The Protector [Private]

Kurai grumbled in protest as she hobbled about her office, her Yukikage robes clinging loosely to her form as her eyes flitted about the room. She'd just returned from a particularly dangerous predicament of dealing with intruders on the border, and had returned badly injured. She'd managed to patch herself up fairly well and the other medic-nin managed to improve this even further but she had been confined to her office until she was back to full health. She hated being cooped up as she was now. Finally giving in to her fatigue, she collapsed onto the couch below her window with a sigh, tucking her knees up to her chest and gazing listlessly out at the snow-covered village. It might've worked out differently, had she not gone out there on her own.

Kimimaro looked on at Kurai with a little concern. The woman he vowed to protect had told him to stay behind while she went to deal with intruders on the border and she had told him not to get involved and since he was the obedient person that he is, he stayed behind. Now, he regretted staying behind, considering the shape she was in. The pale and sickly 18 year old looked down at her silently with emotionless eyes, a bit of concern swirling in those seafoam green eyes. "You should have let me go instead Lady Kurai. I could have dealt with those trash easily" he said in an emotionless tone of voice as he frowned slightly.

"I told you, Kimimaro," She sighed as she ran a hand through her hair, gazing up at the boy she knew so well. "I needed you here in case any more of them slipped through and got to the village...You're the only person I would trust with such a matter," She seemed more banked than usual, the ballsy, confident Kurai apparently locked away while she sat here and brooded. "It was my mistake alone. I should've been more careful and suffered my punishment accordingly," A small smile broke out across her lips as if telling him not to worry as she rose to her feet, mentally scolding herself as she almost lost her footing and stumbled.

His frown got just a little bit bigger, making it obvious about what he was thinking. He made it very clear to her that he made it his job to protect her and he obvious felt he couldn't do that if she didn't allow him to come with her. The last member of the Kaguya Clan and sole wielder of the Shikotsumyaku couldn't help but worry over the girl he grew up with. He grew up with her through the Niwa Clan Massacre and he was with her, by her side ever since and it hurt him a bit that she was in such a state because he wasn't there to protect her. "If I took care of them, none of those trash would have gotten away. Even ill, I am more then capable of taking down worthless trash ninja" he said as his lips moved back into the neutral line that was always on his face.

"I don't want you exerting yourself," She suddenly snapped, her eyes hard for the briefest of moments and in that moment it was easy to see why she was so good at leading her troops into battle."Kimi-San, level with me here," She pleaded with him with a tired sigh as she placed both of her hands on his shoulders. "I'm very sorry that I didn't take you with me, but I don't want you pushing yourself so much when you're like this. You are not the only one who worries. What good is a leader if she cannot care for those she treasures the most?" She hoped that he would see her point, that if he was in her position it would be hard for him to send her into battle also. The flicker of a frown on his face discouraged her as she stepped back and removed her hands since she knew that he disliked contact, shaking her head and rolling up the sleeve of her kimono and moving to her desk to change the bandage on her left arm; her GOOD arm.

He raised his eyebrows up into his hairline in surprise, though that was all that indicated his surprise, since his face was otherwise emotionless. He knew the only reason she didn't want him to exert himself was because of his incurable disease that all Shikotsumyaku wielders get. He understood she didn't want him to die but he was perfectly willing to die for her. It was his job as her protector after all. His frown disappeared as soon as physical contact left him. Kurai understood why he disliked physical contact, because the only time he received such was when his enemy was either trying to kill him or when his father and fellow clan members abused him. "I am perfectly willing to die Lady Kurai. I am not afraid. It'll take more then a few trash to make me overexert myself" he said with pure confidence. Not arrogance, but confidence.

