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 53 – Can I unplug? For five minutes?
8-8
No, now just isn't the time. I need to focus, to train, to train others. So why are my eyes continuously threatening to shut, and why are the bags under them only getting worse?
"You need to sleep more." I look up from my breakfast, finding mom looking at me. She doesn't like what she sees.
"I like that idea. Let's try that." I drone. I've been up most nights until midnight, tending to stubborn patients that want to try workout before their body is ready. I've also been working in two medic wannabees, who can now brag that they can restart a heart in ten seconds – they've had enough practice. How are my patients even still alive? I mean, are they always like this in recovery?
Whatever. I've also not gotten out of the habit of waking up at five in the morning and starting my own training at six. That means, without a doubt, that I get a maximum of five hours of sleep. Not on average, mind you. A MAXIMUM of five hours of sleep. If something happens, like that idiot Chinatsu who fell out of her bed because she wanted to go outside for a smoke. Or Rokurou who has a nasty habit sitting up in bed, getting dizzy because he's not used to it, and slamming his head in the wall.
Anbu Operatives are crazy.
The only ones these days that I don't worry about too much are Chouji and Hikaru – if you could believe it. Hikaru's heart hasn't stopped once since our day out. And even though Chouji is constantly pushing himself, he's at least being smart about it. I've listened to him discussing something he's curious about with Hikaru, just to gather intel, then he'd ask me about it to see if it's sane(ish), and then he'd try it. If the others were half as sane as the two that –at one point– worried me most, then I'd easily get eight hours of sleep a night.
"Princess, really. You're still a growing little girl. You need to take better care of yourself. You have four licensed medics in the house now, and two trainees. It should be-"
"The problem is that only Hana and I seem to be able to control our patients." I interrupt daddy's reasoning. "So even if the others can patch them up, the idiots will just get themselves battered and bruised just as quickly unless Hana or I talk to them. And that's if they'd even let them."
"What about Ino, Hinata, Haku…" Mom tries once again.
"Anbu don't respect non-Anbu." I drone. Kakashi nods, fully agreeing with me. Heck, even Momochi-san shrugs in that 'what did you expect' way only he seems to manage.
"So why not the other two Anbu Medics?" Mom asks, narrowing her eyes.
"They passed out in the thick of the fighting. They don't respect them, because they aren't fighters. Hana and I passed out almost at the end, and even then we passed out only after tending to out patients." I explain seriously.
Hitomi nods seriously. "Yeah, Aya was wobbling on her feet, but still refused to give in until she knew I was taken care of." She says, a lining of respect in her eyes and tone. "In fact, she didn't pass out until I told her it was okay. I think she'd have pushed herself even further otherwise."
Mom nods, clearly impressed with me. "Too boot, the five upstairs know that Aya's the one that saved their hides." Kakashi weighs in. "They'd chew rocks if Aya asked them to."
"So that's why you haven't tried running away." Maki teases. I roll my eyes.
"No. Yasu-nee would be upset if he dared to try it." I point out, getting a sagely nod from her. Everyone laughs at Kakashi, but he doesn't seem to care.
"Think what you want, but if Yasu-chan asked any of you to stay here and rest, you would at least consider it." Kakashi counters. The laughter dies down; he has a point after all.
"Umm… Aya?" Karin begins nervously. We all turn to her, wondering what has her so nervous. "I, uh… really should start heading home to talk to my mom, you know…?" Crap. There's that too.
"I'll start arranging a team to go with us." I say, nodding. "Give me a day?"
"It's alright, I-"
"Karin." I interrupt whatever silliness she was going to say. "You are a member of our pack. You are not travelling halfway across the Land of Fire and the last leg in Grass on your own. Let alone the packing, the negotiations, and whatever other bothersome crap might come up along the way. I am arranging a team to go with you, and either Haku, Naruto or myself is coming along."
"Sounds like a boring mission to me." Momochi-san drawls. "But it's better than just hanging around here and waiting for another invasion. So I'm in." I'm still waiting on the mission that involves my team that goes by the book. It wouldn't surprise me if we end up encountering at least one rogue shinobi.
