"So, have the assassins been paid?" A dark figure stated as he kneel before the elders of the village.
"Yes and as of this moment, they should have already completed the task of killing the woman and her unborn child." One of the elders replied.
A meeting, in the dark of night, was being held regarding the pregnant woman whom Shikamaru and the others were guarding. It was a meeting that only those involved were aware of, as they plotted to take over, becoming the permanent rulers of the village.
It had been for many years that this village and the one from which the pregnant woman originated were at odds, but to prevent further disputes and to give incentive for both villages to not destroy the other, they set their highest and most respected families up for an arranged marriage, between the daughter of one village and the eldest son of the other.
Though the union of the two was very welcomed by both families, the younger brother of the son to marry disagreed with it all, believing their own village to be strong enough with young men to defeat and overtake the other; however, after the eldest son had already married and, months later, impregnated his bride, he felt there to be no more chance to convince the elders and other villagers to do as he pleased.
There soon came a small opening though, and that was that his now sister in law be delivered safely to her husband's village to live with their child.
Having only been in his wife's village because of her shyness, once she eventually came to falling in love with her husband, after some time had passed, they promised to someday return to his village, and this was to be the duty of her own to escort her there safely. But before then, her husband had to go away for other business dealings of his village, for a time, leaving her solely in their care.
If the younger brother could cause them to fail, by his brother losing his bride and child, then they'd surely choose to wipe out their long time enemies, he believed, and he'd come to eventually overtaking his elder brother's position as leader and giving the elders what they were promised in power.
Now the Leaf Shinobi and Ai were caught in the middle of it all, unbeknownst to them.
Meanwhile, in the same night of this meeting, Ai was having a dream, or rather, recalling a memory of his brother Hidan as he slept, which seemed to happen more often after Hidan left the village.
"How in the hell can't you swim!?" Hidan yelled at his timid younger sibling.
"I-I don't know!" Ai answered, not knowing how else to explain himself. He tried to keep from making eye contact, feeling slightly embarrassed at such a truth.
"You're supposed to be a Shinobi, and you don't know how to swim!? How is that possible!? Didn't they test you for this or did you skip the lesson, you wussy?"
"Look, are you going to teach me or not, Hidan? I only asked you because y-you're my brother, and you should want to help me!" Ai tried to stand up for himself.
"Fine, fine. I'll teach ya, but don't get all pissy with me." Hidan looked at Ai through dismissive eyes, and with arms folded. "Because really, I don't have to do a damn thing; brother or not. I guess I'm just feeling generous today, Ai." Hidan then took a harsher tone. "You better listen to every damn thing I say! You hear me you wussy!? If you make me waste any of my time with you, I'm gonna kick your ass!"
Ai's face filled with a subtle fear towards his brother's threat, knowing Hidan would just as soon fulfill it, with Ai having been the object of his rage for years at this point.
Ai gulped. "O-okay, Hidan. I promise I'll listen, and I'll learn really quickly, too."
For some time, Hidan kept Ai in shallow waters as he taught him the basics, but after having grown impatient, he tempted his brother to travel into deeper water, so that he'd learn faster.
"Just swim out there, and if you need any help, call me. I'm gonna go take a nap." Hidan left Ai, and went to lay in nearby grass.
Though Ai was scared to venture into deep waters, he was more afraid of what his brother would do if he didn't do as he stated. But once Ai swam further out, he began having trouble staying afloat.
"H-hidan, h-h-help.." Ai began to choke on the water, as he flailed his arms trying to reach the land again.
As Ai began to sink, beginning to lose consciousness, he wondered if it was a right choice to be a ninja; if all along he should have just given up on trying to be something he might not have been cut out for. But just before he faded out completely, he felt a hand grasp his own.
It was that of Hidan who had heard his cries and calling out, and made it to Ai just in time.
"Damn this. You can't do anything right; you act like a total bitch in everything; how are you ever gonna be a real Shinobi?" Hidan continued his berating of Ai until he got his brother back to land.
