"This is a lot of reading," Aiko said doubtfully. She hefted the stack in her arms a little higher, nearly tipping backwards with the weight.
Godaime-Hottie's lips curved up. "Yes, it is," she acknowledged. There was something vindictive in her tone.
Looking around the Hokage's office, Aiko thought she might have an explanation for that. The Hokage was sharing her paperwork related misery.
Bitch.
"It's all very important," the blonde woman said mildly. She brushed a long, smooth pigtail back over her shoulder. "And you did ask for the ability to be helpful. In order to perform as I need you to at Konan's trial, you will need at least passing familiarity with the subjects of every one of those dossiers. It would be … awkward," she decided. "If you were to fail to recognize someone that you have previously met."
Aiko scowled down at her homework. "I would hate for things to be awkward," she lied with sarcasm that almost poisoned her lips on the way out.
"I'm so glad we agree." The Hokage did look very sweet with her big brown eyes and slight smile. She had to know that Aiko hadn't been serious.
'What does it matter? She has the power here.' Moodily, Aiko tightened her arms around her burden and went to spin around to stalk out.
"A-a-a." Hottie-Hokage held up two slim fingers sternly. "Those can't leave my office. Why don't you have a seat on the couch and start reading?"
Why wouldn't- oh. Sensitive information. She didn't want sensitive information leaving her office. That was fair enough, except-
"If I'm here, how will you do mission debriefings," Aiko pointed out. "That's sensitive information too." Feeling as though she had won, she let her expression slide into slight condescension.
The Hokage didn't so much as flinch. "Debriefings and meetings will run as usual."
Aiko's mouth hung open unbecomingly. Luckily, her burden hid the lower half of her face from the Hokage's viewpoint. That was…
'A ridiculous gesture of trust. She doesn't trust me- or at least, she shouldn't. I'm not loyal to her.'
Aiko knew that. The Hokage knew that. Which meant… was it possible that the gesture of trust was meant as a show for those who would be passing through the office?
'It makes a certain amount of sense', Aiko reasoned. 'I was apparently pretty well known here at one point, and then I disappeared for a year. There'll be rumors and theories about what happened. That's just how people work. They wonder and poke and prod. If she has me seen just casually in her company, it looks like we're close and the rumors won't approach any variety of scandalous that would damage my reputation for what she wants me to do.'
"Stop making that face," Hokage-Hottie sighed. "You looked like you just ate a lemon."
She shifted her weight. "This is just my normal face." Her tone was just a bit too defensive. She hadn't been making a face, had she? No one had ever mentioned that she had an odd thinking face before.
The hokage made a thoroughly undignified snort and a waving motion with her hand. "If you say so."
Mildly self-conscious, she lifted the pile of dossiers up just a little higher against her mouth and wheeled around to totteringly collapse onto the couch. The top of her pile slid ominously, despite her arms' firm grip around what she could reach of the stack. For a moment, she held her breath- and let it out with a curse as the papers lost their precarious balance. Most of it ended up sprawled across the cushions, but a good deal situated itself on her legs and the floor. Stupid Hokage-Hottie sniggered behind her, but Aiko didn't dignify her with a look.
'Just because some people have long arms and freaky unnatural strength…'
"Aiko."
The Hokage sounded a little uneasy. Uncertain, perhaps. The abrupt shift in tone was enough to make Aiko look up. Tsunade's pretty face was painted with discomfort and carefully pointed at one of her potted plants.
"I don't want you to be unpleasantly surprised," Tsunade explained. She licked her bottom lip. "Did you notice there are three blue folders?"
Aiko had not, but now they were apparent. She glanced down, measuring their distance from the top. There were about ten folders piled over those, after the mess she'd made of the neat stack.
"Yes?" she asked cautiously.
"That's because those are members of your family." Tsunade swung her head over to make reluctant eye contact. "If you're not ready to look at them, I won't pressure you. But you will need to read them before we leave Konoha. You'll be seeing all three of them in Iron."
Her heart jolted.
Family. Like Nagato? God, she hoped not.
Aiko tentatively pulled the corner of the first blue folder out to show more, contrasting the deep shade with the inoffensive yellow pallor of the others.
She could read it first. It might be nice to know.
