"What an impudent little brat," Koharu muttered, feeling the ache in her bones more than usual after repeating the slightly embarrassing story.
And it was embarrassing that her Hokage would all but accuse her of being older than dirt, offer to put in place an advising system that she could actually somewhat trust to keep a Hokage in check (implying that her job had been poorly thought out in the first place), and then metaphorically remind her that Tsunade could always hit her with the door on her way out if they didn't comply gracefully. She felt flustered, depressingly old and feeble and useless, and resentful of having her years of faithful service doubted. Koharu had never kept her position out of lust for power. It was the best way that she could serve the village and she felt that she could still do more good for years to come, especially since Tsunade had barely begun her term. Some of the decisions she had made over the years kept her up at night, but they had not been made out of cruelty or carelessness.
Then again, she actually felt much more comfortable with admitting that Tsunade was actually a capable Hokage than she would have only that morning when she had received a summons to the tower. Her will was strong and she was both clever and fierce. The only problem was that from her perspective it was a kitten's cleverness. Tsunade didn't know the games of wily old cats nearly as well as she should.
Two of her three oldest living friends made sounds of agreement. Danzo coughed into a heavily bandaged fist. She winced internally at the thought of that contamination, but minded her own business.
"What do you plan to do now?"
The question hung in the air between them. Koharu chewed on it, tasted the thought, and found herself at an impasse. "I was not planning to retire for many years now," she reminisced. Then she gave a bitter little laugh. "Of course, I had never expected that little Tsunade-chan would grow such large teeth either."
"I have a grandchild in the Academy," Homura suddenly mused, blinking gummily. "Perhaps… Perhaps there is some reason behind what our Hokage has to say." He gave his companions a sly smile. "Although she doesn't seem to have as many tricks up her sleeve as she really should to try something unprecedented like this. Eh Danzo?"
He didn't smile, but there was a palpable sense of amusement about him. "Indeed."
"I admit I had doubts about Tsunade-chan's suitability for Hokage," Homura spoke quietly. Then he nodded his head shakily as if in agreement with his own statement. "But she has surprised me. She is much… bolder than Sarutobi. When she was elected, Konoha was as weak as it has been since the Nine-Tails wrought havoc on our forces. Yet now we look to have a binding alliance with one of the other great villages. Sand will never be able to bare teeth at us again. Even weakened, no one has been willing to test Konoha's strength with Tsunade leading. If we had a young, powerful shinobi as Hokage, Orochimaru might never have been able to sway Sand against us."
Danzo frowned. "Tsunade herself is not so young," he disagreed calmly. He folded his hands around the top of his cane. "If youth and enthusiasm for the job were the measure of a Hokage's power and ability, perhaps we should consider Sarutobi Konohomaru's name in contention for the title."
It was always disturbing when he made a joke. Koharu exhaled in amusement, tapping her own fingers on her kimono. "Perhaps telling me that Tsunade-chan, who was not yet born when we began our careers, is not young herself is a poor way to sway me into acting against her wishes." He grunted.
And that was the crux of the matter. Whether or not they wanted to defy the will of their Hokage, who they were sworn to serve. Koharu rather suspected that she and Homura could—they had many allies in the Daimyo's court as well as the respect of the village. But that would become ugly and divisive at a time when Konoha needed to present a united front to her enemies.
She was not proud, but she had defied her Hokage in past. But that had always been on matters of great import, when it seemed that Sarutobi was too weak to do what was best for the village. In this case… well. She was not certain that Tsunade-chan would always make the best decisions, but she could not have that surety about any Kage. Koharu was not oblivious enough to pretend that she would be able to guide the village forever, and nor was she proud enough to believe that it would fail without her. Konoha had stood for many years and would for many years to come.
If she had a reason to fear the risks of fighting with Tsunade on this matter, a sinking feeling that Tsunade had a good argument, and the ability to choose worthy successors to guide Tsunade and the next Hokage (she was not foolish, she knew that Tsunade did not want the job for life) then the only reason to defy Tsunade was out of personal pride.
That Koharu could not indulge in.
~~~
"There are ninja festival games?" Karin's eyebrows probably couldn't go any higher into her hairline if she'd actually tried. "Not just the normal civilian ones?"
Aiko snorted, writing down their names on a registration sheet to hand in. "Of course there are. What did you think we were going to do, fleece the civilians at tossing bags of rice at targets and scooping goldfish?"