While on his hands and knees, Ai coughed up water before giving his big brother a look of awe, as Hidan stood next to him. Ai looked on as his own eyes began to tear up.
"Great, now the wussy's gonna cry, too?" Hidan thought as he looked down on his brother.
Suddenly, Ai jumped up and embraced his older brother, much to Hidan's surprise.
"Wh-what are you doing, Ai!?" Hidan tried to force Ai away, to no avail.
"Thank you so much, big brother." Ai sniffled as the tears streamed from his eyes. "I promise, for you, I'll be the best ninja I can be. I won't give up, no matter what, and I'll always remember how you saved me." Ai finished.
"Yeah, yeah. Sheesh, can you let me go now?" Hidan blushed, beginning to feel a bit embarrassed.
Once daylight came, the Leaf Shinobi, the woman, and Ai all prepared to head toward their goal, though Ai went off from the group for a bit to be alone in his thoughts, recollecting the dream he recently had. His eyes teared up, as he thought about how he wouldn't be able to see his brother again.
"Hidan, you idiot." He said under his breath. "Why'd you go and get yourself killed... I really miss our times together, and even faintly hoped, that maybe... one day, we could be apart of the same Shinobi squad. You saved me, but why ... why couldn't I do the same for you?" Ai looked off in the distance, as if hoping his brother would come down the road he stood on.
"Hey, are you coming or what? We still do have a mission to complete, you know." Shikamaru spoke in Ai's direction.
"Huh? Oh, yes." Ai complied. He headed over to the group, where the pregnant woman was lifted onto a beast Sai drew up, and they were soon on their way.
Once their destination was reached after a day's walk, as the sun began setting, the group announced themselves within the village, hoping the villagers would come to greet them after completing their task.
"Hey! Anyone here?" Shikamaru spoke, as he and the others looked all around them.
"It seems so deserted." Sakura added.
"Maybe they're all in bed?" Sai spoke in a jovial tone.
"This early though?" Ino questioned him.
Ai remained silent as he scoped out the town wondering if there was a trap set for them, but almost immediately after they all spoke, they were greeted by a young man, seemingly a nobleman, by the way that he dressed.
"Hello dear travelers, and dear sister in law!" He spoke in an eager tone.
'Hello, brother in law." The pregnant woman gave a half hearted reply. "Where is everyone?"
"I'm afraid there's some bad news, dear sister in law." Her brother in law took a sullen tone, and looked down with a grieved expression.
"What is it?" She asked him, showing clear concern.
"You see, a few warriors hired to protect our village were recently killed, and so... after getting word of this by someone sent to watch over them, the villagers were urgently told to take refuge some ways off until given word to come back, because of the approaching danger."
"That's terrible!" The spoke as she covered her mouth in shock.
Sai then cut in. "If you don't mind me asking, just what is the approaching danger you needed to hire warriors for?"
"Why," He began subtly laughing. "Why it's you all!" He then jumped back swiftly from the group.
The Leaf Shinobi took defensive positions.
"What do you mean, it's us?" Sakura asked grinding her teeth and balling her fists, perceivably ready for a fight.
"You just couldn't go with the men, could you, sister in law. You had to be stubborn and bring trouble to our village. Well, here's some news for you, I won't let you or your village be a burden to us anymore!"
As he stated this, a gang of Shinobi came out for the attack. Before the group got a chance to respond to each other, they were all split up, and the woman taken hostage by one of the gang.
"Let me go!" The woman yelled as she tried her best to wriggle free.
"You've done your jobs, so why don't you brats just leave?" The brother in law questioned the Leaf Shinobi in a mocking tone, as they all faced down a hired Shinobi of his.
"We're not done here, til we know she's safe." Ino answered.
"Oh well then, it's your funerals!" The brother in law then directed his attention toward the woman. "All I wanted was to better our village, but my brother had to agree to this whole arranged marriage, and now that kid will ruin everything! I'll never get my chance to run this village right, or to take over the spineless village you call home, you wench!" He went on ranting toward the woman. "But ending you right now will fix all of that!"
