"So, this is what you've been doing for the last month?" Raidou rubbed the back of his neck. "Gotta admit, I was expecting more thumbscrews. And less…" He squinted at the compass Yamato was using to change a detail on his plans- they were adding lateral braces to increase the likelihood of the building making it through a tsunami intact. "Less whatever that is."
Yamato's brow furrowed. "Me too," he admitted, drawing the addition carefully and scratching out a bit of math to figure out what that would do to the load-bearing wall adjacent. He glanced at Terumi, who was probably close enough to hear. "I think that was on the schedule, but there was a change of strategy. Welcome to your indefinite working vacation. Today we're making the first foundation. Are you helping me? I've not been assigned a lot of assistance for some reason. Almost like they don't trust their genin around me."
"That would be hurtful. You're a very trustworthy guy." The older man shook his head. "So, our working vacation, huh?" Raidou's mouth twisted. "That sounds familiar. You spoke to the…." He glanced at their Kiri escort and clearly decided against whatever he had wanted to call Uzumaki-san. "The Godaime Mizukage?"
If Yamato had to venture a guess, he'd say that Raidou had been leaning more towards 'the slightly crazy person' than the term of respect. Or maybe he was projecting. Maybe Raidou had had a perfectly reasonable interaction and she hadn't done anything creepy or abruptly nonsensical in the time they'd spent together. He did notice that the Kiri ninja didn't seem to know Raidou's name yet, so probably not.
"Yes," he answered belatedly. "That's the one. You know, she's been bringing me books." He paused. "From a library in Grass. I'm not sure what to think about that. I didn't know they had an architectural college, to be honest. That seems like a thing that I would know. I'm a little embarrassed that she knew and I didn't."
Raidou paused, probably wondering the same things. How was this person apparently all over the continent? Could that woman actually be the Mizukage, kami, who would have voted for a person like that to rule their country? When had that happened, anyway? Why had she chosen to fight the Yondaime Mizukage in her city and cause so much damage? Why was she pretending to be in Konoha?
Or… the other way around, maybe the one in Kirigakure was the body double or whatever was going on?
He didn't see her frequently enough to say definitively. And one would think that long-term visitors to Konoha would enjoy at least half the scrutiny that long-term visitors to Kirigakure did. Someone should have noticed whatever was going on if it wasn't more convincing in Konoha.
"When I was enjoying the city," Raidou said, dryly side-stepping around the espionage-y truth that all of them knew, "I did hear rumors that the new Mizukage defeated the fourth in battle and sealed away the Sanbi. It all sounded rather heroic. She's pretty directly credited with saving a lot of lives. People get a bit poetic about it."
Well. Actually, that was a pretty good reason to approve of someone's nomination to kage.
But was it true or just propaganda? Terumi's posture didn't change at all, making it impossible to gather any information from a reaction.
"Sealed the Sanbi?" Yamato wondered. "I hadn't heard that bit. You would think that we would know about a seal master of that caliber."
'Jiraiya-sama would, for certain. That could be very useful information. If I can get it out. If they don't kill me once I've outlived my use.'
If she was a seal master, that was probably how she was doing… whatever it was she was doing that allowed her to practically be in two places at once. Was it some type of clone sustained through seals that allowed her to continually feed chakra to it? Or.. Well. The only other explanation he could think of would be some kind of transportation technique. He wasn't an expert, but it was difficult to see how sealing could work to overpower a shunshin or anything like that safely. How had the fourth Hokage's transportation technique worked? There must be some way to do it if he'd done it, but…
Yamato had a horrible, sinking feeling.
It was just… The Uzumaki were supposed to be legendary seal masters, right? And if both the Nidaime and Yondaime Hokage could come up with hiraishin, then maybe it wasn't so crazy to think that a determined Uzumaki could be inspired by them and replicate it, or come up with something similar.
It wasn't- it didn't seem likely, but none of the options he could think of did. If she truly did have an instantaneous travel technique, that would account for the few and odd hours that she seemed to keep in Kirigakure, as well as the surprising amount of autonomy that Terumi seemed to have.