'What would I do with family if I knew who they were? It's not like we'd just instantly click.'
Aiko frowned, brow creasing. She leaned back into the couch cushion.
'Where the fuck were they when Obito ran off with me? I mean, I was gone for a year. If they wanted me back, they could have made a bigger fuss. I… I don't know exactly what they could have done, but there must have been something.'
What did she want family for anyways? Family was just people who shared blood. She probably wouldn't like them, and who knew if they would like her?
'And the jinchuuriki is one of them. I know that for sure. He introduced himself with my name.'
She wanted to know.
She didn't want to know.
She swallowed. With her palms, Aiko lined up the edges of the piled dossiers and neatened the stack so that no obnoxiously blue corners were poking out. She flipped open the first folder with more force than was strictly necessary. And then let her eyebrows shoot up in surprise.
'This is a Konoha nin. I thought most of the dossiers would be foreigners.'
She snuck a glance at the Hokage, who had already busied herself with her own work and a surprisingly intense expression. Hmm.
Not only that, but it was a familiar Konoha nin. She barely noticed when the baa-chan who manned the desk waved a team of Chuunin in for a debriefing. Their mission was boring - carrying messages to a border post. They kept glancing at her with poorly hidden curiosity, but she was able to dismiss their presence in favor of her reading.
Apparently, the creepy weirdo had a name. Hyuuga Neji? Aiko rolled her eyes. Point taken: someone had seen her not-entirely gracious dismissal and thought her behavior should be rectified. To be fair…
She strained to complete that thought.
'Actually, I don't have a justification for my rudeness. I just don't care what he thinks.'
And by the looks of it, her old self wouldn't have either. It was creepy to read factual accounts of her relationships, but she plowed through what she needed to know. Apparently, he had been a year behind her in the Academy and her sparring partner. He was a taijutsu type with a bloodline manifestation and a stick up his ass. They had no significant interactions after graduation.
That didn't bother her at all. The thing that bothered her was sorting through the first six dossiers –all agemates- and realizing that she was noticing a pattern.
'I didn't really have any friends, did I?'
Aiko felt her forehead crease, but glaring didn't make the glossy picture any clearer. Yamanaka Ino appeared to be the strongest relationship of the classmates that she'd examined- and that was based off of a pattern of semi-regular spars that faltered to near nothingness after about age sixteen, six house visits, and occasional meetings for tea.
How crushingly lonely.
The second team of the day entered Tsunade's office self importantly. Probably a genin squad, judging by the exasperated Jounin herding them.
'Not like I'm doing any better now,' she noted with dark amusement. 'I had one really good friend who turned out to be an inconsiderate weasel butt. And now I'm not even trying to make real connections when they're banging on my door. Funny how shit works out.'
"You'll be taking your first C class mission," Tsunade's voice informed from the other side of the room to a chorus of excited squeals.
That was probably why these Konona nin were at the top of the pile of people for her to look at. It was perfectly sensible, but Aiko didn't like being manipulated into coming to other people's conclusions. It rankled. Once she'd finished reading about Yamanaka Ino's apparently deft social intellect, she tossed that folder onto the small pile of examined dossiers. It might have been paranoia, but Aiko keenly felt Tsunade's gaze on the side of her head. It tickled, slipping heavily against her jawline. Huh. The office was otherwise empty. When had the genin left?
'I could turn my head and look. Find out if she really is staring.'
Aiko considered it. Instead, she lifted a thick stack of folders –no doubt filled with Konoha nin- quite deliberately and shunted them off to the side.
The indignation from the other side of the room was almost palpable. She savored it while she readjusted for comfort and settled in for a scintillating read about some lunatic who wore a lot of face paint. Oh. The Kazekage had a brother? Good for him. Was he also a reasonable man? She worried at her lip. Ah, not so much. He was a-
She slapped the folder shut and pushed it off her lap. She'd read enough. Puppets. Fuck that guy and the saddled pig he rode in on- she wouldn't be talking to him.
"What, exactly, will I be doing?" Her voice was just a little too high to be casual, but thankfully the Hokage didn't comment on it.
