Ojos Asi [[private -- nyrax]]

Karin thought it over. It was strange that she offered it to him without even asking about it. However, she sighed. "Tsunade is a smart woman, she wouldn't be the first female Hokage if she wasn't. Perhaps she knows that it has value to you, due to the fact you have Zabuza's former weapon and he was killed by Konoha shinobi? The Seven are well known in all of the shinobi villages, perhaps she was giving it to you to prevent another from being able to wield it? Youki had Kiri shinobi attack the village, so this might be her way to keep such a weapon in the hands of a shinobi she trusts." After hearing his question, she let out a sigh. "I'm not sure... Do you want to leave the non shinobi district?" It seemed risky for them to go into the shinobi district, but at the same time, the two of them were shinobi.

Akiko nodded, happily. "Yes!" She stated gleefully. "I knew that you'd be able to do it Kiba-kun! If anyone can beat Youki it will defiantly be the three of you." She smiled at him and then looked up at Jin, who was still standing beside her. "We're partners now." She informed Kiba honestly.

Jin nodded in acknowledgement to what Kiba had thanked him for. "Akiko and I work well together, due to her age and Youki's focus on her, they have opted to give her missions which require a partner. For that they have chosen me." He stated, smiling at Akiko. "So, it appears that we will be seeing a lot of one another in the future. Akiko?" He bent down to be eye level with her. "Remember what I've told you, alright?"

The brunette nodded happily. "Of course!" Then she hugged Kiba again. "I think you would like ANBU."

"Suppose that you got a point, Tsunade and the Mizukage are much the same. They're both the first female leaders in their respective villages. They didn't get their position based on their looks", Suigetsu commented as he thought about the situation. "Well, all the same I don't really care about her motivation. It's let us be benefitted for it and that's enough for me. I get my weapon, and we'll be able to go on missions and make more money. As far as I'm concerned, we just need to keep going unless things start getting suspicious", Suigetsu said with a laugh. He knew that he wasn't taking it as seriously as he should have, but there wasn't much they could do about it until Tsunade revealed her hand. "Doesn't matter much to me, I doubt anyone would pick a fight with us after what we did last night", he added with another solid laugh.

Kiba smiled at Akiko's enthusiasm about the whole thing. It was good to see her smile again, after everything he was just glad to have her back. "Well let's hope that's true......Sasuke did well last night", Kiba admitted despite how hard it was to do. At the mention of them being partners Kiba gave a happy nod. "Well, if it was to be anyone I couldn't think of someone I'd rather it be", the Inuzuka said with a smile.

At Akiko's last comment Kiba laughed. "Yeah maybe, but something tells me that ANBU wouldn't be that too thrilled with me"

Karin couldn't imagine what it was like for a woman to be the head of a village, having all things considered. After all, though they ere equal to men, it was rare for villages to allow women to be in charge, just because they were in fact women. But Tsunade was powerful, Karni had to admit. She had seen her fight personally that morning, and it was a sight to behold. "Shizune offered to train me in medical jutsu, so that I would be able to heal properly, without having to allow others to bite me." Considering what happened the last time, it was most likely best if she learned properly. "I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not, but I might as well learn something while we're here, right?" Suigetsu was right however, after what happened last night, who would think to pick a fight with them, when taking into account Suigetsu's inability to die.

Akiko looked surprised that Kiba admitted someone else helped him. He had before, but he simple passed over it. Although Akiko as well aware of how powerful Kiba was, she was also aware of some of his faults, which unfortunately included how selfish he could be. It made he happy, in a strange way, because he was proud of what he could do; and she wouldn't have him any other way. "I love you." She stated, smiling up at him. "I'm glad that you and Sasuke are getting along. Are you getting along with Suigetsu too?" He had been at the meeting, and she had already heard what he'd done.

Jin was quite appreciative of Kiba's willingness to accept this. "Wow." he stated honestly. "I'm surprised you're not angry about this, considering I'm a man." He meant it in a joking way, having heard that Kiba was quite protective and jealous. He had seen his protectiveness, which was understandable, but not any form of jealousy.

