Disclaimer; Don't own Naruto
(you know; one day I will get my fics mixed up and write Inuyasha for my Naruto one and vice versa)
Koi: a type of gold fish that grow up to two feet long. They are the ones you tend to see in ponds in movies and shows and come in many different colors and patterns. You can get them from you local pet store for your ponds. They originally come from Japan as far as I know.
Gomennasai; a very formal sorry, translates better as; I beg your pardon.
Chapter 25
Koi and Acceptance
Kurenai woke slowly, noticing immediately that she wasn't in her bed at home. It took her a few seconds to remember what had happened the day before. When she did, she felt like crying all over again.
Katsu was sleeping next to her in the small bed, arm wrapped around her waist and nose buried in her hair. She wanted to get away from him and briefly toyed with the idea of pushing him out of the bed and on to the floor in a hopefully painful way.
"Awake, Kurenai-chan?" Katsu whispered into her ear.
How in the seven hells did he always wake up before her, or at least at the same time?
"Hai." She answered.
"Feel better?" He asked.
Katsu shifted behind her until he was resting his head on his other arm so he could look down upon her. The hand that had been resting on her hip was slowly starting to rub her stomach.
"Hai." She answered.
"Good." He purred, kissing her neck a few times. "I trust I don't have to tell you that the use of Jutsu's is forbidden and will be severely punished should you attempt to use them?" He stated.
"Hai."
"Hai…?" He asked firmly.
"Hai, Katsu-sama." She amended.
She hadn't felt this downed out in ages. She just wanted to curl back up and go to sleep, hoping to wake up again and find out it had all been one messed up dream. She was on the verge of crying again.
"Better." He kissed her neck again.
She wanted him to stop. She wanted to get away from him. She wanted to run away and find some place where she could hide and cry until she was so immersed in her misery that the world didn't matter anymore. Above all, she wanted to get roaring drunk and bitch to high hell with Anko and Shizune to release some steam before she exploded.
"Leave me alone." She grumbled, pushing him away from her. "Just, for once, please leave me alone."
She stood up, not caring in the least that all she was wearing was hospital clothes with the back wide open.
"I am going to go find Shizune, get a good bottle of Sake, and pretend none of this ever happened." She grumbled as she made her way unsteadily towards the door.
She didn't quite make. Her legs gave out and she stumbled against the door, using it as a support. She was breathing heavily at the small amount of effort it had taken to get there, but she wasn't going to give up.
She forced herself back to her feet, opened the door and walked through it. She stopped on the other side, silently praising herself for the accomplishment of her self-set goal. Then her legs gave out on her again and she fell back.
She expected to hit the floor, but that didn't happen. She looked up to see Katsu, who had caught her before she could fall. He looked half angry, half amused.
She turned her gaze aside. If he thought she was going to thank him he had another thing coming. She was just sick of bending over for him, sick of seeing him, sick of obeying him, and most of all, she was just plain sick of him.
"I can walk on my own." She protested.
"Iie. I don't think you can." He corrected, helping to steady her.
"Ohayo, Kurenai, Katsu-sama." Came a cheerful, male voice.
Kurenai looked down the hall to see Shizune and Kabuto approaching them.
"Shizune-chan. Just who I was looking for." Kurenai grinned, pushing away from Katsu and making her way unsteadily towards Shizune. "Find us a quiet room and a bottle of sake. I want to get drunk, so drunk that I don't care about up from down."
Shizune caught her as she stumbled the last few steps.
Kabuto raised an eye in surprise and shared a confused glance with Katsu. Kurenai was most definitely not acting herself.
"Kurenai, it is o-eight hundred. It is way too early to start drinking." Shizune tried to reason with her as she helped steady her.
"Don't care. I want a drink damn it and so help me I am not going to stop until I find one. I am sick of this. Sick of bending over for Katsu, sick of being manipulated into positions I don't like, and just generally sick of everything that has gone on. I want to get drunk and forget about it all for once."
She was almost crying again.
Kabuto left Shizune's side and joined Katsu's.
"I think she is suffering from shock and denial." Kabuto stated. "She should be fine in an hour or so. I suggest we let Shizune calm her down."
"Hai." Katsu agreed.
Kurenai was crying now, clutching onto Shizune as if the woman was her only lifeline in the river of life.
"Shizune." Kabuto called.
"Hai, Kabuto-sama?"
"There should still be a bit of Sake in my office. Give her a cup or two to calm her nerves down." He ordered.
"Hai."