"Testifying. We'll have to keep your presence as quiet as possible," she said in a tone of faint distraction. "The group who receives us will know, of course, but they'll be bound to respect the privacy of all interest groups in order to maintain their impartial status." She ran a hand through her hair, nearly loosening her right ponytail. "The international community is aware that we are bringing at least one significant witness, but I believe they will be expecting only Itachi-san. It is my hope that you will give them quite the surprise and interfere with the testimony planned to counter his."
'Who the hell is Itachi?' Aiko wondered. She nodded, pretending to understand. "Aa."
Hokage-Hottie gave her an amused look, looking up from the last of her paperwork about her meeting with the genin team. "It won't be terribly exciting for you, I'm afraid. You won't see the testimony that happens before yours, and you probably won't talk to anyone out of our delegation. I will summarize what has already happened for you, of course," she assured. "And tailor what you need to say. In the meantime, keep your head down," she grumbled. "The situation in Konoha is tenuous enough."
Aiko stared, not caring about the Hokage's problems. "So it's not really my testimony," she pointed out. Unimpressed, she stretched her legs out to take as much space as possible. "You're putting words in my mouth. Why bother teaching me about all these people if I won't be talking to them?"
Either she was just a tool, or she was meant to be an informed, thinking participant. It didn't work both ways.
"Something could always go wrong." The Hokage raised one perfectly penciled eyebrow. "And besides, you only need to lay low until your testimony. After that, our strategy is obviously out in the open."
'I'm not sure I like being your mouthpiece.'
"Hmm." She opened the next folder and ignored the Hokage, signaling that conversation was over despite the rudeness of the gesture. Oo, the Kazekage himself. He…
"doesn't look particularly reasonable," Aiko said under her breath. It almost looked like he was wearing fabulously thick eye makeup, but no. The Kazekage had deep bruising all around his eyes, and two premature lines in his skin that indicated he spent a great deal of time with his brows furrowed.
'He looks stressed and worn. Very thin. Cute, somehow. I wouldn't peg him as the greatest threat out of the kage, though.'
"What?" Hokage-Hottie seemed confused.
"Oh, nothing."
Obito had thought the Kazekage was the one to be cautious of. Was he mistaken or simply better informed than Aiko was? It could be dangerous to make the wrong assumption.
The door opened on silent hinges. "Hokage-sama, your next appointment is here."
Aiko glanced up, curious about the strain in the baa-chan's voice. Her wrinkled face betrayed nothing of her thoughts. Tsunade groaned without even looking at the door, burying her face in her palms. "Send him in," she ordered, resigned and muffled. The baa-chan disappeared back to her desk. Oddly, no one walked in. The door swung entirely shut and remained that way for three full seconds.
'Maybe they left?'
The door burst open, banging against the wall. "I have arrived!" a very male voice bellowed. He sounded like he was announcing a great personal victory.
She froze. What-
Tap-tap-tap. Jiraiya-sama skidded into the room sideways, making the maximum amount of noise possible with his geta. His arms were held wide enough out to the side that he couldn't possibly have walked through the door like a normal person.
Wait.
'How is he making that sound through the carpet?' Aiko's mind whimpered. It made no sense. Her grip on the partially-read dossier faltered.
"Tsunade-hime! I have come to grace the most beautiful woman in Fire Country- no, the world," Jirayia-sama gestured expansively, turning to face her directly. "with my presence! When you called, I came instantly!" He winked. "and then I journeyed here. Why-"
Jiraiya-sama cut off and dropped to the floor on all fours like a ridiculously fluffy, oversized cat. A kunai winged directly into the air where his chest had been and planted itself in the wall.
"Cut the crap," Hokage-Hottie said, hand still extended. Her eye twitched. "You are embarrassing yourself, and, more importantly, me. In fact-" her gaze cut to Aiko. "Why don't you go for a walk? I'm sure Sasuke would like a break as well if you ask him. He's doing budgeting." She paused, hand halfway up to her temple. "Bring back caffeine."
It didn't take a genius to conclude that this meeting was either about her or above her clearance. Possibly both. She pasted on a smile to hide her resentment and stacked the folders that had been on her lap off to the side. "Good. I could use the exercise."
'Kami only knows why that woman isn't fat as a house from sitting around all day, reading and giving out orders. I don't want to risk that.'
What she had actually said aloud was mostly inoffensive, but Jiraiya-sama tossed his hair back and gave a barking laugh.
