On the day that Aiko returned to the tower to retrieve her team and find out the tournament schedule, there was a somewhat unpleasant surprise and one that was incredibly confusing but probably good, overall.
'So, that's definitely Orochimaru pretending to be a Grass nin.'
Okay, there were two unpleasant surprises and the one weird thing.
"A pre-tournament," Aiko said distastefully, folding her arms at gross surprise number 2. "Lovely. I got out of bed to watch genin scuffle."
Asuma, who was close enough to hear, gave her an inscrutable look that somehow felt incredibly disapproving.
She resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him.
It was, predictably, a hot mess. The part that was not remotely predictable and that she was internally screaming about was that Team 7 was there for it. It took Herculean effort not to react when they struggled in dead-last, looking haggard as hell.
Of course. Of fucking course. What the hell was going on?
'Orochimaru is here, is he supposed to be here? That'd be bold if Konoha knew he'd attacked a team in the forest. Maybe… Maybe he didn't for some reason?'
Aiko watched Sasuke clutch at his neck out of the corner of her vision, and wondered what had happened. She couldn't quite manage to look at Sakura without feeling creeped out and vaguely guilty, like she was looking at a walking corpse.
'That is intensely hypocritical. I am a walking corpse. I make a lot of them too. And presumably, she didn't die at all. Why is that creepy to me?'
Oh, wait. Two weird things for the day.
That wasn't the only interesting change. Karin was there. Had Karin made it to the tower last time? She didn't think so…
'Well. Her team probably got taken out by my team in the first timeline,' Aiko reasoned. 'But I took scrolls from different people and got them out in much less time. There are probably at least a couple fights that didn't happen or that happened with different people because encounters went differently or because I took from Team 8 and ….whoever those other kids from Sand were. No one important, clearly.'
She had more time to wonder when the matches finally began.
A great deal of the fighting wasn't interesting to her. Naruto beat Kiba, but Aiko wasn't exactly worried about the outcome- even if Kiba won, he wouldn't hurt Naruto. It was just a spar, really. Sasuke acted like a little lunatic and took out an older genin before collapsing and being taken out of the building by Kakashi. Naruto followed, missing the next matches. Karin lost to Kankuro, and then Yuusaku's name came up with Temari's.
Her genin gave the Suna-nin a polite nod when she met his stare with wide eyes. He began jogging down the arena stairs.
Aiko valiantly resisted the urge to cackle. Yuusaku didn't know that she'd worn his face to smack Temari around, did he? So he was rather surprised when Temari gritted her teeth and forfeited the match. Baki was obviously displeased, but Temari had actually made the right choice. She had correctly made the assessment that she could not defeat the person she'd fought in the Forest of Death. That was a mature decision.
'She would have absolutely destroyed Yuusaku, though. Good thing we didn't test it.'
The person choosing the matches must have been interested in a possible Suna-Kiri rivalry, because the next in the line-up was Gaara vs Ryuusei.
Gaara used some sort of sand substitution to enter the ring immediately, but Aiko's genin took a moment to mull it over.
Aiko looked at Ryuusei. Ryuusei looked at Gaara. Gaara looked murderous.
Ryuusei nodded, expression determined. "I forfeit," he called, leaning over the railing instead of even bothering to go down.
That was… embarrassing without context, but a good decision. And it wasn't even half as embarrassing as the fight between Ino and Sakura. That was…
'Well. If you're not dead, you have an opportunity to begin to suck less.'
Perhaps that would be a comfort to the two of them in the coming weeks. She had other concerns, especially after Keisuke beat Chouji to the finals in the last match, after which the match-ups for the rest of the tournament were announced.
Keisuke probably wouldn't beat Shikamaru if Shikamaru actually wanted to win, but Yuusaku would tear through the last grass nin in the competition like paper. The problem was that he'd face the winner of the Sasuke-Gaara match, and Aiko wasn't certain enough that it would be Sasuke. Which was heart-stoppingly terrifying if she stopped to think about it, but she couldn't. Not her country, not her kid, not her problem. She had her own wayward genin to worry about.
Which, frankly, kept her up late night and busy the next day drawing up plans, when she could find the time.
A month hardly seemed like enough time to turn 'he'd be a half-decent chuunin' Kiri no Yuusaku into the kind of monster who could survive Gaara. Aiko found that a disgraceful portion of her plans to deal with this were 'hope the invasion starts before that fight.'
'It seems fairly likely. He's scheduled to fight Sasuke first, and Gaara is not a precision instrument.' Two days after the match-ups had been announced, she stabbed her pen a little too forcefully and tore a hole where she was making notes above the transcripts that Mei had sent. Aiko cursed, but there wasn't anything to do about it.
She glanced up from her update on the increasingly desperate state of Kiri's emergency provisions to
check in on her genin, eyeing their practice. Yuusaku was making good progress on the water jutsu she'd given him. He was currently struggling with siphoning water off the little river and using it to coat his body. It was a worthwhile exercise on its own merits as an all-body chakra control exercise, but she was hoping he'd show some affinity for the using the water as a protective cushion. If his control was high enough, and he could manage that, then maybe…
Keisuke grunted, dripping with sweat. Aiko craned her neck, squinting to check that he wasn't hitting the dangerous edges of overexertion yet. He was on a more physical regimen to increase his hitting power. He was light enough on his feet that he could be a real hazard in close-combat if he worked at precision and power.
