[OP: "Soap"--The Oh Hellos]

Once back at the big house, the team leaders felt they needed time to think of what to do next.

Also to wait for Ay's answer.

Gaara filled in his siblings and some of the others.

Wally filled in the hero students.

Shine was deep in thought about it for a while.

Sasuke interrupted her while she was leaning on the wall outside thinking about it.

He'd been on the roof till Zoe had landed there, and he'd moved, since he didn't like sharing with the huge bird.

She didn't seem to like him still, either. She kept ruffling her feathers and looking at him narrowly.

"I suppose it didn't go well," he said.

"It might have gone as well as it could have," Shine said.

"This Village hates us," Sasuke said. "And it even hates its own people if they side with us... This sounds too familiar. Shinobi are always like this."

"Everyone is like this, Sasuke, if we speak in broad terms," Shine sighed. "Any group of humans has its prejudices."

"One thing I can't understand about you, any of you," Sasuke said, "even now, is how you have so much patience with people. From what I see, we're all corrupt. Maybe I'm not different, but... why would the Lord you serve care anymore? All humans do is evil and twisted."

"You know, people say that Christians are too harsh on the world," Shine said. "That we teach people to feel guilty about everything, no matter what...and then there are people like you who say that the world is disgusting and that humans are terrible... Surprisingly, sometimes those people are one and the same. G. K. Chesterton wondered about how the world will blame us for saying something and then proceed to say it themselves but then remove the hope that we have despite the harsh truths."

She straightened a little. "The world is often a dark place, Sasuke, I know that...yours and mine both. Humans are a huge part of the reason for that--but not the only reason for it. Let's not assign too much blame. We get a lot of help from the evil forces that are mostly unseen, but they are powerful."

"Is that really an excuse?" Sasuke said.

"It didn't take you long to start thinking this way again," Shine said. "I know that it's hard to maintain hope, even after experiencing it for the first time so recently. You've seen the worst of humanity for most of your life." She looked sad. "I'm sorry for that. I know how much it breaks a person to see that and without it stopping."

Sasuke felt uncomfortable when she said things like that...like he was exposed.

https://youtu.be/vp0dN9bHKMs

[Naruto AMV to "You Found Me" (The Fray), by MixedDrunk]

Finally, after a lengthy pause, he spoke again.

"I still wish that maybe all this had come sooner...before I fell so far...or before all of this happened. Before shinobi even became this way. But if it really is inevitable that humans do all this cruelty, then why do you still care about them?"

"I am a human," Shine said.

"But you're different," Sasuke said. "You could literally leave the world, if you wanted to."

"I don't want to die early," Shine said. "That's not what this is for, Sasuke. It's not to get ourselves away from our fellow mankind when they do not live up to the standards they should. I think there's one way we can forgive them for that. It seems to me that all you see is the wrong things that humans do."

"That's because that's all there seems to be, with ninja," Sasuke said. "Maybe where you live it's different."

"It's not," Shine said. "But it's a common view that you have. Often, I'm tempted to have it too--and all over the place in my own time. Hating humanity is quite popular... And it isn't ever far from the culture, even in ages when it's not promoted openly. Hating humans is easy. And because it's easy, that's our first clue it's not correct. Hard things are usually more worthwhile than easy things. And usually they are truer. Also, looking at the evil humans is a mistake. Humans do every evil we see in this world, right? Usually, anyway."

"Yes," Sasuke said, as she seemed to wait for an answer. "That's my point."

"Yes...and where did you get your idea of what even is good? From humans," Shine replied. "It's in our hearts, true, but what are all your examples of it in life?"

Sasuke frowned. "You mean the people who did it?"

"Yes, exactly, the people," Shine said. "Whether you always have appreciated it or not, all your ideas of kindness are likely from watching other people. Honesty, integrity, loyalty, what do you have but those examples? You have not known God nearly long enough for Him to be your primary example of it yet. Humans are our little mirrors of God, when we do the right thing. That's what we're supposed to be. We're each other's pictures of the world that we usually can't see. Just as every act of evil in the world is done by humans, so is every act of good. For every psychopath out there trying to kill people, you have probably more people who defend their team and rescue others from harm. Even in your own wars, the humans on the side of destruction were only a handful, while there were thousands united to stop it. We simply like to focus on the morbid. It's always easier to compare ourselves to the people who are the worst of us all...but they are not the majority."