Working with that theory, the most compelling question was why she wanted to be in Konoha so badly that she would delegate reconstruction that she was obviously invested in. That… couldn't possibly be good.
"That's enough gossip." Terumi's voice was hard, but she wasn't looking at them. Was that- was that Kirigakure's rogue jinchuuriki approaching?
Yamato blinked hard, but the well-coiffed man really did appear to match up with his memories.
"Terumi-san," Utakata said, voice cold. "Good morning."
The smile she gave him was equally icy. "You must be very pleased that Mizukage-sama has decided you are fit to assist with something that matters." She indicated Raidou. "Try not to lose track of him, or banish him to the borders while he is in your care."
'That is incredibly unfortunate.' Yamato kept his expression blank throughout the sniping. 'If I'd been the one assigned to Utakata, I would have been out of here weeks ago, and Raidou wouldn't have had to stay and get captured himself. Bad luck.'
The blue-haired young man at Utakata's shoulder shifted uncomfortably, not looking directly at Terumi. Yamato could sympathize a bit. He wouldn't like standing between, say, Kakashi-senpai and Nara Shikaku, if they were acting like this.
Why was Utakata even here? He wasn't a recent deserter- he appeared to have left for personal reasons, not Kirigakure's political maneuverings. So there was no reason that the death of the Fourth would have brought him back into the fold, as far as Yamato could tell.
'Which means that there's something I don't know.'
Well. That was nothing new. Glumly, he watched Raidou leave with the jinchuuriki. They hadn't gone very far before Raidou obviously tried to strike up a conversation, body language friendly and open. He was rebuffed.
'Maybe he'll be able to get something out of Utakata.' Yamato turned his attention back to his work, making sure everything was in order before he would begin actually working with his jutsu. He didn't like the idea of using it for Kirigakure, but they couldn't seal away his chakra if they wanted him to use it. 'Terumi is far too clever for me to learn anything useful from her. But Utakata is younger, and seems less experienced.'
To be honest, one of the most intimidating things about the Godaime Mizukage was the fact that Terumi Mei seemed to take orders from her. He'd never seen Uzumaki-san in a fight, but he knew enough about Terumi to be very, very nervous. What that implied about the holes in his knowledge was concerning.
Really, in this line of work, it was what you didn't know that would make you miserable down the line. For example, what the Kirigakure shinobi didn't seem to know. He hadn't dared ask Raidou what had happened to their third, but he could guess. A guy like that would be halfway to Konoha by now, since the mission had ended with both of the senior members captured.
He couldn't be too smug, or relieved that things would work out. The thing that Yamato didn't know, sadly, was whether their junior member would be reporting to the Sandaime or to Danzo.
~~~
Gai stopped with the chopsticks halfway to his mouth, caught in a rare moment of open calculation. Kakashi glanced over to see what had caught his interest when food was on the line.
Oh.
He leaned over and stole some of Gai's soba on principle. Genma was staring shamelessly through the windows, and it was starting to become incredibly unsubtle. Didn't matter. She wouldn't be able to see in, anyway.
"Oh look, it's your incredibly shifty friend," Asuma said, noting what they were looking at. "The children-hating one."
Kakashi considered expressing his derision for that. "Whose friend?" he asked, legs tense under the table. "She seems to respect Gai a lot more than Genma."
Genma's nose crinkled, but he didn't actually disagree.
Gai practically beamed. "I am pleased to hear of the assessment you overheard! It was quite flattering." But he went back to polishing off his food, giving only a momentary frown when he noticed that he was missing noodles.
"It was suspiciously flattering," He ignored the wounded look Gai shot him. That wasn't what he meant, and Gai knew it.
"It's not exactly a secret that Gai's exceptional with taijutsu, but it's a little odd that some random Kiri-nin would know it off hand," Asuma agreed. His eyes were narrowed in dislike, even though Uzumaki had disappeared into the crowd. "They're isolationists. I know she could have investigated him after her initial confrontation, but the way she acted that first time is… concerning."
