{Five Years and ten months ago}

The state of extreme relaxation that enveloped Akihana had no word, no sound, no phrase or expression in any language she could think of and being an Akari, her selection was quite extensive. But then again, it felt right that the bonelessness she felt in her slender frame had no name, it was the same as her relationship with the boy curled around her, the warmth of his body reassuring in a way she had never imagined possible.

Not daring to open her eyes just yet, the blonde let herself imagine. She had always believed before now that imagination was better than reality, the details more rich, the colors more colorful, as if the world had suddenly developed a lens through which all of reality was kinder, more optimistic, gave her that fluttery feeling in her stomach whenever Khu looked at her as if she really was that captivating.

In the end, it hadn't mattered why he had chosen her to bestow his affection upon. She knew she was nothing special, just another blonde head in a sea of blondes that made up her compound. The only thing that set her apart these days were his own hair and hands and all that warmth trying to consume her body in ways her sixteen year old mind could hardly keep up with. She had no idea what she was doing and in a way, neither did he but that made it better. That made her feel as if she didn't have to compete. And the fact that he curled up to her afterwords was as rewarding as anythings she could imagine.

Cracking open a lazy dark brown eye, Akihana looked around the room they were in. the sheets were blue which was a details she had just noticed. Khu didn't seem to be a blue sheets kind of person but then perhaps this was the mystery of boys, one that the blonde genin had only just begun to unlock. Framed photos were on the wall but she hadn't looked at them as they had entered the house, for too engrossed in each other. For a moment, it looked like they wouldn't make it to the bedroom but somehow, they had and now, now the feeling of delicious warmth surrounded her in luxurious waves. Why hadn't anyone told her it felt this good? Maybe that was the secret? Adults didn't want you to know it felt this good?

Or maybe it was just because it was Khu in the sheets with her.

A soft smile nestled on her pale pink lips as her eyes closed in contentment once more. This was where she belonged, tucked safely in his embrace.

As he held Akihana in his arms, completely relaxed after a night of exploring the other's body, Khu felt all of the worries and tension of ninja life drift away. In that moment, the only thing that mattered was the girl in his arms. No, not girl really, a young lady would be more accurate. Around her he felt more like himself than he ever had before, he didn't have to hide his thoughts, his quirks, or anything else about him. The only thing he had hidden, his clan name, was something he knew he would tell her eventually about if this continued. Right now though, it felt good to be wanted for simply Khu, nothing more and nothing less.

Before he'd met Akihana, Khu had never given much thought at all to relationships really. What he would do if he found somebody so...important to him. Now, he found it hard to imagine life without her, and they spent as much time together as they could manage with their busy lives. The weird thing was despite the fact it rarely happened among ninja, he could picture them lasting together as a couple. Even...maybe someday, starting a family; although to be fair, that thought scared him a little and whenever it surfaced he pushed it away to think about later. Truth was, he loved her...and they had hinted as much before to each other. Could he tell her now, though? Yes, after sharing everything with her, he did feel he could share that final step he had been cautious to make. 

Looking down at the lovely heart-shaped face, framed by blond locks, Khu saw one brown eye slowly open. The house they were in wasn't really his own, but he'd put his own touches on the place since it had been abandoned. He'd picked out sheets, put in a little bit of work and made it habitable again. There was another place he stayed at sometimes, but that place felt empty and...more a remnant of an older time than how a home should feel. Slowly, he started to stroke her hair, moving a stray lock behind her ear. Continuing the motion he knew she found smoothing, he tried to find his voice so he could tell her exactly how much she meant to him. 

Seeing her smile and eyes close again, Khu nearly let the moment pass but at the last moment he leaned down and kissed her beautiful lips gently, tenderly. "Open those eyes, sleepyhead. I've got something I've been wanting to tell you for a while now." he whispered. Allowing a slightly roguish smile to surface, he started to tickle her left side to hasten the process.

"Open those eyes, sleepyhead. I've got something I've been wanting to tell you for a while now."