"But there are plenty of people who do not stand up for anything," Sasuke insisted.

"Granted...and that is our shame perhaps as a group, that we are easily cowed by the masses," Shine said. "However, remember that society also holds up the only standards most people really have, and it is what encourages them. Just as you resent it for not stopping the crimes you see, you ignore that it does consider other crimes. Sometimes it's not perfect, but it stops some things from getting out of hand, like robbery or murder (usually) or assaults or cheating. Yes, there are holes in every society...but that's not all there is to it. Cloud is no different than anyone else. The people are against us, but I'm sure there are plenty of people they help and take care of here. I try to look at the whole picture. It makes it easier for me."

She tugged her hair.

"I'm not sure I can do that," Sasuke said coldly. "Didn't you say that it's not the good things we do we're judged for?"

"No, that's true," Shine said. "But that is God's place, not ours. For us, who must learn to love each other somehow, it's too much to remember that we're all mixed bags. Even the best of us have our weakest moments...and sometimes even the most corrupt of us can be oddly human and oddly caring. See, people go to the other extreme. I've seen kindness done by a hardened criminal before, and Wally has seen it also. Dabi could tell you how the criminal groups he was a part of before us had more honor amongst themselves than some heroes do. See, we're more than the groups we're in... Personal character is always malleable."

Sasuke shook his head. "And so you're able to overlook this kind of treatment?"

"Well, it took practice for me to get to this point," Shine said. "And no, I'm not always in a benevolent frame of mine, but I try to stop myself when I feel like blaming the world for everything. Honestly, Sasuke, you'd get on more in life if you accepted that things just do not always go your way. Clarity is a gift; it's not a guarantee. Take Lord Ay--he has no idea what we're about, but I know he would even humble himself to one of his enemies to save just one lowly agent on his own side. To me, that's beautiful. I can love that... I may not agree with what he does or why, but there's something about him to like. And him not understanding me doesn't have to make me change my mind, unless I let it."

"So we're supposed to just ignore that people do unfair things, even to their own Village." With a dangerous look.

"We've talked about this before," Shine said. "I don't expect it to be easy for you to get past this. I can't see how it would be. But you must learn to be more fair. Everyone has been hurt by each other in this world... No, it makes nothing okay. But if we focus only on the evils and the pain, then we'll end up like Nagato, or Obito or Madara. Do you think they started off intending to be evil? They snapped because all they started to see was the evil. They couldn't see the good in the world anymore. The good is hard to see because evil likes to get in our faces... You know yourself that evil always comes and finds you. It's ugly and loud and aggressive because respect is not something that evil understands. Respect is a good quality. Evil does not fight fair, Sasuke. It takes cheap shots at us all the time and tries to crowd out our memory of the good in life. But, if we want to find the good, it is there. See, I can look at that Village and see them rejecting us and causing trouble...or I can see one woman who's been risking her comfort to try to do what she can to help us deal with it, despite being threatened by her Village. Or another girl, who's been able to at least consider changing her mind about us, despite the shinobi tradition of holding a grudge. Or Bee, who is too kind to punish you for trying to kill him, out of his regard for Naruto. Or even the others, who are no friends of ours but maybe have too much honor to stoop so low as to attack us."

She smiled. "Or I can talk about the team of brave students we have here, and I've been amazed how they all have been willing to do things they would never normally do, just because they've been inspired by the thing that guides us all. Even you, I can look at and see how you've come this far in just months--that we're even having this conversation."

Sasuke looked down. "I haven't come that far. I'm not sure I will ever see things the way you do."

"Don't rule it out yet...but even if you don't, you can find some way to make peace with it... There is always a way if you want to."

"For someone like me, peace is not usually an option," Sasuke said.

"The past is not your limit, Sasuke, it's just how you started," Shine said. "Like anything else, it can springboard you into the future, or you can use it as an anchor to hold you down. It's what you want. Is it just bothering you that all you find yourself focusing on are the bad things again?"

Sasuke wondered if that was it.

