-24-

Watchful Eyes

Sand swept towards me, forcing me to dodge to the right. I gripped the senbon tighter between my fingers, hoping for an opening. Another wave of sand began to rise to my right, and I darted forward and left to dodge once more. Sand brushed against my (real) ankle. I threw myself upwards, chakra driving me further up than would normally have been possible. In the time I was airborne, I took the chance and threw five senbon. Sand came up in front of my opponent, stopping four of the senbon. The fifth slipped past the wave of sand and embedded itself in his forearm. Right away I knew it wasn't deep enough for the senbon to have pierced the coating of sand that Gaara always wore.

Cursing up a storm (as usual), I used a chakra string (a master puppet user would scoff at the way it thickened and thinned like cheap yarn, but it was good enough), anchored to a post nearby, to yank myself down and away from the retaliating wave of sand. Didn't want to be caught in the air.

A thin tendril of sand wrapped around my left wrist and pulled me off-course with violent strength. I was whipped back towards Gaara and the majority of his sand. Before I could find a way to weasel out of the situation, another 'limb' of sand shot out and smacked me down from the air, with enough force to make me roll as I hit the ground.

I used the roll to pop back to my feet and skip backwards to put some distance between myself and him. Turning my attention inward, I felt my heart beat and pushed my chakra through my body in time with it as I prepared for a jutsu. One. Two. Three. There, enough chakra.

Ducking under a bout of sand aimed for my head, I formed the tiger seal and wordlessly spat what should have been a water bullet…Instead, a ball of sweet, amber-coloured fluid shot out from my mouth. Sand rushed up in front of Gaara to protect him from the projectile, and I used the wall to cover my approach from his view. When the orb contacted the wall, it seemed to turn solid for a millisecond before shattering into sharp shards. There was a surprised intake of air, somehow heard over the shifting sand. As I came around the wall with a paralytic-coated senbon, I saw that one particularly large shard had managed to pierce partially through the sand, and the tip of it came only inches from his throat.

His head snapped towards me, eyes narrowed in annoyance. My heart lurched for a second before speeding up as fear took place.

'Aw shite. He's angry now.' I pouted to myself, knowing I'd lost the fight already… Not that I had actually thought I'd win this time. I never did.

Several strands of sand lunged towards me, forming sharp tips that I knew from experience could lance through body parts. Wisely, I gave up my plan to try and stab Gaara with the senbon and Instead focused on not getting stabbed myself.

For several agonizing minutes, I dodged, swerved, twisted and dived in an attempt to keep myself alive-ish while Gaara's sand tried to kill me.

And then my salvation came in the glorious form of Carl-sensei's voice, "Alright you little shits. Fun's over, stop playing."

Instantly, I let my body go limp and laid in the hot sand, letting my heart rate slow down. Whisps of chakra in my blood slowly made their way through my body, back around to the beating organ. I sighed in relief, not feeling any sharp stings (I had, on several occasions, missed a bit of chakra and had to deal with small needles of amber bursting from my skin, or internal damage), and was glad to know I didn't need to rush to Kazuo's for some emergency surgery.

Still face down in the sand, I heard light footsteps skipping towards me before someone knelt down next to me and began petting my head.

"Aisako-sama was a badass today. Machiko just knows Aisako-sama will slay the foul betrayer eventually."

A scoff, "That's not happening for a long time… but you did manage to get past the sand a couple times today. So I guess you're improving. Somewhat. Or it was dumb luck."

Fuck you, Carl.

After the first month as a genin, my life had once more fallen into routine. A horribly painful routine. By the third month, it was all so ingrained in me that I could go through my day in my sleep.

I'd wake up long before the sun rose to spend a couple hours with Satoru, who was trying to teach me how to control my heart. It was a muscle, after all, and apparently controlling it was rather vital to my survival. Most of the people with the Kohaku Dōkei could, seeing as it was both a muscle they frequently paid attention to and their chakra core which made them doubly aware of its every movement.

When Satoru was done mocking me and scolding me for getting angry (I had improved on that front over the years. Puberty was still a scary thought, but the anger my mutation seemed to naturally instill appeared to be under control for the most part…so yay?), I would eat my breakfast, say goodbye to my parents if they were still home before heading out to the training grounds to meet my team. We'd train for several hours (which typically involved a lot of running, some jutsu recommendations and then 'sparring'…usually me against Gaara, who would kick my ass while I tried my damnedest to at least scratch the crazy bastard) before Carl-sensei would take us to the mission desk. We'd either get a slew of D-ranks, get put on guard duty for several hours or sent out of the village for some sort of C-rank…or 'Sora' would personally show up to assign us a special 'C-rank'.

These were, of course, more like B-rank missions than C. 'Go to Such-and-Such and get this document- but don't be seen', 'Mr. Bigwig needs to get to from Point A to Point B, but there are 'bandits' who might have some experience with chakra', 'Meet So-and-So in [INSERT NAME HERE] and 'guide' her back to Suna, then take her to me so we can have a chat'. That sorta stuff. Things that 'Sora' worded to sound like C-ranks, but were so much more important than that.

