It's been a while.

[Nujabes]

Seven long years, to be exact. A lot of shit has changed since the last time we talked. For starters, I've gotten older, and with that a little more mature. I'm also an official resident of the Hidden Mist, now. Prior to the Nidaime vanishing, she granted me a pardon for my previous acts of violence against the village, and due to my assistance in helping during the final days of the Second Great War, allowed me to retain my Jounin title. The best part? Miku and I got to move in together.

Yeah, I know I said a lot had changed, but that doesn't mean everything. She and I were (and still are) still going strong, and I don't think we'd ever been happier. Somehow, I think her seeing me actually fight for her and her village - even though I made it clear I didn't believe in their cause - made her really understand how much she meant to me. I wasn't lying when I told her that I'd go to the end of the world and back for her, and that I'd kill anyone that dared try to harm her. But, that was the past. All that mattered was she and I were together, and just as deeply in love as we were all those years ago.

That particular day was quite special, though. It was the first time I'd actually been able to sit down and think about what I was going to do as far as my surprise for Miku was. I'd had several ideas pop into my head about where and when, but nothing really concrete. Oh well, I mused. It'll come to me when it comes.

Delicately, I toyed with my lover's hair as we lay sprawled in our bed. Instinctively, I thumbed her naked forehead, now devoid of the intricate seal that once marked her as a branch member of her family line. That's right, folks. It was shortly after Konohagakure was decimated when I made those pale-eyed bastards remove that evil mark from her, just like I said I would. I don't think even she realized I actually intended to carry out my threat, but alas, I did.

"Good morning," I finally spoke, attempting to stir her from a slumber.

[Miku]

I awoken to the soft brush of Akira’s thumb grazing against my forehead, delicately caressing my head. My body remained still as I was trying to fully gain control over my body, I was always a lazy morning person. It took me about five to ten minutes to actually get out of my bed once I open my eyes. It was just so damn hard to get out of my comfortable bed and freshen up.

Sleeping was probably one of my favorite things to do, even seven years later. My arm rubbed Akira’s bare chest in a circular motion, indicting to him that I was awake and acknowledging his presence beside me. ”Morning, darling.” I was surprised my voice sounded so cheerily, despite not really having a reason to be so happy in the morning. I guess when you’re truly in love with someone; just having them by your side in the morning is the greatest way to start your day.

I outgrew any doubts that I had about us, and I no longer even cared about having the finer things in life. I just thoroughly enjoyed his company and I did not really need anything else. Thanks to my hard work during the last seven years, I was also promoted to the rank of Jounin. It was about time too. Even though he and I may be on two completely different levels, at least now we were the same rank, and I loved to look at him more as an equal now than as if I had to keep trying to impress him.

We were beyond that, and our life was something that a girl could only dream for. I straightened my back up, while still remaining in the bed, and began to stretch leisurely and let out a soft yawn. ’Ehh.’ I definitely needed to stretch my entire body and take a hot shower to fully wake myself up. Looking at Akira, I would begin to speak, ”I’m going to go freshen up in a bit; you can join me if you’d like.”

My tone was rather flat, hinting towards no underlying motives in the least. I still was not comfortable using the toilet in front of someone else, hence the “in a bit” part I mentioned, however, I had no problem showering with him. I actually enjoyed it, I just loved seeing his body and being with him when we’re both so…natural. I started to smirk during my departure from the bed, pushing the sheets out of my way as I slipped my way into the bathroom. Luckily, I had naturally straight hair so my black locks weren’t too bad.

They would only need a touch up when I was done showering. I brushed my teeth with great accuracy and then began to let the shower water run in order to get hot. I looked at myself in the full-sized mirror that we had in the bathroom and I felt absolutely disgusting. I was wearing black panties with a white bra, but it looked as though I was beginning to lose my curves and my stomach was getting flabby.

’Grr.’ Of course, through the eyes of a girl – we are never perfect and there is always something wrong to us. I was not vain at all, but sometimes, when I looked in the mirror I hated what I saw. Oh well. It was not that big of a deal though, right? Besides, maybe Akira was planning to join me in the shower. That way, I would have something else to look at. Giggling to my own naughty thoughts, I removed my two articles of clothing and entered the shower.

