The Yin to my Yang

[TyDie]

Mere hours after her return to Suna, after her vacation with Arata in Tea country, the woman went to meet with officials and set forth her agenda for the Scribes of the Sand as their new leader. As part of this, she put forth the institution of a covert, undercover side of the Scribes, set to perform espionage and black operations. The concept was met with resistance, but was reluctantly agreed upon due to Hito's trust in Kiyori's motivations. There was one stipulation however, and it was up to her to fulfill it; A separate leader would be necessary for these efforts. Someone who could run the background operations, manage the operatives and compile their findings for Kiyori's review.

Kiyori could only trust one person with this role.

And thus, in this early morning sun, she knocked on Arata's door and waited patiently for him to answer. Once he did, she would greet him with a warm smile, as always. "Good morning Arata. Hopefully you've recovered from your travelling. May I come in?"

[Willoria]

Arata was normally the sort to sleep his day away, so it wasn't much of a surprise that he was still in bed as he heard Kiyori knocking on the door. He rolled out of bed, pulling on a pair of shorts with a grumble as he ran his fingers through his hair and walked out of his bedroom towards the front door of his apartment. The place was still a mess as always, but less so since he had been spending more time with Kiyori. His floor was at least picked up by now, dishes were clean in his kitchenette, but his coffee table was littered with remnants of the night before's dinner and a couple of empty beer bottles. He opened the door and paused a moment as he saw Kiyori standing there. Seeing her sent his mind reeling, memories flooding back into his mind. He was awash in her scent, the way her skin had felt under his fingertips, and so much more.

But her official tone pushed him right out of those memories and for a moment it shocked him. Clearing his throat he tried to get his mind right and looked at Kiyori with a raised eyebrow. "I hope the official tone isn't preceding bad news for me." he remarked, opening the door and motioning for Kiyori to enter. He hadn't even lit a cigarette yet that morning, an odd thing for the man already. Once she entered he'd close the door behind her. "My head is still in the clouds here, I'm not ready for reality yet." he added, chuckling as he moved over to the couch and sat down, his eyes on Kiyori.

[TyDie]

Kiyori happily sauntered in to the man's house, practically bouncing a little as she made her way to his couch and took a seat. She let out a small laugh as he mentioned that he hoped for good news, and how his mind was still back in Tea Country. "Nonono, nothing bad Arata. I am acting in an official capacity right now, hence the whole 'official tone' and such, but nothing bad. I promise, the last thing I want to do is shower you with bad after all that 'good' we had over the week." She shot him a mischievous wink as she mentioned the events of the past week... clearly it was more than just a declaration of feelings between the two.

"No, i'm actually here right now as Lead Archivist of the Scribes. You know, the organization that I now lead, thanks to Hito promoting me and such. I actually just declared my agenda today, in front of various officials and council members. Part of that includes a few big changes that have been on my mind for a while now. They were met with... less than enthusiastic responses, but Lord Kazekage helped me push through the agenda..." Kiyori trailed off, but why? Why was she hesitating on this? She knew what she wanted to ask Arata, what she needed him to do...

but she was afraid he'd say no. After all, he was her protector, but nothing said he had to listen to her commands.

[Willoria]

Arata couldn't help a smirk as Kiyori winked at him and spoke of their time in Tea Country. Sitting beside her, he reached over and pulled Kiyori over to him by the waist. "Well stow the official, Kiyori." he told her quietly. "Its me... and honestly its weird." he added as he kept an arm wrapped around her. It was all still a dream to him, being with Kiyori the way he was. And thankfully, even though Kogasha hated the concept, Arata was getting better at shutting out his protests.

Speaking of protests, he knew a good way to shut out the way Kogasha was screaming at him now.

Arata moved to kneel in front of Kiyori, leaning forward to kiss her as she sat on the couch. The way he knelt made up their height difference well enough to keep things comfortable, though his hands rested on her thighs. As the woman kept speaking though the man chuckled. "I can knock you out of the official talk easily and you know it..." he teased, his hands sliding under the girl's thighs as he pulled her forward.

