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 57 – Three levels of love

A/N: Just in case you don't know. There are three ways to tell someone you like/love them in Japanese, and all three can be romantic and/or familial love, as far as I know. 'Suki desu', 'Daiksuki desu', and 'Aishiteru'. The best translations are 'I like you', 'I really like you' and 'I love you', but in Americanized/Western translations they all usually get lumped together as 'I love you', even when it's a confession from someone that you aren't even dating. This is important for this chapter because of the Japanese mindset behind it. First off, it's uncommon for Japanese people to actually say 'Aishiteru', even to their spouse. Not because they don't feel it, but because they just aren't accustomed to saying or hearing it. To them, 'show, don't tell' is a thing.

Just as a reference, Aya has been using the term 'Suki desu' with Chouji, and if she tells Shikaku, Yoshino, Shikamaru, Naruto, or someone REALLY close to her that she loves them, then she uses 'Daisuki desu'. In other words, she's never even used the form 'Aishiteru' in regard to anyone, because it just isn't common for someone to say that.

8-8

"Oi! You know this is going to end up in a loss for you, right?" I call out. Shika-nii snorts, but I can't quite tell what he's thinking. Sure, he has me trapped in his Shadow Possession jutsu, but the fact of the matter is that I don't need my hands for a good portion of my jutsus.

"Troublesome." He mutters, obviously realising what I'm talking about. "Your sound release jutsus are just too troublesome to counter sometimes. Can't you just accept a loss?"

"Now, now, Shika-nii. I can't accept a loss when it's not mine." I whistle, creating two Divine Hands with the sound waves. Those hands grab and unsheathe my kodachis and I wave them around. "Now, do you want to accept this calmly, or do I need to put you back together when I'm done?"

"Tch." He focuses, trying to come up with something. Before he can I se-

"Oi! Aya, stop toying with him and get ready. Salamander's on her way, and seeing as she's in a rush, I can only guess something's up." Rabbit informs me, interrupting our spar.

"How troubling. Sorry, Shika-nii. I've got to go." I say, having my Diving Hands resheathe my kodachis. He shrugs, acting like he doesn't care, and he releases me. I grab my mask, and we head to the gate. Penguin is already there waiting for us.

"Good, you're all ready. The Sand delegates wish to have a meeting with Temari. Dragon says only two of us need to go. Wolf, it's your call who goes and who stays." I'm informed.

I open the gate, letting her in. "Salamander, Penguin, you two will stay here. You have more than enough backup if anything should happen, but I doubt anything will. Rabbit and I will take Temari to this meeting. Where is it being held?"

"Meeting room three in the Tower. You have exactly twenty minutes to get there." Salamander informs me.

"Rabbit, let's go get our guest ready. Eyes open at all times. I don't like this one bit." I say, hating the queasy feeling in my tummy.

"Same. Mind if I borrow a few weapons just in case?" Rabbit has never asked for more weapons. That just makes me feel even more uneasy,

"If you think you need them." I lead her into my personal cache. She grabs three katanas and two tantos, sealing them away for safe keeping. This is not going to be fun.

8-8

We make it to the appointed meeting place with five minutes to spare. The first thing that strikes me as odd, is that only one of the delegates is here. I glance at Rabbit, who nods and sticks to the shadows.

I motion to Temari, who takes a seat opposite the man. I flank her, letting the idiot know that this isn't going to be a private conversation. "Wolf, right?" The man begins, not even greeting us. I shrug. "Please stand down. I mean her no harm."

"Uh huh. Because if I tell you to stand down during a mission, you'll listen to me." I drone sarcastically. He opens his mouth to say something, but quickly finds he has nothing to say. He waves it off instead.

A tapping sound starts almost immediately. I sigh. "Really? You arranged this meeting to try to give her a mission after she vowed to aid us. You know nothing of honour." I say.

"You clearly don't know what I-"

"I don't care. You are communicating in an archaic form of Morse code, probably slightly modified for whatever reason. Seeing as Temari stiffened the moment you began, she understands what you are trying to communicate. And to add insult to injury… I know you're waving a scroll under the table. I might be young… but I'm not an idiot." He winces. "Temari, what was he saying?"

"… The scroll. It contains something for 'us' from 'us'. You interrupted the message before he could clarify." She explains. Hesitantly, but she explains it anyway.

"Weapons in other words. You, as a representative of Sand, are trying to smuggle weapons to political prisoners. And judging by the wording, I'd say you are not working alone. Your council ordered this."

Snap!

