Seeing he's at a disadvantage, the other ninja leaves, disappearing into the night. Once she knows Hiro's gone for sure Yusa falls down onto her knees, her head tilted forward and her hair veiling her face. The blood tipped kunai still in her hand when the merchant begins demanding the door be opened. She just sits there, tears dripping to the floor as the stream down her face.

"What are you two doing in there?! You better not be trying to burn down my shop!"

Akira eyes the man as he leaves and then turns his head to look at Yusa. Immediately, he feels sad for her. Unsure whether he should try to comfort her or not, he stands there for a moment, before hearing the merchant at the door. He looks at Yusa and urges her to wipe her tears as he goes to open the door. He's glad that the smoke from the bomb has cleared up.

"I'm extremely sorry, sir," he says trying to pacify the man. He mouths some excuses and apologies and, finally, shuts the door after having satisfied the man. He goes to Yusa. "Are you feeling all right?" he asks. He needs to get her to go to sleep soon, or it could be far too late.

Disgruntled, the merchant leaves, mumbling under his breath about not letting people stay in his home anymore.

Yusa doesn't say anything, but instead cries even hard, soft sobs coming from her. She's never really cried much growing up, anytime she did her father would punish her, saying showing your emotions would give away a ninja's attack. But right now she couldn't keep it in anymore, she just wanted to throw needles at something until it became a pin cushion. She didn't know how to control her emotions anymore, and it scares her to no end. Her knuckles are ghost white from the grip her fingers have on the kunai.

Akira sighs as Yusa continues to cry, her hair a dark curtain falling across her face. He walks up to her and hands her a small cloth, for her to use, when he notices that her hands are clutching the kunai far too tightly.

"Let me get those," he says and smiles at her tentatively, hoping she cheers up. He gently opens her fingers, takes the kunai and places them on the floor, away from her. He sighs. "He is not worthy of your tears, Yusa," he says. "That man is a callous, heartless person who tried to hurt you, and when he failed, he went for your mind instead. It was a shameless move, used only by the most desperate of failures. You cannot allow it to hurt you so." He took her hand.

"Even if what he said was true, how does it matter? You have chosen to start a new life, have you not? If the people around you cannot respect your decision, then they are not fit to be called family, and are therefore, not worthy of receiving anything from you, even tears." He lifted her face to look at him and smiled.

He had thought about all of this before he told his father about wishing to leave. At the time, he had been sure that his father would not allow him to leave, and that he would have to leave without his consent. It came as a pleasant surprise when his father allowed him to leave.

"I had hoped that my father might actually have some love for me like he did my sisters, but everything that's happened has confirmed that is not so. I never wanted to be considered a weapon by anyone, but it seems it cannot be helped..." The activities of the day and the poison she had been hit with finally catches up with her as she collapses into Akira's arms. Her flutter shut as she tries to fight off the exhaustion and fails. Soon she's sound asleep, her body shaking from time to time.

Akira listens to Yusa's story, once again feeling a little sorry for her. As she begins to collapse, Akira catches her. Gently, he lays her down on the bed and pulls the sheet over her. The events of the day seem to have exhausted her.

After making sure she is properly tucked in, he picks up his sword and follows the ninja, who hasn't gone far because of his injuries. Moving swiftly and silently, he finally reaches Yusa's village. He ignores the curious looks from the villagers as he follows the other man.

While she slumbers Yusa tosses and turns a bit, shaking the while time. After a bit she curls up into a tight ball, as if trying to protect herself as she sleeps restlessly.

As Akira enters the village a ninja runs off to inform the elders and the clean head about his arrival. The ninjas in the village watch him nervously has he goes about in the village, soon being stopped by an elder of the village.

"What do you want rogue? State your business!" She takes her staff and slams the butt of it on the ground, much like a ruler would.

Akira walks along, paying no heed to the other ninjas around him. He notices one of them running off, presumably to inform the elders of the village that he has arrived. His presumptions are confirmed when he sees an old woman holding a stick hobbling towards him. He stops in surprise at the fierceness in her voice, feeling that it is rather uncharacteristic for an old woman. He gets a little annoyed at being called a rogue but replies calmly.

"I am Akira Koga, formerly of the Koga clan," he introduces himself and bows to the old lady. "I wish to speak with the head of the Yukiyama clan."

"A Koga? Here? You must have been that one Yusa was sent originally to kill before we found out about you." The elder seems to relax, as if hearing who he was put her at ease. "You are most assuredly not a rogue because if a Koga wanted to try and take over this village I wouldn't be standing here now." She motions for him to follow her as she hobbles in the direction of the head of the clan's home.

