What had been a cramped street billowed, her citizens pushing backwards and into the building faces as if she was a breath a fresh air pushing out musty curtains. Amused, Mei allowed a politician's half-smile to come out and soothe her people, but didn't make any more concessions to their comfort. It was important to portray regality at all times in the public eye.
That aim was made significantly more difficult by her silly bodyguards, but Ao and Chojuro were far too amusing to split up even if they weren't a matched set. They each had their uses: a tool for each situation. Sweet Chojuro was soothing and protective, a slightly nervous presence that reminded her people that shinobi were people just like them, their very human protectors. Ao was the face of the establishment, hard and polished and likely to gruffly intimidate others into falling into line out of fear and respect.
They were good tools, and good friends, even if they bickered like children. Mei was hardly above a little bickering and provocation herself.
(If she was, she definitely would not have hired on three pool boys (with a minimalist, water-proof uniform she'd chosen) to be her aides. Ao got all red and logical, trying to remind her that she didn't even have a pool. As if that was relevant. She was the Mizukage, damnit. She deserved better.)
The pavilion she and her retinue trailed to was a relatively new addition to Mist, both in a factual physical sense and as a concept. It was an attempt at transparency. Although her guards would be securing the area and keeping any interlopers at such a distance that she may as well be in her tower, being able to see the Mizukage doing business reminded her soldiers and civilians that she was there, amongst them and not just a demon hidden out of sight. The legacy of Yagura's madness had given her some tribulations to work past, but with some effort Mei could separate herself from his image in the public mind.
She seated herself like a queen, rubbing the bottom of her sandals against the white stone and feeling the draped purple fabric flutter against her back. The little girl from Konoha was already seated at the round two-person table, somehow managing to look both comfortable and dignified in her much smaller chair.
Ao and Chojuro split, taking positions around the open building. Chojuro started walking the perimeter, giving shy smiles to anyone who wandered close enough in the open city block. Ao somehow managed to look stern, despite the scent of imported flowers (Mist needed a new public image in general, not just the Mizukage's office) and the sun pushing offensively cheery light into the gloomy ambiance he carried with him.
"Ao, stop lurking in shadows. Actually, why don't you go found a 'Pouty One-Eyed Shinobi' club with the cutie over there, so we can actually get some work done?"
There was nothing quite like making everyone else uncomfortable with just a few words. It was a power she relished.
Of course, the little girl didn't look that bothered. She could fix that, starting with some good old inappropriate familiarity. "Aiko, isn't it? It's lovely to see you here so quickly." Her smile felt like a sword cutting through the otherwise innocuous setting and the bubbly crack of the mango juice she poured into her iced glass. "Drink?"
If Uzumaki Aiko felt unsafe, drinking fruit juice at a table piled high with iced treats with the Mizukage, there wasn't a sign of it in her expression or body language. Mei had to like that about the girl. She was either an idiot or daring. Either trait could be twisted to suit her purpose.
"Thank you, Terumi-san."
She bared her teeth in a mockery of a smile. "Please, call me Mei, darling."
That did garner a reaction—a tiny one, as Aiko's fingers twitched around the glistening, clear material of her glass. But it was enough to register as a minor victory.
'I'm not here to play with a teenager's head,' she scolded herself despite her amusement. It was just so much fun to ruffle feathers. Batting Aiko around a little wouldn't harm anything, but it would be much better to pursue her real aim.
Konoha was still locked in their idiotic grudge with the northern powers. Mist had no such strong enmity from Rock and Lightning, having been rather preoccupied with internal complications.
A year ago, she could have played the two sides against each other. Three years ago, Sand was a wild-card half ideological ally. Now, she was linked to Konoha and Sand, struggling to rebuild Mist in her own image. The strategies that she had mulled over as possibilities in the dark years contemplating treason against her mad predecessor were defunct.
It was now impossible to survive and thrive by lightly committing to allies. If she were to turn on Konoha, they would smother her. That did not mean that she wanted to be caught in between the northern powers and her alliance. Konoha was currently the most stable in their alliance by far, and they shared a border with Wind country. If war did break out, geographically isolated Mist might well be the first target.
