[Author's Note:
Hello everyone! I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe during these troubling times. I would like to take this opportunity to apologize for the significant delay in a new chapter of this story. This came as a surprise to me as well as when I first had heard that our state would be put on lock down, and that my department was to be the only entity reporting for work regularly for the foreseeable future, I was optimistic that I would be able to shred through chapters without much delay. However, it turns out that because of the location at which I work being shutdown every single individual that enters the premises now needs either escort or assistance, so as hard as it is to believe, I have actually become substantially busier.
Despite this, I vow to reduce the time it takes for me to send chapters out and I sincerely ask for all of you amazing people who drive me to do this to stick with me.
Thank you all, stay safe.]
Sitting down on a bench just outside of the hospital grounds, Kisa took a deep breath and pulled her hair out of the tight bun she had placed it in when she reported for work earlier. On hot summer days it was normally best to keep it tied up to keep cool, but she personally hated it that way, and given that there was a strong breeze blowing through the valley she felt she would be fine in her preferred fashion.
Running her hands through the black strands to straighten them out the best she could, the girl's eyes drifted to the people all around her on the street as she tried to spot her friends amidst those just out enjoying the nice day. Up until she was called into work to assist with a few minor surgeries earlier that morning she had planned to spend the day with Akito and Takao in an effort to maximize the time they got to spend together while it lasted, though luckily it only delayed their endeavor until noon when the two agreed to meet her for lunch; something that she grew more anxious about as time went by.
Despite the fact that he had been back at their side for nearly a week it seemed that she still couldn't find it inside of herself to relax when Akito was around. The second she saw his face she could feel her heartbeat race and her stomach flutter with nervous tension while her smile became uncontainable, causing her to feel like some kind of giddy teenager. This feeling was not entirely new to her, having come to light before they were seperated by the events that took place in March, but it was strange all the same, causing her to feel somewhat foolish.
From what she could tell everything seemed to be alright between them, especially following their tender exchange a few nights prior, but she was still quite unsure how far he was willing to take their friendship, let alone how hard she should push him to find out. Lady Tsunade believed it was best to allow things to come back to them naturally, and as much as it hurt her to sit and hold her breath, she too knew it was the best course of action.
But that didn't stop her from wondering what could be. The way things had been with Akito the past few days only served to fully reignite the feelings and expectations she had been developing before everything went wrong, causing her mind to become overcome with thoughts of him as her eyes shifted to the clouds above. What if she wouldn't have ran away? That was certainly the catalyst of everything that went wrong, but what would their lives be like if she hadn't?
The night of their date was, by far, one of the most magical nights she had ever had the joy of experiencing. The way she felt with him was something she had never before felt and since that day she had been constantly searching to get a piece of that feeling back. If she hadn't messed everything up would that feeling have been an everyday occurance? Was it possible that Akito's affection was what she felt had been missing from her life for what seemed like eternity?
Letting out a small sigh, the girl closed her eyes as another calm breeze rushed through town. This way of thinking, that she needed someone else in her life to feel whole, was a violation of her long time belief that she was better off on her own. Sure, she had always been able to rely on Takao and Jun, but this was different.
Akito wasn't just someone she could confide in, he was someone she could talk to about anything; someone she could tell her deepest, darkest secrets and most painful memories too without having to worry about what he might say back. He was the only one she had ever openly talked to about her father's death, something that she had never even really discussed with her friends, and it was all because of just how safe and comfortable he made her feel.
Even more than that, Akito was the only man who she had ever found herself longing to be romantically involved with, more than when she thought she had felt these feelings for Jun long ago. The best she could tell these feelings even went as far as to manifest what she could only describe as love for him despite their differences, and as happy as that made her feel it was also her biggest fear, as if that was something she should be ashamed of.
But why? What was so bad about loving someone? To her, love was having someone who she could always depend on; someone that would always be there by her side to help her through her darkest times and keep her warm on the coldest of nights. Why was this such a bad thing to want? Was it because for the longest time she had told herself she would never need love past the platonic she held for her friends to survive? Had she really been so ignorant that she believed she was above such a feeling?
Taking another calming breath of fresh air as a familiar voice pierced through the chatter of those walking around her, the girl's eyes drifted down towards where she believed the voice to be coming from and immediately laid eyes on Takao's large frame as he laughed boisterously.
"Oh yeah, that's one thing I certainly have noticed here in Konoha!" He exclaimed, signalling that he and the boy beside him must have been talking about something related to the village before turning towards her and waving his hand feverishly.
"There she is!" He exclaimed as the girl herself stood up onto her feet to greet them and motioned a small wave as well, all with a growing smile that matched Akito's as she did so.
"Hey!" She called back as the two came to a stop in front of her, allowing her to lock eyes with the boy she couldn't stop thinking about as he spoke up.
"How did things go? Everything alright?"
"Yeah, everything went well. There weren't too many serious cases, only one actually, and the rest were all minor surgeries. What about you two, what have you been up to all day?" She responded with a lingering grin as Takao laughed.
