Title: Ao-ch! She Isn't That Bad

Summary: A look inside Ao's mind, and Kokoro learns about Yagura.

Ao entered the classroom that morning with a frown not quite unlike the one he wore every morning. He had drunk his tea like he did every morning and his miso soup and rice for breakfast. He had put on the same garb he wore every day and had greeted his fellow shinobi like every morning. Everything was familiar, except for the subject of the whispers circulating around the village. It was no secret that the citizens of Kirigakure did not like that the littlest hatake was residing within Kiri's borders, which meant it was no secret that people whispered about her. They said nasty things that weren't even close to being true. They questioned her character and her loyalties. They questioned if the Mizukage had lost her ever loving mind to have invited the gray-haired to live in close quarters with them. It was ridiculous!

Ao would admit that he used to listen in on the rumors. He wasn't exactly sure of the genin, and he didn't trust her. In his defense, he didn't know her at the time. All she knew was that she was the daughter of Kakashi Hatake and had defeated Enkai Kuragari, Kirigakure's genin with the most potential. It had been a shock to both him and the MIzukage that she had defeated him, and it most certainly had been a shock when she had defeated him with one of Kirigakure's kekkei genkai - one that had been lost. He had been so angry to witness it being used outside of Kiri's borders. His first thought had been that Konoha had somehow stolen it and had shown it off to gloat in their faces. He had ready to demand the Mizukage to do something, but he had stopped in his tracks when he saw the look on her face.

When they had finally gotten a chance to talk to her after all the mayhem with the invasion, he had been against her coming. She had the temper of a child and had no inkling as to how much of a gracious offer the Mizukage was giving her. He worried issues would arise with her arrival, and he worried she would cause more issues in the village. They already had so much to deal with and fix. Adding more would only hinder them further. They should have been focusing on the village as it was, not with a new addition.

But Mei had told him to give her the benefit of the doubt, so he went along with it. He remembered being so mad when she showed up late to her first lesson with him. He had been tasked with educating her about Kirigakure's politics and history, unfortunately, and had lost some of his time doing it. For her to disregard that someone was waiting on her and arrive late was preposterous! He wanted to tell her to go home and ask the Mizukage for a new job assignment. But he had promised Mei he would give her a chance, and turning her away the first time she annoyed him wasn't doing that.

As he taught her and got to know her, he realized she wasn't as bad as everyone thought. She was a bit bratty like any other genin, but that was it. She was intelligent and unsure of herself. She was curious and open to other people's perspectives on things. She was an overall good person. She wasn't distrustful or a leech, she wasn't mean or uppity, and she wasn't so full of herself she couldn't greet those around her. They had never given her a chance to show them her true self and how she truly acted. She shied away from those whispering about her and she tried her best in vain to ignore their venom. So, Ao was shocked to hear that she had put her hands on a genin. His student wasn't like that. He had to get to the bottom of it.

Ao changed his course towards one of his friends he knew would be available to talk for a few minutes. He dropped in front of her and greeted her.

"Akane, nice to see you," Ao said. Akane was a woman he had graduated from the Academy with. She had dark hair that rarely got to show its color due to the cloudy days in Kiri. When they had rare, sunny days, her hair shined a glossy purple. Her eyes were pitch black and her incisors were sharp enough to cut through flesh. Her eyebrows were shaved off. In their place was a series of purple dots that got smaller the closer they got to the side of her head. Her eyes were ringed with black makeup, causing her eyes to look like black holes, and her mouth was painted with vertical, purple stripes. It was a wonder anyone was comfortable with being around her, but he guessed that that was the Kiri look. Kiri was used to people having physical mutations and being uncanny.

"What do you need, Ao?" Akane asked, "You only ever seek me out when you need information or when you need a bar buddy. It's a little too early to be drinking, so it has to be the former option."

"It's never too early to drink," Ao muttered. "I came to ask you about the rumor mill about Hatake."

"The small Hatake, eh? Aren't you her sensei?"

"I am. I've been around her a lot and I know she would never put her hands on someone, especially someone younger than her. What happened?"

"Yua Kuragari approached Hatake and began talking to her. I can't tell you what was said, but it looked like they exchanged a few heated words," Akane told him.

"Kuragari as in Enkai Kuragari?"

"Yeah. I heard she's been testy over Enkai's defeat. She's even more upset that the Hatake is residing here."

"What else can you tell me?"

"Kuragari and the Hatake started talking louder and the next thing you know Kuragari is on the ground accusing the Hatake of pushing her. The Hatake's hands were nowhere near the girl."