The fourteen year old huffed and turned away from her companions, embarrassed. "I had my eye on that giant purple bear," she informed darkly.
Hinata giggled, looking surprisingly fresh and cheerful considering her usual shyness and the fact that she was probably suffering muscle pains still. 'Maybe her herbal tea really is that effective?' Aiko eyed the dark-haired girl critically, noting that her movements appeared to be completely free of winces or stiffness. It had been impressive enough that Hinata had mixed a tea blend on her own that actually tasted good and wasn't poisonous, but she had harbored some skepticism about what pain-killing properties it really possessed.
'Well, good for her.' Aiko flounced up to the registration desk and gave the slightly older girl on the other side a winning smile. "Three preregistered for the flower game, please."
"Here you go." The purple-haired girl that Aiko recognized as someone who worked in one of her favorite tea shops gave three pretty colored envelopes after cross-checking their names and doing some fussing around beneath the stand. She took them with thanks and a bow and went back to her companions. By that point, Karin was fussing with Hinata's already perfect hair as a cover for whispering something in her ear.
She decided not to ask, starting to walk towards the smell of something delicious in the stands somewhere and letting them move to catch up. As they passed a stand piled high with pretty rice papers and glitter where volunteers were helping children make paper lanterns to light when it grew dark, Aiko slipped open her envelope and looked at her target for the first time. She had to laugh. She already knew her target.
"Who did you get?" Hinata politely queried instead of flickering on her bloodline to peek. Aiko passed it over. "Oh." Hinata giggled too.
"What's so funny?" Karin took the sheet and read it with a shrug that wrinkled her silk kimono prettily and caught the light. "and what is this game, anyway?"
"This one is a bit like keep-away," Hinata explained quietly, delicately opening her own pink envelope. "Everyone who signed up ahead of time gets a partner selected from the pool of participants and a few paper flowers." She held up her own to demonstrate, but quickly tucked them away when the wind began to tug at them. "Everyone's flowers have their name on them, see? You get rewards for handing in as many flowers as possible at the end of the night, but you don't actually win unless you manage to get one of your target's flowers."
"So it's a stealing game?" Karin shrugged at the photo she pulled out of her own envelope, not knowing the girl who was her partner.
"In part," Aiko answered absentmindedly. "Although it's also to get you to talk to people you don't know. If you can't steal it, you can challenge someone to a contest of your choice for a flower, usually a footrace or something like that. And since only ninja can sign up, stealing is a lot harder than you'd think."
"So… why is it so funny that you got Kotetsu?" Karin prodded her in the side and gave her a smirk. "What, you have a crush on him or something? Isn't he one of the guys who is perpetually stuck as a gate guard?"
Aiko snorted and shoved her back. "Because I didn't realize he'd like this game, most certainly not, and yes, in that order. There's a version of this for Academy students, but since I started playing this one I've never had a partner who I already knew."
"Uzumaki-san!"
The voice was familiar. The fact that it was addressed to her and the enthusiasm with which it did so were unfamiliar. Slowwwwly, she turned to see Lee. "Yes, Lee-san?" Aiko tilted her head curiously, hoping against hope that the word 'challenge' hadn't summoned something too youthful for her to deal with right now.
"You ladies look lovely!" He gave them all a blinding grin and a thumbs-up, feet far apart in his usual 'ready' stance despite how silly it looked in traditional dress. (Marginally less silly than it did in a green jumpsuit, actually, but that was beside the point).
"You look very ni-ice as well," Hinata smiled back shyly, angling her body slightly towards Karin. He did look good- Aiko rather suspected that like her, someone had dressed him for the occasion. It wasn't the most masculine kimono she'd ever seen, but the grass green fabric with lighter green impressions of leaves falling and a cluster of pink blossoms at the bottom suited both the occasion and his personality. He blushed faintly at the compliment, apparently not having expected it.
"Have you seen Ino-san? She has been training me to participate in the ikebana competition, and it starts in only two hours. When I went to the place where I thought we were to meet, I did not find the stand."
Karin puffed up her cheeks like a fish and blew air out the side of her mouth with a slight sound, clearly amused. "Lee-san, that's because no one else is that early. They'll bring the flowers at the last minute so everything is nice for as long as possible."
He frowned slightly. "I see. So Ino-san will not be here for a while either." He shifted slightly, a bit uncomfortable.
