"And you really don't know what happened?" Aiko rubbed at her arms defensively, eyes theatrically wide. "How do you know he's – he's gone?" She had a bit too much fun getting her voice to wobble in fright.
Sasuke cast yet another mildly accusative look at Kakashi, as if to illustrate some point.
Kakashi nodded patiently, for the nth time. "I assure you, the missing nin is gone. You have no need to worry." His tone was perfectly civil. Outwardly, there was no sign that she was probably his only suspect for Zabuza's sudden and mysterious case of 'knife in neck'.
Tsunami-chan nodded. Her hands shook a little at she set down cold barley tea at the table. "Father is not certain what he saw, but he is unwavering on that point."
Aiko took her tea.
'Are Naruto and Sakura still with Haku?'
Honestly, that seemed a little trusting for the man that she remembered. Haku was still dangerous. He was certainly more dangerous than two fresh genin.
'But he'd know better than I would, here.' Aiko swallowed tea to chase away the sourness of bile. 'He's making all sorts of decisions that seem wrong to me, and it's working out fine. It's not like home. Maybe Naruto and Sakura are more capable without however I interfered in their development.'
"Hikari-chan?"
Aiko jumped when Tsunami-chan laid a hand on her wrist- not out of surprise, mind, but an aborted attack. Her heartrate jumped. She'd nearly-
It was better not to think about it.
"I don't feel well," Aiko confessed. Suddenly, she just felt tired. Even playing psychological games with Kakashi didn't seem fun anymore.
"Oh." Tsunami-chan looked dismayed. "I'm sorry to hear that." She began unlacing her apron. "I'll walk you home. How would you like some nice okayu?"
Aiko held up her hands. "Oh, no, that's not necessary," she deferred. Although okayu did sound lovely. Tsunami-san didn't really know her. This wasn't her decision. She was trying to invest her energy into a stranger under a stranger's influence. Tsunami-san didn't deserve this. "Thank you, it's very kind, but-"
'But I have no house and kitchen for you to make that in. And if you walk me home, Kakashi will definitely follow. I won't be able to expose him without giving up my civilian cover, and I won't be able to take you to a house that doesn't exist.'
Maybe it was reflex borne from years of reliance on him, maybe it was just plain stupid. But Aiko found herself giving Kakashi an imploring glance, just for an instant.
His expression didn't change, but she could sense that he was startled. He didn't act it, though, standing smoothly. "Saa, Tsunami-san, you are so busy," Kakashi schmoozed. Aiko could hear the sloppy smile that went with that tone. Tsunami-chan could too, if the faint blush on her cheeks was any indication. "Let me do it. Sasuke-kun will stay with you and help with dinner. We don't want to trouble you, do we?"
Sasuke and Aiko both nodded. A moment later, Aiko wondered if Kakashi had been referring to just himself and Sasuke. Oops.
Tsunami-chan conceded with good grace. "Alright then. Have a good walk, Kakashi-san, Hikari-chan." Mischievousness broke into her tone. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
Aiko opened her mouth to point out that Tsunami-chan had a son. Then she shut it. It was safer to pretend not to understand that joke.
Oddly, Sasuke was giving Kakashi a dark look that hinted at some kind of agreement.
She took a moment to wish she had a coat. It was getting chilly as the sun went down. But no, she'd worn a yukata today. Aiko let herself out to the genkan and switched her slippers for her outside shoes. Kakashi joined her a moment later.
She eyed him sideways. It was downright remarkable that he could manage to be so graceless when putting on shoes.
Kakashi gave her an innocent look and rubbed his foot along the floor to adjust the fit of his sandals.
Aiko felt a twitch coming on. So she lifted her head. "Please excuse me," she called back into the house even as she fiddled with the door. "Please rest, Tsunami-chan!" And then she let herself out into the night.
Kakashi caught up with her a few moments later, hands already in his pockets. They walked in silence for a time.
It was oddly pleasant, given that they both knew where this was going.