[TyDie]

While the kiss was incredibly welcomed and she returned it happily, she couldn't help the blush and stammering that accompanied his hand and it's movement on her thigh. "H-h-h-Hey now, alrighty! Sheesh, come here trying to be all prim and proper and you threaten me with that? So mean..." She pouted at him a moment before gesturing for him to accompany her on the couch, and she would turn to face him when he did so. "I... I guess I should just cut to it then. Well, I put forth my new agenda for the scribes, and it was accepted. In that agenda included a new function of the scribes, on top of their search for knowledge to fill the library and diplomatic missions."

"I... Have decided that the Scribes need to serve a darker function. Covert operations unknown to most of the village, espionage on our enemies and friends. The list goes on, i'm sure you can do the rest of the math in your head." She would let the realization sink in, knowing full well that Arata was well aware of Kiyori's moral beliefs on these things. The underhanded tactics that others were known for were beneath her, and she avoided killing if at all possible. Yet her she was, telling Arata she had just established a sect of the Scribes devoted to all manner of things she morally opposed.

"There was one stipulation to this being accepted though... I cannot lead it. My job as leader of the scribes is to dictate the entire organization, but this sect cannot be under my direct command. They're afraid of the power that would give me, what it would do to me. The stipulation requires that I find another person that I trust to manage this part of the Scribes. So... Do I have to spell it out entirely?" She looked at him with a mix of hope, fear, and sadness. She knew exactly what she was asking him to do, and how it would no doubt conflict with his own morality... But there was no one else she could go to.

[Willoria]

Arata couldn't help laughing as Kiyori got all flustered. It was his goal after all, and when she motioned for him to sit beside her again instead he did, though he had to admit to being slightly disappointed. He was hoping to goad her into continuing the fun they'd started on their little vacation. With a sigh he leaned back against the couch, arm over the back of it as he faced Kiyori slightly and fell quiet, listening to her explain. Honestly though, he'd been thinking she was just filling him in on something important but it seemed to go so far beyond that. He couldn't help that his expression seemed to darken as she went on. This was something he'd be certain she was against, something she would never partake in, though obviously she wasn't.

She was asking him to.

Arata sighed and stood, taking a few steps away before he started pacing a bit. "Covert operations... I think calling it a darker function barely covers it, Kiyori." he said honestly, shaking his head as he ran a hand through his hair and turned to look at her a moment. He couldn't help feeling an anger rising up in him. One of the things he loved about Kiyori, something that had drawn him to her, was the fact that she wasn't tarnished in a way. She didn't touch the kinds of things that others did, for a shinobi she was surprisingly innocent.

Yet right in front of his eyes that very image was changing. Clearing his throat he asked a question he honestly hadn't meant to, he didn't even think it through before the words rolled off his lips. "Are you asking me to do this because I killed my sister?" His tone was cold, but he couldn't really help it.

[TyDie]

Kiyori was understandably a little stunned when Arata asked if her asking this of him was because of his past, in fact she practically recoiled as he said it. "No, no absolutely not Arata! It has nothing to do with anything like that, I swear!" She tried desperately to make sure he knew that she was being genuine, reaching to hold his hand if he'd ler her and trying to be close to him. "I'm asking this of you... well, there's a lot of reasons. Part of it is because I know that you can do it. You're so far detached from the indoctrinated morality that many Yuumagure followers adopt, You can do the things that others won't and make the decisions that other's can't because their minds are clouded by their religious beliefs."

It was... so weird of her to say these things. She herself was a believer of Yuumagure, of that she was certain. She faltered while in the temple, but meeting Kogasha and receiving the Blessing strengthened her beliefs even more, she was resolute in her faith. But her faith... it was different now. "I still believe, but I now know that light and dark must coexist, remember? Part of that..." She faltered a moment, part of her not wanting to say what went through her head because it conflicted with her own morality. She knew it was necessary.

