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Akio smiled as they walked into the entrance of the park together, it was cold and quite a wind hand picked up for this time of night. His hair was blowing about in the strong wind and had he a coat on he probably would have offered her it to help keep her warm just out of the sheer fact that he had very strong morals and disliked seeing anyone else being uncomfortable. Unless of course they happened to be uncomfortable because they were the butt of his latest joke or prank. He made a short mental note that he hadn't pulled anything particularly epic lately and he would have to start planning his next one soon otherwise he might just end up getting rusty. And a rusty Akio was a boring Akio by all accounts. The cool night time breeze felt good, if he was alone he'd probably actually seriously consider a brisk night time skinny dip. It wouldn't be the first time someone had seen him in a compromising position anyhow. The thought brought a tiny little bit of colour to his otherwise slightly pale features, which had been caused by him spending too much time on shady dealings while off on his missions, sneaking around and taking people out...That sort of thing. Unfortunately he also had a habit of making the biggest, loudest entrance possible every time so it was really a wonder that he did well as a ninja at all. He decided to try and fill the silence with a little friendly chatter while he thought. "Nice night for a stroll huh? A little cold for my liking but since when has that ever stopped me?" He could distinctly remember one time when they were younger. He couldn't have been more then 15 at the time and he had been dared by someone to dive bomb into a lake during the dead of winter in nothing but his underpants. A terrible idea, but he earned five bucks out of it so it was worth it in his eyes.

He looked back once more, more of a glance really but he had taken her hand once more as they had left the ramen store only this time he made absolutely shure that he did not drag her and let her walk at his own pace. He was sober enough to know better now and his staggering had ceased. All in all it hadn't taken him very long to sober up, it never did and although he didn't particularly want her to let go he was still holding just loosely enough so that she could remove her hand from his if she so wished to, and in his usually rather blank mind it was more a "when" then an "if" especially if the last time was any indication to go by, he could just hope that maybe him allowing her to go at her own pace would be enough to not put her off. His other hand was firmly stuffed into his pocket in an attempt to try and keep it warm. It was late and very dark, who knows what kind of bad people could be lurking around in the shady areas just waiting to attack a passer by and rob them. Some part of him kind of hoped they did, because between the two of them they had literally nothing to fear from common robbers and muggers and it would almost be a sort of sport for them to see who could take down the most before they ran screaming.

It had been quite some time since the pair had fought side by side and he sort of missed that, they did make a pretty good team after all. He bit his lip softly as he mused over the days happenings and he couldn't quite shake the feeling that she didn't take his earlier confession of often missing her when he went away as seriously as he had hoped. He did indeed mean it, how couldn't he? He could feel that familiar burning sensation deep within his gut once more, and for once it wasn't just heart burn. He hadn't felt this way in many years but the feeling was unmistakable. He felt the overwhelming need to prove himself and to get serious for once, he would have to make the most of this feeling now before it flickered away again like a candle in a strong wind. He pondered on which aspect of himself would be best to try and clarify first, and the only one that could come to mind just so happened to be the biggest. He would explain how and why deep down he wasn't really a "player" and he knew just how to get the conversation started. "So uhhh....I don't think I ever asked you this. But do you have a dream? I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours." He smiled, he couldn't think of a better way to break the ice. Considering his dream was to settle down and have a family, which would hopefully dispel the misconception that he was a player once he explained it fully.

Akio stifled a yawn as he realized that he hadn't actually slept since he had returned and the only thing that had been keeping him going up until this point was the booze that was running through his system. He was thankful on that level at the very least that it was cold out tonight because the brisk night time air would keep him awake and alert enough so that she wouldn't think that she was boring her. He was just lazy and that was pretty much the long and the short of it. He barely ever felt the cold anyhow, people had always chalked it up to him being so empty headed and it was true. Or at least that's what he wanted people to think. Life was just so much easier when he could do what he wanted when he wanted and not have to carry the worries that most people did. Why should he care what people were thinking of him as long as he was happy? The moment he had learned to do so during his youth was also the moment that he began being happy. Breaking down doors? Shure. Diving wearing next to nothing into freezing cold lakes? No problem. He may have ended up ill after that next one, but at the very least he got some fun out of it. This was probably the reason for him getting drunk so often and having so many one night stands as well. Akio had to have slept his way through fully half of the female population of Kiri by now and although it was pretty obvious to anyone who knew him that this was a fact it was also something that he would never actually openly admit to. And while it was something that did make him happy, it wasn't true happiness. It was just something to get him from one day to the next.

He listened to her as she agreed with him, it was a nice night to be fair and he didn't enjoy these nights nearly as much as he should do because he was usually either blitzed out of his mind or otherwise busy doing whatever. Or whoever as the case may be. He noticed the softening of her voice and he knew that probably meant that she was in a slightly better mood then she had been and that couldn't possibly be a bad thing, a smile began to creep up on his lips as he wondered what it was that had changed her mood for the better, but she was for whatever reason holding his hand tighter and although he didn't actually realize it some part of him deep down wanted it to be because of another reason besides the cold. But Akio had never been exactly in tune with his emotions, opting instead to just let them lead him wherever they happened to. It had worked just fine up until now and he was certain it would continue to work in the future, although if he were to progress he would also need to take a few aspects of his life a little more seriously. Such as perhaps toning down down the drinking before it killed him and what not. He may have been stupid and reckless at the best of times but he was still smart enough to know that dying was very bad.