Suigetsu let out a soft whistle before glancing over at Karin as she spoke. "Proper Medical Jutsu huh? Never had much use for it myself till recently", he said with a tiny laugh as he remembered how Karin had been able to help him upon being stabbed with the proper blade. Despite his shark teeth, she had still allowed him to bite her in order to heal. It was a risk for her, considering that Suigetsu's teeth were sharper than Kunai. Thankfully it had all worked out. "I say go for it, no harm in learning another skill that'll help ya survive", he admitted with a shrug. "I'll support whatever decision ya make though"

"And I love you too", Kiba said before giving a soft kiss to her forehead. She smelled so nice today, and she looked very official in the ANBU uniform. He knew that it was something that she wanted, so he was glad that it had worked out as well as it had. At the mention of Suigetsu Kiba gave a tiny shrug. "On a personal level we haven't really talked. However, apparently he was quite the hero last night. He went out and saved a bunch of people that were under attack by Kiri shinobi. Killed them too..............gotta respect him for that"

Kiba slowly turned towards Jin with a smile on his face. "From what little I've seen of you, you seem to be a nice guy. No problem will exist between us unless you're going to make one, and believe me you don't want to do that", Kiba said in a slightly joking tone. "If you help keep Akiko safe, you'll always have my thanks"

Karin smiled to herself. "Yeah, too bad I'll never need to heal you again." She teased as they walked. Suigetsu's body didn't injure easily after all. "Who knows, I might actually be able to do something more useful, or, considering all the time I spend around you, be able to heal myself in case the worst happens." Due to the fact Suigetsu could not be injured, it seemed that targeting Karin was the most effective means of stopping him, especially considering his power and her lacking physical standing. In either case though, it seemed like a good idea, and there wasn't that much she had to lose. All she wanted to learn was how to heal others and herself, it wasn't as though she wanted to learn everything they knew. She knew a decent amount now, she just hadn't perfected healing.

Akiko was pleased that Kiba was at least being nice to Suigetsu, even though they hadn't really spoken. "I told you he wasn't a bad guy. See what happens when you listen to me?" she teased, looking up into his dark eyes and smiling. "I think we should respect him, he was really nice to me the entire time I helped him." Then again, Akiko had an effect on people that allowed her to see them and for them to trust her. It was strange, to say the least, considering her age.

Jin nodded. "She's not really my type." He added cacually, chuckling. "She's to short, no offense." Then he looked out the window. "But I'll keep that in mind. I gotta go though." He stated waving. "Bye Akiko."

"Bye!" She stated with a smile before the brown haired male vanished.

Suigetsu raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Too bad? Speak for yourself, I never want to feel that way again", he said with a chuckle. He was laughing at it now, but he never wanted to feel that way again. He hated feeling weak, and having that blade pierce his chest was the most sinking feeling he had ever felt. He would give anything to collect that sword under his control so that he'd never have to worry again. with that sword gone, he'd be invincible. Still, he dragged his thoughts back to Karin and smiled towards her. "Well if you learn a few tricks than certainly nothing bad'll happen. Shizune might be doing it to spy on ya, but we have nothing to hide"

Kiba gave a shrug. "After all he did it's hard for me to trust him, but I can't ignore what he did last night either.........I'll do my best to trust him Akiko", he said with a smile. He knew that when they got here she was the only ones who really gave them any sort of chance. In reality, they were away from home and prisoners in the village. They had a right to be a bit sour about their situation.

As Jin left Kiba glanced towards Akiko. "Wanna go home?"

Karin shrugged. "I had already considered she would be watching us, but it would be much easier for me to clear myself to the Hokage's assistant then it would be for me to convince another shinobi that is simply following us." She stated, having already considered it a possibility. "We would likely be cleared faster under Shizune, and I'll just have to make sure not to mention some of my other skills that I rarely use." She sighed, tiredly, having not slept since the battle that morning. "I'm impressed that you managed to get so much of the village to trust you though, I guess that means we're set for moral support."