"By her behavior, it would not surprise me if she had heard of me before," Gai agreed. His brows were drawn low. "It was done so casually that I did not think to be suspicious when she redirected me from a fight to a race. In retrospect, this does fit very well with her recent admission that she would not like to fight me. It was cleverly done. She reminds me of my very excellent Eternal Rival, in fact."
Kakashi felt his back stiffen.
Asuma choked. Genma threw his head back and actually laughed.
"What."
"It's true," Gai protested, enjoying it just a little. "She is not as Cool and Hip-"
Asuma started laughing too.
"but she took similar postures, and she certainly feels the fire of a competitive spirit!"
"I can see it." Kurenai sat down, back from the restroom. "She does act like Kakashi-san on the clock. Maybe more when he was a little younger- a bit cocky, on edge. Before he mellowed a bit with age."
None of that was at all flattering. He glowered, feeling his shoulders creep upwards.
Kurenai was entirely unaffected. "She uses similar misdirection in conversation, although I think her general attitude may actually be worse than Kakashi-san's."
Asuma stopped laughing long enough to posit, "So, she's the female version of Hatake. Only she threatens her genin a lot instead of ignoring them to read when they irritate her."
Genma made a speculative face. "I really wouldn't be surprised if she was into Icha Icha. She just seems like the type, you know?"
That set Asuma off again.
Kakashi kicked him under the table. When Asuma made a wounded sound and looked over, he was already hiding his face behind a book. "Fascinating," he said, in his least interested tone.
"Do you think it's time to try again?" Genma fiddled with his senbon, picking at his teeth. "For Gai, I mean."
"I don't think there's any reason to wait longer. Our window isn't unlimited." Kurenai casually reached over Asuma and took his tea. "If Genma can't convince her to stay in Konoha, we should gather as much information as possible while we have her in the city. She is a figure of some concern. We should know about anyone who could compete with Gai or Kakashi."
"So, don't challenge her to a spar," Asuma said sensibly, taking Kurenai's cake in retribution. "She'll turn that down. But if you try smaller things- things that she thinks are harmless- you might be able to work her towards something more telling. And you could still learn about her personality and problem-solving to construct a profile."
"I had been thinking the very same thing," Gai said gravely. "I will try in the afternoon, once she has eaten with her team. Is it not noble that she spends so much time with them? It is inspiring."
"Is that what it is?" Kurenai asked under her breath. She didn't exactly approve of pushing your genin into a river. It had appeared to be completely unprovoked.
In Uzumaki's defense, Kakashi had contemplated the same thing many times. And the kid was fine, anyway. His teammates had laughed themselves nearly to hysterics when Uzumaki leaned over the bridge railing and made a rude gesture. It had seemed to help the team dynamic, actually. He was leaving town with Sasuke tonight for concentrated training, but perhaps once they were all together again he could give that a try.
The only hard part would be deciding which genin to dunk. Water might improve any one of them.
"She's got quite the routine planned for them," Asuma pointed out fairly. "She's clearly thought towards advancing their skillsets in a complementary way that plays to each of their strengths. I know she doesn't seem like she's been their sensei for a long time, but-"
"She's an experienced teacher," Kakashi agreed absently, drawn from considering the benefits of pushing each genin in a river. Maybe he'd just soak all three of them. It'd be satisfying. But would it serve the same purpose? Probably not.
Kurenai nodded, conceding the point. "And she's invested, in a way she wasn't just two weeks ago when she came here. That speaks to responsibility, doesn't it?"
"Like she's so used to being in charge that she couldn't help it." Genma leaned back, tipping his chair off the floor. "Maybe I've been trying the wrong tactic by trying to romance her."
"She does seem more interested when you're not acting invested," Asuma agreed. "Casual."
Genma shook his head. "No, not that. I meant that if she's really the type of person who accumulates responsibility wherever she goes, she's gotta be incredibly stressed. She doesn't confide in people- at least, no one here. So what she's been doing with me was just letting pressure out of that toxicity when she's about to boil over. That's why she wasn't interested in the dinner- romance isn't in the cards." He grinned, like a shark. "What she needs is a friend. A controlled release of that stress, by someone close enough to sense when she's weak and prod it out."