Aiko valiantly resisted the urge to roll her eyes at her own mothering tendencies when her conscience suggested they invite him along until they found Ino. It was like she had some strange need to travel in a pack at all times.
"We're going to go get dango," Hinata offered of her own volition. Aiko tried not to look surprised. The girl was really getting bolder. "Would you like to accompany us?"
Lee flushed deeply pink, mouth moving silently for a second before he grinned and bowed jerkily. "I would be honored to escort you ladies."
She was almost surprised to not find Anko at the dango stand. It seemed like some sort of violation of nature. It was just one of those truths of the world- Anko was the first person to the dango stand and often stayed there long enough to order more than once. It was almost statistically unlikely not to find her there. They found a place to sit in the grass and talked, watching one of the craft stations bubble with children.
A little curious, Aiko squinted her eyes at whatever they were doing. It seemed to involve a lot of help from adults.
"They're helping the children with origami cranes," Hinata quietly informed her without lifting her head. Karin made a face.
"I'm no good at those," she declared, leaning against her friend. "All those picky little folds." She scrunched up her nose cutely. "Just, no. Not happening."
Lee looked at them curiously, but said nothing. Aiko sighed, not wanting to hear another tirade about Karin's distaste for origami (sadly, this wasn't the first time). "So, Lee. Are your teammates here?" She tugged off a green dango off the stick with her teeth.
After a while, the festival started to bustle and they wandered around as a group for a while before Ino swept in and carried Lee away in a cloud of perfume and babble about the civilian girl who was apparently her rival at this competition. Aiko pick-pocketed a pretty genin for a purple flower that she tucked into her hair. Then she realized that she hadn't noticed someone taking one of hers at some point, which sparked a laugh at her expense. It might have gone on longer if a quick check hadn't revealed that both her companions were completely out of flowers and someone had even taken Karin's copy of her partner's profile and left their name and address in return with a winky face. They did eventually see Anko shiftily sneaking away from a tea ceremony in full formal dress. Aiko tried not to giggle at how carefully her friend worked to avoid notice from—was that Sarutobi Asuma accompanying Hinata's teacher? Yes, it was.
"Oooh, I bet they're banging like bunnies," Karin mused. Hinata spit out a mouthful of water in surprise, flushing a pretty pink.
Aiko pursed her lips and really looked at the two—how they angled their bodies towards each other, where their feet and attention was pointed, and how far apart they were standing, and agreed, "Oh yeah. I bet she tops and he likes it when she dresses up."
Hinata gave a strange sound, like someone had stepped on a squirrel. Karin nudged her. "Hey now, don't be so uptight." She made a kissy sound. "I know you're interested, don't deny it. They're a beautiful couple."
"Yeah, I totally ship them," Aiko agreed absentmindedly, scanning the crowd for any Chuunin gate guards. The lack of response other than confused looks registered after a while. She blinked. "What?"
"What does 'ship them' mean?" Hinata asked.
'Oh. Duh. English phrase.'
She tapped her index finger against her lip, trying to think of an explanation. "It means," she decided, "that I think they should be a couple even if they aren't, and that when I write my inevitable tell-all dojinshi, I will claim that they are and make up an adorable relationship for them."
Karin choked. "Is… is that what all those books you've written in your room are like?"
She shook her head. "No, but it sounds fun." She had a wicked idea and a smile to match at that moment. "Hey, you two should help me write friend fiction." A pause. Then an explanation. "Friend fiction being stories about people we know, I mean."
"I like it," Hinata said suddenly, turning to face her and walking backwards. "That sounds fun. But…" she worried at her lip. "We're not going to tell Kurenai-sensei, right?"
"Probably not," Karin agreed easily, tossing her arms in the air and stretching. "Then it's decided! Tonight we write their steamy romance! It'll probably involve a lot of banging."
"I'm just going to pretend I didn't hear whatever that was," Sasuke said blandly, nursing a blank expression and a tall coffee that had clearly not come from the festival.
Aiko blinked in surprise. Karin fluttered her eyelashes. Hinata ducked her face and mumbled something.
"I didn't expect to see you here," Aiko offered when no one else spoke. "I guess it just didn't seem like something you'd enjoy. I'm glad to be wrong- you look very nice." She turned her face slightly and opened her mouth as she gave a theatrical wink. He did, of course, but he sort of always looked polished. He was the type of person who could wear a hospital gown on the runway and inspire a whole collection.
