Akaya slowly packed her letter into her bag and crept out of her bedroom's window. She just couldn't take waiting anymore. Stress had taken over her body, and she needed to fight especially since she now knew who she was up against.

She descended into the murky, wet scenery as quietly she could. All of the demons had sensitive hearing and splashing the puddles beneath her feet was not an option. Akaya backed away from the Mizukage's home and looked back one last time at the wooden spectacle. Shin truly was a miracle worker. As she slowly turned, Akaya bumped into someone. As she looked into the moonlight, she sighed, "How'd you know, Tajek?"

He grinned at her triumphantly. "Believe it or not Akaya, I do know you better than you give me credit for." Gently, he wiped raindrops off her forehead and kissed it. "I know you want to avenge Konoha. And so do I. But, you can't do it alone, and you don't need to either."

Somberly, Akaya shot a glance at Tajek. Something told him that Akaya was battling with her emotions, and for her, that never ended well. She forced herself to acknowledge them, "I know which Shinobi is heading Konoha now."

Gripping her shoulders and shaking them, Tajek exploded with happiness. Tactics would be so much easier now. "Who is it, Akaya?" After a short pause, Tajek kept going, "Do you realize how big of an advantage this gives us?"

Akaya refused to look at Tajek. She knew the advantages, but there were plenty of disadvantages. She kept her head down, looking at the puddles that surrounded them. The young Shinobi battled her emotions logically. By doing so, there was a silence the two of them had never experienced between them. One she wished didn't exist.

Tajek didn't dare look away from Akaya. Silence or not, she was not going to lock him completely. "What's wrong, Akaya? Who is it?"

His voice was so calming to her. It just rolled into her ears with ease, and she quickly looked up at him, not realizing that her eyes were filled with tears until his image blurred. "It's Himeka. She's in charge."

Realizing his mistake, Tajek quickly wrapped a quivering Akaya in his arms. He hugged her until she gained the ability to speak and watched her look up at him in a fit of rage. "I'm going to kill her, Tajek."

"Akaya, there are other people who can do that." He pulled her away, lightly gripping her shoulders. He internally smiled. Even when she was upset, Akaya was still breathtaking. "If it comes down to it, Shin would never let you."

With that, she nodded obviously unconvinced. Akaya was too upset to run anymore and almost too mentally exhausted to think. They walked back to her window and climbed back where it was warm and dry. He easily led them to her futon, and he made her lay down. As he turned to walk away, Akaya strongly grasped her wrist in an effort to make him stay. She needed him to stay with her. He crawled in behind her and moved her into her side, spooning her close to him. She never let go of his wrist, but he softly moved it to her hipbone. The smell of her entranced him like it always did, even at all the wrong times. Tajek lightly kissed her shoulder before he spoke. "You won't have to kill her."

Akaya flinched, "Whether I wanted to kill her or not, I have to. She has left me no other options. She's too dangerous to be kept alive, and if anyone knows what she's capable of, it's me. Or even better yet, Akira does. It'd be irresponsible and undiplomatic to have someone else try to take her out."

Tajek flipped Akaya onto her stomach and kissed her on the collarbone closest to him. "Then you'll tell me everything I need to know about her, and I'll kill her. You couldn't live with that choice." He took a few seconds to make Akaya have eye contact with him. Once their eyes locked, it was always hard to make them part. It was a beautiful thing really. A thing he counted he counted on to never fade or waver. "And I easily could. Not only did she destroy Konoha, she's hurting us."

He pulled the hair back behind her ears lovingly. "She hasn't been in your life recently , but she's still like a sister to you . You've always listened, learned, and grown from her."

Her green eyes filled to the brim with tears again. The overflow of emotions from the last few days was overwhelming. Frantically, she choked out her words. Akaya felt her airway start to narrow as fought back tears. "A mother that acts like a sister. How screwed up is that?"

Tajek chuckled. "Wow. I didn't think Shin was capable of loving someone like that."

A smirk rose on Akaya's face. Her emotions were settling as she listened for his quiet breaths in between words. She matched his breathing pattern in order to calm down. Being around him somehow always eased her mind. "Love works in mysterious ways. But, hell, Himeka hated Shin for loving her."