"Thank you, Aya." Karin says, bowing reverently. I'd managed to knock out the 'Master Aya' and 'Aya-sama' from her vocabulary, but the over the top behaviour hasn't changed in the least.
Whatever.
"Hey, Aya-nee?" Katsuo begins uncertainly.
"What's up, little man?" I ask, smiling warmly.
"I was… hoping to go into town today? I wanted to… buy some small things, but…" He always seems so unsure of himself, always testing to see where he stands, if one of us will look down on his for never having money, or whatever.
"You're not going alone." I tell him plainly. "Minori, Haruki, you two wanted to buy some more sealing equipment, if I remember correctly?"
"Yes, ma'am. He can come with us." Minori assures me, smiling at the newest member of our pack with her megawatt smile – just like Naru-nii would.
"Good. Now, about money… would five thousand Ryou be enough for what you need? Keep in mind that you'll be doing chores around here to work it off, but I'm sure Yasu-nee will go easy on you." I offer with a teasing smile.
Poor Katsuo is in tears, obviously overwhelmed. Minori, being –physically– the closest to him, tugs him into a hug, petting his hair while she's at it.
"M-more th-than e-enough." He manages eventually. I nod, already going through my pouch and offering him a folded-up five-thousand Ryou bill. It ends up having to be passed to daddy, who passes it to Ino, who passes it to Minori, who passes it to Katsuo, but it reaches the intended recipient and that's what matters.
"Oh, Hitomi, we're skipping training today. I need to handle some things, and they need to be dealt with sooner rather than later." I think back on what Sasuke wanted me to do. Hitomi nods, questions in her eyes but she doesn't press. "Mom, daddy, do either of you know where people go when looking for a house to rent? I kind of have a few that need to be managed?"
"Well, mostly people look on the Mission's Desk bulletin board. That's the best place to start, even if you'd only get shinobi renters." Daddy offers.
"Yes, but shinobi would only want apartments, Sasuke wants me to rent out the houses in the Uchiha District." I point out.
"You'd be surprised. Try there anyway. But… there's also that business in the Civilian Sector… 'Home away from home'? They manage things like that regularly, but I've never worked with them." Daddy informs me. I nod, making a mental note of that.
"I thought they mostly dealt with vacationers for longer periods of time? That sounds more like an invitation to spies. I'd suggest Miki's, in the Shinobi Sector. They only deal with Shinobi, but they collect the rent for you, furnish the houses that need furnishing, and charge the renter for any damages. It's far less of a headache. Trust me." Mom, as usual is far more practical. Definitely going there! Forget the bulletin board, I'm going straight there!
"Thanks, mom. I should have known you'd have the answers I need." I say, nudging daddy with an elbow to rub in my point. He doesn't react thought. "Right! Hitomi, let'… wait a minute, Minori, Haruki, do the two of you have enough money for what you need?"
8-8
Making our way down into the Uchiha hidden library is spooky, and dark, and annoying and… spooky. Really spooky. I constantly wonder why anyone would want to hide anything down here.
Still, it's their thing, so I'm not getting into it. The first opening we encounter is the armoury. I shiver, constantly feeling like someone is right behind me. And not the comforting feeling I get knowing Hitomi's right behind me, I mean like there's someone right behind me that wants to pluck out my eyes and eat them. It's unnerving.
I don't care too much what weapons are here. It's not my concern. I just seal them away, one by one, trying to be mindful that nothing gets left behind. Once everything I can find it sealed, I ask Hitomi to have a look around, and she confirms.
We move on, down deeper into this… place. Next is the non-Uchiha library. Mostly consisting of jutsus they'd copied from enemies and whatnot. I seal the scrolls and books without even sparing them a glance.
After Hitomi's confirmation once again, we move on. This time it's a much smaller alcove. The Uchiha library. Only consisting of jutsus concocted by Uchiha clansmen. I shrug, sealing these in a separate scroll so Sasuke doesn't have to sort through them by memory, or whatever. But I still don't care too much. This isn't my heritage, so even though I try to be mindful of what I'm doing, I don't try to study the details so that Sasuke can keep his secrets to himself.