"Kami wept," Kurenai said under her breath. She might have rolled her eyes, if she was a less controlled person. "I never want to hear you talk about making friends in that tone again. You sound very strange, Genma-san."
He shrugged. "I think I'm right," he said. "I made romantic gestures, and I tried implying that I could help her by feeding her students and empathizing with them. She doesn't want or need a partner in that, or a love interest. She won't want my help. I think I'd be better off trying something that distracts from all that instead of convincing her that she'd have a support system in Konoha. Or if I let her think that I would take orders from her, but I don't think I'm that good of an actor. It's hard to imagine that she gave up independent work for a village- she's controlling. I'm not sure what Kirigakure offered her, but I hope we can match it."
Kurenai sighed. "I'm choosing to believe that you are not quite this calculating about your interactions with that lovely chuunin in Intelligence. Michiko?"
Genma made a noncommittal sound.
This wasn't a productive area of discussion, so Kakashi laid his chopsticks down. "Come on, Gai." He dug in his back pocket for enough to pay the bill and began meandering to the counter. "Try challenging her again, while I can watch. I've got to leave soon."
"YES!" Gai shot to his feet, and then actually jumped over the table to beat Kakashi to the counter. "That is an excellent suggestion. Surely this time she will accept."
Asuma reached for a smoke, shaking his head. "I know you're not going to let her see you, but that might be interesting," he said amiably. "She was twitchy about your team, and she deliberately spent that time with you in Wave. She wants something from you."
Kakashi gave him a bored look. "Surely you're not implying there's some reason that no woman would spend time with me without an ulterior motive. That would hurt my delicate feelings."
"I'm straight-out saying that," Asuma agreed. "I imply nothing." Then he winced, which was probably Kurenai digging her heel into his foot.
She gave the two leaving a polite smile, resting her chin on her palm. "Good luck."
Kakashi let Gai go ahead once again, being the flashy one drawing attention while he came in a moment later from another direction. Uzumaki had made it back to her training area and was sprawled on the grass. She was clearly in the process of picking up papers to keep them out of view, her attention focused on Gai as if she'd predicted his arrival.
'Is she a sensor? Or did she just react quickly enough that it looked like she knew ahead of time that he was approaching?'
Kakashi tuned out Gai's bellowing in favor of watching the Kiri-nin. The genin were watching Gai with more interest and less incredulity than before, so they weren't entirely hopeless. The pointy-faced one was actually looking a bit unfriendly.
It was Uzumaki's body language that was odd. She seemed comfortable enough around Gai. If he hadn't heard her admit that she was wary of him, he wouldn't know that she considered him anything other than a mildly pleasant acquaintance.
'She didn't categorically deny that she was stronger than Gai when her genin claimed that,' he considered, thinking over what that might mean. 'She just said that he was better than she was at taijutsu and that she doesn't want to fight him. That doesn't mean she thinks she would lose in a fight with Gai. Was she boasting? Or downplaying her abilities to teach her students the lesson about underestimating enemies?'
To be fair to everyone involved, her taijutsu was sharp. He'd not been at his best when they'd fought, but it was still clear to him that she was formidable in that regard. She considered herself a taijutsu specialist- but did that mean it was her only advanced skillset?
"an invigorating test of strength and perseverance!" Gai finished bellowing.
There was a moment of shocked silence, as the genin worked to process the fullness of Gai's enthusiasm. Uzumaki's face was calm, professional, distant.
Until it wasn't. She broke out into an incredulous smile, though her body language didn't warm. "Konoha-san. Do these look like the arms of someone who does more than a hundred push-ups for any reason other than direst necessity?" She pushed up her loose sleeves, revealing the outline of a muscled but slim bicep. Kakashi had seen less muscle on shinobi before- genjutsu and ninjutsu specialists, mostly.
But she absolutely did not look like she could perform exceptional feats of upper body strength.