He broke the quiet first. "You killed Zabuza."
"Killed is a strong word," Aiko said mildly. And it was. She'd temporarily un-alived him, pending reconsideration. She may or may not revisit her decision at a later date.
"You have what you want, I presume," Kakashi continued mildly. "Unless you need Zabuza's head for the bounty. You watched us bury him, didn't you?"
She hummed, not really answering one way or the other.
She had watched that. And- she'd rather hoped for that outcome, since it would make reviving Zabuza significantly easier.
But there was also something unsettling about the knowledge. In this time, Kakashi had been kinder. He'd helped the genin give Zabuza a decent burial instead of doing the logical thing and confirming the kill. That had probably been better for the genin's short term mental health, if she were honest. But it was strange. She was the only thing missing from team 7, as far as she could tell. How had her absence made such a difference? What was wrong here? Was team 7 really so much gentler without her?
'I don't know if that's good or bad, even.'
"You should go." Kakashi's voice had an unmistakable edge to it now. "I don't want you around my team."
That hurt a lot more than it should have. Aiko swallowed. Her eyes felt hot. She needed to get her head in the game. "I haven't hurt anyone," she defended, too weak and too late. "Leave me alone."
Kakashi zeroed in on her weakness. "We don't need you," he brutally pin-pointed. "I don't know what you think you're doing here, but you need to leave. Do you think Tsunami-san needs a missing nin around? You know the kind of trouble that brings. If you really care, you'll go and you won't look back."
"I'm not a missing nin," Aiko snapped, actually wounded.
He paused for a moment.
"I'm not," Aiko repeated more softly. "I just don't have a village-'anymore'- to live in. That's different.'
She wondered if he could hear what she wasn't saying in that pause. Perhaps. He'd never seemed to read her well, but that could easily have been lack of motivation.
"Why are you fixated on us?" Kakashi asked.
Aiko tensed. She instantly regretted it. He'd just been making shots in the dark, but she'd gone and confirmed it. Well done.
Aggressive tension rose, high and angry. He wasn't playing.
"One of your kids looks like- reminds me of someone I used to know," Aiko confessed, feeling afraid that she was going to have to actually fight Kakashi. She didn't want to, she just wanted to go home and she couldn't go home there was no home for her here-
He moved.
She managed to dodge despite the distortion of dampness in her vision. Kakashi waited a moment, clearly letting her regain her balance before he moved at her again.
'He's just trying to scare me off,' Aiko knew. 'He doesn't really want to fight either.'
Well, fuck him.
Her chakra roared into the air, angry and thrumming and so long coming after the miserable months she'd had. She saw Kakashi's eye widen in the instant before she charged, already holding the kunai she'd had in her sleeve. He met her blow with his own blade. Sparks flew. He pushed at her- and then leapt backwards to disengage.
She followed, but she flung her kunai to the ground pointedly to make clear that this was taijutsu. Kakashi looked outright confused. His hand wavered. He could go for the killing blow. She couldn't block a weapon with her bare hands.
He pulled his armed hand away at the last moment and blocked with his left. The motion didn't completely arrest her force.
'He's not as strong as I remember.'
Aiko bared her teeth and backhanded him. Her bones shuddered against his jaw. His face flew to the side, shock plain.
In his defense, it was a terribly personal attack to make. He couldn't understand how much he'd hurt her. But she was tired, and lonely, and angry, and it didn't seem to matter that it wasn't fair to him. Life wasn't fair, so she might as well share her pain.
His free hand twisted around to secure her leading arm. Aiko pulled herself back to the thrown kunai, evading the hold.
"What are you-" Kakashi cut himself off for the focus necessary to counter her water jutsu with a similar one. He grunted when they met, a line appearing on his forehead. "And to think I was concluding-" fire evaporated her next blow. "That you weren't really into this!"
'Asshole!'