It fell silent as Akaya closed her eyes and dozed off. The feelings of appreciation and anticipation had subsided for the moment. "I love you, Akaya." She snuggled closer to his body warmth. She just seemed to fit there. "Guess you must love me too."

Shin strolled into Tajek's view, careful not to wake his daughter. "I had that situation handled, but it seems as if your methods would help her more in the long run. It was a great tactical move."

Tajek rolled his eyes. "Whatever. She's not leaving without me now. That was my tactic. She's not fighting alone. You can't let her walk out there to her death. She won't be able to have clear judgement. Himeka's too important to her."

The Mizukage leaned against the door-board. The bond Tajek had made with Akaya was strong. It was astounding even by human expectations. This bond was both a strength and weakness to not only Tajek but also Akaya. "What makes you so sure that your logic isn't being clouded? Humans use their emotions as fuel. On the other hand, demons use emotions as mere triggers,making us have more logical reactions to situations."

Shin took a moment to look down at his daughter. Asleep, she looked so much like Himeka it was almost like turning back the clock. Though, in a closer view,her slender fingers, higher cheekbones, and lean body structure were all marks of the demon blood she inherited. She had a rare mixture between worlds: she used her emotions as her logic because when her mind was clear of any doubt, her actions reflected her feelings, but unlike humans, her emotions were rarely wrong. "Himeka is ruthless and determined now more than ever. I'm not sure why. Though, I know she'd kill Akaya in a heartbeat, but we need Akaya with us. I honestly don't want to lose her, and I know you don't want her gone either."

Tajek pulled Akaya closer, unable to reply to Shin's chilling comment. After finally being reunited with Konoha's fierce chunnin, losing her would feel emptier than being separated from the rest of the world. In a way, it would be. He just nodded.

Shin smiled slyly. "And even if you agree with the training and preparation plan, you really think she'll behave and stay put here anyways? She is just as determined as her mother is."

Tajek took the opportunity to smile. It was nice to smile since there wasn't much to smile about recently. "But not as ruthless, right?"

Shin shrugged. "Let's hope not."

Tajek's jarring eyes made Shin stop. Even without the jutsu activated, Shin had felt those eyes screeching at him to hold on and listen. Shin guessed that the Montairs would be stronger than ever. "If it came down to it, could you kill Himeka, Shin?"

In Tajek's mind, he tried to remove the question from his thoughts, but deep down, he needed Shin to tell him the truth. Tajek could never kill Akaya no matter what she had done to deserve it. Like Shin had reiterated, humans based everything on their emotions. He would try to save her from herself even if that wasn't an option.

Shin shook his head slowly, "As much as I love Himeka, I know she is not the same person I used to love. Never will be now."

Akaya had changed so much since they had first met. Her fiery nature was more intense than ever, and she somehow became the leader now instead of him. "Just because someone changes, that doesn't mean it's gonna be easy for you to turn your feelings off if you have to kill her."

For some reason, Shin Ryu wasn't sure the best way to one hand, Tajek was correct, but in many ways, I was wrong too. "I didn't say it would be. But this boils down to more than just emotions, and if killing her is the logical thing to do, I have no choice." As he entered into the hallway, he spoke one last time to his young friend. "Anyways, blood is stronger than love. I may not have been there for her in the past, but I won't forget Akaya now."

After a minute of laying with her in complete silence, Tajek thunked Akaya on her forehead playfully. "If you plan to act like you're asleep, you might not want to move so much."

Akaya rubbed the red spot on her forehead and cuddled closer to him. "Or maybe I wasn't planning on sleeping at all."

Meddling quickly with his pajama bottoms, she effectively undid his tied waistband. Tajek blushed at her blunt actions and pulled back. Akaya leaned her head back, gently pulled him toward her by his shirt, and kissed the top of his neck right under his chin. She smiled teasingly as she rolled onto her back. "Next time, you should be nicer and I might make it easier to fall asleep."

Tajek rolled his eyes as he intentionally breathed hot air down her neck. He got close to her ear and whispered, "I'll sleep just fine if you stop squirming."

As they both ended the night in a comfortable silence, Tajek grinned. She had changed, but Akaya was still his. With her next to him, taking back Konoha didn't seem as impossible.