She didn't stay to hear any more. Baa-chan issued her a sympathetic glance when she stalked out. Aiko nodded at her and then walked past the receptionist's desk to rap her knuckles against Sasuke's office door. He opened it in a huff, already looking mildly pissy.
"I am busy, you-"
"The hottie suggested we go on a coffee run," Aiko interrupted. She did not feel like dealing with his attitude. Besides, she might be able to overhear something interesting if they hurried on their errand and returned before that meeting was over.
Sasuke looked a little like he had been slapped in the face with a fish. "Oh. I thought-" He frowned, shouldering her out of the way and pulling the door shut behind him. "It doesn't matter. Fine. Let's go."
'The mention of coffee got him moving fast.'
He took her to a place ten blocks away. It must have been a normal convention for businesses to break or run errands at ten, because the streets were surprisingly packed with young professionals toting office supplies or refreshments. Aiko got solidly whacked with a bag hanging off of some man's arm. He hurried away without acknowledgement.
"Be careful," Sasuke warned dryly. "Some people aren't really human at this time of day." When she looked confused, he elaborated. "They're crashing from their morning caffeine and making the decision to get another dose or work through the sudden loss of mental acuity."
"How…"
'painfully banal'
"Interesting," Aiko lied politely.
Sasuke huffed, ducking into the coffeehouse. "I'm sure." When they emerged, it was with a total of four coffees between them. Which was nice, yes, but there were five people in the office. (Shizune was sequestered in the hospital for the day, as far as Aiko could tell).
"None for the pervert," Sasuke explained sternly. He didn't seem to notice that he was scowling. "If we make him feel welcome, he lingers like a bad smell." By the end of the statement, his tone had traveled from 'strict' to 'darkly predictive'.
"Ah." Aiko looked away from him and made a face. How rude. She leaned sharply to the right to avoid brushing her shoulders into the swinging arm of another shinobi who might have forced her to spill hot coffee on her front.
He glanced down, mouth open to offer apology- and stilled. For one quiet moment, details popped at her. The four vertical lines in his worn hitai-ite. The goggles hanging around his neck. The surprise in his eyes, and the way he focused on the shade of her hair.
Then he looked down to her eyes and the moment ended. His disappointment was obvious at whatever it was that he saw in her face.
"Sorry." And the stranger was gone in the crush of people.
'What was that about?' Aiko frowned, disconcerted. It was like he had expected something. Had he heard about her? Had Obito told anyone about her Rinnegan?
No. That was crazy, she dismissed. Her mind had just conjured up the strange anticipation of that moment.
"About time." Sasuke's gaze seemed to follow the man she'd noticed, apparently aided by his extra height in keeping track in the crowd. He seemed phenomenally unamused. "Messenger," he explained curtly. "Four man team that regularly goes between Ame and Konoha. He's a day late. We're waiting to officially confirm…" He trailed off, seeming to remember how divorced she was from Konoha's politics. "We've been waiting," Sasuke finished instead with a tone that said he would not be discussing the matter further.
That explained very little to her.
"Aa, I see."
"Uchiha!"
Sasuke's grip on the coffee cup in his right hand tightened ominously. How conscious of his strength was he? Aiko took a cautious step to the side, coming far too close to the frowning man who was attempting to get Sasuke's attention.
'Surprisingly aggressive for a civilian,' Aiko noted.
Of course, he wasn't just any type of civilian. The cut and fabric of his clothes said 'nouveau riche', but the thick muscles and scarred hands told a story of a life of manual labor. He was every bit as physically imposing and confident as she would expect from someone of that description.
"Hey, I think the Hokage owes us some answers." He settled with his legs spread wide and his arms akimbo.
Sasuke didn't seem terribly intimidated, but the crowd around them oriented to face the sound. She straightened her back.
'What is going on? This was not mentioned. Tsunade hinted at problems, but she did not say civil unrest and some type of anger at the leadership was a thing.'
"We aren't releasing a public statement at this time."
Aiko stole a glance up at Sasuke. He sounded perfectly civil and professional, despite the stutter in self control that she had witnessed.
"You will have to wait," he continued. Sasuke held his hands up in a gesture for peace that was somewhat marred by the coffee- or maybe it wasn't. It did make him look less like the Hokage's apprentice and more like an underling running errands.