Aiko reared back and attempted to cut him in goddamn half with a chakra chain. She had to jerk to the side at the last second, a shock of fear jumping up her spine. He hadn't moved. He wasn't going to dodge. "The hell?" Aiko demanded, pointing at him accusatively. "You're supposed to dodge attacks, you oversized radish!" She let her chain recede, curling over her head where he couldn't stumble over it. "Cotton headed ninny muggins!" she outright screamed, her voice turning shrill and so ugly.
He was staring. At her? At the chain? Hard to tell.
She stomped her foot. "Assbutt!"
That shook him out of it. His tone was- strained. "Thank you for reminding me. Yes. I have quite forgotten how combat works. Another time, perhaps." And… he turned around?
Aiko gaped.
"But you started it," she said dumbly.
He waved over his shoulder. "Maa, have a good night, won't you?"
"Wait." She said, very quietly to his back. Aiko felt pathetic even as she said it. She didn't really know what she was asking for, but it wasn't a fight.
Kakashi heard her. She knew he had. He paused for a moment, but kept walking.
She waited until he was gone to start crying. In that, at least, she retained a little dignity.
~~~
She remembered what Kakashi had said. Aiko didn't go back to the house. She kept her distance to watch the remainder of the construction. It went at remarkable speeds now that the immediate threat was removed. Team 7 joined their labors. Much to Aiko's surprise, so did Haku.
"He has nowhere else to go," Utakata pointed out when he caught her staring.
"Yes." Aiko clawed at the ground, gathering dirt up in her fingers. "He's probably better off that way." She glumly let the dirt fall. "Going to Konoha, I mean. Zabuza wasn't the nicest man. Haku is probably better off like this."
Utakata leveled a disbelieving stare on her. "You do not understand people at all."
"I'm sure he misses Zabuza," Aiko argued. "Or he would if he knew. But Zabuza is violent and angry and now they're having a much nicer time-"
"There's something wrong with you." Utakata sidestepped away from her, brow furrowed in disapproval. "You are speaking nonsense. Haku respected and admired Zabuza. Of course he misses his mentor, regardless of Zabuza's personal flaws."
"Really?" Aiko asked wistfully. There was dirt under her fingernails. "But she's not a very nice person, and Konoha is so nice." Aiko made a sour face and a fist.
Utakata didn't respond. After a moment, she looked up. The look her was giving her might have been pitying. He looked away too quickly for her to be certain.
He certainly sounded like he would prefer to be anywhere else in the world. "I believe," Utakata picked distastefully. "That… Haku. Haku would choose to have Zabuza. Were it his decision."
Aiko bit her lip. She looked back in the direction of the bridge and measured the distance to Zabuza's grave. She sucked in a slow breath. "Well. If you're sure." She stood and brushed dirt off her legs. "Let's go."
"…What?"
Despite his confusion, Utakata easily followed. "I do not understand. Uzumaki-chan?"
"It's Aiko," she corrected. "You're the only person who knows my name. You might as well use it. I use yours."
He flushed red. The color contrasted in an unbecoming way against the blue undertones of his skin. "Aiko-san," Utakata decided slowly. "Would you explain what we are doing?"
Something about hearing her real name was comforting enough that she decided to indulge him. "I'm going to show you a jutsu that I don't use often. I'm…" She paused. "I'm trusting you with this, okay?" And she hoped that wasn't a mistake.
The awkward part was getting him to help her retrieve Zabuza's body.
"You think you can raise the dead." Utakata said it with no inflection. He closed his eyes. He took a deep breath. "That is completely mad."
Aiko puffed her cheeks out, ready to argue.
"As are most things that you do." His shoulders sank, but his tone firmed in determination. "Are… I do not dare suppose that you have a jutsu for digging up bodies?"
She sucked in air through her teeth. "Ano… Technically?" She ventured. "But it's a really bad idea to expend the chakra before I try this. Especially since he's been sitting for like. A week…" It was going to be a lot of work.
Utakata twirled to give her a disbelieving look. "You have ridiculously over-sized chakra reserves." He managed to make that sound like an accusation.