Just one more room. I shiver, remembering just how creepy this last room is. Nothing but stone carvings and ancient tablets from a time when even scrolls weren't around. But what gets me is the… looming presence in this room. How Sasuke managed to not notice is not something I plan on figuring out. I seal the tablets in a new scroll once again. And I motion for us to get the heck out of here.
I HATE coming down into this place.
8-8
If the archives aren't bad enough, I have to go through each house in the district one by one, to make sure there isn't anything Sasuke overlooked. And there are DOZENS, HUNDREDS of little things he overlooked. That no one looted this place since the Uchiha massacre shows just how much respect their clan commanded at one time.
Scrolls –either originals, or copies– that belong in the hidden library, weapons scattered about in the standard hidden caches. Pictures weathered by time that I simply don't have the heart to allow non-Uchiha to get their hands on. Texts that I have no intention of trying to decipher; they could be cookbooks manuscripts for all I care. I seal everything I can. I have Hitomi scan each and every house to make sure I miss nothing – thank Kami-sama she's a Huuga. A few of the couches have hidden caches, some houses have nonstandard placements of caches, a whole lot of fun stuff like that. I clear it all out.
Then we get to the main house. Sasuke's residence. Asami's here waiting on me, as we agreed. I nod to her, entering the house without a care – it's not the first and it won't be the last time I enter this house. I once again go through everything, making sure to seal everything I believe Sasuke would value. Everything but two pictures. Our team pictures. Kakashi, Sasuke, Naru-nii and me in one. I'm elbowing Naru-nii and he's laughing about some stupid joke he made at the time. The other is with mom instead of Kakashi. Mom is hugging the three of us at once, and we're all a bit freaked out about that. I have these same pictures in my bedroom.
"Here. Hold onto these for him." I hand them to Asami, frame and all.
"Jeez, that boy just always looks so serious." She points out. I shrug, figuring it's an Uchiha thing. "Thank you."
"Running low on seals, so this works out better for me." I shrug, not wanting to make a big deal of it. "Well. I've done my bit. Do you need us out of your hair?"
"I don't mind the company." I nod, so we kind of follow her around as she starts placing little seals on all the windows, and all the walls. The front door and back door get special seals, but I can't tell what they do. And there's another type of seal that gets placed in every room and cache. I recognize this one from our den – air purifiers.
With everything done that needs to be done, we head out and I lock both front and back doors. I seal the keys with the rest of Sasuke's things – and that's the only seal that gets a little note saying 'keys', to make sure he can find them when the time comes. In total, I have twelve scrolls full of his things, each numbered so I'll be able to tell him what comes from where (more or less). I roll my eyes, wondering about that.
"Well, let me just get these into storage." I say, already heading back home to put them into my hidden library for safe keeping.
"Hey, Aya. You didn't even take a look at one of those scrolls did you." Asami sort of asks.
"Why would I? These things might be in my possession, but these aren't my things." Just like the Uzumaki and Namikaze scrolls in my hidden library aren't mine either. "Now come on, I still have more things to arrange!"
8-8
Luckily, I'd already bugged Naru-nii about adding a shelf in the hidden library. He's the only one allowed in there other than me, and trust me… you don't want me trying to install a shelf. It will NOT end well.
Once that's done, I head into my office and start making phone calls. Miki's really is somewhere I want to deal with, seeing as they seem receptive to the idea of managing the District, managing the D-rank missions to clean the place up and all the fun stuff. They do require a five-hundred-thousand Ryou retainer to make sure all the houses can be inspected and cleaned properly before they can go on the market to be rented out, but I don't care – it's not my money, and Sasuke approved.
So we set up an appointment for five-thirty, and I make a mental note to bring the map Sasuke left me with the jungle of marked keys to show which keys are for which house. I'm still not sure how I managed to get everything done before lun-
The phone's ringing? Whatever, might be Miki's trying to reconfirm something or other. "Namiki residence." I answer.