"Oh nothing really, just spent the morning bullshiting about this and that." He said as he looked down at Akito with a wide grin, knowing that what he was about to say was about to land him in hot water.
"I did get to ask Akito about his curse mark though." He added, instantly causing Kisa's grin to fade as her focus directed to Takao's eyes with an angered glare.
"Takao, I specifically asked you not to pester him about that." She responded in a clearly annoyed tone, to which Takao immediately held his hands up in question of what he had truly done wrong.
"What? I couldn't help myself. I mean come on, I've seen his whole dark skin, angry boy look, but I wanted to know if there was something more badass to it that I didn't get to see. You know, like yours." The man joked in reply, causing Kisa's annoyed scowl to grow before fading at the touch of Akito's hand on her arm.
"It's okay, Kisa. I don't mind him asking." The boy said with a smile, bringing Takao to laugh and slap him across the back as he did so.
"See? He's fine with it. I told you I wouldn't make him feel uncomfortable. Though, I have to admit Akito, you really let me down when you told me you can't turn into some wicked looking flying demon." He added as Akito shook his head and returned his attention back to Kisa.
"Well, me and Takao have been holding off eating so that we would be hungry for lunch. Are you ready to get something to eat?" He questioned, to which Kisa slowly nodded as she tucked a hair that the breeze had blown loose behind her ear.
"Sure. Let's go."
Having spent a good portion of his time in Konoha scouring the village for the best placed to eat, Takao lead the group to just the place; a small restaurant that specialized in a much fuller meal than what was often traditional, and somewhere he and Kisa had visited several times since he discovered the place earlier that summer. Since this was not a typical meal, the three sat for some time to eat before heading back out into the streets to enjoy what remained of the late summer afternoon, bringing them on a long walk just outside of the village walls as they did so.
"Yeah well the plus side to all of this is that there is certainly a hell of a lot more work here then back in Kiri, that's for sure." Takao replied to the boy's question of how they made out with their transition into a whole new culture as he placed his hands behind his head to stretch, causing Kisa to add on to his statement with a small grin.
"We were lucky enough to have the chance to not only witness nearly every walk of life in the Land of Fire, but also work with many of Konoha's most well known ninja, all of whom were key in our transition. I have no doubt that if it hadn't been for them we would have had a much harder time adapting." She added as Akito himself smiled and looked out through the trees at the woods around them for any lurking eyes; an old habit he had a hard time breaking.
"When I first came here when I was young I had a tough time adjusting, but luckily I found the right people to show me the way… I'm glad you two found the same thing." He responded as he turned back towards the two and then down at the pathway they were walking before looking forward once more.
"I am sorry that I wasn't here, though. I planned to be."
Hearing his statement, Kisa's small grin turned to a frown. She knew that his words weren't meant to hurt her, but that didn't help the sadness she felt come over her.
"Don't be sorry. It wasn't your fault that you weren't here, it was mine." She replied, bringing Akito to shake his head.
"No it's not. I should have come back the second I could. Iwa would have been fine without me… I should have told the Tsuchikage I couldn't stay." The boy objected as Takao chuckled.
"I wouldn't be too hard on yourself. If the Anbu chose you specifically then that likely meant they felt you were the only man for the job, and seeing as how the Tsuchikage wanted you to stick around, you are obviously important to both Iwa and him as well." He tried to reassure the boy, bringing Akito to look to him with a small grin.
"That, or they knew I would be the easiest to control." He replied before looking back to Kisa, once more thinking of her curse mark because of the mention of his own as his smile slowly grew wider and more genuine.
He hadn't told her, but he was beyond relieved to see that she was doing alright despite her curse mark, especially seeing how she had found a safe way to allow its power to manifest for her own use. He had been told by the man who created his seal that trying to hold back an unhindered mark's power could lead to a complete takeover of one's body, so hearing that she was embracing and properly using it to her own advantage as well as the fact that she hadn't had an incident since beginning to train with the Hokage made him truly happy.
Seeing his expression as his eyes locked to her, Kisa's smile once again returned to her lips as her heartbeat quickened and she once again found herself melting inside of her core. This was yet again just another little moment she had been missing the whole time he was gone.
"What?" She questioned softly with a blush to which the boy simply shook his head; his own cheeks slightly darkened at having been caught staring.
"Nothing. Just… glad that I'm here." The boy responded, again pulling at her heartstrings as she tried to think of something to say. Although his statement could be taken many different ways, to her it was meant to be far more intimate, warranting an appropriate response. But what should she say? Should she say something just as intimate, if not borderline romantic, despite the fact that Takao was present? She hadn't had much experience in doing so besides when she was with him, but that didn't mean it felt difficult to do, not with Akito.
In the end it didn't matter, however, as before she could formulate a reply the group of three averted their gaze forward towards a lone Konoha shinobi as he approached from one of paths that diverged from the one they were on; his unique, orange appearance allowing all three of them to make out his identity almost immediately.
