"It hurt so much." Asahina sighed, rethinking the events that happened nearly three weeks ago in the hospital. She clenched and unclenched her hands repeatedly in her anxiousness, "Just thinking about it makes me want to scream."

Kai rolled his eyes. This was the fourth time she had said it and he was sure she would say it four more times before his time here was up. He was just here to report Toshizo's expected return from Sunagakure but his teacher had him stay in Kakashi's apartment much longer than he intended to stay.

Kakashi himself came wandering in through the front door with a sigh, "You've been here a lot lately."

"Oh, stuff it." The blonde huffed, "I'm not here because I want to be. I came to tell you guys Toshizo's coming back soon and she started saying all this other stuff so I got stuck here."

Asahina smiled at her lover, gesturing to the closed door to his bedroom, "Kazuhiko's asleep. Stay out here a while."

Hatake Kazuhiko was the name of their newborn son. Born to two genius shinobi and named after a hero of the past, Asahina's father, the world expected much from a child who couldn't even crawl yet. It was a burden for the kid to hold in the future but for now, he was napping away without a care in the world.

"I guess I have no choice." Kakashi grumbled, pulling out a chair at their dining table, "Still no word from Kori?"

"Nah."

Asahina's eyes shifted back and forth between the two men in front of her. Something had changed in their behavior towards one another. Personality wise, they were opposites so Kakashi naturally avoided Kai and Kai respected Kakashi at a distance.

"I've got one more sparring session with Touga before Toshi comes home so I'll see you guys around." Kai said, taking his leave.

Asahina waited until he was long gone before saying, "Is it just me or has Kai calmed down a lot?"

Kakashi feigned ignorance and disinterest but she knew he saw the difference as well. He had probably played a part in the young man's change in behavior.

"Hmm." She smiled knowingly and let the subject drop, "Are you still sure you want to ask Kori? I think Kai would be overjoyed if you asked him."

"... It's not right. I have to ask her first. For more than one reason."

Asahina sighed and let the subject drop. She had left the choice up to him so she would continue to wait for the outcome.

O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O

To Hyuga Kori,

I know I am not the best with my words but I'd like to think I have improved since meeting you. There is something I would like to express and I fear that I might not do it very well but somewhere in my heart I know I have to try.

Naruto is my savior. Ignoring my foreign loyalties and my murderous intent directed at him and his precious comrades, he saw me for who I was; a weak and cowardly jinchuuriki who wanted nothing more than to find my place in the world. He was the first person to express something other than anger or fear towards me.

But you were not far behind. You were the first person in my life to express something to me that stuck in my heart: We're both shinobi. We've both had our share of hardships and bad days but in the end we're both people.

It was the first time someone called me a person. If Naruto empathized with me as a jinchuuriki, you empathized with me as a human being. You were the first to give me a tangible gift and you were the first to allow me to be so close to you even after experiencing my anger first hand.

You were hurt by a monster like me but you didn't see it that way. You looked at me and saw me for me. You didn't see the monster that ran rampant in your village, you didn't see the beast that nearly took off your arm, you didn't see the savage craving for blood-your blood. You saw me.

Thank you.

But since I took my place as the Kazekage, you have put distance between us. The letters and replies that came so very quickly and with so much content became short letters that arrived in my village much more slowly. Perhaps, I would like to believe, it has more to do with your own promotion and your own workload than my position as a kage but knowing you as well as I do, that is not the case.

If you haven't replied because you are busy, I am sorry for disturbing you but if you haven't replied because you still feel intimidated by my position… Reply to me. I promise you are not wasting my time.

If I'm completely wrong and you are by chance angry or upset with something I have said or done previously, I meant no harm. At least allow me to apologize and tell you how much I value you.

If you've grown tired of our exchanges or if you've realized something about me that the others around you have realized long ago, can I change your mind?

I mean, the fact that I am not like you. The fact that I was not as human as you've so kindly claimed me to be. But I also think it's important for me to tell you that I am no longer a jinchuuriki and I no longer possess the monstrous strength I used to hurt you before. If you would just give me another chance, I would never allow myself to harm you again.

I'm so sorry.

Sincerely,

Gaara

What was this? All this. Yui clenched her teeth angrily, grinding them together as she glared down at the page. What right did that monster have to express himself in such a way? Bad with words? He was only good with words! He had hurt her before?! He had tried to kill her!

Now, she was much more certain. Her actions were just. Even if he was not a jinchuuriki, any shinobi who tried to kill his comrades was not deserving of a second chance. Kori was naive. This was the right thing to do for the sake of the young Hyuga and Konoha. One monster was more than enough.

Gaara deserved no chance to apologize or to weasel his way into Kori's life. She had better friends than this and she didn't need anything the Kazekage had to offer. Yui would make sure of it.

O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O

Aya yawned loudly and rudely. Ibiki's explanation was making her sleepy and she would have none of it.

The expert in interrogation clearly saw the expression of boredom, "Were you listening to a thing I just said?"

"No." She said bluntly, "You were being boring. I kind of knew all that already."

"You knew no such thing." He snorted at the way she feigned awareness, "If you had known, you would be using your kekkei genkai much more effectively. Now listen this time."

"Aww, Ibiki! I don't careeee! I'm using it just fine!" She complained.

He grasped her ear and didn't let go until she promised to listen, "Good. Now, your power seems to give rise to the mist first as if it's giving shape to your voice. The mirrors are pretty much a distraction because anyone who falls into your voice and believes what you're saying will see exactly what you've instructed the mist to show them. You claim you can't control what your enemy is seeing but I think your voice is the key to inflicting the right amount of damage. You've got to express with your tone and with your words what's going to happen. The better you do it, the better you'll be able to control your jutsu."

"Ehh…" She grumbled, "So what does that mean?"