Shizune helped Kurenai get back to her feet and steadied her as they walked down the hall to the nearest elevator to get them to the top floor where all the offices were. In Kurenai's current condition, she wouldn't be able to handle stairs.
Shizune helped her into a chair in an office that could only belong to Kabuto judging by the pictures of him and Shizune. Kurenai was surprised to note some of the pictures even had Kabuto and Sasuke and there was even one with Naruto in it.
"I am sorry for doing this to you Shizune." Kurenai apologized as Shizune handed her a cup of warmed Sake, watered down with the hot water she had boiled to warm the sake.
Her hands were shaking slightly and she sipped the hot liquor. Shizune had made sure it was too hot to gulp at once.
"That's alright. In all honesty I was wondering when you were going to have a nervous break down. Poor Anko had hers a month ago."
"How is Anko doing?" Kurenai asked.
"Much better after Kabuto-sama had a talk with Orochimaru-sama. Orochimaru-sama has calmed down and returned to his patiently waiting mood. She's looking better and doesn't jump at shadows anymore. And she is sleeping at night."
"That's good. Did Nara-san come in for injuries?"
"Iie. Why would he have?" Shizune asked, taking a cup of her own and sitting in Kabuto chair.
"He was limping and walking stiffly after Alara-san branded Yamanaka-san. I assume he did something rash and she punished him for it." Kurenai explained.
Her hands started to shake less and she felt herself calming down. She was pregnant, but she could deal with it. The children would be excited and, as she had learned last night, they were completely safe now. She frowned at that thought.
"I have no reason to be obedient now." She mused aloud.
"Hmm?" Shizune asked confused.
"The only reason I had bent over for Katsu was because of the fact that he was protecting the children. Now that the leader of Akatsuki has giving him full rights to the children they are no longer in danger and I have no need to be obedient to him anymore." She explained.
"Kurenai," Shizune sighed, "you don't seem to fully understand just what the collar means. The moment you put it on you agreed to belong to him. Anyone else would have already beaten you into submission, not made deals with you. Katsu-sama could beat you to within an inch of your life and no one would or could do anything about it. Please reconsider.
"If the children saw that Katsu-sama and you were fighting the children would get worried and upset. It is clear they respect Katsu-sama and you and it would tear their little hearts to have to choose one of you. It is clear Katsu-sama truly loves them. I don't think it is too much to ask for you to live with it when the children are the ones that are going to get hurt." Shizune pointed out.
"They want a Koi pond so they cleaned out the one in the back yard." Kurenai took another sip of her sake. "They want to make two ponds and connect them with a stream and then build a bridge over it so Katsu and I could cross it."
"And?"
"Katsu likes the idea. He promised we could go and get some koi later today to fill the pond."
"See? He loves those kids. It's all he talks about when he's at work."
"Hmm?"
Shizune smiled.
"When Katsu-sama is here at work, all he talks about all day is how the kids are doing and how much they adore you, and how much he enjoys you."
"He talks about that here?" She demanded in shock.
"Iie, Iie, not that kind of enjoyment. I meant how much he enjoys spending time with you and the kids. He asked for time off to help them work on a project last night. I can only assume he is talking about your koi pond." Shizune explained.
"He asked for time off?"
"Hai."
"I see."
This news took her by surprise.
"You should have seen how excited he was when he found out you were with child. He didn't expect this to happen so soon. He merely meant to start reducing and eliminating the effects of the pills from your body. Sometimes it can take months to eliminate the effects, and the pills aren't a guarantee anyway." Shizune pointed out.
"So he never meant for me to get pregnant?"
"Will, I am sure he did, just not so soon. He transferred a lot of his chakra to you yesterday."
"He did?"
"Hai. At least you know any child you have he will raise with love and respect, unlike Yashero-sama or Orochimaru-sama." Shizune pointed out.
Shizune had a point. Katsu loved children and she had no doubt this child would be raised kindly if the occupation lasted long. Considering where Shikamaru and the Kazekage-sama were, it was going to take a long time for anyone to return.
Kurenai finished her sake, feeling much better and more relaxed. Katsu wasn't really hard on her. She could live with it, and she would. She had fifteen children to raise, soon to be sixteen.
She still had to tell Asuma, Kakashi, and Gai. No doubt they were worried about her since they hadn't seen her since she had been rushed to the hospital yesterday morning.
She frowned as she tried to think of a way to tell them.
"How am I supposed to tell the boys?" She asked.
