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 38 – The next logical step

8-8

"I don't care what you say, I'm not even going to consider your brother as dating material."

"Kiba isn't dating material." Hana says, disgusted I even suggested that. The Haimaru brothers wheeze out their laughter, obviously agreeing with their partner – I don't care what the Inuzuka think, they aren't the canines' 'masters'. "I'm talking about A man. I don't understand why you would choose to live under a rock because the one you had your heart set on is too much of a boy to consider for another few years."

I sigh, annoyed I even have to bring this up. "I'm not against the idea, Hana. But… do you know how hard it is to find a man among the boys in this village?"

"Of course I know. I'm still single." She drones. We share a laugh, even though we're annoyed with the idiots around here.

"What about Aomaru? You two seem pretty close."

"Yeah, but no." I'm not outing him just to explain this. "And don't even suggest Naru-nii."

"Incest doesn't seem like your thing." Point, but I'm just making sure. "What about Lee? You two have been sparring at least twice a week for months."

"Yeah? I spar with you just as often. Should I be asking you out on a date?" I tease her. We share a laugh again.

"Meh. Probably better to just focus on your training for now then. I mean, you've got time." Hana says, laying her hand on my arm for emotional support. It's hard to argue with her, I'm only thirteen!

"That's the plan." I say. "If I happen to find a guy that's worth it along the way, so be it." My heart's not in the words though. No matter what pretty little lies I tell myself, I still want Akimichi-san to come and sweep me off my feet.

Now if only he'd get with the program and come do it!

8-8

"Alright, team. Chuunin exams are starting within the week. I've nominated you guys. And I bet a lot of money that you're going to turn a lot of heads during these exams. Do not let me down." Captain, you are such a…

"When, where." I drone, trying not to get too much into this newest form of insanity. He hands us each a form, eye-smiling.

"Friday, nine AM. Further details are in the form. You'll need to be in top form. That means no more training this week." I snort. He can't honestly believe that just because team training gets cancelled that we'll not train all week? "Yes, Aya, you will be forbidden to train. We have a meeting with Hokage-sama in two hours to explain why."

That… makes no sense. We need to take the exams, but Hokage-dono has something to say about this?

"Why do I get the feeling both you and Hokage-dono are betting on our rotten luck for running into rogue shinobi?" Naru-nii takes the words right out of my mouth. Almost literally. He's picking on me again. I elbow him to let him know I noticed. "Oi! What'd I say about attacking a fellow clan head?"

"To do it more often?" I offer a cheesy grin, just to get under his skin. He narrows his eyes at me, unimpressed.

"Anyway. Just because you cannot train, doesn't mean you cannot do research." Captain changes the subject. "I want the three of you out in the village, observing the international victims that are coming for you to stomp on."

"Captain… please don't. I'm the one that has to try keeping these two in line." Sasuke drones, not like Captain's wording in the least.

"Ha! Like you could!" Naru-nii waves him off. They share a look. One's annoyed, the other's amused. I just laugh at the two of them.

"Anyway. Keep in mind. Two hours, Hokage's office. Now go out into the village and start seeing who's the bigger fish in these exams. Shoo." Captain did not just shoo me out of my own home! Seeing the teasing smile in his eye though, I think he did.

8-8

#Small fry.# I sign to Naru-nii. He snorts, agreeing with me. That Waterfall team is likely to trip over their own two feet and right off a cliff.

#Big fish.# Sasuke signs, his eyes focused in another direction. I tap him and motion for him to lead. Naru-nii and I are right behind him.

"You little snot nosed brat! Watch where you're going!" I hear. Some walking corpse grabs Konohamaru by the collar, lifting him into the air.

#Wolf. I'll go.# Naru-nii signs, knowing I'd just kill the idiot. He drops down, confronting the Sand idiot wearing a cat suit and too much makeup. From the scent, I can tell the blonde with four ponytails behind him is his sister. But… it's another one, their little brother, that catches my attention. He's hiding in the tree not too far from the scene. He smells of sand and blood. A lot of blood.