"Naruto?" Akito questioned as the blonde-haired boy slid to a stop in front of them and placed his hands to his knees in order to take a deep breath.
"I knew I saw you from on top of the ridgeline! Sakura didn't believe me, but I knew it had to be you!" He exclaimed as he stood back up straight and formed a wide grin across his face, just as the girl he mentioned came running from down the same path he had emerged from moments earlier.
"There you are, Naruto! What did I say about running off and leaving me behind?!" She scolded as she came to a stop beside her partner.
"I'm sorry, okay? I didn't want to lose him!" The boy replied, only further angering her as she raised her right fist back and slugged him in the shoulder, bringing him to squeal in pain and Takao to laugh as she did so.
"Oww, Sakura! That hurt!" He cried as the girl huffed and regained her composure.
"Yeah? Well next time listen to me!" She replied before turning to Kisa as the girl's smile returned.
"Hey you two! I didn't expect to see you out here." She stated as Sakura brushed a loose lock of pink hair from her face, likely knocked free from her forehead protector's hold because of her need to chase Naruto through the woods.
"We were on our way back after doing some training, but when Naruto noticed Akito he took off." She stated as she looked over to Naruto who, much to little surprise, was pointing at Akito with an irritated expression on his face.
"When did you come back to Konoha, huh?!" He asked as Akito's grin grew.
"A few days ago now."
"Why didn't you come find me then? You still owe me a meal, remember? Did you think you were just going to get out of it?!" He questioned rapidly, bringing Akito to chuckle as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"I remember, and I wasn't trying to avoid you. It's just that… this visit to Konoha wasn't exactly planned." The boy replied as he turned his eyes to Kisa, causing the young shinobi in front of him to do the same. He had seen her around the village several times over the past few months but hadn't put her identity together until just now.
"Hey… isn't that the girl from the ramen shop in Getaru City?" Naruto asked as he looked to Takao and pointed up at him.
"He was there too… I think." He added, instantly causing Takao to laugh as he placed one hand on his hip and the other down on Akito's shoulder roughly.
"Ha! Look at that, Akito! Even he was able to identify us with our new good-looks, and he'd only met us once! How couldn't you?!" He roared, bringing Akito to sigh in disdain as to his side Sakura watched on and moved a bit closer to Kisa. She had heard Naruto mention that he had a friend from Iwagakure named Akito several times before, though she had never met him in person.
More importantly than introducing herself however, there was something else on her mind. A few days ago she had been told by Lady Tsunade that not only did their village have a visitor from Iwa but that he too had been cursed in a way similar to both Sasuke and Kisa, though she hadn't said just who it was. There were never many visitors from the Hidden Stone, so seeing him here with Kisa and Takao offered more than enough evidence for her to assume it was him, regardless of the fact that he wasn't wearing any kind of identifying Iwa clothing nor a forehead protector.
"Is this the boy Lady Tsunade has been talking about?" She questioned somewhat quietly as she came to a stop by Kisa's side, bringing the girl to look at her nod as Sakura's interest grew.
"Yes, this is Akito. Given his friendship with Naruto I'm surprised you haven't met before." Kisa replied, to which Sakura grinned.
"I sometimes find it best to avoid meeting Naruto's friends that I don't already know. They aren't always… normal." She responded as she watched the three men converse back and forth about something tedious with her eyes focused on Akito.
"Although it seems as if he's probably the most normal out of all of them." Sakura added, causing Kisa to let out a short giggle as her eyes returned to Akito and her captivated smile returned, bringing the boy to do the same as he spotted her gesture from the corner of his eye.
"For the most part." She replied affectionately as Sakura took note of the two's exchange and smiled to herself in silent happiness that they were now reunited.
When she first met her earlier that year she could tell that there was something always on her mind, something that no matter what always seemed to trouble her deeply, and eventually led her to ask her sensei about what it was since she too was under Tsunade's tutelage at the time. It was there that she learned about Kisa's past, as well as a boy she found herself attached to despite being far apart; a boy that she could now tell was Akito.
"Wait, so if your visit wasn't planned, what are you here?" Naruto asked, drawing both Kisa and Sakura to look over as the former held her breath, though just like Kisa was interrupted by their arrival Akito fell silent as beside him Tokuma Hyuga appeared.
"Akito Himaku, the Hokage requests your presence immediately." He stated without much delay as Takao placed both his hands behind his head with a grin.
"Oh hey there Tokuma! Haven't seen you the past few days. How are things?" He asked in a somewhat joking tone to try to lower the blank, all-business stare on the Hyuga's face, though he simply crossed his arms as his pale eyes turned to his one-time subordinate.
"Busy, as usual. Mostly because of this one here." He replied, bringing Kisa's eyes to widen in surprise.
"What's going on Tokuma?" The latter asked as the man turned to her for a moment or two before returning his attention to Akito.