The mention of him trusting Suigetsu made her happy, so she decided to let it go for now and just take his word that he could do it. What reason did he have to lie, after all? So, she was pleased that they were on the same page about something, or, as close to it as they most likely would ever be. Holding his uninjured hand, she leaned up to kiss his cheek, smiling him at him. "I missed you the entire time I was away."

Akiko nodded honestly. "mhm! Let's go home." She declared happily. "You seem to be in a really good mood, Kiba-kun, what else happened?"

"I suppose that you have a point, it has seemed to help Sasuke after all", Suigetsu pointed out. Sasuke's actions in combination with Shino's words seemed to earn a great deal of help for him. They would just have to see what happened. "Do what you feel is best, we'll handle whatever gets thrown at us", he said with a smile. At the mention of the moral support Suigetsu just smiled. "There were a lot of people that were in hiding, and I took out a bunch of Kiri shinobi that were acting quite ruthless. If I had to guess, the story has even been exaggerated by some people to make it even more impressive", he added with his fanged grin. "Still, I'm not gonna fight it if they want to call me a hero"

As Akiko's lips made contact with his cheek Kiba just smiled and looked down into her pretty eyes. "And I missed you too Akiko, more than words will ever let you know", he said before giving her a single kiss on the lips. He began to take her out of the Hokage tower before glancing towards her as she wondered why he was in such a good mood. "Tsunade seems to be taking me more seriously. She put two S ranked missions in my file, kicked Kano out of the Estate, and gave me $2,000 dollars for what I did last night", he said with a smile. "Also, I'm just realized how much I've learned this past year. I'm a lot stronger than I remember"

Karin sighed softly, of course Suigetsu killed Kiri shinobi, he was one and he was unable to be effected by any type of weapon. Still, she liked the fact that he was getting credit for something. If people trusted them, it means that it made them safe, at least in the public eye. "Well, if there were kids there, which I know there was." During his battle, she had been watching his chakra to make sure that he was okay. "Then I'm sure it was exaggerated." She added with a small laugh. "But, hey, that just goes to show your level of skill. There were five shinobi that were against you and you took them down single handedly."

Akiko smiled at Kiba happily. "I'm glad because you deserve recognition for all that you've done for Konoha, and that certainly improves the amount of missions you have. I don't remember my official missions ranks because it's been so long since I've gone on a mission. I guess that means I'm going to have to check into it." She stated with a laugh, walking beside her mate back home. "Wow..." She was impressed withe everything he had been given. "what're you going to do with the money?" She asked, tilting her head to the side as the two of them walked. "And I take it that also means you haven't made up with your dad and your mom hasn't either?"

Suigetsu let out a laugh as Karin mentioned the fact that the kids there were probably exaggerating the story. That was probably true. "Hey you never know, those kids influence their parents and their friends. I could be the new eye for the Hokage spot", he said jokingly as they kept moving. "And kids think guys with swords are cool, and my water jutsu isn't anything to laugh at..........maybe they'll make me an action figure", he added before laughing at the idea. He could just see it now.

"Well I was never really in a need for credit, I do it because it's what I want to do and this is something I personally need to do", he pointed out with a smile. "In regards to the money........I don't know. I have everything that I need right here", he said as he squeezed Akiko's hand softly. "Maybe I'll buy myself something, or something for both of us", he said as he thought about it. "Any ideas would be nice..........and no we haven't made up with him. I don't think that we ever will Akiko. He doesn't think he did anything wrong"

He did have a point, kids often suggested things to their parents which influenced them a great deal. So, it was possible that even some older non shinobi or child shinobi had suggested that it was a fantastic feat because it was power that they had yet to see. "Yeah, swords are awesome Suigetsu, I'm sure that you're the persona; hero of every child in the village that saw you battle. Who knows, maybe they'll want you to start giving lessons during weapons classes at Konoha's ninja academy."

