Hearing herself listed was strange, but Aiko had known that would come up. Tsunade had to list the available candidates to avoid snubbing their guest.
Judging by Kurotsuchi's face, she had not expected that suggestion to be raised even in theory. The girl straightened her back and lifted her head, eyes heavy-lidded and glittering through her lashes. Her contempt could not have been clearer if she'd held up a sign.
'Awkward.' Aiko squirmed under the weight of purposeful silence. She recognized the tactic as mokusatsu, but that didn't make it any more comfortable. 'I don't think Tsunade meant that suggestion seriously anyway. She can't pass me off while I hold a title, and she wouldn't risk losing Naruto.'
Tsunade didn't seem fazed. Her breath passed in and out, slow and untroubled. The silence stretched out. Instants turned to minutes. Aiko's feet were falling asleep and she was really bored.
'We're going to die here.'
Aiko didn't know how long it took, but Kurotsuchi caved first. Resentfully, the younger woman inclined her neck in the slightest, stiff acknowledgement. "Iwa hears."
And that was all.
Tsunade's casual continuation made the situation even more bizarre. "Next to speak of are the young noble clans, second born sons and daughters of Konohagakure," she intoned.
The meeting went on much the same way, listing off increasingly unlikely candidates including Karin, as the sole Uzumaki blooded clan member who had not been mentioned as one of Minato's scions. Thankfully, there were no more tactical refusals to speak, which was something of a miracle. Aiko had at least heard of every candidate that Tsunade mentioned, including a civilian niece of the woman Aiko had stolen from on her very first mission out of the village. Small world.
When they were done, Tsunade and Kurotsuchi exchanged bows. "Aiko, please escort our friends out," Tsunade ordered, gesturing to the door.
"Of course." Her legs had fallen asleep. Aiko pushed her prickling feet through the suite, keeping her face impassive.
Tsunade had shown her that conference for a reason. But…
"Kurotsuchi-san?" Aiko turned at the door and tilted her head. "I gather that Naruto and myself are unacceptable suggestions."
She let the unspoken question hang there, for Kurotsuchi to answer or not. For the first time, Aiko spotted an emotion in Kurotsuchi's unnamed aide: anger.
Kurotsuchi stared for a moment, and then gave a huffing laugh through her nose. "No treaty and no Tsuchikage's order could keep the Butcher's spawn safe in Iwagakure," she drawled. "It's madness. If I told my people that they would have to live with one of you, there would be blood in the streets. The person who I choose should become a beloved symbol of safety and security. A hated reminder of our darkest day will not work."
'I didn't think about that at all.'
Stiff, Aiko took a step back and let the older kunoichi into the street. Kurotsuchi gave the barest of nods. "Good night, Uzumaki-san."
'Konoha teaches that Dad was the only person to ever invade Iwa. Dad single-handedly destroyed the army that came toward Konoha.'
Factually, she knew that. She had capitalized on how foreign shinobi must feel about her father's signature technique. But that had been against Kumo nin. How much worse must that hatred and fear be for Iwa nin?
'Is that why Kurotsuchi wants this alliance so badly? She is making sure that if Naruto or I turn out like dad, Iwa won't be the default enemy?'
It was strange to realize that one of your heroes was someone else's worst villain.
The Butcher. Iwa called dad 'The Butcher'.
Well. It was apt enough at describing the power dynamics between Minato and his enemies. They wouldn't have had a chance to stop the slaughter, would they?
"Kurotsuchi-san!" The door had been nearly closed but Aiko yanked it open, hurrying onto the step. "Kurotsuchi-san," she repeated.
The older woman gave her an unimpressed expression, one thin eyebrow raised. "Yes?"
"I don't see why you would want this," Aiko half-asked, hip cocked stubbornly to the side even though she did not feel certain at all. "I wouldn't."
'If I were in her position, my aim would be to crush Konoha decisively so that it was never a threat again. Not make friends.'
For the first time, something intense lit up Kurotsuchi's otherwise dour, plain features. "It's true that we could hold that grudge forever," the kunoichi admitted lowly. Her mouth twisted down. "We are unchanging as stone, they say." She shook her head, one sharp movement. "That would only lead to the same failed scenario, Uzumaki-san." Kurotsuchi stepped back, tossing her hair. "I choose to look forward, not behind."