#That's the big fish.# Sasuke signs, nodding to the redhead trying to stay concealed. Judging from his scent, he has mid jounin chakra levels and no regard for life.

#Jinchuuriki.# I sign to Sasuke. It's the only thing that makes sense. The boy's younger than us, almost as strong –chakra wise– as Naru-nii, uncaring for life and bathes in blood regularly. Not that Naru-nii is uncaring for life or bathes in blood regularly, but if Sasuke and I hadn't been there for him? If the village continued to be reject and hate him? He could have easily turned into a raving lunatic. No doubt about it.

#Affirmative. One-tail.# He signs back. I look at his eyes, seeing his Sharingan swirling angrily.

#You can identify them?# I wonder. That's REALLY a useful skill to have.

#I can.# He doesn't go into details. I'm soooooooo bugging this boy later to get actual details! You can't just tell me that and don't tell me details!

The redhead body flickers down behind his siblings. I don't need to be asked for backup in this situation, so I body flicker behind Naru-nii.

"You alright, Kono-chan?" I ask the obviously shaken boy. He looks up at me, tears in his eyes, but he nods and acts tough anyway. I place a hand on his shoulder to let him know I'm here, before turning my full attention to the Sand trio before us.

"You embarrass our village, Kankuro. Pull a stunt like this again, and I'll kill you both." The redhead intones, his tone constantly hovering just above the insanity below the surface.

"Yo, One. Relax. You're brother just got overexcited." I say, getting all three of their undivided attention. "What, are you going to deny that's your brother?"

"You intrigue me." The redhead intones, his pupiless teal eyes focused on me. I think he's also trying to bath me in killing intent, but I've faced too many opponents to be rattled by it. "What is your name?"

"Namiki Aya. This is Uzumaki Naruto. And the lazy one waiting for you to do something stupid is Uchiha Sasuke." I don't need to hear Sasuke's annoyed huff or 'hnn' to know he's annoyed with me. You just know after spending almost every waking moment with a person. "Who are you?"

"Gaara." He says, his eyes never leaving mine. I wait for the other two to be introduced. Nothing happens.

"And they are?"

"Unimportant." Gaara intones.

"Temari. This is Kankuro." The blonde answers, earning an annoyed glance from Gaara.

"Good. Let me make this clear. If any of you three step out of line again, I'll be the one coming after your heads." I tell them plainly.

"Why you little-"

"Kankuro. You just attacked the grandson of our Hokage." I glare at the idiot that should, logically, be dead. "More importantly. He's also part of our pack."

"Pack? What are you a dog?"

Shhhing!

"Say that again." I dare him, my new tanto unsheathed and ready to start claiming bounties. Oh yes, these three already have some nice bounties on them. Gaara especially. Nearly three-million Ryou.

"Oi. Idiot. She's a wolf. Wolves and dogs shouldn't be compared to one another." Sasuke explains, having just body flickered behind me and placing a hand on my should to tell me to calm down. "Or should I compare you to a girl for playing with dolls and makeup?"

Kankuro groans, not happy with that at all.

"Exactly. Now run along." Sasuke waves him off as if he doesn't matter. I resheathe my tanto, understanding that Sasuke is saying that this isn't worth getting trouble over.

"Oi, Gaara." Naru-nii calls to the redhead. "I don't know your story. But I share a similar tale."

Gaara's eyes bore into Naru-nii's. "You are nine."

Naru-nii nods seriously. "So understand that if you harm so much as one of my precious people while in this village… I will kill you and everything you hold dear. Do you understand?"

Gaara snorts. "Then you'd only have to kill me." He intones, disappearing in a spray of sand. With Gaara gone, I turn to Kono-chan, hugging him tightly to let him know that everything's alright. I don't blame him for crying.

"Naru-nii, we should get him out of here." I say, picking up the shaken boy and letting him cry it out in peace.

