When Tajek's uncle headed closer to them, Akaya glanced at her love out of habit. He gently kicked her shin under the table and squinted his eyes. Akaya tilted her head in momentary confusion, but as the Hokage stepped up toward the other end of the long table, she realized what Tajek had been suggesting. She discreetly activated her new technique, which only made the gold specks in her eyes grow slightly larger. With only that small physical difference, it would go unnoticed to the group around her.

"Now I believe you all are wondering what really happened in Konoha." As he spoke, the distinguished Montair smirk emerged across the Hokage's face. "Obviously it was attacked, but by who? Does anyone a guess?"

Shin wished that Hokage Danter was the one here instead of his brother. Although sarcasm was appreciated in most situations by the demon, but now was not the time to joke around and play guessing games. He was going to fuel this man's antics. He knew Sesoni was probably on his side as well. Demons hated annoying antics.

As Shin observed the younger generation at the table, he noticed Akaya's intense stare, causing him to analyze her closely. He saw the speckles in her eyes pulse only slightly , and at that, Shin subtly patted his pupil on the shoulder. Suddenly, his stomach was sent into a knot, and he hoped her eyes were not cast on him. Shin knew that her eyes would see through fake emotions, and she could easily see his uneasiness. Still, he relaxed when he realized Akaya was too preoccupied to look in his direction.

The youngest member spoke for the first time since entering the chambers. "An enemy of Konoha, which narrows the list down to one nation: the sound village."

"You would think that initially, but it wasn't." He paused, but he continued with a sudden boost in confidence. "The ones who attacked my village were from the mist and thunder villages."

Akaya wadded her fingers into fists as she saw the apprehension in the liar's emotional aura. He was scared, nervous, and uneasy; it was marked by his unseen emotions. However, against what her mind was telling her, Akaya kept quiet. She quickly looked over at Tajek, who showed signs of disbelief, while Shin and Sesoni released anger in their auras. Akaya knew why, of course, because Shin was the Mizukage and Sesoni was recently inducted as the Raikage. They had great pride in their lands, and even more so, their ties to other villages. That only came naturally to all of the Kages, and the Hokage was obviously testing their patience.

Sesoni sat there in an almost blinding inner rage. The mere notion of betrayal was benign, and he was heavily reluctant to believe his nation plotted against a faithful ally without Sesoni knowing. Demons were highly observant and knowledgeable. Hokage Lodant's notion was illogical. Through gritted teeth, Sesoni spoke, knowing that he keep his emotions in check. Unnecessary outbursts would not help in the time being. "Are you sure that they were from allying nations of Konoha? Not banished ones."

The Mizukage sat casually at the opposite end of the table from the current Hokage. He didn't react much to the ally's words because he would shortly know the truth one way or the other, and based on Akaya's clenched fists under the table, things were about to blow up in the Hokage's reluctant to look at Tajek, Shin glanced over at him. Shin slightly pitied him. The teenager was going to have to choose a side: family or love. And that decision was not an easy one to choose.

Tajek sat at the meeting, wishing his family reunion had been a little more relaxing than this. But nothing was ever relaxing to him, and so many questions blurred his focus. His uncle was still alive, and this fact both relieved and bewildered Tajek. As far as military tactics went, any attack on a nation's village and well-being tries to take out its leader, the Kage. It would create unorganized chaos and confusion, making for an easier takeover. And seeing that the Hokage stood at this very moment miles away from the attack,Tajek's suspicions rose. This whole situation made no sense. He briefly but admiringly looked at Akaya. There was something almost noble about her and her intentions, whereas his uncle always had some underlying and hidden reason for his actions.

As Tajek had grown up, he realized just how great of a Hokage his father was and how jealousy had split up his small family. Now, his uncle got the Hokage position like he wanted, but at what price? There was something off, and unfortunately, Tajek had to rely on someone's senses to know the truth;however, if there was anyone he had to trust, he was grateful that it was Akaya.

The cocky Hokage spoke much too casually for the circumstances at hand. "I am positive of who I saw."