If, after the missions were done for the day, I was still in the village, 'Sora' would stroll over to wherever in Suna we were and collect me and Machiko for some more specialized lessons. I'd learn to act, lie and everything else I'd need to know to take over for 'Sora' when the day came. Machiko would receive more intensive combat training focused on guarding another person.

Once a month, instead of training, 'Sora' would take us to the Temple where I'd speak with the Loved Ones. Sometimes I would teach them 'lessons', where I literally just politely ranted about behaviours in the village that I hated…like the judgement and the harming of children. Sometimes I'd preach Naruto-esque ideals about 'protecting precious people' and 'keeping promises' and 'never giving up on dreams'. Other times, I'd just sit and listen to the Loved Ones telling stories about me. It was amazing how much they knew about me, when I never even realized they were there watching me. Kinda creepy. Also very amusing to hear them twist my actions and words into something virtuous.

I was always home in time for dinner (unfortunately) and would have to share parts of my day with my family. Takeo would regale us with what Sally Anne had done to Akihiko (the Shining Prince of Gloom) during training, Satoru would give his daily 'book report' which Taiki and I would take very seriously, and Saki would reveal how many poisons she'd put in our meal once everyone had eaten about three quarters of their food. If Machiko was with us (which she was more often than not) she'd tell my family all about what I'd done, even if it meant repeating what I'd already said…or if it was something embarrassing. Little rat.

Life was good.

And then things started…changing sometime during the fourth month. They weren't bad changes... But they were certainly...different.

My eyes shifted from my father to my mother, back and forth as I processed what Taiki had said.

"You want me to invite my team here? For dinner."

"Yes. It's been four months. Far too long. They should have come over ages ago. We'd have said something sooner, but I hoped you'd ask them yourself." He pouted sadly at me, and I fought hard to resist the urge to snort at the expression.

"Dad, you do realize Machiko already has dinner here every night, right? And I'm not sure Carl-sensei actually knows how to socialize like that. The most 'social' I've seen him is when he's at the bar or arguing with 'Sora-sensei'- and he might take offense to some of the ingredients mom adds to our food."

I didn't even bother mentioning the other member of my team. His presence in our home would be…

"No!" Takeo vehemently protested the idea, "There's no way you can be suggesting she bring Gaara here!"

His outburst was promptly ignored as Saki quietly asked Taiki, "What's the matter with my food?"

"Some people aren't fans of being slightly poisoned during dinner," my father cooed.

"But where's the fun in that? And it's not like I've killed any of you yet."

Yet.

Sometimes I miss the time when Saki was scared of me. Sometimes.

And I pretty much always miss the days when Takeo was scared of me. He was much less…vocal back then.

Protective arms wrapped around me, pulling me into a tight hug. A hand on my head pressed my face against my brother's chest as he tried to coddle me, "Guys, seriously! Mom, dad! Please tell me you aren't serious! Her team is crazy- we don't want Gaara learning where she lives-"

"Um…Takeo… Gaara's known where I live longer than you have."

Snickering broke out behind me, and I could hear my father trying to get mom to stop.

Several days had passed since Saki gave me her order, and I had procrastinated. Procrastinated so much that the day she wanted them to come over was upon us, and I hadn't actually gotten around to asking them to come over. It was only the knowledge that if I didn't invite them over today, my parents would do something stupid and possibly publicly humiliating for me, that made me actually get around to doing it.

"So, I need you all to come to my house for dinner tonight."

My team halted. Carl-sensei was mid step, moving to stop Machiko from getting herself dead in my honour (Gaara had committed some sort of slight against me and she felt the need to paint the streets of Suna with his life's blood…apparently) but now stood frozen on one foot.

Machiko paused mid-lunge and fell into the dust staring at me with wide, surprised eyes.

Gaara was…mostly indifferent. His expression that perfect blank mask, save for the way his left (nonexistent) eyebrow twitched. I imagine Shukaku was screaming again. He was the only one who hadn't been moving, and simply stood staring blankly at me, arms crossed over his chest.

Carl-sensei was the first of the two with a passable understanding of human emotion to respond.

"Uh…what?"

Ah. Most eloquent, Carl-sensei.

"I need y'all to come to my place for dinner tonight, otherwise Saki's gonna kill me in my sleep or something."

My minion sat up and tilted her head far to the right, blue eyes projecting her confusion, "But… Machiko is already coming for dinner?"

"Saki and Taiki want to meet the rest of my team. Apparently, I was supposed to invite you all over months ago. Something about bonding and your genin team being part of your family, blah blah blah, emotional shite, something-something-something, 'gotta put the sorry bastards through initiation', etcetera, etcetera."

Our teacher slowly began edging backwards, away from me. Planning on doing a runner, obviously.

"And then Saki said something about if any of you try to run from this, she'll hunt you down and make sure nothing you consume will be poison-free again- not that you'll get to eat that much anyways, 'cause she'd be using a full dose instead of a couple drops?"

Machiko shuddered, and Carl-sensei's tanned face suddenly paled to a deathly pallor. Much more appropriate.

My gaze shifted towards Gaara, who hadn't moved a single muscle.

"And she was including you in that too."

He blinked slowly, "I'm…invited?"

"Obviously. They want my team to come for dinner. Since your dad's a sadistic asshole and put us on the same team…"

He was silent and still for a long moment, before nodding once.