"Let the kids do it." Shizune suggested. "They can't get mad or upset at the kids."
"I like that idea." She grinned.
She stood up and stretched, feeling much better.
"Let's get us back to your room, showered and dressed." Shizune suggested.
"Sounds good. Then I would like something to eat. I am starving."
Shizune laughed and the two of them left together, this time taking the stairs.
Dressed in her feather Kimono and once again and feeling refreshed after the shower, Kurenai followed Shizune on her rounds. Kiba's sister was completely healed, just still in coma.
Most of the people in the hospital were the elderly who were expected and the odd injured Genin from trying to do something they could no longer do without their chakra. A few were from normal injuries and sickness.
The hospital was rather quiet now that almost everyone hurt during the day of occupation had recovered and been sent back out to the field. Most of the damage had been fixed and the Genin were now set to basic tasks such as watering the city plants, cleaning leaves out of the gutter, and other normal missions they would have had to do under the supervision of many off the Chuunin and Jounin from the four mercenary groups.
Those of Chuunin level had been permitted to return to the academy and continue lessons. Things were slowly returning to normal if you counted out the fact that Konoha was under enemy control and that the shinobi had their chakra sealed.
She met up with Katsu at lunch and he led her out of the hospital and back to the hotel. They walked in silence for many minutes before she broke it.
"Gomennasai, for my attitude this morning, Katsu-sama." She apologized.
He glanced down at her before returning his attention to the lead.
"It is I who should apologize."
She glanced up at him in shock.
"I didn't think you would have taken it so bad. I should have made my intentions clear. I made the mistake of assuming you understood your position and all it entitled. I am far to lenient with you Kurenai-chan. We will tell the children together." He smiled.
"Hai." She agreed. "Ano, Katsu-sama?"
"Hmm?"
"When I am further along I will not be able to handle all fifteen children."
Katsu smiled.
"I have already considered that. When you enter the second trimester I will move your friends to the hotel and they can care for the children. I was thinking of moving Kento-kun and Kiri-chan over to the house. They seem like the type to help out."
"I would like that." She agreed.
"Then I will make it so if they can show they can handle it." He promised.
"Arigato, Katsu-sama."
The hotel came into sight. The kids swarmed them the moment they walked into the room.
"Attention." Katsu snapped.
The children snapped to attention and lined up.
"Alright rouges, Katsu-sama promised we could get some koi for the pond." She smiled at them.
The resounding cheer was heard a block away.
"But," Katsu called their attention again, they instantly went silent and looked up at him expectantly, "first we have some important news to tell you."
"What is it Katsu-sama?" Kiri demanded.
Katsu smiled.
"First off, you are all mine now so you will be able to leave the hotel, supervised of course. This means you can actually come with Kurenai-chan and I to pick out the koi you want." He explained.
The kids cheered again, jumping up and down in excitement before calming down again.
"The other news is one Kurenai-chan is going to tell you about." He smiled at her.
Fifteen pairs of eyes looked at her expectantly. She gathered her courage, and told them.
"I am going to have a baby." She stated.
Stunned silence. Then another course of cheers and a flow of questions. When was the baby coming? Was it a boy or girl? What were they going to name him/her? And other such questions.
"The baby will come some time in May. We don't know if it is a girl or boy yet and won't be able to tell for some time yet. We haven't picked out any name yet, but I promise you can help." Kurenai answered as soon as Katsu had them all calmed down again.
"Now than, shoes and jackets. It's raining out and no one wants a flu." Katsu ordered.
"Hai, Katsu-sama." The children chorused as they ran to get ready to go before lining up before them again.
"Alright, everyone pick a partner and follow me in a double line. Kento-kun, you can have Inuki as your partner and walk behind Kurenai-chan and I."
"Hai."
"Arf."
Once the kids were lined up they headed out. The children were excited at finally being able to leave the hotel for the first time in six weeks. They were well behaved considering.
They arrived at the shop selling Koi with no incident. The children rushed to the big tank and started ohhing and ahhing over the fish. The lady who walked up to them smiled in amusement at the children enthusiasm.
"Can I help you?" She asked.
"Hai. The kids may choose one koi each." Katsu answered.
She smiled as she joined the kids, who all wanted to catch their own fish. The woman was patient with them and handed each of them a plastic jar and a lid with holes punched in the top before handed the first one a net and supervising them to make sure no fish landed on the floor.
(break)
Kento and Kiri had opted to go last and were looking at the other tanks.
"Oi, Kento-kun, look at these two." Kiri called.