"Konoha's council has come to a decision on Akito's fate." He replied, instantly causing Kisa to let out a small gasp as the others around him all grew wide-eyed as well, including Naruto who stepped forward with a hint of concern on his face. He wasn't familiar with Tokuma, but he did know that if Tsunade sent a member of the Hyuga clan to find him it wasn't good.
"Fate? What does that mean?" He questioned, to which Akito slowly lowered his head and looked away, once again showing Kisa how much shame he held in his heart.
"It's… complicated." He replied, causing Naruto to cock his head.
"If you're in trouble let me talk to granny Tsunade for you! I'm sure I could convince her to get you out of whatever it was you did!" The boy immediately interjected in an effort to help. catching Akito by surprise, though he simply smiled and shook his head. He appreciated his desire to help him, but the last thing he wanted to do was get him in trouble with the Hokage.
"Thank you for your concern Naruto, but I'll be alright. Don't worry." He replied before looking back at Kisa, whose expression all but mirrored Naruto's, and then back to Tokuma.
"Let's go." Akito added, bringing the Hyuga before him to nod and begin walking back towards the village as Kisa ran up beside Akito, bringing them both to stop in their tracks. Looking into the boy's eyes, she swallowed nervously for a moment before turning back to Tokuma. They had been waiting to hear whether or not Akito would face trial as a criminal for days now, and she was not not going to let him stand in front of the Hokage to hear his fate alone.
"I'm coming too." She stated, to which he nodded in agreement before looking up at Takao who, with a sigh, shook his head and fell in line behind them.
"Alright, let's get this over with already. You two be good now, you hear me?" He commanded back to the two young shinobi behind them with a laugh as the group began to make their way towards the Hokage's office in near silence; the tension so heavy in that moment that Kisa could barely breathe. What if he did go to trial and was found guilty? Would they lock him away, or would his punishment be far more severe? What was going to happen to him?
After a short walk the four found themselves once again standing before the Hokage and her assistant, although this time Akito stood on his own feet and unbound from any chains or restraints; a sight that was far easier to digest to almost everyone present, including the Hokage herself.
"It seems like you are doing much better now as opposed to a few days ago, Mr. Himaku." The Hokage stated as she looked forward at the boy as he remained standing at attention with his hands behind his back in a formal manner.
"Being here in Konoha has given me a chance to both relax and see my friends. I couldn't have asked for more, even given the circumstances." He replied as the Hokage hummed to herself.
"Glad to hear it. We've been worrying about you ever since." She added, bringing Shizune to grin as seeing him now as opposed to how he was just a few days prior was like night and day, and was quite nice to see him closer to his usual self.
"I agree. You looked rough, though I'm not sure that's much different than any normal day." She added jokingly, bringing Akito to laugh as his own small grin as he looked down at the Hokage's desk.
"I'm sure I did." The boy responded as his chuckle dissipated, leaving a short silence to form in the air for a moment or two before the Hokage closed her eyes and took a deep breath to prepare for what was to come, bringing Kisa to hold her breath as she silently reached up and took Akito's necklace into the palm of her right hand. This was what they had been waiting days to hear, and although she had been trying her best to remain positive she knew that the possibility for everything to go wrong was very real.
"As I'm sure Tokuma has already told you, the village's council has come to a decision as to whether or not you should face trial for the carnage that was caused by your battle inside of Amegakure." She began as Akito lifted his chin up to prepare for whatever news the now stern-faced Hokage may carry and tightened his grip on his hands.
"He has." The boy replied as Tsunade stared him down.
"I have spent the greater part of the last two mornings presenting a score of different evidence to not only the council but to the leader of Konoha's Anbu as well, both incriminating you in what took place in Ame as well as defending your actions; all while making sure to remain as neutral as possible as to not risk the council believing my suggestion that you be released was biased." The Hokage added as Kisa bit the inside of her lip to try and relieve some of the anxiety pouring into her chest, so much so that she could find it getting harder to breath by the second, leading her to quietly yearn for the Hokage to cut right to the chase.
She had known that Lady Tsunade intended to side with Akito from the beginning all of this, but that didn't necessarily mean everything would be alright. Since she first came to Konoha in early spring she had been told several times by a few different people that the council was rather hard to persuade once their mind had been up, leading the only thought that repeated over and over in her head to be the question of what their decision had been.
"It was quite the task doing so, I assure you. The elders were not very keen about letting someone who could so easily cause so much damage leave here a free man, especially after hearing who exactly it was who had done such a thing and where you were from. But I did my best to convince them otherwise, and after nearly an hour's long deliberation the council elected to allow me to pardon Akito for what happened." She finally finished after what felt like an eternity, instantly causing a massive wave of relief to flow over the trio of friends.
"Really?" Takao questioned aloud in disbelief, bringing the Hokage to chuckle.
"Yes, really! Do you really think I would joke around about something like that?" She questioned as her attention turned towards Akito and a smile formed across her lips; the great weight that had been silently pressing down on his shoulders lifted.