"Maybe it's that I think it's all anyone expects of me, to cause more problems," he said tightly. "I know that I made them think so...but even Sakura, now...and Naruto."

"Sakura is not the barometer on your life, you know," Shine said dryly. "Or on anyone else's. Whatever her problem is with you right now, it doesn't mean you're doing it wrong. Naruto is no different. And sometimes, even I'm not. I'm not always right."

"I think you're the only one who thinks I'll ever be different than this," Sasuke said moodily. "Or that I even want to."

"I try to have hope," Shine said. "Please, at least try to have some also. The Word says to focus on 'whatever is good, pure, noble, praiseworthy' and to meditate on those things. And from the rest of our suffering can come hope, once we've passed through it, and 'hope does not disappoint' because of the love of God. It's a mystery even to me, but it must be true, because, after all I've been through, I still somehow have hope. That makes no sense at all unless there's a God."

"Then I hope you're right," Sasuke said. "And that my doubts about this are all only my problems and not well founded."

"The funny thing about doubt is that it may be based on evidence from the past, but that doesn't mean it's guaranteed to be rewarded," Shine said slowly. "And hope may be against all odds and all proven experience, but it still turns out to be right. See, life is not predictable the way we think it is."

She left him after that.

Sasuke had a lot to think about.

* * *

Mabui waited hours for Ay to call her back in after Tsunade had gone even.

Tsunade gave her no indication of what had happened when she did go.

Darui went in and out of Ay's office but only looked at Mabui flatly when he passed her.

Mabui nearly went distracted, waiting, drumming her fingers on the floor, or attempting to work on some papers, but she couldn't focus.

She wondered what Ay had left to consider. Either he was going to give in to the Team's demands, or he was going to have to end their peace mission here.

It was an impossible choice. The Village would be disappointed no matter what was decided because it was so divided on how it saw the efforts.

And she herself might end up in the same boat, no matter what was decided.

But finally, Ay called her back in.

He motioned at her to stand in front of...well, the desk was now nailed together with some boards. Not very sturdy, but all that was on it were papers anyway.

Ay propped his chin on his hand.

"I've given the matter long and careful thought," he said. "I still can't knuckle under to either the Village or Team Zoe. A Kage must no be so easily swayed."

Perhaps Miss Likstar's words had resonated with him after all.

"Darui and I have discussed it, and there may be one solution we have not tried," Ay spoke. "But, Lord Gaara may not accept it. It would be unpaid."

Mabui raised an eyebrow. "Sir?"

"But it might help get the Village more on our side and off your back," Ay said. "Like a test. If they pass it, the probation will be lifted, and they can do as they please--within reason. If not, then the next step is up to me. A test of strength is an honorable way to decide things."

"They had a test of strength before. What other one could not be seen as an insult to their character?"

"One that doesn't rely on using the Village itself." Ay shoved one of the folders on the desk toward her.

Mabui picked it up.

She recognized it.

"Sir...I thought you said this was out of our ability to do at this time," she said, "with our resources depleted."

"Outside our abilities, yes...but Team Zoe has many people on it, ones whom no one would expect to handle this," Ay said. "If they're as strong as they say, they should prove it. Only if they show they are better allies to us than enemies will the Village see it that way. And I myself still need to be convinced... And you can show your loyalty is clearly to the Land of Lightning. You'll go with them."

"Field work?" Mabui said. "I haven't done that in years... My training has been for Intelligence for a long time."

"But you qualified for field work before you took the position here," Darui spoke up. "Technically, you still do. Though your licence could be renewed, but, for us in the Kage's cabinet, that rule can be waived. You have the authority to oversee a mission this size, whether you've done it or not."

"Not just you. Another Cloud must be chosen to accompany them," Ay said. "That's our policy. Outside help is frowned upon, but if it's allowed it has to be supervised by at least two Cloud shinobi, preferably more. But it would be difficult to get more than two. Lord Gaara will have to approve whoever it is, too. That limits the options. Discuss it with them. If they want to undertake it, they can come here and collect the details. Do you refuse?"

"I couldn't refuse," Mabui said.  "This is a serious matter, and if we can address it, clearly we should, but I question if the Kazekage would be willing to do something so risky, if the only reward is to be off probation. That...seems disrespectful."