Kento and Inuki joined her at the large tank holding two big koi.
"They are pretty." Kiri stated.
"Hai." Kento agreed.
"Katsu-sama and Kurenai-sensei don't seem to be picking out a koi. I think we should get these two for them. They are bigger then the rest. It would be like having two adults taking care of the kids." Kiri explained in joy.
"How would we get them home without them seeing though, and how would we pay for them?" Kento asked, glancing over to make sure Katsu and Kurenai weren't paying attention to what they were scheming.
"We could ask the lady to hold them and get Geki-san to pick them up." Kiri suggested. "I bet he would pay for them to if we asked him nicely."
Kento seemed to think and Inuki cocked her head and looked up at her master.
"I like it. We need to find a way to distract Katsu-sama and Kurenai-sensei so we can ask the lady without them noticing."
"Arf." Inuki barked.
Both children looked at the pup, than grinned.
"Right, let's do it." Kento smirked.
Inuki started to bark, then run around. Kento chassed her, than they bolted out of the store. As predicted, Kurenai ran after them and Katsu used his Chakra to get ahead of and catch Inuki, who barked innocently and licked his nose.
While the two adults were distracted, Kiri ran up to the lady and quickly asked her if she could hold the two big koi for Katsu-sama and Kurenai-sensei as a gift from the kids. The lady smiled and agreed. Now all they would have to do was find a way to ask Geki-san to help them.
Kiri thanked her, than took the net from one of the others to catch her fish. Kento joined her with Inuki sitting on his head. They shared a grin indicating they had succeeded in their mission.
(break)
"I swear that pup is far more trouble then Akamaru ever was." Kurenai sighed as Kento walked passed her to join Kiri in catching their fish.
"Pups will be pups." Katsu smiled.
The children all had their fish and Katsu left several token for the lady, who thanked him. The kids all thanked her and lined up again before heading back home.
"Oi, Katsu-san." Came a female shout.
"Hello Alara-san." He greeted.
Alara was walking down the street with Inoshi by her side.
"Good after noon Alara-sama, Yamanaka-san." The children chorused.
"Field trip?" Alara asked with a grin.
"Iie, just getting some koi for the pond." Katsu answered.
"I see. Shall we watch the mirror tomorrow evening?" She asked.
"Hai. It has been a while since we last check up on them."
"I will see you then. We must get going."
"I am sure. Good day, Alara-san."
"Good day Alara-sama, Yamanaka-san." The children chorused again.
"Good day." She grinned at them as she continued down the road.
Inoshi hadn't looked any different from any other time she had seen him. If he was taking the fact Alara was with child badly, then he wasn't showing it. He had smiled at the children, but hadn't spoken.
They made it back to the hotel without further interruption. As explained, they floated the cups in the pond for five minutes before letting the koi free. Ramen was waiting for them and the kids eagerly sat down at the table to eat and warm up.
Kurenai ran upstairs and returned with towels to dry everyone's hair off. Inuki had to wait outside until she brought a towel big enough to wrap around the pup and dry her off.
Katsu returned to work and the children thanked him before he left. He merely smiled at them before leaving. It was too wet to work on the ponds today, so they opted to make thank you cards for Katsu.
Kurenai brought out some paper and crayons. They spent the afternoon drawing and making cards.
"Shizune is right. The children respect him too much for me to start being petty about this relationship. I can't do anything to upset them. This won't kill me; just drive me insane. I can deal with this. I am not alone. I have the kids to support me and I know the boys will help however they can." She thought lightly as she doodle on a piece of paper.
Dinner came and went and she gathered all the artwork the kids had made for Katsu before wishing them goodnight and tucking them all into bed. Kento and Kiri had giving her a card to give to Geki and made her promise not to read it. She was curious, but not devious enough to break her promise.
Asuma, Kakashi, and Gai pounced on her the moment she walked in the door, demanding to know if she was all right as Geki wouldn't tell them anything.
"Oi, can I get through the door and sit down?" She demanded.
They let her in and they all sat around the table in silence.
"What's with the cards?" Kakashi asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
"The kids made thank you cards for Katsu-sama for letting them get koi for the pond." She answered.
"Are you feeling alright?" Asuma asked, concern clear in is voice.
"Hai. I am fine."
"What was wrong with you?" He asked.
Kurenai sighed.
"My chakra was trying to be drawn, but since it's sealed it couldn't be drawn and it made me sick." She explained.