"Part of that means that certain things that I cannot personally condone must be done to ensure peace and prosperity for our village. These things have been done in the past, but only rarely, and I feel that they will become even more necessary in the future. Secondly, Arata... there is no one else I can trust with this burden. You're the only one that I can safely say won't become corrupt by the power granted by this position. You don't have to accept Arata, I can't force you to it. But i'll be hard pressed to find someone else that I trust enough to fill this role."

[Willoria]

Arata continued pacing, walking over to a cabinet and pulling out a small box. He took a rolled cigarette out of the box with a lighter and lit it, taking a long drag off the drug as he listened to what Kiyori had to say. Honestly it didn't make him any more comfortable with the idea, if anything it made it worse. "This isn't as simple as being separate from an indoctrinated morality, Kiyori." he said darkly. "This isn't even about Yuumagure. If I lead some kind of black ops, do you know what they do?" He turned and leaned against a counter top, staring at Kiyori with a look akin to shock and horror still on his features.

"They kill in secret, commit murders. They kill people like me, and aren't afraid to kill innocents. I get that they will think there's a reason for it, what good reason is there for murder and secrecy of this magnitude?" Arata shook his head, clearly having trouble understanding what Kiyori was telling him.

He took another drag off the cigarette before putting it in an ash tray and walking over to where Kiyori still sat on the couch. Looking down at her he reached out and touched her face gently. "Do you know what you're asking of me?"

"Its no different than the function I served before, there's nothing wrong with this." As Kogasha spoke to him, Arata looked down and to his left, almost as if listening to someone whispering in his ears, and he shook his head.

"It's not that simple."

[TyDie]

Kiyori tried her best to maintain her composure, but truth be told this was eating away at her inside. Not because of the topic itself, but because she hated how badly this was eating at Arata. Truly, she wished there was someone else, anyone else she could ask to do this..."Yes Arata. I'm well aware of the wetwork side of things. The espionage, the assassination, the sabotage, the subterfuge, the manipulations... I know about all of it. You forget, I have a goddamn library of knowledge in my head, if anyone is aware of what goes on it's ME!"

She paused, as she was getting out of hand and letting herself get angry about all of this. She was on the verge of tears a moment later, shaking her head and apologizing. "I'm sorry Arata, I'm sorry... Believe me, I don't want this. I didn't want to put this forth to the council, I didn't want to fight for this and push for this, and I sure as hell didn't want to involve you in any of it... But I truly feel it's necessary, and I don't have anyone else Arata. I can't involve my family, Shigekuni is MIA, and Kyoko is incapable of it."

She put her hands over her nose and mouth as she thought and straightened herself out. Maybe he was right, She should ask Hito if there was a way to either have her be the leader of it, or maybe find someone else to do it. But in a village like Suna, who else was there?

[Willoria]

Arata removed his hand from Kiyori's cheek with a hiss as she started getting upset, and he took a few steps back before leaning against the counter again, crossing his arms over his chest as his eyes dropped to his feet. Even as she stopped getting pissed at him and apologized, he didn't budge. The options were running through his head even as she said them, but what was bothering him wasn't that there were no other options in her mind other than him... it was that she had even considered this. He had this image in his head when it came to Kiyori, since the day he had met her, and right now that image was shattered.

He finally lifted his eyes to look at Kiyori and sighed heavily. "I'll do it." he told her quietly, his voice almost like gravel as he reached over and picked up the rolled blunt from his ashtray that was still smoldering. He took a long drag off of it and chuckled without mirth. "I'm already an alcoholic and a drug addict by the villages view. You pick anyone else and that job will drive them to it and people will start asking questions."

He looked at Kiyori a moment, almost sadly. "I'm not impervious, Kiyori. I can't promise this won't change me... and its already changing you."

"You're being over sensitive, child. This is what the Darkness does when it works with the Light. The Light cannot touch this, only we can."

Arata sighed, his eyes drifting down and to the left as he listened to what Kogasha said yet again, and shook his head. 'Doesn't mean I have to be okay with it.'