The Iwa nin took off without another word, leaving her unnamed assistant to stare at Aiko. The older woman was utterly inscrutable. When she eventually turned to follow, Aiko mutely stepped back and closed the door on the quiet sounds of the night.
'I admire Kurotsuchi-san,' Aiko realized.
That didn't mean Aiko agreed with her, per se. She wrinkled up her nose, trying to sort through her thoughts. Well. Maybe she could see herself coming to the same conclusions, but not for the same reasons.
Like Kurotsuchi-san, Aiko's aim was the welfare of the people she cared about. Aiko's impulse was to assure that welfare through proactive means, like breaking off their enemies' fingers.
'Then again, I'm not thinking like a kage. I'm thinking about a group of less than ten people, not a country and a system. If I were concerned about a larger group like that, I would approach things differently as well because I would have more resources and abilities to enact change.'
She stopped at that thought.
'That's not entirely right. If I had that same power, I wouldn't have to be concerned with the entire group, necessarily, in order to reap the same beneficial impact to my pack.'
Naruto wouldn't like that. Nor would Yamato, Kakashi, or… pretty much anyone but Hōseki and Mitsuo, really.
'I'm not sure if I care that much, when it comes down to brass tacks. I'd like them all happy, but I'd much prefer them safe.'
Well. That was all theoretical for now. But it was an interesting thought. She stored it for later deliberation.
~~~
The next day, Lord Mifune finally turned his eye back to her with an expression that implied he would tolerate nothing out of turn. When she was called up again, Aiko held her temper and finished her testimony. Konan was as visibly composed as ever, but something sick was nestling in the pit of Aiko's stomach. The five kage took their turns offering their recommendations- at that point, she paid strict attention. Mifune-sama was the arbiter, of course, but he would likely side with the majority of the kage.
The Raikage's condemnation was not a surprise. That the Tsuchikage calmly seconded was unfortunate. When her turn came, Mei dithered, claiming that she was sympathetic but could not condone Konan's actions. Tsunade believed that the evidence did not support a strict sentencing. Gaara-san disagreed.
"She's going to be convicted, isn't she," Aiko dully asked Yamato as the court got up and left. He rubbed at the back of his neck and shrugged.
"We'll find out tomorrow," Yamato deflected.
They did, of course.
"Guilty," Lord Mifune pronounced carefully, addressing the chamber. "Through her own actions, Konan-san has deliberately incurred harm against another shinobi at a conference of peace. This being a violation of the third international treaty's fifteenth statue, I must recommend sanctions and encourage that she step down from her position as leader of Amegakure. As long as Ame no Konan is in Amegakure, no country may expect the fair and equitable adherence to any treaty, ceasefire, or mutual agreement from Ame."
Konan was white as paper, except for the humiliated flush rising in her cheeks.
"Repayment of this debt should be rendered in equal parts to Konohagakure, Iwagakure, Kumogakure, Sunagakure, the village of Waterfall, and the village of Nadeshiko," Lord Mifune listed. "As the site of the offence, Mizugakure shall be rendered reparation equaling but not exceeding the reparations of no less than two of the other states." Lord Mifune nodded, and the jailors at either side of Konan removed the chakra binding cuffs on her wrists. There was no point in restraining her. Konan was the first to move, giving a low bow. Then she strode out with her head high. No one followed.
Aiko sat still a long moment after the judgment was rendered, dully watching the Raikage's relief pull years off his face.
That couldn't have gone much worse for Konan.
Mifune could 'recommend' all he liked, but no court could order a foreign power to step down. That was what the sanctions and rulings were meant to do: they would force Konan to retire and exile herself to keep her people from starvation and ruin.
They would have to pay the settlements regardless, of course. But a country could not go long without a single ally in the world. Mifune had only said what most present had been thinking- no treaty with Ame could be considered valid, because Konan was an oathbreaker. He couldn't forbid alliances, but who would want to make them?
'It's not my problem,' Aiko told herself. She wasn't convinced. She stood when Shizune did, following the rest of the party out. Tsunade stopped in the grand doors to survey the situation, eying first several important persons from Iwagakure, then Mei, holding court over two men from Iron and a Kumo shinobi.
'Pity we can't just leave Tsunade here to the boring work.'
All sorts of important persons were gathered in the antechamber, murmuring in groups of three and four. Servers moved through the crowds, offering drinks prepared to ease the strain of frantic gossiping on poor throats. One raised voice floated above the din.