Temari's chair is lifted and hovers back about a metre, maybe two.

"Unseal those weapons. Now." He hesitates. "Let me spell this out for you. Either you play by my rules, or I assume the worst, kill you, and explain this to our council. Care to guess what will come of that?"

Snap!

Temari is surrounded by Sound Barriers. If anything that man tries is dangerous, he'll be dead before he can blink. And this way, I won't have to worry about defending Temari from him either.

He very slowly places the scroll on the table. Both of his hands are visible. He unrolls the scroll, revealing six modified storage seals. He activates the first one.

Poof!

A doll. No, a puppet. I can't say much about it, other than that it's dark brown and looks like it has six hands.

Poof!

Another puppet.

Poof.

And another. Three puppets for a puppet user. These are for Kanuro.

Poof!

The three puppets are resealed, and a fan comes out. One similar to Temari's war fan.

Poof!

Another fan, a smaller one. Same metal –I suppose– same paper, same colours. Only this one is tiny. Almost the size of a normal fan women use when it's hot, or whatever.

Poof!

The fans are sealed. He starts rolling up the scroll. "The sixth storage seal, please." I remind him. He starts sweating, obviously nervous. "Now."

He nods, opening the scroll and activating the last seal – why he thought I wouldn't notice it, even if he didn't show it properly, is beyond me. It contains a scroll. I grab it before he can try something stupid. I roll up the other scroll, pocketing it. Then I place this scroll in front of him.

"Open it."

He swallows nervously. He slowly opens the scroll. It's a mission scroll. I grab it from him and start reading.

"An assassination mission. Congratulations, my boy. You've just sealed-"

"It isn't him!" Temari interrupts. Well, tries to. I can still hear her, simply because she's in my jutsu, but no one else can. "Wolf, please, you know I wouldn't dare lie to you. My honour wouldn't allow me to. He's a pacifist. He would never knowingly give me that mission."

"And yet he tried hiding the sixth seal. And yet he grew more nervous as he opened the scroll. He knew something." I counter.

"I knew it was a mission. I was not told what." He tries.

"This is above my pay grade. You can explain your stance to T&I." I tell him coldly. Surprisingly, he nods. I wasn't expecting that. "Stand." He stands, calm(ish) but still clearly nervous. "Are you a danger to me or anyone in this village?"

"I am not."

"Bare your chest. Now." He nods, unzipping and opening his flak jacket, unbuttoning and opening his shirt. No sign of a suicide vest. "Very well. Cooperate and you will not be harmed. Is that understood?" He nods seriously.

I filter through the seals I keep on me. I might only be able to make medical seals, but I do keep some of Asami's seals on me for situations like this. I grab a suppression seal to deny him the use of his chakra and place it on his forehead. He doesn't fight me.

I release the Sound Barriers around Temari, motioning for both of them to follow. "I'm sorry. I tried to convince them not to do this." He says to Temari. I make a mental note of the depth of sorrow in his tone, but I still drag his ass to Ibiki. If he's lying, Ibiki will find out.

8-8

"Wolf! Grass incoming. Should arrive in ten minutes. You and the team that escorted the Grass refugees are to report to their camp, stat!" Dragon tells me herself, finding me just as I arrive home. I groan. Why is it that I always end up with crap like this?

"Rabbit, gather them for me. Including Pup. This might be that thing we had a bad feeling about. Make sure they are armed to the teeth. Let me know if I'm needed?" Rabbit nods, disappearing into the house.

The first thing I hear is Momochi-san shouting for joy – he loves going on missions with me, seeing as they always end up going wrong.

"Dragon. Have at least one team ready to aid us. I'll signal you if it's needed. Rabbit and I have had a bad feeling all morning, and that Sand delegate trying to give Temari an assassination mission isn't helping me feel very safe." I explain seriously.

"The target?" She asks.

"Uzumaki Naruto, Namiki Aya, Hatake Kakashi."

"That's a suicide mission." She speaks calmly, but I feel her blood pressure skyrocket. She doesn't think very highly of Sand right now. "Be safe, Wolf. That's an order." With that she's gone. Che, yeah. Safe. Like that's a thing with shinobi.

8-8

We're at the gate in less than five minutes. I make sure to explain the team about Rabbit and my bad feeling, and I make sure to explain to them about the bad mojo going around right now. They're on high alert.

As we arrive, Ryuuzetsu spots us and is immediately glued to us. She tries to strum up a conversation, but I tell her –as quietly as I can– that we suspect something bad might happen. When I hand her my tanto –the chakra conducting one– she nods seriously. She understands exactly what kind of bad feeling I'm having.

