After Kira fills out a stack load of paperwork to put on record, Takeo tells me that we have to take her to get interrogated by the council. Yashamaru and Baki will also have to be there since we have a few details about the invasion to discuss. After we leave the children at home with the cats and make it to the meeting room, Takeo hands out files full of information about Kira to everyone. We all skim through the pages to gather any important information before we even begin assessing whether or not Kira is ready to be made an official Suna ninja. I don't know all of what Takeo read in that girl's journal, but Kira appears to have encountered Orochimaru before. Why is it that everyone seems to know that snake of a man anyway?

With little hesitation, one of the younger members of the council immediately asks about some of the more concerning tidbits. "Why would a girl like you get taken to see Orochimaru? These documents seem to avoid mentioning that important detail. Also, how can we trust you if you have already deserted a village before? For all we know you could just be trying to stir up trouble. It certainly isn't unheard of for men to send in children to infiltrate enemy villages in search of secrets."

After grimacing a little upon hearing Orochimaru's name, Kira attempts to explain herself. "When I was about six years old, my father dragged me to see Orochimaru. Apparently my father had promised him some information about Ryuchi Cave in exchange for sealing some of his chakra into me. Long story short, I passed out after Orochimaru forced some red haired man wearing a black cloak with red clouds on it to shove part of my father's chakra into me. That chakra still did not turn me into the heir my father wanted, but I'm stuck with it anyway. Trying to remove it would be tricky though. That red haired man sealed it deep into my chakra system and basically told me the morning before my father took me away again that removing that chakra would leave me crippled even in the best case scenario. As for you trusting me, I'm a twelve year old with little formal training with most of my ninjutsu being learned to keep my father's jutsu from maiming or killing me. I don't know what else I can say to make you know that I am no threat to you since apparently this village has a way of abusing people with large masses of chakra sealed into them."

I doubt there are any other red haired men travelling with Sasori's group yet it seems odd for him to have been involved in sealing chakra into anyone. Chiyo hadn't had too much time to teach him how to do that before he left. If what Kira's saying is true, then Sasori has dealt with Orochimaru before too. That would explain why he hated mentioning the partner he had before Deidara as well as the snake references, but it just seems fishy. Sasori is usually a good judge of character, so I can't see him working with Orochimaru. The other part of Kira's argument makes sense though. Whatever Gaara told her, she really seemed to pity him. Still, this girl has one messed up past. For a girl that young to be so entangled with such high level ninja is unusual, even if she is a leader's daughter. I just can't shake the feeling that we're missing something though. Kira seems to be a bit smooth tongued for a twelve year old. Either she has excellent self control or she's under someone's orders since most kids would at least look nervous.

One of the older men who has been part of the council for at least as long as Gaara has been alive scowls. From his position next to Kira, he gets up and points an accusatory finger right in her face. "This village has had enough problems for over a decade now. Why we should take in this girl just out of the blue is beyond me. Heck, it took us years to get used to the last mistake our dear leader made about someone with something sealed in him. This girl could be even worse for all we know. She sounds like she was her village's weapon and I-" Kira practically leapt out of her chair and slapped the man hard across his face before anyone could react. With a quick flick of his hand, Takeo restrained Kira and her offender before anymore damage could be done. By the time the gold dust forced the two to sit down a bright red mark had surfaced on the man's face.

"That's enough of that. How are we supposed to assess this girl properly if we provoke her until she slaps people?" The reprimanded council member has the nerve to sneer as Kira glares at him. "As you said, this village is in a state of crisis. But that means we have to take risks. Now I'm not saying I trust Kira, but I think we could use her services. Give her a trial run as it were. If she proves untrustworthy I can dispose of her easily as could the majority of our high ranked shinobi if my analysis of this girl is correct."

For the first time in his life, Baki addresses the council on a matter that isn't centered around Gaara. "As you all know, I am the sensei of Shukaku's host. Over the years Gaara has proven himself repeatedly despite being mistrusted by most of the villagers. I could be mistaken, but I believe that Kira could prove to be a useful comrade as well. Of course, I'm sure she would consent to precautionary measures for the time being until we can truly determine her trustworthiness." Drawing his finder across his throat slowly, Takeo signals to Baki that he has made his point. But that does not keep my former student from continuing. "With the invasion imminent, we will need all of the help we can get to keep Orochimaru in check. We'll have to be especially cautious since Gaara will need to stay safe while he uses Shukaku's form to give us the advantage. We don't need his seal to be tampered with."

Now wait just a damn minute. Whose crazy idea was it to force my son to deal with the full force of Shukaku's wrath when he is only a genin? "What's this about Shukaku's form? I was not informed about this particular part of the plan. Will someone please explain to me why you expect a child to fully control a demon's form in the middle of a hostile village where he will probably be a target without attention being drawn to him?"

With a groan, Takeo decided to enlighten me with his so called infallible logic. "We need Shukaku in order to assure our advantage. It is better to put one boy at risk than dozens of well trained shinobi." Kira rolled her eyes as my husband kept digging himself deeper into a hole. "I understand your concern, but this is what that boy was born for. It's high time he served his purpose. Since Konoha has a demon host of its own, we must be prepared for the worst. If Gaara dies, at least he will die serving his village."

Both Kira and I are glaring at Takeo now. Before either of us can give him the tongue lashing that he's practically begging for plus a few good smacks to the head for good measure, Yashamaru tells us his opinion. "Gaara's chakra control is almost as refined as his father's; perhaps he stands a good chance at controlling Shukaku now." He speeds up as I prepare to protest. "Besides, we won't let anything bad happen to Gaara. I for one am fully prepared to be killed if that's what it takes to keep my youngest nephew safe. You know that, Karura." With a sigh, I withhold my protests. This decision has clearly been finalized already. There is nothing I can do now but do what I can with this insane plan.

Noticeably relieved, Takeo turns to Kira. He slowly and carefully moved the gold dust restraining her away. "I know just what to do with you. You will have to go with me and risk being recognized by Orochimaru, but I will need your prior knowledge of him to prevent any 'accidents' from occurring during our final negotiations as well as the entire course of the invasion. I with have to take measures to keep you from getting any sneaky ideas of your own, but you stand a good chance of being accepted as a citizen of this village should you prove to be more trustworthy than you appear. We shall set out in two weeks' time. Do you accept these terms, Kira?" Kira nods her consent. Takeo condensing some gold dust into thick bands around Kira's wrists and neck loose enough so she won't be hurt but firm enough to prevent her from removing them. With a solemn handshake, Kira and Takeo finalize their agreement. As soon as we return home, Kira goes off to tell Riu the news as I shove Takeo into Gaara's room, close the door, and block the door to prevent Takeo from leaving until he spills the beans to my son. I'll be glad to see the end of that darn invasion so that people will start telling the truth and stop hiding so much important information.