"ANBU Butterfly, stay behind. We need to talk."
As always, there was a hint of a cringe when her team leader addressed her by her ridiculously unthreatening code name. Aiko paused, having been ready to leave after practice. Donkey and Boar didn't give so much as a second look to their lingering teammates, apparently eager to get back to their rooms. Much like Aiko, they had retained rooms in the ANBU facility instead of using the locker rooms that trainees did. It made keeping an identity quiet easier, to be sure, but so did not talking. Even though they were allowed to share their identities with their team, none of them had.
Fish was the only member of their squad who had spoken a word since they'd been formed. Even that was the bare necessity of corrections that couldn't be communicated via handsigns.
'So holding me back to talk probably means that I've fucked up,' she internally sighed. To be fair, she had been distracted in practice today.
"Hai, Fish-senpai?" she tried politely. May as well get this over with.
Fish visibly startled at the sound of her voice, shoulders tensing.
She was already unimpressed by this conversation. What a jumpy bastard.
'Holy shit, that's a woman,' thought Fish, now carefully not looking at the unflattering, flat armor chest plate for the hints he had apparently missed. He'd thought he had gotten snubbed by being saddled with some wet-behind-the-ears 13 year old boy on his first full team assignment. Apparently not.
Then he did his best not to snicker. He really did work too much if he was literally incapable of recognizing a woman when he saw one. But he could mock himself later. He'd gotten distracted by his thoughts and been silent too long.
'Better hurry and respond, she seems a bit impatient. I'm such an awkward bastard, did I forget to respond for too long?'
"I meant to have a talk with you about your performance today. It was inadequate and distracted. Can I trust that you will resolve the issue?"
Aiko flushed. "I apologize." She gave a quick bow, "I owe the team an apology as well. I found myself thinking about an outside problem. I will, of course, resolve it."
"What type of problem are we dealing with?" Fish briskly asked.
The indication of actual… well, not interest exactly, but of some sort of engagement with his subordinates threw her for a loop, and she answered honestly. "Er, I'm looking for new living arrangements."
"Oh." There was a pause. "That's easy enough. There are two different apartment complexes and several residential facilities that ANBU recommends and have cleared as especially suitable for organization members due to location and policies. Are you interested in the north or south districts?" At her answer, he continued, "Then I would recommend that you have a talk with the gentleman who runs the hummingbird complex. The office is connected to the building on the intersection of Tobirama and Sugar."
"Tobirama and Sugar. Got it," she repeated obediently. "Thank you, Fish-senpai."
"It was no trouble. I trust that even if you do not end up in that facility, your performance will not be affected in future."
There wasn't any room left for disagreement, so it was good that she didn't have any.
Whoever had originally recommended the hummingbird had made a good choice, she determined later that day while touring open apartments. They were large (only two per floor, making the total number of available rooms rather small), had varied layouts to confuse intruders, were clean, and all allowed for privacy and easily defended and hidden external exit points. Not bad at all, really.
Of course, the walls were not the traditional rice paper kind at the house, so the apartment she chose was a bland white. Thankfully the manager allowed painting and other forms of decoration. Who wanted white walls? Honestly. At least the flooring was a nice pale wood. She signed the contract on the spot. Being a shinobi made it easy to do things like that—ninja got special deals on things like utilities and could be counted on to pay their rent even if they weren't there, because what wasn't subsidized by the village itself could be billed directly to their accounts. (No one wanted to hunt down truant ninja. God, imagining some poor landlord trying to find Kakashi and get him to fill out paperwork just made Aiko cringe.)
She stepped out of her brand-new apartment and turned to lock the door, already compiling a list of what paint she needed to buy and almost missed seeing her next-door neighbor come up the stairs and stride directly to the door to her left. "Oh, hello-"
Aiko stopped dead, blinking in surprise. "Yamato," she belatedly finished her greeting.
He gave her an odd look and a noncommittal nod, gaze darting to her upper arms. Sheepishly, she tugged on the short yellow sleeve that barely covered the tattoo on her left arm to give him a glimpse and gave him a rueful shrug.
"Never would have guessed. Ah well. I suppose I'll be seeing you around, then." Yamato gave her a distracted smile and unlocked his own door.
"I suppose so," she concurred as he disappeared, wondering about the odds.