"You may be willing to die, but I am not willing to let you," Was all she said to him in reply, defiance glistening in her eyes that were glazed with exhaustion. Only then was it painfully easy to notice the dark rings about her eyes, the gaunt lines in her face, the shaky way in which she carried herself. She opened her mouth to say more to him but no sound came. Instead, she settled for a moment of staring him straight in the eye, letting that communicate for her before breaking it and turning away. At the end of the day, he was all she had left and vice versa. She saw him as the most important person in her world, his priorities above that of any villager she had under her care. Her futile attempts at trying to tend fo his incurable disease only proved this time and time again.

He looked into her eyes and then did something surprising by smiling slightly. It still surprised a bit to know she cared for him to such an extent that she would try to cure his incurable disease and try to keep him alive as much as possible. Her mother was the one who found him and he was very loyal to her and when she died, Kurai and Shia became his number one priorities. It was drilled into his head to always attend to his number one priorities and that was one of his abusive father's teachings that he would hold onto until his death. He was a man of honor, after all. "It never ceases to surprise me you and Shia care for me to such an extent" he said in a surprised tone of voice. He was told constantly by Kurai and Shia that he was the strongest person they had ever seen. Fighting on levels to rival that of most seasoned Jounin and ANBU despite having a disease that severely hindered his full fighting ability and made the amount of time he could fight extremely limited.

"You are all that we have. Shia and I treasure your life more than we treasure our own and that is no exaggeration. You are not a tool to us, as you have offered. You're Kimimaro, the man who has saved my life too many times to count and I have yet to repay you in any suitable way other than run off and nearly get slaughtered," Her voice rose in pitch as she spoke until she was nearly shouting, her weakened state forbidding her from getting much louder as she sat herself down again, sighing and breathing heavily as shaky hands undid the clasps of the locket that hung about her neck. She flicked the little silver pendant open and extended it to him in her palm. "Remember?" Within the locket was a single picture; Kurai's mother in the middle with one arm slung around either Kurai or Kimimaro's shoulders with Shia sitting in the middle at their feet. The two of them were young then, only about 5 or 6. Kurai was dragging Kimimaro into the frame by the arm it seemed, disapproving of his dislike to having his picture taken with them as an equal.

Kimimaro looked at the picture silently, analyzing the picture. That moment was of happier times, before the Niwa Clan was slaughtered, before Kurai left the Leaf Village and he followed, before his illness became serious to the point where it became dangerous for him to perform shinobi activities. He was more of a recluse back then, more emotionless then he was today and more subservient too. Despite that, he almost looked happier that day. "I remember. How could I not? That was one of my most memorable memories" he said as he fingered the locket slightly. That moment was when he was happy, though the picture obviously didn't show it. Kurai, her mother and Shia knew, on the other hand. All of a sudden, he tensed up when he heard the door to the office opened and pointed a finger at the intruder, ready to fire off a finger bullet before he recognized the furry form of Shia. He relaxed as the bone protruding out of his finger went back into his skin. He knew that despite seeing him use his own bones as weapons and pulling and shooting them out of his own body, Kurai always got a little surprised by it.

"By the GODS, Kimimaro!" Shia barked as she bolted into the room, looking up at him with her usual almost maternal glare. "So help me, if you nearly shoot me with one of those things ONE more time..." Despite this, the shewolf still gave his hand a quick nudge with her nose before despositing a small pouch on Kurai's lap. She then proceeded about things her usual way; curling up in front of the fire, head between her paws, intent on falling fast asleep in the next minute or so if she remained uninterrupted.

"What's this, then..?" Kurai frowned and undid the knot holding the package together, sighing heavily as the cloth fell away to reveal several ointments, salves and bandages saturated with healing solutions. "They're wasting money they don't have on me," She shook her head and set the medic-nins package to one side save one vial. She was planning on experimenting on it in another useless experiment to help Kimimaro later on. Storying said vial in a drawer on her desk, she gave his wrist a tap. "Relax, will you?"