"I would not presume strength by such a thing!" Gai put his hands on his hips. "I am well aware that the most graceful form can conceal strength. You need not think further than the emitable Tsunade-sama, or indeed, many of my lither coworkers and peers!"
Uzumaki's eyebrows moved up as she made a little pout, seeming to concede that he had a fair point. "Still, I prefer not to."
Gai hummed, which was the first time that Kakashi realized that he had suggested that competition fully expecting it to be rejected. "Then let us do glorious battle with cartwheels! I can do them with perfect form, until-"
"No, thank you," she interrupted, almost sounding bored.
"Jumping jacks! Tic-tac-toe! Janken! Or perhaps we will race-"
Her mouth opened-
"in the trees," Gai finished mischievously, which was a competition hilariously biased towards a Konoha nin. He was hoping she'd pick one of the games, then, and begin to relax.
Uzumaki made a considering sound and tilted her head. "Can't touch the ground, three times 'round?" she asked casually. "I think that the full village circuit would be an enjoyable run. And I've been sitting a lot today."
Kakashi frowned. Was she truly so cocky about her speed that she would agree to a race in an environment where her opponent had such a large advantage? Did she think she could win?
Gai was similarly surprised that she took him up on it, taking a minute to nod in furious agreement. "As you say!" He began stretching. "From the gates."
"Why don't we add a friendly wager," Uzumaki said genially. "Loser brings the others' team lunch tomorrow. I think it's fitting, since you're interrupting mine."
Gai actually flushed, because it was entirely possible that he had failed to notice that Uzumaki was in the middle of eating. He rallied quickly. "Acceptable!"
"We eat a lot," Uzumaki said, and for the first time, Kakashi realized that, actually, she was not being pleasant. This was her retributive streak."And I think that we'd like steak."
Her genin had developed concerning shark-like grins with the crudely sharpened teeth you could expect from Kiri-nin.
She was intending to wreak revenge for being interrupted, possibly because she was well-aware that Gai would continue to return unless she truly put him off.
'She absolutely believes that she will win,' Kakashi realized. His jaw clenched. 'That's… is it arrogant?'
It was not. It was not arrogant, because he knew she would win by the second lap. He wasn't sure how she did it, because he couldn't expend the chakra necessary to keep up in the race without being noticed. But she definitely did something.
He saw it once- she was running neck and neck with Gai, teeth gritted and limbs flying. Then she was simply ahead- no handsign, no chakra rising. She was keeping pace with him and then she was four inches ahead. Gai roared, gained speed, and gradually began to gain ground again, feet pounding.
It wasn't that it was an effortless victory- she was clearly working hard, and he would have said she was exceptionally fast even without…. whatever she was doing.
'And when he catches up, she'll do it again. She's doing that again and again to rub it in. Or maybe so that he can't say she cheated by leaving the route. She'd lose without it, but not by much. I think Gai's setting a personal best right now.'
He waited by the gate, leaning in clear sight with his book up as if he was waiting for Sasuke already. So he was in good position to see the finish. Uzumaki went a good ten meters past the finish line before dropping out of the trees and swinging in a slightly wavered walk towards the city line. Her fingers were trembling, a bit, when she lifted the hem of her shirt to mop at her face. He looked away so she didn't catch him staring.
Gai had barreled a good forty meters past the line in his failed charge to regain the lead, so it took him a moment to make it to the gate.
"Gai-san?" She cut him off before he could begin a speech about the nature of defeat and how he would learn from this experience. "I'm not changing my mind about the steak, but I want ice cream tomorrow, too."
"Are you certain you wouldn't like bath salts instead?" Kotetsu said under his breath inside the gatehouse.
His partner huffed. "Or a hospital stay," he muttered back.
"Those would be good too," Uzumaki allowed. She was too busy trembling and trying to breathe to notice them startle at the fact that they had been overheard at that distance.
Kakashi felt his mouth curve into a humorless smile. That was an interesting piece of information. They'd learned a lot from this.