'Pretty good, actually,' she realized. 'He probably got the same recommendation I did.'
She didn't dwell on it for long. She had other things to accomplish before she worried about moving in so that she didn't have a hundred things to juggle at once. Most notably, tracking down Sai. Tsunade had gone above and beyond what Aiko had asked for—the woman had done some sort of magic with the training field reservations to find out when Aiko could just happen to stumble upon him.
He was probably already there, but she didn't rush to training ground 7. Showing up ten minutes after he did would almost be more suspicious than anything else. Granted, he would probably be suspicious anyway. He was a ninja.
It was automatic to direct an ink boar towards the disturbance in the brushes. He was, after all, performing a training exercise that included using ink clones and animals as hostiles and protecting a target—an ink princess dutifully pictured to an accurate degree.
Sai blinked away from the explosion of ink that heralded the destruction of his technique, shielding his eyes. "Washboard-san?"
"Hai, Sai-kun," Washboard replied calmly, shaking a bit of ink off the boot she'd used to kick his boar. "I apologize for interrupting your training. Do you mind if I linger? I would like to talk to you."
"I don't see how you could do any more damage after your clumsy arrival," he soothed. Sai didn't mind her presence at all. Washboard was actually an excellent supplementary resource to his books, and a less volatile test subject for conversation than Dickless or even Kakashi-san.
He still didn't always understand her reactions, like now, when she took a strangely deep breath before replying. Was it not proper etiquette to excuse others' mistakes?
"Well, that's good then." She settled down onto a large rock and patted it. He was baffled for a moment- was she checking for anomalies in texture or temperature? – until she continued, "Sit with me, would you? I have something I'd like to show you."
She had taken the best seat, so he perched nimbly by her side, slightly above her.
'Does Washboard realize how low her top is?'
Sai frowned. From this angle, she was showing more flesh than he'd ever seen outside of that book he had read from Jiraiya-sama. Did that signify something? It must be important. Perhaps the book had been a warning about the strange properties that female chests seemed to possess. He found himself strangely reluctant to look away from the unusual view.
It was probably just the novelty.
"Here." He obediently took the two books she handed him, giving them both a cursory once-over. "I was hoping you could help me out with illustrations. I was going to get that book published, but they disliked my illustrations so much that they redid them." Washboard frowned, flipping through several illustrated pages to show the contrasts. "They're awful," she added with a hint of grumpiness. "Not what they're supposed to be at all. I remembered that you're more classically skilled than I am, and you're certainly more intelligent than the ape that drew this, so I was hoping you could be persuaded to help me out. I don't mean to take advantage of you, of course. Ino is already getting 45% of whatever is left after publishing and binding, but we could negotiate a percentage for you. Opinions, impressions? Do you think you could help me, and would you like to?"
Silently, he ignored her for the time being. Washboard quieted to wait patiently while he scanned the images. That was one of her most positive traits: she did not fill up a conversation with pleasantries and understood when he needed to think.
It was true that the reproductions were not very reflective of the original designs. He was capable of doing a higher quality interpretation. Should he? Would it be wasteful?
'I had been aware that art should have a purpose. Does this satisfy that requirement, or is it frivolous?' Sai's face didn't so much as twitch while he thought.
It would please Danzo-sama, so it mustn't be frivolous. Danzo-sama had been vexed with Sai for some time now, since he had been pulled away from work with team Kakashi and his reports became sparse and based on hearsay and conjecture.
This action would also provide Sai with a reason to socialize with Washboard for his own purposes. He had found her to be the most amiable of those he'd met outside of root (and therefore most amiable in general). Dickless was an excellent illustration of Danzo-sama's maxim that emotion led to weakness. When aroused by anger or embarrassment, Dickless became exponentially less productive and his sparring capabilities suffered.
But Washboard didn't seem to fit with Danzo-sama's maxim. The first part, that attachment led to emotion, certainly seemed to be accurate. But her emotions were reserved, and her attachments did not seem to end in weakness. Unlike Dickless, he had yet to see her lose her temper and become irrational. And those attachments had served her well. Sai did not know exactly what had happened, but he had found out in the course of his investigations that Washboard had gotten into some sort of trouble in Suna and her entire team plus one more stranger had gone to retrieve her and offer assistance.