"It means you'll have to expand your vocabulary." He snorted at the look of surprise on her face, "The more specific you can be in your 'story telling,' the better your technique will work. So get to the library and grab a dictionary."

"Di-Dictionary?! Why would I want one of those?!"

"Because I said so and if you want to keep working with real people, you need to."

"I hate youuuu!" She cried out, grasping the nearest object and tossing it at his head.

"Yeah… Expand your vocabulary, Aya." He chuckled at her usual tantrum, "What's another word for hate?"

"I don't care!"

O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O

Touga let out a pained grunt as Kai's foot made contact with his chest. He took a step back, putting his blade up between him and his oncoming opponent. The clang of their swords made him clench his jaw and brace his entire body.

In the short three weeks since their first lesson, Kai proved himself a quick study. Looking back, Kai had been laughably bad with a blade. Touga almost thought it was hopeless but Kai was quick to pick up on the small details and he was quite frankly a true genius. Some people work hard to obtain skills but not Kai. Kai put in very little work and saw massive results.

There were people in the Root who died before they obtained the level of mastery over the blade that Kai was displaying. It irked Touga the smallest bit. When he told the blonde he was self-taught from the image he had of his brother in the past, he said it with the expectation that Kai would struggle as he had. Somehow, Kai took that information and decided he would learn by observation.

The first day, he had lost so badly that Touga thought he would just give up. He was sorely mistaken. All the losses, all the instances where Touga had displayed mastery were burned into the blond's memory. Now, when he looked at Kai, it was clear that he replicated Touga's technique with ease right down to that infuriating habit of drumming his fingers against the hilt of the blade before gripping it more firmly.

Even more than the image of himself, Touga was furious at the instances where Kai's bladework demonstrated a similar style to Asahina's. The blond had fought behind Asahina more times than he could count and therefore, her image was likely stashed in his mind until today.

Touga found himself holding his breath as the tip of Kai's blade whistled by his throat just a mere centimeter away from drawing blood. The focus on the blonde's face was too intense for someone who was simply sparring.

In their three weeks together, Touga found his respect for Kai growing more and more. The young man never complained that he was tired, never used his lessons with Kakashi immediately before his swordplay lessons as an excuse for his losses, and he never complained that the lesson was too hard. Touga felt that despite his young age, Kai was quite manly.

He felt a sudden sense of fear as Kai's blade knocked his aside almost too expertly and the tip of the blade came down, pointed at his eye. He held his position for one second and no more.

Kai pulled back, grinning as he sheathed the blade over his back, "Finally. I finally fucking beat you."

The ghost of a smile pulled at Touga's lips as the young man offered him a handshake. He grasped the offered hand and admitted, "Yes. It was quite masterful. Congratulations."

"Heh." Kai's smug expression and puffed out chest were an exaggeration of his feelings to hide his true worries. He was anxious. His teammates had gone off to train and he remained at home. What if his team came back with some bizarre strength that made him look like trash?

"Does this mean this is our last time sparring?" Touga felt an emptiness in his chest when he said the words and he couldn't explain why, "I have nothing left to teach you."

Kai let out the air in his chest and shrugged, "It doesn't have to be. Sure, the lessons are over but that doesn't mean we can't spar anymore. Did you know Toshi's coming back tonight? We'll be a full team again so we should train together."

There was a certain joy to the thought of being able to spar with Kai again. Touga found himself nodding eagerly. He found himself staring after Kai as the young man hurried away saying he was in need of a shower.

Long after his companion was gone, Touga found himself feeling excited about meeting him again. He had to stop on his way home and remind himself that emotions were unnecessary. Being excited was childish and his mission would always come first.

O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O

Toshizo was so relieved to pass through the familiar gates of his village. He greeted Kotetsu and Izumo at the gate as he entered his home town. To his mild surprise, he found Kai waiting with them, "Kai-san!"

"Welcome back." Kai grinned, reaching for the hand Toshizo had extended in greeting. He clapped his hand against the chunin's open palm, "Kori hasn't come home yet so you're the first."

"I heard! She's gone to Snowy Peak, right? What have you been doing?"

"That's what I came to talk to you about." He grasped the bigger male by the arm and tugged him into the village, "We have to train together. You and me specifically. I made Kakashi teach me Raikiri."

"What?!" Toshizo stumbled to keep up with the eager steps of his companion, "How?"

"How? I badgered him until he gave in!" Kai huffed, releasing his companion only after he made sure he would follow, "But he made me swear never to use it in combat until he gave me the okay. I need you to help me get the okay."

"Uhhh… Alright… But I just got back. Is there some reason we can't wait until tomorrow?"

"I'm in a hurry, fucker!"

"Language!"

They paused for a moment to laugh at the nostalgic interaction.

"Okay so how do I help you get the okay?" Toshizo relented as Kai had expected, "You use Kakashi-sensei's technique and I cover you?"

"I need more than just a cover. I need to be able to dodge retaliation in an inhuman way." He said, "So if you just hook me up and control me like a puppet, wouldn't you be able to pull me out if I was in trouble?"

"Nooo!" Toshi was immediately denying the possibility, "How in the world do you expect me to do something like that? I would have to give you full freedom to do whatever you want and then I'd have to pull you out if I thought you were in trouble. What if you aren't in trouble? What if I don't think you're in trouble but you are? What if I pull you too late?!"

"That's why we're practicing! Get your ass over here!"

"No!" Toshi began to run in the opposite direction but there was no outrunning Kai.

They must've looked absolutely pathetic wrestling their way towards the nearest training field. With Kai pulling and Toshizo trying to slip away, it must've looked like an odd game of cat and mouse but eventually, Kai got his way and Toshizo spent the rest of the night complaining about how exhausted he felt.