Akiko wasn't sure what to do with the money either. there were a lot of things he could buy himself, but also things he could buy for the two of them. "I don't know. I can't really think of anything I want, honestly. I have you, that means I don't need anything else." She giggled as they moved toward their house. "I wish Aaliyah could come home though." That was what she really wanted, and knew that was what Shino wanted as well, then she could have her friend and someone who was like her sister. That meant everything to her. "Do you want anything special?" She questioned. "You said that you wanted to do something with it for us, right? What do you want to do? H-Hey... remember you said that we're already married in your clan already?" She asked looking up at him. "Did you ever considered getting married by my clan standards? which... is I guess how everyone else gets married." She giggled.

"And Kano doesn't know what he's missing if he doesn't want to be with you."

Suigetsu glanced over as Karin said those words. He had just been joking, but he couldn't tell for the moment if she was or not. He had a feeling that she was, but he figured that he might as well clarify. "I take if that you're not being serious on that one", he remarked as he looked at her. It was definitely in her to mock him, but maybe she was being sincere this time. "Anyway, you wanna grab a bite to eat or something? I haven't had anything since the attack"

Kiba gained a tiny smile as he thought about the idea about Aaliyah coming home. "Yeah, I hope that she has forgiven me by now for how I treated her last time", Kiba remarked as he thought about all those things that he had said to her. He had felt bad, but wasn't able to apologize at the time due to Youki's presence. As Akiko brought up the idea of a normal marriage Kiba thought about it for a moment. "Well I have to admit that I never thought about it", he said as he thought about the possibility. They could definitely afford it. "Is that something you'd want?"

"My dad doesn't realize a lot of things. It's why he was dumb enough to leave in the first place", Kiba said as he glanced to Akiko. "But it's okay.........I'm not him"

Karin smiled at him as they walked. "Yeah, I was kidding. The last thing they need is Konoha children running around with the bloodlust of someone from Kiri, especially you, Suigetsu." Truth be told, it didn't bother her at all the way that Suigetsu wasn't afraid to kill. That was the reality of being a shinobi, and Konoha seemed afraid of that fact for some reason. Other villages trained their shinobi to kill and to live, but Konoha seemed focused on the good of being a shinobi, and it was totally backwards. There were fighters here that had never killed anyone, that had never taken someone elses life; and she didn't understand it. Although she was not a fighter, she had killed others to keep herself alive. "Yeah, something to eat would be awesome, especially considering the money we just got." There was a pause. "And you never answered my question... Do you think we should move into the shinobi district, or stay where we are?"

Akiko blushed suddenly, looking away from him. "I... I've thought about it." She whispered softly. "We don't have to, i-if you don't want to... I know your clan doesn't really do that. I umm... just always dreamed about what my wedding would be like." A smile graced her face and she looked back at him. "I'm happy with you, either way, Kiba-kun..."

He still seemed so angry about his father and it made him wonder why... "I know you're not him!" She stated happily. "But I just think it's sad he doesn't want to know such a perfect son."

"Hey hey hey now", Suigetsu said with a chuckle in his voice. "I'm all for their whole peace thing that they got going on, but I think having a few more shinobi like me around wouldn't be such a bad thing", the swordsman said with a grin as he continued his pace. Kiri was constantly trained that if you have an enemy, it's better to kill them quickly instead of giving them a second chance. It was brutal, efficient, and the only way of life that Suigetsu had ever known. The Seven Swordsman cherished that philosophy. "Well I'll let you pick the food than, I can't say that I have a huge preference", he admitted before pondering her question. "Hey, if we can get a bigger place than I say move in to the shinobi district", he said with a smile. It was that simple to him.

Kiba thought about it for a few moments. "I'll think on it, I'm not really sure how I feel about it", he said as he bit down on his lip. She really caught him off guard, he hadn't expected anything like that.

Kiba just gained a tiny smile. "Yeah, his loss", he said with a small laugh. Kiba didn't really wanna think about Kano right now though. "Let's head home and just relax the rest of the day. I didn't sleep much last night"

"Peace only takes you so far Suigetsu. With all the two of us have been through, surely you understand that." Then, she thought about it and sighed. "Well..." she added, unsure on how to proceed. "I suppose Konoha's lack of violence stems from the countless wars they've been in for the last hundred or so years." She added, looking up at the sky as they walked. Her hand tightened around his for a moment, and she wondered if it would be worth it to go into the shinobi district. Honestly, she wanted to, but was still unsure about how well it would work out. She would prefer to be with other shinobi however, and it would make things easier. She had a feeling that Shino and/or Sasuke would be coming to see her soon about the tracking or whatever they had her doing. At the moment, she could feel Kano moving around in the village, moving toward them. A strange feeling came over her that she rarely felt.