The crowd deflated, moving on with their business. Sasuke kept eye contact with the other man for a long moment. He seemed to be debating trying to argue, but he nodded. "Of course. Good day, Uchiha-dono."
Sasuke inclined his head the absolute least angle that was socially acceptable as acknowledgement.
'Dono?' Aiko gave the back of Sasuke's head a skeptical look as they started walking again. 'Surely being the Hokage's apprentice doesn't give him that kind of pull or respect. Does it?'
He still looked like a normal teenage boy to her. A pretty one, yes, but no one she would acknowledge as a social superior.
'Then again, there's a lot I don't know about the people here.'
She stole a glance at Sasuke again. She could ask him a few things. No. Just one. She didn't want to seem too interested or like she was trying to hold an interrogation. But just one casual question shouldn't hurt.
"Sasuke."
He grunted softly.
It took her a second to phrase her question, and it didn't come out terribly well anyway.
"Who was that boy who gave me back my equipment?"
She'd forgotten the name she'd been given, and she couldn't very well say, 'tell me about your junchuuriki'. That would seem a bit suspicious, coming from a former Akatsuki.
When she didn't get a reaction, Aiko frowned and clarified, "It was weeks ago. Some blonde kid." She waved a hand dismissively, despite being out of his sight.
'Some blonde kid with an inappropriately cheery attitude, astute political analysis that hints at a close relationship with Tsunade, and a monster hidden in his body. There is no way that Sasuke doesn't know this kid.'
"I know the one," Sasuke said carefully, slowly. He didn't turn to face her. "You used to know him well. I'm not surprised that he sought you out. You mean Naruto, right?"
"Sure." She shrugged guilelessly. "I thought it was something dumb. That sounds about right."
Sasuke exhaled just a little too loudly. "He and his team are out of the country. You'll see them soon enough."
Aiko rolled her eyes. "I can't help but notice that doesn't answer my question," she bit out.
Sasuke stopped, and turned to the side to face her. "It's not really my question to answer."
She sucked her lower lip in. Damnit. He was going to make her say it, wasn't he?
"He's related to me somehow," she let out in a rush. "I know that, he used my last name. And the Hokage gave me a dossier on him and two other people and-" Aiko faltered, unsure of where to go from there.
With a surprisingly amount of delicacy, Sasuke averted his eyes and quietly said, "You're not ready to look. But you want to know about him."
Pretty much.
"Well, it sounds stupid when you say it that way. Forget it." Aiko kicked a rock, sending it flying into the back of some poor man's knee. She hastily pretended to be occupied watching a bird fly overhead when her victim spun around.
"He's a baka," Sasuke said in a rush. "He's loud and excited and he's still a chuunin because he can't keep a cool head." The last bit was just a little smug. Someone was proud of their recent Tokubetsu Jounin exam. "He's been like that since we were kids, but he grew up quite a bit after…" His voice faltered only for a moment. "After the first time we attempted the chuunin exams," Sasuke finished.
'Their first chuunin exams? How long ago would that have been?'
She subtly assessed her companion. It was hard to guess. He was a good-looking kid, but Sasuke seemed awfully young to be working for Tsunade as he did. What was he, seventeen? Sixteen?
(No, something protested. He's older than that.
Ridiculous. He was so inexperienced and temperamental for his rank. He couldn't possibly be much older than seventeen.)
Still.
"Chuunin exams aren't that big of a deal," Aiko prodded, twisting the end of her ponytail when he didn't continue talking. It sounded like there was a mildly interesting story there.
And holy shit Sasuke's cold-as-ice veneer cracked for an instant, though she had no frame of reference for interpreting what his expression meant.
'Other than I could bring this up again later if I need to throw him off balance.'
"It was a shock for our team," he said stiffly. A muscle jumped in his neck. Kami, he really was inexperienced. Was he even trying to conceal his thoughts?
'Team? Sasuke was on Naruto's team? They must be close. I… must have known Sasuke relatively well before, then. No wonder he's sought me out.'
Sasuke's tone had pretty well signaled the end of conversation, but Aiko didn't care. She had enough to ponder.
