Butterflies

"Me? I'm nobody. I'm not skilled like Uchiha-san. I am not passionate like Haruno-san. I am not smart like Nara-san. I'm not as strong as Chouji-san. I'm not as collected as Aburame-san. Or as pretty as Yamanaka-san. I'm not as confident as Inuzuka-san. If anything, I'm like Hyuuga-san, socially awkward. Oh wait, no, she's just shy. The socially awkward one is me." OC! Team 7 remix!

Chapter 22 – Help me

8-8

We take out our scrolls and lay them all on the table. We take our time going through it all, sorting through them. Then a thought hits me, all the weapons currently in the house hadn't been sharpened in at least six years. It's long past time. And it would help give Nii-san an idea of where he could find what.

"I'll be taking the master bedroom. That has a cache already built in for my weapons. If you take the bedroom at the end of the hall, that room has one as well. I'd have to show you where it is and how to open it though. We can use the other caches around the house to hide the weapons in there we don't want. And, as much as I love you, Nii-san, we're not sharing a bathroom. I don't want to hurt you for walking in while I'm bathing. Right across the hall from the bedroom I mentioned is a bathroom. It has everything other than a washing machine and dryer. I'll take the one across from the master bedroom, which does have a washing machine and dryer. If you keep your dirty clothes in the hamper in your bathroom, I can find them easily when it's time. Okay?"

"Sounds perfect to me! Hey! That's a really cool katana!" He says, pointing at one I just unsealed. I shrug, carefully tossing it to him. It's kind of boring; black sheath and grip? I see a wakizashi with the same colour scheme, so I give him a heads up and toss him that one too.

Once I unseal the shuriken and tanto Nii-san gave me, I place them on the table – the others are all being arranged along the wall so we can sort of set up a system for them. Eventually Nii-san unseals a cute pink tanto! I squeal the second I see it!

"What is it with you and pink?"

"I don't know, but it's a really cute colour!" I tell him, thanking him when he tosses me the tanto. It turns out that he sealed a lot of pretty cool weapons from that rebel base, which is where he found my new (pink) tanto. There's also some much bigger weapons, but neither of us has much use for those – we're strong, but we're too short for something like that.

There are also hundreds of kunai and regular shuriken. We split those up evenly between us. And quite the collection to kodachis and tantos and other shorter swords. I'm actually rather impressed with the collection they had.

We get to the scrolls, but we really have no idea what to do with most of them. The elemental ones will be a wonderful addition to the hidden library, so I tell him I'll put them there later. But a scroll on tree walking? Water walking? No. We've got that down, thanks. Still, it might be handy to read through just to see what their training methods were. Just not now.

"Come on, let me show you your room and where that cache is."

8-8

I walk through the hall upstairs. Eight bedrooms, only two being used. I still haven't unsealed my things from my old apartment. Not really sure where I want them, really. The two offices are downstairs, along with a smallish dojo – it's big enough for taijutsu, but not much else. Still, to the point of this.

I enter the master bathroom, finding a mountain of old clothes, sheets and linens, everything really. I go about sorting through it all. The linens are the first to get tossed into the washing machine. But… the detergent dried up, the fabric softener too. We need to get some shopping done. And we need some food too, and some of our vices. And we need… Stuff. We just need stuff.

"Naruto-nii!" I call out to him once I'm in the hallway again. His head pops out from his bedroom. "We need to go shopping." I tell him. He nods, saying that he'll just unload everything from his scroll so we can seal what we need in there. I nod, heading into my bedroom as well. I unload the money I'd found – I'm soo taking that to the bank tomorrow, or something – and take out about a hundred-thousand Ryou. Sure, it's WAY more than I'll need, but frankly I'd rather have it on me. And Naruto-nii's going to be with me the whole time, so I know I'll be safe.

With everything –more or less– the way I want it, I go back into the hallway and tell Nii-san I'll be by the door waiting on him. He's right behind me though.