They were not ready to have wolves at their doorstep. She was working on it, but untangling the mad policies that Yagura had inflicted on her people was harder than it sounded. He had driven off the workers who supported the infrastructure that they needed to stand on their own, while simultaneously sabotaging their relationships with the foreign powers who could make up for those losses.
It was no wonder that Nadeshiko had come to Konoha at the same time that they came to Mist. If the Hokage hadn't pulled them into her protection, Mei might well have raided them for their resources. Nadeshiko hadn't been ravaged like Mist had, but they were a small village, as well as ill-suited to warfare. Their economy was largely agricultural, meaning that they would defend their territory fiercely but be easily tricked out of their lands to avoid destructive ninjutsu clashes that would devastate their economy. Re-building Mist's population required food and resources for the merchants, craftsmen, and workers they needed to draw, and they had little in the way of self-sufficiency for food production.
Alas, taking what Nadeshiko had to offer by force was no longer an option. The next best thing would be to improve their relationship to get what benefits she could from them without draining them dry. (And catering to Nadeshiko might just be the way to keep that hot-headed Raikage from messing anything up on a grander scale, she couldn't help but note).
That didn't only apply to the small village under their protection, of course. She had a long list to work on. Mist needed to completely revamp their image in the international perspective. Mist needed to pacify their allies' enemies. Mist needed to be an attractive prospect, both to clients and businesspeople, a goal completely separate from military strengthening.
Or did it have to be? Sand had negotiated personnel exchanges with Leaf. Something similar might benefit Mist's shinobi in future, while working to tie themselves inextricably to their strongest ally. That possibility was for later, however.
If Mist was enhanced by this alliance, the best outcome was to end up so dear and near to Leaf and Sand that the idea of harming them was anathema at the same time that they pushed back the possibility of open conflict before she was prepared. She had to bring as many of her international counterparts onto the same page as possible, no matter how reluctantly they were there.
Mei wouldn't grovel, of course. Her chosen plan of action had a more dignified personal touch.
"I'd ask you to call me Aiko, but you already have." Ao glowered at the insolence, but Mei found herself charmed by the slightly ironic, dispassionately factual way that the Konoha kunoichi subtly called her out on her poor manners, despite their disparate stations. What an odd little duck. Most people would have either ignored her rudeness to keep the peace or been angry enough to outright confront her.
"Was your guide to your liking?" She wasn't entirely sure she was pleased that Konoha hadn't killed him. Suigetsu was annoying. Then again, he was fearfully strong and held some sort of loyalty, so discarding him would be a waste. Her resources were more than a bit skewed and strained towards the genin she had been churning out and the old, hardened veterans who really should be making way for the next generation of elites. Ao was in his forties: no matter how strong he was, he had a shelf date rapidly approaching. Chojuro was young, but he wasn't an entire generation. Perhaps she should get Zabuza's sword out of storage and send Suigetsu out to sow fear, remind people that Mist still had strength.
"Suigetsu?" Aiko looked to be considering her words carefully, leaning back slightly with a dreamy expression.
With some jealousy, Mei noted that the flushed coral of the lips her teenaged companion pursed was a natural color, and ran her tongue self-consciously inside her own painted lips. Her own skin was rather unflatteringly uniform without cosmetics.
"He's a bit of a creep, isn't he?"
Mei choked on nothing, squinting at the girl across the circular table to catch a fleeting hint of amusement. 'I suppose that's payback for my jab earlier,' she thought with amusement. 'Cheeky brat.' Aiko's silver-haired model of the 'Disgruntled, One-eyed Jounin' cliché appeared to be resisting the urge to put his palm to his face. So the attitude was definitely a personal touch, and not coming from the Hokage.
"Be that as it may, I see you arrived safely," she deflected easily. They weren't here to discuss Suigetsu's faults.
