"ANBU Butterfly. You've been summoned."
Aiko jerked, one hand pulling her sheet further up and the other fisting around the handle of the kunai under her pillow. Boar's mask hovered above her in the darkness, the pale curve illuminated from one side by the trickle of moonlight coming in her window. It looked unusually demonic—the red mouth pulled into a high sneer, and the eyes appeared as impenetrable sinkholes.
'Is he really allowed to actually enter my apartment? It would have been faster to wake me with a knock at the window. He must have put more effort into getting in without waking me than he would have to do what he was supposed to.' she realized, wide-awake and mildly alarmed. It seemed… unnecessarily aggressive. The move was a show of power and ability. Boar was better than her traps and senses, and he wanted her to know that.
Creeptastic. Still, orders were orders. "Understood. I will require two minutes." She didn't wait for him to leave or worry about modesty, throwing off the covers and hurrying to unzip the sealed bag with her ANBU equipment. Usually she preferred to wear shorts and a tanktop underneath, but she pulled the sleeveless shirt and baggy pants on directly over the sports bra and boyshorts she had been sleeping in, sparing only a grimace that she didn't have time to bind her chest.
'Better tighten the armor a notch, or I'm going to be hurting later,' she noted grimly. She might have taken the less time consuming but still effective solution of putting a regular bra on under her sports top, but Boar didn't appear to be moving. 'Where the hell does he think I'm going to go if he turns around? Fish will wait.'
Even as she thought that, Aiko knew she was lying to herself. Fish hadn't sent Boar to summon her. Someone else had. Her heart was already pounding. As much as this was dangerous and idiotic… it would also be a challenge. She loved mind games. Mainly, she liked picking them apart
Bantering with Kakashi couldn't possibly compare to matching wits with a man like Danzo. From both her prior knowledge and Tsunade's warnings, every indication was that he was completely fucking brilliant. A power-hungry extremist, yes. It was hard to claim that he was Miss Congeniality when he was wandering around with a dozen stolen wiggly-eyes in his arm (even aside from the disaster that would make the swimsuit competition). Consistently out-maneuvering and out-classing someone called 'The God of Shinobi' without anyone else catching on for decades wasn't something that happened by accident. He was… sort of cool, with or without the effervescent personality. Frankly, he might have made a better Kage. Maybe he'd settle down into less lunatic hobbies if he had the power he was chasing.
That last bit stopped her for a moment.
'Dangerous thoughts,' she chided herself. 'Let's just hand the homicidally insane man the power he craves because he has excellent rhetoric and political aptitude. That worked out well for Germany… China… Russia. Like, pretty much every country at one point or another. Yeah, that holds together. I may not start a fan club, but Danzo is a man I could learn from. Unless Tsunade has been hiding some sort of elite task force in her bra for thirty years, I don't know who el-'
She paused. Now there was some food for thought. 'I should mount an expedition to investigate.'
Click.
Aiko glanced over in the middle of shoving her feet into boots to see that Boar had just now unlocked her window… meaning he had gotten in another way and gone through her apartment. On second thought, that was both creepy and made sense. He'd have a hard time fitting through the frame with those monster shoulders. He turned slowly to stare, forcing her to hurry even faster.
"I'm ready," she announced briskly, forgoing her usual tight braid for a messy bun and extra pins in her wig.
Boar grunted and shoved her window open with a tiny, frustrated squall of wood against wood. The intimidating effect was slightly undermined by the undignified way he had to squirm for a moment to fit through the available space, but she didn't have time to snicker before they were sprinting across rooftops… and not going to a rendezvous location she recognized.
A glance at the skyline confirmed that it was somewhere in the witching hour or thereabouts. A coincidence, or an intentional parallel meant to illustrate ANBU's darker implications?
'It's probably just my imagination. Don't be so theatrical,' Aiko scolded herself.
Nonetheless, she did feel a creep of unease up her spine, manifesting as hyper-awareness. That state of alert served her well. Despite what seemed to be an attempt to get her disoriented by taking a circuitous route, Aiko was certain that she could re-locate the specific tree that Boar powered through to reveal a man-hole hidden by the best genjutsu she'd ever walked through. It prickled and pulled at her senses as she followed him down, creating the odd and unpleasant simultaneous perception of looking at an underground entrance hidden in a training ground and a very solid piece of flora. She just barely caught sight of a little pink nose poking out of a well-hidden rabbit warren in the instant before she grimaced and closed her eyes on the first few steps.