"Suigetsu..." She whispered, looking up at him. "We might cross paths with one of the shinobi I'm tracking. I'll point him out if she do." As they moved through the village, toward the shinobi section, she wondered where Suigetsu would want to eat. He wasn't big on a lot of normal foods, and she had never eaten anywhere in Konoha before. But she was sure that if they kept walking, they'd find somewhere that they wanted to eat or a place that sparked interest.

Akiko nodded in understanding. "I know. It's not how your clan does things, and because our marriage would make me an Inuzuka, then I'll do what you think is best." She smiled, taking his hand and started to walk home. "Hey?" She asked, glancing up at him. "When do you become clan leader? Is your mom going to retire, or do you have to be a certain age?"

Somehow, she couldn't stop wondering how Kano could do something like that to Kiba. Akiko never had parents, and therefore never understood the bond, but had always been told about how loving and in love her parents were, and how they gave their lives to protect her. That meant all parents should do that,so why did Kano want nothing to do with his own family?

"Of course I do, keep in mind that I was a shinobi before Orochimaru kidnapped me and tried to use my body", Suigetsu reminded Karin. "I've finished several missions, and I killed on every single one of them", he said with a smile. "Well Konoha should understand that with all the wars that they need to be violent, because their enemy won't stop being violent to them", the Kiri shinobi said as he thought about the time that his brother had to fight off some enemy tracking parties in Kiri.

Suigetsu blinked slowly as Karin told him that there might be someone nearby that she was tracking. "Got ya, well keep me in the loop alright?", he asked as he kept going forward. He wouldn't look around, it would just give them away after all. He kept moving forward, hands at his side. "How does this place look? I smell seafood", Suigetsu said with a smile as he pointed one restaurant place out.

Kiba just smiled as he heard Akiko's question. "I honestly don't know when I'll be able to become clan leader. Probably when both my mother and the council both believe that I'm ready"

Karin glanced up at Suigetsu. She kept forgettnig that Orochimaru kidnapped him, despite how that was not the way he attained most of the shinobi that had fought or worked for him. "At least he didn't succeed." She stated, trying to be optimistic. "He didn't get your body. He preferred Sasuke, which in some weird way is a good thing, you know? It brought us together." As they walked, she knew he was right. More powerful and those willing to kill would be better in wars, but Konoha also seemed good at staying out of them, or willing them with ease.

"Yeah, this place looks fine." She went in with him and they were seated next to a man who was waiting in a booth, sipping on what looked like a beer. The waitress walked over to ask them what they wanted and Karin effortlessly took a pen from the pouch in the girls apron without her noticing. A smile met her lips as the teen girl walked away and she wrote on the napkin: 'The man behind us is one of the men I'm tracking. Akira, the ANBU leader.'

Akiko glanced up at him. "That's true. It might also be when we're allowed to be mated." They had stated that they were not considered mated due to Akiko's age. When she turned 17, they would be considered together, but the council would make no movements to stop them being together, or what they did when they were alone. It made Akiko question why they were doing this, but she didn't want to voice those concerns.

"Yeah I suppose that you do have a point, it was kinda my way of spitting in his face. Despite all that he had done and how smart and powerful he claimed to be, he couldn't break me", Suigetsu said with a smile. He knew that Karin had a fonder opinion of Orochimaru than most, but that wasn't going to stop Suigetsu's hatred for the man. He would always hate him, and despite what Karin went through he wasn't going to change that fact. "And that's true, he did bring us together in a really strange way", Suigetsu added with a small smile.