I forced a beaming grin as I addressed all of them, "Fantastic! We can all head over after training today."

Since it was our 'off day', we didn't have any missions to complete in the afternoon, and 'Sora' usually let Machiko and I have this evening to ourselves, meaning all we had on our plates was training and then we were free.

Carl-sensei dragged out training. I could see the gears turning in his head as he desperately sought some way to escape, but there was none. If I had to suffer through dinner with my team and my family, Carl-sensei was sure-as-fucking-hell gonna deal with it too.

After training had dragged out half-an-hour longer than it was supposed to, and we had finished the light exercises we'd been assigned for the day, Carl-sensei admitted defeat and called our session to a close.

With reluctant steps, my team and I began the sullen death-march towards my home.

After months of moving around Suna with the rest of my team, I had started growing used to the way the Sheeple parted to let us through- they had already done it for me and Gaara separately, but it seemed like when they saw the four of us together, the Sheep were so desperate to avoid contact with us that they dove to the side, nearly trampling over each other.

As such, the silent walk towards my home was uninterrupted, and the entertainment provided by the civies was a nice distraction to stop Machiko from attempting to smite the future Kazekage.

The little blond terror found their reactions even more amusing than I did.

Saki and Taiki were laying in wait for us. The instant they heard us approach- the sound of Machiko uttering death threats (to Gaara) and praises (to me), Carl's aggravated sighing and the colourful flow of my vocabulary as I tried to shake sand from my clothes- the pair of them were out of the front door and meeting us halfway down the street.

My mother ruffled my hair with one hand and Machiko's with the other, her gaze locked with Carl-sensei's as a dangerous smile spread across her lips.

My father gathered Machiko and I into his arms when my mother finished ruining our hair. When he was done hugging us, his eyes shifted towards Gaara.

Ever the sweetheart, my father offered him an awkward smile and a little wave. Gaara seemed to freeze like a deer caught in headlights as he took in my father's friendly-ish welcome- had Gaara ever really spoken to my dad? He probably hadn't expected anyone in my family to be nice. To him.

Then my father focused on Carl-sensei as well. Poor bastard.

"Saki…Taiki. It's nice of you to have us," Sensei offered up what he considered a polite smile- it was an awkward quirk of his lips- like he wasn't used to such a pleasant expression. The man could smirk and grin, but a smile was…not his expertise. Mentally, I promised myself to tell him to never try that expression again. It looked more painful than polite.

Saki's smile grew, "Oh no, the pleasure is all ours…It's so lovely to have Ai-chan's sensei over for dinner- and the rest of her team."

"We wanted to thank you for taking such good care of our daughter- we know you'll do everything in your power to keep her safe while she's under your wing, yes?" Taiki chimed in.

Ah. So this was what they wanted. Not to host my team for a nice, awkward dinner…they just wanted to threaten Carl-sensei to keep me alive, lest they do something terrible.

Cute.

"Well, why don't you all come in and get settled- dinner's all ready." My mother said in a saccharine voice, seeming to dance slightly in mischievous glee. She made a broad gesture towards the front door of my home, which stood open and swaying slightly in the faint breeze. In the shadows of the doorframe, I could see Takeo looming in wait. I knew that Satoru was somewhere in the house too, likely dreading this entire thing just as much as Carl-sensei and I were.

Machiko and I casually strolled in, followed closely by Gaara (there was no hesitation in his movements and his poker face was strong today). I cast a look back at Carl-sensei, to make sure the bastard wasn't going to make a run for it. To my amusement, my mother and father seemed to have the same thought and had remained behind to subtly herd the man towards the door.

The moment I stepped fully into the house, my brother swooped in and positioned himself between me and my fellow red-head…like Takeo actually thought he could stop Gaara and his sandcastle of doom if they decided to kill me. My brother's eyes were cold and unforgiving as he stared Gaara down.

Gaara simply stared back, looking thoroughly unimpressed by my brother's display.

I darted out from behind my brother and kept making my way into the house, towards the dining room, ignoring Takeo's sputtering whine of 'Ai-chaaannnn!"

Satoru was already in his usual spot at the table, a book firmly placed in his lap. I took the seat across from him, knowing I was going to need his silent, sane support amongst the madness that was to come. Machiko instantly plopped down on my right side, and somehow Gaara managed to take the seat on my left before my brother reached it. In retaliation, Takeo took the place across from him so that he could glare at Gaara for the entire meal.

My mother and father came out of the kitchen, carrying plates of food, which they placed in front of specific people. I understood why. Saki would have poisoned all of the food, no doubt, but some plates were more deadly than others. The milder doses went to the guests, and the rest of us were served the strong shit. I didn't even want to know how much poison went into Taiki and Saki's plates. It was likely more poison than actual food.

"Alright, everyone dig in!"

My family began eating at once…some of us more desperate to get the meal (and visit) over with as quickly as possible than others.

Our guests were much more reluctant to partake in the deadly bounty.

Carl-sensei picked at his food, and Gaara sat completely still, seafoam eyes boring into the food as though he could burn it with his gaze.

"If I really wanted to kill you," Saki said out of nowhere, breaking a silence I hadn't even realized was there, "I wouldn't do it by poisoning you in my own dining room."