"You will not speak out of place." Boar's voice echoed oddly in the narrow tunnel that led straight down. From her position on top of him on the cold metal ladder, Aiko indulged in rolling her eyes. How cliché. Someone really liked to set the atmosphere. "You will treat Danzo-sama with the proper respect. Noncompliance with be punished severely."
It didn't seem like he wanted an answer. That was fine. He'd given her plenty of information. She heard him jump the rest of the distance, and waited a few moments herself while he moved before lithely copying. Completely blind as she was, Aiko took the safe route of landing in an exaggerated crouch to save strain on her joints. They'd only fallen something like fifteen feet straight down, however. Not so bad. Circe du-Soleil performers routinely did more drastic stunts, so a chakra-using ninja properly trained in how to fall had no problem.
A hand gripped her shoulder. It wasn't Boar's—his hand was twice that size. She reacted by snatching the wrist and twisting, positioning herself behind the relatively lean, petite body, placing the pads of her fingers against her assailant's spine in a clear warning. She didn't particularly appreciate being touched in the dark by unknown persons, but nor was she sure she could react with lethal force. The exchange took less than a second.
'I spy an opportunity,' Aiko noted. It took less time to set a trapped Hiraishin seal on the back she was touching than it did for the thought to occur. That was good, because she didn't have time for another thought before a hand that definitely was Boar's snatched her by her throat and lifted her entirely, crushing her body into a wall. She seized up, not even trying to breathe. In this position, he could easily crush her larynx. If she felt even the slightly hint of added force…
"I said to behave," he said shortly. "This person will be your guide."
She controlled her breathing, not letting herself gasp audibly when Boar's monstrous paw released her to the ground, and obediently turned to face the figure she could smell but not see in the dark.
Now that no one was surprising her or tossing her around… well. That was a scent she knew.
The previous incident was tucked away to deal with later (or not, possibly) and instead Aiko trailed after intentionally light footsteps. Intentionally audible, that was. They would have been silent under normal circumstances. It was hard to gauge time and distance—she hadn't thought to count steps, and she was probably being led around multiple paths and through traps and genjutsu. The acoustics began to change slightly, as did the elevation of their path so that they were walking up an incline instead of down. For all she knew, they weren't even within Konoha's city limits anymore.
'Light,' she registered. It wasn't much, but there was ambient light seeping out from beneath the doors that they were passing. Her guide led her through one such dimly-lit room and gave a perfunctory knock on a closed door. Her eyes had adjusted enough that she could see the slim outline of the boy guiding her—and she was sure it was a boy about her own age. He was slim and graceful, but few girls had shoulders quite that broad without hips to match.
Of course, she'd known that already without any light at all. Aiko allowed herself to give an ironic smile to Sai underneath her mask. Honestly, like she wouldn't smell his ink just because he'd left it at home and washed his clothes. The unique chemical blend had been soaked into his fingertips so many times that he would have to slough the skin to completely erase the scent.
It was good to be underestimated, though. They'd clearly taken her abilities and training into account, but either didn't know what scent tracking implied or had underestimated Kakashi's perfectionism. Perhaps they intended to strategically surprise her by revealing Sai's identity later to put her off-balance, or see if she reacted in a way that implied she already knew his identity. If that was the case, then she should pretend to be surprised, or else might give up the fact that Tsunade had already taken her into confidence. Then again, it could be a test of her abilities and pretending not to know it was Sai would make Danzo think she was incompetent. The last possibility that occurred to her that it wasn't a test for her at all—it was a way for Danzo to get a second opinion by keeping the person who would theoretically know her best close by to use as a reference. Possibly he would listen in on their conversation.
The only safe response was no response. Whatever they were looking for, she wouldn't give it to them. That might frustrate Danzo, but he wouldn't give up either. Actually, he might be looking for agents who kept a sharp poker face.
Whatever he was looking for, it included the categorization 'vulnerable'. If she had been a real teenager, she would stand no chance against a man like this. No matter the intellect, a teenager just didn't have the experience to deal with a master manipulator. She might not, either, despite her hidden advantages.
"Come in."
She'd never heard Danzo speak before, but that faint wheeze could certainly belong to him. It sounded like an affectation made by healthy lungs. Then again, she might be making judgments based on what she already thought she knew. Perhaps he really was too infirm to breathe properly.