He didn't understand why they had done such a thing. Perhaps the mission was of the highest importance. But if that were true, would Washboard not have been accompanied with a large team from the start? It did not seem to have been a decision motivated by logic and the village's best interests, but nor was it counter to those interests. Was there a middle ground?
Something about that pulled strangely at his chest. It was the first he had heard of this 'Naruto' from anyone other than Danzo-sama who had described him as a potentially dangerous person of interest, and Sai had yet to see him in person. That addition was even more baffling than that her team had gone in pursuit. At least they seemed to be accustomed to working with her. This Naruto had never been on an official team with Washboard. Perhaps it was connected to their shared genetics?
Was it something about Washboard, or was it team 7 in general that exhibited the oddity? Sai had left teammates to be captured or killed in the course of pursuing a mission's objective before, and not thought once about it. It was their duty. But now, he couldn't stop ruminating on the parallel and wondering if he would have gone to assist Washboard if he had been asked. It would be unpleasant to have to replace her—she was tied to more than one of his objectives, both personal and official.
Sai rather thought that he would not have minded joining that team on their mission. Disturbingly, he was able to come to that conclusion before even running through the full list of the strategic implications of her death. Was his perspective flawed?
Washboard shifted slightly at his side, brushing her shoulder against his ribs and letting her head waver as if she were considering leaning against him.
And he did not move away, because there was something that was not unpleasant about the contact even though he did not need to touch her for body heat.
A single finger twitched imperceptibly against the page he was turning. For Sai, it was a dramatic reaction. Worse, it was genuine and not falsified in an attempt to pacify and interact with anyone else.
'Forgive me, Danzo-sama.'
His perspective was definitely flawed. Perhaps it had been an error to investigate human socialization. The more he knew, the more he felt desire to investigate further. That was a reversal of the proper state of things—he should become satisfied as he grew closer to being able to understand and categorize the oddities of the outsider shinobi. Unfortunately, all it brought him was more questions and an inexorable drive to understand more and strange longings he didn't understand.
His stomach felt strange and heavy when he had first realized that he had questioned one of Danzo-sama's words. He had never done such a thing before. But now… Sai felt strangely discontented with his superior's irritation with him where he would have passively accepted it in the past. Something seemed incongruous about holding him accountable for actions beyond his control. He had gone on several missions with Kakashi-san, and never had that happened in those situations. So perhaps it was something about Danzo-sama and not something about the nature of hierarchy.
That thought raised the unpleasant possibility that he had changed so much that he had formed an opinion counter to Danzo-sama's. But Sai couldn't pinpoint anything incorrect or unsupported in his own logic. If only he knew where he had mis-stepped, he could correct and rip the thought out like the cancer it was.
Instead, it festered and made him ponder things he would never have questioned before. For example, his new orders to gain access to Washboard and make her a viable resource (since Sai had only managed to connect to her and she had ready access to many people of Danzo-sama's interest) lingered in his consciousness. He should be prepared to do anything to fulfill those orders. This opportunity had fallen into his lap, and he should accept it for Danzo-sama's sake.
But he wanted to accept for his own sake, because there was a strange contentedness whenever Washboard or Kakashi-san reached out to include him in something or asked for his opinion. He also wanted to refuse for Washboard's sake. She and Kakashi-san seemed to share a bond, as she did to a lesser extent with Dickless and Virgin (though his observations indicated that Virgin was much more interested in Kakashi-san than Washboard. Perhaps Kakashi-san was the source of the oddity and not Washboard after all?). Doubtlessly this Naruto was much the same. They would be content and effective together as a team on a long-term basis if left alone. But…
'If I do not recruit her, someone else will.'
That had to be that. There was a Root plant on nearly every ANBU team. He did not know her team assignment, but there was almost certainly someone else who would recruit her if he did not. If Washboard could survive ANBU, she could navigate Root. Perhaps she would not even be plagued by the doubts and traitorous misgivings that troubled him. For all that her actions often ran counter to Danzo-sama's teachings, she sometimes reminded him greatly of the Root recruiters and trainees who had been absorbed into the force and not raised inside. Perhaps that was why he could communicate with her better than the others.
"I will help you."
A muscle contracted strangely in his throat, but he couldn't bring himself to move when her reaction was to press up against him and tilt her head up to smile. "I appreciate it. Do you want to discuss payment now, or later? Keep in mind that this could make absolutely nothing, I've no idea if it'll sell or not."