[Nujabes]

Even though I'd technically woken up first, I was by no means planning to get out of bed. I didn't really have any kind of issue with being up so early (it was actually fairly close to noon), I was just too comfortable laying there. Naturally, Miku being curled against my body only made things even better; it just felt so unnaturally perfect when our bodies weren't separated. Sometimes, I wondered if she and I were, in the past life, the same person - a single soul, that was separated in death. But now we had found each other once again, and everything was well.

"Sounds like a plan, love," I replied to her offer. She knew very well I'd be joining, and I couldn't help but smirk at how even after all this time she still found room to play coy. Still, that didn't stop me from letting out a very sharp, albeit low, whistle as she walked from our bed.

Even after all this time of being together, I never got tired of looking at her body. Granted, not much had changed, which meant she was still just as gorgeous as she was all those years ago. If anything, her curves had become more defined than they previously were; her training, and of course a very healthy amount of extracurricular activities, had to do with that. All in all, Miku had grown into a beautiful woman. I was incredibly lucky to have her, and I never let myself forget it.

With a bear's growl of a yawn, I slowly pushed myself to an seated position. Had she seen me, it would've been obvious my attention was more than split. Even as I sat there, my mind had drifted to future plans and possibilities. I had a lot to do an it didn't seem like I had any time to get it done; I found myself wondering if all men went through this when they intended to do what I did. I wasn't panicking, though. I was fairly confident that I knew the answer, and the very minor bit of uncertainty was more so exciting than terrifying. Unfortunately, I didn't have much time to think about it.

The sound of running water derailed my train of thought, and I found myself standing thereafter. Unlike my beloved, I wore nothing to bed. Clothes were meant for - well, wearing obviously - for the outside world. In fact, I rarely wore clothes when we were in our home. Assuming we had company, I'd be respectful and sport a pair of boxers or something, but for the most part I was for all intents and purposes a nudist. Miku liked to tease me and say it was because I had an unnaturally high body temperature, and I couldn't disagree. Sometimes, I wondered if a drop of the sun was caged inside me

Oh well, it wasn't anything a shower couldn't fix.

Though I didn't know it, I'd entered the bathroom a moment or two after Miku had jumped into the shower. She'd easily see my figure through the shower's shower glass, though it'd be more of a silhouette, and vice versa. Due to my height, however, as I drew closer I could easily just peer over the sliding door and glance at her nude body with a smile. "It would be so easy to be a peeping tom and spy on you." With a laugh, I slid the door back and stepped (more like ducked) into the shower. "Fortunately for me, I've already got you."

Scrub a dub dub.

[Miku]

{ OOC: Eh. Sorry for the wait, my post is so shit for the wait 8( }

My mouth slightly dropped as I mockingly shunned his joke of playing peeping tom with me. Although time went on between us two, I could not help but love the cat and mouse game that we played. I guess you can say in a way it kept the relationship exciting to me; or at the very least it kept me interested. ”Babe..you got something…” Speaking unorthodoxly, I would motion to him that he had some strange sort of mark on his back, and it was my resolve to clean it off for him.

Obviously I was lying, but with my soapy rag in hand, I would begin to anticipate him turning his back towards me so I could scrub his back. I loved every single part of him even until this day. ”You know, I’m only rubbing your back, so you could rub mine next.” My delicate voiced cooed over the running water splashing against our body. The soapy rag would brush against Akira’s back. From this view, he seemed like a giant to me. It always took me sometime to realize just how tall he was compared to my small height.

I had to fully extend my arms to scrub from the back of his neck until his lower back. ’Damn it… Anytime I was near him, I always had this euphoric feeling creep back into my stomach. The more I stared blankly at his back, the more I wanted his physical attention. I guess you can say, once you start, you can’t stop. I was a changed woman. I gripped his body tightly from behind, wrapping my arms around his back and locking in front of his stomach. Giggling manically, I began to sink my teeth into the middle of his back.

I was careful to not be too rough and scratch his well toned body, but it was enough for him to feel my very presence on him. I nuzzled my head onto his back, squeezing him and rocking him gently from side to side. Hrm, whatever shall we do today?” I released my grip and began to continue bathing myself. I had no idea what we were going to do, but I suppose we could easily just figure it out later once we got dressed and stuff.

[Nujabes]

Yeah, the games we played definitely kept our relationship fairly exciting. Even though I knew how much Miku enjoyed having me, and I'm positive she knew that the feeling was equally mutual, I never could get tired of her playing hard to get. It was obvious that we were meant for each other, but she still kept her coy, school-girl attitude in tip-top shape. But, like I said, I enjoyed it.