My sensei seemed to relax a bit at her words, and bravely took his first bite of the meal. He chewed it, taking in the taste. There was a flicker of surprise on his face, like he couldn't believe he didn't taste anything toxic. He took a second bite.

Gaara waited for a moment longer, watching Carl-sensei like a hawk- but when Carl-sensei didn't drop dead within the first minute, he seemed to decide that it was worth the risk, and joined the rest of us in eating. A foolish risk, but it told me I'd have to be extra careful with examining his food when he ascended to Kazekage.

"If I really wanted to kill you, I'd make sure it was done on public property. Somewhere not tied specifically with me," Saki continued in a conversational tone.

I locked eyes with Satoru and rolled my eyes, 'here we go' I thought.

My uncle smirked, then ducked his head to continue reading the book on his lap.

"Now Saki, you shouldn't talk about murdering Ai-chan's teammates- not without good reason anyways," my father scolded my mother in a joking manner, but there was something in his tone that was…dangerous, "If you did have a good reason, I'd certainly help you."

For fuck's sake.

Silence fell once more, save for the sound of cutlery on plates.

Carl-sensei cleared his throat, "So…Takeo. How is your genin team doing?"

My brother didn't answer. He just continued to glare daggers at Gaara. Rude.

My foot shot out under the table, angled just right so I would avoid kicking my uncle and instead got Takeo right in the shin. He jolted, tearing grey eyes away from Gaara to stare at me with a betrayed look.

Before he could start whining, I smiled sweetly (the sort of look I saved for the Loved Ones), "Takeo, sensei was asking you about your team. Tell him how cool the twins are!"

Satoru's shoulders shook with silent mirth as Takeo attempted to switch tracts from eye-killing my team mate to bragging about his students. I smirked, glad that I had gotten at least one hostile person under control. Hopefully they could all play nice until I finished my foo-

"Soooo… Gaara-kun…what do you think of my Ai-chan?" My father sounded friendly enough, but I sensed a trap right away- the fuck kind of question was that anyways?

The poor kid seemed to struggle to find an answer. I could just imagine Shukaku offering up all sorts of insults. Finally, he found a word. "…she is…disconcerting."

Taiki quirked a brow, "Oh…so you think my daughter is disturbing?"

I felt more than saw Machiko lean back in her seat so she could glare at Gaara around me.

"No. Not disturbing. Confusing?" He looked towards me, seeming to silently ask me for help. How the hell was I supposed to help him explain how he felt about me?

"Confusing?"

"Sometimes she is…nice. And then she is angry. And then scared of me. And then she uses bad words, but won't tell me why they're bad, only that I'm not allowed to use them," Gaara said thoughtfully. Honestly, I was surprised the kid was actually talking this much, "And sometimes she starts…cackling…for no reason, but I know she would be very alarmed if I did that too."

I let my face drop into my hands and sighed.

Saki started snickering, and Taiki, despite the fact that he was supposed to be giving some sort of weird shovel-talk- or whatever the hell this was- seemed to be trying not to crack a smile.

"Aisako-sama is not confusing," my minion hissed, "Machiko understands Aisako-sama perfectly…. Most of the time."

My mother seemed to sense this was the perfect opening to make me miserable, and sat up, "How does she confuse you?"

"Well… Machiko must…unfortunately…agree with the Unholy Worm, that Aisako-sama does sometimes…on occasion…use curse words but does not tell Machiko what they do. Or who she is cursing. Or why- But Machiko is very sure that whoever it is deserves her wrath!"

"Yes, Ai-chan...who are you cursing?" Saki asked with a sly smile.

"The gods for putting me here." I told her, giving her a deadpan expression.

This was met with various different responses. Satoru, Carl-sensei and Saki snickered. Machiko, Taiki and Takeo scolded me, believing that my existence was a blessing (to various degrees).

And Gaara stared at me blankly for a long moment before asking, in a tone laced with that sounded suspiciously like dread, "There are more of you?"

This was met with a couple angry responses from my more rabid family members, and laughter from the rest. The meal descended further into chaos from there.

Satoru and I made eye contact from across the table, silently trading exasperated looks. This was ridiculous.

"Ah, Team 44, just the bright-eyed young shinobi I was looking for," 'Sora' purred as he glided into the mission room. The jonin in the room all watched his progress with observant gazes, letting their genin carry on arguing and complaining…not once alerting the children to just who had waltzed into the room.

My 'bright-eyed' team stared at him with dead expressions.

Carl-sensei nodded once to the man, "Sora."

"I think you're all ready for something a bit…more…than your usual missions. Please, follow me to one of the debriefing rooms. This is a little too important for all the little ears running around the room."

Wordlessly, we moved to follow him out of the room and down the hall.

When we were all settled into the debriefing room and we had thoroughly checked it over for spies and the like, 'Sora' began to explain our mission.

"A member of one of the noble families has formally requested that we deal with a relative of his. It seems this relative has taken up the bed of a married woman- and not just any woman. The Wind Daimyo's wife. Our client thinks that the target needs to be removed before the Daimyo or any of the other nobles discover the affair, lest the already rocky politics of our beloved nation get worse. Quite frankly, I agree with him."

Holy shit.

This was an assassination. An actual ASSASSINATION assignment.