"Yes, hello. Is Namiki Aya in, please?"
"That depends on who's calling and what this is about." I intone, not recognizing the voice.
"This is about a boy who's calling himself Namiki Katsuo. He's a known troublemaker and pickpocket, so you'll of course understand my-"
"What's he done?" I ask, my tone giving nothing away.
"The usual. Tried pickpocketing someone at the market. Is he really a Namiki? Or records show nothing of the sort." The man sounds sceptical.
"He's a recent addition, but yes he is. Where is he now?"
"He's in a holding cell with his two accomplices."
"Accomplices?" If that brainless idiot is referring to who I think he's referring to… heads are going to roll.
"Two Uzumakis. Minori and Haruki. They claim to be family of the d-"
"Finish that sentence and you'll be in T&I before the day's out." I warn, meaning it too. I'm so FRICKING TIRED of people and their insanity. Luckily the man doesn't continue. "Am I to assume you locked up two genins and a civilian, on the charges of pickpocketing, without contacting their next of kin?"
"That's why I'm calling. I haven't found a contact number for… the Uzumaki residence. You're the first one I've called." He placates.
"How long have they been in your custody?"
"Ten minutes."
"I'll be there in five. And I hope for your sake those three are not going to tell me anything… troubling of their treatment. Seeing as I am their caretaker." I warn. I make a mental note of the time – ten-fifteen. Ten minutes in their custody, makes it an ETA of five past ten. We'll see if that holds true when I talk to them. I hang up without another word, already heading out.
"Where we headed?" Hitomi asks.
"The police station."
8-8
As promised, within five minutes we're at the receptionist of the police station. "Namiki Aya. I was told my clansman Katsuo and two Uzumakis have been arrested?"
"Ah, so the br-" I glare at the woman, daring her to finish that statement. "So the boy was telling the truth." She corrects herself. "Follow me." I'm lead down a hall to the holding cells, finding two redheads and a brunet sitting morosely on a single bench – luckily in a cell by themselves. I'd have killed someone if they were placed with anyone else.
"Aya-nee, this isn-" I raise a hand to tell Katsuo that now isn't the time.
"Officer. I wish to speak with the arresting officer, and these three in a private setting." I say, making sure to glare at the woman when she hesitates.
"Alright. He's talking to the victim right now, you might have to wait a bit."
"That is fine. Unlock this cell in the mean time. I will take full responsibility of them, should they try anything foolish." I assure her. She looks uncertain, but takes one look at Hitomi and knows better than to argue with a woman in jounin attire.
"Fine, but the five of you will wait in front of the interview room." That's a polite name for interrogation room, but whatever. Katsuo tries to explain for a second time, but I shush him once again.
"I'm not mad at you." I say, meeting his gaze easily. He doesn't look away, so I know he's innocent – we've had a… discussion on what I'd do to him if I found out he'd been stealing again.
Once I meet the arresting officer and the… victim… the last pieces fall into place.
"Hitomi, eyes only. The rest of you will come with me. That includes you, ma'am." I say, my tone polite but unbending.
8-8
They're seated on the other side of the table. I noisily drag my chair across the floor, plopping down on the chair and placing my tanto, still in sheath, on the table.
"Mitsuda Hayase. A member of the Konoha Police force since the days the Uchiha were running it." I intone. "Known for his dislike of one Uzumaki Naruto, and has been suspended at least twice for suspected child abuse, on said Uzumaki." Oh yes, I know who you are.
"Nomada Yakimi. Raised an orphan, impoverished for the majority of her youth. Known con artist, petty thief, and not liked in any circle of orphans." I continue. "Why is it that I'm not surprised that you two are involved?"
"Ay-"
"Did I say you could speak?" I cut him off. He looks peeved. "Let me make my stance perfectly clear here. I am conducting an investigation into a situation that I know for a fact is illegal. And as a member of Anbu, I assure you, investigating you with no prior warning is well within my jurisdiction." The man looks shocked, looking to Hitomi, but she doesn't react at all.