He sighed a bit in relief as he combed a hand through his bone-white hair and nodded to show he would try to relax. He couldn't help it. Many years of training his reflexes to such an extent caused him to react in such a way. He calmly moved his hand through Shia's fur, petting her softly as he looked at the healing solutions. No doubt it was another attempt to cure him of his incurable disease. He didn't have any hope that he would be cured and he would be surprised if someone actually found a way to cure him of his Tuberculosis. Deciding to change the subject, Kimimaro turned to stare at Kurai with a concerned glance. "I hope your tenants aren't acting up on you. I would hate to have to force them down, like I did with your Spirit Form the last time she tried to take over your body" he said with a bit of concern. One of the many things he was good for was keeping Kurai's demons Peacock and Gobi, along with her Spirit Form in line, since every time they tried something, he was already ready to force them back down through physical force. His sheer iron will and fighting ability even in the shape of the pain his disease brought him and being weakened by said disease caused him to earn the respect of Kurai's three tenants. To know that a human suffering from a disease could fight any of them off and force them back down even when in incredible pain was something to be respected. Kimimaro was unaware however that his words might have reached the three in question.

"Uh, well...Actu--AH!" She clutched at her head with a yelp as a wave of pain crashed over her. Having all 3 of them trying to get their message across at the same time was agony for her and for once they weren't doing it on purpose. That hand pressed itself down on her desk to steady herself while her free hand stretched out towards Kimimaro with an open palm. "Could you just get me to a seat? Please?" She wouldn't normally involve him in their affairs but she didn't want to risk it this time around, not when he was there and ready to help should she need it.

He looked at her in concern and nodded his head. He grabbed her hand, tensing up a bit at the contact and lead her over to her chair that was in front of her desk and sat her down in it. He then placed his head on her hand as if her to say 'I'm here for you' and stood by her side, ready to fight off the three tenants in case they might try to break free. He had the most difficult fight of his life when Gobi broke free and Kurai used 4 tails of the Gobi's chakra but he managed to fight her off, albeit with him suffering from lethal heart failure later on that he miraculously survived later on. Ever since then, Kurai had made sure that he didn't do anything strenuous, since she and Shia almost lost Kimimaro that day.

She relaxed at the contact, once again proving to be a polar opposite of him, and kept her eyes tightly shut as he sat her down. Her breathing was laboured as she actually began to radiate chakra so it wouldn't do damage to her body. So far, she had managed to maintain control. However, she was too busy mentally steeling herself that she had cut herself off from the outer world for now. So, naturally, when Kimimaro's hand and head left her contact, she panicked. "Kimimaro!" She yelped as if she had reverted back into a child again now that she didn't know where he was even though he was standing right next to her.

Deep within her, the Gobi's voice began to stir above the other 2, naturally.
"One would think that she would be accustomed to this by now. Pity,"

Kimimaro looked at her in alarm when she started to panic. He saw the helplessness in her eyes, the same emotion she felt on the day her clan was massacred. The same helplessness he felt constantly before Kurai's mother had found him and brought him back with her to be an honorary member of the Niwa Clan. His hand immediately went to caress her head, softly running his hand through the strands of black hair on her head. "I'm here Lady Kurai. Those trash sealed in your body will not be able to gain control of you. I will destroy them if I have to" he said as he deliberately insulted the three beings inhabiting Kurai's body.

"The title...I-Isn't necessary," She managed to stutter in reply, her shoulders starting to relax now that she knew that he was actually there now. Her eyes flitted in his direction, green mixing with red, purple and silver beneath her dark eyelashes. They weren't taking over by any means but they were all certainly sitting there right on the surface. Red started to take prominence as she opened her mouth to speak, but it was not her voice that emerged. "It's quite cute how you think you can constantly protect her. If her mother couldn't, how can you?"

Kimimaro narrowed his eyes at the Gobi that was speaking through Kurai. The Gobi had he never got along, mainly due to the fact that Kimimaro, even while he was ill, managed to fight the Gobi when she had four of her tails at her disposal to use. Granted Gobi wasn't at her full power but that was besides the point. The point was that Kimimaro was more then strong enough to protect Kurai from anyone, even her own tenants. "I saved her from you, didn't I trash demon? I beat you back, Peacock back and that worthless Spirit Form back on separate occasions. I've beaten you and protected her before, what makes you think I can't do it again, even in my weakened state? My iron will far exceeds yours" he said coldly as he frowned at the Gobi no Houkou, one of the nine most powerful creatures on the face of the mortal plane.