"Damn, the clouds are covering the moonlight, so it's too dark to use my shadow possession." As Shikamaru tried to quickly think up a solution to their problem, he nor anyone else realized Ai had already performed necessary hand signs he needed to gain an advantage.
Instantly, the ground began to crack under the man who held the woman hostage, and steam was released from directly beneath him, burning his skin and allowing the woman time to escape.
"Team!" Shikamaru yelled, giving them command to act.
"Right!" They all replied in unison.
"Super beast scroll!" Sai's beast immediately went on a rampage toward the ninja, taking them by surprise, and helping Shikamaru to take down the Shinobi he faced off with.
At the same time, Ino used taijustsu to fend off he Shinobi she was facing, while Sakura punched the one she faced, knocking him down with one blow.
The brother in law was shocked to see his hired assasins fall so easy.
"What!? How!?" He yelled out
"So, I take it you're the reason we had that little run in with those sorry excuses for ninja?" Shikamaru spoke.
"I knew you didn't like me much, brother in law, but why?" The woman asked, as she shielded her stomach and Ino rushed to her aid.
"I would have had it all, but that insufferable brother of mine, that pathetic excuse for a leader, had to accept this stupid treaty and ruin our village. I'm only sorry he couldn't be here to watch you die before I killed him as well!"
These words hung in the air, to Ai. Hearing someone go on so spitefully about their own brother struck a nerve with him.
"Stop it!" Ai yelled, as he thought about his own brother, knowing he couldn't see him again.
"You're filth! Worse than filth if that's how you think of your own brother!"
The others looked on at Ai in awe.
"He did something for you, for the whole village, and all you can think about is yourself! You can't appreciate your brother being here for you!" He continued on. "We should just end you right now!"
The brother in law fell over in fear, unable to competently defend himself.
And as Ai ran toward the man to end his life, he was abruptly stopped by Shikamaru's shadow possession, aided now by the light of the moon.
"I can't imagine how you feel, when he was speaking about his brother like that, knowing you lost your own..." Shikamaru started. "But a guy like this poses no threat to us, so we should let his own family handle it." He spoke calmly.
Ai was reluctant, but he eventually came to complying with Shikamaru, who then released him.
After they tied the brother in law up, and sent Sakura to retrieve the other villagers, Ai spoke with Shikamaru again about his own brother, Hidan.
"I'm sorry how I reacted... I just... I had a dream about my brother, and was reminded of him, and how he saved my life, how he did a lot of different things for me, just so I could be better. When he spoke about his own brother like that..." Ai clenched his fists. "It made me so... angry. His brother is doing what he can to help the village, and he doesn't care. He'd rather be a murderer of his brother's own wife and child, than appreciate what he has... what some of us have lost..."
"I'm certain your brother was a great guy, and that he'd be proud to know what kind of ninja you've become, the one he helped make you to be. But you can't let guys like that get to you. Trust me. I've faced some pretty hateful guys; one being from the Akatsuki who insulted and murdered my sensei. But you can't let them shake you up, or you'll end up their victim in the long run."
Without giving much thought to what Shikamaru stated about the Akatsuki member, Ai began to tear up from Shikamaru's helpful words, and lunged in to give him a hug.
"All right, all right. No need to get all emotional." Shikamaru stated aloud. "Such a drag!" He thought still allowing Ai to hug him.
After matters had been settled, the villagers returned, along with the elders, too, who were held in custody of the Leaf Shinobi until the woman's husband and leader of the village returned, which was the next day.
He swiftly dealt out punishment toward his brother's treason, as well as the elders, and thanked the Leaf Shinobi.
"Don't thank us." Shikamaru stated. "We were just doing what we're trained and paid to do. But you can thank this guy." He said as he gestured toward Ai. "He's not even being paid for this, but has helped save your wife and child, twice now."
"Thank you young man." Both the husband and the wife thanked Ai. "You truly are an honorable Shinobi."
The group then headed home, to where Ai was anxious for their whole journey.