He was definitely unhappy with the 'moving heavy things' portion of his training, but he wasn't about to hurt himself yet. Still…
"Ten minute break," she called. The genin hit the ground almost instantly, Keisuke half-crawling to his third water bottle of the day. Ryuusei muddled up from the puddle jutsu he'd been hiding in, giving her a soggy glare for having him work on maintaining the jutsu. Aiko tapped her stack of papers against the ground to line up the edges and then carefully rolled them to slide them into a tube for safekeeping. She fastened the document holder to her right thigh, within easy reach, since she didn't have one of the Konoha flak jackets with the convenient scroll holsters.
The genin looked a bit more grateful for the break than she thought was entirely reasonable. They'd only been on the training fields since 5 am- she'd given them the day before off the recover from the elimination pre-tournament.
Hmm.
She tilted her head back, checking the position of the sun against the Hokage monument, which was easily visible from the training grounds assigned to her team for the month-long preparation period. It wasn't quite noon, probably around 11:20.
Aiko pursed her lips, considering it. "Alright, listen up." Keisuke's back stiffened with dread, but Ryuusei looked more resigned than anything. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, because Kiri really needed a rehaul of their mentoring programs if these kids had honestly expected to design their own training regimens. "You've got eight minutes of free time left, Yuusaku, keep an eye on that. When that's up, I want a best out of three spars from you and Ryuusei. All taijutsu this time, and be sure to stretch. Keisuke, move on to forms. Watch your ankles, and if anything is hurting, stop right away and do some throwing practice instead. You still pull to the left on the release when you're not focusing. Don't smirk, Yuusaku, because you've got some serious improvements to make on your blocking if you want to use that sword against anything more dangerous than a tree."
"And are you going somewhere?" Keisuke asked, looking a bit cheered by seeing his teammate's snickers cut off.
She nodded. "There's a convenience store nearby. I'm going to get us all a light lunch. More of a snack, really," she qualified over their happy sounds and the victory sign that Ryuusei threw up. "A salad and an onigiri type thing, probably, because I don't want any heavy food that'll upset your stomachs. If we've made enough progress by four thirty, we'll take twenty minutes to clean up and then get yakiniku. Sound like a deal?"
Apparently it did. And hopefully they would feel a second wind on their training after their break, which she extended five minutes before leaving. She took the walk at a leisurely pace, enjoying the sounds of her hometown bustling in the middle of the day. At the convenience store, she checked a wall clock as she picked a basket off the stack. 11:13. She'd been off in her guess by nearly twenty minutes- maybe she was looking forward to a break more than she'd admitted to herself.
Well. She might as well carve out some time she'd enjoy for herself. There was so much to get done today, and it was going to be a late night.
"You really like apples," Genma peered into her basket, because of course he had incredibly coincidentally walked into the store a minute after she had. Wow, what were the odds.
Subtle, Konoha was not. Of course, they didn't know she knew he lived on the other side of town and usually did his training in this time period, so maybe she wasn't being entirely fair.
Aiko put a sixth fruit on top of the tuna onigiri and didn't dignify that inanity with a direct response. "Good morning." She gave him the barest glance. "I assume you've taken my advice and come to buy mints? The spearmint is strongest."
He scowled.
"Oh, no. A toothbrush, then?" she suggested airily, and brushed past him to the cold section. Hmm. There was a fair selection of salads, but some of them were as low as 48 calories. The upper range was about 200. She'd said a light lunch, yes, but training burnt a lot of calories. She picked up three of the noodle-based salads with a green sauce to pour over the vegetables, and then a plastic container with some chicken and tomato over plainer lettuce for herself. Then she backtracked to add one more onigiri for each boy to the basket, because they'd need the calories.
"You're so cold to me." Genma said mournfully, trailing down the other end of the aisle for a hot tin of coffee. "Aren't we friends?"
Aiko gave him a mildly incredulous look because, yes, he'd seen her naked, but that certainly didn't make them close. "You're moving a bit fast there, don't you think?"
His lips twitched. "Maa, so mean." He flipped the senbon to the other side of his lips, which did remind her… well. He had a clever tongue, that was true.
He was looking smug. Oh, hell.
"It's one of my charms," Aiko agreed a little belatedly. She chose to pretend that he hadn't caught her daydreaming and dragged two bananas off the shelf to finish off the meal. "I need to get back to my team. We've got a busy day."
"And they're going to be hungry," Genma shook his head at her. "What's that? I think I might have cried if my sensei brought me such a light lunch in the middle of intense training."
"You pay per person at yakiniku," Aiko pointed out blandly. "They might as well fall upon it like starving wolves."
He made a choking sound that might have been a laugh. "I see," he managed. Genma walked past her to stand in line, unfortunately managing to finagle it so that she followed him- she had all her items now, so waiting would be weird. He set his coffee on the counter with a clink and turned enough to look at her while the cashier scanned it. "Well, that's such a noble cause. I'm moved enough that I would be honored to be allowed to accompany you. My treat, of course."
"Oh, that's romantic," Aiko hummed. "Just you, me, and some incredibly uncomfortable genin wishing for a quick death."
His smile faded just a little. "Is that a no?"
"No, I think you owe me a meal just because this conversation happened." She set the basket on the counter as soon as he stepped to the side. She nodded at the cashier who Genma had ignored. "Good morning."
The girl ducked her head, her response quiet as she rapidly sorted the food and began bagging it.
"It's a date." Genma stepped in just a little too close. He still smelled good, the bastard, and his eyes crinkled when he smiled. She resisted the urge to jam her fingers into his throat to watch the smugness leave his posture.
"Have a table for five ready by five tonight," she said instead. "Tenzama, the one nearest my hotel. I'm sure you know where that is, because you're creepy."