"It's all the compromise we can offer without bending over for them," Darui said. "Or the Village will think we're weak. We can't afford that at a time like this. Using them instead at least seems more crafty on our part."

"There is another advantage," Ay said. "It would take you out of the limelight for at least a few days, a week possibly. That means no more attacks. Time for us to find the culprits behind them, which I intend to make a priority. Better if they can't attempt it again while we do that."

Taking her outside the Village might help, but putting her into another dangerous situation was only a slight improvement, Mabui thought.

Still, she'd have plenty of bodyguards if it came to that, more than Ay could spare of their own forces.

But...Team Zoe would have to be pretty reckless to accept this compromise.

Ay clearly wanted her to put it to them, too. Why did he think they still trusted her? They'd owned up to knowing she was a spy. Sure, they hadn't really spoken badly of her, but it went without saying, didn't it?

But since she couldn't refuse, she left, with the mission folder in hand.

* * *

"She's here," Karin announced. The team had waited in suspense for hours.

"Took her long enough," Suigetsu said.

"Just her?" Shine said. "Strange. I guess she's here to negotiate something then...or to tell us to leave. Maybe Ay thought she'd soften the blow."

"Won't work," Temari said. "Her role in this still bothers me. Whether she intended to do us any harm or not, Ay played us dirty by using her just because we helped her."

"It's not so different from strategies most Kages would employ, Temari," Gaara said, sounding tired. "We don't like it just because we've gotten used to the openness of our own team and our freedom to discuss our concerns with anyone in it, but the Villages do not see trust the same way."

Temari sighed.

Momo let Mabui in before she even knocked--a habit they had which always caught her off guard, and she didn't really like it.

"Just tell us the worst," Wally said. "I hate waiting for bad news."

"The issue with that is I can't give you the worst or best," Mabui said, holding up the folder. "Because the answer was indeterminate."

"But I made myself quite clear," Shine said.

"Yes, but Lord Ay and Darui-senpai may have found the loophole in your request," Mabui said.

"It was not a request," Gaara said. "They were our terms."

"We might want to hear her out," Wally said. "What is it, lady?"

Mabui sighed. "I wouldn't blame you if you did refuse," she prefaced it by saying, surprisingly. "It's trouble... This case was put on the back shelf because we couldn't address it. Not enough manpower to launch a full invasion of it. It's too widespread. I'll put it briefly: There's been reports coming in for the last few months of a series of kidnappings in the villages in the Land of Lightning. Not shinobi village's. Cloud is the only major one, as you already know, and even those smaller villages that have shinobi in them are not the ones that have reported it, which is unusual. People have just disappeared. Supply lines have suffered already after the war, and we have had to turn down many requests for help with minor threats. Since no one was kidnapped who was of any major importance to the Land of Lightning, Lord Ay, until now, told the feudal lord that we could not help. The feudal lord himself sent the request for us to look into it if we had the capability...but he knows we don't."

She handed Temari the folder.

Temari peered at it. "There are...more than 30 people in these files," she said. "And none of them are important ninjas?"

Mabui shook her head. "The usual explanation is that it's for ransom, but these small villages are not very well off. The strange part is that we have no information on the culprits at all, only the victims. For any Village, this was going to be difficult to address. There are at least 3 or 4 known towns that reported it. Could have been more than didn't. All in the same area, farther north."

She folded her arms. "To investigate that many, you need 3 or 4 teams of at least 3 Chunin, or a Jonin and Genin team, or a Jonin who could handle a strong fighting force single-handedly. As you can imagine, we can't spare 12-16 of our fighters for that...but..."

"But we can," Gaara finished. "We have the manpower... Ay wants us to look into it? Why? We're not from the Land of Lightning."

"He says that if you do this, and successfully find out what's behind it, your probation will be lifted," Mabui said. "And that the Village will respect you more because you did something difficult to help us... That was his line of reasoning."

"That's hardly fair," Kankuro said. "We still haven't done anything bad at all, and now we have to do more to prove ourselves? Ay asks too much. And what if we do it? He'll come up with something else for us to do after that. This probation will never really end."