"Now. Let's start with what I can tell you before any of the facts reach my ears." I eye the pair of them, no emotion reaching my eyes or tone. "She claims that a known pickpocket tried to rob her, probably because he bumped into her at the market. However, she cannot say what he tried to take, and has yet to produce anything other than words. Seeing as everything that was one her before he touched her, is on her as we speak. Correct?"
"How do I know you're Anbu?" The police officer tries, obviously nervous because I know this woman's MO.
"If I take out my mask and tell you my codename, I'm also required to kill you." I reach into my-
"Nevermind! I can just confirm it with the Tower." He says sweating nervously. He knows I'm telling the truth.
"Now. To add insult to injury in this case. You are the arresting officer. Having heard the name Uzumaki, you automatically assumed these two were involved, and arrested all three of them, even though you cannot provide a single shred of proof there was any wrongdoing. Correct?"
No one answers me. Shocking. I unsheathe my tanto, taking out my whetstone and start to sharpen it.
"Now. We're going to play a little game. It's called: don't lie to me. The rules are simple: don't lie to me. During this game I'm going to ask you a lot of fun and thought provoking questions. You will answer these questions. And remember, don't lie. Don't tell me half a truth. And do not think I won't kill you with three witnesses behind that glass watching me. I assure you, I'd be well within legal limitations to do so."
Shick. Shick. Shick.
The sound of sharpening a weapon always does things to people. I like that.
"Let's start now. Katsuo. How much money was in his possession when he was brought in." And so the fun begins.
"F-four-thousand t-t-two-hunderd Ryou." The officer manages.
"Seeing as I gave him five-thousand when he left the house, I can safely assume he'd bought something. Now, let's try another victim." I turn to the woman. "That hairpiece. When did you buy it." I motion towards the pink and violet butterfly set decorating her hair.
"Th-this morning."
"So you bought it this morning?" I actually ask this time.
"… how is this important?" She tries.
"Are you allowed to ask questions, or are you supposed to answer them?" I remind her what situation she found herself in. "Did you or did you not buy that item?"
She doesn't answer me.
"I will give you to the count of five. Then I start chopping off fingers. One. Two."
"N-no, I didn't b-b-buy it…"
"How did you come by it?"
"…"
"Three. Four."
"I t-took it from the b-b-boy." She says, her tone low and weighed down as she looks away.
"So. To clarify. You stole something from the boy you accused of pickpocketing you. And on top of that, you were trying to walk away from this Scot free. Is that correct?"
"…"
"F-"
"Y-yes, y-yes! That's what happened!"
I make a come-here motion to the one-sided mirror, hearing one of the officers behind there come towards us. "Good. Then you will be placed under arrest. The charges will be explained to you in detail, and you will not tell one single lie to your arresting officer. Is that understood?"
The woman nods, swallowing painfully. The door opens without warning and a single uniformed officer walks in. He roughly grabs the woman, escorting her away, already explaining the charges and her rights and all that good stuff.
"Now. That means there are no charges against these three and are free to go, is that right?" I turn my full attention to the 'officer' in front of me.
"Y-yes. But the charges will still be filed." He tries.
"No, they won't. They will be purged from their records, or you will purge their records entirely. False charges are dropped immediately and removed from their records. Failure to do so will result in your immediate introduction to some… friendly faces in Torture and Interrogation. Or has this escaped your attention." I know Konoha law, moron! You can't be a con artist and not know the rules of the game!
"To further worsen your case, you show an undue vigour in trying to charge three innocent citizens of Konoha. I daresay you… might just be discriminating them?"
"…"
"Ah, another that believes he has the right to remain silent. That only works with police. I am not the police. I am Konoha's blade. Now we'll start your countdown. One. T-"
"I have nothing against any of these three." Oops. He lied. "AHHH!" My tanto just got stabbed though his hand and the table under it.