~~~
"I'm not certain that I see the purpose of this." Jiraiya gave the love of his life a skeptical look a solid minute after the door had closed behind his unfortunately confused godchild. In return, she gave him a look that could melt steel. But that was probably because his feet were propped up on her desk. "She can't possibly become a fuinjutsu master again in time. This is a ridiculous gamble."
"It isn't beyond the realm of possibility that she will remember enough," Tsunade countered. She looked away, out the window. He silently admired the lines of her neck and the strong shape of her chin. Something in his chest ached a little.
'She's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen.'
Jiraiya wanted badly to draw her as she was now, ticking off points on her fingers.
"Last week was a breaking point. Yamanaka Santa said she should be integrating memories from now on; Yamato noted that her behavior patterns are changing to be more in line with the playfulness he remembers; and she actually asked Shizune what she could do to prepare. That's possibility, proof of integration, and demonstration of interest. It will have to be enough. I'm not risking another Shintenshin session after her poor reactions to the jutsu." By that point, Tsunade had her hands on her hips and appeared to be attempting to cow any potential challenges with sheer physical intimidation.
Jiraiya waved for her to stop, holding both palms out in front of his body. "Alright, you've convinced me. I suppose the worst that could happen would be she isn't ready."
"The worst would be that she never regains the Hiraishin," Tsunade pointed out, leveling her index finger at him rudely. She snorted. "That would be a damn shame."
"Could make things a bit awkward," Jiraiya acknowledged, picking up the official invitation to Konan's trial in the Land of Iron and waving it. His student. His only surviving student, other than Naruto. His eyes darkened, but his tone stayed light. "I'm hoping that you didn't tell them that you would be arriving by Hiraishin."
His old teammate tossed her head. "It was suggested," she started archly. "that I use such a form of transport. However, it could have been taken as a gesture of aggression." She blinked innocently. "Especially by our valued diplomats from Iwagakure, who are generously assisting the Land of Iron in maintaining order during the upcoming affair. It would be more politic to arrive as the others do."
Jiraiya pressed down a real smile, not the jester's affair he usually used. "You sound just irritated enough by the inconvenience that it could be the truth."
"Good." She pushed back from her desk and moved to crane out the window, around the foliage. There was just enough visibility cleared that the main road in from the public gates was shown. "That group from Amegakure checked in at the gates forty minutes ago."
"They're sure taking their time to get here," he observed impassively.
Tsunade shrugged, uncaring. "Their real mission is showing the populace that Ame nin aren't all complete lunatics. Wandering the streets, talking to people, and going out for a hot drink before they deliver their message are sound strategies." She held out a hand for the paper that Jiraiya had picked up and gave it the slightest glance before putting it away in a folder. "Besides," she admitted, lowering her tone. "Konan and I are only exchanging perfectly friendly but impersonal cookie recipes and book recommendations. Though it causes me distress, I can wait to discover the nuances of her apparently famous mochi. Itachi-kun really wants that recipe."
What.
Jiraiya gave her a disbelieving stare. After a moment, her serious expression cracked and Tsunade let out a laugh. "Oh, come on," she defended. "What else are we supposed to talk about? Our politics don't line up, our agendas are established, and anything we actually have to sort out on the personal level is a poor idea." Her nose wrinkled in distaste.
He took a moment to think about that. Konan had been part of an organization that had wanted to kill the boy Tsunade thought of as a pseudo grandchild. Konan had also kidnapped that boy's sister and nearly let her die from medical neglect.
On the other hand, Tsunade had weakened Konan's best friend and then allowed his death by sending him from Konoha unprotected, knowing full-well that he would be targeted.
There was some potential for clashes there, he had to admit.
"Still." He tugged on his hair. "That just seems so undignified for two village leaders. What if someone opened and looked?"
His reputation was deliberately bad, yes. But he wasn't a kage and never would be. His behavior didn't reflect on an entire country.
"Already happened." Tsunade waggled her eyebrows. "They thought it was code and tried to sell the information."
Of course. Jiraiya sighed. Why did he even bother?
"They should be here relatively soon." Tsunade glanced at the window again. "You should get going. You're a little bit of a …touchy subject. Besides, don't you have work to do? Study the seal." She shrugged, giving him a stink-eye that they both knew hid amusement at an old joke. "Practice not perving on a young woman while you're at it. You'll need all the help you can get." She tapped a finger against her chin. "Actually, maybe it would be best if you weren't alone with her. That could seem intimidating, and you're not familiar with her learning style in any case."
