Yugito immediately panicked when she saw Aoba's expression.
"You… you wouldn't go back on your word, would you? You promised me, as long as I behave well I can meet Samui and the others."
"I thought you made this cake specially for me; I didn't expect that to be the real reason."
Aoba feigned disappointment and sighed.
Yugito pressed her lips together, hesitated a moment, then said, "If you like it, I can make it for you every day."
Aoba only shook his head, said nothing, and walked into the living room to sit on the sofa.
That reaction made Yugito even more anxious; she followed him out as well, "You promised me."
"You can go see them tomorrow."
Aoba said directly.
"Ah?", Yugito's face froze; she seemed not to have heard clearly.
Aoba sighed, then said sternly, "You can go to the Hokage building to see them tomorrow, but do not disturb their normal work, understand?"
"!"
Yugito's eyes widened; she hadn't expected this answer from him, "Are you sure I can go see Samui and the others tomorrow?"
Aoba nodded, "Of course. So you don't need to force yourself to do things just to please me."
"Then can I not wear this outfit?", Yugito blurted out.
Aoba was silent, then decisively shook his head, "No, that's a boundary."
"Tch!"
Yugito snorted.
"You don't like it that much, do you? I thought you liked those cat ears."
Aoba teased.
"Who likes it? I don't like it at all, it's hideous."
Yugito's face flushed crimson and she changed the subject, "Why did you suddenly change? Surely you don't have some hidden motive?"
Aoba smiled; this time he truly had no special motive. He had spent three years alone in Roran, so he felt a particular sympathy for Yugito's current situation.
Of course, the price that had to be paid still had to be paid.
"Yugito, do you want to be my maid for your whole life?"
His question was very direct.
Yugito's expression shifted slightly; she ground her teeth, "Of course, that's your true motive…"
"Not at all. Even if you don't agree, you can still go see Samui and the others tomorrow."
Aoba interrupted her.
"Eh?", Yugito was stunned again; she was getting confused.
Back in the Hidden Cloud Village she had never been the type of ninja who used her brain much; the Two-Tails' power had made it so she rarely needed to think. That was partly why, in the original story, she was so easily captured. Even inside her own village.
Seeing her bewildered, Aoba continued, "Since you don't want to stay with me forever, twenty years from now when all this is over, where will you go? Back to the Hidden Cloud Village?"
"We'll definitely go back," Yugito's answer was straightforward.
"Is that so?"
Aoba smiled faintly, "But I suspect Samui and Mabui will make a completely different decision."
"That's impossible. Although the village abandoned us, there was a reason for that. We would never betray the Hidden Cloud Village."
Yugito was righteously indignant; she felt the loyalty she and Samui had to the Hidden Cloud Village was being insulted.
"You might not choose to betray the Hidden Cloud Village; you might still want to return to your village, but…"
Aoba's expression did not change as he posed the next question.
"Have you thought about how they will view you after you've lived in Konoha for so long and then return to the Cloud, how do you think the Hidden Cloud Village will see you?"
"Ah?", Yugito was slightly stunned.
Aoba continued, "Whether or not you'll be accused of betraying the Hidden Cloud Village isn't something you should tell me. It's something you should tell the Raikage and see if he believes you haven't betrayed them."
Grip!
Yugito unconsciously tightened her fists.
With Aoba's reminder, her mind started to consider certain possibilities; her whole body stiffened for a moment.
"In my view, a village like the Hidden Cloud Village places a lot of weight on loyalty."
Aoba went on, "It's like an organization with a gang-like structure. With what happened during the Gold and Silver Brothers' rebellion, the thing they hate most is…"
His lips parted and he spoke a word that made Yugito collapse inside, "Traitor!"
"You shut up!"
Yugito's teeth chattered with rage.
It wasn't just words, this was real. The Hidden Cloud Village hates traitors above all. Since the Gold and Silver Brothers' rebellion, there hasn't been a single defector. If someone showed intent to betray, the village would crush them in the cradle. Once someone is confirmed a traitor, the whole village will be mobilized to hunt them down.
Although they had been abandoned by the Hidden Cloud Village and thus stayed in Konoha, what about twenty years later? When they return to the Cloud, how would they explain it?
They'd lived in Konoha for over twenty years, and Samui and Mabui were the Hokage's secretaries, well-fed, no torture, no covert intelligence-gathering. Under such circumstances, no matter what, they'd be treated as traitors, right? Even if they didn't intend to betray the village, the village would already regard them as traitors.
"It's all your fault, it's all because of you, we'll never go back now, wahhh!"
The cat wailed.
Tears began to flow uncontrollably from Yugito's eyes, falling to the floor with a "plink" sound.
Yugito's personality had always been proud; this was the first time she'd shed such weak tears.
"Sigh!"
Aoba sighed, took out a tissue, and wanted to wipe her tears.
But she slapped his hand away.
He wasn't angry; instead he put a hand around her, pulled her onto his lap, and began wiping her tears.
"Do you really think this is my fault?", he asked.
"It's because of you! If it weren't for you, how could we be treated as traitors!"
Yugito struggled violently, opening her mouth to try to bite his hand.
Aoba pinched her cheek, "Have you forgotten your original purpose for coming to Konoha?"
Yugito's struggling paused, though her eyes remained stubborn.
"Looks like you know. From start to finish, you were the ones who picked fights."
"First it was Samui's brother, who attacked us to steal the Byakugan; then it was you wanting to release the tailed beast in the chaos."
With every sentence he spoke, Yugito's eyes dimmed a bit, even her cat ears drooped.
Aoba, a little surprised, couldn't help but reach out and ruffle her a few times.
While stroking her fur, he said earnestly, "Your current situation is entirely the result of your own actions."
"But I also know you aren't wholly to blame. The real people responsible are the Fourth Raikage."
"The Fourth Raikage, and the Hidden Cloud Village betrayed you."
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