"No, I am not concerned," Kurotsuchi-san laughed. Aiko looked over in time to see her toss her hair, posture relaxed. She looked like a warrior queen, a loosely leashed threat in her Jounin uniform. "Iwagakure had an alliance with Amegakure, it is true."
'That's right,' Aiko realized. 'She should be concerned. Amegakure was their major source of rice import. Most of Iwa's elevation is too high for growing staple foods.'
"Another alliance, of course," Kurotsuchi was answering an unheard question from a portly figure in red. "Iwagakure is honored to count Konohagakure among their friends. When I am Tsuchikage, our relationship will be formalized."
Conversation halted in half of the antechamber, though few were crass enough to jerk around to stare.
'She was not supposed to announce that. Nothing is finalized.'
Tsunade recovered well, giving a surprised laugh. Aiko was certain that she would like nothing more than to kill Kurotsuchi at this moment in time. "Konohagakure is lucky in friendship," she acknowledged, giving a smile that Aiko recognized as 'phony as fuck'. The room broke out in sound again, this time less dire and more gossip.
At least one mystery was resolved. Oonoki couldn't have known that Kurotsuchi-san was treating with Konoha, not with that black stare he was giving her. The cheeky little shit toasted her grandfather with a dangerous smile.
'What could she possibly gain from being so aggressive when he had all but announced she was his successor?' Aiko wondered, finding her own refreshment from an aide.
Maybe she was aiming to provoke him into a heart attack.
Tsunade had made it sound like he was dragging his feet. Perhaps Oonoki and his granddaughter had differing ideas about the timeline for his retirement. Perhaps Kurotsuchi-san had become impatient.
'Or maybe there's something else going on. She didn't seem impulsive to me. This was a tactical decision, probably to draw attention to her.'
Idly, she watched as Kurotsuchi laughingly detangled from her hangers-on, waving them off. The brunette tossed her hair and sauntered through the crowds, heading further into the building.
"Where's she going?" Yamato asked in an undertone, expression grim.
Aiko shrugged, not really thinking about it. "Bathroom, probably."
Her own words stopped her in her tracks, along with one possible interpretation for why Kurotsuchi was being so damn provocative.
"Oh, god damnit," Aiko bit out under her breath, shoving her drink at the closest person. The mustachioed old man took it unthinkingly and blinked down at the beverage. By the time he'd opened his mouth to call after her, Aiko was pushing and weaving around the hall-full of idling diplomats. Aiko noticed Yamato hurriedly signal Itachi before following her, but her mind was elsewhere.
"Aiko!" Yamato caught up to her with a jolt. "What's going on?"
"A hunch," Aiko answered honestly. "A really dumb one, about a reoccurring modus operandi. Just trust me."
She hoped she was wrong. But when she tracked Kurotsuchi to a ladies' room two halls away from the crowd, she was rolling her shoulders and making sure her hair was tied back.
"I trust you, but a bathroom?" Yamato sounded, disgruntled. "You think there's an emergency in the bathroom?"
"Yeah but it's the ladies' so you better wait outside," Aiko shot back unthinkingly, palm on the door. The sheer sense of incredulity in her stare stopped her. She rewound. Thought about what she'd said. "Or I guess you could come in, this one instance."
She pushed the door open before he could say anything, and nearly leapt back at the sudden explosion of sound and heat that came when she broke through the genjutsu.
'No,' Aiko realized. 'I didn't break the genjutsu.'
Kurotsuchi's well-dressed aide was pulling her hands out of the dispelling handsign, elbow up to block an expected blow that wasn't coming. Kurotsuchi was on her knees at the older woman's side, blinking off whatever vision Obito had just given her.
Something had clearly already happened- one of the sinks at the end of the room was spilling over with hot water, creating a sizable puddle that was seeping over to the doorway.
'Of course it's the bathroom. Why is it always something like this? Obito, you asshole pervert.'
Obito was leaning against the wall adjacent to the sinks, arms crossed and orange mask over his face. She could tell it was him. She'd know him anywhere, no matter what he had on his face. She knew his posture and movements and the fact that he was internally reminding himself to be cool.
He didn't look that dangerous to her. Then again, he never did, until he did something drastic. It was hard to reconcile Obito with the man who'd cut down one of her ANBU teammates without blinking
He was dangerous- to other people more than her. But also to himself. Talk about bad decisions.
'I'd still rather hit him over the head and get him psychiatric help than kill him.'