8-8

It's too late to head to the market – they're closed for the day – so we head to the convenience store. I wince, already hating this, but we need a few things for now. I pick up a detergent and fabric softener, we discuss what we want for dinner and pick up what we'd need for that and breakfast, and we kind of look around a bit. I decide to spoil myself with some chocolate, he decides he'd like to try this new ramen flavour.

"Excuse me, sir. I'm looking for work. Would your store happen to-" I hear a familiar voice.

"We don't deal with vagrants." Comes a cold response. I look over to see what's going on. Yasu-san is standing there, tears in her eyes, and Sakiko-chan looking at some of the food longingly. I turn to Naruto-nii, finding that he's turning to me at the same time. He nods, already heading back to the food section and picking up more ingredients – we'll have two more mouths to feed tonight.

"Hello, Yasu-san, Sakiko-chan." They turn to me, shocked. Sakiko-chan jumps into my arms not a moment later though. I smile a little. "I take it you have somewhere to stay?" I ask, wondering at the sad state they're still in. I mean, the same clothes they were wearing when we found them, are the same clothes they're in now. It's just sad.

"Aya-san! It's so good to see you. What are you doing here?" Yasu-san asks me politely. I can tell she's halfway to tears.

"Just picking up some small things. We kind of have a lot to do at home, you know?" I say vaguely. "By the way, would you two care to join us for dinner? I mean, it wouldn't be any trouble."

Sakiko's tummy rumbles at the thought of food. She turns a pretty red, clearly embarrassed about that. "That would be lovely. Thank you." Yasu-san bows to me. Sakiko-chan's in my arms, so she can't bow, but I see her bowing her head all the same. "You say 'we'? Are you here with someone?" She probably remembers me saying that I don't have any family, so she must be wondering who I'm with.

"Uzumaki-san, naturally." I say smiling at the blonde taking out another pack of instant ramen, just in case.

"Ah, of course." She smiles. When Naruto-nii comes over with the things we need, he hands them to the shopkeeper. He looks at Naruto-nii a little funny, but when I glare at him, he knows not to make a scene.

"Sakiko-chan, please do not do that." Yasu-san says. I wonder what she's talking about though. I turn to the redhead in my arms, following her gaze to a pack of chocolate. She's longing for them; I know the look.

"Don't worry about that, Sakiko-chan. I have plenty of chocolate we're already buying. And after dinner, I'll share some with you, okay?" We're told the total, and I pay for it. I do ask for the receipt though – which I carefully study before we leave the store. We might be financially better off now, but that doesn't mean I'm going to be careless.

8-8

We take our time walking home. Sakiko-chan is telling us about the little apartment they live in together, about how there's no furniture, no food, nothing. She even told me about how Yasu-san looked worried when she counted the money they were given. My heart aches for them.

Once we're home, I welcome them warmly. "Please forgive us if they house is a bit of a mess, we're kind of still organizing everything." I say, a bit embarrassed. Sure, we already put away all the weapons and whatnot, but… I might have overlooked something, you know?

"You have a lovely home." Yasu-san says, looking around. I smile, looking around a bit too.

"My parents left it to me. We've only moved in today." I say. Once we've shed out footwear, we head into the family sitting room. I ask them to make themselves comfortable, before heading across the hall and into the kitchen. I hear Naruto-nii sliding the paper screens open again, and how Sakiko-chan squeals and asks if she can run around in our front yard.

"Alright, but only if you go and out on your slippers again." Yasu-san gives in, after discussing it with Nii-san a bit. A moment later, I hear footsteps behind me. I turn, finding the green haired Yasu with a soft smile. "May I help with anything?" She asks.

"If you're willing, sure. I prefer having company while I cook." I ask her to start chopping the veggies, while I start cutting the rabbit and seasoning it. We keep chatting about this and that as we go. Yasu-san talks about how lovely our village is, I tell her funny little stories about the things I've been through here. It's… nice.

Between the two of us –and her lighting the burners– it doesn't take too long to have dinner ready. The whole time, I hear Sakiko-chan's laughter in the front yard; sometimes with Naruto-nii calling out something.

However, there's just something I cannot not do before they sit to the table. "Yasu-san, I'll bring the food to the table. Could you make sure Sakiko-chan and Naruto-nii wash their hands please?"