"Because while you've been sitting there contemplating your own weakness, you haven't noticed hers. You're not as vigilant a protector as you think. Kurai, stand," Kurai's body juddered and shakily got to its feet, the Gobi using it as a vessel to prove it's point. "Look at her face and tell me what you see," It was true. She looked awful. Her hair was limp and lifeless, her skin an unhealthy sheet white with only the odd blotch of faint colour about her cheeks. Her lips were chapped and almost purple and once again the dark rings around her eyes were noted. Just below this, her jawbone jutted out unnaturally from lack of food and followed down to her protruding collarbone. "I'm just here to...help," The demon purred, now almost sick with delicious glee.

Kimimaro narrowed his eyes as he looked at Kurai, finally noticing that she did look a little sick, granted not as sick as himself but still. Things must have been pretty stressful if she looks the way she does. Granted that's part of the job of being Yukikage of Yukigakure but still. "Don't act so gleeful...you piece of trash. I'll happily help out with anything she's going through, unlike you, mangy mongrel" he said with narrowed eyes as he fired off a finger bullet as a warning, the finger bullet making a dent in the wall beside the right side of Kurai's head and disintegrating. It was true, he would happily help the woman he vowed to protect with ever molecule that made up his body.

"Relaxxxx..." The Gobi chuckled darkly, the red fading in and out of the green. "I was just leaving. I leave this mess in your care. Whether that is a wise decision or not remains to be seen. Until next time, Kimi-Kun," The demon mocked him before the presence faded and a more human sigh left Kurai's lips as her eyes rolled back in her head before she fell forwards. Kimimaro was used to this. Whenever there was a takeover, she would faint but it would only take a couple of minutes before she came around again. Nonetheless, it was dangerous in her current state.

He narrowed his eyes as he moved to catch Kurai's falling form. He had her lean back in her chair in order to make sure she didn't fall out of her chair. He would plan a way to get back at Gobi later, something painful and involving a spear of bone next time she took over. He hated the demon when she took over Kurai as it just made her come off as a piece of trash to him. He then waited patiently for her to wake up.

After a while, Kurai began to stir. Her eyes fluttered open and her hands clenched and unclenched slowly as if making sure they were still functional. "What...What happened?" She croaked as a hand weakly came up to brush the hair out of her face. She felt horrible for relying on Kimimaro so much when he was already this ill but she had a surprise that would hopefully bode well for him later on. The Gobi was silent now and all that was left of the earlier commotion was the annoying buzz of Peacock asking Kurai if she was alright or if anything had been bruised in her fall.

Kimimaro looked down down at her and frowned in concern. "That trash Gobi temporarily took over your body and we had a discussion about your general welfare and how I am lacking at protecting you" he said, sounding a little angry at the thought. After all, it was no secret that Kimimaro took his job of protecting Kurai very seriously and he tends to get a bit angered when someone questions his ability to protect her. Kimimaro did tend to react violently whenever someone even attempted to fake harm Kurai in a jest, as a joke so whenever his ability to protect her comes into question, he gets a bit upset. He felt justified though he acted upset. After all, Gobi was just a piece of trash and didn't know a single thing about honor or duty.

"You do a grand job of protecting me, make no mistake," She shook her head and very gradually got to her feet, her fatigue clouding her better judgement as she moved forward to give him a reassuring hug despite the fact that she would've otherwise remembered the fact that he could imaple her there and then in shock. However, it was fleeting and she pulled back with a wisened smile. "Come," She headed towards the door with Shia at her heels, apparently ignoring the fact that she was denied the right to leave her Kage building.