Youth is the best! (Ryu Naka)

"Yeah, yeah, I kill people and I kill people for her too. So how are you gonna tell her about this? She's going to sulk a lot, she just finished her time of month and the hormones are still kicking in. Oh! And I almost forgot to give you this." He pulled out a leather bound book and gave it to him. "This is her manual. I know, she's not an object and bla bla bla but just take it. She's very predictable. Whenever something goes wrong, just check this book, it'll help you out. Yes, like when she sulks and won't talk to you is also in there. What you have to do is bring sunflowers and a teddy bear and have a make-out session and she'll be fine. Oh, and you have to be loving when you do it or else she'll think it's all fake and you just want to get into her knickers."

Ryu took the book and slipped into his coat pocket. He figured reading it couldn't hurt. "I'll tell her the truth. There's nothing else for it because I won't lie to her or to anyone else unless a mission demands it." He replied simply as he contemplated begining to coat his spikes with poison randomly.

"Noo~ She'll find out every single lie. You know why? Because she's the good girl who knows how to be a good woman. Okay then, bye. This is my treat. As a....warning for joining the family temporarily. My kids will give you hell." He got up and dropped some money on the counter before leaving. "Oh, and you better get back to bed. She hates sleeping alone. She's scared of the dark too, did you know that?" Then he walked away.

It was true, Naka was awake, trying to sleep. She had curled into a ball with the blankets, trying to keep herself safe from ..well, her fears.

Ryu shadow stepped back to the house in three easy shots. He then walked through the front door, closed and locked it, undressed and curled into bed next to her and hugged her tight. "I'm back Naka-chan." He said softly as he hugged her softly.

"I'm scared," she admitted, too petrified to be embarrassed. She hugged him back and buried her face in his chest so that she didn't need to look at anything else. "I know the boogeyman isn't real but mean ghosts are.... and pontianak and hantu raya and..and..." She was scared of the mean spirits. Some of them were really, REALLY rotten and she couldn't get them to leave, not matter how she tried. And the pontianak...they were really scary. "Don't leave me," she choked out, almost crying.

"I'm here and not going anywhere." He said as he hugged her tight and didn't let go. He felt her shiver in his arms and he softly carressed her back and sang gently. Trying to soothe her to sleep.

Naka sniffed and closed her eyes. It did soothe her, and soon enough she started to calm down and felt heavy again. She went back to sleep, breathing deeply. But if he moved or went away...she would wake up again. Naka clutched onto his hand, refusing to let go.

Ryu held her tight and soon fell asleep himself. He slept peacefully with her in his arms and he never let go through the entire night.

In the morning, Naka woke up alright. A bit empty inside, but alright. She looked at Ryu, right next to her, and watched him sleep. She didn't understand it...he was sweet and nice and he was okay in the looks department. So why wasn't she attracted to him as much now? She got up and went to the bathroom to take a shower.

Ryu awoke and remembered the night before. He remembered his order and went to knock on the bathroom door where he heard the shower running. "I need to talk to you when you get out...it's important." He called as he pulled on his usual attire and sat on the couch and waited patiently for her to return. He began to copy the Raikage's letter word for word as it appeared last night. He couldn't afford to keep it then in case he dropped it. He then folded it and layed it on the table.

Naka came out dry, dressed and smelling like soap. She sat in the armchair across him and looked at him. "Yes...?" Then looked at the piece of paper on the table. Was he going to talk to her about something in the paper? Or was it something else? She looked up and him and bit her lip. "R-Ryu...I'm sorry I'm so clingy... I'm sorry... I just...I just thought you wouldn't mind if I showed you my love that way. I guess I was wrong. I'm sorry. I won't do it again." She played with her fingers uncertainly. It was like he just told her her personality was crap.

