"What am I going to do?" Ai thought. "I have this guy pressuring me, and if it keeps going this way, he might find out who I am, and then it's back to square one. I need some opportunity, any opportunity to prove I'm not a bad guy."
As he pondered these things, there came an unfamiliar group of rogue ninja who made their presence known. They quickly surrounded the team, emerging from bushes near the side of the wide road they were walking along.
"This is as far as you go." The leader of the five stated.
"This might be just the opportunity I needed." Ai was ecstatic on the inside, feeling he'd get to prove not only his skill, but his worth and loyalty to the Leaf Villagers. He readied himself for battle.
"And just who are you?" Shikamaru questioned the rogues' leader, fully prepared to defend the pregnant woman they were escorting.
"That's not really anything you should be concerned with." The leader replied. "What you really should be focused on is giving over the woman you're protecting, and figuring out how you'll be walking away from this alive." The look he gave Shikamaru was one filled with hostility. "If you give her over quickly, we just might consider letting you brats walk away with only minor injuries." He spoke snidely.
Shikamaru gave a smirk, feeling fully confident enough to take down the rogues. He believed any ninjas that couldn't take advantage of the element of surprise they had over their targets couldn't have been as skilled as they were trying to let on. "Is that supposed to scare us?" He asked quite haughtily, knowing it'd get under their skin. "Sai, get ready. Ino, Sakura, you both know what to do." He began giving out command.
Sai nodded making his way to the woman's right, and Shikamaru stood to the woman's front. Ino and Sakura, stood to the woman's left and back, respectively. Sai then looked Ai's way, who was, in a way, out of place and hadn't been given an order. "You too." Sai spoke to him, hoping he'd find a place to fit into the formation.
But before Ai could set himself anywhere, Shikamaru gave out more specific commands. "Ino, Sakura, your job is to stay close to her, just in case she needs medical attention. Sai, if it gets to it, you haul out of here as fast as possible. We're to protect the woman at allcosts." Shikamaru prepped for his shadow possession.
Everyone knew their position, and knew what they had to do, save for Ai, who would decide on his own how to make himself useful.
"All right!" The rogue leader yelled, becoming irate. "We were trying to be nice, seeing that you're just a bunch of kids, and we weren'tplanning on killing the woman. We were just going to kill what's she's carrying, but now that you've ignored my warning, you've pissed me off!"
For a moment, he waited to see if the Leaf Villagers would make the first move.
"Take no prisoners men!" He then yelled.
One of them moved swiftly and found himself behind the woman, and facing Sakura.
"Just a medical ninja dame." He smiled crookedly, and lifted his arm to strike Sakura in her face, but she effectively stopped his attack, much to his surprise.
"Just a medical ninja dame, huh?" Sakura prepared a punch and struck him in his open chest, which left him not only stunned in expression, but motionless on the ground from the intensity and power of the blow.
"Serves you right." Ino smiled at his expense.
"All right, so you're tougher than we first thought, but that was just to test the waters." The leader stated. "You're going to definitely feel the full force of our attack now!"
The other four rogues, including the leader, then swiftly jumped into the air.
"This is my chance." Ai thought to himself. He then wove a few hands signs which caused the ground to rumble, as the rogues were on the attack from above.
"What's happening?" Shikamaru thought.
"Take this!" One of the rogues cried out. Three kunai flew out of the sky down toward the woman who began to feel pain in her abdomen, but all of the weapons were deflected by Ino.
"Super beast scro-" Sai was cut off in his preparation to draw up a defense against the ninja by cause of the ground shaking more violently and cracking open in certain parts. Steam began to be released, and rapidly covered the area.
One of the rogues used a fire jutsu coupled with another rogue's large shuriken weapon, which split his fire into four separate, spinning flames meant to engulf the Leaf Shinobi, the woman, and Ai from above.
However, with the thick steam having veiled the region by the time it reached their position, the rogues couldn't see if they actually caught them within the fire.