"He couldn't do that," Shine said. "Either we accept his compromise, or we leave as we said. He can't put us in that position if we're not desperate enough to allow it. The question is, do we have enough humility to accept being put off yet again until we do this one thing that sounds like it will be harder than anything we've done in the other Villages--short of running bandits out of one, I suppose."

"No, even that would be easier," Sakura said. "You don't understand--this is the kind of thing that can take weeks for qualified shinobi to do. You're not ninjas, and we have two not even Genin here. Please, 3 or 4 villages at a time? That's even harder. Ay is just getting rid of us."

"And I bet he conveniently will make sure we're not allowed back later," Dabi said. "And say that we just left. Who would believe otherwise if he says it?"

Mabui frowned. "You misjudge Lord Ay. He will make sure that no one can say that. The laws of our Village state that, if outside help is used, Cloud Ninja must be there to supervise them... I'm not sure how we even have this rule--I can't remember it ever happening in the past--but, once, ages ago, maybe it was for the last war that it was instated."

"And you're the ninja he wants to go with us?" Temari said. "Convenient, he gets you out of the picture too. And if we die doing this, or at least give up, you can too."

"Not only me." Mabui ignored the part about giving up. "At least one of the other Cloud, you can choose whom yourselves. Ay said so."

"How gracious of him," Kankuro said sarcastically. "Gaara, this is not fair. We don't need to do this for Cloud."

Gaara rubbed his chin. "No, we don't need to. But I believe our senseis would ask us why we are only worried about our own problems. Are we not worried about the people who have been kidnapped? If Cloud is not going to look into it, and they are going to use us, should we pass up a chance to help innocent people?"

"You don't know that they're innocent," Sasuke said, from the wall he was leaning on, moodily. "What if there was a reason they were taken?"

"Some of them are less than 10 years old..." Temari said, looking up. "Can you think of a real reason for someone that young to have enemies?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"Not of their own volition," Gaara agreed. "Probably just their heritage. And I don't blame people for their heritage. It's no reason to ignore their needs."

"I agree," Shoto said. "Even if Cloud is using us, these people still need help. A real hero--and good person--would still do it."

"I agree," Wally said. "I think you all knew I would say that though. Honey?"

"No reason to disagree," Shine said. "Cloud or no Cloud, this is a serious situation, and I think our first thought should be if sitting out over our pride would be the correct thing to do, no matter what? So what if the Village uses it against us? These people still need help."

Mabui was astonished that this was their immediate response.

"Wait," Dabi said. "Maybe if these people really do need help, I would agree. But Ninja Villages are sly about things like this. How do we know that Cloud doesn't have some use for the people itself and is using us to get them? Or if not the Cloud, then the Feudal Lord."

"That's a stretch," Momo said.

"Even if they did," Bakugo said, "logically, we'd have a better chance of stopping them from doing it, if we find the scoundrels first, not if we let the ninjas do it."

Dabi shrugged. "I see your point."

"So are we not discussing this?" Tenten said. "That's it? We're just doing it?"

"Is there a real reason to refuse?" Sai asked.

The other Leaf glanced at him and then at each other.

"The situation could turn out to be worse than we think," Ino spoke. "I'm just worried that we'll be in over our heads."

"But, girl, we survived Rain Village," Camie said. "And we've already been kidnapped a few times ourselves. What kidnapper would even know what hit them if we got involved?"

"We're kind of perfectly qualified for this," Shoto said. "We've been through it enough times to know their tricks. And, we're resistant to so many of your jutsu, we have a better chance of beating whoever is behind these kidnappings."

"That's a good point also," Gaara said. "This kind of thing can be complicated for me to undertake as Kage. Usually we need elite teams, but, this team is very elite if we go by abilities. We've learned to work together well. Even within the same Village, few people have spent this much time working as a unit. We might be unbeatable to any average threat."

"If you want to do it," Temari said, with a tone of washing her hands of the results, "I'll go along with it--because of the innocent people involved, not as a favor to Cloud. I think Cloud has no right to demand any favors of us." With a pointed look at Mabui.

"Then it's settled," Shine said. "For the sake of the victims, we'll do it...and if, as a bonus, Ay's idea actually works--which is a long shot, but it might--then we'll have killed two birds with one stone."