I let loose a single yawn as my lover took to scrubbing my back, and I couldn't help but laugh at her comment. "Of course you had an ulterior motive; what woman doesn't?" I would've laughed then, too, but a sharp - all but dull - sensation in my back caused me to yelp out instead. Of course, even if she had bit with all her might, I don't think she would've broken the skin.

"A cannibal now, too?! I see your ploy to lure me into this shower was just your way of getting a quick meal, missy!" I didn't attempt to fight her off of me as she bear-hugged my torso; I brought both of my hands up from their resting places, layering them over her own. I was still chuckling from my earlier joke, but I managed to press on just fine. "Eh, I'm not really sure, love. I've actually been in the mood for a nice stroll around the village outskiirts."

Most of the ponds and more ceremonial parks were located just shy of the gates and natural barriers (namely the mountain(s) ) that ensrcibed the village. It was the perfect spot for what I had in mind.

"But--" the trailing of my statement was punctuated by a sudden, almost mechanical turn within her hold. Naturally, I was careful not to elbow her in the face while I was turning to face her, and with both of my hands no free there wasn't anything stopping me from anchoring them on the underside of her thighs and hiking her up clean off the ground. My beloved would find her back pressed against the cool shower wall, and her body pinned between me and it.

"--we'll figure that out after we're finished here. >=)" I'm pretty sure you children know what happened next!

[Miku]

”Aw, Akira. You didn’t think I would do something out of the kindness from my heart?” I jokingly began to pout as I started to burst out into laughter. Even I could not convince myself otherwise. My breathing began to grow irregular as I began to anticipate his very next movements. It was weird that, even after all of this time spent with him, I still felt those very same high-sprung hormones flowing through my body.

I guess it was going to take some time to lose the sensitive sexual desire for him, but currently – I could not help but want him more. Before he had even turned around, I knew what his intentions were going to be, because he knew what mine were as well. Even if I wanted to, I could not describe how blissful I was feeling. The entire world ceased to exist when he and I were alone, and in a weird way (if you viewed it as such), I preferred it like that. I generally only wanted to be in his company, and even when we were apart, I only looked forward to reuniting with him anyways.

Despite all of my emotions, my body was pressed against the wall as I was hoisted up by Akira. My arms hung loosely around his neck as I went in to kiss him. I loved being with him. After our shower, I dried my hair and put on my casual light blue kimono. There was not much that he and I could anyways in the village, since things seemed to have slowed down during the Holidays, however I was more than happy to go on a stroll with him. He knew how much I loved nature and just being outdoors, so I suppose that it was a pretty thoughtful gesture of his.

”I’m so happy that you live in Mist now, it makes things so much easier for the both of us…but you know how guilty I feel – for you having been through so much for my behalf.” I know he did not like it when I started talking such nonsense, but he really did do a lot for me and sometimes, I wish I could do more for him. It just bothered me to no ends, even though I tried to suppress those feelings. I hoped he would not get upset at me for even bringing it up, but whatever happens, happens I guess. Besides, it gave us something to talk about, right? Eh!

[Nujabes]

After our far-more-being-done-than-washing-each-others-backs shower, getting dressed was easy peasy. Even though I'd gotten older and matured a great deal, I still preferred my leather tightly-knit outfits. It was either leather or jeans with a shirt, and on the rare ocassion I'd sport some slacks or sweat pants. Some habits just don't die, y'know? I mean, it really wasn't that big of a problem; Miku never said anything bad about it. Honestly, I think she liked me in it.

Our walk had started pretty vanilla. The foot traffic wasn't too bad, but Kirigakure seemed a little busier than usual. Then again, we did live just off the village's heart. Most people spent their time pouring from shop to shop, or flooding the market to just to the west. Definitely a busy neighborhood, to say the least.

That all changed once we hit the outskirts, though. The misty parks, segregated by large ponds or lakes, but at the same time connected by bridges that scaled the murky depths, were nearly abandoned. There was a couple here and there, but their appearances were few and far between. Again, that didn't bother me. Considering what was about to happen in a few moments, I really didn't want a lot of people around. It'd be really embarassing, more so on my behalf, if there were.