"… I don't get you." Temari (I think) says, obviously shocked. "If he's anything like Gaara, why would you…?"

"Naruto is nothing like your brother." Sasuke says, his shoulders tense to show he's ready to beat the snot out of the girl for talking smack about Naru-nii. I'm not against it. "They share a similar burden. Nothing more."

"Nii-san, come on. We need to report in." I say, placing a hand on his arm to remind him that I'm here for him.

8-8

We enter Hokage-dono's office, finding Asami there reporting about something to do with some sealing array. I don't even pretend I can understand the complexity of the seals she can make.

"Kono-chan!" She's at my side in a heartbeat, stroking her nephew's hair and looking to me for an explanation. After all, it isn't often he lets someone carry him.

"He's physically fine." That doesn't comfort anyone, but it's true. "We ran into Sand's jinchuuriki. Their mentally unstable jinchuuriki."

Asami takes Konohamaru from me, holding him protectively.

"I see." Hokage-dono says, not liking where this is going. I take my time to report every detail, including Sasuke's mysterious ability to identify the tailed beast contained within. I also very carefully explain that the boy has to regard for life, not even his siblings. "That they sent a jinchuuriki, let alone an obvious sociopath … what Jiraiya's spy network has uncovered must be true."

No one interrupts. The man is obviously coming up with a plan.

"Sasuke, Naruto, Aya. Our enemies draw near. It's time to take off the kiddie gloves." Sasuke's tossed a scroll. "That scroll contains details on every team that applied for these exams. I want the three of you to check each and every team and determine who might be a bigger threat. I want estimates of chakra levels, suspected fraudulent entries, everything. You three have permission to do whatever it takes. Even if that means assassinations. You will report directly to Kakashi. He will keep me up to date on anything that needs my attention. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir!" We answer as one.

"For the time being this will be considered an A-rank mission. Be careful. With your luck during missions it could end up being your first S-rank." I snort, amused and agreeing with him. "I expect a full report on any and all plausible threats before the start of the first exam. And I expect you three to keep your eyes wide open during the exams as well. Kakashi, you are to give them a means to contact you directly at all times. Asami, you will be their support from the shadows."

Both of them nod seriously.

"Naruto. I am giving you a… unique mission on top of this." Hokage-dono is talking a little too carefully for my liking.

"Sir?"

"You have a way of getting to people. I want you to try to get to these threats, neutralize them by converting them from enemy to ally. If you cannot, it will fall to Aya and Sasuke to use any other means." Naru-nii doesn't sound happy with that. At all.

"Sir, that's… just wrong."

"I know that. But look at the bigger picture here. They send a jinchuuriki into our village, one that is mentally unstable and does not value life. They are planning something. Something big. I feel it's safe to say we're facing a possible invasion." Hokage-dono lays it all out. "They aren't playing by the rules, Naruto. Neither will we. If you want to save lives, convert them. If you cannot, then save lives by ending the threat. Do you understand?"

Naruto-nii doesn't like it, but he nods understanding it at least. Better to end the life of one foreign shinobi, than risk the lives of ten of your comrades. But Naru-nii's never liked killing. That usually falls to me.

"Good. I request that Konohamaru stay with you for the time being. With everything I will have to prepare for, I don't want to spare the extra manpower to keep him out of trouble."

"I understand." I say, nodding. I wonder about asking to have Team Maki help us, but I quickly decide against it. They are strong, but this is too much for them.

"From here on out, you will be codenamed Team Xi. Asami will be your team leader, and you will still report directly to Kakashi of Team Rho." Why does Captain look so pleased to hear that? "Kakashi you will inform the members of Team Rho and Team Xi what this means. And you will maintain a cover as 'Team Seven's jounin sensei." I blink. Why do I get the feeling this will be more trouble than it's worth?

"Aya. What is Maki's current medical status?" Hokage-dono is checking all his resources, huh?

"Not in any state to be of help. She gets tired after walking around for two hours."

