An Unexpected Love (Book 2 of the Unexpected Series)

Ch. 5 - Ao-ch! She Isn't That Bad

Summary: A look inside Ao's mind, and Kokoro learns about Yagura.

Ao entered the classroom that morning with a frown not quite unlike the one he wore every morning. He had drunk his tea like he did every morning and his miso soup and rice for breakfast. He had put on the same garb he wore every day and had greeted his fellow shinobi like every morning. Everything was familiar, except for the subject of the whispers circulating around the village. It was no secret that the citizens of Kirigakure did not like that the littlest hatake was residing within Kiri's borders, which meant it was no secret that people whispered about her. They said nasty things that weren't even close to being true. They questioned her character and her loyalties. They questioned if the Mizukage had lost her ever loving mind to have invited the gray-haired to live in close quarters with them. It was ridiculous!

Ao would admit that he used to listen in on the rumors. He wasn't exactly sure of the genin, and he didn't trust her. In his defense, he didn't know her at the time. All she knew was that she was the daughter of Kakashi Hatake and had defeated Enkai Kuragari, Kirigakure's genin with the most potential. It had been a shock to both him and the MIzukage that she had defeated him, and it most certainly had been a shock when she had defeated him with one of Kirigakure's kekkei genkai - one that had been lost. He had been so angry to witness it being used outside of Kiri's borders. His first thought had been that Konoha had somehow stolen it and had shown it off to gloat in their faces. He had ready to demand the Mizukage to do something, but he had stopped in his tracks when he saw the look on her face.

When they had finally gotten a chance to talk to her after all the mayhem with the invasion, he had been against her coming. She had the temper of a child and had no inkling as to how much of a gracious offer the Mizukage was giving her. He worried issues would arise with her arrival, and he worried she would cause more issues in the village. They already had so much to deal with and fix. Adding more would only hinder them further. They should have been focusing on the village as it was, not with a new addition.

But Mei had told him to give her the benefit of the doubt, so he went along with it. He remembered being so mad when she showed up late to her first lesson with him. He had been tasked with educating her about Kirigakure's politics and history, unfortunately, and had lost some of his time doing it. For her to disregard that someone was waiting on her and arrive late was preposterous! He wanted to tell her to go home and ask the Mizukage for a new job assignment. But he had promised Mei he would give her a chance, and turning her away the first time she annoyed him wasn't doing that.

As he taught her and got to know her, he realized she wasn't as bad as everyone thought. She was a bit bratty like any other genin, but that was it. She was intelligent and unsure of herself. She was curious and open to other people's perspectives on things. She was an overall good person. She wasn't distrustful or a leech, she wasn't mean or uppity, and she wasn't so full of herself she couldn't greet those around her. They had never given her a chance to show them her true self and how she truly acted. She shied away from those whispering about her and she tried her best in vain to ignore their venom. So, Ao was shocked to hear that she had put her hands on a genin. His student wasn't like that. He had to get to the bottom of it.

Ao changed his course towards one of his friends he knew would be available to talk for a few minutes. He dropped in front of her and greeted her.

"Akane, nice to see you," Ao said. Akane was a woman he had graduated from the Academy with. She had dark hair that rarely got to show its color due to the cloudy days in Kiri. When they had rare, sunny days, her hair shined a glossy purple. Her eyes were pitch black and her incisors were sharp enough to cut through flesh. Her eyebrows were shaved off. In their place was a series of purple dots that got smaller the closer they got to the side of her head. Her eyes were ringed with black makeup, causing her eyes to look like black holes, and her mouth was painted with vertical, purple stripes. It was a wonder anyone was comfortable with being around her, but he guessed that that was the Kiri look. Kiri was used to people having physical mutations and being uncanny.