Twenty shinobi appear in the distance, approaching fast. They start to slow down though, not wanting us to think this is an attack. I turn to Rabbit.

"Grass headbands, all of them. Nothing different compared to the Grass shinobi we encountered last time." She says, but she's hesitating. -Girl's father is among them.-

"Ryuuzetsu. You're father might be among them. Please, you know him better than any of us ever will. Study him for me?" I ask. She stiffens, remembering me telling her that the reports list him as KIA. She swallows painfully, but nods anyway. "There's a chance he really is alive, Tsu. But only you would know if it's really him. Please."

"I understand." She nods, much more serious –steadier on her feet– than before.

The group approaches us. The man I remember interacting with Tsu steps forward. He smiles at Tsu. I don't trust this though. He smells of death. Not of fresh or even old kills. He smells like a corpse. Tsu isn't facing me though, so I can't warn her. I tense just enough for my team to know something is about to go down.

"Papa? Is that you?" She's testing him. Good. She's not blindly trusting this. For now, all we can do is wait and see how this plays out.

"Of course! You didn't think a few Sound shinobi would keep me from you?" He smirks. I can't find a hole in the acting at all. I don't know him well enough to. Tsu walks up to him, tears in her eyes. She hugs him. That feeling in my gut is almost overwhelming now, and my instincts are screaming nothing but profanities in my ears.

"Aishiteru, daddy." My heart breaks, hearing the tears in her voice.

The next thing I know, she cuts him in half at the waist. Just as the top half is falling, she beheads him. The other shinobi are shocked, but jump into action immediately.

Well, I guess it's time to send the signal then? I focus my favourite jutsu, and Eject three of them. I grin as they fly a good fifty metres in the air. If Dragon needs a better signal than that, it's on her.

Pig grabs his sword and is already unleashing hell. Penguin is quick to back him up, even though she prefers not to kill. Snake starts cackling, obviously having as much fun as Pig. Pup and I hang back, only attacking if we see an opening, or if one of our comrades needs assistance – which they don't.

It takes less than a minute to clear out the shinobi.

Dragon and the team she assembled show up just as the last corpse falls to the ground. "Wolf, report!"

"I'm not sure on the details myself. Rabbit spotted Ryuuzetsu's father among them, even though the reports listed him as dead. I warned Ryuuzetsu, asked her to identify him. She clearly thought it was an imposter, seeing as she beheaded him. After that, it was a turkey shoot." I explain. "However, the imposter… he smells of death. Rigor mortis, perhaps… half a day in. He still had a heartbeat though."

"Old blood." Dragon murmurs, sniffing the air again. "And these men don't smell like Grass shinobi. More like Sound." I hadn't thought to check that. I was too focused on the walking corpse – quite literally this time.

"I want these refugees guarded around the clock. Sound wants these people for a reason."

"Dragon… I might have a suggestion for you?"

8-8

Three hours later. Three hours. That's how long it takes to set up an emergency meeting with the council, get things arranged, and have the refugees disappear and into an unmarked safe house. Three fricking hours!

I offered Dragon the house I just bought – technically it's still forty percent the bank's, but I'll have it paid off in three or four years if the missions keep rolling in like this! So, all the refugees, the doctors, and two Anbu teams, are all across the street from us. Dragon really doesn't like how this is going, so she arranged with daddy to have six jounins posted there around the clock as well. Herself included. She isn't taking any chances.

Luckily we didn't lose too many shinobi during the invasion, so we're not exactly hurting for numbers. It's still horrible that we lost any at all, but we got off pretty well. Anyway, the point is that two potential disasters have now officially been averted.

I, and those involved, get a nice fat check as a thank you, too. It's too bad that money won't give Tsu her daddy back. I flatly refused to let her sleep with the other refugees. She's staying with us, in my room, in my bed. She's so messed up that she's still crying, even now.

"Tsu… I'm here for you." I murmur, feeling the poor girl dissolving in her own tears. She clutches my shirt, refusing to let me go… like I'll disappear forever if I'm out of her sight for a second.

Kami-sama… the most horrible things seem to happen to the best people.

8-8

That's pretty much how the day, and most of the night, went. We're on high alert, so Mitarashi and Momochi take turns standing watch near the gate. Haku and Hana take turns watching the Sand Trio – with a bit more vigour then before, seeing as we're just not in the mood for surprises.

And Ryuuzetsu?