'Will she be thick or cocky enough to dismiss my hospitality by claiming that he was a hindrance or unnecessary at best?' That would be a rhetorical mistake that Mei could take advantage of by feigning offense. Even when she had consciously planned not to play these games, it was hard not to. She so seldom had willing participants.
"And boy, am I grateful for that," Aiko said with an ironic smile that added just a hint of mockery, running her bare nails through her hair. A couple gold-tinted strands caught on her fingerless gloves to shine in the light before the breeze tore them away.
Ao cleared his throat, not too obedient to refrain from reminding them to get on to business. Mei sent a playful pout his way. "Oh, look at how grumpy the boys are getting. I did so hope that they'd be able to play nicely while the grown-ups talked."
That managed to garner a slightly disbelieving look from Chojuro, but the older men were too disciplined to really react. Cutie just looked bored by the proceedings, if anything.
How disappointing. Mei sighed. "May I suppose that your presence confirms that you are the seal master I've been hearing so much about? It's hard to say that I'm surprised. I was already impressed." She pushed back the auburn hair that was struggling to escape, barely managing to keep it from reaching the iced cherries in her bowl.
A modest shrug pulled at the drab blue fabric Aiko wore on her chest. "I've been told that you suggest using Hiraishin as an emergency communication system?" Out of the corner of her eye, she noted that Aiko's protective escort gave a strange, abortive twitch. Perhaps not everyone was happy about that concept, she noted shrewdly.
But it was hardly her job to cater to Cutie's comforts (though she suspected it might be a nice extracurricular activity), so Mei honored Aiko with a genuine smile. "In the event of the unforeseen, instantaneous communication could make all the difference." Unbidden, she thought of Konoha's traditional ally in Uzu, not so far from the place she sat now. They had been undone in a day, besieged and unable to call for aid. The Uzumaki in front of her might have been having similar thoughts, if she even knew of her heritage. Mist had a long history with Uzu as well, amiable enough if not as friendly as Konoha's. There were still some within her village who remembered that day.
"I agree." Aiko seemed to be consciously not looking at anyone in particular, gaze lifting above Mei's shoulder. "I do not mean to patronize, but I have to ask if you're familiar with the implications of what you propose? The idea of letting seals out of my control is unappealing, and there are precautions to take."
"I am well aware," Mei sighed. Where was the trust? "I would not let your gift out of my possession."
"No, you wouldn't," the teenager agreed with a strange sort of amusement. "I can only agree to give you a seal directly attached to your person."
Well, that wasn't planned at all. Her surprise might have shown. "I thought it was meant to be applied to weaponry," she protested , a little cross at new information. Aiko didn't budge or offer any new information, just a slight tilt of her head and an impassive stare. "That would require a lot of trust," she half-pouted. "You could be putting anything on me. Compulsion, loyalty, anything."
"Giving you the ability to summon me at any moment into unforeseen situation requires a fair bit of trust as well."
It was hard to argue with that dry tone. Somehow, Aiko managed to pack condescension and amusement into an otherwise bland statement. She almost wished for a more traditional diplomat, who would at least pretend to be apologetic, or lose their temper so that she could manipulate them. Irritably, Mei flexed her leg muscles under the table and gave serious consideration to changing her mind. Then again, she had already counted on getting the seal and working to make Konoha trust her as they did the Kazekage. It would be hard to compete with the irrational favoritism without engendering some level of personal fondness. In order to do that, she needed to increase her access to Konoha. Besides, she could hardly ask Leaf for a gesture of trust and then reject the offer because it required commitment on her end as well. That was unfortunately transparent and likely to make them trust her even less.
"Oh, fine," she conceded lowly, tapping her fingertips against her glass and risking a sip to give herself time to compose her answer. "What sort of precautions are we talking about?"
Somehow, Mei managed to pay attention through a shockingly dull recitation that she suspected had come straight from the Hokage's lips. It was sensible stuff, of course, about the circumstances that merited using the seal, what Konoha would not be liable for, and not a few subtly hidden threats to her person if she misused it. None of it surprised her in the least. "Anything else we need to discuss?" she asked, tilting her head up slightly and allowing her eyelids to mostly close to convey just how bored she was by the conversation in a way that would annoy, but couldn't be remarked upon.