"A deceiving tactic, then," Ao mused with a small frown. The incident certainly wouldn't help Kokoro's reputation in the village. She'd need help to win over everyone. A lot of help. He could try to help her, but he wasn't much of a socializer. He greeted people and had a small circle of friends and that was that. He didn't bother with people he didn't know or like. But he knew someone who did.

"She's taken a hard hit reputation wise," Akane said. "It'll be hard for her to gain anyone's trust now."

"I know," Ao said, "but you could help with that."

"Not even going to ask?" Akane said with a raised eyebrow.

"You owe me a favor. Besides, she's going to need all the help she can get."

"Oh? So you want her to succeed?" Akane asked curiously. "The last time we talked about her you wanted her to fail so you'd never see the likes of her again."

Ao rolled his eyes and said, "My eyes were just as clouded with bias as those around us. She's not as bad as everyone makes her out to be. I think she'll be a big asset to Kiri once she's had more education and experience."

"I'll take your word for it. I'll see what I can do. Have her meet me here when she's free. I stop by every hour on the dot. There isn't much to do when you're not working."

"Your probation still isn't over?"

"Of course it's not. I said something Hirose didn't like, and you know how he is," Akane said angrily. "I'll be lucky to be finished with it by the end of the month."

"Well, good luck. Let me know how it goes," Ao said before he bolted. He needed to get to the Academy. He had taken longer than he should have and was running late. Normally, he would be scolding himself for being late, but he had a good reason for his lateness. Besides, Kokoro wasn't a stickler for being on time. He'd tell her where he'd been and then they would start their lesson. He felt confident as he walked into the building and down the hall towards the classroom. When he opened the door, he expected to see Kokoro sitting down and waiting patiently with her notebook and pencil out. That's not what he saw.

Kokoro was sitting in her seat with an impatient look on her face. Her right foot was tapping to an imaginary beat as her left leg bounced up and down. Her head was held in place by her right hand, and her left hand was drumming its fingers in a staccato rhythm. Her notebook and pencil were sitting on the floor next to her feet. When he entered the room, she locked eyes with him and sharply glared at him. Ao shivered internally at the threat her stare entailed.

"You're late," Kokoro stated angrily.

"I am," Ao said. "I had to speak with a friend about the rumors circulating about you. I think I have a solution to it."

"Thank you for your help, sensei," Kokoro said gratefully. "But that doesn't explain why you're late."

"I gave you a perfectly good explanation for my late arrival."

"I get that you stopped to talk to a friend, but you should have timed your conversation and the time it would take to get here afterwards. Why should I have to wait for you when you don't like to wait for me? You're wasting my time, Ao-sensei," Kokoro placated him.

Ao sputtered in surprise as he fumbled to come up with a response. He had never heard her talk back so badly before. He'd heard her talk back before, but never so rudely. He didn't know she had it in her, and he didn't think she would be so affected by his lateness.

"I didn't think you would be so upset about it," Ao finally said.

"I've always been mad about tardiness," she said. "My dad has no concept of time and likes to waste people's time. Mostly he does it to mess with people, and I hate when people mess with me. I've had to yell at him for being late to important things, and I'm not opposed to doing the same to you. Your lessons are important Ao-sensei. They're already helping me to get better. You shouldn't act like they're not."

Ao thought over her words and sighed. He bowed slightly and apologized to her. She blinked in surprise at his actions before she smiled and accepted his apology. He walked over to the chalkboard and began writing down the day's lesson: the Yondaime Mizukage. Before he began, he asked, "Why were your supplies on the floor?"

"Oh, I was just being petty. Usually you want me to be ready as soon as possible, but I thought it would be a sort of punishment for you to have my things on the floor rather than on my desk ready to go."

"Well, you succeeded slightly," Ao said, amused. "It bothered me when I walked in, but now that you're ready before I start the lesson, it doesn't phase me."

"Darn," Kokoro said jokingly. "Next time I'll draw all over the chalkboard, or maybe I should paint it? Naruto did that once to iruka-sensei."

"If you do that I'll make sure Masumi doubles down on your training."

Kokoro whined, "Please don't do that! Her training is already hard enough! I can barely feel my limbs after training as is."

"Then don't mess with my stuff."

"Well, technically-"

"Kokoro," he warned. She held up her hands in front of her and looked at him innocently. He rolled his eyes at her as she grinned. She opened her notebook to a new page and waited for him to start. She was excited about the day's topic. She had heard about the infamous Yagura and she wanted to know what he had implemented and did during his reign of terror. She also wanted to know why he did it. She wasn't sure if she would get the answer to that question, but she hoped she would. Honestly, who would subject their citizens to such horrors?