"Did we get them?" One of them asked as they landed near to each other.
"I doubt it, or else they'd be screaming in pain. But..." The one who sent the fire began to ponder. "What's up with all this damn fog?"
"I don't think it's fog, it feels... heated." Another stated, after a closer observation.
"Whatever it is, find the woman in it; we have a mission to complete." The leader stated growing more annoyed by the second.
But as he, himself, prepared to look through the steam for the woman, he realized he was stuck in place.
"Shadow possession complete." Shikamaru said.
"What the hell is this!?" The leader panicked.
"Super beast scroll!" Sai yelled, this time completing his jutsu.
And through the steam, three beasts came to attack the rogues.
The three that weren't confined by Shikamaru's jutsu dodged the beasts, leaving their leader by himself.
"Hey! Hey! Come back you bastards! Get me outta this!" He shouted in vain.
As one of the other 3 searched through the steam, he was met with the full force of Sakura's punch. He yelled out just before dropping, which caused the other two to feel more fearful.
"What's going on? How come we can't see them but they can see us in all this fog?"
One of the rogues decided to bail, feeling he'd not make it out alive if he didn't, but as he did so, he had a run in with his leader. "Boss, so happy it's just you. We gotta get out of here. Something fishy's going on." But as he calmed himself down, he was viciously attacked by his own leader, who had just been mind switched with Ino. He screamed, leaving the last other ninja unable to figure out what to do.
"This was a bad idea. We're sorry. Hear me!?" He pleaded to the Leaf Shinobi, hoping they'd spare at least him. Ino then released the leader, who was finished off by Shikamaru's shadow strangle.
As the steam dissipated, the last of the rogues saw the Leaf Shinobi standing, and facing toward himself. He also saw the pregnant woman among them, and believed it to be his chance to kill her, taking down one of their own for the slaughter of his whole gang. He lunged in for the attack, but Ai intercepted him with a knee to the gut.
"He's fast..." The rogue thought as the pain set in.
After weaving the necessary hand signs, Ai placed his hand on the rogue's face, and he was immediately engulfed in steam, burning him. The rogue screamed in extreme pain.
Shikamaru and the others looked on in awe. "Is this... what he's capable of?" Shikamaru thought to himself.
After finishing the struggle with the rogues, and after all the steam cleared, Ino and Sakura checked on their pregnant traveler to make certain she hadn't become overly stressed during the battle. Ai, on the other hand, waited by himself on the side of the road, while Sai and Shikamaru talked among themselves.
"Hey you!" Shikamaru called over to Ai after having confirmed a matter with Sai.
"Huh? Me? Did I... do something?"
"No, just get over here. You're part of the team, right?"
"Part of the ... team?" Ai was shocked.
"Are you coming? Because we don't have all day." Shikamaru said with impatience.
Ai then ran over, somewhat expecting this to all be a joke. "What ... is it?"
"Thanks for the assistance back there. You really helped us with that steam you stirred up."
"It was nothing, really. Just something I learned back in my own village." Ai was truly happy that they'd acknowledged his part in the battle, but was fearful of getting too ahead of himself, and so restrained his emotions.
"But, I'm curious. How were we able to see, while the rogues couldn't?" Shikamaru questioned him.
"Well, I control the steam with my chakra, and so, I can sort of feel each presence within it. I then make the steam clearer for comrades while making visibility impossible for the others. Even though we haven't been working together long, I made a guess as to who was who within the steam by the way you guys move."
Sai and Shikamaru looked at each other as if to both question what he was talking about, and Ai continued to explain.
"Your movements were as I expected them to be; they felt, well, decisive and swift, while the rogues movements felt more random and impulsive. And it did help that they were in the air when the steam first reached you guys. I made a choice from there." He finished.
"That's pretty great, but what if you chose wrong?" Shikamaru continued to inquire.
Ai laughed nervously. "Well, I guess one of you would have been in serious trouble!"