He looked away and scoffed, seeming to recede slightly into his dark blue kimono. "You were wrong. I'm here because I have to be when the old lady gives her address."
Some part of her registered humor at the fact that Sasuke had apparently adopted Naruto's irreverent nickname for their Hokage. Another part was busy marveling that she had somehow managed to forget that the spring festival was the event when the Hokage gave what she likened to a 'State of the Union' address. For some reason, she'd subconsciously thought that the Third Hokage's permanent retirement meant that the yearly speeches he gave were over too.
'Damn.' She didn't pout, but it was close. This was always so boring.
"Well, I'm glad you're here," Karin purred, snuggling into Hinata. "How have you been? I haven't seen you at the hospital in over a week, Sasuke-kun."
He gave her a mildly disturbed look, apparently not prepared to cope with her less professional side. "Fine."
"They're coming out," Hinata informed the group quietly. It was true—a few figures were visible gathering on the balcony overlooking the fairground. They weren't about to speak yet, however. Karin gave a start and opened her mouth to say something, turning around behind the group. Sasuke immediately stiffened and turned to follow her gaze.
"Mind if we stand with you? I'm afraid we don't know many people here."
Aiko didn't bother, having already sensed that Temari and Gaara were behind them. "Not at all." Hinata edged away, nearly hiding behind Karin and getting far closer to Sasuke than she usually would have risked when Temari came to stand by Aiko's left, Gaara next to her staring impassively forward.
"Thanks." The older girl gave a smile like sunshine that didn't quite fit her features but was altogether charming, and Aiko couldn't help but smile back.
"Everyone, this is Temari and Gaara. Gaara and Temari, this is my cousin Karin, our friend Hinata, and-"
"We've met," Sasuke interrupted shortly, turning away completely.
"Touchy," Temari hummed with a crooked smile.
~~~
As usual, Aiko did her best to take a nap standing on her feet when the endless speeches began. They weren't very long, but she wasn't very interested until she heard something that genuinely surprised her.
'The Council is retiring?'
She almost wished she was closer so that she could judge their expressions, but they seemed perfectly amiable when they waved and talked about the changes and who they had chosen to replace them. That was a riot that sent Hinata into laughter—Iruka-sensei? Gai? The scary man from the Chuunin exams? She didn't know the other two names, but the gamut she was familiar with was so wide that she couldn't help but find it funny.
When done speaking, the Council of Elders stepped back next to the Third Hokage where he leaned over the railing quietly while Tsunade resumed her talk. Something about the will of fire, gathering strength and powerful allies, (Gaara made a funny twitch that she barely caught) and basically just congratulated everyone for surviving another year. By that point, the sun was just setting, so it was with perfect timing that Tsunade ceremonially lit the first lights of the night.
Of course, this was a ninja village, so she did so with a theatrical spout of flame that caught onto a complicated system of wires and paper that lit hundreds of tiny lights inside the closest trees. The crowd positively roared with approval and parents began lighting their own tea candles to go in paper lanterns to light the way to the rest of the festival.
"That was less boring than I expected," Aiko mused when all was said and done. Hinata had a very serious mien, but Karin just looked bored. Sasuke had disappeared in a flicker almost immediately after Tsunade had left sight.
"Is it really so interesting that old people retired?" She put her hands on her hipbones and leaned back into a slight stretch. Temari gave an impolite snort, but observed them interestedly. She had no idea what was going on in Gaara's head, but he was quiet and still.
"Kind of," Aiko admitted. "They've had their positions for something like fifty years, and there isn't a set precedent for this. They could have theoretically kept their positions until they died."
And to the best of her foreknowledge, they had. How odd.
"Look, they're going to fall over at any moment," Karin said dryly, blinking in the rapid way that Aiko knew meant her contacts were bothering her. "It's a good thing they retired, and the new system makes a lot more sense." She shivered when the wind picked up a bit. "What else is there to do here, since the incredibly good-looking people who matter already lost the flower game miserably?"
"We could rent a boat," Hinata suggested timidly with a glance at the sand nin. She seemed to gather bravery from their lack of negative response, and continued, "Or we could see the flower arrangements Ino-san and Lee-san made."
"That would be nice," Aiko agreed. "and isn't that on the way to the closest temple? We could get a blessing."
"I don't care what we do, but we're going to have to avoid main street." Karin tossed her hair. "I might hurt someone if I have to hear the woman from down the row who has been practicing her koto every night for a week."