I have Minori, Fuu, Karin and Akari-san helping me with her. Mom's mostly keeping the troops in line, and is doing her best to keep things friendly with Temari and company. Mariko-san and Remi-san have pretty much refused any suggestion that we're fine, so they decided to move in –whether we like it or not– and drag their husbands with them, and Ino, in Mariko-san's case.

Truth be told? We have enough manpower to level a small country. And if that isn't enough? No, never enough. Hyuuga-sama called, asking about Hinata-nee. He'd heard about a disturbance and wanted to make sure his daughters were safe. The scent of unfamiliar Hyuugas have lined the air ever since. Suffice to say, we're good. Unless the moon comes crashing down, I think we'll survive.

"Aya-chan?" I turn, finding Ryuuzetsu standing near the door of the family sitting room. I've been here, sitting with my back to the sliding paper screens so that I can keep track of who is where, but I won't lie and say I feel at ease just yet.

"Hey, Tsu. Trouble sleeping?" It's going on two in the morning, so it's pretty obvious that's the case.

"Nn." She says. I sniff the air, locating everyone in the house, making sure there's no unwanted surprises. Other than Yasu-nee's arousal –again– there's nothing that wasn't there ten minutes ago. I seriously think she and Kakashi need to hurry up and get married, because she's going to get pregnant any day with all the… fun they're having.

Tsu comes over and plops down next to me. "Mom's making some more coffee, if you want? Not sure it'll do you any good, but frankly it couldn't hurt."

"Thanks, no. Coffee makes me act weird." She says, sort of smiling. "Thank you, by the way."

"Nn?"

"For trusting me. You didn't have to tell me, but if you didn't I'd have…" Tears threaten to break free once again.

I don't speak. I just wrap an arm around her shoulder, tugging her closer to me to let her know I'm here for her.

"Aya?"

"Nn?"

"Can I stay here, with you guys?"

"If that's what you want, yes. But I don't want you to decide now." I tell her honestly.

"… why's that?"

"Because right now you're hurting. You're heart is shattered and you are trying to hold onto anything that makes you feel less broken." I explain seriously, hating how much my words hurt her. "I don't want you to decide something so major when you're this hurt. Stay with us, heal a little, then think about it with a clear head."

"Aya… suki desu." Tsu murmurs, wrapping herself around me.

"Aww, honey. I love you too, but you know my heart belongs to another." I tease. She laughs, swatting me playfully. Even though she's sitting in my lap, arms wrapped around me, legs curled up at my sides, I don't feel worried, or threatened – which is a surprise to be honest.

I feel… comfortable with her.

"Thank you… for everything…"

8-8

Morning comes. Ryuuzetsu is still sleeping next to me – mom brought a futon for her, after one of my coffee rounds. Nothing happened yet, but no one seems any less tense.

The good news in all this? Kakashi refuses to get sidelined. He's agreed to only play the supporting roll, but he's back in the saddle. Maki's much the same. Hell, all of my patients have demanded they be allowed to at least sit in the family sitting room with the screens wide open and an bucket load of kunai, shuriken and anything else sharp or pointy.

We all settle in for breakfast, taking turns so that there's always someone on watch. The kids are allowed to eat first, but aren't allowed in the front yard today. They… don't feel comfortable playing and training in the back yard. Eventually I just tell them to play in the dojo – which sets them at ease, because they decide they want to play music so they can pretend it's just a normal day.

I sigh, hating how much stress our kids are put under. They shouldn't have to live like this. But… at the same time, I'm really glad they can see that becoming a shinobi isn't a game. It's a life –and all to often, a death– sentence.

"Oi! Wolf! Dragon's here!" Snake calls. I smelled her, of course, but she could just as easily wanted to talk to someone else.

I body flicker to the gate, wanting to get this over with. "Grass delegates are here. They're asking to see the team that rescued their people."

"We're sure it's the right village this time?" I ask seriously.

"I checked. I recognize three of them from previous dealings with Grass, and all of them smell like Grass shinobi." She explains, understanding my paranoia.

"Alright. I'll gather the team. Where?"

"Tower. Meeting room one. I told them you already had a bad taste of meeting room three." That's a relief. "Ten minutes."

8-8

"Thank you for coming so swiftly." We're greeted as we enter. "Forgive me, but… two Anbu Ops and three trainees? I'm having a hard time believing you five saved my people."

"I'm having a hard time believing you're from Grass, considering the last group was straight out of a zombie movie." I counter, earning a chuckle from my teammates. The man –tall, green hair and eyes, and an eye patch over his right eye– isn't sure how to respond.