The next exchange passed too fast for her to muster up the will to interfere with. Kurotsuchi lurched to her feet as the aide reared back, mouth pursed for some kind of ninjutsu- leaving her neck open for the brace of senbon that Obito had readied.
The clone that Aiko had been looking at puffed away at the same time that Obito dropped his henge or whatever he had been using to blend into the wall.
'Good misdirection.'
Yamato lunged to stop the woman from falling forward but the senbon needles had already sunk in. All but their tips had disappeared into soft flesh. There was a horrible scream from Kurotsuchi that sounded like-
"Did she say mother?" Aiko asked the room in general. Kurotsuchi-san brought her mother to-
'Actually, that's traditional, isn't it.'
Kurotsuchi lunged at Obito, moving quicksilver and agile. She lunged right through him- missing the instant that he flickered with kamui. She didn't care, wheeling around and making a successful grab at his hip. She flipped him bodily, using her mass to send him over her shoulder.
Obito hit the mirror above the sink with a crack. Glass splintered and flew in glittering rain. Kurotsuchi landed catlike on the wall beside him.
With her eyes covered in protection, Aiko missed the instant that Obito must have righted himself and twisted to land a kick on Kurotsuchi's face. She did hear the skittering of a dislodged tooth on the floor and the crunch of a breaking nose. The force sent Kurotsuchi backwards into the ceiling, head cracking against the plaster.
Kurotsuchi howled, hand to her face and landed unsteadily on the floor in a crouch. The girl spat blood between her fingers. Obito was coming to a standing position, brushing glass off his shoulder and rolling his neck. Kurotsuchi pulled her hands away from her face. Chakra was building, filling up the room from floor to ceiling and when Aiko blinked open the Rinnegan she could see that it was accumulating in Kurotsuchi's lungs and hey, when had Obito put the genjutsu outside the room back up and-
Wait.
"Don't!" Aiko yelled, pressing herself against the wall in an attempt to get out of the path of fire, despite knowing that the heat would cook her alive anyway.
Kurotsuchi hacked, eyes wide with the reminder that not everyone was heat-proof. She swallowed the lava that she'd been building up. Her legs trembled.
"Pity." Obito clapped politely. Once. Twice. "I am afraid that this is not the optimal environment for using such destructive ninjutsu attacks, Kurotsuchi-san. Fire and lava ninjutsu would be hazardous to your poor mother. How unfortunate that you have no ground access for your earth ninjutsu." Aiko froze like a deer, still and cold when he turned towards her. "And Konoha nin. I'm afraid that your presence is not required here."
He was right- an enclosed space hindered many ninjutsu. Was it worth attempting to force the fight out, or shoulder she adapt tactics instead?
"I don't suppose you'll just let us leave," Yamato rejoined grimly. He was gently laying down the still Iwa-nin, pulling out needles with the hand that wasn't supporting her head.
Aiko surveyed the situation with a blink. Kurotsuchi's mother was down. Kurotsuchi was wounded and hindered by the environment. Yamato's skill set favored open terrain as well.
'A good teammate would rally them. If we work together, we have a chance of winning. Maybe none of us will die doing it.'
That was not appealing.
All right. Her allies didn't look like a good option.
But her opponent… Obito… Obito was nothing but one, big, sore weakness.
'He wants to think that I've seen the light.'
Aiko lifted her head and made eye contact, zoning out whatever Obito and Yamato were saying. She let her eyes widen, brows go up sliiightly from the center, and opened her face into a welcoming, serene smile. With their backs to her, Yamato and Kurotsuchi couldn't see how she held up her open palms and cocked her head at Kurotsuchi while she indicated Yamato with her kunai hand. Obito did.
He took her offer, running at Kurotsuchi from the front. The Iwa-nin opened her mouth to shout, but whatever she said was lost in the roaring in Aiko's ears. She didn't pay any attention to their exchange of blows.
'Forgive me.'
Yamato must have thought Aiko was rushing to intercept Obito. He didn't even turn around before she knocked him down, flipped him, and bored into him with Rinnegan and the genjutsu suggestion that he sleep.
His eyes were wide, shocked. They closed.
'If I do it, then Obito won't touch you. He won't kill you.'
Yamato went limp.
-she couldn't help but think of attacking Shizune so that Danzo would think she was his ally-
Aiko forcibly released the white-fingered grip she'd had on Yamato's shoulders. Braced her hands on the floor. Got up. And swallowed. She looked at Obito. She didn't think about the fact that she'd just attacked a comrade. She didn't. "So, what's the plan?"