Even without her activated eyes, Akaya would have known that her Hokage was lying. His cockiness was at an all-time high instead of the expected reserved and somber attitude that resulted from losing a village in an unforeseen attack. He was holding back vital information from their plans for war, and there had to be a reason or objective for doing so; unfortunately, Akaya's eyes only read reactions and not minds. The enraged ninja had to keep her building anger from exploding. She had to focus on probing for details. With that in her mind, Akaya calmly questioned her so-called leader. "Rouge nin generally hail from all nations and live under everyday names to gather information for an attack on the village they plan to obtain. Are you sure that wasn't the case her, Hokage?"

His selfish facial expression faded and his aura sharply turned from apprehensive to fearful and terrified. And that was all Akaya needed to know a part of the truth. The part of it that mattered, at least.

The Hokage sighed calmly. "Cute theory, but no outsiders entered without extensive background checks since the "incidents". We were virtually on a lockdown. Rouge nin were not in my village."

Tajek stood up and looked at his ignorant uncle. "Rouge ninja plot for years, maybe even decades. They enter in peace driven times, much like under my father's reign. Once, I encountered some under the sewers. Looking back, I should have reported it because there were probably more." He slammed his fists on the table. His anger was overcoming his logic now and for once, he let it. "And you were too stupid to realize that."

Unexpectedly, the room became deafeningly quiet for a long moment before Shin spoke. "Unfortunately, the five of us were not there. We have to believe the Hokage's judgement. And so, how do we solve the takeover problem?"

Before the Hokage had a chance to voice his lies again, Akaya stood up and smirked while gripping the edge of the table tightly. "In order to know how to solve a problem, we must first know the root of the problem. That was one of the first lessons instilled in us at the academy. And I confirm that you, Hokage Lodant, are misleading us. Lies are not appreciated in times of war."

Akaya eyed the Hokage, revealing how large the specks in her eyes had grown. They almost covered her eyes now, showing little dots of green. Akaya focused as she closed her eyes. As they reopened, the specks returned to normal size.

The Hokage politely sat down. He knew she was bright, but he knew now he should have read her file. That was unique and impressive technique. "What are you expecting here, Akaya? Although you are a smart girl, you weren't there. No one in this room will believe your gut feelings over an actual witness."

Sesoni just leaned back gently in his chair as he noticed an unusually timid Aicirret stand up beside Akaya. "I will."

Tajek followed suit as he walked around the table and grabbed ahold of Akaya's hand. He stood boldly against his uncle, which surprised everyone in the room; because although Akaya held a strong connection to the young Montair, the stronger bond usually was tied to the family. "Honestly Hokage," His words were like fire: hot and burning. "Trust and loyalty are earned, not given. Akaya is intelligent, more than you give her credit for, that's for sure. Her technique senses people's emotional auras. Now although it is not guaranteed to see if you lied, it gets pretty damn close to the truth."

His formality shocked Shin. Tajek not using emotions but logic, and as he stood tall and unyielding, the resemblance to his father was undeniable. Hokage Danter passed noble genes to his son, and Shin hoped Tajek learned how to use them in this war. His skill set would be greatly needed. "Uncle, Akaya is the most loyal person in all of Konoha, and her insight has never misled me, both as a teammate and as her boyfriend. And as it stands, your story doesn't add up. I believe her one-hundred percent."

As stunned as the Hokage was, he reacted smoothly. His brother wasn't joking when he said his son fell hard for Akaya. Looking at them stand tall side-by-side, it wasn't difficult to see the unbending bond between them. Still, blood should be stronger than love. "Well, the children have spoken, but what do the adults in the room think?"

Akaya burst out of turn in pure anger. She had officially reached her limit of patience with the man. "Children? Is that the best thing you can refer to us as? No matter what age we are, we gave our childish ways up when we risked our lives for our village. We are no kids. We are loyal Shinobi that stood to defend your selfishness without question." She released her grip on the table, which was starting to hurt her and latched onto Tajek's arm only briefly. She let go of him, and Akaya began to storm out of the room.

Akaya glanced back before taking the stairs up. "Battle plans for war have to be impeccably elaborate and based solely on valid information. The kind you are refusing to give us." She smirked menacingly, "So go to hell."

Her abrupt departure caused the room to fall silent once again. The Hokage slowly leaned back in his chair. Tajek looked down on his uncle and watched the smug expressions turn to empty ones. That reaction confirmed the lies, and Tajek turned to head after his love. "I hope your lies were worth it, uncle."