He didn't deny it, but he did shoot off a lazy salute as he stepped back, apparently reconsidering his strategy. "Of course." Genma inclined his head, and then turned out the door.
There was a moment of quiet, interspersed by quiet beeps of the register's scanner.
"He's cute," the cashier ventured.
Aiko glanced up and read 'Aoyama Natsuko' off the nametag on the purple-striped uniform shirt. "Not as cute as he thinks he is," she disagreed mildly.
Natsuko made a soft huffing sound, sorting the salads and onigiri into a bag separate from Aiko's coffee. "If you decide you don't want him, I can eat enough beef for three and be his date. He'll hardly know the difference."
Aiko took a moment to consider that scenario and cracked a smile. "That's a noble offer. I'm tempted. I'll call you in my hour of need, if I decide I'm not strong enough to let him buy me dinner."
"I'm here for you," Natsuko said gravely. "That'll be san-zen yon-hyaku en. Do you have a store card?"
When she got back to the training field, Aiko was pleased to hear that the boys had managed to finish a round of spars without any worrying aches or pains. They talked quietly while they ate, sitting a fair distance away from her.
Aiko eyed the careful ten feet between them and the tree she was sitting under and repressed a sigh. Well. They weren't really a team. She ate much more gradually, working on her food one-handed while she read and occasionally made notes.
Kiri wasn't going to make it until Konoha could be convinced to help out. They were still handing out emergency rations, rice cooked communally with wakame and sesame to provide a bare minimum of nutrients and calories to keep people going. But the supplemental food, like fresh vegetables and protein, would run out the day after tomorrow. The rice and seaweed would probably last another week.
She ran her hands through her hair and tried not to scream. It was so frustrating. Kiri desperately needed help from outside sources, but couldn't afford to reveal the weakness without the benefit of gaining a strong ally. She could look to an ally in a smaller nation for some assistance, but it would come at a steep cost, if anyone even took her up on it. And if they didn't, she would have let the information slip herself. If she approached anyone, she'd have to be certain that they would be amenable.
'I've got a few hundred man-en saved,' she mulled. 'That's not a long-term solution, but I could do supplement the emergency supplies at least. I can't let anyone know where it's going, so I'll have to transport it myself. And probably stagger where I get the food, so that no one goes home wondering about why anyone would need enough rice for a village.'
They would be better off if the civilians who did fishing and seaweed-gathering weren't being hampered by damaged waterways and equipment. Everything was a catch-22-: it was all important and it was all time-sensitive and there just wasn't enough skilled labor even if there were materials.
Maybe half of the fishing industry's equipment and infrastructure was still functional, but the workforce was compromised by the need for huge masses of labor to get the streets passable and homes repaired enough to be livable. A good deal of the apartments that had been abandoned over the years of Kiri's decline had been scoped out and re-occupied, but there was still far too many people sleeping communally in community centers and schools. For one thing, they desperately needed to get the schools running again. And-
"Fuck!"
Aiko was halfway across the field, supporting the log that Keisuke had nearly been crushed by before he finished the profanity. She heard paper flapping in the wind where she'd abandoned her work in her haste.
"Thanks," Keisuke said weakly, pink-faced and sweaty. Belatedly, Ryuusei scrambled over to help her shoulder the load.
Aiko nodded, helping lever the wood safely to the ground. "Muscles give out?"
Keisuke grimaced. "I forgot to lift with my legs, and my arms are tired," he admitted. A muscle in his neck was twitching. "I can go again, I just need to use good form."
Her lips twisted, not liking the idea. "Put that off for tomorrow. It's better not to push this. Why don't you work on the fog jutsu? I know you can do it reliably, but let's try expanding the area of affect while containing it low to the ground. Say, within 60 centimeters."
When he nodded, she went off to collect her scattered documents. It took a few minutes to get them back into order, but they were all there. She considered going back working on reading, but ended up putting the papers away for now and eyeing up her students. Some of them looked fresher than others.
"Ryuusei, when that jutsu gives out, start running laps. Yuusaku, switch to running sprints," Aiko decided. "How much chakra do you have left?"
He made a face, considering the question. "About thirty percent. What distance?"
"To the treeline and back, ten second breather, and repeat. You have your- yes, good," she approved when he pushed up his sleeve to show his watch. "Time it. It's not as precise when you time yourself, but do your best. Do three sets of ten reps, and mark your times to map your fatigue."
"After that?" he asked warily, pulling off his long-sleeved shirt. It got caught in his hair for a moment, floofing in a static cling when he finally threw the fabric to the side.
"Work on your flexibility and falling."
His sigh was probably all the response she was going to get, so she took it. "I'll be back in about two hours," Aiko guessed. "If I'm longer, you three can choose your next exercises and another ten minute break. Stay hydrated, it's turning into the hottest part of the day about now."
"Yes, sensei," they droned dutifully.
The ANBU watching her were probably wondering what she was doing, but she paid them no mind and made her way back to the hotel room. She unsealed a huge stack of bills in the privacy of her room and tucked them away in different pockets so that she didn't have to take out a suspiciously large amount at any point in time. Then she took herself to a series of markets- staying outside of Fire Country, keeping to civilian centers. She bought family-sized quantities of rice and vegetables, carried it out of sight, and then took it back to the temporary office in Kirigakure after each market trip. No one was in at the moment, so she took a moment to wonder what Mei and Utakata were doing. Mei was probably watching Yamato, actually, and hopefully persuading him to work.