"Just two things." Aiko gave a friendly-looking smile, leaning forward and abandoning her serious attitude. "Firstly, I'd like to caution that you be very careful about anything that might be misconstrued as tampering with the seal. It wouldn't end well. Secondly, where would you like it? I would suggest someplace that is normally hidden by your clothing, because it can become visible when you channel chakra."
Mei was surprised enough to outright laugh, shaking her head. "You just want to get me out of my top," she purred, faking a virginal blush with a hand to her face. There was a sudden awkward tension with their bodyguards. "Did you take advantage of the Kazekage so shamefully as well?" Mei planted one elbow on the table and leaned forward, pinning Aiko with a serious expression.
Hatake Kakashi seemed to cringe, waiting for the answer. Did that mean she really had? That had been a joke…
"I never undress and tell," Aiko deadpanned.
There was an awkward moment of silence, broken only by the distant sounds of the academy children on break shouting something.
Mei had to snort, throwing her ladylike pretense out the window. "You're no fun, Aiko-chan". She let her hand swipe the air dismissively, as if pushing away a dissatisfactory topic. "I think I can refrain from seal experimentation, and I don't care where you put it. I assume you have the supplies you will require?"
Aiko's mouth twitched, but Mei really didn't see why that was amusing. "Of course. Perhaps we should seek out a modicum of privacy. I hadn't anticipated such an unconventional meeting place."
She had ended up painting the seal on the Mizukage's upper thigh, and giving a matching design to Shinji (who had shot up a shocking three inches since she'd sealed the three-tailed beast into him) on his left shoulder. The idea was that they were easily reachable, so that the bearer could put their hand over the seal without drawing too much attention.
It would have been subtler to give the chakra-pulse type seal, but it was probably a good idea to restrict information about what she could really do and what her seals looked like. Applying seals with merely touch was a rare enough skill that most people would assume they knew what to look for when searching out hidden sealwork.
The trapped portion of her seal had been applied as an interwoven, invisible pulse, although the lock was in ink.
'I almost feel a little guilty for turning the Mizukage into an explosive device,' she thought with just a bit of shame, giving a longing glance out the porthole to check the moon's position and gauge the time. That tinge of conscience didn't prevent her from expecting to sleep easy on the overnight boat portion of their journey home. As was habit, she had taken the first watch and cautiously woke Kakashi from a distance. (She had been thoroughly traumatized years ago by ending up underneath him with his hands around her neck when she dumbly shook him awake, and despite his apologies and assurances that it wouldn't happen again had never re-enacted the situation). Blearily, his dark eye cracked open, as if to tell her to go away, but after a second he heaved a sigh and sat up, one hand trailing up to fuss with the mass of hair at the back of his head, oddly loose without the forehead protector holding it up.
Something thudded in her chest when the covers fell to his waist, but that was stupid. He was fully clothed, even if his flak jacket was sitting on the nailed-down dresser.
'Is it weird that he seems so sleek and… well, naked, without that bulky jacket?' Her captain was still wearing his dark blue shirt and mask, but she was powerfully aware of his presence.
It was probably lucky that he didn't look at her. Kakashi rubbed at his face for a few moments, but then gave a subtle stretch and slunk across the room to pick up his equipment. Aiko hurriedly took her own off, piling her hip pouch, thigh holster, and the stiletto blades hidden in her boots beside the bed within arm's reach before crawling in to savor the lingering body heat. Her enjoyment may have been a little too obvious, however.
"Are you entirely certain that you're not a lizard?"
'No, I don't do that tongue thing.'
That would baffle the hell out of him, so she didn't say it. She pushed a hand out of the covers she had burrowed into to give him a rude gesture. "Pretty sure I still qualify as a mammal, even if I don't generate a ridiculous surplus of body heat."