Two months, had it really been two months only since Khu had come into her life and made it mean something. Time seemed to have divided itself into two clear sections in Akihana's mind. The mundane, routinely life before Khu and the exciting, warm and full of possibilities one that it had been these last eight weeks. If the Akari had found his henge intriguing upon first meeting him, seeing Khu in all his glory, ebony locks and ice blue eyes, had made him irresistible to her. At first Akihana had been ashamed of the shallow thought, until she had realized that it wasn't the good looks as much the sheer force of opposite attraction. He was the night to her day, the moon to her own sun.

He was the reason her life had been empty before, because he hadn't been there to make it fulfilling. He matched and contrasted with her in every single way and even if Akihana didn't hold with the religious values of her clan beyond the obligatory prayers conducted on a weekly basis, even she could tell that it was no accident that Khu had come into her life.

Was it too silly to wonder if there was such a thing as being made for each other.

As his lips touched hers, the teen reciprocated sweetly, opening her eyes once more to gaze into his own blue, intense gaze.

"Two more minutes," she murmured, curling into him with a kind of joy she could never express. Khu might never understand the sheer happiness she felt just being with him but that didn't mean the girl was going to not take it now. The movements that at first had felt stolen and furtive now felt like a right. Akihana could barely recall the girl who had undone his shirt with trembling fingers in their first attempt. Now she curled up to him with certainty, certainty that came with the knowledge that this was the most right thing in the world.

Despite the fact that part of him wondered why she cared for him as much as he did for her, Khu had to admit they complimented each other in a lot of ways. Akihana was cheerful and optimistic when he felt he couldn't be, and that helped him to smile just a little because she was. A lot of times they argued over the best way to do things but they never let it get too far. In fact, some of their funniest and most memorable moments had taken place when they were still a little angry at the other. Those moments reminded him of the fiery kunoichi who refused to admit defeat in the forest when they'd first met. She was his own personal sun, looked it too with that blond hair, and somehow she always helped shed light on the right path to take.

Other than his team, the Hokage, and his personal secretary, nobody knew what he looked like. Until one day they were talking and he felt he could share that, taking down one of his many walls. Khu remembered talking to her about some of his hopes and dreams, what he wanted to accomplish as a Konoha Ninja. Yet, he was also able to share a few of his fears. There weren't a lot of fears for him left, but the ones that were still there she was able to help him fight. This was how he knew he loved her, because of that odd comfort and peace he felt around her. In addition to the heat they felt when they touched, and the rapid accelerating of his heart whenever he saw her. He couldn't help but hope that maybe she felt the same, so tonight he was going to find out. 

Looking into those beautiful eyes of hers, that dark shade of brown, Khu felt himself get sucked in. Lengthening the kiss just a little, he eventually pulled back and smiled. How could life become better than what they had right now? To be honest, he doubted that it ever could.

"Two more minutes,"


Chuckling softly at the response he should have guessed, Khu held her close and gave her the extra time. Saying no to her was easy in theory, but extremely difficult in practice. The young lady fit into his arms and chest perfectly, her head tucked under his chin. Once he'd given her what was probably closer to five he finally sat up in bed with her. Kissing her eyelids to help her wake up, he took the opportunity to stretch his hands behind his head and yawn a little. "Alright sweetheart, now it's really time to wake up." he whispered, burning inside to tell her how he felt.

Truth be told, her request for a few more minutes had not been because she wanted to sleep. No, Akihana simply wanted to prolong a perfect moment, one in which she and Khu existed as the center of the universe with nothing to keep them apart. Soon enough they would both have to get out of bed, get dressed and, painful as it would be, go off to their respective duties and then families. No matter how much they wanted to be together, the odds were still stacked against them, at least until they were minors.

Afterwords might be a different story.

"Alright sweetheart, now it's really time to wake up."