She smiles, nods, and heads off to see to it.

8-8

After dinner, Yasu-san insists she be allowed to help wash up, so she and Naruto-nii see to that. It's already getting dark, so I don't want Sakiko-chan running around outside. We close the paper screens, to keep the warmth in. I take one look at Sakiko-chan though, and I decide that she might just fit my old clothes. Still, they're all still dirty…

And… Yasu-san might just fit mama's old clothes. I mean, it's not as if they'll do anyone any good, just collecting dust.

I head upstairs with the detergent and fabric softener, thoughts racing through my head. Once in the master bathroom, I put in the liquids in the right slots and turn on the washing machine. We're going to have to work a bit to make sure we have clean linens to sleep on tonight. Still, it shouldn't be too hard, since we have a dryer.

"Aya-san! Are you up here?" Yasu-san calls to me. I tell her where to find me, already looking through my old clothes. Hmm, they do look to be about Sakiko's size, don't they?

"Come on in, I'm just sorting through the laundry." I tell her. The bathroom door slides open, and her eyes bulge out a bit. She takes one look at the mountain of laundry, already feeling guilty. I'm not sure why though. "Do you think this would fit Sakiko?" I ask, motioning to the pile of my old clothes.

She looks, taking up one, then another. She turns them this way then that. "Yes, they might."

"Good. They're obviously too small for me." I smile a little. Yasu looks at me, curious. "They're not doing me any good, Yasu-san. If I give them to Sakiko, it'll save you a lot of money. And I have some clothes here that might fit you as well." I point to a stack behind me. Yasu takes a look there as well.

"Exactly my size!" She announces happily. I smile, grateful for that. Mama always was the type to put other's needs before her own.

"Good. Once they're clean, they're yours." I tell her simply. She looks to me, tears in her eyes. I'm wrapped in a warm hug almost instantly.

"… I… you… thank you." She manages, overwhelmed. The warmth in my chest tells me I did the right thing. "But… I really can't accept all of this."

"Do you really have a choice?" I ask her simply. "Could you find a job as you are now?" She looks embarrassed, but can't really argue with me.

"I'm not saying this to make you feel bad, Yasu-san. I'm saying this because this isn't a big deal." I tell her.

"I understand. But… please, is there some way to repay you?" She begs. Her pride won't let her accept this just like that.

There's only one thing I'd want though. There's only one thing that could really make this worthwhile. "Yes. Be there for Sakiko-chan." I say. "She's about the age I was when I lost mama, seeing her happy, knowing someone's taking care of her…" I trail off, unwilling to continue.

"That goes without saying, Aya-san. Hmm. Would you mind if I come here tomorrow and help you around the house?" She offers. I smile, liking that idea too.

"Nn. Be here for six though. We tend to be early birds." I say. I also make sure to tell her that they're expected to have breakfast with us – I won't have them come so early and not feed them, that's just rude. "Oh, but you came up here looking for me. Is there something you needed?"

"Ah… umm… Naruto-san was saying that it's getting a bit chilly out, for us to walk home without a jacket. He suggested…"

"That you spend the night here?" I finish for her. That sounds just like my Nii-san. She nods, blushing a bit. She really doesn't like being a burden, but this isn't in any way a burden on us. "That's a good idea, actually. And this way, you won't have to worry about finding your way here in the morning. You could even help us tonight, if you're willing? I mean, we obviously have enough to do around here!"

8-8

So that's how the evening goes. Yasu-san washes some clothes for herself and Sakiko by hand –house clothes, pyjamas and underwear– tossing them into the dryer for when the linens are done. She also assures me that she will see to the laundry for me.

Meanwhile, I'm kind of focusing on bigger things. Or I'm trying to. I'm a bit tired after the long day, the long journey home, and everything else that's on my mind. So I figure I can just figure it out in the morning. You know what, forget it. I'll just let this be a lazy evening.