Aiko had agreed that he should be kept to humanitarian efforts- residences. He'd gain insight into infrastructure and the changing city layout, yes, but not as much as he would if set to build bridges or administrative buildings. Perhaps at a stretch he could be trusted to repair shrines or civilian schools, but even that exposed a surprising amount about community movements.
She was setting a paper bag full of onions by its fellows when the door opened.
"Oh. Good afternoon," Mei said.
Aiko managed a nod in her distracted state, surveying her bounty. "Carrots don't keep as well as onions, but the nuts will last," she said. "What other vegetables do you think? Who is in charge of cooking? It's short notice for today, but I was thinking about arranging for a special meal tomorrow to keep up morale. That's what the tomatoes and peppers are for- I know those won't keep long, but they'll be a good treat. And they're cheap."
"And the fruit?" Mei barely glanced at the packages of umeboshi, but she was giving the mikan oranges a mildly incredulous look. Those definitely were not cheap. Vegetables were a great value, but the fresh fruit had cost her a good third of the money she'd spent.
"Scurvy," Aiko said darkly. "We need salt, too, or we'll have a huge problem with goiter. And we need other sources of protein if we can't get our fishing to support at least one serving a day per person. I'm not a nutritionist, so I'm probably missing other concerns. We need someone knowledgeable to help design this program, if we're going to have to maintain it more than a few more weeks. We don't have the medical care system to deal with systemic malnutrition."
"Have you considered buying plants?" Yamato asked, apparently unconcerned by the chuunin watching him while he was behind Mei. "It's an initially steep cost, but a fair few varieties will be producing well at this time of year. Producing food within the village can save you a lot of money."
"Manpower, water source and transport, and suitable soil," Aiko rejected. "I'm not entirely ready to dismiss it, but there's a lot of problems."
"Oh, yes, the soil here is rather nutrient-poor," he agreed ruefully. "I forget."
She made a face. "And it tends more toward clay than anything suitable for general farming," Aiko sighed.
"I didn't come prepared to talk like an onion farmer, so I'll just be on my way now that we know who alarmed the people downstairs by stamping around in here," Mei said dryly. "I take it that you'd like to have all that brought to the distribution center?"
"It can stay here for tonight if someone from the center comes to do inventory and then has it moved in the morning." Aiko tucked hair behind her ear, wondering if she should do one more run. She wasn't out of funds yet- she'd accumulated quite a lot while running independent missions in the months she'd had nothing better to do. But she'd made an ugly dent in her savings, and this was only a stopgap measure. "What time is it?"
Mei pointedly looked at the clock above the desk. "Ten til four."
Aiko rubbed at her eyes. She'd taken longer than she should have. "Right. I'll be off, then. What time do you expect to be ready to meet tonight?"
"Seven," Mei said. She glanced at Yamato. "You'll be glad to see the plans being drawn up for an apartment complex. We also have a single residence completed as a model that should be ready for residence, although without electricity or plumbing."
"Your work?" Aiko asked Yamato.
He nodded warily.
"I look forward to seeing it. Did you take the soil type into account in those floor plans?" she asked.
He took a moment to consider his answer. "I can make adjustments to the frame and base easily enough, and it won't matter in the single-story that's completed," Yamato decided.
Aiko nodded, trusting him at his word. He wasn't her ally or friend, but he was more knowledgeable than she was, and he wouldn't resort to the open hostility of sabotage. At least not uncontrolled sabotage. He'd do nothing that would fall down on their heads without Konoha's say-so. But he was probably doing a lot that he could use to cripple them later if necessary.
She pushed an errant rice bag over enough so that she could open a desk drawer and take another pen. She was always losing the damn things.
"How is Konoha today?" Yamato asked casually, watching her movements.
She glanced up. "Is that where I am?" Aiko asked. She stuck her pen in her pants pocket.
He made a face at her.
Mei's eyebrows pulled down and together, glancing between the two of them.
"I'm off, possibly to Konoha and possibly not." Aiko nodded at the two, considering how best to make her exit. She didn't want to just use hiraishin in front of Yamato.
So she strode towards the nearest door, stepped inside, and turned around to wave. "Goodbye. I'll see you tonight." She shut the door.
There was a moment of quiet. Then Mei called out, "Mizukage-sama, that is the supply closet."
"I know," Aiko called back. Then she went to the hotel room, washed her hands, and let the baffled ANBU super-secretly follow her back to her students after apparently wandering off for a midday nap.
~~~
"I really hate that woman sometimes," Mei told the empty conference room after she finally gave up on finding a secret passage attached to the mop closet. She held up coffee in a toast to her own statement, because no one else was going to.
After checking to make certain that the sudden silence really did mean that the Mizukage was gone, she'd hustled the prisoner out of the temporary office and back to work. He'd been obviously distracted for the rest of the workday, despite the fact that construction was clearly a personal passion.
Well. Still, she had more to show for her efforts in the days since the last check-in than Utakata did. Being assigned the prisoner wasn't as debilitating as she'd feared, although it did mean that she'd had to let Utakata take more charge over vetting internal affairs than she would have liked.
He hadn't seemed yet to cotton on that there seemed to be contention as to which one of them would be the Mizukage's right hand. As long as he didn't know there was a competition, he couldn't outmaneuver her.
That wouldn't last, though.
The Mizukage was late, entering the conference room at 7:23. Not that Mei was counting. She bowed at the woman's entrance, keeping her irritation off her face. "Good evening, Mizukage-sama."
"Good evening, Mei," came the… oddly familiar response. Mei resisted the urge to bristle. Then she wrinkled her nose. Was that-
"I smell like smoke and meat?" Uzumaki half-asked, face wry. "I apologize for being late. Konoha is trying to wine and dine me. I'm a hot commodity." She set a scroll case on the table and pulled out a chair.