"I don't have a copy of her seal," Jiraiya pointed out slowly. Tsunade-hime was strangely forgetful today. Was she just preoccupied? "Weren't you going to give me one?"
Her expression froze. "I don't have time. Just- grab Hatake," she decided, waving her hand dismissively. "He has an active seal. Make a copy and hurry the hell up. Bring him with you when you work with her."
"Aa," Jiraiya acknowledged with a sigh. "Don't work too hard while I'm gone, hime. But first-" He cocked his head. "What's going on with Waterfall?"
~~~
"Young lady! What are you doing?"
The scandalized whisper was uninteresting, so she dismissed it. Ear pressed to the heavy wooden door, she held her breath and strained to hear.
Mutters cut off. There was momentary silence. Then- "Come in, Aiko." The older woman sounded like she was forcing down another, less charitable order.
'Damn. They're done talking.'
She heaved a sigh. Ignoring the outraged expression that the baa-chan was leveling at her back, Aiko pushed her way into the office.
Both Sannin were staring at her with faint amusement. Ah. At least no one was upset.
Aiko pressed her face into something that vaguely resembled a smile and settled a drink on the Hokage's desk. Hottie-Hokage picked it up possessively, tired eyes perking up.
"Hey, thanks." Jiraiya-sama plucked Aiko's coffee out of her hands and saluted her with it.
What.
She opened her mouth in a snarl to tell him off.
He was already breezing past to her the door. Jiraiya-sama twisted around just enough to holler back, "I'll see you next week for practice, Aiko-chan!" And then he was gone.
On another day, she might have chased him and attacked him to recover her property. At the moment, she was rather caught up on something else.
"Why am I seeing him next week," Aiko wheeled on Tsunade and demanded. She planted her palms firmly on the desk and leaned over to loom aggressively, absolutely fucking sick of being out of the know. "Why."
A little bit of coffee trickled down Hokage-Hottie's face, spilt when she jolted in surprise.
'I'm fast enough to startle a kage?'
"Because," Hottie started firmly. She turned her face away and wiped a discreet finger on her chin to mop up the hot liquid. "You're going to have to do a lot more than recognize key people in order to maintain the appearance of normalcy. If you appear to have stagnated or god forbid regressed, that's going to set off warning bells."
Wait. Did that mean in terms of combat?
"Thanks to Yamato, one of your signature moves has been perfected past the point that any records exist of it."
Apparently so.
Hottie set down her coffee with a quiet scuff. "That will help give the impression that the time you have been uninvolved in international affairs has been somewhat normally spent."
Aiko straightened her face and carefully did not think about strolling into Ame for Obito. Or all the drugs and weapons she'd moved over borders. Konoha didn't need to know that. Shinobi nations got strangely twitchy about trifling matters like that.
Somehow, the Hokage didn't seem to notice. Perhaps she'd been bluffing earlier about the ease she had reading Aiko's face?
"If pressed into combat, fall back on chakra chains. However!" Hotkage raised two fingers. "There is at least one more technique that is considered your signature move. If you do not re-master it, or manage to give the impression of having done so, the situation may get sticky."
Aiko furrowed her brow and tilted her head slightly in query.
"The international community at large will consider the Hiraishin to be proof positive of your identity, and the absence to be proof positive that you died a year ago and that we're trying to pull a fast one with your testimony," Hotkage said dryly.
Part of her was stuck on the word 'Hiraishin'. She knew enough fuinjutsu to know that she had nowhere near that kind of competency haha what a funny joke. But her mouth was moving, and the words coming out sounded suspiciously like, "But you are pulling a fast one."
The vicious glare she got for that pulled her back to the real world instantly. "Who are you, my grandfather?"
Aiko put her hands up, palms out and clearly unarmed.
The Hokage harrumphed and leaned back. "I'd have you working today," she grumped. "But it's probably best that you finish that project first." She tossed her hair and nearly inaudibly added, "And the pervert needs a chance to acquire a copy of the seal you used."
That brought her back to the surreal part of the conversation.
"Hiraishin?" Aiko asked very quietly, hoping she had misheard. "The thing that the fourth Hokage used?"
