betrothed to Yushiro Namagaki without choice." She chuckled. "They ended up marrying after she left the Akatsuki and they now have two teenage children."

Kasha snapped the book shut and set it on the table. "Is there anything you don't know?"

Emi let out a sigh. "Yes. I don't know if my boys are alright..."

Kasha gave a soft smile and placed her hand on Emi's shoulder. "Smile. I know they're fine."

Emi smiled gently. "Thank you, Kasha."

Night passed by seemingly quickly and Shito and Naomi were already leaving before the sun had reached over the horizon. As planned, the two reached the Cloud Village by that afternoon. Instead of passing through the gates, Shito went a back way and snuck into the village. he wanted to go undetected as much as possible. When they reached the Raikage's building, Shito snuck the two of them up to the Raikage's office. He was about to knock, but thought otherwise. He heard three male voices coming from the room, so he leaned his ear against the wooden door instead.

"We have no idea where he is or if he took the girl for himself." One male said.

A pause. "He was adament about our having his friend, he's determined." The voice sounded like it belonged to the Raikage.

A sigh. "Why not wait another day? It is a long trip." Another male voice.

"I wouldn't doubt that he has the girl by now, but you know how impatient I am." The Raikage.

"So, you want us to just kill him then?" First male.

"Yes. Well, torture him first, and make sure that the girl understands that her death willl..." Raikage.

Shito's eyes widened and he stepped back, he didn't care to hear the rest of what the Raikage had to say, but he could at least guess. In a split second, he regained himself and pulled Naomi back down the hall. She had the gag on, so not much noise was made when he slung her over his shoulder and left the building. One of the Cloud Village jounin was walking towards him, head down reading a few papers, and Shito quickly ducked out of the window, moving along the side of the building and up to the roof. Staying low, he moved to the back of the building and jumped down to the ground. He didn't give Naomi any chance to talk as he headed back towards the spot he had entered the village. Luckily, and a slightly surprised Shito, they were able to exit the village undetected. He removed himself far from the Village premise before dropping Naomi gently to the ground. He sat down against the tree and ran his hands through his hair.

"Riniki..." He whispered.

A noise came from Noami and his eyes drifted to hers. He sighed and reached forwards, pulling the gag down to speak. Instead of giving her time, he begun to speak.

"Alright, so Riniki is dead, and they want me dead. Next will be you." Shito stated and shook his head. "I...didn't believe you." He whispered. "I'm sorry."

Naomi gave him a blank look. "Untie me. Now."

Shito stared at her for a few seconds before grabbing the chain. The chakra chain dissipated and his hand fell to his side. "They'll be coming after us both...go." He murmured.

Naomi quickly stood and took her bag from him. She rummaged through it before sighing. Without a word, she stole his bag and rummaged through it for the dagger. She let out a sigh and turned to leave back towards the village before stopping and sighing. "You go. You never belonged in this..." She whispered. "I'm sorry for your friend. I'll end this the way I should have three years ago.." She murmured before breaking off into a run.

Shito shook his head and quickly gained on her. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. Shaking his head, he reached for the dagger and pulled it out of her hands. "You're not going back." He quickly made another chain around her wrist and chained her to the tree. He glanced at her one last time before running back towards the village. They weren't too far away from it, so as soon as he reached the edge of the tree's, he threw the dagger out towards the gates. At one point or another, they'd find it.

He returned to Noami and picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder before breaking out into a run away from the village, ignoring her protests. When they reached a good distance away, Naomi broke free from his hold. "I'm no longer your prisoner. You can unchain me..." she murmured.

He sighed, took a look back before grabbing the chain again. It dissipated just as easily. "Don't go back." He said.

She narrowed her eyes. "I don't plan on it. You did exactly what I was going to do..." She murmured before sighing. "But I do have something I need to do." She turned away and started walking. "It was nice to hang with you and your chains..." She murmured, waving slightly as she walked off up the path.

"Like what? What's done is done." He said. "You can go back to the family you were going to stay with in Sunagakure."

She laughed and shook her head. "I don't have a clan. I don't have a village. What meaning is there to my life?" She shook her head and continued to walk. "There is none..." She whispered.

Shito rolled his eyes. "Spare me the drama, please. I've had enough."

She laughed slightly and scratched her head. "I'm leaving, you don't have to deal with mine." She let out a sigh. "I suggest you find somewhere to go too. They will be hunting you down soon." She murmured.

Shito shrugged and spread his arms out. "No clan. No village." He rolled his eyes. "No meaning to life." he mimicked in a girly voice.

She stopped and turned to face him. "Then what do you intend to do?" She asked quietly.

"Do what I always did." Shito lowered his arms. "Do what I've always known."

"Which is what? Remain alone and moving from place to place?" She asked.

Shito shrugged. "What's so bad about that? I have what I need..." His voice trailed off as he thought back to Riniki. They had met long ago, and for some reason the two of them would meet everywhere they went. Eventually, they decided to just travel together. He didn't have that anymore. He gritted his teeth and crossed his arms. "It's my rules. I do what I want when I want. I go wherever, whenever. It can be quite the experience."