"Okay," the genin managed, smiling at the soft touch of his kisses upon her skin. Sliding upwards, the kunoichi regardless sat curled up against the dark haired ninja as they sat in bed, a soft pink dusting her cheek as she realized the blanket had slid off her body in that action. Grabbing a corner, Akihana tucked it neatly over her bosom before resuming to curl up by Khu's side.

"So, what's so important that we have to talk about it right now?" she asked, dark brown eyes glinting with curiosity and mischief as they stared up at him. A faint tint of gold sparkling in the dark orbs as they memorized his smooth, pale features, committing to memory the way his dark hair fell over his bare shoulders as he contemplated her with a kind of look that made her blush every single time.

"Okay,"

The single word signaled the time of him telling her how he felt growing closer. Already Khu could feel his heart starting to race a little faster. Even though he had felt this way for a little while now, actually speaking the words still scared him. Once they were out they couldn't be taken back, it would make it more real, tangible as soon as they left his lips. Seeing her smile and look up at him though, that warmth and affection in her eyes, Khu began to feel that it would be okay. Slowly the warmth from where he held her against him began to travel throughout his body, filling him up. It gave him a confidence that he never felt from anything else, and he grinned back at her. 

"So, what's so important that we have to talk about it right now?"

He could see how curious she was, and the glint of mischief in her eyes as well. That was something they both shared. Gold sparkled in her dark brown eyes as he took in every aspect of her before telling telling her what he needed to. A small blush appeared that made her look all the more beautiful. Pausing for a moment after the question, he let out a breath he'd unconsciously been holding. This was it, now or never, and he chose the now.

"Well....there's something I've felt for...a little while now. I was looking for the right time to tell you, but I've finally realized that there is no perfect time. The real reason I've been putting it off is because I'm scared to share this with you. Trusting someone, being this close, it's something...something that I've never even imagined, let alone come close to before. Akihana..." he whispered, wrapping his hand in the hair at the base of her neck and holding her eyes inches away from his own. "I...I love you. Have been in love with you for...for a while now..." Khu admitted, his cheeks burning red as the words left his mouth. It was impossible for him to draw in a breath, not until he heard her answer.

As Khu began to speak, the smile dimmed on the Kunoichi's face, her expression slowly turning serious with his tone. As the words came from him, one by one strung together in a way that started a slow blush up her cheeks, Akihana could only look up at the boy she had completely fallen for over the past few weeks. The way he spoke of trust, of sharing what he felt with someone, all those were feelings she mirrored but she had never found a way to put them into words, not like he could.

"I...I love you. Have been in love with you for...for a while now..."

There it was, his confession out in the open. Akihana was not unaware of how brave Khu had been in admitting how he felt. But then her Khu was always like that, brave, open, perfect. It went without saying how deeply she herself felt for the boy but the blonde had never learned to play with words. She always thought Khu didn't need them to know how she felt but perhaps she could be as brave as him. She could at least try.

Timidly, the shy teen felt under the blankets for his hand, her soft brown eyes piercing into his icy blue ones despite the fact that her entire face blushed pink. Once Akihana located his hand, the kunoichi softly entwined her fingers with his.

"i.. l-love you too," she whispered, looking directly into his eyes before she quietly reached up to brush his lips with hers.

While he had been speaking, Khu saw Akihana start to blush in reaction to his words. She had probably figured out what he had been going to say before the words had left his lips. Now his feelings were shared, he felt like half of the weight had been lifted from him. It had been harder for him to say than anything had been before, but he didn't regret it in the slightest. Even if....even if she didn't feel the same, telling her was the right thing to do and he knew that. The jury was still out on how she felt though, and he waited patiently while she digested what he said.

As he looked at the beautiful kunoichi, Khu could see the gears turning in her head. There was a moment where she wrestled with something before he sensed she had made a decision. At the same time that happened the ninja felt her hand reaching for his own. His fingers automatically wrapped themselves in hers and he looked back into those gorgeous brown eyes that always made him melt. This time the fact she was blushing went completely unnoticed, and though he didn't realize it he was too. 