Obito's eyes flashed red through his mask. Aiko knew what had happened before he let go of Kurotsuchi's collar. The girl's knees bent and she collapsed to the floor.
"The Tsuchikage is politically the only neutral at the moment." He pushed his orange mask up over his face and grimaced. The drag of porcelain had caught and rolled small bits of broken glass, leaving scrapes and gouges on his face. He blinked away blood. "That gives him a lot of sway, and Iwa is already the second most powerful nation in the current climate. I put the Tsuchikage under the same genjutsu that worked in Mist, but Kurotsuchi-san is becoming uncontrollable." He gave the unconscious woman a pout. "What a difficult person, ne?" Then Obito winked at Aiko, exhausted but clearly happy.
'Not really. She knew something was wrong and smoked you out. She just couldn't follow through.'
Lack of follow-through had never really been Aiko's problem, had it?
Aiko nodded. Keep him talking, make this seem normal. If he's talking, he's not thinking. "How is that useful?"
Obito squinted and rubbed at his face with the back of a gloved palm. "I'm working on it, all right?" His voice was muffled. "I'll figure out how to power Tsuki No Me another way. In the meantime, I can steer the shinobi world in a better direction with only a few key individuals."
She hummed. "So why'd you bother Konan and Naruto on the trip here? That seems unnecessary."
The older nin gave an ugly snort. "Excellent question. That wasn't me. Someone impersonated me impersonating Madara. Who gained from that? I don't see it."
"So…" Aiko trailed off, absolutely ready to not contemplate the madness that confession hinted at. She didn't have time for that. "You don't exactly want to become the kage again via a puppet, like you did in Mizu?" Aiko tried. At his head shake, she furrowed her brows. "So… you want to be like the kage-kage? Rule all the kages and be like the extreme kage? Kage squared?"
He shot her a dirty look, marred by the blood sticking in his eyelashes. "It just sounds dumb when you say it that way."
'Because it is dumb. You need help. The only way to have actual power over all the shinobi nations would be to take them by force. The fact that you can't see that is indicative of severely impeded reasoning.'
Her hands spasmed. She pressed them against the front of her pants, forcibly quelling the shake.
'But he can't get help as long as he's a danger. And he is dangerous. Even without the Madara act for intimidation, Kamui is dangerous.'
She clenched her thumbs against the inside of her palms. They were sweating. "Honestly, Obito." Aiko forced a scoff into her tone. "Stop rubbing at the blood. There's still glass bits. You're making it worse." When he stuck out his lower lip, she pretended to roll her eyes. "Come here, you dork. Get on your knees."
Obito obediently stepped over, but bent down instead of doing what she'd ordered. Aiko yanked on his face and pushed the mask entirely off of his head to clatter on the floor. She ignored his yelped protestations in favor of picking at the shards of glass in his hair and behind his ears. Could he feel that her hands were shaking?
If so, he didn't comment. He relaxed into her touch. Of course he did. He was a tactile person. Aiko's heart shuddered in her chest as she worked her way closer to his hairline. Obito's eyes slid shut, and his breathing slowed. He let his knees hit the floor and water seeped up his pant legs.
'If he's going to get out of this, no one can know he's not Madara.'
"How much time do we have until someone notices they're gone?" Aiko asked in a light tone.
'No one cares about a long dead Chuunin.'
Obito's rumbled response was almost a purr. "A while. There's a genjutsu around the room, and Oonoki is causing a distraction."
'Kurotsuchi never saw his face.'
"Huh." Aiko didn't care that much. She was smoothing down his sweaty bangs and working to make sure there were no glittering shards worked into a scabbing scratch, or in the wrinkles between his eyebrows. She felt light and almost distant when her fingers made it to the dust in the corners of his eyes that were welling up with tears. Casually, she readjusted her hands so that her thumbs were poised to swipe gently at each tear duct.
And she pushed her thumbs in to the first knuckle.
'No Sharingan, no kamui. Problem solved.'