I do take out my flute and the scroll Hinata-san gave me though! I haven't had much time with my flute at all lately! I go through a few songs, warming up, trying to get back into the feel of playing my flute again. Then I start working on song after song from the scroll, a warm feeling in my chest the whole time.

Sakiko-chan is listening to me play, cheering between songs, encouraging me when I mess up – not that she even notices, unless I stop playing and complain about it. I… I just love this. I love this so much.

Every once in a while, Yasu-san would come into the family sitting room and listen as well. There'd always be a little smile on her face and warmth in her eyes. Sometimes she'd tell me something, like when my bed was made, if I was feeling tired. But mostly, she just listens.

8-8

The next morning, after breakfast, a good work out for Naruto-nii and I, and making a list of things to do, we head out into the village again. The market is already open, so we head straight there. I'm wearing my usual outfit, so is Naruto-nii. But… Yasu-san and Sakiko-chan are wearing some much nicer clothes now. Yasu-san is wearing a house dress, some leggings under it to keep warm, and a light jacket against the cold. She looks nice, and both Nii-san and I make sure to tell her so.

Sakiko-chan on the other hand, seems to like pink as much as I do. So she's in a pink and black top, dark pink skirt and black leggings. She's also taken a liking to my old pink and purple jacket – thank Kami-sama the clothes fit her with a little space left to grow.

Once at the market, we go from stall to stall, picking up the things we need. Two five kilo bags of rice. Different meats. Lots of veggies. My assortment of chocolates. Nii-san's not finding any instant ramen at all here, but if it's just the one thing, we can go to the convenience store for it. We also pick up an assortment of tea blends, all the seasonings we'd need… the works. I love the market for this. All the things we need are here. And everyone's getting used to me glaring at them if they act funny around Naruto-nii, so they've learned to just not give him any hassle.

Sakiko-chan seems to enjoy Naruto-nii sealing our things in a scroll though. She squeals each time, asking him to do it again.

Eventually, Yasu-san works up the courage to ask why we're still armed to the teeth. I mean, I'm wearing my twin kodachis and I've taken to wearing my pink tanto horizontally across my lower back as well. Nii-san's still wears his kodachis like he always does, but he's also wearing that katana and wakizashi I gave him in an 'X' with the two grips peaking up over his shoulders.

We shrug, saying that we're too used to wearing them not to. Which isn't a complete lie. I mean, sure some of the weapons are new, but we're just so used to being armed that it'd be weird not to be.

I point out that I really need new slippers, so we decide to go deal with that as well. We head into Kuruta's, seeing as they sell proper shinobi wares. I take a look at Naruto-nii's shinobi sandals, telling him that he could use a new pair as well. He shrugs, looking around. I decide to go with a black pair of shinobi sandals, with a metal shin guard. Nii-san goes with the same style and colour.

Sakiko-chan decides she really likes this wooden tanto –with sheath and all to really make it look and feel like a tanto– and the price isn't too steep, so I buy it for her. But I make her promise she won't hit people with it. I show her how to strap it to her hip, but she says she likes how I wear mine, so I shift the tanto around until it's horizontally strapped on her lower back, just like mine. I tease her a little, saying how she looks like a little kunoichi; she beams at me, obviously liking the idea.

After that, we head to a civilian clothing store, for some house slippers for me. I hate walking around barefoot. It just feels weird. Yasu-san is looking at a pair for herself as well, so I offer to buy her a pair if she finds one she really likes. She turns me down though.

Naruto-nii decides he's running low on some sealing equipment –not sure about any of that though, but I'll trust him– so we head to Murasama's so he can stock up. They also have some medical supplies, so I restock my first aid kit, and I pick up some better antidotes – the general ones, of course, but also a few specialized ones that I know Nii-san likes to work with the poisons for.

I point out to Nii-san how they have the ingredients for some of our more exotic poisons, so Nii-san goes a bit nuts in that section. He also tries to convince me to start learning sealing – he's more than willing to teach me, but I turn him down. I have enough I need to focus on.

All in all, a very productive, if a bit boring, morning.

8-8

"Naruto, Aya, what a surprise to find you two here!" Sarutobi-san say the second we step outside of Murasama's.