"I understand. Please keep her out of sight, just like Konohamaru. And I would advise the same for Hyuuga Hanabi as well. We do not want to leave room for any incidents." I nod, agreeing with him fully. "Have Zabuza and Haku report to me immediately. And Kakashi, you are to warn Kurenai and Asuma about this threat. If they do not feel their team can handle it, they are to immediately pull them from the exam. Dismissed."

8-8

Team Xi. Team captain, Asami, codenamed 'Frog'. Second in command, Sasuke. An Anbu team. Ca… Kakashi explained that we aren't full Anbu yet, we still have a lot of training to do before we're allowed to take the entrance exam, but… for the time being our skills will be needed to deal with a threat to our territory.

So, once we're marked with special seals that allow us to communicate with each other, and Kakashi, we're ordered into the village to start the mission. We check each and ever team we encounter. The Cloud teams. The Star teams. The Grass teams – I point out that one of them is an Uzumaki, which Nii-san confirms. The Valleys teams. The… Sound teams? I didn't know there was a Sound Village? The Sand Teams. The Waterfall teams…

#Jinchuuriki.# The three of us sign at the same time. The green-haired, orange-eyed kunoichi from Waterfall is obviously a jinchuuriki. And judging from the company she keeps, she's with three jounins. Two of them are pretending to be genin.

#Seven-tails.# Sasuke signs. Naru-nii and I nod. The 'jounin-sensei' takes off, and the three 'genins' head to Ichirakus. Hmm. #We intercept. We talk. Nonviolence.#

I study the jinchuuriki. Dark tan, so she spends a lot of time outside in the sunlight. White, sleeveless midriff top, mesh armour under it. Orange hairclip. White 'hanging sleeves', with her Waterfall headband on right (I think) bicep. Mesh armour shorts and what looks like a white, wrap-around skirt with high slits… which just makes me wonder why she'd wear it in the first place. There's also a cylinder she carries wrapped in a red cloth on her back. I have no idea what it's for or what it does. And let's not forget the white ankle length shinobi sandals – as opposed to the standard blue and knee length.

The three of them sit together, with the green-haired one in the middle. They are here to guard her. There's only on free seat to the left of them and two to the right of them. Naru-nii and I go for the right two seats, but I'm the one that sits next to Waterfall 'genin'.

"Oi! It's good to see you three again! What'll you have?" Teuchi greets us, smiling warmly. We order something, and Naru-nii orders like six of that something – we can't have him appear different to Teuchi after all.

While he's busy with that. I get busy with this. "So. Seven, huh?" I sense the nervousness of the three to my right. "Any reason why you're here?"

"Oi, kid. Buzz off. We're just here to eat." The 'genin next to me tries.

"You enter a foreign village presenting and registering as a genin, with a jinchuuriki that isn't registered as such. Do you really expect me to believe you came here to eat?" I drone. Smiling at Teuchi when he brings us our tea. "You can either explain the situation to me and my teammates, or you can make an international incident of it and explain it to T&I."

"Kegon. Relax. They have every right to ask." The jinchuuriki says, speaking in what most would consider 'boy-speak'. I can smell that she's a girl though. So I can't help but wonder at the oddity. "What's your name?"

"Namiki Aya. These are my teammates, Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke. And you are?"

"Fuu. Just Fuu. These are Kegon and Yourou." Fuu introduces her team. "I asked Shibuki-sama to enter the exams. I wasn't aware he didn't tell Konoha about me beforehand. I assure you, I'll speak to your Hokage and correct this."

"You'd never get a meeting with him. Foreign jinchuuriki meeting with the Hokage…?" Sasuke drones. "We'll explain the situation. But that does mean that you will have to be watched while here. Will that be a problem?"

"That depends if those watching me have an issue with my kind." Fuu says, sounding defeated, withdrawn… sad.

Naru-nii snorts. "Something wrong with 'your kind'?" He asks, his temper flaring up.

"Naru-nii, she probably isn't used to people accepting her." I soothe, my hand on his arm to calm him down. "She doesn't mean it like that." He huffs, but doesn't comment.