"I'm hoping that maybe you can knock some sense into that man, he's as stubborn as a mule and a disgrace to the spirit of his wife. My niece died giving birth to Yusa's youngest sister, only about a year between each one. That was when her farther decided to raise her to take over the clan and be the strongest ninja here. But alas you can see what it has done, though I think your presence here has actually prevented things from becoming worse. Yusa might have gone rogue if you hadn't of met her."

Akira smiles at the elderly woman as she seems to realize that he is not a threat. He listens as she talks about Yusa's parents. Knocking some sense into the old man isn't exactly what he is here to do, but it is close enough. He follows her silently as she leads him to the head's home.

Finally, they reach the house. Akira looks at it before turning his head to face the lady. "Thank you for leading me here," he says, bowing low. Then he turns to the house and walks in.

As he enters the home she mumbles, "I should thank you for looking after my great niece..." She hobbles away back to her own home.

Inside the home he can see a man in his late forties to early fifties flanked by two skilled looking male ninjas. The older man glares at Akira as he enters, his arms crossed as he addresses him, "What do you want wandering Koga?"

Inside the house, Akira is greeted by an old man and two other ninjas, all of them glaring at him. Assuming that the older man is Yusa's father He begins to speak.

"I came to talk to you about the ninjas you keep sending to take your daughter back," he says, noticing the younger ninjas clench their fists at the mention of Yusa. He recognizes them as being two of the ones that Yusa sent back half paralyzed in the morning. "Please refrain from sending any more," he continues. "Yusa has made her decision and it would be a hindrance to me if you sent any more." He was prepared to argue or even fight these people, if it came to that. He didn't want any more trouble, but mostly, he didn't want to see Yusa's tearful face again.

"And why should I listen to you? You might be a Koga, but if the entire village were to attack you we could easily defeat you. And what do you care about my daughter anyways? You just met her a day ago, you have no connection to her at all. All her training would go to waste if she were to just leave. Not to mention she was raised to become the next head of the village, which actually goes against our traditions. It's her place to be here and take over after me, not wandering around with some strange man we know almost nothing about." The man never takes his eyes off of Akira, steadfast in what he believes.

Akira loses his cool and his expression turns cold as he talks to Yusa's father. "If your entire village were to attack me, you would kill me, but you would also lose a majority of your people as well as all of your honor," he says mercilessly. "Nobody ever sends in an army to fight one person. As for your daughter, I care about her because she has chosen to travel with me and that gives me the responsibility of taking care of her. So far, I seen to be doing a better job of that than you ever did." He adds the last bit, referring to the heartlessness of her father.

"And it is true that you raised her so that she could take over as head of the clan after you," he continues, narrowing his eyes a little at the old man. "But what she does after that is up to her, because it is her life, not yours. It is not for you to decide where her place is." He sighs and calms down a little.

"She is your daughter," he says, choosing his words carefully. "As a father, don't you care about what she might want for her life?" He asks, hoping the old man will see things from Yusa's point of view.

"Nor is it honorable for a man to travel with ones daughter without first introducing themselves before doing so. Besides, my clan is not big enough to be considered an army, and there have been times in the past when sending an entire clan after a target was required, but enough about that." He doesn't seem all too bothered by Akira challenging his honor since what one find honorable differs from person to person. "Yusa was never one to want much of anything except to make the clan proud, she's always told me that since she was a child. What would posses her to leave the clan she's always cherished I'll never know. All I know is that you had something to do with it."

"As for her place, it has always been here until yesterday when she's voiced anything other than that for the first time ever. And she didn't even think it over, she just left after being sent to kill you originally. And I do care about what she wants, just why would it just suddenly change out of the blue? She's never made any indication of wanting any other life than the one she's always known."

A tapping sound, much like the one Akira heard before comes from somewhere outside but no one enters the home.

Akira listens to what the old man has to say. He is a little surprised when the old man points a finger at him, holding him responsible for Yusa's departure. Akira isn't about to correct the other, however; he did give her the idea, indirectly.

"It is true that seeing me in the village elder's home gave her the idea of leaving," he says. "But that was all I did. I have reason to believe that Yusa has been harboring these emotions for a very long time. She herself told me that she has always been jealous of her sisters for the life that they are leading."

He paused and continues. "You say that she has never made any indication of wanting anything else. Don't you think it's possible that she might have covered up those feelings in front of you?" The tapping noise bothers Akira, but he focuses on the job at hand.

"Jealous? Of her sisters? Her sisters are married and have children, which Yusa has tried to interact with but because she doesn't understand how vulnerable children are to getting hurt she ends up isolating herself from them usually. But if you think she was hiding those feelings than fine. Have her come back here and explain to the entire village why it was she wants to leave, this way it can be settled once and for all. If she does voice what she truly wants then I won't stop her." With that he stands and leaves the room, going into a side room. The two ninjas standing guard don't move however and keep an eye on Akira as they glare at him.