"Hey, Asami-chan! Yeah, we needed to pick up some stuff, you know how it goes." Nii-san says neutrally. Hmm, he trusts the girl, but not enough to tell her what we needed or why. I can respect that. "Oh, introductions. Sarutobi Asami, these are Yasu-chan and Sakiko-chan."

"A pleasure to meet you, Sarutobi-san." Yasu-san bows politely, nudging Sakiko-chan to do the same, which she does a second later.

"Likewise, Yasu-san. I'm happy to see you're being taken care of." I mostly keep out of the conversation – it has nothing to do with me after all. "Oh, Naruto-kun. I still have those two sealed for you. You really shouldn't just let other people walk off with your bounties, you know!"

"Heh, sorry. Kinda had a lot on my mind that day." Ah, probably the Demon Brothers. Whatever. Still, I'm glad Sarutobi-san didn't just go and claim it herself. "Hey, Aya-chan, you mind if I go deal with this now?" I shrug. It doesn't bother me. And Sarutobi-san seems to at least respect Nii-san, so I think I can trust her with him for a while.

"Nn. I'll see you at home." I say, motioning for Yasu-san and Sakiko-chan to come along.

We make it a good fifty, sixty metres, before we're stopped. But a chuunin, no less. The man must be in his twenties, messy brown hair, angry red eyes – no really, angry red, and angry-looking eyes as well.

"So, you're the one playing nice with the demon. And teaching civilians to be nice to it as well." He snarls, glaring at me.

Twitch.

This is not a good day for him to be this way. And calling my Nii-san a demon isn't helping him in the least. I stop, glaring back – showing him what a true glare is. I tilt my head to one side, cross my arms, and tense my muscles for the attack I can tell is coming. "Yasu, stand back." Is all I say. She takes Sakiko and moves back a bit, giving me the room I may or may not need.

The man tries glaring harder at me, he's even adding killing intent. I snort. But I won't have him scaring Yasu or Sakiko, so I counter with as much positive intent as I can so they aren't too badly affected.

"You're in my way." I warn him – his only warning to leave while he still can. I don't care for silly things like rank or skills. If he upsets me enough, I will hurt him.

He snorts, annoyed. "You think a wet behind the ears genin can take on a chuunin!?" He points out, upset that I'm not afraid of him. A kunai will kill a Kage and a complete idiot, so I'm not going to go worrying about silly things.

He body flickers. I don't know where to, but I snap my fingers, casting my genjutsu before looking around to find him. He's right behind me, and he looks like he was about to kill me. I snort. Oh really? I focus my chakra into my vocal chords and start to sing, keeping him in my genjutsu. I want to use a really mean one, let him suffer for what he tried to do, but that would mean that Yasu and Sakiko suffer the same fate. I'm not doing that to them.

While still singing, I tie him up and relieve him of all his weapons – including a nice little tanto. It's not something I'd likely use, but it looks half decent. When I'm satisfied, I stop singing. He snaps out of the genjutsu a second later, as do Yasu and Sakiko.

"You alright?" I turn, finding Captain walking towards me. "I felt someone releasing killing intent so I decided to investigate, and who do I happen to find?"

I snort. "You mind taking this one to T&I? He tried to kill me, after call Uzumaki-san that name."

Captain looks hurt, but he nods anyway. "Hokage-sama will need to hear about this." He says.

"I'll be at home." Is all I say, motioning for Yasu and Sakiko to come along.

8-8

It's not even an hour later, when an Anbu operative rings on. I slip into my slippers, not intending to go anywhere just yet, and go out to see what he wants. "Hokage-sama has summoned you. Please report to his office at your earliest convenience." The cat masked Anbu tells me. I nod, heading back into the house without a word.

I ask Yasu if she would mind starting on lunch, and tell her that I'll be in the Hokage's office for a meeting about 'that incident'. I'd talked to both her and Sakiko, to make sure they were okay about it. They were fine, mostly. After all, they know I'll protect them with my life.