"You are a free man once again, Akito. Free to do as you wish, to come and go as you please and you are no longer required to have either Takao or Kisa escort you." She added as she leaned back in her chair and placed her hands on her lap with a smirk.
"Try not to do this again, however… I can already feel that all this stress has taken hours off of my lifespan." She joked as both Shizune and Takao laughed, bringing Akito to smile a bit with a nod.
"Thank you, Lady Tsunade. I owe you greatly." He replied, bringing Tsunade to laugh as she prepared to state that this was indeed the use of the favor he had been silently holding over her for so long, though upon seeing the look of happiness and relief on both his and Kisa's face as they turned to look at one another, she bit her tongue as her smile grew.
"Don't thank me. I trust you, believe your story, and I couldn't allow you to face trial and possibly even execution for something like that… especially when, in the end, it was all for the same goal that we are also desperately trying to achieve." The Hokage replied in reference to the removal of the Akatsuki as Akito returned his attention to her and nodded before again looking back at Kisa who, despite her best efforts to maintain her composure, could not help but smile widely in relief.
Before she could say anything on the matter however, Tokuma, who had remained silent until this moment with his arms still crossed, stepped forward towards him.
"If I may, however, I would recommend doing so silently from here on out. Other villages have heard of what was done as Ibaraki, so another incident as that alias is sure to draw more unwanted attention on yourself that we will likely be unable to assist with." He warned, much to Kisa's surprise. Although he had never said it directly she could tell that Tokuma had been holding some animosity towards the boy ever since his capture, likely because of the combat the two had engaged in, so to hear him offer helpful advice was rather unexpected.
"I understand. Like I said the last time Ibaraki died at the hands of you and your team that day, and I have no intention of reviving him… not even for Iwa's benefit." Akito responded, bringing the Hyuga to smirk and nod in agreement of the boy's release without a single objection, likely due to his undying loyalty to the Hokage and his faith in her decisions.
Seeing the brief exchange between the two men, the Hokage sighed and leaned her head against the palm of her hand in exhaustion. It was only a little past noon yet she was already drained, likely due to the heated dispute she had participated in early that day in the boy's defense.
"Well now that that's over with, and as much as it pains me to admit it, I'm afraid that I have other business to attend to. So if you wouldn't mind, I must ask you to leave my office." She stated aloud, immediately bringing the group to excuse themselves from the Hokage's presence and back out into the street destined for home where, unbeknownst to Kisa and Akito, Takao once again planned to cook quite the celebratory feast.
Following the conclusion of said meal, Kisa sat on the couch inside of their apartment's main living area and watched as Akito, who sat across from her on an opposing piece of furniture, tied his forehead protector loosely around his neck for the first time since they were all reunited.
Until now Akito had refrained from wearing his traditional clothing, his forehead protector or anything else that could have possibly tied him and Iwagakure to the crimes he had been accused of; a task that although he hadn't said anything about, she could tell weighed heavily on his mind. This feeling, this fear that he would never be able to return to what he once was, was something she understood well, as it was the same feeling she too suffered from when all of this began.
But now, with his name cleared and his ability to move freely restored, there was little reason hide his identity, allowing him to once again don his maroon colored uniform and brown vest to return himself to the boy she had first come to know so well in the springtime, forcing a small smile to return to her face.
"It must feel good to be wearing that again." She stated in reference to his clothes and, more specifically, the Iwa signage around his neck, bringing him to look up at her for a moment before kindly smiling and turning to his red clan jacket and brown flak vest folded up on the couch beside him, including the black, zipper-palmed gloves resting atop.
"It does. It's been quite some time since I was last able to wear this uniform, and I would be lying if I said it didn't make me feel… normal again." He replied as the girl nodded, though as she did so she watched as Akito's right hand went to his left arm and slid it's way across his bandages to his bare hand, the palm of which remained inactive from his battle against them in the forest and had appeared to have reverted to an almost tattoo-like state rather than a mouth. Knowing that he intended to reactivate the kinjutsu, the girl grew silent as she watched him form a few hand signs and place his thumb to his inactive palm, bringing the mouth to once again come to life.
However, instead of magically appearing and reanimating to its original self as she had somehow convinced herself it would, the flesh of his palm tore itself into the mouth shape, causing her to cringe as she watched his body shutter from what she knew had to have been a stomach turning sensation; a feeling she herself felt in her heart out of sympathy.
She had seen him reactivate his palms before, but never from a completely inactive state, bringing her to watch until the mouth had completely opened and his flesh had formed into its necessary yet bloodied state, at which point she stood from where she sat, walked to the empty seat beside him and sat down before taking his hand in hers to heal the self-inflicted wound.
"Thank you." Akito said softly as he watched the tears in his flesh slowly healing, to which Kisa looked up at him with a small yet concerned smile.
"Does it always hurt this bad?" She asked as the boy nodded.