"Hnn? 'Ey, blondie. What's your story?" Fuu asks, eyeing him closer than I like.

"I'm nine." Is all Naru says. Her eyes widen with shock, then she looks to me and how I'm glaring at her, daring her to say something stupid.

"Hnn. If your team is will to watch me. I won't complain." Fuu says.

"That's not our call to make." Sasuke informs her. "We'll discuss it. When we know, you'll know."

8-8

We're immediately shown into Hokage-dono's office, and Hokage-dono dismisses his 'company' saying that he'll expect a detailed report… on whatever they were talking about. Once that person leaves, Sasuke signs that we have grave news. Hokage-dono nods seriously, casting –what I assume is– a privacy jutsu.

"Waterfall also sent a jinchuuriki. The seven-tails. She claims she is here on her request. But her two teammates are both jounin, and she obviously doesn't trust them. They are professional enough to not treat her unkind, but they keep a very careful social distance to from." Sasuke gives it all in one go.

"I see. Naruto, what are the odds that you might convince this girl to join Konoha?" My eyes widen in shock. Steal a jinchuuriki from an allied village? Aya, you don't 'steal' people… "Aya, they lied about three applicants, and could well be a part of the invasion Jiraiya confirms is immanent. That is a felony at best. At worst it's a breech of international Chuunin Exams law and could very well cost them their alliance with every village should this get out. If they don't like it, they shouldn't play the game." Point. I nod.

"Pretty good. Fuu took one look at how Aya is with me and is willing to let us monitor her while she's here. I would advise that she be placed in our custody, without her team." Naru-nii explains. "Aya, would you trust me enough to let her stay with us?"

I eye Naru-nii… I wonder about that. I don't trust Fuu, not in the least. I don't know her, have barely interacted with her, and can't say I could predict anything she does. But he isn't asking that. He's asking me if I trust him enough for this. "If she sneezes the wrong way…" I warn him. He smiles, massaging my lower back.

"Thank you." He says, meaning it. "Hokage-sama, with your permission, we will track down Fuu and have her detained in our home until further notice. Please let us know what you want us to do."

"Have Kakashi escort Fuu's team here, tell them that they are to report with an explanation." Hokage-dono says, his eyes harder than I've ever seen them. I shiver, feeling sorry for the idiots that lied to him.

"Will do, old man. See ya!"

8-8

Kakashi knocks on the door to Fuu's motel room. The 'jounin-sensei' opens up, asking what's going on. I don't blame him for being cautious, considering two full teams are in front of him. Team Rho –Kakashi, some weird looking guy named Tenzo, a purple haired woman name Yuugao… and Anko, who I'm ignoring– are in front, the 'first line of defence'. Team Xi, is mostly just here for Fuu anyway.

"Fuu." I speak up, catching her attention from deeper in the motel room. "You will come with us. My team and I will take care of you." Fuu walks right past the jounin, and towards us. All four members of Team Rho make space to show they are not here to get in her way.

"Where are we going?" Fuu asks, looking to Naruto-nii and I.

"You'll see when we get there." I answer, motioning for her to follow. She doesn't even blink. We start walking down the hall towards the stairs to leave.

"You three will come with us. Hokage-sama wants a word with you."

8-8

We walk around town for a bit, mostly just picking up a few things Yasu-nee asked us to get. The friendly faces that greet us get introduced to Fuu. Those that are less friendly get glared into an early grave.

We almost make it to our street before curiosity gets the better of Fuu. "You know, I don't understand. Why are you so protective of Naruto?"

"Because he's part of the pack." I say like it's obvious. "You aren't, but Naru-nii asked."

"Asked what? And why does this look like a residential area? Where are we going?" Fuu isn't worried, exactly, but she is curious.

"You'll be staying with us for the time being. With our pack, our families." I answer, but my gaze quickly becomes a glare. "Please do not give me a reason to become defensive."

She stares at me, shocked to her core. "I don't understand. You don't trust me."