I make sure to tell them not to leave the gate for now. There's enough food to last at least a week after all, and Sakiko can run around all she wants. Everything I don't want them touching is guarded by seals they can't even find, so leaving them alone there doesn't bother me in the least.

Once I put on my new shinobi sandals, I head out. It's kind of weird walking alone, but I'm not worried.

It takes me a bout thirty minutes to make it to the Hokage Tower – I'm not in a rush after all. Once there, I report to Hokage-dono's secretary that I'd been summoned. She asks me to take a seat. I nod, sitting down in a comfy sofa-type-thing. I'm shown in a few minutes later.

"Aya-chan, thank you for coming. Kakashi has already filed a report on what he saw. I would, however, like to hear from you what happened." Hokage-dono doesn't ask, he doesn't need to. I nod, reporting every detail. How the man (I describe him in detail) acted, the words he used, the tone he used, the body flicker to appear behind me, how he fell into my genjutsu, how I found a kunai in his hand, aiming for my liver from behind. I spare no detail. I even tell him how I robbed the man blind – to ensure he wouldn't be able to attack me again, but mostly just to show him just who he's messing with. And yes, I explain that as well. I don't like to hide things from Hokage-dono if I can help it.

"I see." He eventually says, after I stop talking for a bit to show I'm done. "And what would you suggest we do with this man?" He asks.

"If I had not been there with two civilians, he'd already be dead." I say plainly. "To attack a comrade is unforgiveable."

"What if he only meant to scare you?" You can't be serious! Scare me?

"What if he meant to kill me?" I counter. "Would he leave two witnesses?"

He sighs, knowing I'm right. "Unfortunately, regardless of his intentions, his fate is in your hands. He did attack you, unprovoked. How would you like to handle this?" I'm asked. I think about it for a long moment.

"The ladies my team rescued. Have him buy all of them a new wardrobe and furnish their apartments. If he cannot afford it, force him to work D-ranks until he can. And make it his main focus to find all of them work." I suggest. I still want his blood, but their needs come before my wants. "Once he completes this, I will leave it up to Hokage-dono's wisdom if he should be punished further."

"Hmm. That is a fair punishment. A bit light, but fair." He's eyeing my closer than is polite. "Why are you being so understanding?"

"I'm not. I want his head." I say, completely honest. "But their needs come first." I promised them I'd take care of them after all.

"Please warn your shinobi though. Should I be attacked again, there will be blood." I warn him seriously. "Naruto-nii was worried that associating with him would make me a target. He was right. So if I have to, I will kill anyone who tries to keep me from coming home to my family."

Hokage-dono doesn't react.

"And that only gets worse if I find out someone is trying to hurt Naruto-nii, Yasu-san or Sakiko-chan. You'll tell those that are at risk for me, won't you?"

"It would be foolish not to." He assures me. I nod, agreeing with him. "Thank you." Okay, that brings me up short. He's thanking me for threatening his shinobi?

"For?"

"Offering Naruto-kun what I could not." He lowers his hands, showing a grandfatherly smile. "He needs someone like you more than you know."

I shrug. It's not something I worry with too much. "And Aya-chan. I'd prefer it if Kakashi stayed close for a while. Just to be on the safe side. We don't want something to happen to Naruto-kun's precious people, right?"

"I can take care of myself." I tell him, my mood and tone souring. Anyone but that Ecchi.

"I don't doubt you can. After all, you didn't need any help with a chuunin. I'm just saying, that being cautious is always wisest. Don't you agree?"

I grumble, but don't disagree. I'm not letting that Ecchi into my home though!

8-8

End Chapter 22

8-8

A/N: It often amazes me how many shinobi (and writers) overlook the power of a low ranked genjutsu. Heck, even Aya doesn't think much of her skills because everyone's so used to the big, flashy jutsus that makes your socks explode (or something). But, considering that Uchiha Itachi uses genjutsu almost exclusively, tells me there's so much more to the subtle art than most can see. Not to mention Kurenai.

Alright, that's enough of that. Next up: the test. Hiruzen is becoming quite curious now. I mean, Team 7's been genin for two months now... what are they really capable of?