"Oh?" Mei kept her tone light. But.. the idea of someone trying to recruit the Mizukage was amusing. Konoha was going to be terribly embarrassed when they figured that out.
The smile that the younger woman gave her implied she was having similar thoughts. "Yes, but I've not been charmed into changing alliances just yet. Now, first. Did that inventory get taken?"
Mei had to take a second to pull out the correct report and hand it over for perusal. The Mizukage gave the paper a dark glare- no, a squint. Mei leaned over and turned on the overhead light, despite fairly strong daylight coming in the windows.
"Thank you," Uzumaki-san said absently, reading the report that Mei had only managed to get in the last hour. "It's not as much as I hoped, but another week is better than nothing."
"I'm told the lack of meat is the most immediate concern," Mei agreed, knowing that the Mizukage would be reading about that now. "Did you have ideas?"
"We need outside help, but I think it would be better to hire a contractor to repair the damaged harbor than import and rely on outside sources." The Mizukage tugged on her hair, still reading. "It'll hurt the reconstruction to take able hands away from building, but it's worth it. We need to re-establish as much self-sufficiency as possible. God knows I don't want to go into any negotiations in a position like that. We'll get eaten alive."
Mei eyed the younger woman, wondering again about where she had come from. She fought like a covert operative but she talked like a politician or at least someone who was intimately familiar with administration. Where could she possibly have gotten that experience?
"I've got an architect who works with waterways in mind, and I think he could also be used to rebuild that fallen bridge and draft the repairs for the pedestrian one by the west temple." The Mizukage finished the report and handed it back. "Thank you. I'll try to make contact tomorrow, but it would create logistical issues. He and his crew would have to be housed somewhere, we'd need materials, and they couldn't be allowed to leave until the project is finished. Hopefully not until we're out of this weakest point in the rebuild."
"And that will be expensive," Mei added.
"I can afford to hire him and a small crew, I think," Uzumaki said grimly. She flexed a hand on the table. "But that will be a huge sum, you're right. It'll nearly drain me. But I think it's better to ensure an internal source of food supply rather than spend it on stopgap measures. If we can supplement it with some trade or philanthropic relief, we'll get by."
Mei crossed her arms, mulling that over. "The trade…. That's not possible until we open the borders. But the borders must stay closed until we are less vulnerable. And we'd have little to offer. The treasury is all but drained, and we're not producing any great industry."
"But philanthropic aid from a shinobi nation requires less of a security drop," the Mizukage said, not sounding best pleased about it. "I'm… not glad that you agree, but it offers some peace of mind." She rubbed at her head. "I was thinking about Nadeshiko."
"Nadeshiko?" Mei felt her eyebrows shoot up. "They're… an incredibly minor player, and not conveniently located."
"And would have to pass through several countries to get here, which would draw attention if it happens with any regularity," Uzumaki-san said. "It's not ideal. People would notice the movement, and wonder. But they're also not likely to be concerned about the prospect that we've allied with such a weak nation. The great nations won't worry and spy the way they would if we were in talks with Grass, for instance."
She… didn't like it, exactly, but it had clearly been considered. "What industry do they have?"
"Not much." Uzumaki-san pursed her lips and finally seemed to notice the coffee pot. Her eyes lit up. "In terms of agriculture they have rice fields, they preserve fruits, and they're fairly well-known for spinach."
"Are they," Mei said flatly. She'd never heard of this. But judging by the way the Mizukage had easily talked dirt and vegetables with the prisoner, it might be mainlander common-knowledge.
Her liege-lord eyed her sharply, but the effect was a bit undermined by the four sugar cubes she dropped into her cup.
Still, Mei looked away.
They took a moment to drink, considering what had been said so far. The Mizukage broke the silence.
"The fact that they're a minor, weak nation even among the minor states is actually why I think they might be amenable." Her spoon clinked when she laid it down on the saucer. "We have little to offer in trade or financial recompense, but we have the prestige of being one of the five great nations. However weakened we are, we are more powerful and respected than they are. I believe that coming changes in that region will have smaller nations feeling…" she considered her words. "Nervous. We may be able to buy assistance with merely the promise of our reputation's protection. Or we may have to interfere in territorial disputes."
Mei sighed. It…. There were not many options.
"If you don't like that option, we could always travel back in time ten years, prevent the Sandaime Mizukage's assassination of the Daimyo, and then come back to now to appeal the court for assistance," Uzumaki-san suggested in a tone that sounded more serious than it should.
Mei gave the woman a dirty look just on principle. "I believe that ship may have sailed."
"He screwed us out of civilian aid, you mean?" The Mizukage leaned back more than was entirely dignified, holding her coffee with both hands. "Maybe not. We might actually be better off because of that assassination, long-term."
"We are less limited than other nations," Mei acknowledged. "With no need to balance power between a kage and a Daimyo, the office has more leeway and ability to act quickly than our counterparts."
"That's true." Uzumaki-san stared into her coffee. "But I was actually thinking about Wave."
Mei almost asked, and then she took a moment to consider. Wave was a non-player, a relatively poor civilian state with an isolationist Daimyo, most known for his disinterest to govern the areas outside his capital, other than taxing them.
"You want to conquer it?" she asked, mulling over the idea. It wasn't terrible. They certainly had more land that seemed suitable for agriculture, and could be used for trade that didn't directly expose Kirigakure to outside sources.
The Mizukage shook her head. "I don't think that's necessary or even wise. I think we should work together."