It was hard to hear the sleepy grunt he gave in reply through the fluffy blanket over her head. "Maa, why so testy?"
'Now is a terrible time to feel playful,' Aiko huffed into her pillow. 'Stop being adorable when I need to sleep.' Had there been an extra pillow, she would have thrown it at him then. There was a good risk that she wouldn't get it back if she tossed it. Kakashi could be a bit of an ass sometimes. "Good night, captain," she forced out instead with more irritation than she really felt. Traveling was much less stressful without Suigetsu lurking about. At least he appeared to be mostly over his mood now that they were on their way out of Water country.
He left her alone to take up a silent vigil after that, but it took some time to get to sleep. Planting two wandering seals in Mist brought to mind something odd she'd noticed about her seals lately. If she had guessed, Aiko would have hypothesized that the more seals she had active, the harder it would be to distinguish what seal belonged to whom and where they were. But the opposite was true.
Aiko had never had a particularly good head for maps. She could actually get lost in Konoha if she tried to approach a location from a different direction. There was a damn good reason that she preferred to let Kakashi navigate on missions out of the country or where she had never been.
Bizarrely enough, having several stationary seals and others that moved around them was doing a miraculous job for improving her sense of direction as her ability to keep track of seals increased. Her sense of the unique pull that each seal had was becoming much easier to interpret. Even now, as she was drifting off to sleep, she could distinctly keep track of the still seal attached to Mei in her home, know that Shinji, Sai, and Hinata were all sensible enough to be sleeping, Naruto had forgotten his kunai again while training late with Karin, Yamato was on his way back to Konoha from Vegetable Country, and Gaara was pacing in what she was pretty sure was his home. (She'd never been where he was exactly, but he wasn't quite in his office and he spent a lot of time in the area).
Her sense of awareness of each location was astounding, and she really didn't understand how it could be possible. The change did present a good opportunity to implement an idea she'd never gotten around to using. Currently, she only had two planted seals. One in her apartment, and one in the house. They would pass by one of Konoha's border stations tomorrow. It couldn't hurt to discreetly plant a Hiraishin seal there and start scattering them about at convenient locations.
'Kakashi has been so disapproving of this whole venture, though,' she sighed, pushing her nose into the pillow that was still scented like his hair. Would he try to tell her not to? 'Why would he?' Aiko tried to reassure herself with logic. 'He doesn't like the Hiraishin being used in ways that could endanger me, like giving it to Gaara and Mei. I can understand his point there. But leaving them hidden in Konoha's territory is practical. I could get around much faster, and no one else has to know where they are.'
Still… Maybe she should avoid the conflict altogether by excusing herself to the ladies' room when they passed by and hiding her seal when no one else was around.
That was exactly what she did the next afternoon when they hit the outpost. Kakashi gave her an odd look when she excused herself to go wash the dust accumulated in travel off of her face, but seemed to accept it as just another inexplicable-but-harmless thing that Aiko did when she actually came back with clean, pink cheeks.
'I feel positively Slytherin-y,' she giggled, trying her best not to look especially suspicious. Maybe it was cliché to leave the seal on the underside of the sink, but it was a pretty good hiding spot. Even a Hyuuga would have a hard time spotting a delicate chakra construct on the underside of the tap.
Her good mood lasted until they made it to the farming town that their path led them by. On their way out of Fire Country, they had skirted it entirely, but when they weren't consciously working to confuse and disorient a foreign nin, the straight path was the best way. Unlike Naruto and Sasuke, they generally didn't talk while traveling at high speeds. It wasn't likely to end in any sort of accident, but there also didn't seem to be much of a need. It was a little unusual that Kakashi actually chose to be the one to break from silence when they stopped for rest in preparation of a long push the rest of the way home (and Aiko was seriously considering asking if they could just try and see how well she could carry a passenger home, never mind that she could only take them to Yamato or her bedroom. Yamato would be delighted to suddenly find Kakashi on his lap, she was sure).
"Just out of curiosity, are you planning on making it a new habit to miss practice?"