"Today we are going to learn about the Yondaime Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura," Ao informed her with a stern face. "He is one of the most infamous Kages in the Elemental Nations and is most known for his terror-filled reign over Kirigakure."

Kokoro raised her hand and asked, "Did Yagura really start that bloody graduation requirement?"

"No, that is a misconception. Kirigakure has had that barbaric ritual since the village formed. He is just the poster boy for it because of his scary reign as Mizukage. But he hadn't started out that way."

"What do you mean?" Kokoro asked.

"I'll tell you. First, let me give you some background. Yondaime was the holder of the Sanbi, the three-tailed beast. He had excellent control over it and quickly became the most powerful shinobi in the village. Thus, he became the Mizukage. Before he became such a dictator, he was able to do many things for Kiri, such as uniting the entirety of Kirigakure," Ao said.

"I thought they were already united," she said, confused.

"No, Kirigakure was not formed with good relations nor with good intentions. After Konohagakure was formed, many other clans wanted to form hidden villages so as not to be eradicated. Kirigakure, as you know, is made up of a bunch of different islands spread out in the sea. Because of this, many different cultures formed within Kiri. Every island saw itself as one separate entity, causing distrust within Kiri. Civil wars started and divided the village even more. Most often than not, the islands used their respective kekkei genkai."

"Is that why people don't like kekkei genkai here?"

"You mean you weren't told?" Ao asked in surprise.

Kokoro shrugged her shoulders and said, "Haku never specifically mentioned why they were feared here. I figured people were just jealous that others were stronger than them, but that obviously isn't the case."

"Far from it," Ao commented. "They were afraid of them. The islands used them to beat the opposing side, and soon kekkei genkai became harbingers of death. Anyone with a kekkei genkai was considered an enemy, and they were soon hunted down."

"So, Yagura united the islands then."

"Yes. Before he became a tyrant, he was one of the most poised and composed people in the village, perhaps even in the nation. He was a leader that everyone looked up to. Unfortunately, that didn't last. He was soon taken advantage of and placed under a strong genjutsu. We hadn't known at the time, but we highly suspected it as his personality drastically changed after a mission. He committed many crimes like exploiting money from the weak and killing anyone he suspected of being a traitor. He was merciless, and he was harsh on everyone. Genin who graduated from the Academy and lost during the Chunin Exams were punished, and if they didn't pass by their third try, they were deemed useless and were banned from ever becoming a shinobi again. Some genin who were demoted into a mere citizen argued against his decision and were silenced forever. It was a tense time, and everyone was walking on eggshells."

"And nobody did anything?!" Kokoro shouted in outrage. "What kind of leader instills fear in their followers. Good leaders don't create cowardly lions, they create strong lions able to lead an entire pride!"

"Yes," Ao said with a proud smile on his face, "but not everyone just stood around and took it. There were a few coup d'etats to end his life, but they all failed. Those who were caught were killed. Only one person managed to evade his wrath, and I do believe you met him before."

"Who?" Kokoro asked, trying to think of who she would have met from Kiri. The only people she met from Kiri before coming to Kirigakure were Haku and Zabuza. Haku would have been too young, but Zabuza might have been old enough. He certainly did partake in the bloody graduation exams, so it was plausible. "Was it Zabuza?"

"Well done. Yes, he was the only one to escape Yagura's wrath."

"How did you dispel the genjutsu over Yagura if it was strong?"

"Eventually, I was able to expel the genjutsu with my Byakugan, but that was only after I mastered-"

"You have a Byakugan?!" Kokoro screeched. "Since when! How? No one would have just given it to you willingly. I know that for a fact! They're too proud to do that, and they protect it so fiercely!" Kokoro inhaled sharply and looked at Ao with a distrustful look. "Did you kill one of them?"

Ao sighed and said, "Before the Third Shinobi War, I had run into a Hyuga. We fought and I won. I saw an opportunity and took the Byakugan in hopes I could implant it into my eye. It worked."

"But still," Kokoro said with a shudder. "How could you do that?"

"You have to take every advantage available to you," Ao said seriously. "There are many dangers in the world. Our lifespans as shinobi are short; too short to really live a life and enjoy it. To survive, you need to become strong, which means taking things you might not want to."

"I'm still not sure I agree with it," she said uncomfortably.

"It's okay if you don't understand now, but you will one day," Ao said.

"What if I don't want to understand, though," Kokoro said. "I don't think it's respectful to take something from a dead corpse."

"It's up to you whether or not to take my advice," Ao said nonchalantly. "Just remember that you can't be soft. Anything can easily overtake you should you let it."

"I will," Kokoro said. "Can we talk about something else? What kind of policies did Yagura put in place? Or take away?"