Suigetsu sat down at the booth and looked over the menu for a moment. Considering that Kiri was an island, seafood was the common staple of foods. If you knew how to cook fish, than everyone would like you. Suigetsu was looking at their large variety before deciding what he wanted. As he set the menu down he saw the note that she wrote, glancing over it quickly. He just gave a simple nod, wondering how he should react. He assumed normal, but than again perhaps Akira was the one that was following them?

"I don't really know, maybe I should ask them", Kiba wondered out loud as he looked up at the sky. "But ya know I don't want my mom to think that I'm super anxious to become the next clan leader ya know?", Kiba asked with a laugh. "She can have it as long as she wants, she's a great leader after all", he added. "And you never know, after what happened with Youki last night perhaps the council has a different tune about me"

Karin didn't bother to look at akira, because she didn't have to to actually see him. However, she was a little worried. There was something off about this. he was trying to suppress his chakra, but wasn't doing it completely. In case ANBU had trackers, he was doing it so they could see him, but just barely, as if he wanted to slip by unnoticed. Or perhaps he was testing a trail? In either case, it was almost impossible to foll her. Very very few shinobi could actually completely suppress their chakra system. Orochimaru was forgotten in her mind as she focused on him, trying to figure out what he was feeling. He was waiting, she could feel him looking around, as if he was trying to see if who he was waiting for had showed up yet.

Sighing, she looked at the menu in front of her, but wasn't really paying attention to it, trying to figure out what he was planning. Her chakra senses expanded to the immediate area in the restaurant and outside of it, scanning through the chakra systems of those close to them. She didn't feel any she recognized until Kano's came into the area and she sighed. Of course. They were meeting again. Damn it... She wasn't ready to spy on them.

"Suigetsu..." She whispered, taking out the pen and writing quickly on it. 'The shinobi about the enter the restaurant through the south door is Kano.' Once he read it, she slid it under the table and ripped it in half. True it wasn't the best solution, but it wasn't as if she could burn it. First of all, she wasn't able to use fire, and she wasn't powerful enough to make it contained and stop it on cue. But with this proximity, she could hear what they were going to say.

Akiko smiled. "I know that you wanted to be clan leader a lot when they announced it, Kiba-kun, but if you're willing to wait then I'll wait too." She smiled at him, sweetly. It was obvious that she was curious and was trying to distract him, in a means to make him forget his father and focus on something much more positive. "I love you." She smiled at him as the Inuzuka estate came into view.

Suigetsu was of course unable to see any of what Karin was seeing right now. Hell, he could only see what was in front of him. He decided that worrying about it wasn't going to do anything for him right now. The best thing that he could do was act normal and hope that things began to calm down. He glanced through the menu as he pondered on what he wanted today. They had some fried squid, which was one of Suigetsu's favorite. They also had some flounder, and a kind of tilapia that sounded tasty. He kept thinking it over, wondering which meal he'd be most satisfied with.

As Karin whispered his name, he glanced his eyes up and looked at the note. So Kano was here? Apparently he must be meeting with Akira, there was no way that this was a coincidence, but what were they going to do? Surely they weren't going to have some secret meeting when the people next to them might be listening. No, it might lead to that though. Suigetsu just gave a small nod to show his understanding to Karin. He wasn't sure what she was going to do, but she was the one that was more equipped to deal with it.

Kiba just smiled down at her. "Yeah, it'll be nice to be leader some time but I know that I'm not ready yet.........or at least I don't feel like I am", he admitted after a short pause. Kiba wasn't someone who liked to admit his own weaknesses, but with Akiko he could be honest about anything with her. "I love you too", he said with a smile as they approached their home.

Karin started to ignore the two of them, not wanting them to notice her. Sighing, she looked at Suigetsu and ran her hand through her hair, trying to hear what they were saying, but not wanting them to notice. It was interesting, to say that least. Spying was one of her most effective skills, considering what she'd been trained to do. Sighing, she rubbed her face and closed her eyes. Damn it, she thought.

Looking up at Suigetsu, she studied the look on his face. "Sorry... I just got really quiet." She said, smiling at him, realizing how awkward she made this by focusing on something else. "Does that mean you want to go look at apartments after the two of us get some sleep, or do you want to stay awake today so we can sleep tonight?"