Sesoni stood up and motioned for Aicirret to go out of the room, which is begrudgingly did. As much as she would like to watch, Aicirret knew this wasn't her battle. Sesoni touched her back lightly as she turned to leave. Sesoni sighed, "Honestly, I was going to say I believed her, but I guess she didn't need us 'adults' to affirm her judgements."

He stood up and patted the Hokage on the shoulder as he passed him by. "And on your part, that was a completely stupid move."

The two befriended demons in the room exchanged glances, knowing the same realization hit them; Shin had seen Sesoni's look many times before. There was something comforting about having an observant friend to keep unspoken secrets with; and yet, at the same time, it terrified him. It was one more thing he would eventually lose.

Sesoni continued up the stairs. It was amazing how Akaya pulled off the scene perfectly. As always, she was feisty and headstrong but always right in her reasons and deductions. Now, as he took steps away from the two remaining leaders, he glimpsed at the twinkle in Shin's eyes and the twisted smirk appeared at the corner of his lips. That was all the confirmation Sesoni needed to leave the setting, satisfied with the outcome that was to come.

Naturally, a smirk emerged on Shin's face. It was an action and expression that warned everyone in his path to get out of his way. And, now his target was Hokage Lodant. "You know how this'll end if we engage in combat, and as much as I would love to kill someone again, I need straight answers."

Hokage Lodant sighed. "So you believe the girl too, then?" He cracked his knuckles in nervousness. "I figured you would."

Shin narrowed his eyes and tapped his elongated nails against his table. "And what exactly do you mean by that?" He stood slowly in preparation, stopping the rhythm his nails had been creating. "Be careful with your words. You are referring to my pupil after all."

The Hokage grinned with his discovery. Like he was accustomed to, he had some leverage. "That's interesting. Wasn't Hiromi Himeka also one of your pupils?"

Shin's smirk became a snarl, and his glistening eyes turned quickly into a glare. "She was, but Himeka has nothing to do with the task at hand." Shin simply relaxed his now tense posture. He had to regain the upper-hand. It was time to put his lessons into actions. "Who really attacked Konoha?"

There was no answer as another question emerged. "You have to be a little curious, don't you? I mean, Hiromi died almost mysteriously, and now, Akaya possesses her shadow demon. In actuality, I thought for sure Akira would come back to you for help."

Reality set in for Shin as he realized that as much as he disliked the truth, his relationship had turned out much like Sesoni's. His love was gone, and there was no way of bringing her back. "The rules of demons are not so black and white. We can not gain possession over each other; no matter how much stronger I am than Akira, I refuse to be her owner."

"So you let your half-blood daughter take it." Hokage Lodant read Himeka's file several times before offering her the ANBU position. Although he had made several assumptions about her relationship with Shin, he could now confirm them. "Or are you too ashamed to claim the poor thing as more than just another one of your severely messed-up mistakes of a pupil?"

As Shin sighed, he realized how pitiful this argument was. He could never make this joke of a leader quite understand the situation. His past was complicated and explaining every detail to allow it to make sense would literally take decades. "You are getting off topic Lodant. How many rouge native Shinobi are we dealing with here?"

Hokage Lodant laughed belittlingly. It made Shin curl his fingers into fists under the table. He was no one to belittle. And at that thought, he secretly calmed down. He was angry but logical and he made Akaya the same way.

"Surely, the great and almighty. Shin Ryu knows this is the end of Konoha. The rouge nin of every nation now call it home. That makes it a lethal territory. Even, you and Sesoni would be stupid to try and beat them."

The legendary Shin Ryu just stood up and pushed in his chair in as he started making his way to the exit. "Two demons wouldn't be enough. That we agree on, but you seemingly forget your own nephew's intelligence, and Akaya's raw power. With two strong duos, we won't lose."

With that, Shin made his way slowly up the stairs in the silence. He heard air part for hand signs, and he braced for the head-on hit he was about to willingly take. He closed his eyes as he felt Akira pass under him and take a hold of the ignorant opponent. Shin felt Tajek pass him, and then suddenly, he heard groans and moans from a dying man. For once in a long time, love truly had come before blood.