"Later is acceptable. When would you like to see my sketches?"
Washboard did that strange facial movement where she nipped at her lower lip between two teeth and held it there while she breathed in through her nose. Sai had tried it himself once and not understood the appeal, but she often seemed to perform that maneuver when thinking. "Well, I'm going to be moving this week, but two weeks after that I'm hosting a team dinner at my new apartment on Wednesday at seven or so. Would you come?"
He couldn't reply for a moment. Was he considered part of team 7?
"I will be there."
Washboard walked away after that, but Sai found it hard to concentrate on his training. Somehow, it just seemed so unnecessary to run drills for solo missions. He did those so seldom anymore, with the exception of spying on team 7. Perhaps it would be more practical to acquire a training partner.
Aiko flinched a little when the privacy seals activated inside Tsunade's office after Shizune closed the door, still a bit surprised by how easily she could feel the chakra spark that signified an active field now that she was paying attention. Learning how to set her own without ink had made her more sensitive to others', apparently.
"Aiko."
'I suppose we're having a meeting now.'
It was a bit unusual. This was her third time taking a shift on guard in Tsunade's office, but it was the first time that anyone had indicated they knew she was there. She'd grown to tolerate the long periods of boredom interspersed with heart-pounding nervousness at sensitive information and tense meetings that she couldn't participate in or ever speak about.
She snapped at the wavering shell of chakra around her body that was forming the chameleon genjutsu to end it, letting it thread apart at her heart and dissolve with a ripple as she stopped suppressing her chakra signature and stepped out of the hidden alcove maintained by someone else's seals.
"Hai, Hokage-sama?"
"Take off that stupid thing, I hate talking to porcelain." Tsunade rustled around in her desk and pulled out two little bottles of—for christ's sake, when did that sneaky bastard get those in here? Shizune searched her bags every morning.
Aiko let herself smile a little as she pulled her mask up to rest over the blue strands of hair on her head and took the proffered drink. "We really shouldn't drink on the clock," she said dryly, nonetheless prying off the metal top and swirling the pink drink inside contemplatively.
Tsunade gave an irreverent shrug, pulling the top off of hers with such force that she crumpled it between her fingers. She flicked her wrist and the bit of metal landed in one of her many potted plants, joining what she now recognized was not a small pile of decorative rocks. "Don't get dull on me now, girl. You're the only one I've found who will drink with me and not tell that harpy who calls herself my apprentice," she grumbled. "Honestly, Shizune acts like I have some sort of problem."
Somehow, she forced out a politely incredulous sound and hastily took a swig of her drink so she didn't have to say anything else. 'Is this… cherry flavored?'
Whatever it was, the drink was both strong and sweet, making it pleasantly tart on the way down. Honestly, she had no idea where Tsunade found this stuff. She'd never seen it or anything like it at a market in Konoha. Considering the variety of ingredients possible, Konoha took advantage of depressingly little produce to make alcohol. It was almost all rice wine of some sort.
As if she'd read Aiko's mind, Tsunade gave an appreciative hum and set her half-empty bottle down on her desk with a clunk. "I get these from Nadeshiko. Anko thinks she's running diplomatic missions. I sneak my alcohol right past Shizune in sealing scrolls and tell her it's above her clearance. She just nods solemnly and acts grateful that I'm working."
Involuntarily, Aiko found herself making a strange, high pitched sound as if someone had just stepped on her chest. Or like someone had kicked a small dog.
Tsunade tossed her head back and laughed, white teeth flashing behind her pink-painted lips. "Oh, don't make that face. It looks like your eyes are going to fall out."
Obediently, Aiko controlled her features into a more normal expression, which made Tsunade snort for some reason.
"Did you just want to laugh at me?" She asked dryly. "If so, I think I must have done my duty for the day and I'll be going now."
The older woman snorted. "Don't be like that. Actually, no, I have two different things to discuss with you. The first is that Jiraiya informed me that you are not to use your old seal anymore and need to replace the one you gave the Kazekage."
Aiko stared blankly for a moment. "Do you need me to pick up any alcohol while I'm in Suna or something?"
She got a dirty look in return. "You don't respect me at all, do you brat? What a stupid question… there's nothing worth drinking in Suna."