Work together. With a civilian nation of no affluence or cultural significance to speak of.
"I think we can offer each other a lot," the Mizukage disagreed with whatever she was reading off of Mei's expression. "A Daimyo could offer international respectability to our affairs and advocate with other Daimyo, as well as provide peace of mind to our civilians. We have a systemic problem stemming from my predecessor's callous treatment of the civilian population and the divide between the civilian and military interests. We need immigration, especially of skilled labor, but we're more likely to see a mass exodus when the borders are opened."
She couldn't speak, too shocked. That was a radical policy shift. "What you're proposing," Mei started, and then she stopped. "Are you…."
The Mizukage waited patiently, eyebrows politely raised in mild interest.
Mei managed to get it out on the third try. "You want to propose becoming one country. Taking military possession of Wave, but allowing him to take possession of land resources and administration of other affairs."
"I wouldn't allow him total administration," Uzumaki-san said thoughtfully. "Frankly, he's not very good at it, is he? I don't think he'd even want it. I think he'd want the prestige and protection we can offer, and the international boost in standing from increasing his territory so much. He'd also like the opportunity to assign nobles and officials off the mainland- that's ripe opportunity for court games and power plays. There's always a person or ten that any Daimyo would like to go live on another continent."
"You've been thinking about this a lot." Mei felt a headache coming on. "It's… It's not immediately viable by any means."
"It's not. We couldn't even begin work on it until the international community knows that there's been a change in leadership. And it would take years to make happen, in all likelihood." Uzumaki-san sighed. "It's… it's just something to consider for our long-term growth. Think about expanding our border out there, having secondary academies on the mainland to recruit from a much larger population pool."
Larger population pool….
"You are very concerned by Kiri's low population," Mei acknowledged carefully. "We have had many desertions in past years, and the previous administration's dim view of bloodline talents did not help the problem."
"The graduation exam certainly didn't help increase our military or encourage enrollment in the Academy either," Uzumaki said dryly. "Yes, as you've noted, our military strength is concerning. But the civilian population is a dawning problem as well. They're crucial for our economic stability, trade power, and as a source for replenishing the military. We simply don't have the bodies we need, and it's going to get a lot worse very soon. Incentives to improve the birthrate and ways to keep people in the workforce when they have children would help, but we need an influx of new blood. And I'd like our old resources back. That, at least, I have the power to do."
Mei put her face in her hands, because this meeting was supposed to have been about the progress she'd made on the housing situation and the final count of condemned residences.
"I've written up the executive order and a draft of the press release."
There was a rustle of paper.
"I'd like you to take a look when you have the time. Presumably we'll be able to perform information control, but the change in administration might well come out before we'd like. If the news breaks, I'd like this ready for release. There's no sense in waiting."
Resentfully, Mei took the paper, but she didn't try to read it yet.
"This is a broad stroke, I know. But the majority of our missing nin are political dissidents, not normal criminals. A unilateral pardon could bring a lot of them back in. We'll figure out who is who and keep the ones who could be dangerous away from any responsibility or crucial roles, and there's certainly no second immunity."
"The international community may not like this," Mei had to point out.
The Mizukage shrugged. "It's our prerogative to reject and pardon our own people. They can't say anything."
"Alright." Mei glanced over the hand-written document, suppressed the urge to rub at her temples, and tucked it away for later consideration. "I'll assume that you will tell me when to release this, unless something goes wrong. If we have an information leak, I'll send this information out to update the bingo books and friendly nations."
"Good." The Mizukage looked insufferably pleased, although now that Mei was looking closely, she looked tired. "Is there anything else?"
Mei felt her jaw tighten, because yes. Obviously. She opened the folder she was holding and drew out the first three documents. "Yes, a few things. First, I want to show you the plans that the prisoner has drawn up. I believe that three such buildings could solve the housing crisis, and he claims that he could construct them at a rate that is frankly rather shocking. Within two weeks."
"Oh, he can," the Mizukage agreed absently, looking over the plans. "He must be thrilled. Ask him about furniture, he'll probably set up a shop and just cry over how beautiful benches are. How is that going, by the way? Any more escape attempts?"
"Just the two, so far," Mei said grimly. "It's a drain on resources to keep the number and quality of nin necessary to contain him when I am not available. You're certain that Utakata-san is unsuitable for this task?"
Uzumaki-san snorted. "Oh, yes," she agreed. "Yamato would wipe the floor with him. It's an unfavorable matchup for any jinchuuriki, really."
She considered that. "Even you?"
The response was a surprised look. "You know, I forget about that," Uzumaki-san said. She blinked a few times. "But… no. No, not me. He poses no threat to me. Although I might have a solution for you to loosen the surveillance costs. I can put a seal on him that will let me know if he moves too far from the capital. If you believe he's not going to be a significant threat, that is."
Mei breathed deeply, mulling it over. She would like to say that he was predictable enough. But… "I can't be certain just yet," she admitted. "I'll need more time. He does not have a vicious temperament, but I can't say for certain that he would not take the opportunity to disable or damage our people if unsupervised."
Uzumaki-san hummed from the back of her throat. "I see. I'll put the seal on him, then, and leave his level of supervision to your discretion and judgment."
~~~
She managed to leave Mei by nine. Aiko's head was beginning to throb, but there was nothing for it. She returned to the office to file away request forms and anything she'd approved or rejected over he course of the day, picking up new papers from the inbox now that the workday was done. Then she backtracked to Konoha, entering her hotel room and walking down the hall to check in on the genin. They hadn't quite made it in yet, so she waited six minutes until an incredibly unamused Konoha chuunin ushered them in, and made a pointed reminder about curfew.