Obviously, my team was desensitized to killing, and we had already spilled a fair amount of blood on the sands, but this was… We'd never been sent out to kill a specific person. A specific, politically powerful person.

Excitement bubbled up inside me and I worked quickly to settle my blood. This was what I was trained for- what I spent hours upon hours training to do, when 'Sora' wasn't teaching me how to trick the world into thinking I was a simple politician. I was never going to be a flashy-jutsu-happy ninja...I was an assassin.

'Sora' picked up on my excitement immediately, and smiled fondly as he patted my head, careful not to ruin the smooth state my hair was in today.

Machiko stared at us while quietly whispering 'they're bonding!' to herself. She always seemed happier when the Guardian and the Loved Child got along nice.

Our client had requested a second mission, the one we had actually formally accepted. It would be easy enough to complete this mission and our true objective. It was just funny how…opposing the two would be.

Later this week, there would be a party. Our job was to search all the guests and their servants to make sure none of them were armed…and then we would spend the duration of the event watching our client to make sure no one tried to kill him. See, he was next in line to inherit the role of clan head…he would be in charge of all the members and the family fortune.

Our client was not a bad man. In fact, I'd say he was pretty fucking decent.

That's why his life was in danger. He planned on spending a large portion of the family fortune on charity. He wanted to help pull Wind country (and Suna by extension) out of the low it had fallen into. He wanted to feed the hungry, clothe the poor… and, of course, help fund the nation's military.

Which was probably the real reason why Sora had sent my team here. Sent me here. The client was a relative of the Daimyo… a very close relative, actually. So close that he was fourth in line for the Daimyo's title… if my memory served me correctly. As the Daimyo himself had no heirs (for now) there was a good chance this guy would be the future Daimyo of Wind. The three others in line were older cousins and an Uncle, and it seemed clear that two of them wanted nothing to do with the title...so there was really only one obstacle, and that could always be...remedied at a later date.

In all, if the client ascended...we'd be working together in the future.

It was thanks to this second mission that we had access to the Daimyo's home now...under the pretense that we were setting up security and getting the layout of the place memorized. In reality, we would be following the target, learning everything we could about him, and when the second mission was over, we'd use this knowledge to sneak back into the Daimyo's residence and kill the target a few days after the party.

The guy was…cute. Pretty, really. Tall, and flawless ivory skinned- something pretty damn impressive considering we lived in the fucking desert- it told me he didn't go out very often. But then again, why did he have to? His long, silky black hair was loose, so it fluttered around him as he walked. His clothing was traditional and obviously made of silk, dyed in bright but tasteful colours. He had dark grey eyes, which always seemed to be half-lidded- a constant sort of 'come hither' look on his pretty face. I could see why the Daimyo's wife would want to cheat with this guy. He wasn't even my type and-

Machiko quietly whispered a 'pretty' as she too followed our target with her eyes, watching as he walked across the foyer and into one of the many sitting rooms the Daimyo's home featured.

Carl-sensei rested a hand on our shoulders as he led us further into the sprawling residence. Gaara meandered alongside us, emotionless but watchful eyes flickering around as he catalogued everything he saw.

After meeting with someone who represented the Daimyo (in his own home), we were free to do what we needed to prepare for the party. After dropping off our belongings in our rooms (located in the servants quarters, away from where anyone of actual status could see us) and searching them for 'bugs', Carl-sensei had us split up and explore the property. Every detail needed to be committed to memory- every room, every hall. The location of all the windows and doors. The layouts and purpose of every room. Anything and everything we could use when the time came for the assassination.

When we were finished combing the place over (finding all sorts of neat little things...seals, mics and very basic video-cameras hidden throughout the building- clearly someone wanted to find out all the dirty little secrets going on in the Daimyo's home… whether it was the Daimyo himself or not was up for debate) we retreated to one of the two rooms provided for us.

The layout of the room Machiko and I were sharing was identical to the one the 'boys' were sharing. Two single beds, a bedside table for each bed, two dressers and a door that lead to a connected bathroom. Machiko and I sat on one of the beds, Gaara claimed the other for himself, and Carl-sensei swept the room once more before getting down to business.

"So. We know who the target is, and we've got a few ideas on where we should carry out the mission. After we've observed him and learned more about his habits and routines, we'll have an even better idea of where and when. For now, we should discuss how we intend to do it. The client has no preference, so long as it doesn't get traced back to him, obviously," Carl-sensei said as he stood before the three of us, "We want something quiet, preferable swift and clean, and no blood limits."

From the corner of my eye, I saw Gaara's shoulders slack. Disappointment, maybe? If we couldn't use blood limits, that meant Gaara most likely wouldn't be the one doing the killing.

I only nodded along with what our teacher was saying. Reaching for my prosthetic, I opened one of the compartments and pulled out several vials. Then I began listing off some suggestions, "I've got four fast-acting...two paralytic, one that mimics anaphylaxis and the last one causes blood clots. I've got a few others that take longer or have more...colourful effects. If we don't want to use poison, I've got plain senbon or some wire we could use instead?"

Carl-sensei nodded and turned to my teammates to see if they had any other ideas.

"Machiko's got nothing. Well...nothing quiet or stealthy. Machiko is not an assassin, unlike Aisako-sama. Machiko could...break his neck? Or smother him?" the blond shrugged her shoulders.