"Haha, don't talk like that, love." There wasn't a point in getting mad about how someone felt. No matter what you said or did, they were going to feel that way until they decided that they were truly ready to change it. I'd done nothing more than what I promised her I would; any good man kept his word when he gave it to his woman. I wasn't sure why she wouldn't let it go, but I presumed it would all come with time. "You've done more for me than you know. So, if you're going to look at it like that, you could say that I'm simply repaying the favor."

My smile widened. "I love you, Miku. I told you when we first got together that I wouldn't let anything happen to you, and that I would do whatever you needed me to in order to make you happy. You should know by now that I'm a man of my word. =p"

Coming to a rather low bridge, I paused. Stuffing my hands into my pockets, I found myself gazing through the mist and into the sky. "That kind of brings me to my next point. I've been wanting to do this for a long time, but it never felt right. . ."

[Miku]

I could not believe what was happening before my eyes. I guess after being together for so long without having a ring, you kind of lose the anticipating of even wanting to get it. But, the morning “fun-time,” our stroll through Mizugakure, and this location – it all really led me to believe that he was up to something. And here I thought only girls had ulterior motives.

I guess when you’ve been together so long with someone, you somehow possess the ability to probe their thoughts and actions. He reminded me of his promise that he made to me over six-some years ago, when we first met each other. Thinking back on those old times of our relationship, it was actually quite strange. I never would have guessed that I was going to meet a man that I would eventually end up spending all of my time with.

”Wanting to do what, Akira?” My voice was soft, and my eyes peered at him as if I were in a trance.

[Nujabes]

It was so strange. No matter how much I thought about it or how many times I rehearsed what I would do and say to her at this point in time, I'd always been nervous. Just the thought of this happening sent chills down my spine. But now that we were here, an unnatural serenity washed over me. I wasn't shaking; I wasn't cold; I was perfectly fine. It almost felt like I wasn't there, but I knew that I was - I knew that it was happening, and with a fervor I didn't know that I had, I planned to take it.

In an almost appriopriately dramatic fashion, I fell silent. My left hand, which had already sunk into the depths of my pocket, slowly revealed itself. Cradled in the crescent of my palm was a small box, and though its simplistic ebony cover gave no hints, I was fairly certain she could figure out what it is. Carefully, I turned to face her entirely, and while I do so my body was brought to one knee.

Comically enough, even on one knee, I could look her straight in the eye.

And with my left hand as the base, my right slowly peeled the square-shaped cover back. I'm not sure the exact size of the diamonds and the band itself, but I know that it was the largest ring I'd ever seen in my life. It had cost me an arm and a leg and taken a ridiculously long time to prepare. I wanted it to be absolutely flawless, and if there was so much as an unwanted dent or curve, I made them completely re-do it. I really went all out for this.

"Miku Suzuka," I finally spoke in a low, hushed tone. "I've loved you since the moment I met you, and I can't see myself spending the rest of my life with anyone else but you. If you let me, I will love you; cherish you; take care of you; and be whatever it is you need me to be in this life or the next. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife? Will you marry me?"

Though I was certain she'd say yes, it didn't stop my heart from thumping up a storm. This was probably the first time in my life that I was genuinely nervous.

[Miku]

...'What the hell?!' I could honestly say that, I had not expected a morning stroll to result into this... I thought we were going to travel to a different country, or perhaps go on an all-expense trip to some fancy spa, but instead, it appeared as though Akira had brought me to this romantic scenery to ask for my hand in marriage. Even when he was kneeling, I still looked at him eye level and smiled brightly.

It was obvious that I could never be happier, and even though I desperately wanted to contain my smile for such a serious moment – I could not. This moment was the proudest moment of my life, and my eyes began to flutter tears in disbelief almost immediately after he began to reveal the small box. I knew what was next. And even so, my hands covered my open mouth in amazement, I released a gasp. Despite my knowledge of there being a shiny diamond ring within the box, I was still utterly shocked. Quite a paradox, really. My eyes would shift from studying the diamond ring to Akira’s own eyes, wondering if he shared the exact same excitement as I did.

”Yes, Akira. Of course I would marry you. I would be honored to share the rest of my life with you. I have never met anyone that could literally sweep me off of my feet, and continually make me feel the same butterflies in my stomach every time we are together. You truly are my better half, and I could not possible see myself in a life without you. I shall with this ring with pride, Akira.” I extended my left hand towards him so he could slip the ring onto my finger. Today was the day I truly felt content with life. There was nothing more I could possibly want more, other than to be with him.