Obito screamed, wrenching away and backwards to the ground. His hands were over his face, pressed hard to stem the swell of blood but that wasn't going to help because one eye had popped out whole like a cherry on her left thumb when he'd ripped away and the other was a jellied mess and Aiko made an involuntary gurgling sound of disgust with the resolution, shaking her hands to get it off get it off get it off and she was going to be sick and-
-he trusted her like boar and ha that blew up in his face didn't it (which man was she thinking about?)-
And she was sick, on the tile floor, with her hands held out so that she didn't touch herself by accident. It was the clear, vile slick of an empty stomach and it spread like an oil spill over the water. That was embarrassing, but Obito was making more of a fuss than she was.
'He's probably dropped his genjutsu. Someone might come looking. I don't have time for this.'
Aiko lunged to grab Obito, hurting her knees and suffering an elbow to the face but she managed to get a good grip on one arm.
She took him to Kakashi. The interim Hokage rolled off his couch and attempted to block any incoming projectiles with his book.
Obito wrenched out of her grip, writhing away backwards to collide into the wall with a bang. He fell again, blindly jolting into a table.
Kakashi had one hand up, covering his sharingan eye. "Is that-"
"Kakashi, Obito, Obito, Kakashi," Aiko interrupted, pushing Obito away to rub her hands on her pants and not think about the squishy mess and how it had felt how the soft material had bowed and given under the pressure- "I know it's been a while and you should probably hug it but out he probably needs a doctor or something. Don't worry, he's mostly harmless now." She swallowed.
'I did the right thing. He gets to live this way and he can't hurt anyone. This is the right thing.'
Obito screamed, gargling out the blood running down his face, but she definitely made out the word, "No!" He contorted, hips thrusting upward, and hit the back of his head against the floor again and again and again.
Aiko winced. "Keep him safe," she half-shouted to Kakashi to be heard about the thrashing.
Kakashi was nearly green, staring at the bloody mess that had been his best friend. "From what?"
"From himself, mostly. Why don't you call my therapist and make him an appointment after Sasuke is done with him?" Aiko allowed herself one last look and pulled away, back to Yamato, who oh my god could be so rightfully pissed with her after this even if he'd just said he trusted her judgment.
Better mad than dead. Better safe than happy.
She ignored Kurotsuchi, not caring right now about what Obito had done to her mind. Aiko knelt in the broken glass and water by Yamato and dragged his head up onto her lap.
He'd wake up on his own. Eventually.
Not two minutes had passed before the door swung open. Uchiha Itachi blinked down at her and seemed to sigh. He looked around the room, distinctly unimpressed.
Aiko took mental stock of how Uchiha Itachi would see the room.
Three shinobi were unconscious or sleeping on the floor. There were two distinct swirls of pale vomit and red blood moving in the inch of water covering the floor. And there Aiko was, with blood that didn't match the injury patterns of anyone in the room.
"Should I locate a mop?" Uchiha asked dryly.
"Oh, shut up."
'I really should get rid of him.'
Talking seemed to wake Kurotsuchi. She stirred with a groan, peeling her eyes open. They instantly shot wide, surveying the scene.
It didn't look great, to be honest. Aiko made sure her bloody thumbs were concealed under Yamato's hair, and turned her forearms just that little bit more to ensure that the blood spatters were hidden in the wrinkles of her shirt sleeves.
"What?" Kurotsuchi-san bolted upright, tense. "Where- Madara-"
"Kurotsuchi-san-" Itachi began, but Aiko bowled him over with
"Itachi did it." Everyone looked at her. "He fought Uchiha Madara," Aiko explained. "Madara ran after that." Aiko turned her face up to Uchiha Itachi and let her face slide into a beatific smile. She could all but feel him recoil.
'Fuck you, Uchiha. You're not going to say shit, are you.'
The look she gave him was stone-cold, even with her face stretched in a smile.
"He saved everybody."
'And Christmas.'
Wait. What the hell is Christmas?
Uchiha Itachi shut his mouth. He wasn't going to say shit.
'That worked. I can't believe it worked.'
Kurotsuchi-san had a considering expression and was saying something to him that had the Uchiha turning white as a sheet, jaw stiff. Maybe it was a proposal.
Aiko didn't care. Laughter was building up in her gut and echoing around her head, but she didn't let it out.
'I think I am starting to see a correlation in my problem-solving. I might have found what I'm really, really good at.'
Aiko turned her face down, letting the angle and her hair hide her. And she smiled, because no one was going to be happy with her, but it'd blow over. And she'd gotten what she wanted, hadn't she? Obito was
-screaming on the floor-
home, Naruto was safe-
The rest would work out. But, shit-
'I wonder where I'm going to put all my 'friend of the year' trophies.'