They looked only mildly shamed.
"What were you doing?" Aiko asked, more weary than upset that they'd embarrassed her. She leaned against the door, fully aware that the ANBU team on the other side would be thrilled to finally be able to hear a conversation. Poor bored kids.
They exchanged a look.
"We went to a bookstore," Yuusaku said carefully. She noticed his hands were empty.
"We love books," Keisuke added.
Ryuusei took over. "And learning. We thought it would be relaxing to have something to do at night when we're tired, but not tired enough to sleep."
She considered that steaming pile of horseshit for a moment. "You're too young to buy Icha Icha, and you didn't have the brains to use a henge," Aiko concluded.
Yuusaku slowly flushed a burning rose shade, but Keisuke managed to shake his head. "We thought being foreigners using jutsu in public spaces was riskier than trying to convince them that Ryuusei is eighteen," he admitted. "He looks older than me."
Aiko felt her eyebrows shoot up. Well. That was actually a good point. They'd been stupid, but not as stupid as they could have been. Half points, she supposed. "If you embarrass me by being out past curfew again, I'm going to break your fingers off, feed them to you, and make you compliment me on my cooking. Understood?"
Yuusaku was now green.
She waited a moment for a response. She didn't get one, but it looked like they understood. "Good, that's settled. Good luck getting hold of an Icha Icha on this trip. I don't mind, but I don't think you'll be able to do it. Your best bet is convincing a sympathetic adult to do it for you and giving them your money."
Keisuke gave her a speculative look.
"Any money you give me, I'll spend on ice cream," Aiko rejected flatly. "Or maybe sex, I'll rent a love hotel with that nice jounin you liked so much at dinner."
"He was sleazy," Yuusaku said, horrified. "Oh my god, don't."
"You've got to have better taste than that." Ryuusei's nose wrinkled.
Aiko considered it a moment, because, actually, she didn't think Genma was that bad. "Already done it. Him. Fairly good. Maybe six out of ten, not completely uninspiring but not world-shaking either."
That was a lie. 8/10 was fairer. But ANBU gossiped, and she liked the thought of the look Genma would have on his face when that assessment got back to him.
There were twin sounds of disgust and a "Sensei, gross! Don't tell me that," as she turned around. "Goodnight," Aiko said, putting a hand on the door. "Stay in your room. I'm not going to tell you when to go to sleep, but know that you're going to be up at 5:30 and working at 6:00." That done, she pulled the door shut, went back to her room, and then went back to Mizugakure.
Utakata was waiting, leaning against a wall in the area that had been designated as her private quarters.
"Hello," Aiko greeted, making a beeline for what had been Yagura's receiving room.
"We need more competent leadership in our outer border patrol," he replied. His dark eyes glinted in the darkness.
Aiko gave him A Look for his theatricality and sat down on the sofa. "Why? It's a skeleton crew, I don't expect them to keep everything out. The closer border is going to have to do for Kirigakure's security for now."
"There was an incident." He followed her to the couch and sat primly, sitting with a few hand width's between them.
She took the opportunity to immediately lift her feet off the floor to lay her legs across his lap. "Was the backup that Yamato-san seemed to be expecting?"
"Perhaps," Utakata allowed. "All we know is that there was an unauthorized entrance. The intruder subdued a border guard and entered. Due to confusion and absent leadership, the decision to pursue the intruder was not made until it was too late. The trail was lost. We are in a state of alert at the inner ring of security, but we cannot be certain of anything more."
She bit down the urge to say that she would pick up this person's trail. She couldn't. She couldn't do everything, she was already stretched thin. "Alright. So, there should be some reassignments and evaluations, but these things do happen. Who did you have in mind for this posting?"
"Ao-san," Utakata said without a pause. "An older man, experienced in leadership. He has had similar postings and acquitted himself admirably."
Aiko considered it. She was quite certain that he would do a competent job. "Alright. You can reassign him there. How'd he piss you off?"
Utakata gave her a look that she supposed was meant to convince her that he would do nothing so petty.
She lifted an eyebrow in response, because, come on. She'd once framed Itachi for killing Obito because it would get him sent to another country. She knew what she was looking at.
"Terumi-san directed him into my office in order to gain information on my activities," Utakata said sourly. "I attempted to convince him that it was unnecessary to report on me. He remains unconvinced."
"Yeah, he's too loyal to Mei to turn," Aiko agreed. She wrinkled her nose. "He'll work for us as long as she does, and she'll work for me as long as she thinks I'm doing well by Kirigakure or she thinks she can definitely kill me. You might able to pull Chojuro to your side, though."
…. "Who?"
Oh, right. Ao and Chojuro weren't a set.
"Another strong shinobi who I believe would have fought for Mei," Aiko explained. "Trained as one of the seven swordsmen. He's young, idealistic, and he probably wants that organization back. You're in more of a position to make that happen than Mei is." She sighed, stretching her toes. "This rivalry between the two of you is stupid, by the way."
He looked mutinous.
"I don't care, as long as it's constructive," Aiko warned. "I'll allow Ao's transfer because he really will do a great job in that position. But if it interferes with our operations-"
"It won't." Utakata set a hand on her leg, as if to calm her. "I understand, Mizukage-sama."
She blinked. "Wow," Aiko said. "That was… respectful."
"You are my Mizukage," he said in a soft tone. "You are also a colossal idiot with slip-shod plans I must constantly repair."
Aiko leaned back. "That's more like it."
"Bringing civilian contractors to perform work will present significant financial and security challenges."