Aiko recoiled in surprise, giving Kakashi an odd look. He didn't even appreciate it, as he wasn't paying attention to anything other than the sky and the chopsticks he was flicking around from finger to finger. With a sigh, she conceded that he wasn't going to contextualize that admittedly cryptic conversation start without prompting. "What are you talking about?"
"Oh, I don't know." The cheap bamboo chopsticks clicked together in some staccato pattern only he knew the significance of. "Didn't you promise Naruto to come to two different practices last week?"
She actually had to think about that one, but when realization hit her, her face flushed. "Oh, shit!" she exclaimed inappropriately loudly. (Inadvertently scandalizing the proprietor of the restaurant they had stopped into for dinner). "I completely forgot, didn't I," she half-groaned, fisting her hands into her hair and letting her face flop down. 'I'm an idiot. Just a complete and total idiot.'
"I suppose so."
Suspiciously, she peeked at him through her fingers, wondering if Kakashi had spontaneously developed telepathy. Then she realized that his reply fit with the last thing she'd said aloud, and groaned again.
"I'm so stupid. I bet Naruto was upset with me. I completely forgot about him." Her head hit the table with a thud.
Unsympathetically, Kakashi yawned and set his chopsticks down for the staff to pick up. "Be that as it may, I think I've been about as helpful as I can stand. If you need to talk more about your weird emotional problems, you'll have to find someone else."
"Does that mean we're going?" Aiko managed to pull herself out of her sulk long enough to look out the window and wince. The heavy humidity had turned into an ugly, grey, evening drizzle. She really didn't want to go out into it. "Ah… How would you like me to give you a ride home?" He twitched oddly, but she didn't try to think about it in depth. Aiko was busy batting her eyelashes and channeling cute. "You know…" She wiggled her fingers at him, tilting her head and staring hopefully. "I bet Yamato would be delighted if we dropped in on him." She wasn't quite thick enough to talk about her Hiraishin at a random diner, but he would know what she was talking about.
'Oh yeah, this is why I wanted Hiraishin! To make my life easier.'
Kakashi seemed to stare in disbelief for a moment. "That is lazy," he said after a long silence. Aiko shrugged, not about to deny the charge. "You just don't want to get your hair wet, do you," he added flatly, after he'd thought about it for a moment. At that, she shrank down a little sheepishly.
"It gets frizzy," Aiko muttered into her chest, glaring down at the edge of the table.
"Well, tough." He stood, insufferably amused. "We're only a few hours away. I think you can make it."
'Jerk,' she thought somewhat mutinously, abandoning the pretense of persuasive adorability. With a huff, she stomped out into the rain. Almost immediately, her hair plastered heavily to her face and back. 'I probably should have tied my hair up before we went outside,' she realized with a frown. 'But still… He could just let me take us home. It'd only take a minute and I haven't done anything like Hiraishin into a tree in a long time. Either he doesn't trust me, or he's just asserting his authority for authority's sake.'
"Are you really going to pout the whole way home?"
Teal eyes narrowed into a glare at the back of his flak and the irritatingly smug drawled tone, but she was slightly glad to start moving. The faster they ran, the sooner they would be home. "You're drunk on your own power, and I'm not talking to you," she sniffed.
"Right." She could practically hear him rolling his eye at her. "If you want to get home so quickly, why don't you set the pace?"
"Don't mind if I do." Aiko sprang ahead of him, trying to find the absolute fastest pace she could maintain the rest of the way home and regulate her breathing.
After a moment, Kakashi caught up with her and she could see him running in her peripheral. "I thought you weren't talking to me," he rumbled, doing a passable job at faking curiosity.
She stuck her tongue out at him. "That didn't count. I wasn't making conversation; I was just acknowledging that you'd said something. It only counts as conversation if you're adding something new to the discussion."
"Did that sentence count?"
Her cheeks tinted pink, even though the cold had drained them of all color and heat before. "Oh, shut up."
"I thought you were the one who was mad and refusing to speak?"
"No, it was definitely you."
Asshat. He was such as asshat.