"Naka...it's not that..don't worry I don't mind that...it's part of you and I care about you too much to let it bother me." He said softly as he slid the paper over to her. "Read that...then burn it please...I have to follow the orders...it's my job as a shinobi...and my calling due to my abilities...which you saw clearly during our sparring match in the cherry blossom forest." He said softly as he refused to meet her eyes. He didn't care if she was clingy, secretly he loved it. But showing that would be a sign of weakness for him, for he was after all an assassin.

Naka picked up the pieced of paper and read it. The more she read, the paler she got and the deeper her frown. She sighed and a demon appeared to torch it into ashes. She got up and shook her head. She looked both sad, pained and angry. "I..you..a...ngh." She didn't know what to say, she just went to the backyard and sat down. A little plant shoot popped out of the ground by her feet and grew around her as she sulked.

He didn't know what to do. He walked outside to find her sulking and he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "This wouldn't be the first time I've had to kill someone Naka...I'll still be the same Ryukotsusei when I return...I have to do this for my village..for myself...and for you." He said simply. He knew she wouldnt understand the part about it being for her...but he had to do this to have a place of standing within the village, in order to provide the food they ate each morning, the water they used in the shower. This was simply the best, and most efficient way to use his talents.

"But...I just don't like that you kill...You're taking a life and even if it's to provide food and stability for yourself, it's...it's still taking a life." She was moody now, moody and sulky and it was probably due to the hormones. If she weren't just after her 'time of month', she might have taken it better. So right then, Ryu should have read the manual and done something to calm her down before she made it serious.

Ryu sighed softly and pulled the book out of his pocket, he felt stupid as hell for it. Reading a manual for a human being like they're some sort of machine. He began to skim the pages looking for what he needed though. He'd at least try it.

"Bring sunflowers and a teddy bear. Pin her to the ground and kiss her hard. This technique works best when she is in heat. If she doesn't succumb after three minutes, spank her."

Naka sulked like Tamaki from Ouran High and hugged herself. You could almost see the lines of depression above her, and her blue aura.

Ryu's eyebrow twitched but he went inside and returned with the objects. He then handed them to her. Wanting her to not be sulking anymore and pushed her to the ground and began kissing her deeply and passtionately. Honestly wanting her to be happy again.

"Nya...Ryu..what..ah...Ryu..." Naka at first protested greatly, but he was huge and heavy and she was just a little girl. But when he kissed her, she blinked and almost melted into him. Naka closed her eyes and kissed him back, burying her hands in his hair while they did. This was nice...she liked just doing that. And it was spring. It was heat season.

Ryu continued kissing her for a few minutes before breaking the kiss and looking into her eyes. "I know you don't like it...if it helps...know that I don't like it either...But it's something I have to do.." He said softly as he kissed her again, softer this time.

"I just don't like that you have to kill to live.. I know we're ninja, though..." Naka knew he was just kissing her to make her stop sulking. She pushed him off and sat up. "I guess...you have to do what you have to do, if you want to or not..." She looked at her hands. "Do you believe I've never killed anyone?"

Ryu figured that she thought he only wanted her to stop sulking. Which was wrong. He looked her dead in the eye after her question. "I don't think you've ever killed anyone no." He replied as he took in a deep breath.

"Taking a life is like saying... You don't deserve to live. That's...that's sad." She stood up. She wasn't sulky now, just a bit miffed. He kissed her so passionately, but only to keep her from sulking. Truthfully, she wanted to continue kissing.

"Know..that I wasnt just kissing you to keep you from sulking Naka..." He said softly. "I truly want you to be okay...to smile..and if thats not doing it out of love. What is?" He asked arching an eyebrow at her. "And yes I suppose it is. But if thats the way you feel about it then why did you become a shinobi in the first place?" He asked.

"I'm a medic nin, Ryu. I don't take lives, I save them," she whispered. No more hugs, no more kisses. He was still just an insensitive man like everyone else. "I thought you were different..." Naka shook her head and stood up. No more sweet Ryu, no kind Ryu, no funny Ryu, just business Ryu.