'And it lends credence to what Genma said earlier- that it seemed like she could hear us on his headset. That means that we can't trust her reactions were as real as they seemed. She could have been feeding us information. And she's almost certainly realized she's under surveillance.'
"Hatake?"
She'd noticed him, and her expression was calculating enough that she'd probably guessed it wasn't a coincidence he was there.
He rallied by waving his book at her. "Afternoon," Kakashi said lazily. "Waiting on a student. So lazy. Late. Very inconsiderate to his poor sensei." Then he went back to his book as if he didn't care in the slightest.
There was a slightly hysterical giggle from one of the gate chuunin.
~~~
She felt like hell. That was the best run she'd ever had, and she apologized to Hoseki in her mind for even thinking it. But it was true, she'd never ran that hard in her life. By the time she'd started to need that kind of speed, she'd been able to compensate with hiraishin. And she'd done that just a bit today, but only just a little. Just enough to be sure that she'd win.
Aiko stretched again, putting her forehead directly on the cool grass between her spread feet, arms sprawled over head. She pretended not to hear Yuusaku asking Keisuke if they should find a doctor.
Oh, wait. That required a response.
"I'm fine." She turned her head just enough to make the words clear. "I'm going to be recovering for the next two days, but I'm fine. Go back to work. You should be inspired. That's the kind of speed I want you to aim for."
"I would die," Yuusaku said matter-of-factly. "I would rather die. People aren't supposed to do that."
"Work, child."
They went back to working. Or at least they stopped chatting, which, whatever.
"I think I bought us a few days without Gai-san," Aiko said to the grass. "He's only a human, too." That wasn't said with quite as much confidence as she'd like. "He'll take some time to reevaluate and think of a new challenge. If he comes back. Maybe he's done."
She paused.
"Or maybe he'll propose a new challenge when he brings lunch tomorrow," she allowed. It was hard to tell with him. "Anyway, be proud of sensei. I got you a great lunch, I bet. A Konoha nin would know the best places to go, and he seems like he'd be generous in defeat."
She considered getting up. Briefly, she considered dying instead, because it would take less effort. But somehow she managed to pry herself to a sitting position, and then to standing. Aiko surveyed her team. "How is that jutsu coming, Yuusaku?"
"I think I'm going to get it today."
Aiko nodded weary approval. "Good, good." Before he could get too proud, she continued, "That's the first part of the technique I want to teach you. The easy part. The part that when I learned it, I spent about an hour on. I'm a little concerned," she said, words spilling out easily. "Once you're done, I want you to practice your control. I was thinking that running in the trees would be good practice for all of you, actually. It's a good control exercise, and faster travel in this environs. Plus, when else will you get the chance to practice it? If you need to fight a Konoha nin in the trees, you're not in a good place to stop and ask for tips."
"Oh my god," Keisuke said quietly. But no one actually argued, so she considered it good enough.
"Do that after I leave." She somehow picked up her knapsack. Her back was aching. "Until six. Once you all finish your current exercises. I'm going to go shower."
"And collapse?" Ryuusei asked.
Aiko nodded. "That too."
She didn't really remember the walk back to her hotel. It was a little embarrassing, but she was actually tired enough that she couldn't sense her observers. She was definitely not going to finish reading the last of those reports before five. Some of them were just going to have to wait.
A shower helped, a bit. She might have fallen asleep standing there if someone hadn't knocked at the door.
"No," Aiko said mournfully.
The knock came again, a cheery little tap-tapa-tap.
She sighed and turned off the water. She wrung her hair out, and wrapped herself in a towel without actually toweling off. When she opened the door, she immediately realized that she should have expected this.
"Heard you raced Gai." Genma seemed spectacularly amused. "Thought you could use some painkillers, dinner." He held up a brown box, spinning lazily from twine. "Maybe company."
Aiko considered it.
"That's…really thoughtful," she said slowly. It was suspiciously thoughtful. She knew perfectly well that he had ulterior motives for spending time with her, but it was still… too nice. She didn't trust it.
His face started to lighten, tension she hadn't noticed lifting.