"Yeah, but luckily I don't need to reactivate them often. This is only the second time since I've had them that someone has been able to disable one." He replied, though instead of continuing on the subject Kisa's mind drifted off to something else that had been bothering her tremendously since they learned of his exoneration hours before; what exactly he had planned to do now.
This question had crossed her mind several times over the past few days. What did he plan to do when this was all over? Would he stay in Konoha, or would he return back to Iwa? It was clear that he would no longer be operating as Ibaraki, she trusted his word on that, but would he continue to go out on these dangerous missions alone? Would he once again leave them behind? The uncertainty was killing her and on several occasions had kept her up well into the night with worry. She had to know.
"Akito... you never did say what you planned to do now that this is all behind us." She blurted after a second or two and just as his palm finished healing, bringing him to look up into her eyes. He knew that this moment would come and had been preparing for the best way to tell her, but that didn't mean what he was going to be any easier.
"I plan to stay here in Konoha for at least another day… but after that I will need to return back to Iwa." He replied, causing her to quiver a bit under her breath; his words confirming her worries and driving the growing pit in her stomach to deepen faster than before.
"Already?" She inquired as she reached up and took Akito's necklace in her right hand, forcing the boy's eyes to drift away from hers in an effort to hide just how awful telling her this made him feel; a feeling that was only made worse by the fact that reached for his necklace. After he returned from Iwa the first time he noticed that the girl often used his necklace as a source of comfort for her to turn to when she needed it most, so seeing her grab it now showed just how upset he was making her.
"I… I have no choice." He stated, causing a short-live silence that he interrupted a moment later as he looked back up into her eyes with obvious sadness.
"I'm glad I had the chance to see you again, to make sure you were alright… but with everything that has happened I need to go back. The village needs me; the Tsuchikage needs me." He replied, leading her to stare at him in disbelief. If he was so upset about having to go back, why was he doing it in the first place?
"There are other shinobi in Iwa, Akito. Other shinobi that your grandfather can count on. After what happened in Ame you need to rest, not rush off on another mission alone." The girl argued as Akito shook his head.
"I can't do that. The mission I was on is too important to leave to someone else… I need to see it through." He again objected, this time causing Kisa to retract her hand from his as her concerned expression grew to that of anger and frustration.
"Important? What could be so important about this mission, about these people, that you would be willing to attempt capturing them again after nearly being killed the first time?" She spat in response, bringing to light a bit of the anger he felt from her on the night she ran away, although instead of trying to alleviate her anger he instead took a deep breath and again looked away with continuing dismay. He was unsure of just how she was going to take what he was about to say, but in keeping with his promise not to lie to her he bit the inside of his lip and prepared to deliver the information regardless.
"The people I followed to Ame, the ones who I've been tracking… they're the same group who attacked us in the Land of Sound." He admitted softly, instantly causing Kisa's eyes to grow wide and her breath to tremble as the memories of those vile shinobi returned to her mind just as Takao, who had been eavesdropping from the kitchen as he cleaned up the cookware from dinner, leaned over the countertop in disbelief.
"Saburo's gang? Are you serious?" He questioned with a stern expression, bringing Akito to slowly nod without making eye contact.
"For over a month I've been searching for a group of three shinobi who have been actively seeking out the Akatsuki. There wasn't much information on them at first, just that they were popping up here and there around the Land of Earth's underworld, but eventually word got back to Iwa, and I was sent to stop them."
Still in disbelief about what he was hearing, Takao placed the bowl he was drying down on the counter with a loud clang and walked around the wooden surface to the living room to confront Akito face to face.
"How can you be certain it was them? There are likely plenty of small, power hungry gangs trying to join the Akatsuki after that stunt they pulled in Suna earlier this year. How do you know that it wasn't just some random criminals trying to act harder than they really are?" He questioned in opposition to what Akito was saying, bringing Akito to shake his head.
"It has to be them." He replied as Takao crossed his arms in a clearly irritated fashion, although Akito could not tell just who exactly his anger was pointed towards.
"How can you be so certain?" Takao replied, bringing Akito to grunt as the gruesome memory of what he saw returned to his mind. Why couldn't he just trust him?!
"Before I followed them to Ame I managed to track them down to a town just outside of the border between the Land of Iron and Earth. I was too late to intercept them there and lost their trail, but when I set out to find evidence of their intentions, I found a trail of bloodshed that was..." He began to explain before stopping as his eyes shifted towards Kisa who, although still just as shocked as before, stared at him with an almost undeniable request to hear what he was about to say that led him to take a deep breath.
"Was just like what they did to Jun." He added softly, again causing Kisa's eyes to grow wide and her breath to falter from her open mouth. In Akito's absence she had finally worked up enough courage to ask Takao what exactly it was that had happened to Jun, having never actually seen his body, and although he was hesitant to describe just what it was that Saburo had done to their best friend he did eventually do so, leaving her with a deep-seated anxiety she could still feel to this day.