"Remember the rule? The only rule? Don't lie to me. You lied." I explain seriously. "Now I will ask you again. Do you have something against these three? Leaving out a part of the answer will once again be considered a lie."
"Against them, no. Against that other one? Yes."
"That's better. I remove my blade, wiping off his blood on his uniform's sleeve. "You are of course referring to Uzumaki Naruto. Correct?" He nods. "Verbal answers only."
"Yes."
"And because of their association with him, you found them guilty and arrested them. Is that correct?"
"Yes."
"That, my boy, is called discrimination." I explain seriously. "That's a crime for someone in your position." I make another come-here motion to the mirror and another officer makes their way to me. I wait for the officer to enter the room. "I will say this only once. This man will be delivered to T&I before the day is out. All he is allowed to do is undo the damage to three innocent victims' records. Should he, or anyone in this station, not comply, there will be a full-scale investigation into every officer here. Is that clear?"
"Crystal, ma'am." The officer assures me, taking his colleague away. I make one more come-here motion and the final officer –the section head by my guess– makes… her way to us? I can respect any woman that can control fifty-plus men that like to show their dominance.
"Something you need?" She asks me, closing the door behind her.
"Yes. I need the video material copied and sent to Anbu HQ, to be delivered to Dragon herself, with detailed reports of what happens with those two. And I would advise you to inform your subordinates that if any Uzumaki, Namiki, or Yuki be brought in here again, that I should be informed before they even see the inside of a cell."
"Consider it done." She says, nodding seriously. "A question, if I may?"
"Miss…?"
"Itayouri Ami." She bows politely to me, but I just wave it off. "How did you figure that out so quickly?"
"Easy. I know those two. Personally. I've have run ins with them from time to time." I explain seriously. "How long were these three here?"
"Just over two hours. Why?" She looks curious.
"The officer that called me lied. I was told they were here no longer than ten minutes, and I arrived five minutes after the call ended. I would look into that. As I'm sure you can tell, I won't tolerate people bullying my pack."
"I'll look into that personally." She assures me. "A Namiki that works like a Nara… a dangerous combination."
"Let's go. I believe you three had some shopping to do. And I know I have more than enough going on as well."
8-8
I make it home just in time to hear a THUD coming from upstairs, and Maki crying out in shock. I rush upstairs, finding Hikaru on the ground in the hallway, bleeding from a gash on his head and a blood smear on the doorpost to his room. I sigh.
It takes almost ten minutes to get his sorry behind back into his bed. I end up bandaging his head to make sure he doesn't go thrashing around again.
"You are the most stubborn man alive, you know that?" I complain, hating the stupid sheepish look on his face. He's been apologizing every chance he can since he saw me – funny how Maki wasn't even allowed to touch him. "You know physical therapy doesn't start until the day after tomorrow. You're body is still recovering from your injuries. And frankly you are just making it worse with adding a head wound."
"Sorry, doc. I was doing good though! I took fifteen steps unaided!" He announces proudly, ignoring the fact that he's pale from another round of blood loss.
"Good enough to stay in bed unless someone is here to walk with you! Hikaru, I don't want to lose you! Don't you understand that?" I remind him what's at stake here. He rubs the back of his head slowly, obviously feeling bad for putting me through this.
"Sorry, doc. I promise, no more walking without someone to catch me." He says, meaning it.
"That's better." I check him over one more time, to make sure I didn't miss anything. Then I offer him (another) blood plasma pill and some water. "Listen. I don't want to do this, but I'm going out on a mission tomorrow." I just need to get away from this for a bit, before I burn out.
"Doc, no… no… not you. Anyone but you. Can't they send someone else?" Hikaru clearly doesn't like the idea.
"It's my mission. I have to handle this myself. Hana will still be here, so I expect you to stand by your word. And I'd better not hear that you gave her or anyone else a hard time. You hear me?"
"Yes, doc."
8-8
End Chapter 53
8-8
A/N: How sad that taking a mission is supposed to ease poor Aya's workload. Well, let's see if she likes what that mission brings her then. ^_^