Sai backed away, implying that she should go in alone. Probably wasn't supposed to risk stepping into the light. She felt the cheeky urge to wave at him, but suppressed it. This wasn't the place to impress or irritate with attitude. These people took themselves far too seriously.
The door she pressed open buzzed with chakra at her touch, probing invasively. It was probably recording her signature. She suppressed both a grimace and the reflex to spark back and cancel the seal that carried the technique. It was probably too strong to overload like that, and trying would endear her to no one. Her eyes burnt a little at the sudden change in lighting: this room was cozy, lit by several low lanterns and boasted exactly two chairs.
She wasn't fool enough to sit without invitation. A quick analysis of the room's other visible inhabitant confirmed her suspicion.
If he had investigated her at all, he would know that she should recognize him on sight. There was no point in feigning unfamiliarity. Doubtlessly, his Root ANBU would greet him with a full bow and he was used to that deference even out and about in the village. So, in order to position herself in the way she wanted…
Aiko came to stand in front of him and gave an exact, correct incline of just the neck with a locked back. This man was not her master. Pretending that she thought he was would be suspicious. Giving him no deference would be infuriating. She had to take the third path.
"Danzo-sama."
"Take that mask off, Aiko-chan." The old man looked like any retired shinobi or samurai. Granted, he seemed more beat-up than most, with crisp bandages wound around a good third of his body and the sturdy cane within easy reach. "I've heard interesting things about you, child."
'Subtle threat that he's been spying. Attempt to assert himself in hierarchy by citing age and therefore wisdom and experience. Rhetorical attempt to position himself as a grandfatherly figure to make me relax,' she catalogued instantly. In addition to all that, removing her mask would both make it more difficult for her to lie to him and put her in the awkward position of having to hold it, which would make her break out of her professional stance.
It was going to be that kind of conversation.
Aiko caught the "of course" that threatened to bubble up as she removed her mask. It would be safer to give this man nothing than to speak insincere platitudes. If he was as practical as she expected, he wouldn't appreciate the wasted time. The best way to deal with someone as intelligent and crafty as she feared he was would be not to lie at all. Her best weapon here would be strategic truths.
Danzo's face could have been carved from stone, but doubtlessly he'd just made his first judgment about her.
"How do you like your work?"
Well. That was a bizarrely inane beginning, although she thought she sensed where this was heading.
"Sir?"
'I can't engage too soon. I can't lie to him, can't give him the impression that I'm content with Tsunade, and I definitely can't seem too eager to share semi-traitorous thoughts. Talk about suspicious.'
The old man heaved a sigh, tapping stiff fingers against the side of his chair. "Have a seat." She did. "Don't be coy, child. You're a skeptic, a critic. You've been questioning Hiruzen's judgment and rebelling against academy teachers since you could write your name. You certainly did not learn discipline and respect at Sharingan no Kakashi's knee. Do not think to outfox me. You confided concerns to your teammate about the efficiency and sense behind one of Konoha's most important institutions. Do you stand by those remarks?"
'I did not expect such an aggressive beginning. That was a bit brutal.'
Despite not being what she had anticipated, it was a turn of conversation Aiko welcomed. The brief moment of shock had drained the color from her cheeks. She looked sincere.
"I do," Aiko answered steadily. It wasn't even a lie. She did see severe problems with Konoha's administration. It was a bit of a fallacy to assume that the fact that she saw problems meant that she would agree with his solutions or even that she intended to have a part in fixing them.
Her strategy was much the way she would plan any argument, except with the opposite intention. When she would normally defend a claim with evidence in order to win someone over to her premise, here she would obscure her premise and use true evidence that happened to support his claim. Lying without lying.
"You do? How arrogant, to say such a thing to a man who has devoted many years of his life to Konoha's welfare."
That was meant to put her on the defensive—either force her to retract or qualify her statement (displaying weakness), or back her into a corner and allow her to prove that she was unworthy of his time by showing she was not fit to join his force. Of course, she could also falter under sudden pressure and show that she had no aptitude as a member of a black operations force or for intelligence work. None of those outcomes were acceptable.
Danzo was controlling because he felt others were not as competent or intelligent. A man like that needed two kinds of allies. He needed mindlessly obedient drones, which he obtained by systematically breaking vulnerable minds and building them up as he desired; and he needed workers who thought like he did but just not quite as well. He was a man who could only trust someone if he thought he understood every nuance of their personality, motivations, and likely actions… and could follow that through one step further than they could.