Akiko's hand tightened her hand around her mate's hand. "I love you." She said, kissing his cheek softly. "I want you to know that you're strong enough, but the fact you're worried means that you're growing. Perhaps you're not ready, but it means something." She told him, happily. She wanted him to feel comfortable. "My wounds are gone." She pulled up her shirt, showing him the scar on her abdomen. "That's good news, right?" She asked, wanting to kiss him.

Suigetsu just gained a tiny smile as Karin seemed to notice how strange the situation had gotten since she chose to get all quiet. Well at least she noticed it this time, that made him feel better. "Don't worry about it", he said simply as he decided that he was actually going to go for the shrimp bowl on the menu. "In regards to the apartment thing, I'd say stay awake so that I can sleep tonight. I hate it when my sleeping schedule gets all messed up ya know? I'd rather try to find an apartment right after this", he said honestly.

"And I love you Akiko", he said with a smile as he felt her lips against his own cheek. God that felt good, just as it always had. As Akiko pulled up her shirt to show that the wound was gone he just gained another smile. "That's great news Akiko", he said happily before giving her a kiss on her own cheek. They were right at the door now. "Welcome home Akiko"

Karin nodded in agreement with him. She didn't like it when any part of her schedule was off balance. The whole battle that morning had been rather unexpected. However, she did well when she hadn't slept, perhaps due to the fact it happened so often when she worked for Orochimaru. Those who he trained or needed usually got little sleep and did things for him at all hours. It was part of their training, almost like the army. To be woken up at strange hours and given tasks. That sort of lifestyle suited her.

"I agree with you." She said, looking up at the ceiling, still uncertain of how much attention she should be paying to the men behind her. "Suigetsu?" She asked, seriously wondering if they were sent here to watch them. If that was the case, she might as well make things seem normal. "Do you think Konoha will ever let us go?"

Looking up at him when he kissed her, a sweeter smile crept onto Akiko's lips and she wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace before taking his hand and going inside. It felt like forever since she'd been allowed to come home with him. Right when they let her come home from the hospital, ANBU had taken her for her test and retraining. "Do you think that the two of us will be able to stay together for a few days before we get assigned to a mission?" She asked, looking up at him. "I bought a few pairs of short shorts!" She told him, knowing how much his mother and sister disapproved of her being in just underwear around him, despite the fact he liked it. So, she found a way around it to make both sides happy.

Suigetsu just smiled as Karin seemed to agree about trying to stay up all day. Suigetsu liked his sleep, but if he started to get off than he knew that he was going to regret it later. He just needed to keep moving around, if he laid down though, he knew that he might very well just pass out from lack of sleep. "Honestly.........no I don't", Suigetsu said as he looked right at Karin. "They'll do anything they can to make us WANT to stay, but if we ever ask than they'll do anything they can to make sure that we stay"

"I'm hoping so", Kiba admitted as he moved over to the couch and took a seat. He didn't know if she'd sit next to him or move into his lap, but he'd be happy either way. "After all that we did for them I'm sure that they'll give us a few days to rest up. Plus my arm isn't fully recovered quite yet", he added as he looked down at the strange colored flesh. He didn't like the look of it, he almost felt damaged. At the mention of the short shorts Kiba just let out a tiny laugh. "You always know how to make my day"

Karin sighed and nodded. "I was starting to think the same thing... but at the very least. we're not imprison, and we're not being held captive. I suppose considering what we've done and Konoha's history with Orochimaru, we should be grateful to be alive. I don't have a home anymore." glancing up at him, she smiled at him happily. "I know you want to go home, but at least we have each other, right?" She asked, glad that she had him. Without him, she might fall apart in a place like this.

Akiko giggled and sat in Kiba's lap, resting her head against his shoulder. "I've missed you holding me." Looking at his hand, she reluctantly touched it softly. "Does it hurt?" She asked, worried that he was in pain. "Should I try to heal you or do something to help you feel better?" Glancing up at him, a weak look came to her face and kissed his cheek softly, then his injured hand.