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With the boy's wounds mended, Kirino was able to breathe a sigh of relief. It seemed they were in the clear, so to speak. The lady left, Goto waving her off with a smile, and the two left, heading no specific direction as far as she could tell. She turned her attention to Ashura as he began speaking again. He was filled with such joy, it was truly contagious.

"That's great, Ashura. I'm really happy for you! I hope we can find him, or them, soon."

Then the kid seemed to explode with joy, a skip in his step and a pocketful of sunshine. Kirino turned her head to laugh a bit as Ashura began to do the same, which caused her to be caught quite off guard when the boy jumped on him. It was a pleasant surprise, and she quickly returned the gesture, continuing to laugh joyously. She didn't at all seem to mind the boy's awkward positioning, and with her placing a hand on his head and ruffling his hair it might seem she was even encouraging it.

"No problem!"

Her voice rang with joy. It had been so long since she'd been around anyone so happy, fun, playful, adults and children alike. It was such a nice change of pace. Though through experience and over time Kirino had learned to be much more suspicious, or perhaps even mature, she was still a child at heart, something she had to suppress around her peers.

As the boy took a step back, she glanced downward for a moment, catching a glimpse of what may have been tears, or snot possibly (perhaps even drool), on her white clothing. Kirino didn't make anything of it, though.

"Where to next, Ashura?"

Well, it was quite the turn of events, and one much for the better. The Hyuuga, though quite possibly multitudes stronger than either of the two she was facing, appeared frightened. Very, very frightened. Or perhaps it was just shock. Kirino herself didn't quite know how to react. The following apology only served to further her confusion. Apparently the boy's father was very well known, and perhaps much more than that.

After the two stammered on for a while, the woman offered them to come follow, prompting to Goto to give Ashura a shrug as to confirm her clueless state. At the same time, she was quite happy things were going so well now. She never would have guessed things would be going so well this soon into their "search." Then again, they suffered through the desert, for at least a short while. Perhaps this was karma smiling on them. That was the best Kirino could come up with for the time being.

She nodded as Ashura addressed her once more. Yes, staying on guard was a good idea. After all, it was only moments ago the boy was nearly buried alive in rubble. Then again, he seemed to be doing okay after all of that currently. It was her pondering of the implications this had that caused her to miss the break into sprint of the two others. After gasping to herself, Kirino followed in step to the best of her ability

Her intense 'act' would quickly dissipate as the woman spoke once more, her visage twisting with a mixture of concern and confusion. Why was it out of the question? A burial for an assassin? She was used? None of it made sense to her, and in the same none of it seemed good. In most situations like this, Kirino wasn't required to think. Simple orders were always followed without question, and anything that contradicted the commands given to her were simply ignored. Unfortunately things weren't so simple this time around. She had to act, think for herself. For a moment, Kirino considered the possibility that going on this journey wasn't the best idea.

Ashura appeared out of the rubble before she had to think too hard, fortunately (god forbid). Upon seeing the boy, she called out to him.

"Ashura!"

For a moment she considered approaching the boy, looking him over for wounds and such, before remembering the presence looming over her. Surely if she made too sudden of a movement the woman would attack her. So instead, Kirino gave the boy a concerned look, which would hopefully be enough to convey a simple "are you okay," etc. He seemed to understand, speaking.

"Mhm, let's-"

Before she could suggest leaving for the sake of safety, the Uchiha began speaking again, now with great determination and passion. Did he really have to provoke her more? Couldn't he just ask kindly for the information? A nervous smile crept onto her face as the boy went on. Kirino turned to the woman.

"Ah- Haha. Haha. He's just kidding, uh, we don't want to fight! But we would still appreciate it if you would hear us out! Heh~"

She wasn't very convincing, and the boy's almost humorous intensity wasn't doing much to help.

Well that went to shit. The boy's defeat clearly spelled this woman as much stronger than, or more experienced than a Jounin. Far beyond Goto's reach in all senses. There was no point in trying to take her on, but she wouldn't falter immediately. Kirino's eyes would dart between the woman and what was essentially a crater in the house. The impossibility of it all had her stunned, but she managed to keep it together, keeping her mind clear and focused. The woman spoke, however, breaking her concentration.

Her tone was frigid, cold sweat pushing its way onto the surface of Kirino's flesh. She knew well enough that, despite the power of the Hyuuga's blow, Ashura was most likely still alive. That was her hope at least, and she would find out regardless. Now she had to weight priorities. Was it worth telling the woman their objective? Would it be safer to just flee and let Ashura escape on his own later? Could she risk an attempt to retrieve him? Kirino was never one for combat and always preferred delegations, but the woman before her did not seem quite as keen on any sort of discussion. However, to Kirino, it seemed the best course of action. Hopefully the woman was reasonable enough not to get easily upset by words.

"We- we are not assassins," she managed, stuttering slightly through her attempt at an intense, projecting tone. "Ashura, the boy- He is trying to find his father, his parents, and was told to find you, knowing nothing else." Kirino made an attempt to stretch her vocabulary and use larger words, but was having a hard time doing so. She fumbled onward, maintaining her inflection.

"I underst-stand if you don't believe me, but if you don't, please, just let me retrieve his body from the rubble so I can return it to his home. That's all I ask."

Kirino would lower her head slightly for a moment, thinking his first statement over. How exactly would staying with him be like being at home? Did he know what her home looked like? And why would he tell her that the people of his village would mistreat her? That was really concerning. It was hard to believe this was coming from someone that was supposedly to be the future kage. A sigh escaped her as she turned to look at the man, eyes lowering just after meeting his. Shou's movement towards her seemed to be missed until she looked back up, not taken aback by how close they were, but rather somewhat confused. Were they this close before? She'd already forgotten.

Shou ask a question, leading Kirino to respond immediately.

"Not particularly."

Her tone was dull and somewhat detached, adding to the bluntness of the statement. It seemed she had gone from being concerned to having her mind somewhere else completely. The boy smiled, which triggered Kirino's movement, inching away from the man a bit. It didn't make her uncomfortable, how close they were, but she could tell something about it was wrong, and promptly increased the distance. It seemed the Hyuuga still had plans though.

"Oh, sure. Where are we going?"

She would follow him out when the time to do so came.

Well, it was surprising that the guards had the time to escort them to the house of the woman Ashura sought out. Perhaps they were just being nice and inviting, good hosts and all that. How kind! Well, they were at the door, and Ashura talked to the door. This didn't seem to produce any results, nor did his second BARRAGE of words. Kirino idly itched the back of her, lazily looking the place over. She snapped back to attention as the boy addressed her.

"Wha- Can't you Uchiha, like.."

She took a hushed tone, lowering herself slightly as she spoke.

"-See through walls, or something?"

It was a stupid question, but perhaps it'd give the Jounin an idea or something.

She gave a nervous laugh as he mentioned his upcoming seating as Kage. Maybe he was just joking. She couldn't tell, but something about it felt off to her. Then again, there was always a chance it was possible. He looked fit enough, at least, from what she could tell. Of course, most Kages she knew were old and shriveled, so that didn't actually mean anything.

Kirino was able to breathe a sigh of relief as he corrected himself, though he went on to mention something else. It confused her.

"Are you saying if I don't stay with you, I won't be treated normally?"

It was a scary prospect. Though fascinating, the area around her did give "bad vibes" of sorts, putting her slightly on edge when she was able to do so.

"I wouldn't want that..."

She trailed off, her mood changing slightly once more.