I snort, agreeing completely. "No, I don't. But like I said, Naru-nii asked. I trust him."

Fuu nods, wondering about that. We make it to the gate, so I cut my right thumb and smear some blood on the seal, opening the gate and letting the others in. I grab Fuu by her arm, gently enough to let her know she isn't being attacked.

"My sisters are beyond this gate. My brothers are beyond this gate. Everything I hold dear will be within your reach." I explain seriously. "I will kill you the second I feel you are a threat to them. Do you understand?"

She smiles. Not just with an upward curl of her lips, but with her eyes. "I understand." She says simply. I nod, letting go of her arm and inviting her into our home. I close the gate behind me, walking up to the front door. Naruto is the one to slide it open, already announcing that we're home.

Haku comes to greet us, a serious look in her eyes. "Welcome home. Aya, I was hoping to speak with you about Team Maki." I nod, taking off my shinobi sandals and placing them neatly.

"I'll do the introductions. You know Yasu-nee wouldn't be happy if we don't introduce Fuu the second she enters the house." Naru-nii says, rubbing the back of his head. He's probably worried how I'll react to that.

"Sasuke?"

"I'll go with them." Sasuke assures me. I nod. We enter the hall, and I'm immediately glomped by Saki-chan. She starts going on and on about something I can't quite make out.

"Sis, calm down. I can't understand a word you're saying." I tell her seriously.

"Oh… uh, sorry, Aya-nee. I was saying how Kono-kun and Hanabi just told me they'll be staying home for a while, and how they've been helping me with that kunai kata you showed them, ya know! Who's this?" Saki looks to Fuu, her eyes blinking a few times as she studies the tomboy.

"Namiki Sakiko, Fuu. Fuu, my little sister, Saki… She's going to be staying with us for a while, sis." I explain. "Say hello."

"Oh, sorry. Good afternoon, Fuu-san. It's nice to meet you, ya know! I'm sorry to be rude, but I really need to get back to my training, ya know?" She bows politely to our guest, before running down the hall again and disappearing into the kitchen. What is she doing in the kitchen exactly?

"Don't worry, sis. I'll find out what the brat's up to." Naru-nii assures me with an amused smile. I nod, motioning for Haku to come with me.

8-8

Haku and all four members of Team Maki join me in my office. Maki, being the stubborn woman she is, had been training all morning, and is wiped out because of it. She's sitting in the chair in front of me, while everyone else stands around her.

"Haku. You wished to speak to me?" I begin, eyeing Maki carefully. She looks pale, so I guess she's been using her chakra as well as whatever physical exercise she'd tried.

"Yes. Hokage-sama has asked me to lead a small team during a… mission in the near future. I don't have the details, but I've been asked to select three people I would trust with my life. With your permission, I would choose these three."

"I see." Aomaru, Minori and Haruki look proud, excited, to be trusted like that. "You wish to take over their training in order to prepare for said mission."

"Yes." Haku says with a nod. I think about that. Is there any reason why they shouldn't be able to take part in this mission? No, not really. They're in excellent health and they've been training hard since placed in my care. I sigh, not liking it.

"I have no reason to stand in your way." I say honestly, not liking the wince from Minori and Haruki. "I would prefer it if you were to ask Naruto-nii for his permission though. He's just as protective of these three as I am." I smell Naruto-nii and Fuu coming this way.

"Aya, I assure you we are only going to take a sideline role in this." Haku says, trying to keep the description of the mission she knows is coming as vague as she can.

"I don't care. I won't be there to protect them, nor will my team. That makes me nervous." I explain as honestly as I dare. "I know you care for them, but…"

"I understand. I assure you, I-"

"It isn't about what you say, Haku." I cut her off, not interested in her promises and assurances. "I don't have a lot of precious people, so I'm sure you can understand that I'm careful with them."

"Of course I do." Haku says, her eyes showing how deeply my words affect her. "They mean the world to me as well. I will let nothing happen to them. Not so long as I still breathe."