Hearing this, Takao's displeased look quickly turned into a scowl as he angrily grabbed at his shirt beneath his crossed arms. When they fought them he allowed the young girl amongst them to retreat as an act of mercy, not knowing what they had in store for Jun, let alone the others. If he had known what these people were capable of, what they did to other people, not only would she have died that day, he would have fought his hardest to ensure the others did as well.
"Those god damn freaks. I can't believe they are trying to join the Akatsuki." He snarled under his breath as Akito subtly nodded in agreement. Their powers, their seemingly immortal bodies, were an asset he couldn't help but fear the Akatsuki acquiring, driving his desire to prevent the alliance between the groups from ever forming.
"That is why I've been trying to find them. Even with what little we know about their power they will act as a significant boost to the Akatsuki's resources… and I can't allow that to happen. I have to finish this mission and bring them to justice for what they've done to you and Jun... I have to stop them." Akito added in reply to his friend as Kisa remained staring at him in disbelief; unable to easily fathom that the group who had killed Jun had not only reappeared, but that they were the ones Akito had been trying to find on his own.
They were the ones who ultimately caused all of this, the ones who took Jun from them and who had orchestrated the events that changed their lives forever, and she would always remember waking up that night by Akito's side; the memory of the battle before, her branding with Orochimaru' curse and the pain in Akito's voice as he told her of Jun's fate.
But what else she could recall was the fact that when she came too after the Sannin's attack was seeing how badly Akito had been beaten, and although much of that had come from the many individual battles they had been forced to fight that day, she could still pick out the bite mark on his neck; a mark she found out afterwards was Saburo's attempt to consume his flesh just as he had done to Jun. He came so close to losing his life that day, so the thought of him out there trying to bring these three down alone was almost incomprehensible, driving her to speak up.
"Let us help you." She stated aloud to break the silence that had developed between the three of them, bringing Akito's eyes to drift back to hers in surprise. Come with him? That couldn't happen.
"Kisa... I can't let you two come with me." He responded, causing Takao to speak up.
"Why not? We have a stake in this too, you know. They killed our best friend, our partner, and threw us all head first into this whole shitty mess. They deserve to burn for this, and we deserve to help set that fire." He stated as Akito looked up to him and shook his head.
"I know you do, but these three are dangerous… you could-" He began to reply, though before he could finish the girl cut him off.
"Could get hurt? As if you won't if you go out there and try to fight them alone?" She replied in an irritated fashion as Akito looked down in shame at having upset her. She was right; he could easily be injured or killed by these three, but so could she and Takao, and that was something he wasn't willing to let happen.
"I will be alright." He replied without knowing really what else to say, throwing the girl over the edge as she stood to her feet in front of him and placed her hands on her hips. How could he be so stupid as to believe he would be able to stop these three on his own, even when they couldn't do so as a group of four? Did he want to die?!
"Why are you so opposed to us helping you?! Are you trying to get yourself killed, because you sure came close this time! Is that what you want?! To die out there by yourself where nobody even knows where you are instead of just letting someone else help?!" She shouted, surprising even Takao by the sharp tone of her words and causing Akito to look up at her momentarily in shock before dropping his disheartened eyes back to the floor. That wasn't what he wanted, not at all, but if it meant keeping them safe, keeping her safe… then that would be worth it.
"No, I just…" He began to reply as his voice tapered off and his mind yet again began to fight over what exactly he should say, tugging back and forth with whether or not to speak his mind before finally blurting out all that he could.
"I can't stand the thought of losing you." The boy said just loud enough to be heard, instantly causing Kisa's irritated demeanor to retract back into one of surprise as an uncontrollable blush formed across her face.
He was afraid to lose her? Did he mean the both of them or was that directed towards her specifically? Surely it could be taken as if he meant he was worried about them both, but if so, why did it seem to have a far more intimate meaning than that? Why did it feel that he truly was so afraid of losing her that he would be willing to go on this hunt alone to save her, even if it cost him his life?
Watching the speechless girl freeze in confused thought, Takao turned back to Akito and let out a small hum. He too had heard what he said under his breath, confirming that it was his feelings for his partner that were driving him to keep them away from the danger, though knowing better than to believe Kisa would find this acceptable he instead formulated an argument to support her position.
"You think that it is too dangerous for us to fight them, but yet you seem to ignore the fact that these men are far more dangerous to you by yourself than they ever could be if we all fought as a team. I understand that you want to keep us safe, keep Kisa safe… but just like you are afraid to lose us, we can't stand the thought of losing you." He stated as Kisa looked to him with even more of a flustered expression hearing him say what she had been thinking aloud.
Typically this would be the point at which she would yell at him for embarrassing her, but as he looked to her and slowly nodded to say that he knew what he was doing, she allowed him to continue uninterrupted.