"That's the closest you'll probably get to yielding to you. Trying to get him to move is like trying to make a mountain bow to you." The elder stops her tapping, which was a sign of frustration towards the head's antics. "Come with me, its best you leave for now. Though if you don't make her come back in the morning somehow I'll find a way to do so..."

Akira bows his head as Yusa's father leaves. Obeying the elder, he follows her out of the house, bows to her while thanking her and leaves the village. He looks at the sky; it is almost daybreak. He'll have to hurry, Yusa might worry if she doesn't see him in the morning.

He dashes through the trees, reaching the room and entering through the window. He is relieved to see that Yusa is still sleeping. He himself goes to sleep for two hours, so that he can get some rest before asking Yusa to go back in the morning.

At some time in the morning Yusa finally awakens, looking around groggily. She's still depressed from the night before, so she just sits there while staring at the floor. She does notice that Akira is there, but doesn't say anything to him. After a time she finally gets up and starts straightening things up and getting one of her new pairs of clothing that Akira had gotten her to wear. It was a simple kimono that most people around here would wear, nice looking but made for work.

Akira wakes up shortly after Yusa does. As he watches her pick out what to wear, he wonders how he should tell her what he did the night before. He gets up from the bed and smiles. "Good morning," he wishes her.

"Yusa, I need to tell you something," he says, his expression a little more serious. "I went to see your father last night." He waits for her reaction to this piece of news as he sits there.

She mumbles a good morning to him, barely audible over the sounds of activity outside and downstairs. Upon hearing him say he went to see her father she freezes, slowly turning to look at him.

"Why would you have done something like that?! He's loyal to the extreme to these lands and will kill anyone he thinks will be a problem, which is why there was a mark placed on you with hardly any information! He could have had you killed!"

Akira hears Yusa out and finally speaks. "I know, Yusa," he says in a pacifying tone. "But the way I see it, he was trying it anyway, sending all those ninjas after us. I wanted to ask him to stop, that's all." He shrugs.

"But that's not the important part," he says. "Your father wants you to come back to the village and tell him yourself about why you wanted to leave. He said that if I brought you back and you voiced what you truly want, he would let you do as you wish." He paused for a moment.

"Will you do that, Yusa?"

She groans when she hears what her father wants, "I'm betting he's probably thinking you brain washed me or something into saying that. But knowing my father he will keep his word, he's not one to go back on it. Just like he hasn't gone back on the promise he made to my mother..." Silent for a moment she thinks to herself then shakes her head.

"Seems like my only opinion to at least get my clan off our backs is to do so. I never really talked much to anyone to be honest. I guess I only talked when it was necessary and not because I wanted to. Alright, I'll go back but I have one request of you. No matter what happens just stay by the gate. Alright?"

Akira blinks for a minute as he hears Yusa mention something about a promise made to her mother. Not entirely sure if he should ask her about it, he just listens to her as she makes her decision. He blinks at her last request. Stay by the gate?

He nods, albeit reluctantly. "All right," he says. He's really not comfortable about letting her go alone in there but he has to now that she's asked him to.

Nodding, she quickly get changed behind the screen, packing away her dirty clothes to be washed later on. Then she quickly gets freshened up, just before the merchant comes knocking on their door.

"I want an explanation from you two! What the hell was going on last night?!"

Akira sighs a little and goes to open the door for the merchant. Feeling slightly miffed that the man is coming and asking them the same question over and over again, he decides to silence the man for good. He keeps his face neutral as he goes to open the door.

"I am really sorry about last night," he says. "We were honestly not trying to burn down your shop. It was a complete accident."

He goes on to tell the merchant about how some children in the last village they had been to had somehow gotten hold of their bags and slipped some smoke bombs into it, which fell out of the bags when they were opened.

"They were probably the children of ninjas," he says, a smile on his face, hoping the merchant will buy it.

The merchant grumbles something about how the ninjas need to keep a better eye on their kids as he stomps away. Yusa nods in thanks to Akira since it was her fault all of this happened.

"Do you want to get something to eat first before we leave or just head back there right now? If we travel through the trees we should at least be able to make it before noon since it will be a more direct path." She slings her bag on her shoulder as she makes her way to the door.

Akira smiles at her. "No point going to do something that important if you go there hungry," he says. "We'll eat first and then go. Especially for you, since you need to keep your strength up. You'll need a lot of confidence to speak to your father. Trust me, I've been there."

He remembers how nervous he had been when he had to go talk to his father about leaving, and wonders if he should tell her about it. Then he decides that she will ask if she wants to know.

