Standing with everyone else, Neji had his Byakugan out as he watched as Akako stepped up to the device. If she could do it this time, then she really got her chakra control thanks to Hinata. And he hoped so. The sooner she got the scroll done, the sooner Shikamaru could learn it, the sooner that he could have it removed. Then he would whisk her away and tell her exactly what she meant to him in such a short amount of time.

Taking a deep breath, Akako held her hand. She has trained exclusively with Hinata for three days now. It was time to see if she could control her chakra enough to get through the final three stages. If she could she was going to really start to focus on the scroll and getting it done. Closing her eyes she opened her Byakugan and then started.

With a smile, Souji stood next to his wife, as she stood next to Hinata. She was flying through them. Then it came to the last three. He watched as she stopped, refocused and then her chakra got even smaller for each stage. Just a hair from the final touch, and she dropped it. She was so close!

Where when she first started, Akako would let her aggravation get to her, this time she didn't. She took a deep breath as she went back to the visualization that Hinata talked her through. Her chakra in one water tower. Her purification in another. Closing her eyes again she focused as she started out with pipes coming from each one half the size of the circle she was going through. The one that they met in, just a hair off the line of the circle. She then wen through the first stage.

The second stage, it was smaller. The third. Fourth. Fifth. Then the last three that she had so much trouble with. She got through the sixth. Seventh. Eight. She then made the pipes, all of them just a hair wide. Taking a deep breath, Akako gave one last push. She then opened her eyes when she heard a gasp. She had done it! She was touching the wood all the way at the other end of it! "I did it….." Letting her chakra fade, Akako smiled as she laughed. "I did it!"

"You did. You did amazing." Neji watched as she giggled and hugged her grandmother then went o Hinata. Tomorrow. Tomorrow they would start the scroll.

Turning back to Neji, Akako smiled brightly as she went to him. "I am going to do some in the scroll tonight. But now that I have it, and I know I can do it without taking focus away from translating, I am going to just do that most of the day from now on until I get everything done."

"I think that is a good idea." Neji then sighed as he crossed his arms and turned to Lee. "Lee go and let my father know that her training is complete. So it is only a matter of time now."

"We can do that actually."

Turning to find Gaara there with Hinata, Neji blinked. "You are leaving then?"

Nodding as she sighed, Hinata took a deep breath. "We are. Gaara can't stay gone forever, and we are going to take Hanabi with us for a while. She doesn't have the curse mark so it doesn't matter if she is here when everything is done with Kiyoko or not."

Nodding as he sighed, Gaara then held his hand out. "You know that I will keep them both safe from any harm."

Taking his hand, Neji nodded. "Indeed. We will send word once it is safe for Hanabi to come home I am sure. And that is fine that you tell Uncle when you leave."

Knowing that she was going to probably regret it, Akako stepped up and hugged Hinata. She had become a great friend for her the last few days. And she knew that she would see her again. But it was her husband. She had to ask. "Gaara…" When all eyes turned to her, Akako let her head fall to the side. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to, but I just can't not ask." She then turned to Naruto as she sighed. "The same question for you as well."

"What is it?" Giving her an emotionless look, Gaara just stood there.

"What is inside you?" Seeing his eyes go wide, and Naruto's go down she dropped her head as she took a deep breath. "It is one of the few things that can be a good thing about being a miko, but it is also not. I can sense different things about different people. You and Naruto I can sense that you both have a pure and kind soul. Yet there is something in both of you that is monstrous and evil. A total contrast to what I sense otherwise."

With a sigh, Gaara looked at Naruto who smiled and gave him a nod. "I think I will let Naruto explain that for both of us." When her eyes gave him a confused look he sighed as he gave her a nod. "We are one and the same in many ways. Especially this one. Once he explains you will understand." He then turned without a word as he also put an arm around Hanabi and then he was off into he sky headed for the Leaf.

Blinking as she turned to Naruto, Akako didn't understand. "But I just don't understand? I know you are good people. I didn't make him think I thought he was a bad guy did I Naruto?"

Shaking his head, Naruto sighed. "It is getting late. Let's go get some food and settled in and I will tell you what is going on."

X

A couple of hours later, everyone was sitting around. Akako had her head down. Everyone was so quiet after she asked them that question. She was actually starting to regret asking them about it now. It was like no one wanted to talk about it.

Looking up at her, Naruto sighed as he sat down almost right across from where she sat between her grandmother and Neji. "No one is upset with you about asking the question Akako." When her eyes went wide, Naruto smiled. "It is just that it is a source of a lot of bad memories and hurt feelings for me, so no one talks about it. If someone does it is usually me."

Dropping her head again, Akako took a deep breath. "If that is the case you don't have to say anything."

"It is alright." Looking at the fire, Naruto took a deep breath. "The only reason why you and your grandmother were targeted by the Akatsuki actually is because of people like me and Gaara. We are what they call Jinchuuriki. Do you know what that is?" Looking up to see her shake her head side to side, he half smiled as he dropped his head back to the fire. "That is what someone calls the human vessel of a tailed beast. A huge beast with massive amounts of monstrous chakra and incredible strength. There are ten total. One with no tails, one with one tail, all the way up to the fox that has nine tails which is what I have."

Gasping as her eyes went wide, Akako learned about the tailed beasts from travelers through the village. But to know that you can seal them in someone! "I am so sorry Naruto…"

"It's alright." Naruto didn't see the point in telling her exactly who put the fox in him, she would find out at some point, but right now wasn't the time to tell her. "Gaara is like I am. He has the one tailed sand beast Shukaku in him. That is why he said that I could answer for both of us. That is what connects us. The fact that we are both Jinchuuriki and know what it is like to be little and have everyone hate us, and grow to show everyone that we are worthy of trust and love from everyone."

Smiling Akako laughed as she pulled his eyes up to her. "Well like I said. I can sense that about you two. But that doesn't make you the monster." When he gave her a nod, she sighed then turned to the scrolls. "I think I want to see what I can do now I can get the chakra down low."

After laying out the scrolls and the candles, Akako wasted no time

.