Aiko shrugged at him. "It's not my fault."
He gave the ground a deeply resentful stare. "Must… Must I engage in manual labor?"
"Um." She cocked her head. "Maybe a water jutsu?"
"Do you want to chase a rotten and soggy corpse in a mudslide?" Utakata asked pleasantly.
Aiko stepped away.
He sighed. "Pity." With one last baleful stare to the sword making Zabuza's head, Utakata took off his outer robes and passed them to her. Aiko folded the material automatically and watched as he pushed his sleeves up. They immediately fell back down. With a picture perfect scowl, Utakata took the time to immaculately roll them up.
She fixed his robe under her arm and stepped in to help fix his clothes. "Maybe if you tie it, like this?"
"That will suffice," Utakata agreed. "And-"
"Yes, I have a hair tie. Bend down a bit?" Aiko worked the tie off her wrist and stood on her toes. "I think a high ponytail would look better on you."
"A little off-center," he decided.
After a moment's fussing, Aiko stepped back and declared him perfect.
Utakata gave a smug little smile. "Yes," he agreed. He turned back to his task, visibly ready. Then he stood there.
Aiko checked to make sure that she wasn't wrinkling his robe, smoothing her hand over the soft fabric.
"Aiko-san?"
"Yes?"
Her partner paused. "Do we have a shovel?"
Several minutes later, Aiko passed off her stolen shovel and perched nearby to watch her partner work. He did so with a mixed air of equally powerful determination and resentment. After what seemed to be an absolute eternity, at least half an hour, he'd unearthed enough of the cloth wrappings that Zabuza had been buried in for her to gingerly step in.
They eyed the corpse with matching trepidation.
"We should pull him up," Aiko said. "And unwrap him." Her voice came out oddly, what what her fingers pinching her nose shut and all.
"The alternative will likely prove troublesome and disorienting," Utakata agreed.
They observed a moment longer.
"Zabuza-san is famously resilient."
"Yes," Aiko agreed. "It'll be fine." She handed him his robe and stretched her fingers. "You might want to back up, just a bit. The only place to summon is where you're standing." She blinked the Rinnegan on.
"Summon?" Utakata asked, but he was already moving.
He'd see.
And see he did. She didn't sense so much as a flicker in his chakra control when the god of death resentfully stared out at her. This time, Aiko noticed that the god was eagerly drinking in the scenery. It was only her that he seemed to level with resentment.
'That can't be good.'
"Give back Momochi Zabuza," Aiko commanded. She waved her hand at the body. "Heal him, first."
That particular bit of insolence did get a flutter of fear from Utakata.
"Don't worry," Aiko reassured without breaking her stare with the god. "He won't hurt you." She missed whatever he offered in response when she gasped, body flinching when he took the chakra toll.
She'd been right to ration her energy. Zabuza hadn't been in any kind of state resembling health when he'd gone to confront Kakashi. Lungs full of dried blood and a torn throat certainly hadn't helped matters.
"Idiot," Aiko gasped, hands on her chest for air. "Stupid, what are you trying to prove-" Her vision went white. She came back to herself trembling. The god was gone. Zabuza was struggling and shouting, contorting like a caterpillar in his burial shroud. Utakata wasn't paying him any attention at all, instead crouched over her. She waved him off. "Help him, would you?" She forced her body to a standing position. She'd been crouching. Funny, she didn't remember doing that.
The hairline cracks were in her vision again. Good thing she'd turned the Rinnegan off. Oh, she hadn't. Aiko did that. Instantly, the shadows in her gaze became so much worse. They stretched like a jagged spiderweb, curved lines concentrated in the left sides of her vision. She could see fairly clearly out of the right half of both eyes. That left her concentrating oddly on the left side of her nose and the ocean view in her peripheral.
She closed her eyes and buried her face in her hands. She didn't cry. Her eyes were just a little moist from strain.