"Fair enough," Aiko agreed. She wasn't a fan either. "C'mon." She threaded her hands into her sleeves, touching the cold metal stored underneath for comfort. Then she looked back at a rather perplexed-looking Temari. "Are you two coming with?"
"Um, sure," she agreed, glancing at her brother. "If we're invited."
"Of course you are," Hinata gave a tiny bow and uncertain smile. Karin rolled her eyes fondly.
"Let's hurry, the crowd is starting to disperse. I don't want to be caught up in the worst of it."
Aiko rather enjoyed the press of bodies- she saw both Kotetsu and Izumo and took the chance to steal the flower from her target's lapel with a giggle. He saw her, but rolled his eyes and made a fake pout without interrupting his conversation. She took a moment to wonder where Kakashi-shishou was and hope he was having fun, even though he almost certainly had not come to the festival.
"I bet they're a couple," Karin muttered quietly. Temari gave a little jump.
Hinata pressed her lips together tightly, but failed to suppress a smile. "They keep saying they're not when Kiba asks, but I really doubt it," she whispered back, tossing her own look at the two Chuunin.
"I don't think I've ever seen one without the other," Aiko agreed before throwing her hands up. "Ah, young love. So cute!"
"I…" Hinata swallowed uncertainly, but forged ahead. Blinking, she forced out, "I ship it!" Karin burst into laughter and gave her a congratulatory high-five, and Aiko had to join in giggling.
"You people are weird," Temari muttered. Nonetheless, she stuck with them and obligingly got a blessing from the priest they found. Gaara didn't—he showed emotion for the first time that night and glared the man away from him. His sister flushed a little and apologized for him, but the man didn't seem to mind much.
When they finally found the ikebana display, it became clear that Ino was enjoying showing off the enormous flower pin in her hair that apparently was a gift to the winner. It was lucky she'd taken first, because if Lee (who had second place and edged out Ino's actual rival) had received it, doubtless he wouldn't have worn it.
'Lee must have practiced this the same way he does everything else.' Aiko smiled lopsidedly while her more knowledgeable companions talked about the pieces to their creators. Temari nudged her, looking uncomfortable. "Any idea what they're talking about?" she asked lowly.
Aiko shook her head amiably. "Not a clue. I'm terrible at all the girlish stuff, I just smile and nod and do what they tell me." She pulled at her kimono. "They dressed me, if you can't tell." She glanced at the two of them. "Not big fans of dressing up either?"
Temari snorted. "Not really, no."
Aiko hmmed absentmindedly. "Shame. You'd look really pretty in one of these. You have a better build for it than I do, actually. Want to go get naked and trade?" She gave a lascivious wink.
Temari's jaw dropped, and she really looked at the younger girl for the first time. But she didn't speak.
"I think I broke your sister," she said conversationally, turning to Gaara. He looked at her dully. "Sorry about that."
'I'm always surprised by how gravelly his voice is,' she mused when he finally spoke. Then the words registered.
"Kankuro informs me that she has always been dysfunctional." The tone was without inflection—it could only be a joke, but he'd said it so deadpan that she wasn't entirely sure. Temari rolled her eyes and whacked at the back of his head with her palm as if by reflex before stiffening, wide-eyed. After a second when nothing happened, she unfroze with a sheepish expression.
"Wellll, if Kankuro says it, it must be true," Aiko dragged out teasingly.
Temari gave a good-natured scowl and whacked the back of Aiko's head for good measure. "Honestly, you two shouldn't gang up and bully me. It'll hurt my delicate feelings for sure."
~~~
"She's perfect," Temari muttered sourly to herself that night, staring up at the ceiling. The kid effortlessly side-stepped Gaara's awkwardness in a way that made it seem she hadn't noticed. She was also violent and rude, which appealed to her for some reason. Temari had already known the girl was at least a competent ninja, but when she'd seen her at the festival dressed up like a doll she'd assumed her head was full of fluff. It had been a poor assumption, and she berated herself for letting stereotypes mislead her. Even in that kimono, the way the younger girl walked had hinted at long knives hidden on her thighs, shuriken in her sleeves, and doubtless other things Temari couldn't catch indication of.
Plus she had attitude.
The only downside was that she was apparently a total pervert, but her brother was thirteen. Doubtless, soon that would appeal to him. Any day now, in fact. (She gave him a suspicious look. He gave her a confused one in return).