"i.. l-love you too,"


What Akihana said had been nothing more than a quiet whisper, but he'd been listening carefully and heard every word. From the look she gave him Khu knew that she was telling the truth, not merely saying it back because he had. "Y-you..." he started to say before her lips brushed against his own. One arm wrapped around her waist and his other found itself wrapped in her hair while they gently kissed. Though it wasn't their most passionate kiss they'd shared, it meant the most. "You do?" he asked, finishing what he'd started to say earlier. This all seemed so much like a dream he wouldn't have been surprised in the least if he woke up from it. "This...this isn't a dream I'm having?"

"This...this isn't a dream I'm having?"

"I really hope not," the blonde murmured against his lips with a smile before pulling back to take in the sight in front of her. Khu, as he'd always been. Honest, brilliant, in such perfect contrast, sat beside her, the color having bled from her skin to his own pale features as both teens languished in the aftermath of the confession they had just made. Akihana could no longer imagine a life without this boy by her side from what he said, it seemed like he couldn't either.

The blonde knew a lot of things about this relationship didn't make sense but that didn't matter. Together, they would make it make sense. They were young yet, they were both ninja of the leaf and more importantly, they both loved each other enough to make it work. Akihana wasn't so naive as to think there would be no obstacles in their way from here on, but she firmly believed that together, they could face and rise above anything life threw their way.

"just..." the genin began, her lips trembling at the words they were intending to form. In this moment, the teen could only think of one thing that would ruin the perfect symmetry of her life with Khu, the imagined future, the years to come. "Just promise you'll never leave me," she finished, eyelids trembling to hold back the tears that the mere thought of Khu not being in her life induced. She had given everything she held dear to the boy beside her and if there came a day when he was no longer by her side...

Akihana was sure that would be the day her life would no longer be worth living.

"I really hope not,"


Khu couldn't help but chuckle a little, nodding at the girl's simple yet accurate comment. "My thoughts exactly, darling." Now he noticed how heated his cheeks were, but he really didn't mind for once that he was blushing. He simply held the girl he loved, who miraculously loved him back, and let himself enjoy the moment. Too soon they would both be out on missions again so they had to make the most of the time they managed to find alone together. Although he worried about her on missions, Khu didn't doubt she would come back to him too much. It was easy to picture Akihana defeating whoever tried to stand in her way of coming to see him. Part of him would always worry a little, though.

How they worked together so wonderfully was still a mystery to him. Some of the time it seemed like they would only ever be at odds against each other, but it somehow always managed to work itself out and they had managed to grow closer. With her right there with him, the future was something he knew he could face. Whatever it had to throw their way he was certain that together they'd be fine. She managed to balance him out, keep him on the right track, and made him want to be a better person.

"just..."


Immediately upon hearing that nervous tone in her voice, Khu's hand went to her cheek as he looked into her eyes. Something that made her sound so small, afraid even, made him want to hold her close and never let go. He brushed his thumb slowly across her cheek, letting her know that he was there for her with that simple touch.

"Just promise you'll never leave me,"


The request for the promise caught him off guard, made him frown a little. Khu had thought that by now she would have known he never would; but, if his reassurance of that was what she needed he would give it to her. Pressing his forehead against hers, he slowly opened his eyes and looked into the beautiful brown ones with his icy blue. "Akihana Akari...I promise that I won't ever leave you. To separate us they would have to kill me, and even then...I'm sure my soul would find its way to yours. Don't fear me leaving Hana-chan, because that would mean leaving my heart behind. And that is something I don't ever want to do." he whispered to her, his arms holding her the whole time.

Slowly he leaned forward and kissed her once more. Khu didn't doubt that Akihana would never leave him, so he decided not to ask that same promise. Her asking that made her intentions of staying with him perfectly clear. Holding her close to him, he felt his body began to relax. He pulled her head onto his chest, her body curled up against him, and felt himself begin to drift off towards sleep. "Sweet dreams, love." he managed before his eyelids drooped close for the night.