There was no chance that she could pass for a drone. So she had to make herself worth his time. If she didn't, she would probably wake up in the morning with a terrible headache and no idea that she'd failed her mission.
"The protocols in the detention facility are evidence of an attempt to be merciful and practical. Both aims are unsuccessful."
Blunt, without back-tracking, pandering, or insulting him. She had needed to show that she wasn't just prone to complaints—she could form, investigate, and articulate a thought that cut to the quick.
Danzo stared at her a second, as if waiting for her resolve to fade and prove that she was posturing. One side of his mouth curled up ruefully. "Cheeky brat." He gave a single, barking laugh that almost hurt her own throat in sympathy. "You are lucky that I am not a man who becomes displeased by inconvenient truths."
It was an effort not to grit her teeth together to hide her amusement at the unintentional reference. She kept her face slack, but a man like Danzo doubtlessly spotted the imperfections in her mien.
That was fine. He would want to think that she was at least a little shaken at the prospect of displeasing him. He had gone to such lengths to unnerve her, after all, what with the late-night summoning and theatricality. It would be a shame not to indulge him.
"You are correct, of course," he continued tonelessly, turning to stare at a piece of calligraphy wall art. "That prison is a mess. For years I had pushed Hiruzen to made needed changes. Unfortunate as his illness and retirement was, I admit that I hoped for a successor who would listen to wisdom when it was offered."
'Illness? What the hell is he talking about? That's an odd way to refer to injuries sustained from fighting Orochimaru.'
Danzo didn't clarify on that. She'd have to ruminate on that oddity later. The part she was meant to pick up on was the implication that…
"Tsunade-sama has no plans to simplify matters?"
He scoffed. "Plans? There are plans. There are no intentions." Scorn was evident in his tone even before he turned to glare resentfully at her, his one visible eye narrowed into a thin, wrinkled line. "You must have noticed Tsunade-chan is unsuitable for the position of Hokage."
'Tsu- Tsunade-chan? That's positively scathing. It's incredibly inappropriate for him to refer to the Hokage that way, no matter his comparative age.'
For one startling instant, it felt that his full ire was directed at her. A shiver ran up her spine, and her full attention was on just how dangerous the man she was playing games with really was. Even aside from his not-inconsiderable political influence, he had the physical superiority as well through his genetic augmentations. Tsunade could fight him. Jiraiya could. With assistance, Kakashi could as well.
She could not. Aiko could escape him if things went wrong, but that was it, and then he would know about her Hiraishin if he didn't already. He shouldn't know. But a man like that? A man with his own spy network in her own village?
Danzo could very well know already.
'He doesn't know it's modified and trapped,' she reminded herself, desperate for a small reminder of any sort of advantage on her side. Of course, seeing as the trap was based on his own seal work…
"I suppose you are pleased about gaining clan status," Danzo switched gears briskly.
Something unpleasant curled in her stomach. She didn't see the thread that connected those thoughts… which meant that she was stabbing blindly. But she had to say something. "It is my duty."
The black pool of his visible eye emerged slightly into visibility when he tilted his head, displacing the loose strands of hair that had been shadowing it. "Is it, now. You're not the least bit pleased about gaining a clan seat."
"No," she said bluntly. Always good to be able not to lie.
That really did seem to take Danzo off guard. She'd been right. He had some method of reading her that he felt confident in—perhaps something involving his hidden Sharingan, or a special seal, or even just plain old skill in discerning falsehoods through close observation. "Whyever not?"
"I have no interest in leadership."
Slowly, his brow raised. "Is that so." It wasn't a question, so she remained silent. "Perhaps you are suited to it, then." He reached out to curl his hand around the top of his gnarled cane, as if searching out comfort or something to do with his hands. "The concept of inheriting power is highly flawed. The suitability of one's father for leadership says nothing of the child."
"You're talking about Tsunade." She allowed her eyes to glide off his face, lifting her chin slightly as if in contemplation. "You feel that she became Hokage because of her familial connections and not her competency."
"Very good." When Aiko turned, it became clear that he was giving a faint smile. It wasn't actually amused. "Clever young thing. You cut well to the heart of matters," he continued, breathing in deeply and broadening his shoulders slightly. "Duty. Leadership is duty. Duty to the village's welfare first and above all other concerns. Do you not agree?"
"I agree," she concurred easily. 'That's certainly a viable definition of duty. Not my 'duty', but it's certainly 'duty'.
"Would you say your loyalty lies with the position of the Hokage, then?"