Aiko twitched.
"Actually, the Kazekage and his retinue will be coming here and meeting in the fourth conference room on the first floor to discuss subcontracts sometime after you get off your next assignment at the prison facilities. Obviously, you can't be seen with me or that group. So you'll know when to show up because either Kakashi or Yamato will be waiting in the room for you to Hiraishin to in the late afternoon, and I'll bring the group by a few minutes later. Hell, maybe I'll have them both there so the council doesn't whine about bodyguards," she mused to herself. Then she shook her head slightly and continued. "Have a seal at home so you can leave the same way."
"What kind of seal do you want me to give him?" Tsunade just gave her an odd look, so Aiko explained, "I can give another one on a kunai or something. That's what people will expect. But Jiraiya taught me how to apply one with just chakra. It'll stay on a person until I remove it."
'Or, you know, until I explode it. Depending on whether or not I trap it.'
As ugly as the thought was, it was probably a good idea. Gaara was at high risk for a kidnapping. If his bijuu was extracted and he died, it would become pretty clear that the still-active seal wasn't related to that function. If he was dead, it wouldn't matter anyway.
"Huh." Amber eyes flickered upward to stare at the ceiling contemplatively. "Why don't you do both? If you give him a regular one, no one will look for a directly applied seal. Hell, if they found it they'd probably assume it was connected to his bijuu and not dare to touch it," she added with an amused snort. "Put it somewhere where it won't be visible above his clothes, there's always some sneaky bastard who can see chakra. That probably means the torso. Lucky you, you're going to get to feel up a kage."
It wasn't a bad thought. He was pretty cute, plus how many people got to say they'd seen a kage shirtless?
But still, this was Tsunade she was talking to. There was only one appropriate response.
"Just one kage?" she asked with feigned sorrow, opening her eyes to let them waver sadly in imitation of Mitsuo's masterful puppy eyes expression.
For a moment, the older woman looked like she'd been slapped with a fish. Then she gave a giggle, burying her face in her hands. Aiko had a smile of her own, until Tsunade looked at her again. "For some reason, that reminds me. Don't think the old pervert didn't tell me about your modifications to that seal," she drawled. "Be sure to trap the decoy, would you dear?"
Aiko nodded. "That's what I was planning to do for Naruto as well. A hidden tattoo and a trapped decoy."
"I like it. Don't tell him about the direct seal," Tsunade ordered.
"I won't," she agreed easily. Naruto wasn't the best actor. If he thought the kunai was disposable, he could accidentally give that away to any interested observer. Besides, she liked having sneaky tricks up her sleeve.
"Well, that's the easy part," Tsunade drawled, tossing her empty bottle in the trash and pulling out another one from her desk. Aiko involuntarily glanced down at her nearly-full bottle and reminded herself to keep drinking on it, taking another sip. "The second thing… Well. Did Karin tell you that she offered to have Hinata adopted in, so she had a last name? Sasuke snagged the paperwork and I sent it back to them, because they didn't have everything together."
'Nope. First I've heard of this.'
It wasn't a bad idea, though. Traditionally, last names were a privilege of the upper classes. It was a huge fall in status for Hinata to have lost hers when she renounced the Hyuuga clan.
"I don't mind the idea," she eventually settled on.
"I'm glad to hear it," came the ever-so-slightly sarcastic reply. "Because it's not that simple. However, this is the type of complication that I like. Were you aware that a family with four active shinobi qualifies as a clan?"
It took a moment to internalize the repercussions of that.
"The groan wasn't entirely necessary," Tsunade said tartly. "Suck it up. Judging by the fact that you're not an idiot, I'm sure you've put together that you're the oldest of the Uzumaki originating in Konoha, and also the one directly descended from one we actually know was in line to inherit. Kami only knows where Karin came from, but even if you're older you're the only one who could inherit headship."
"I could give it to Naruto," she denied weakly, seeing all her free time fly out the window and weakly wave goodbye on the other side of the small forest clustered in front of the glass.
"You'd have to accept headship first in order to abdicate, and I'm afraid that I will want you to hold onto that for a while. What do you think of the likelihood that Danzo will pass up on the chance to get an apparently vulnerable, unguided fifteen year-old clan head in his pocket?"
'That's a stupid question.'