"If I am to refrain from using sand, I do not have any suggestions worth mentioning," Gaara quietly stated, "It would be best to let either you or Aisako do it."

Sensei sighed, "In all honesty,, this team is not really suited for this sort of mission- given Gaara's relations, he shouldn't be involved in anything this political, and Machiko...you're...one of those 'ignore the door, break a wall' types."

"Machiko can agree with that assessment."

"We'll spend the rest of the week watching the target and the daily goings-on of the other people who live here until we get a more definitive plan. After the party, we should wait at least another week before making our move- the target has all but moved into his rooms here, so we likely won't need to worry about him leaving before then."

We all nodded, accepting Carl-sensei's decision. Machiko and I did not linger for long after this. The vials were returned to my leg for safe-keeping and my minion and I got ready for bed. Since we were in an unfamiliar location, preparing to assassinate someone, we had decided to sleep in shifts. Machiko would be taking first watch for our room (I sincerely doubted that either Carl-sensei or Gaara could actually be sleeping for the duration of this mission).

When I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep, it was to the sound of Machiko humming one of the hymns the Loved Ones had written.

I felt...odd. All of 'Sora's' lessons whispered in my mind as I watched the party guests enjoying themselves. I could see the way they moved each movement pre-planned and thought out. The way their masks either held through their conversations, or faltered when they heard something surprising.

Everywhere I turned my attention, I could hear people gossiping...secrets flowed more freely here than they did in the interrogation rooms in the Alley. There was so much to learn- so much I could use- but I needed to keep my focus on the mission.

Seiichi, the man who had hired us to assassinate the Daimyo's wife's lover, Tatsuo, was our main focus for tonight. At no point was he to be alone, nor should only one of us be at his side. He only had to be at the party for a couple hours, then he could retire to his room for the night, and he'd be leaving at dawn.

Carl-sensei had split us into two groups- one would stay with Seiichi and make sure no one tried to kill him, the other would circulate the perimeter of the party and make sure no one else was being murderized. Of course, Carl-sensei didn't like the idea of letting Machiko run around amidst the upper echelons of Wind society without an adult to shut her up before she said something damning, so he decided to have her join him in keeping an eye on the perimeter.

This, of course, meant that Gaara and I were left to wade through the thick of things. It was something I doubted would have ever happened in canon. The Canon!Gaara had been far worse than mine was. I could only assume that I had somehow managed to keep Shukaku from influencing Gaara...despite my lack of involvement through most of our childhood. As much as I was still scared of what Gaara might do, I also wasn't quite so worried about him going on a killing spree in a room containing some of the 'most important' people in Wind….

So long as no one bothered him too much.

Everyone had their breaking point.

Gaara's just happened to be much closer than most people's?

I had to admit that if it weren't for 'Sora's' efforts, I probably would have reached my limits not long after the party started and our client arrived. It was definitely a good thing that I was automatically channeling The Loved Child, because for some strange reason, many of the party-goers seemed very interested in us. Even as they went about their business, I could feel their gazes constantly flicking back to us.

Which was stupid, because we weren't the only bodyguards present. Other nobles had brought their own protection too. Some were chuunin from Suna (it was funny seeing them trying to subtly steer their charges away from us, only to spot Carl-sensei and Machiko elsewhere and try to move their charges AGAIN) and there were some non-shinobi guards (who were watching the chuunin with confused expressions), so it wasn't like we were the only people who didn't belong.

Our client trailed through the milling forms of the other guests, occasionally exchanging pleasant words with one person or another. With each interaction, I had to hide my amusement. It was clear that the other nobles had very...divided opinions about Seiichi. They either loved the guy, or hated him. I could see why he wanted us to play bodyguard as well as assassin. It was a wonder that no one had tried to kill him yet tonight. It wasn't as though he was antagonizing anyone, but he seemed shockingly… real… compared to some of the other people here. Down to earth, as opposed to oblivious to the 'plight of the common people' like some of the others. The people that liked him seemed willing to listen and help… the ones who hated him seemed desperate to shoot down anything he said. As long as they could still live comfortably, that was all that mattered to them.

Seiichi was going to shake things up...and they couldn't have that.

After a while, I just let the conversations wash over me- you could only listen to so much empty small-talk before you just had to mentally check out. I still paid attention to the tone of their voices, and the body language everyone used...but my mind was also focused on everything around us.

There was just so...much.

Around the edges of the room, tables sat, laden with food. More food than most families saw in a month.

'And most of it is going to be thrown out after this little 'get together'.'

The nobles all dressed in fine clothes- silks dyed in bright colours and intricate designs. Men and women both dripping with jewelry and expensive perfume permeated the air.

The waste of it all…

Disgust burbled in my stomach, and I had to continually drag my thoughts back to my current task (keeping Seiichi alive), and away from pondering how many people I could feed using the food from just one of the numerous tables.

I was finally able to put the thoughts aside when I heard a sharp intake of air. Instantly, I was focused on reality. A man in his twenties was staring at me with wide blue eyes. There was nothing threatening about his appearance or demeanor, and if anything, the look on his face was almost that of...surprised recognition.

At closer inspection, I was quite sure I'd seen this guy from somewhere before.