'Itachi nearly went blind from channeling too much chakra into his eyes.'
No big. All she needed was an elite medic who had devoted years of study to her bloodline.
Aiko laughed, the sound edging into hysteria. The sharp edges cut into the rumbling of Zabuza's conversation.
"Uzumaki-san?" Utakata sounded careful and distant again. She waved her hand at him mutely and shook her head. She didn't bother trying to open her eyes. If they were closed, she could pretend everything was normal. It was fine. This was fine.
"Uzumaki?" Zabuza demanded. "The hell does an Uzumaki have to do with anything?"
Utakata's foot twisted in her dirt. He must have wheeled at Zabuza. "Watch your tongue," Utakata snapped.
'He's never rude to anyone but me before,' Aiko thought, a little disgruntled. 'And here I thought what we had was special.'
"Uzumaki-san is the reason that you are brushing away maggots. You should kneel, cur."
Aiko cringed. She hadn't needed that visual.
"I suppose I'll just fall to my damn knees," Zabuza countered.
Utakata started to tear into him about disrespect or something, but Aiko couldn't be assed to listen. Maybe it was the chakra loss, maybe it was her recent mood, maybe it was-
"Oh, right," Aiko said in an air of revelation. "Not eating means less chakra." She'd been feeling too down to venture to a restaurant to find dinner. It was still early enough that places would be open. She needed to refuel. She'd feel better when her body had raw energy to convert into chakra.
The arguing paused.
"Perhaps we could discuss this in a more civilized environment." Utakata crossed the short distance back to her. She could hear his quiet steps, his breathing, and smell the light perspiration from his exertion. When his arm brushed hers, she moved instinctively and found that he was holding her arm, offering support.
Zabuza made a disgusted sound.
'Food now, argue later.'
"Come here," Aiko decided, holding a hand regally in his direction.
She probably missed some kind of nonverbal communication. There was a sense of begrudging resentment in the rough touch when Zabuza grabbed at her hand.
Aiko didn't still. She didn't. She just rather suddenly remembered that he was a large individual, famous for killing a large amount of helpless individuals. And she was currently very weak by her standards. That was all. She was just remembering the situation.
He snorted again. But his hand adjusted in her grip, the callus pulling at her skin in a way that might have been intended to convey there was no cause for alarm.
On the bright side, it was even easier to tune in to the song of her seals without the distraction of sight.
'Oh my god, no. I am not going to become the kind of person who looks for the bright side. There is no silver lining. I am in a winterland of sadness.'
She kept that firmly in mind throughout the mess of getting seating and ordering dinner. When she finally pried her eyes open, it was- better. Not good, but better. The shadows in her vision were the solely vertical lines that she'd initially mistaken for bangs.
That did make her soup a little easier to get down. Aiko picked out the biggest bits of wakame and then lifted the bowl to drink the broth. She was already moving for the tempura on a shared plate, stomach rumbling. Mm, sweet potato. And cucumber. and chewy little bits of octopus with the nice pop of circular suckers against her tongue. After the tempura was gone she devoured the bed of shredded daikon the arrangement had come on. Then hey, a rice ball.
When she finally looked up, Zabuza and Utakata were staring at her with variations of shock and horror. When he noticed her looking, Utakata cleared his expression and lifted his bowl delicately to his mouth.
"If you don't slow down, you're going to suck that down the wrong pipe and die, girl," Zabuza informed. The waitress set down a plate of karaage. The fried chicken was still steaming.
Aiko narrowed her eyes. Without looking away, she reached out and pulled the serving plate towards her. She ate three pieces without looking down at the plate.
Zabuza looked away first. He was weak.
"Do we get to eat?" he asked Utakata, not that quietly.
"There are still riceballs there," Aiko pointed out. Her stomach wasn't screaming for attention anymore. Actually, she was starting to feel a little… full. Aiko frowned, putting a hand across her stomach. "I guess you can have the rest of this too." Aiko pushed the karaage away hardly touched.