Naomi nodded and gave a soft smile. "Then I hope you continue to have that fun." She whispered before walking again. She pulled out a kunai and glanced at it in her palm before letting her arm lay at her side - the weapon in plain view.

"Don't." Shito called out to her. "Don't even think about it." He said gently. For almost two weeks, Shito had been following this girl around in order to capture her. He planned to rescue Riniki, but then that soon to needing to rescue both. One now dead, he wasn't about to let another die, especially if it were at their own hands. One thing he hated was to fail a mission; he'd already half failed this one and he wasn't about ready to completely fail it miserably.

Naomi ignored him as she tightened her grip on the blade, gritting her teeth.

Shito appeared in front of her to block her path. He reached for the blade before she could react and pulled the blade from he hand, cutting himself on the sharp edges in the process. "You're an idiot to think this is some sort of sweet release." He narrowed his eyes. "Besides, I'm rescuing at least one person if it's the last thing I do."

She shook her head. "And what do you intend to do with me, Shito? Rescuing me was never in your mission." She murmured and moved around him. "I have more... I am a ninja after all..." She murmured, holding a new kunai up as she continued to walk away - she was glad none of them had poison, otherwise Shito would be on his knees, slowly dying.

"No, it never was. I already told you, I was planning on rescuing the two of you. now that Riniki is dead, I refuse to comletely fail my mission, was to at least rescue one. Are you really going to make me fight against you about your own death by your own hands?"

She let out a groan and stopped. "Then what, Shito? What do I do? If I'm not allowed... what do I do? I'd really like to know what you have in mind..."

Shito gritted his teeth and reached for her collar when something struck him. His eyes widened and he collasped to his knee's, his muscles to shocked to move.

Naomi didn't finch. She slowly lifted her head. "So Ryuu will be the one to kill me? Interesting..." She murmured.

Tempest, Ryuu and Tonoko stopped in front of Shito and Naomi.

Tempest smiled gently. "Naomi, we've been trying to catch you fore-"

"So you plan on killing me, Ryuu? Did the baby not make it?" She asked, no sense of emotion in her voice as she stared at him.

"No." Ryuu stepped out from behind a tree. "I'm coming back because all Inabikari's deserve a second chance." Ryuu said and reached into his pocket. He pulled out the Inabikari clan crest around the small necklace band and threw it out towards her. "You're still a beloved family member until you've completely given up the name yourself."

Naomi took a step back as the pendent landed at her feet. She stared at it for a moment before lifting her face back to Ryuu and frowned. "I... I don't deserve to be an Inabikari..." She whispered. "I am scum... I am a disgrace to the clan. I harmed my own family out of fear..." She shook her head and glanced down at Shito. "I can't even get people to believe me..." She whispered.

Ryuu shook his head. "I'm not about to abandoned a fellow Inabikari over something so simply as that. We all make mistakes, Naomi." Ryuu said.

Tonoko came out from behind another tree, a bit on the sheepish side. "I disobeyed my parents straight out by sneaking out after dad. I'm still going to get in trouble when we get home though." He murmured the last bit.

Naomi glanced at Tonoko and frowned more. There was a cut healing on his cheek from when she cut him. She shook her head and took a step back. "I... I'm being hunted... a-and so is he..." She whispered, glacing at Shito. "H-He saved me..." She whispered, biting her lip. "I... I can't leave him helpless..." She stated.

Ryuu's eyes drifted to Shito. "He...saved you? He wasn't the one who kidnapped you?" He eyes widened slightly and he stopped the electric current that was current shooting through his body, causing his muscles to spaz.

Shito gasped for air and fell to the ground, still shaking. Naomi bent down to pull him into her lap. "Well... he was the one who kidnapped me... b-but he also saved me..." She murmured.

Ryuu shook his head. "You're the one he had captive, you tell me what you want to do with him."

Naomi lowered her head. "I... I want to keep him around..." She whispered. "B-But only if he wants to..."

Shito was still shaking, eyes wide.

"Does this mean you're accepting the family crest again?" Ryuu asked.

Naomi lowered her head further. "I-If you'll really take me back after wh-what I did..." She whispered.

Ryuu shook his head. "Are you going to honour the family name and take it with a serious sense of pride?"

She nodded slowly. "I-I promise..."

Ryuu smiled softly. "Welcome back, Noami." He said. "Also, Emi and the baby are alright, so there isn't anything to worry about. You can see Tonoko is fine as well."

Tonoko frowned. "You didn't have to run in the first place, you know. You had security with us."

Naomi lifted her head to glance at her family then back to Shito. She placed her hand on his forehead and sighed. "What do you wish to do, Shito? Go back on your own, or stay with me under the protection of my clan?"

Ryuu chuckled apologetically. "I don't think he can really focus much at the moment, I thought he was still a danger so I used more electricity than needed." He scratched the back of his neck.

Tonoko laughed nervously and scratched the back of his neck as well. "Sorry. I added some too."