"Holy shit that's- you're-" He floundered for a moment before taking a step forward and giving me a 'warm' smile, "Sora's apprentice! Such a surprise to see you here!"

Oh. Was that why people kept looking at us? Because they were looking at me?

I smiled back just as 'warmly', mentally mining my memories for a name to go with this guy, not that he seemed to remember my name-

"Ah! Please forgive me if I'm wrong, but you're Councilor Joseki's apprentice, aren't you?"

"You are correct- what brings you here? Is Sora somewhere here?"

Ah right. While I couldn't remember his name, Joseki's apprentice was basically a civilian- he'd done his 'time' as a shinobi; gotten to chuunin and then received an injury of some sort that had him pulled from the roster of active shinobi, and he was eventually chosen by Joseki to replace the old bastard when he croaked. Not that the bastard was all that old- currently in his 40s.

We didn't like Joseki- 'we' being me, Sora, and any fan from the Test Drive who somehow recognized his name- he had thought Gaara was a failure as a container and needed to be 'dealt with' all the way back when we were little- that prick was partly responsible for the whole Yashamaru-thing and me losing my fucking leg!

From the reports 'Sora' let me read, Joseki's apprentice wasn't much different from his teacher.

His apprentice, when he was an active shinobi, had done the bare minimum. He went on a bunch of D-ranks, got promoted with a few others at the exams, and spent the majority of his time as a chuunin behind a desk. The first out-of-village mission he was assigned after a year of receiving his promotion, he got himself retired.

The guy had never been a bodyguard.

Did he even know all the things shinobi could be hired to do? How was someone like that supposed to 'help manage the village'?

"No, no. My team and I are here on a mission- isn't that right, Gaara-kun?"

At the mention of Gaara's name, I watched the guy's face pale considerably. His eyes darted around before finally noticing Gaara, who had been standing beside me the entire time, although he had remained focused on Seiichi.

Slowly, seafoam eyes moved away from our client to briefly rest on the young politician, "Yes."

And then Gaara went right back to focusing on Seiichi.

I offered an 'angelic' smile to the man, "So I really must be getting back to work- but it was lovely to speak with you- perhaps we'll get another opportunity during a future council meeting."

The man nodded too quickly, making it obvious he didn't really want to speak with me again, which was just as well, because I didn't particularly want to even breathe the same air as him (or his mentor).

I followed along behind Seiichi once again. It seemed that the brief conversation I had had with the apprentice had caught the attention of some of the other guests, because within a few minutes, I could hear 'Sora's' name being mentioned time and time again, along with the words 'student', 'monster', and the rare, whispered 'Child'- capital letter included.

A painfully slow half hour crawled by, before we were approached once more. This time, it was a woman who speed-walked towards us, and it wasn't Seiichi or me that she wanted to speak to, "My goodness, aren't you the Kazekage's youngest?"

My blood ran cold and I quickly turned my focus on Gaara. I could practically feel Carl-sensei's attention snap onto us (having somehow heard the woman over the din of the other party-goers) as he and Machiko began making their way towards us, just in case.

"Yes. I am." Gaara responded to the woman, not seeming to recognize her from anywhere (not that I did either).

The confirmation only made the woman more curious, "You're here on a mission? I had heard that you and your siblings all graduated this year- you're at least a year early! Good for you!"

Gaara shot me an alarmed look, slowly edging closer to me as the woman continued speaking.

Who the hell was she? Didn't she know about Gaara? There was no way she hadn't heard the rumours about him, right? Why wasn't she scared shitless like the others?

Unfortunately, Gaara's movement towards me didn't go unnoticed, and the woman's attention expanded over the both of us.

"Oh! And this must be your teammate- I've been hearing some interesting stories about you, young lady."

Oh. Here it was.

I mentally tightened the hold I had on my emotions and made sure my smiling Loved Child mask was securely in place, "Ah? Yes ma'am? What sort of stories?"

"Well some of them are absolute nonsense terrible stories that you're some sort of- of- eldritch horror masquerading as a little girl, if you can believe it-" Gaara was standing so close to me that I could feel him tense at her words- why was he getting offended? I'm the one being called an 'eldritch horror'- "But I've also heard that you're that charming councilman's apprentice, Sora? I remember when he was just a boy, studying under Councilwoman Tetsuya! I'm sure your team is going to do great things with the two of you are on it!"

I gave a nervous little laugh and shuffled my feet, "Yes...I'm afraid there are some pretty mean rumours about me out there. Sora-sensei has been working quite hard to stamp them out, but it's a bit of a struggle. People can be quite cruel."

"Poor dear- I've heard some unfortunate things about you as well, Gaara-kun. It must worry your father to hear such things about his own son-"

I could tell that, strangely, the woman meant no harm in anything she had said. She naively believed that all the 'nasty things' she had heard were just petty rumours. This unfortunately meant that she probably thought Rasa was '#1 Dad of the Year, every year', and not the murderous dead-beat piece of shite that he was.

I could tell that things were going to get messy if I didn't quickly divert the conversation somewhere else- preferably to an end, rather than a safer topic.

My hand reached down beside me and grasped Gaara's. His hand was...surprisingly warm, considering I knew it was coated in a thin layer of fine sand. Clasping his hand in mine, I stepped forward to place myself in front of him, blocking as much of him from her sight as my height would allow.