"You are included in that statement. You need to come back in once piece as well." I remind her. "Come in, Naru-nii." I say, before they even have to knock. The door slides open, revealing the two I knew would be there.

"Hey, sis. You really need to relax, you know." I sigh, but don't comment. "Anyway, Yasu-nee said Fuu's sleeping in with her. She wants to teach Fuu about a million little things I don't even want to pretend I understand anything about."

I rub my forehead, already feeling a headache building.

"I can always leave…" Fuu offers, looking guilty and obviously feeling horrible about this.

"I heard that!" Yasu-nee announces from wherever she is.

I sigh. A long, drawn out, feeling-like-an-old-woman sigh. I'm not going to like the coming months. Every bone in my body is confirming this. And every nerve in my skull is only reinforcing it.

"If you leave, Fuu, Yasu-nee will never forgive me. I'm sorry." I excuse myself, going through the visitors' sitting room and out into the backyard. I plop onto the porch, exhausted and frustrated.

8-8

I'm lucky that everyone respects that I need some time alone. Minori's the one that comes out to call me for dinner. She finds me in the exact same spot I was when I came out here. Staring at the exact same patch of grass. Worrying about the exact same thing.

"Yasu-nee says she's sorry about this." Minori says, sitting down beside me.

"Liar." I say, snorting. "She believes she's doing the right thing. She'd never do this otherwise, and she certainly wouldn't apologize for it."

We sit in silence for a bit. I don't know what has her quiet, but… I'm just trying to not freak out right now. "I fought too hard for too long to keep people out." The words just fall off my tongue. I don't want to say this, I don't want to talk about this, I just want this stupid problem to go away. I want people to understand that I don't cope well with suddenly having someone I don't trust in our den, in our home… with everyone and everything I hold dear to me.

And what does Yasu-nee do? The person that knows my deeply seeded distrust of anything that breathes? She arranges for Fuu to sleep in her room. Where…

I sigh. My forehead throbbing from the headache that's been slowly building since I got here.

"Is there something Fuu did?" Minori asks. "Something to make you distrust her?"

"No." I say, blushing and looking away.

"Then why did you trust us so easily?" She asks.

I snort. "What makes you think I trusted you easily?" That brings her up short. "I was able to study you in neutral territory for days. I knew who you were before you even had half a clue about me."

I stare into the pond, wondering if we should work on expanding that now or if it can be put off for another few months.

"So this is Yasu-nee's way of telling you it's time to get over that?" Minori wonders. That would be my guess, yes. I nod. "But isn't that paranoia towards anything unfamiliar healthy for a shinobi?"

I snort again. "Explain that to a civilian." Minori rolls her eyes. "Yasu-nee is gifted. With how she deals with people, how she manages to trust anyone after what I can only guess she's been through. But… she's never been put into situations we deal with regularly."

"… I understand, Aya. I really do. But… sitting here and moping about it. How is that helping?"

"I don't mope." I counter.

"You're moping." I glare at her dully, unimpressed with her 'determination'. "You are."

"…" The dreaded silent treatment. Fear it!

"You know… if you'll only feel better after studying a person that gets close to your pack… wouldn't it make more sense to be inside studying Fuu so you can say for certain that you can trust her around your precious people?"

Stupid people and their stupid logic. Stop slapping my well founded fears with your stupid logic!

8-8

End Chapter 38

8-8

A/N: I'm actually surprised this ended up being so short. Sure, I wanted to add in another few scenes with Gaara, but they wouldn't add anything to this chapter. Especially seeing as Aya's having a hard enough time coping with Fuu being in her home, and Haku asking for Aomaru, Minori and Haruki to be on her team for... reasons? Sure, Aya assumes it's for the invasion, but she doesn't know. And either way, this would mean that they aren't 'under her protection'. That's really doing horrible things with her fears.

Just an FYI. Aya isn't all powerful. She just believes in a childish notion that she can protect people by keeping them locked away.