Sai and Shikamaru weren't all too amused by his answer, but still appreciative of and impressed with how he helped out.
"Thanks again for the assistance. I think I was wrong about you." Shikamaru stated.
"Huh? Really?" Things were seeming too good to be true, for Ai, but he began embracing what was unraveling before him; that is, his being accepted.
"Yeah, I thought for certain that you couldn't be trusted, but the way you had our backs back there, I think we can actually trust you with our lives."
"Shikamaru's right." Sai added. "Your cover made it extraordinarily easy for us to take down those guys, protect the woman, and do so with no harm come to anyone in our group." He smiled.
"Gee, I just did what anyone on a mission would do." Ai stated humbly, but still felt proud.
Shikamaru then gave a look as though he were trying to figure something out, before coming to a conclusion. "I'll definitely be mentioning this to the Hokage." He stated with certainty.
Ai felt more encouraged by the second, believing he had gotten his chance to show his worth, and the way it seemed, make new friends in the process.
After Sakura and Ino confirmed the woman's health was well, Sai drew up a beast for her to rest on as they continued on down the road, though it at first frightened her.
"Gee, Sai, do you want her to go into labor right here?" Shikamaru said with a dissatisfied look, as he lead the group. "Okay guys, let's make certain we have a plan just in case something like that happens again, and this time, Ai, you're certain to be included in on it."
Ai felt truly apart of the team as Shikamaru stated this. But then began to wonder about his disguise. "Hopefully," He thought to himself, "When I do reveal who I am truthfully, they trust me enough to not get rid of me."
As daylight faded, the team found a camping spot, and as they all rested, and the pregnant woman slept, the group began to talk, getting to know the newest member, better.
"So, you really didn't say much about yourself. I know I seemed tough before, but we'd really like to know who you are if you plan on becoming part of our Village." Shikamaru stated.
"Yes, please do share. I'm truly interested, especially after seeing how you work." Sai added, as he contemplated nicknames to give to Ai.
"Yes please!" Both Sakura and Ino agreed, gleefully.
"Uh, oh, okay, well..." Ai began feeling on the spot. "What do I say? I guess I can share a few vague memories of me and my brother. They shouldn't be able to trace it back."
"Well, as you know, my name's Ai, and I'm from Yugakure." He started. "I'm a Shinobi who didn't want to give up my dream, but after my village became a tourist attraction, I almost had to do just that. So, instead, I got permission to leave, and become of use somewhere else. It wasn't easy, but I found some work, and eventually was led to you all."
The team was very attentive, wondering about this new stranger.
"As a child, I was considered somewhat "soft" to be a ninja, and that was especially so with my own brother. He was much tougher than myself, and considered me a wussy. But even though he thought this, he still would look out for me, and ultimately helped me to becoming the ninja I am today. He left the village some time ago, before I did; I haven't seen my brother since, and sadly, I don't believe I ever will again."
"Did something happen?" Shikamaru inquired.
"Yeah, he got into some..." Ai averted his saddened eyes toward the ground. "some trouble, and was killed in action, I've heard."
"I'm so sorry." Ino stated as she held both her hands together and close to her chest.
"That is quite sad, as I know what it feels like to lose a brother." Sai followed.
"I, uh, I'm really sorry for giving you such a tough time. The way you saved us back there, and now hearing this..." Shikamaru said with some remorse.
"It's okay. You do what you have to as a Shinobi, and being suspicious of strangers until things are in the clear is apart of the job." Ai reassured him.
Shikamaru then gave a smile. "Yeah, thanks for understanding."
"Tomorrow, we should be able to complete the mission, since the village we're heading towards is only a day's walk away." Sai told the group just before everyone packed in to sleep.
Ai went to bed feeling like a brand new Shinobi, while the others fell asleep happy to have made a new friend.
What the team hadn't known though, was that the very village they were headed towards had planned on them not appearing at all. So their arrival would come as a very unpleasant surprise, for those in charge.