"Why would your Chakra start trying to be drawn?" Gai asked in confusion, but judging by the grim looks on Asuma and Kakashi's face, they already suspected.
"In order to support a new life, chakra is often drawn from an outside force, right?" Kakashi stated.
"Hai." She admitted.
"Is this my fault?" Kakashi asked.
"Iie. Well, maybe. If you hadn't eating the last of my pills I might have miss carried and never knew." She admitted.
"So you are with child then?" Asuma asked, his voice unreadable.
She nodded her head.
"Kabuto partially unsealed me so I won't get sick again and Katsu has been giving me some of his own chakra to help keep me balanced. Shizune offered to get me some books on what to expect and she already told me the basics." She explained.
"This is great." Gai exclaimed, jumping out of his chair and punching a fist into the air.
Asuma and Kakashi shot him a look that went right over the enthusiastic man's head.
"The children must be thrilled. Nothing beats the amazing vital spirit a new born has." Gai continued.
"Good, so I can leave dipper changing to you than?" Kurenai asked.
"Ah…"
"And since you are so geared up to be a big daddy, I can leave the feeding, burping, and nap rocking to you?" She added.
"Ano…"
"Great to hear it." She smiled.
"You walked into that one." Kakashi stated with no feelings of pity.
Asuma remained quiet. Kurenai glanced at him. He seemed caught between fury and joy.
"What do you think of the situation?" Asuma finally asked her when he noticed she was looking at him.
Kurenai sighed.
"I don't particularly like it, but I do know Katsu won't abuse this child. The children are excited. Nothing can be done about it but to see it to the end." She answered.
He nodded his head.
"You have our support no mate what you decide to do." Asuma promised.
"Arigato. Support is what I could really use. I am not happy at Katsu for this, but it can't be undone. I don't want this child to be raised the way Naruto was, which may happen once Konoha is free."
"We will make sure it doesn't." Gai proclaimed.
Kurenai had brought up a problem none of them had thought of. What would happen to the children born in a situation like Kurenai's would be? Once Konoha was free how many new citizens would be a result from the invasion and what would the others think of these outsiders.
"We will deal with that when and if it arises." Kakashi promised.
"Arigato." She smiled at them.
"Now then, why don't you tell us what you and the rouges did today?" Kakashi suggested in an attempt to change the subject to something less depressing.
Glad to have something else on her mind, she told them all about their trip to the fish store and just about her day in general. Geki joined them at one point, when she hadn't quite noticed. She passed him the letter Kento and Kiri had writing for him and he read it, rising an eyebrow and smiling at whatever they had writing to him.
He tore the letter up when he was done and she looked at him in surprise.
"Just following their instructions." Geki explained to their looks of shock. "Since they couldn't get exploding bombs to make the message self-destruct, they asked me to destroy the evidence."
"Oh." She was suddenly curious as to what Kento and Kiri had writing to Geki, but wouldn't go back on her word to try and find out. Whatever it was seemed to amuse Geki to no end.
One thing she had noticed was that Kakashi, Gai, Asuma and Geki all seemed to get along fine. They played cards together, ate together, and even talked together.
Katsu arrived some time later, looking exhausted, no doubt due to the fact that he had offered her so much of his chakra. He didn't even greet them, just stumbled up the stairs to their room.
She hesitated only briefly before gathering the cards and pictures the kids had made, excused herself from the discussion, and walked up the stairs. She slid open the bedroom door and noticed Katsu was sitting on the bed and rubbing his shoulders in clear pain.
He looked up at her in surprise as she entered, then glanced at the clock before looking back at her. As a general rule she never came to bed until the last second or if he forced her to early. For her to volunteer herself before the dead line was a first.
"The children made these for you." She stated as she walked up to him and handed him the cards.
He smiled in amusement as he took the pile from her and started to go through them, reading each one. She sat beside him on the bed; amazed he was actually taking the time to read them.
"You helped with their spelling?" He asked.
"Hai." She answered.
He didn't even reprimand her for not adding the 'Katsu-sama' at the end.
"I would like you to continue with their lessons starting in September. Let them finish the project they are working on first. It is a good learning experience for teamwork. You may teach them some shinobi arts, shiruken and taijutsu. Your friends may assist you."
"Hai."
He stood up and set the cards on the dresser before turning to look at her.
"Out of all the kimono's I picked out for you, I like that one the best." He commented.
She did like this one the best as well. The feathers reminded her of Genjutsu, her specialty.
"But as much as I enjoy seeing you in it, I much prefer seeing you out of it." He commented.