Mabui drew a deep breath. "You realize I'll have to go with you?"

"I expected as much," Gaara said. 

"But are you actually any good in a fight?" Kankuro said. "Dabi told us you didn't hold your own very long the other night."

Mabui shot Dabi a dirty look.

"Actually, he said that she did pretty well for someone who was cornered by 5 people at the same time," Momo corrected, "but that she was knocked down quickly because of their lightning jutsu. And that he had the same trouble with it."

"I know what I heard between the lines," Kankuro said. "That shows you lack range and dexterity. Ay could send someone with us who'd be more useful."

Mabui frowned at him. "I assure you, I can be useful. I'd already reviewed the case when it first came in, though I had no plan of action for it at the time. I also know more about the Land of Lightning than you do. More importantly, I can represent Cloud Village and sanction your interference. You can't just go into these villages without approval from the Kage--you're not our Shinobi."

"But it seems like Darui would be better," Kankuro pressed. "No offense, it just sounds high profile, and you have a desk job."

"Kankuro, let it go," Shine spoke up. "We can use her, and it's not up to her. If Darui is not being sent with us, it must be that he's needed too much here. We all can do this mission because we thought our homes could get along without us for a while. And even so, that's been a challenge for your own Kages. We have a lot of Leaf here, but Sand and Leaf have each other's backs. That's the only reason we could get away with this. Cloud cannot do the same. And on that note, I think we should select someone from the Village whom we know they can spare. Bee's team seem to be the only ones free enough to watch us at a given time. I don't know if they were kept off duty as backup for Mabui if she needed it, or at Bee's request to have his personal servants around, but we can use it."

"Oh, can we ask for Lord Bee himself?" Naruto said.

"That would be a huge advantage," Temari said.

"Not to us," Shine reminded her.

"Oh...right..." She frowned.

"What do you mean? Of course it would be," Mabui said. "I don't think he would go. Ay might try to make him, but...perhaps if Naruto asked him instead of Ay."

"It's weird that the guy will do more for Naruto than for his own adopted brother," Dabi said.

"Naruto has that rizz," Camie said. "Only, like, the non-romantic kind."

"Don't ever say that again." Bakugo made a face.

"Actually, wouldn't taking Bee be the same as taking Darui?" Wally said. "The Village needs its stronger fighters. We all know Mabui got assigned to us partly because she doesn't do field work anyway, so they could spare her."

Mabui wasn't that surprised that they knew this by now, but it still embarrassed her.

"I think we should ask Karui," Choji said.

"Oh, big surprise," Sakura said. "That girl is unhinged."

"Look who's talking," Sasuke said.

She glared at him.

"Karui already knows us though," Shine said. "And it's her or Omoi. I can't see them letting Samui leave the Village with us. Omoi might go--he knows Kankuro better--but, uh...do we really want that?"

"On second thought, Karui is fine," Sakura said. "Omoi is a weirdo."

"He's a good fighter, though," Kankuro said. "Better than Karui, in my opinion. Are you sure not taking him only 'cause the girls don't want to listen to his bullcrap is a valid reason?"

"We don't need the Cloud. We're taking them so we can act on their behalf," Shine said. "So it doesn't matter who's stronger. Karui is fine with me. She's a little testy, but she's softened to us, and I can tell she regrets some of the past scuffles. I can work with someone like that. Lollipop Boy creeps me out, good fighter or not."

"You know, personality is not usually what people base their decisions on," Mabui said.

"Shine once had a disagreement with our homeroom teacher," Shoto recalled, "about whether personality or skill was the most important to form a team. She picked personality, and her side won. Raw power can win a fight, but it has to be immense, or the teamwork will win every time."

"Humans are quite formidable when we work well together," Shine said. "Which is why inviting someone along whom you already know is going to cause fights is a rather risky idea, one I've done many times on this missing so far, and it's made us hit some rough patches. I think adding another one to the mix is a bad idea."

"So Karui it is," Temari sighed. "If we're doing this, we're doing it right away. I'm not waiting around. Let's start packing up."

[Finally, some more action, right?

Cloud's arc is a mix of action and fun throughout. More intense stuff is coming.]