Nodding her head in agreement she heads downstairs with him, seeing the merchant glaring at them from behind his counter.

"Sorry for any inconvenience that we caused, have a good day." She bows her head slightly, then follow Akria out. "So where did you want to eat at?" She tries to ignore the looks they're both getting again, a bit unnerved how people are reacting to them.

Akira follows after her, bowing and thanking the merchant for his hospitality. Slightly unnerved by the stares again, he tries to answer her. He keeps his face neutral despite his irritation at the people around them.

"We could go to get some ramen from the place we went to yesterday," he says. "Or we could go somewhere else, if you know a good place. I honestly haven't been to this town before, so I suppose you would know it better than I do." After all, she had mentioned that she'd been here on a mission before.

"Well, I stopped through here before, though I didn't have a good chance to actually look around. I do know that just out of town further down the road there is another hut that serves ramen and a few other dishes. Though having ramen from the same place again doesn't sound bad either. Hm...the place from last night is closer so it's pretty better to just go there." She notices that the looks they keep getting is also unnerving to him as well. Being ninjas they weren't used to such attention, even more so for her because even back in her own village the guys didn't look at her like that.

Noticing that the stares that they're getting are making her feel weird too, he leans closer to her. "I think we should quicken our pace a little bit," he says in a low voice in her ear. "What do you say?"

They walk a little faster and when they finally reach the ramen shop, Akira is so relieved that he lets out a huge sigh. He turns to Yusa, a huge smile on his face. "People should really learn to mind their own business," he says. "So, sit down, and we'll order."

She nods her head slightly in agreement, if they wanted to scare the villagers they could have easily moved faster than anyone in that village. Though she wasn't fond of the idea, she didn't want to stick out too much to be honest. When they reach the ramen shop sh too lets out her own sigh.

"Yes, they really should. It's very unnerving having people stare at you for no known reason." Looking at the menu she decides to get something with fish in it. Even though it was easy enough to get fish from the streams and lakes she didn't really get to eat them often.

Akira smiles hearing her decision. "Fish sounds good," he says and orders two bowls of ramen. He looks at her, wondering if he should make conversation with her, but is saved by the prompt arrival of the ramen bowls.

He smiles at the bowls and devours the whole thing, enjoying himself as much as he had yesterday. When he's done, he looks up.

"Just as good as it was yesterday," he says. "Did you like it?

Not knowing what to say she just sits quietly waiting for her bowl, nodding her head in thanks to the server. Trying a piece she hums softly in delight, enjoying every bite of her meal. When Akira asks what she thought she smiled, "Yes, I completely agree with you. Whoever makes it makes really good ramen, makes me wish I knew how to make something as good..." Her eyes become a bit sad, never having really done much cooking besides camping during her travels.

Akira looks at her as her facial expression changes, and she looks a bit sad. He thinks about what to say and then looks back at her. "Well," he says. "I don't know about ramen, but my mother taught me to cook some things as a child. Just some small things here and there, nothing fancy. My father didn't like the idea of me learning to cook, but my mother had insisted."

He chuckles at the memory and continues. "Maybe I could teach you how to make those things, sometime?" he offers. "I mean, I might not be as good a cook as my mother was, but she taught me some simple things, so it would be easy to teach you how to make them."

A bit surprised when he says that she looks at him with wide eyes, "Really? It sounds like you had really nice parents, makes me wonder who things would have been if my mom were still alive. Everyone else said that my mother had my father wrapped around her fingers after all. And thanks, I'd love to learn at least something other than roasting game." Smiling happily she finishes her ramen and hums softly, delighting in the taste of the ramen.

Akira smiles back at her, happy to see her smiling face. She looks pretty when she smiles, he thinks. And then he pauses for a moment as he realizes what he thought.

He sighs a little as he realizes that this is to be expected. He is traveling alone with a woman, who happens to be really beautiful. He is of that age himself. It is obvious that thoughts like these will cross his mind from time to time. His face is a little subdued as he thinks.

Seeing his smile she realizes she likes it when he smiles, looks better than when he's frowning or upset about something. Like last night when she got upset. Though when his expression changes slightly she gets a bit nervous, wondering if she had done something.

"Well, guess its time to get ready to go then, do you want me to cover for the ramen this time?"

Akira looks up at Yusa, a little startled at being disturbed from his thoughts so suddenly (or at least, it feels sudden to him). "O- oh no, that's fine," he says. "You don't have to pay for it." He gets up and pays for the ramen before going back to her.

"All right," he says. "We should get going. Your father said I had to get you there in the morning, which doesn't give us much time." His face is a bit serious as he remembers her request to stay at the gate, whatever happens.