"I'm not the best at this sappy crap, but I guess what I'm saying here is that you're our best friend, maybe a bit more than that to one of us, and we would both feel much better if you would stop fighting us on this and just accept the fact that, like it or not, we will be coming with you to fight Saburo and watch your back. Understood?" He stated, furthering Kisa's embarrassment even further and causing her to regret his decision to allow him to continue until a few seconds later when the boy slowly stood up from the couch, looked at both Takao and Kisa, and then slowly nodded.
"Alright." He replied without any further opposition, bringing Kisa's eyes to widen as Takao's wide grin returned.
"Yes! We're finally going to get the chance to fry those fucks!" He exclaimed with a laugh as Kisa stepped a bit closer to Akito and bit the inside of her lip to combat the knot in her stomach that formed from yelling at the boy; something she didn't like doing and wished to apologize for immediately.
"Takao's right. We're just worried about you and want to keep you safe… I'm sorry for yelling at you." She said softly as the boy turned towards her and looked into her bright blue eyes with a small smile.
"Don't apologize… it's alright. I know." He replied as he reached out and placed a comforting hand on her arm, causing her to smile and place a hand on his for a second before he lowered his head to try and hide the pink color growing across his cheeks, though after only a moment his smile faded.
"There is a problem though… with everything that's happened I've not only lost their trail, but I've also missed my check-in with Iwa's Anbu." He said softly as he lifted his head back up and slid his hand down her arm until it rested on her hand before letting go, knowing that what he was about to say could possibly be worse than the mention of his target's identity.
"I have to return home, both to check in with the village as well as see if there's been any news of their whereabouts." He added, causing Kisa's heart to sink a bit at the thought that he would once again leave without them, although before she could express her opposition to the matter Takao shrugged.
"So we'll come with you." He blurted out much to both Akito and Kisa's surprise, the latter of which immediately tensed up at the thought. Her? Go to Iwa? Throughout her entire life she had always told herself the only reason she would ever set foot in the Hidden Stone would have been to watch it burn, and while her willingness to go there changed when Akito was taken home with the injuries she inflicted upon him, she still held many, many reservations about going to that place.
But yet, despite everything in her mind telling her that she should never, ever go to such a vile place, she couldn't help but consider Takao's motion, which would have seemed insane to her only months prior, as something she would do. After all, she wouldn't be going there as a prisoner or even as a combattant, but as Akito's friend; his partner. This wasn't about her personal beliefs of grievances, it was about catching those who killed one of her best friends and keeping what became her closest friend safe.
Staring at Takao for a moment following his statement and knowing just how strongly Kisa despised his homeland, Akito looked to Kisa briefly before turning back to Takao and shaking his head.
"It's alright, I'll just head back alone and-" He began to counter, though as he did so Kisa shook her head and stepped forward to place her hand on the boy's shoulder to stop him.
"N-No, it's okay." She stated as she focused in on Takao's eyes and then quickly shifted to Akito's desperately seeking, and finding, the courage inside of her to what she never believed would be possible.
"We will go to the Hidden Stone."
Hearing her reply, Akito's eyes widened a bit in surprise as Takao grinned. He knew full well that she still held quite the reservations about that place despite her feelings for Akito, although as he expected, the chance to remain by his side took precedence over those fears.
"For real?" He questioned, causing Kisa to look at him and nod with a nervous yet assuring smile before looking out the window at the mid-afternoon sun.
"We'll let Lady Tsunade and Shizune know about our plans in the morning and set out from there." She added, instantly bringing Takao's smile to grow ten fold.
"Alright, road trip! Guess I gotta pack!" He exclaimed as he often did whenever he got word that he would be traveling a far distance before disappearing to his bedroom to gather what he believed would be essential items for the trip, leaving the two remaining shinobi to stand in a short lived dead silence as Akito searched for what to say.
"Kisa… are you sure you want to come to Iwa? I know how you feel about that place, and the last thing I want to do is make you go somewhere where you will feel uncomfortable." He finally stated after a second or two with his mouth open, bringing her to look back into his eyes as a blush-heavy smile formed on her face.
"I will be alright, I promise." She said softly as she reached forward and gently took his hand in hers in an effort to show him that she was not only committed to her decision, but sure that it was what she wanted. This was the first time she had taken in his hand for no other reason than to hold since the night of their date, forcefully causing his heart to race.
"Besides… I know you won't let anything happen to us." The girl added, once again bringing Akito to blush as he looked down at their hands and smiled with a subtle nod. He would keep them safe, that was a fact, and it appeared they wouldn't let anything happen to him, ethier.
"I promise, but I have to warn you that I'm not very good at showing people around." He replied, an obvious throwback to his comments about his dating skills that same night, causing the girl to giggle at the reference. That was very far from the truth.
"I'm sure you'll manage." She added before slowly letting go of his hand and setting off to pack as well, all while giving Akito a warm smile that left him standing still for a moment as his eyes drifted out to the sun. Everything seemed to be returning to how it once was despite everything that had happened over the summer, and while that came as quite the surprise, he couldn't say that he would want it any other way.