She was touched by this man's compassion. He seemed genuinely contrite for the things he felt he was responsible for. "Yes, they can be," she whispered. "It was the hardest when I got here and ran into my cousin as the first person, after watching him die in front of me because of the Akatsuki's plans."

She stopped trying to escape and turned to look at the man carefully. "I have learned that there is no going back, only forward," she replied stiffly.