"Mei already sent you a memo on that?" Aiko asked, honestly surprised. "I left her less than an hour ago."
"She is efficient," Utakata said stiffly, because he was probably butt-hurt that Mei was so terrifyingly competent. "Do you plan to pay these people up-front? You must realize that they cannot be permitted to leave until the crisis is over, but that any one person or group of people cannot be allowed exclusive knowledge of any of Kirigakure's infrastructural systems."
"I'm not that thick," Aiko pointed out wearily. "I'll need to find a couple of different contractors for different concerns, and yes, I know that it would be best to keep them all completely separate so that they don't know who else is working in the area on what projects. I need to research this. It's just that I know one person off-hand who could rectify our immediate food supply problem by addressing the collapsed harbor that's crippling our fishing and seaweed-gathering industries. With shinobi cooperation, it could be finished very, very soon. But designing and supervising something like that is best left to experts, so we don't have our city falling apart again five years down the road. The bijuu did a lot of damage, yes, but it wouldn't have been nearly so bad if our buildings were well-done or newer."
He gave her a black look, but nodded after a moment. "As long as you're giving it proper consideration and not assuming it will be uncomplicated. You mentioned shinobi cooperation? I suppose that it would be easier to work on sea-adjacent structures with the assistance of water-users," Utakata said thoughtfully.
"Yes, Mei's lava or a stone user might be more directly useful for materials, though," Aiko pointed out. "And I don't know how else we would get them, to be honest. We don't have a quarry."
"This is not Iwagakure," Utakata said dryly. "And I would not recommend asking them to send us a high-quality stone user. That is likely a security risk. It must be Terumi, then. She will be pleased to be useful, but I fear that the logistics are difficult and that her time is limited. Will her lava even be suitable for such a task?"
"No, no. I think that I can do it if lava is unsuitable." Aiko rubbed at her temples. "If there's no one else of high caliber as a stone-user in the village, I'll make the time. I hope it won't take long, and we'll have to muddle out a date and time when we get there."
"Oh." He paused to consider that. "I was not aware that you had a doton affinity."
She gave him a tired smile, because… no, actually, but Rinnegan could make things happen. She could do all kinds of things that she'd never truly learned if she had the Rinnegan activated. She might even be able to replicate some of Pein's repertoire, if she was so inclined.
'And if I ever have the time.'
"I'll attempt to make contact tomorrow. I'm fairly certain that the builder will accept, and if the work goes quickly enough we might be able to just keep them ignorant about where exactly they're working rather than holding them for an indefinite period of time." She felt the hand on her leg begin rubbing at her stiff muscles, which was the only reason she noticed that she'd tensed her muscles. "I know you don't like that, but they're civilians. They wouldn't have much reason to know geography well enough to figure out where they are exactly. They'll know within Mist, of course, but 'I did work somewhere in Mist' is not really information worth selling.
He sighed, but his other hand came up to continue the massage. "Absurd. I shall do my best to find accommodations and ready the area, on the assumption that you are successful and that we will see them within the week."
Right. She paused for a minute, and considered just taking a nap right where she was. It would be very nice, and frankly, the idea of going back to Konoha and doing this all over again was exhausting. Doing paperwork all day while she trained genin and dodged Konoha's attempts to spy on or turn her, meetings with Mei and Utakata and hopefully Tazuna, and… well.
"What else did you discuss with Terumi?" Utakata asked.
Aiko considered it, feeling tired. "Nothing worth re-hashing, really. There were a few things I picked her brains on that I'll be asking you about before implementation, but nothing that will be coming up soon."
"I see." His thumbs ran up the insides of her legs gently, tracing light shapes around her knees and calves. "Nothing critical, then. You may be pleased to note that we have established a satisfactory system of day care and temporary schooling with a civilian staff. It has freed up more capable people to perform labor, and is returning some normalcy. It will quickly become a problem for the schools that are serving as emergency housing due to crowding concerns, but I believe that Terumi-san is adequately addressing that concern."
"That is good," Aiko admitted, letting her head loll back against the couch. It was a relief to see things starting to pull together. "Just little stuff, I assume?"
"Literacy, mostly," Utakata admitted. "We do not have the teachers for a full curriculum, but it is easy enough to find adults who can teach kanji and some writing or low level maths to children younger than twelve. Anyone older is working, so higher education is not yet a concern."
"I see." She closed her eyes and relaxed for a moment, but her guilt wouldn't let her drift off. "If there's nothing else, I should get going," Aiko said regretfully. "I picked up a bundle of independent contracts last night, and I need to make some progress on them."
"Oh?" Utakata asked, tone light.
"We need money," Aiko said wryly. "And we're not doing many missions with the state of things. I have a narcotics shipment to move, but tomorrow is probably the earliest I can do that without really surprising the client. There's something I should retrieve and someone I could kill tonight, though, and do the drop-offs tomorrow night."
He made a disapproving sound and pushed her legs off of his lap. "It sounds as thought your night is scheduled to be quite busy."
"I know," Aiko said mournfully. "But you sleep well, yeah?"
"I will, of course. Like a child." He stood, tall in the moonlight. "I shall see you tomorrow night?"
"With the update on Tazuna-san," Aiko agreed. She leaned over and patted his hip, because he'd withdrawn awfully quickly. "I'm sorry. I'd rather be here too. I bet you're not exactly thrilled with your sudden career change."
He sighed. "Good night, Mizukage-sama."
Well… Alright, then. "I'm off to work." She stood, checking that she had everything, and then took a moment to remember her mission details.
Fuck everything, basically.