"..."
Aoba sat in the main seat of the office, silently looking at a sheet of letter paper in his hand.
Samui and Mabui naturally couldn't let Aoba stand and listen to them talk, so once he came in, they had automatically moved aside and let him sit in the main seat.
When Aoba first saw the contents of the document, it was inevitable that his expression showed a hint of surprise. But the further he read, the more amused he looked.
Meanwhile, Samui and Mabui both looked a bit tense.
"Why are you two so nervous?", Aoba set the letter down and looked at them with feigned confusion.
It had to be said: one had blond hair and the other white hair, one fair and one tan.
Their temperaments were also one cold and elegant, the other gentle.
Just standing there, they were already eye-catching enough.
Aoba was no exception.
But right now, clearly neither of them had the mind to care about how he was looking at them.
Samui couldn't help sighing and said helplessly, "Lord Aoba, we happened to receive this letter while eating after work two days ago. Whatever you decide to do with it, we can accept."
"This isn't some small matter. Can you really accept anything?"
Aoba's amused tone made them imagine some rather unfortunate possibilities.
As if someone were whispering by their ears, "You don't want something bad to happen because of this, right..."
Mabui became hesitant, "Lord Aoba, you're already Yugito's boyfriend..."
Although she had said in front of Yugito before that being with Aoba wasn't a big deal, she had only said it to nudge Yugito into reining in her tsundere tendencies.
But... if Aoba really made that kind of request, they certainly wouldn't be able to refuse.
Aoba couldn't help laughing when he saw their reaction.
"Alright, I was just joking. You don't have to be nervous. I'm not going to punish you for this."
"But since you're so worried, why did you bring it to me at all? You could've just ignored it."
As he spoke, he waved the letter lightly.
This document had been sent to them by Hidden Cloud through merchants entering the Leaf.
Hidden Cloud wanted to use their identities within the Leaf to obtain intel about the Akatsuki that the Leaf possessed.
Originally, both Samui and Mabui had Anbu assigned to watch them.
But later, after the two displayed astonishing work ability and handled various village tasks with dedication, Aoba had suggested withdrawing the surveillance.
There was no need to waste limited manpower on something like that.
Which gave Hidden Cloud the opportunity to deliver this letter.
Meaning that if Samui and Mabui said nothing, no one would know at all.
And if they provided Akatsuki intel to Hidden Cloud, they might even get the chance to return to the village.
But they still revealed it.
When Aoba had proposed removing the surveillance, he had considered the possibility that the two might contact Hidden Cloud, but he still chose to give them a degree of trust.
And now, their actions lived up to that trust.
The two were silent for a while after hearing him.
Samui eventually spoke, "We just thought it was better to tell you, Lord Aoba. It's also a way of cutting off any thoughts of returning to Hidden Cloud."
They themselves didn't even know how much attachment they still had toward Hidden Cloud. After all, the village had abandoned them.
Choosing Gyuki over them was perfectly reasonable, but people were emotional.
As ninja, they could die for their village, but actively choosing to sacrifice oneself and being sacrificed were not the same thing.
As abandoned ninja, the fact they had never leaked any village intel was already more than enough loyalty.
And their life in the Leaf this past year hadn't been bad.
With Tsunade and Aoba backing them, their status in the Leaf wasn't much different from what it had been in Hidden Cloud.
It was even easier here.
After all, back in Hidden Cloud, they followed the Fourth Raikage, a man whose temper surged like a volcanic eruption. Once he flared up, not even a herd of oxen could hold him back, and he might elbow you at any moment if things went wrong.
And now that Yugito had developed her relationship with Aoba to this extent, Hidden Cloud was no longer a place they could return to.
So it was better to say it outright and cut off any lingering hope.
Besides, given Aoba's personality and his connection with Yugito, confessing voluntarily might even earn them greater trust.
They wanted to improve. They didn't want to be treated as tools forever.
As for why they didn't tell Tsunade, that was because they always felt Tsunade held some inexplicable hostility toward them.
Especially toward Samui.
"How did you reply to them?", Aoba asked.
"This letter only arrived these past two days, and you weren't in the Leaf, so we haven't replied yet."
Samui continued, "What does Lord Aoba think we should tell them?"
'Worthy of being secretary. She knows a matter like this should be handled by the superior.'
"Well, it's just Hidden Cloud. Nothing to take too seriously..."
Aoba's lips curled into an amusing smile, "Just tell them not to contact you again. You're afraid of being misunderstood."
"We understand."
Samui looked a little helpless. Aoba could be quite mischievous at times.
She could already imagine the Fourth Raikage exploding in rage when he saw that reply.
"By the way, Lord Aoba, Yugito doesn't know about this," Mabui added.
Aoba understood her meaning.
She was trying to protect his relationship with Yugito, offering an explanation for him.
'A true good sister.'
'And good sisters should share a lifetime.'
"I know."
Aoba nodded with a smile, then asked, "Since that's the case, tell me. What reward do you want?"
"Reward?", Both Samui and Mabui blinked.
"You two did well today. Of course there should be a reward. That way you'll be more motivated in the future."
Since they'd drawn a clear line with Hidden Cloud, Aoba naturally had to respond accordingly.
"Well..."
The two were a bit dazed. Eventually Samui said, "We haven't thought about any gift. As long as you don't blame us for only now bringing this to you, that's enough."
Mabui nodded in agreement.
"Samui, you two are always so stiff."
Aoba sighed first, then said helplessly, "What exactly have I done to make you think I would blame you for something like this?"
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