"It's alright, Wolf." Ryuuzetzu assures me. "This is Katamara-san, he's the village leader's right hand man." I wince, hating that I let her talk me into letting her come. Her tone isn't just cold, it's dark and to the point of ripping the man's guts out and barbecuing them.

"Ah, Ryuuzetsu-chan. I'm glad to see you're alright." She bristles at his easy tone. I place my hand on her shoulder, trying to help her calm down a bit.

"Am I though?" She asks.

"Hnn?"

"Am I alright?" She clarifies. "I know my father is dead. He was here, sort of. His body was at least. Only, it wasn't him at all. The shinobi YOU wouldn't send him reinforcements to defeat killed him… did something with his body… and sent him here to either kidnap me, or kill me. Or both, for all I know. And you think I'm… 'alright'?" She isn't crying, but I can tell she wants to.

"Now, Ryuu, there's no-"

"Were there any survivors?" She interrupts him.

"… Four."

"A village of five-hundred and eighty-seven people. Not including the twenty shinobi sent when we discovered Sound's plans to raze it. And there are four survivors." I grab her by both shoulders this time. I seriously think she's ready to break this guy in half.

The man's gaze doesn't waver from her, but he doesn't speak either.

"So in other words, had Konoha, had this team, not been there by chance, we'd likely be dead too." Tsu isn't taking this well. "Wolf, I know you told me to decide when I've healed a bit… but Grass is dead to me." No emotion in her voice, no tension in her muscles. She's just saying it like it is, not caring what anyone thinks.

"I understand." I murmur, wanting to hug her so bad – to keep the last bits and pieces of her from breaking right along with her heart.

"Hold on! You can't-"

"Finish that sentence. I dare you." Pig challenges, his Executioner's Blade held right against the man's throat. "If the girl chooses for herself, there is nothing you can do. She chose. Accept your losses gracefully."

"That's a bitter pill to swallow, coming from an ex-Mist and ex-rogue." The man grinds out. "Do you think people won't identify you by that blade?"

"I didn't care in Mist, I don't care now." Pig counters easily. "Wolf, Rabbit, you two head out. I don't think the girl wants to near this… person anymore. Pup, you best go with them. Me and Snake can wrap this meeting up."

"Thank you, Pig." Tsu bows to him, not sparing her one time compatriot a second glance.

8-8

We don't head straight home. I think Tsu needs to stretch her legs a bit. So Hitomi, Shika-nii and I walk with her through the village – after stowing our masks and sealing our Anbu gear to not stand out too much.

We take her to get some chocolate, to a discount store to ogle the wares, to the market so we can pick up something she wants to eat for lunch. We just take her wherever she says she feels like going – she could use the distraction.

Then, a thought hits me. "Oi, Shika-nii… we had fun the other night, didn't we? Everyone all dressed up for no reason?"

"Yeah." He says, smiling. "You spent most of the night singing. Sorry about that."

"Meh, I saw it coming." I shrug. I think about that some more, wondering if some fun and cheer would help Tsu any.

"If that look means what I think it means, I'm in." He tells me, putting a hand on Tsu's shoulder to show support.

"Nn. Tsu. We're getting you a kimono." I demand. She looks to me, confused. "We're holding a concert/party tonight. To welcome the newest member of our pack. It won't do if said member wasn't fancied up to suit the occasion."

"Aya… it's fine… I…" She's shaking her head, no.

"Tsu." I say, hugging the –emotionally– fragile girl. "You're not in the mood, I get that. But… this is something we can do for you. Something that will help you to heal, even if only a little. Will you try this? For me?"

"… fine, but I reserve the right to complain about it." She says, burying her face in my neck once again.

"That's okay. I'm used to Shika-nii complaining about everything."

"Troublesome."

"See what I mean. You wouldn't even stand out if you started complaining about everything." I say, holding her tight. I'd hoped to get her to laugh, giggle, or at least chuckle… but I'm not too surprised when she just nods and sighs. I don't even want to know what she's been through emotionally. It's just… too horrible to think about. All I can do… is… is be there for her. Try to catch her when she falls… and I'm afraid she's falling as we speak.

Kami-sama, I'm such a softie.

8-8

End Chapter 57

8-8

A/N: Well... that was certainly not a fun chapter. Sorry, but life's just fun like that. The coming chapters are going to be a bit more... organizational. Some interesting things will happen, and some not so interesting things; vague much? I'm afraid the chapters might be a good deal longer than usual, but there's still the chance they might now be. We'll just have to wait and see.