She reached out, snatched the box, and slammed the door shut. Just to see what he'd do.
Genma coughed. "That's how it is?"
She narrowed her eyes. He sounded like he wasn't really that phased.
His sigh was heavy, but resigned through the door as she opened the box to see if it had what he said it did. By the heft and smell, it was probably dinner- for two people. "You know, I'm really not sure I deserve this kind of disregard. If you don't want me around, say so."
"I don't want you around," Aiko said absently, leaning back and beginning to untie the twine. "You're spying on me."
"Am not." Genma actually managed to sound indignant, though he kept his voice low. "My job is to convince you to stay in Konoha, not to report on your activities. I certainly haven't said anything about all that paperwork you're getting from nowhere, or the fact that you weren't in your hotel room when I tried last night. The ANBU probably think we had sex last night, by the way. It would have been pretty suspicious if I'd left instantly."
Was he telling the truth? Aiko felt her jaw grit and she set the box aside without getting the flaps open. "That's ridiculous."
"Which part of it?"
"All of it," she lied, but she opened the door and gestured for him to enter. "I think that someone would know if I was leaving my hotel room. Unless Konoha shinobi don't watch all the exits. Or you think I've dug a tunnel out underneath the bed?"
"I don't think that," Genma agreed genially. He reached into a pocket as he stepped in, bringing out a little bottle of pills with a clatter. "I don't know what I think, other than that you'd spook and my mission would be a bust if I came clean to Konoha about what I think I know."
She felt her lips twist into a smile that lacked humor. "You're terribly candid."
"I think it's been proven that you're a valuable resource," Genma corrected. He tapped the bottle against his palm twice, letting it rattle. "Too valuable for me to alienate over standard chuunin-exam espionage. You said you were a free agent just months ago." He raised an eyebrow. "And here you are, wearing a Kirigakure uniform. I think you're flexible."
"I'm wearing a towel," Aiko pointed out, but it was obvious that she was on the defensive.
"That's a pretty weird way of answering the door," Genma acknowledged, tone light. "Would you like to take a moment to get dressed?"
She considered it. Honestly… she was so sore that the thought of dressing was miserable. And it wasn't that she felt threatened by Genma. If she needed to fight him, weaponless, in a towel- well. She'd come out on top, or at least be able to leave.
Besides, he'd seen more. So had half of Kirigakure. Whatever.
"Too much effort," Aiko said bluntly. "I was hoping that nudity would make whoever was at the door uncomfortable enough to leave."
"Plus you're sore as hell?" he asked bluntly.
She didn't want to admit weakness. But yes, obviously.
Genma made a tsk sound. "I'd offer a massage, but I imagine that you're not in the habit of letting near strangers sit on your back and do things you can't see."
Her expression must have been answer enough.
"Why Kirigakure?" Genma opened. He leaned against the wall. "Any of the five great nations would provide more security than a smaller one, or none at all. But Kirigakure- they're isolationists, they're in political turmoil, and they're not friendly to bloodlines. Not very friendly at all."
"I'm not worried about that." Aiko took a few steps away, considering doing something about her dripping hair.
He smiled. "And that's interesting, because it really wasn't that long ago that Kirigakure came to Uzushiogakure and killed nearly all your clan." There wasn't anything kind about the way he said that unfortunate truth. "Even if you're not holding a grudge, they can't possibly trust you."
Aiko remained silent. No, they didn't trust her, exactly. But they were in too desperate straits to protest against semi-competent leadership. If she was going to have problems with dissidence and sabotage, it would come after the worst had settled down.
"Konoha is traditional allies with the Uzumaki." He tapped the pills again. "And you'd know that we weren't just hoping to stick a bijuu in you- we've only got one of those. And as I'm sure you're guessed, it's nicely sealed away in an incredibly appropriate host." Genma raised his eyebrows. "A host who you're interested in. You have family in Konoha. Do you have family in Kirigakure?"