"The thing your father used," the Hokage confirmed mercilessly. "I don't suppose Tobi ever told you about that, did he?" There was something bitter and sympathetic in her tone. "If you'd known that you could leave at any time…" She trailed off.
Some muscle twitched in Aiko's neck. The floor in this office was fascinating. It looked new and luxurious. The Hokage had good taste.
"Oh, cheer up." The older woman sounded uncomfortable, maybe even guilty. She cleared her throat. "It could be worse," Hotkage offered with much more conviction. "You're back now. And you're not even the one dealing with progressively cranky letters from Waterfall."
Aiko made a baffled face. "Who cares about what Waterfall thinks?" She didn't keep the condescension out of her tone. Waterfall was a tiny village filled with gigantic jerkwads. Aiko regretted the whole 'bijuu extraction and murder' thing, but she didn't feel particularly bad about commandeering Fuu directly out of that cesspit.
The Hokage gave a surprised laugh, shoulders shaking. "That-" She shook her head to compose herself and offer a more measured response. "I have heard worse questions."
"And?" Aiko tilted her head.
"They are our allies," Tsunade pointed out dryly.
'Our allies? Does she genuinely think I'm on her side?'
"And they've asked for our help sorting out a situation that has failed to be resolved diplomatically." Her lips twisted. "We are obligated to lend assistance. Unfortunately, the country that they're having problems with is also one of Konoha's allies."
"And this second party is a more valuable ally?" Aiko surmised. That made sense. Almost any shinobi village would provide more tactical value than Waterfall, for one reason or another. Also, Waterfall sucked.
The Hokage glanced over, opened her mouth, and then seemed to remember herself. She gifted Aiko with a thin smile. "You should get back to reading."
'I think that's a yes,' Aiko decided. She did get back to reading and definitely did not sulk. The Kazekage's file was kind of interesting, after all. After a few pages, it leapt up to 'fascinating stuff'.
Oh snap. 'I personally know the Kazekage?' Her excited thoughts trailed off with a sinking realization. That…
'I would say that's cool, except I think a previous acquaintance makes the fact that I unleashed two bijuu on his country even more awkward. Somehow.'
She frowned at the papers. Well. Maybe he wouldn't find out.
'What happened with that situation anyway? I haven't heard anything about horrible deaths in Suna. So they probably fixed it,' she assured herself. 'Sealed them away in some nice, loyal Suna nin. Pity and all that I won't have to see Hamburger and his grumpy friend again, but I'll struggle on.'
The flippancy didn't obscure another, much more worrying tangent. She had made Hamburger a promise to attempt to revive his jinchuuriki friend. It would seem that he was no longer capable of enforcing that. On the other hand, what happened if he got loose in the future and she hadn't kept her word?
No, no. She didn't want to lie to a bijuu.
'I don't want to raise the dead either.'
Troubled, Aiko rubbed at her chest with a palm.
It was sick. Unnatural. Wrong. Amoral, as much as anything could be. She hated her freakish dead-but-healthy-flesh. She'd done it to Fuu and that had been sick and selfish, a balm for her guilt and not anything done for Fuu's sake. It had been wrong of her. She knew better than that. Contemplating doing that to another person- intentionally, and with deliberated intent- It was- it was-
'I'll have to think about this.'
Somehow, she managed to focus enough to retain information from six more dossiers before her head was pounding. Aiko grimaced.
'I'm sitting fifteen feet away from the most renowned medical nin in the world and not asking her to take a look at my headache. Sometimes it would be nicer to trust some of these people, because the irony might actually kill me before the eyes do.'
On the bright side, she was now familiar with the Kazekage's knockout sister (who she had apparently got on with in past) and a smattering of Kiri shinobi of varying importance, from the Mizukage herself (she may have been prematurely hasty in handing out the sexykage title), her bodyguards, and jinchuuriki.
One of whom she had personally made into a jinchuuriki, and the other she had dragged back to Kiri like an errant child. No wonder Utakata had been so cranky with her. Especially after she told him that she didn't remember him. Oops.
Aiko sighed, rubbing at her neck.
'I should have pretended to recognize him, or at least not explicitly pointed it out. I wonder if that's going to come back to haunt me.'