"Not good," she deadpanned.
"Your eloquence astounds me," Tsunade sent back with a straight face. "In any case, this is an order. When they ask you, you will give your permission, accept the designation, and have Karin file the papers. I'll try to arrange things so that you can begin attending large council meetings." She gave a shrug and a sly smile. "If you really hate it, you could start bringing Naruto with you and grooming him for politics…"
Suddenly, one of Tsunade's secondary motivations made sense.
"You sneaky bastard," Aiko breathed appreciatively. "You're making me train your successor."
She was too busy admiring just how much of a lazy dick Tsunade was to feel resentful. That took talent and dedication.
Tsunade preened a bit. "I like to accomplish as much as possible per wicked plot," she said archly. "It's efficient."
After she had finished her shift, Aiko tugged on the seal she had planted in her old bedroom and stripped out of her on-duty uniform in exchange for shorts and a tank top. If she had planned better, she would have worn something old, but unfortunately she had pretty much cleaned out her closet of anything that would have been suitable after her initial ANBU training. It was a shame, but the blue shorts and grey top would just have to be her painting clothes and she'd throw them away later.
"Hey, Naruto," she shouted idly down the hall, stuffing her wallet into her pocket since she wasn't taking any equipment pouches. "Could I convince you to come help me paint?"
"Can't," he shouted back from somewhere in the house. "Maybe tomorrow?"
"Yeah, yeah," she grumbled, leaving the house the conventional way, grateful that she at least had a ratty pair of old white sandals in the genkan. She wasn't going to hold her breath, but it wasn't like he owed her his help.
In all honestly, she probably could have used the assistance. Everyone always said that she had no taste whatsoever, so picking out paint on her own was probably an idiotic idea.
'I guess no one else has to like it,' she told herself firmly, not allowing any weakness or uncertainty to show when she strode into the home supply store. 'If it's really that bad, someone else can host team dinners. Besides, if I stay away from neons, how badly could I really do?'
"Hello, miss, how may I-"
"I need help picking out paint."
She had to be honest with herself. The worst scenario was a really bad one. The cute older boy who worked there looked a bit taken aback by her bluntness, but hey.
It seemed a bit dull to her, but the two cans that would be the living room color were a cute peachy shade, and the genkan got a soft yellow. She could worry about the rest later, but first she would paint the areas where she might have company.
Besides, the shit was actually pretty heavy. Aiko put on her very best 'I'm a grown-up independent killer for hire' attitude, but it must not have been very convincing because an elderly lady rushed to get the door for her on the way out and two different boys offered to help her. Aiko glared them down around the three cans stacked in her left arm and held to her chest by her right. She was glowering at nothing by the time she reached her new apartment sixteen blocks away. Her back was starting to ache, and her arm seemed to be considering just falling off in protest.
'Oh, of all the people to see me struggling with something as mundane as paint,' she thought miserably as soon as she managed to wrestle the door to her building open and trudge up the stairs to see two men talking in the hall.
Yamato gave her a mildly interested once-over and snagged the top two cans out of her grip without even asking. "I'll see you later, senpai."
"Of course," Kakashi murmured, giving Aiko an amused look. "I see you're busy."
She stuck her tongue out at him, but it didn't do any good. He just blinked slowly and loped down the stairs.
"What was he here for?" Aiko asked Yamato curiously, moving to unlock her door with her now-free hand. She couldn't help but wonder… did Kakashi often visit Yamato? Were they actually friends outside of work? She wouldn't have guessed.
He raised an eyebrow at her. "Talking about a mission," Yamato said steadily, heavy gaze implying that she should drop the topic. So she did. "Are you planning on painting tonight?" At her nod, Yamato hummed. "Want some help?"
Surprised, Aiko turned her head to look at him as she hip-checked her door open. "That's not necessary, I can do it myself."
"I know you can, but you probably don't want to."
He seemed to be totally serious. "Well- sure. Thank you, I mean," she corrected. "I would appreciate the help, if you're offering."
"Alright," he said easily, hefting his two cans onto the kitchen counter and briskly wiping his hands on his pants. "I'll change into work clothes and be right back."
He returned in what seemed to her to be an identical outfit sans the vest and weaponry, but she didn't say a damn thing. Free help was free help… and he could reach the upper half of the walls without standing on a box.