The young dark haired Uzumaki waited for a little while for an answer to his question, he was beginning to wonder whether it had been a little too forward with his question and that he might have put her off. He was just in the process of opening his mouth to brush it off as nothing, or as a joke when she actually did reply to him. And her reply wasn't exactly what he had been expecting, the latter half of it wasn't anyway. His eyes went wide with a tiny amount of shock that someone such as her wanted that from life. She didn't seem the motherly type, but then again everyone had hidden depths to them and he wouldn't doubt her if that was what she said she wanted. It warmed his heart slightly to hear and filled him with courage to be able to admit that he wanted pretty much the same thing. It was just a matter of wording it. He stopped for a second in his tracks, they had reached a point that had a pretty nice view of the village regardless and he would have asked to stop for a few moments even if he didn't have anything to say. He chewed on his bottom lip as he thought, turning his attention to her once more and moving so that he was facing her, his hand still in hers. "I happen to think that's a really great dream." He needed to blurt out what he was thinking some time. And now was as good of a time as any he guessed. "Well, my goals ultimately aren't too different from your own. This will probably come as a surprise to you as it doesn't exactly seem like something that I'd ever say. Most people want to become the Hokage or the Mizukage or join the ANBU, become a Sannin or something along the lines of being a great ninja and recognized for it. And don't get me wrong, I do want to do well. But that alone won't keep me happy forever." He stopped for a moment and took a deep breath, he hadn't even noticed himself but subconsciously he had increased his grip on her hand ever so slightly, not enough to make it uncomfortable but it might still be noticable. "You know me better then anyone. But deep down I don't want to keep getting drunk out of my mind and have meaningless fling after meaningless fling. I'd actually like nothing more then to settle down some day. Have a family of my own to care for and embarrass. Being an orphan obviously means I've never known what it's like to have one. I'd like to change that some day." After he finished speaking he offered a soft smile and his eyes had that same sincere look to them that they did earlier.

He turned his face to one side, yet another light pink dusting of a blush rising on his cheeks. Only this time he was completely sober and had no other reason to blush apart from the fact that he had just shared one of his closest secrets with someone and he didn't want her to think that he was stupid for thinking that way. Akio pretty much never blushed unless he was drunk either, so when he did you could be shure that he actually meant what he had just said or done. He didn't understand why but his stomach was also doing flip flops deep inside of him, he felt like he was going to be sick with nerves and this was a feeling that was completely alien to him. It was odd how he could do something stupid like streak down the street completely stark naked and not give a damn but something as simple as this had his stomach all in knots. He decided to at the very least attempt to brush it off and he averted his gaze over to over side where he caught sight of a young dark haired girl lazing around in the grass. He couldn't help but feel that he had seen her somewhere before...He wasn't able to place his finger on where or when but she was most certainly familiar, and even though his attention was still firmly on the woman stood in front of him it was still bugging him right at the back of his mind.

The young dark haired man listened to her as she spoke, her reaction was an interesting one and he had to admit that it was also not entirely a surprise to see her react in this way. His reputation was as a drinker, a player and a party animal. Anyone would have reacted in just such a way when someone such as him confessed to wanting that. It was part of the reason that he never told anyone because it was better to just keep it all to himself. He always just kind of assumed that when he wanted to finally settle down it would probably be with a girl from some other village who didn't know his reputation, someone who wouldn't look down on him or see him as a drunkard and a player and just see him as Akio Uzumaki, nothing more and nothing less. On some level Rukia did see him in just this light, something he had always appreciated but still...Her view of him was tainted by his crazy antics, even if it was in a positive light on some level he still worried that she was put off him in some way as most people were. He wasn't exactly dating material in most peoples eyes. Even if he was kind and caring to everyone, protective and all of that good stuff...It didn't do him a lick of good if his actions put people off of him before they even got to know him. He huffed slightly, looking her in her perfect and beautiful green eyes. He had always liked the colour green, he never could quite figure out why. His own deep blue orbs held within them a slight look of hurt when she pointed out that she didn't quite believe him. Even though it was technically his own fault, he still hoped that she would come to believe that he wanted something more some day. But he smiled through it, it was how he dealt with such things after all. He blushed ever so slightly deeper as she placed a hand on his forehead and shivered ever so slightly with how cold it was. He took the hand that she had placed on his forehead and removed it, keeping a hold of it so that he was now holding both of her hands, lacing his fingers between her own and shooting her a playful smile. "I'm fine Rukia, you don't need to worry about me. I was Akio Uzumaki before I started with the drinking and pointless flings and I'll continue to be Akio Uzumaki should they ever end." He did feel slightly awkward in such a position, but they were along so it's not like anyone would come in and embarrass them "So don't worry, alright? You won't be getting rid of me quite that easily." He winked at her in his slightly flirtatious manner that he tended to, but the look of sincerity was still there.

Akio turned and followed her gaze, it would seem that she too had taken notice of the young girl lying down in the grass. He just couldn't shake the unmistakable feeling that he knew her from somewhere. She did look a little like him...Perhaps she was an Uzumaki too? It would be even more obvious if she had red hair as red hair was the trademark colour of the Uzumaki clan. But with that in mind he was an Uzumaki and his hair was also as black as pitch. He looked back over to Rukia with a slight look of puzzlement of his face, she seemed to notice something about her too. Even the fact that someone as young as her was out here on her own in the dead of night. It most certainly wasn't safe and he felt that he should probably do something about it. He felt a strange pang of worry for the girl even though he had never met her before in his life to the best of his knowledge. He spoke to Rukia once more. "You see her too huh? I wonder what a young girl is doing out here all alone at this time. It can't possibly be safe...I'll be right back." He walked over to the girl, the grass was slightly damp and freezing, it was a good thing his boots were meant for the cold weather. He stopped just beside the girl and cleared his throat. "Hey there..." He held a hand out in an attempt to look friendly. "Akio Uzumaki at your service...Mind if I ask what you're doing out here at this hour all on your own? It can't really be safe..."