Naomi laughed lightly. "Then what do we do with him? If he can't talk, how will we know?"

Ryuu moved over to pick Shito up and throw him over his shoulder. "We carry him until he can walk. Are you sure you want to bring him?"

Naomi nodded slowly. She bent down to pick up her clan crest and looked it over in her hand before placing it around her neck. "He's not a danger...at least... not to me... after that shock he may be mad at you guys..." She murmured.

Ryuu shrugged. "We'll cross that path when we come to it. Tempest!" Ryuu called out. "We're heading back, we're free to go."

Tempest was the one on guard, so she stood back as an extra back up incase a battle were to break out or if she heard anyone coming.

Tempest grinned and gave Ryuu a thumbs up. "Good! I want to return to my family A.S.A.P!" She smiled. "Let's go!"

The group soon headed back towards the Sand Village. After a while Naomi glanced at Shito before sighing - she figured he'd say he wished to leave on his own. After a while of running back towards the village, Shito began to gain control over his body again. Ryuu let him down and they all stood back.

"Am I ever glad I blocked your chakra." Shito said, sitting up and rubbing his temples. He looked at Naomi through his bangs. "I would've failed to bring you to the village long ago."

Naomi gave a small smile before it faded. "Wh... What do you plan on doing, Shito? Coming with me, o-or not?" She asked, lowering her head slightly to avoid his gaze.

Shito sighed. "I told you not to fall for me." He murmured.

Naomi nodded. "Sorry." She moved passed him to continue her way towards the Sand. "Let's go then, guys..." She murmured.

"Naomi..." Shito murmured and turned around despite his aching muscles. "It started when you got hypothermia?"

She stopped and sighed. "No... earlier than that..." She whispered.

Shito's eyebrows furrowed. "Earlier than that?" He asked in confusion.

She nodded before shaking her head. She started walking again. Tempest frowned slightly as she looked between the two. Shito called out to Naomi again. "When?" He asked, turning as much as he could to look at her.

"When we first took a break..." She whispered. "When you had noticed I was dehydrated..."

His brows furrowed further. "I guess it didn't help much with the whole hypothermic situation." He murmured.

She just shook her head and continued walking. Shito forced himself onto his feet and winced as he ran to catch up to Noami. He grabbed her wrist and turned her around to look at him. "Why? Why fall for me? Why risk it with someone who was going to hand you over to your death?" He was talking quietly so the others couldn't hear.

She lowered her head and shrugged. "I had no control of it. I tried not to." She murmured. "But for some reason it just didn't happen that way... since I was considering death already, knowing you'd take me to it made no difference..." She whispered, pulling her wrist from his grasp and going to turn around again.

He grabbed her wrist again and made her look at him again. He searched her eyes for a moment and shook his head. "Does it make any difference?" He murmured more to himself.

"What do you mean by that?" She murmured.

Shito sighed and lowered his eyes. He thought about Riniki and how they had travelled all over the world. He thought about the battles he had been in, and the missions he had done; including this one. When he had first met her - not literally, of course, but in a stalker-ish, kidnapping sort of way - he had thought of her as quite interesting. When she wasn't having the random crying fits, she was quite determined and strong-willed. She was tiny, and he could crushed her and snap her in half easily, but at the same time she was strong. Very strong. The chakra chains had to constantly eat away at her chakra like there was no end to it. Now here they stood, both free - in a sense - from everything else.

He shook his head and lifted his eyes to hers again. He chuckled lightly, as if something was ridiculously stupid. He sucked in a deep breath of air and turned his eyes to the side. When he turned his eyes back to hers he said, "I was comfortable warming you up."

She eyed him for a moment, giving a weak smile. "I was comfortable being warmed up by you..." She whispered, lowering her gaze to the ground and closed her eyes with a sigh. "I understand, Shito... I really do. I j-just hope you'll be okay..." She whispered.

Shito sighed and slide his arms through hers, wrapping his arms around her torso. He felt her hesitate for a moment before she moved her arms around his neck. Whether or not the others were watching, he didn't care. He tightened his arms around her and sighed again.

"Th... This means y-you're leaving, right?" She whispered, biting her lip as she closed her eyes tightly to push back tears.

He shook his head. "I can't go back to Sunagkure." He murmured. "I don't belong there."

"Wh-Why?" She whispered, wrapping her arms tighter.

Shito laughed softly. "I'm a little in trouble with the Kazekage at the moment." He whispered. "But shh...don't tell."

Tempest had been listening and smiled slightly. "Emi - Ryuu's wife - is right-hand with the Kazekage... maybe she can get you off the hook.."

Naomi pulled back to search Shito's face, tears in the corners of her eyes. Shito sighed and glanced over his shoulder while shaking his head. "Sorry, but it's not like you expected. It's not a crime easily forgiven." He murmured. "Not that it was me who did it." He shrugged and turned back to Naomi. He pursed his lips and shrugged, leaning forward to press his mouth against her ear. "Come with me." He whispered.