"My thanks," Zabuza snarked. He wasn't too proud to take the chicken.
Aiko paused thoughtfully on that nuance. Now that she was slowing down, her head was clearing a bit. Her chakra reserves were filling up in drips, brushing the tops of her metaphorical toes now. She laced her fingers under her chin and braced her elbows on the table.
Zabuza halted, three pieces of chicken in his mouth at once. He gave her a suspicious look.
There was probably a diplomatic way to ask, but she just wouldn't be herself if she looked for it.
Aiko smiled at him. "How was being dead?"
He stared at her. One hand lifted up to his neck. "I didn't," Zabuza argued. He lowered his brows and scowled.
"You did," Aiko countered. She tapped at her throat pointedly.
He might have paled underneath his tan. "You… were the Hunter Nin agent," Zabuza realized slowly.
Aiko smiled mildly.
Zabuza's breath was silent, but she saw the way his chest moved when he carefully inhaled. He eyed her up and down with more intensity than before. "I had thought that you made a convincing operative," he commented.
She tilted her head to the side, not letting her smile slip.
He set down his chopsticks with a quiet clink. "I suppose I should offer my gratitude."
Oh. Did he think she was blackmailing him or something?
"I don't require anything from you." Aiko stretched her foot under the table, bored with the interaction now that it had fallen down predictable lines. "It might be nice if you would get rid of Gato. I don't like him."
At that, Zabuza bristled. "If I don't keep him around, I don't get paid," the nuke-nin said slowly. It wasn't exactly a challenge. Nor was it friendly.
Aiko shrugged it off. "If it's funds that you need, I can do that. I don't care about the money. Actually…" She turned her head to change the angle she watched him from. "You only want it for your takeover in Mist, right?"
He froze.
Utakata was still and stiff against her side.
Aiko rolled her eyes, hoping desperately that she didn't have to justify this because she had no explanation for it. "Oh come on. Do I really have to explain how that is obvious?" She inserted as much condescension as possible into her voice.
Zabuza nodded stiffly. "I suppose it is rather obvious."
"Wildly apparent," Utakata agreed.
'Is it actually obvious to them? Or are they just saying that so they don't risk looking stupid?'
"Anyway." Aiko physically waved away the thought. "I think it's a great idea, to be honest."
She received double unimpressed stares.
"It's you or Mei," Aiko explained. "And Mei probably remembers that I killed her hunter-nin partner. And a bunch of other hunter nin." She frowned at her hand. "And that I was accused of attempting to assassinate the Mizukage. And maybe all the property damage in Mist, what with the cabbage. Or was it a fruit? It's been a while, but I definitely remember a cart-"
"Enough," Zabuza interrupted in a strained tone. "I think that I have heard enough."
"Oh, no." Utakata leaned back, eyes glittering. "Do go on. I don't think that Zabuza-san properly understands what an ally he has made. Let us hear about your confrontation with the green Konoha nin."
Aiko rolled her eyes. "I'm a shinobi," she argued patiently. "Of course I cheated."
"And left me there," Utakata recounted dolefully.
He was still sore about that?
She threw her hands up. "I eventually remembered!"
Zabuza sighed heavily.
"Do not worry," Utakata continued, the left corner of his mouth twitching upwards. "She will be able to offer all sorts of invaluable assistance at a second's notice. As you may have noticed-" he gestured politely at the restaurant around them. "We are no longer anywhere within Wave Country. That was no shunshin, Zabuza-san."
The older nin looked like he might be about to stand up and leave, food be damned. So Aiko reached out and put her fingers on Utakata's arm.
He fell silent instantly. Like magic. She gave him a mildly surprised look, but tried not to seem too taken aback.
Zabuza had most definitely noticed. His eyes were lingering on the point where her fingertips rested on her companion's sleeves. Then he looked up into her face. He was reassessing.
"I am not entirely opposed to your suggestion," the nukenin rumbled.
Aiko felt herself smile.