"If the Hokage serves those interests," she smoothly concurred. That would be what she would say in that situation, yes.
"And if the Hokage does not?" Danzo pronounced crisply, making the phrase more of a statement than a query.
"I would not presume to take the position of an advisor," she demurred. This was a bit of rhetoric she had anticipated. She hadn't been bothered by the change in administration, but he'd had Koharu and Homura in his corner. Hissy fit in three, two, one…
"Ha! What can then be done, when the Hokage is an impertinent fool who dismisses the wisdom of her elders?" Danzo half-growled, his voice a low rumble.
"Look to the wise."
There was silence, broken only by the faint wheeze of his breath. It wasn't entirely affected, she was certain now. Exaggerated, perhaps. But he really was infirm with age. No wonder he had gone in search of strength, however artificial. For someone who had chased power their entire life, the gradual creep of old age must be terrifying.
Danzo sighed, deflated and weary. The bags beneath his eyes looked even more pronounced when he let his face go slack. "Words that express more than they would seem to. I would like to continue this conversation tomorrow. I will have you brought here again."
'Wait. That's it?'
Confused, Aiko started for a second. She instantly regretted it—it was her first fuck-up of the night. She'd been doing so well, too. It would be stupidly optimistic to hope that Danzo didn't catch the slip in composure, even though he gave no visible reaction.
Once she'd collected herself, Aiko gave the same bow she had at the beginning and turned to leave. Was that- yes. A third ANBU had appeared instead of Boar or Sai.
'Oh well.' She re-fastened her mask over her face, not giving the room a backwards glance. That was an unsettling, confusing mess, and she was ready to be out of there.
The door swung shut, and the faint patter of light foot-steps faded. Danzo struggled to his feet without bothering to posture as he would in anyone else's presence. His right hand clenched tightly around the knob on his cane, but the left was raised slowly in a signal to the boy hiding in the shadows.
"Danzo-sama."
"Don't let her out of your sight." Danzo slowly closed his eye, focusing on shutting off the trickle of chakra he had been forcing to his hidden eye. "If she makes a motion towards the Hokage or anyone of political import, restrain her immediately and bring her to me. If the girl is a genuine candidate, bring her here tomorrow night."
"Hai." Sai inclined in a deep bow for a long second. In the next, he leapt to follow Uzumaki Aiko out into the darkness.
It was effortless to follow her through the tunnels, although the path she was led out through was not the one he had taken in. It was no matter. He was one of Danzo-sama's most valued subordinates. Sai had been raised in the darkness and knew these passages like Aiko knew the world above ground.
It was good that Washboard did not move to find anyone like the Hokage after she was brought to her home. The idea of taking her to Danzo-sama to have her mind forcibly sealed was not appealing in the least. Sai kept a careful distance. He had not missed the way that she had followed his movements in the dark—Washboard had been sensing his presence somehow. That ability had seemed to fade once he put some distance between them, as she had not looked at him once while he had listened to her conversation with Danzo-sama. At one point she closed her curtains, so he had to infiltrate her apartment with an ink beast and use it as a visual medium.
'Washboard has surprisingly poor security for a seals specialist,' he noted with a rare frown. He was unable to get quite close enough to hear what Washboard was saying as she fidgeted, paced from room-to-room, and did various menial chores, but more than once she seemed to be quietly moving her mouth. 'Why does she not go to sleep?'
Mildly perplexed, but not actually bothered, Sai settled down for the night on a nearby roof so that he could monitor her movements. As odd as it seemed, she was pacing from room to room, running her hands through her hair in some sort of nervous tick. Washboard had almost immediately shucked her ANBU gear in exchange for some rather baffling sleepwear. It seemed to serve no tactical purpose whatsoever—certainly not armor, and there was no possibility for weapon storage even when he squinted and attempted to give it the benefit of the doubt. Even worse, the garments were a powdery pink with obscene dots of sparkles. What kind of ninja gear could it possibly be?
Sai felt his face contort oddly. He was never going to understand Washboard. Sometimes she seemed so composed and capable like she had in Danzo-sama's presence. And then she did lunatic things like stay up all night in the safety of her own village, wandering her own home like a trapped animal and looking like she might cry at any moment.
He was glad for the distance. The thought made him uncomfortable. If she didn't know he was there, he would not have to deal with her illogical outbursts.
'Twenty-four hours. I need only watch her for twenty-four hours.'
Sai could do that.