"I'm sorry ma'am," I said in a sweet tone, "It's just- Kazekage-sama is proud of Gaara-kun, of course, but talking about the rumours really bothers Gaara-kun- you understand, don't you? He's a little shy, and people say such awful things about him, when all Gaara-kun wants is to serve his village and keep making his father proud."

The moment I reached out for Gaara's hand, I could see the way the woman's eyes tracked the movement. There. Give her something to distract herself with- is it a platonic bond between the councilman's apprentice and the Kazekage's son? Or is there something more?

Gaara gave a single, solid nod to agree with what I'd said (like any good shinobi he could lie if the situation demanded it), but from the corner of my eye, I could see the way his gaze was focused on our hands, before his eyes slowly shifted up towards me. My heart missed a beat for a moment, when we locked gazes before I focused back on the woman and smiled politely.

'He probably wants to kill me now.'

"Now I'm very sorry, but Gaara-kun and I simply must get back to work- it was a pleasure to meet you though, ma'am."

"Oh yes, it was lovely to meet you two as well," she simpered distractedly in return, before leaving and making a b-line towards a group of other women.

It looked like the word that I had held the Kazekage's son's hand would reach Suna long before we got back.

"So we're all agreed that we'll be using the blood-clotter?" Carl-sensei asked, in the way that really said it was a statement. We would be using the blood-clotter, and that was that. We had decided that blood clot would be less suspicious than the anaphylaxis- there would be a med nin in the building, and if someone found him before he suffocated, they'd be able to figure out that he wasn't having an allergic reaction, and then they'd know someone as trying to kill him. It would be much harder to get at him a second time.

A blood clot? Well, Tatsuo's a noble...very sedentary lifestyle, lots of fatty foods, the occasional bout of stress. Nothing too out of the ordinary- he might be a bit young for whatever the clot would cause- heart attack? Stroke? Pulmonary embolism?- but you would be surprised how many nobles get blood clots. Of course, there would be an usually high amount of clots- as long as his blood was flowing, the poison would spread and make more clots...but depending on where he was nicked, it would be quite fast.

It was early in the morning, about a week after the party. Seiichi was long gone, on his way back to wherever he lived, and we were camped out, out of sight from the Daimyo's residence. The sun was just skimming the horizon as we got ready to complete our mission. We had finished packing away our camp, and gathered around the spot where our campfire used to be to plot a murder.

"Aye, aye, sir!" I chirped in response, popping open the compartment holding the poison we'd decided on.

Carl-sensei sent me a disturbed look, before sighing and brushing back his long brown hair with his hand and grabbing his bandanna from where it lay off to the side.

He really couldn't blame me for being happy- we were actually going to assassinate someone!

"Now we just need to decide who will be doing the actual killing."

"We already know that Machiko and the Worm are not a good idea. Machiko is much better at being 'In-Your-Face- STAB', and the Worm is useless without his dirt, so that just leaves Carl-sensei and Aisako-sama."

Carl-sensei causally leaned over and whacked Machiko upside the head, making her pout, "Try not to insult your teammates in the middle of a high ranking mission, it's unprofessional."

"...Machiko apologizes for being unprofessional."

But clearly not for calling Gaara a worm.

"Right…" Carl said, clearly picking up on the omission, , "Knowing Sora as I do, he likely wants Aisako to handle it...and what Sora wants…"

'Sora' gets.

Gotta obey the Kage, after all.

I nearly got up and started dancing.

So we had a bit of a time skip here, and we're now 4 months into Aisako's career as a genin. We've had a peek at Ai's training progress, some family time, gave the rumour mill all sorts of fodder, and Ai's on her favourite kind of mission! Next chapter will start off with the conclusion to this mission.

This was gonna be another few thousand words, (chapters just keep getting longer and longer) but I decided to show some mercy cut it off here and post what I have, since it's been an unforgivably long time since I posted a chapter of this. I would have posted sooner, but motivation is an elusive creature. Also my laptop died right at the beginning of quarantine. And then my older laptop died too.

It's kinda getting harder and harder for me to write this- not because I don't want to but I'm finding it harder and harder to 'become' Aisako when I write, you know? She's so...angry, and I'm finding it harder to find that anger in me? It's still there, but I think my angry burns a bit different from hers now?

Don't get me wrong, I have no intentions of quitting on this story! It just means that Aisako's character's gotta go through some changes before I can REALLY enjoy writing this as much as I used to. And she's getting there!...I think so at least?

The poll stands at:

Carl's POV: The Cuddly Cactus - 37

Sora's POV: A Successful Successor - 33

Shigeru's POV: Raised in Love - 8

Satoru's POV: Gods Rising All Around - 8

Sally Anne's POV: Witnessing Grand Theft Sanity - 4

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And now I'm giving a special big thanks to Wheez3 on Deviantart, because she kinda summoned me from whatever dreamplain I've been in for the last while and reminded me I needed to update- also she drew a picture of Ai and I'm SOOOOOO HAPPY~! You should all go check out her profile on Deviantart!

(And if y'all are ever feeling like I'm taking too long, seriously, just send me a PM or something and nag me, and I will get to work on it!)