Room 504, Saturday Evening

[intraspective]

After a handwavy day of training that had left her tired and achy, but in a good mood, Ino was sprawled out on her bed, hair still damp from a shower, and making faces at the latest book she was attempting to read. For something that had the word 'basic' in its title... it wasn't very basic at all.

And the dictionary she was flipping through only helped so much. Geez. She considered writing to the author and complaining about false advertising.

Or maybe she'd just fling it at the wall. The thunk it made was very satisfying.

[Open~!]

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[intraspective]

Ino rolled her eyes. "I was playing with that hair, you know." She poked him in the shoulder.

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"And?" he asked, to prove that he was immune to the hair-playing. No, really. He totally was.

[intraspective]

Suuuure he was. Ino fiddled with the bits that weren't trapped by his hands. "Don't you want me to keep playing with it?" She asked innocently, "You seem to enjoy it."

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"Do I?" Kabuto asked, just as innocently. "How observant of you."

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"Well," Ino said with a fake pout, "if you'd really rather I didn't, I suppose I could find something else to entertain myself with..." One hand crept down to his side.

Poke, poke, poke.

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Kabuto twitched at the first poke, before he was able to bring himself under control again. "Oh? Are we starting that again?" He took one hand from behind his head, letting the faint blue glow of his chakra wash over it.

[intraspective]

She squeaked at the sight, but continued poking. "You're the one that seemed to get bored of me playing with your hair." Ino told him with a toss of her head.

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"I thought you wanted me here to explain your basic poison book to you?" Kabuto asked, stressing how easy it was for him.

[intraspective]

"I did," Ino made a face at him. Poke, poke, poke. "but you're the one that started the poking. And you're the one that showed up - I didn't ask for it or anything."

Okay. She'd probably gone over soon enough to bug him if he hadn't shown, but still.

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"I came to return your other book," Kabuto told her, pointing to where the book sat on Ino's desk. "And I can always leave if you don't want me here."

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"I didn't say that." Ino told him, rolling her eyes, "If I wanted you out of here I'd let you know."

Probably at the top of her lungs.

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"I'm sure you would," Kabuto agreed, pushing himself up into a sitting position. "You're loud enough."

[intraspective]

And Ino totally took advantage of this to reclaim his hair as her toy. She tugged a strand, none too gently, "Nothing wrong with expressing myself."

[sound-loyalty.livejournal.com]

"Hey, watch it," Kabuto frowned, looking at Ino out of the corner of his eyes. "Expressing yourself is fine. Screaming like a child is not."

[intraspective]

Ino's next few passes through his hair were much gentler, even though her eyes narrowed. "And maybe that's the way I choose to express myself." Hey, it got her what she wanted at home, okay?

[sound-loyalty.livejournal.com]

"It makes you sound like a spoiled brat," Kabuto told her bluntly. "Kicking and screaming doesn't make people want to do things for you; it makes them want to shut you up."

[intraspective]

Her hands clenched for a moment in his hair before she took a deep breath and focused on untangling them. "At least," Ino said, irritated, "it's more honest than messing with their minds and lying to get what you want."

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"I very rarely lie," Kabuto told her truthfully. "I'm actually a very honest person. But, if you want to believe otherwise, that's your own choice."

[intraspective]

"More word games." Ino snapped, "You always resort to that. It's the same as a lie."

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"No. It's letting people choose for themselves," Kabuto corrected her. "Free will is what separates humans from animals, afterall."

[intraspective]

Ino actually paused and considered that. Her eyes remained narrowed though, "What's wrong with just saying straight out what you mean, and then letting people choose?"

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"There's nothing wrong with it. It's just not the way I do things, usually." Kabuto stretched, resting an arm around Ino and pulling her a little bit closer. "I don't make peoples' decisions for them."

[intraspective]

She didn't object to being closer. Ino thought about what he'd said, "Isn't that hard sometimes? If someone is making a mistake I always get the urge to go and point it out."

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"It's their mistake to make," Kabuto replied, shrugging. "I'm not going to force them to change their minds."

[intraspective]

"What if their mistake winds up affecting you?" Ino asked, squirming a bit to get more comfortable, "Not even then?"