Once back at the Leaf Village, Ai was introduced at the entrance and allowed into the village to meet with the Hokage; and with recommendations from Shikamaru, Ino, Sakura, and Sai, he was on a fast track to becoming a Leaf Villager and Shinobi. They only had need to thoroughly check his background, so that they knew they could trust him.
He was given a place to stay within the Village walls, until all was cleared and he could fully call it home.
While on a stroll through the village, with his transformation jutsu active, Ai found himself worrying about what the Leaf would find in his background.
"It's not bad enough that I'm the brother of an Akatsuki member," He thought. "But I'm also a twin, which they could easily confuse with being Hidan, altogether. What if they find out, how do I explain?" He pondered.
Ai couldn't shake these thoughts, fully worried that he'd be ousted sooner than he hoped. But as he walked along, he saw two children fighting over a simple toy, tugging between each other over who'd get to play with it.
"It's mine!"
"No, it's mine, big brother! Stop it!"
They yelled, and Ai looked on. He then decided to step in where they and many children were playing games, such as good ninja versus bad ninja.
"Okay, look here. This is your brother, so be nice and share, okay!" Ai told them, taking the toy from both.
"You're his older brother, so he's going to look to you for a lot of support and encouragement. You have to show him what a true big brother does for his younger sibling, even if he does sometimes get on your nerves." Ai said smiling. The two brothers then began to reconcile.
As he patted them on their heads, a stray kunai flew in and hit Ai in the shoulder, breaking his concentration on his transformation without his realizing it. It had been thrown by a group of kids playing around.
"We're sorry mister! Really sorry!" They said as they ran over to help him up.
"It's okay." Ai said with a pained expression, pulling the kunai out. "I'll just go get patched up, but you kids be careful playing around with those or someone could get seriously hurt."
"We will. We won't throw anymore. Promise." They told him.
Ai then left off to get his wound patched, but he didn't realize the face he now showed was that of his twin, his true face.
"Boy, how do I explain getting injured like this by a few kids?" Ai thought feeling somewhat mortified.
Ai then saw Shikamaru walking his way, as he headed toward the medical center, and while still pressing down on his wounded shoulder, he called toward his new friend.
"Hey Shikamaru!"
As he did this, complete and utter shock came across Shikamaru's face upon seeing Ai; once more, he was encountering one he was certain he'd buried forever; one he thought he'd never face again for as long as he lived; one who killed his sensei and showed no remorse; one named, Hidan.
"Shikamaru's acting like he's seen a ghost or something." Ai thought as he waved.
"Y-you..." Shikamaru couldn't muster himself to say much more. He thought about when Hidan said he'd come back for him, and he couldn't believe his eyes that it was actually happening.
"B-bu..." He stood perfectly still in fear, confusion, and panic, as though someone had used shadow possession on him, and wouldn't allow his movement.
"Shikamaru, what's wrong?" Ai asked him.
"He's... mocking me..." This was all Shikamaru could conclude, as Ai spoke calmly to him, still unknowing of his face.
"I don't get what's wrong." Ai thought. And as he began to again question Shikamaru's shock, Shinobi from Anbu dropped in, and surrounded Ai and Shikamaru.
"Don't even think about trying anything funny. We've surrounded you, and know exactly how you work, Hidan." One of the Anbu spoke behind his mask.
"H-hidan...?" Ai was suddenly alert, as he held his wound.
"But... I..." Ai gulped, and as he looked toward the clear glass on the hospitals windows, he saw the truth, and was amazed.
"How... what happe-" And just then he remembered how he got his wound. "I guess that's how it happened." He thought.
"I can explain..." Ai began.
"Save it. Infiltrating our village while pretending to be some helpful Shinobi is the least of your crimes. We've been watching you this whole time, "Ai", just to be certain you weren't some spy, but turns out, it's much worse than we thought. It's Akatsuki. But don't worry, " The Anbu Shinobi continued. "Now that you're in our strong hold, we'll make sure the job gets done, when we put an end to your terror."
And they all prepared to attack Ai, to take him into their custody, alive... or slain.