Ai’s POV:
The second the kids were asleep, Tobi, Pein, and my father appeared in my room. I handed them all a cup of tea and sat down at the table.
“What clan do you have to kill?” Pein asked.
I took a sip of tea. “I have no idea who they are yet, though the Hokage says they are very powerful.”
“And what does Ai plan to do if it’s the Akatsuki?” Tobi asked.
“I will fake my death.”
“What about Kakashi, un?” my father asked.
“What about him?”
Pein smirked. “I saw how close you were today. You wouldn’t want to hurt your boyfriend, would you?”
I choked on my tea. “He is definitely not my boyfriend.”
“Then why didn’t you kill him when I ordered you to?”
I mentally told my Biju to be ready to fight if this turned ugly. “Two reasons. One, he was the one friend I made during the four year intelligence gathering mission you sent me on. Two, I honestly thought he was dead until I came back here.”
“You didn’t recognize him when you were with Jiraiya?”
I shook my head. “No, I didn’t.”
Pein sighed, and I was grateful I could successfully lie to anyone if I wanted to. “Ai, you’re going to stress yourself out too much by taking on these two children and working on a new training regimen.”
“I’m not abandoning these children. They need me. And besides, I need them.”
“You need them?” I nodded. “Why?”
“I can’t explain it, but I need them.”
My father sighed. “Ai, just don’t push yourself, un. Remember our plan, un.”
“Don’t worry about anything.”
They disappeared, and I cleaned up, then quickly went to sleep, exhausted.
Morning:
“Ai, wake up. You’re late for training.”
I shot up and my eyes snapped open. I took a breath to figure out who was in my room. “How’d you get in here?” I asked.
“Body flicker.” I looked around for the kids. “I took them to the Academy for you.”
“Thanks…” I grabbed my ANBU outfit and walked to the restroom to change. I put my mask on and walked back out. “You’re still here?”
“Now who’s stating the obvious?”
I rolled my eyes and started putting my new gear in their pouches. “You know, I almost got killed last night because of you.”
“What?”
“Pein, Deidara, and Tobi came by last night and figured out you were the one I was supposed to kill back then. I just told them I didn’t recognize you, and they let it drop.”
“I guess I really do owe you, then.” I shrugged and started walking to the Hokage’s office. Kakashi followed. “Want me to get you guys a D-ranked mission?”
“If you don’t mind…”
I sighed and walked into the Hokage’s office. “Ai, you’re late.”