She didn't need an explanation for that. She stood up and started to undress for bed, neatly folding the kimono and putting it away. She hadn't worn clothes to bed since the first time he had forced her to sleep without them. Even when he had been gone she hadn't bothered.
By the time she had put her kimono away, he had already prepared himself for bed and was waiting for her. He had taken to taking the wall on most nights after learning of her fear of being pinned.
She joined him in the bed, not surprised when he pulled her into his embrace and started to lay kisses on her neck. Instead of stroking her breast, he rubbed her stomach and she felt the familiar tingle of chakra as he checked her flow before turning it off.
"Everything seems to be flowing fine, and you are starting to get a small amount of reserves back. The child won't start demanding a lot of your chakra until the eighth and ninth month.
"Depending on you obedience, I may ask Kabuto-san to completely unseal you then. It would be more efficient then to continue to feed you my chakra. This will work for the first three months until the child truly starts to develop. Then I will have Kabuto-san unseal you a bit more.
"If you start getting sick from chakra deprivation again, let me know immediately. It can be harmful for both you and the child. If I am not around, you have my permission to go to hospital and let Kabuto-san, your friend, or myself know. I do not want to risk harm coming to you or our child.
"If you don't have the strength to get to hospital alone, let Kento-kun or Kiri-chan help you. If they cannot, then one of your friends may, but only as a last resort. It would be better to get a passing civilian to help you.
"Your third to sixth months will continue to draw more chakra from you and I will ask Kabuto-san to continue to unseal you as needed. It is during this time most of the chakra sickness will probably hit.
"I trust Shizune told you what to expect out side of the chakra drawing?"
"Hai." She admitted.
"Good. If the smell of breakfast starts making you sick, make the boys wait until after you have left and joined the children before cooking."
He stopped his lecture to kiss her several times, nibbling on her neck.
"I want this to go as smoothly for you as possible." He purred into her ear. "I wish no harm to come to you or our child."
"I will get to see and keep him or her right?" She asked, the sudden fear of giving birth just so Katsu could take the child away from her suddenly hitting her.
"Do not fear, Kurenai-chan, you will be permitted to be a part of our child's life." He assured her. "As will the other fifteen children. It will be a good learning experience for them."
She relaxed. He had no plans to take the child and leave.
"Do you have any children?" She asked out of curiosity.
"Iie." He answered. "Not by blood anyway. I have many through adoption, but they are all grown up and on their own. Most of my village is made up from orphans found wandering the streets and brought in. Did you know Kabuto-san was once from my village?"
"Iie." She admitted, surprised at the news.
"His parents had both been orphans and he had been raised in my village for many years until his parents were killed in a mission near Konoha. We almost recovered him, but he had been adopted by a medical specialist family and seemed happy enough so we left him be. It is through him that Orochimaru-sama found us, and thus Akatsuki."
"What of Alara-sama, Kenari-sama, and Yashero-sama?"
"All three are mercenaries for hire. Yashero-san volunteered for this mission when it was brought up. He always did have something against the Inuzuka family.
"Kenari-sama comes from the North of Fire Country where she generally sold her services for tracking and hunting. I have hired her a few times to find my prey so I recommended her to Akatsuki.
"Alara-sama and I have been hired together in the past when information gathering was what was ordered. I will not deny that my villages knowledge of medicine and human physiology gives us a deep understand of how the body works, making us deadly in torture and we have been hired for such jobs in the past, but we do not target nor practice on children.
"Alara-sama seems to know one of the members of Akatsuki and was hired through that member."
Katsu had shared a lot of information with her, and she was surprised by it. Granted the information didn't do her a lot of good in their current situation.
"It is getting late. Go to sleep Kurenai-chan." Katsu ordered. "You had a long, stressful day."
He kissed her neck a few more times, then nestled himself against her before closing his eyes and evening out his breathing.
Kurenai followed his example. It had been a stressful day and they would have to get up early to use the mirror technique in the morning.
Next chapter; More embarrassment for Shikamaru and the start of a long battle that will run from several angles for the next four chapters.
Not too much lovy dovy stuff left. In fact, not a hell of a lot of this part of the fic left. It's only 32 or so chapters long. The updating for the fight may be slow as I am trying to make it all work out smoothly. Big thanks to those who reviewed.
Some one told be that it was Iie and not Ile for no. I can't remember what fic the review was for, but thank you and I have changed all future referance and will change the past ones when I edit the fic upon its completion.