[TyDie]

By the Light, she was so conflicted in this conversation. She hated it, she hated that she had to come to Arata to ask this of him, that this had to be done at all. She hated the covert ops, the wetwork, the underhanded methods... She hated all of it. And it was incredibly clear on her face how she felt about all of this. But when he said he'd do it, she could only look up at him with tears in her eyes. Honestly, part of her wanted him to say no... "Arata, I know that I came to you asking this so this might sound stupid, but please... be sure of this before you accept. I don't want to twist your arm or guilt you to do this."

She thought for a moment about what he said, about it changing her already... had it? What changes had she missed? She was more willing to do and overlook things that she normally would have completely opposed for sure, but how much further would it go? Would she be able to live with herself in the future? Clearly she had a lot of self reflection to go over... Why did this sort of thing need to be so damn difficult?

[Willoria]

Arata took another long drag before finally putting the blunt out and looking at Kiyori again. "I'm sure, Kiyori." he told her, sighing as he pushed off the counter and walked back over to her. He didn't sit down just yet, but he did reach out and touch her cheek. He could see how conflicted she was on it now, now that he wasn't so clouded by his own upset over the entire situation. "Sure, I hate these kinds of things, and I hate that you're asking me to do it, but I can see that you need me. You wouldn't ask me if you didn't need me." he told her, moving to kneel on the couch beside her as his hand that had been touching her cheek slipped behind her head and he bent down to kiss her.

He kissed her deeply, ignoring Kogasha's upset over it all even as he pulled her up to her feet and into his arms, still kissing her. It wasn't a reassurance, it was an attempt to bring her mind back to that vacation and the way things were before they were forced to come back to this so called reality. By time he pulled his lips from hers, he was smiling down at her and trying to catch his breath as he was sure she would be too. "Better, right?"

[TyDie]

All of the thoughts swimming in her head, the conflicting emotions and morals going back and forth, tearing her mind apart from the inside out... All of it stopped in an instant when he touched her. She looked up at him, the tears that were welling in her eyes finally beginning to fade as she gave his final answer, and smiled a sort of sad smile. She was glad that he took the position, as she really couldn't trust anyone else with it, but at the same time she wished like crazy that it didn't have to be him. And that was before she knew that he would relate it to his sister...

He kissed her and she kissed him back, enjoying the moment as much as she could given the previous conversation that was just had. Still, it was bliss, and she rose to her feet without even really thinking about it. When it finally ended, all she could do was smile and take in deep breaths, as she was literally left breathless by the moment. "Much... Much better. But Arata?" She looked up at him, her strange black and red eyes staring at him with a look of extreme concern in her eyes. "If at any point it becomes too much for you, don't hesitate to resign. I don't want you to break yourself over this, and I won't think any less of you if you have to step away. I'm giving you this as an order, as your new boss... Understand?"

She gave him a wink as she gave him the 'order' before pulling herself in for a warming hug, resting her chin on his elbow and nuzzling in to the crook of his neck. She felt so safe, so... right, when she was close to him like this. Everything else, even their recent back and forth, seemed to fade away. In these moments, when they were so close, nothing else mattered.

[Willoria]

Arata smiled down at her as she spoke and he simply nodded. "I'll let you know... boss." he said in response, wrapping his arms around her as she moved for her hug, and a mischievous smirk played about the man's lips. He dipped his head down, his breath tickling her ear. "You know, if you really want to give me orders, I know some you can start with." he whispered, still smirking as he released the hug and brought both hands up to either side of her face, holding it in place as he kissed her deeply. One hand again slipped behind the woman's head, the other around her waist as he pulled her against him before he broke the kiss just enough to speak.

"So where shall it be... boss? Couch? Bed?"

[TyDie]

Kiyori just nodded in response to him and chuckled as he referred to her as boss, but then of course he pushed the situation farther... Not that she was against that of course. His riskay comment earned a sultry smirk from the woman before she kissed him back, the passion increasing between the two until he finally broke it off and asked him the question. Kiyori paused a moment, then smiled "Hehe, you might regret that one... I can think of quite a few orders to give you. Unfortunately, I need you able to walk in a few days, so I'll have to go easy on you."

"We'll saaaaay table... For now." She then proceeded to grab him by the collar and lead him towards the kitchenette... Talk about 'breakfast'.