No. Aiko felt her lips thin, because that was a low blow. "It's pretty of you to say that Konoha is preferable based on old treaties with a country I'm obviously too young to have lived in," she parried. "Tell me again of what good friendship with Konoha did for Uzumaki in the last hundred years?"
He looked uncomfortable enough at the hostility that she had a thrill of victory. He'd made it personal, but he hadn't been ready for her to take it personally?
"Poor Kushina-san met a sticky end in Konoha," Aiko said, knowing she was going too far even as she did. But this was an old bitterness, something she'd been choking on since her cradle. "She made a sacrifice purely for Konoha's benefit, and what did that loyalty get her? Had she stopped breathing yet when someone made the decision to put that bijuu in her infant? Kushina-san consented to a terrible burden, but that child never did. He was just convenient, a subhuman vessel for Konoha's burdens and bitterness. Why would any Uzumaki want to live here, seeing how that boy is treated? I knew he was malnourished and unloved the moment I saw him. Do you ever wonder what Kushina-san would say?"
Genma was pale.
It felt like she should be shaking with fury, but her tone was low and cold and perfectly steady. "Keep that forked tongue behind your teeth, Konoha. Don't talk to me about how Konoha loves the Uzumaki."
'He looks like he's never considered that an Uzumaki might be bitter about the jinchuuriki business,' Aiko thought incredulously. 'Like he's never empathized with Naruto long enough to realize how monstrous it is to make that decision for an infant.'
And that, more than anything, was the final straw.
"None of you deserve to wear that." She nodded at the shoulder spiral standard to the Jounin uniform of Konoha, Uzushio's mark proudly displayed on people who callously used her family. "Get out."
His jaw clenched. She could hear the metal senbon click against his teeth. Slowly, Genma set the pills down on her bedside table and put his hands in his pockets. "Alright, then. I'll leave. I'm sorry that I took the conversation there."
She watched him, dislike heavy in her chest.
He waited a moment or two for a response. When he didn't get one, he gave her an awkward little nod and let himself out.
Aiko stood, simmering for a time. She could feel the Sanbi paying attention, rising to the upper limits of her consciousness in a way that he hadn't deigned to for weeks. He was angry too, he was the tempest and the fury and he was darkly satisfied just as she was to have lashed out at someone representing the hellhole where her kind had first been imprisoned, bound to this path by the actions of someone who hadn't the right to make that decision for so many, no right to set that precedent.
She blinked. She took a moment to sort through that feeling, not entirely certain if it was hers or if it was the Sanbi's. It…
'It applies to both of us,' Sanbi said definitively.
Aiko couldn't disagree.
In that moment, with fury giving her energy, it was clear that she couldn't sit around for the rest of the day. She considered her options. It wasn't terribly difficult as a choice- she got dressed in a cold, precise anger. She put on full makeup, she put her hair up, she pulled on the dress uniform and took a moment to check the full effect. Professional, polished, impressive enough for what she needed to do today. It ought to strike the right first impression.
There was actually very little chance that Konoha would think she had any energy to go sneaking out today. Not with the way she— she didn't hurt, actually. She didn't hurt at all.
Aiko paused, straightening her back just a bit.
'Don't get too used to it.' Sanbi wasn't friendly, exactly, but the old hostility wasn't there. 'It costs me nothing to help you heal. This doesn't mean I'll be giving you my blood and bones for your jutsu.'
Slowly, she nodded. "Thank you." Her voice struck the still air more loudly than it really should be.
He made a low sound that might have been a grumble, a deflection of the generosity he'd displayed. 'Don't you have a village to visit?'
"I do," Aiko said under her breath. "I think it'd be politer to deliver this letter in person, don't you?"
Fuck Konoha. They were slow, and she couldn't afford to wait on them and choke on their hypocrisy. Kirigakure was going to be leaner and meaner and they were going to get that way with or without Konoha's help.
~~~
When they got into the office, Sandaime already looked tired.
Genma slightly regretted that.
"Is she gone again?" the Sandaime asked, sounding like he expected very little.
He nodded. "Probably. And no, we don't know how yet," he added deprecatingly, before that could be asked. "We did, however, get an outpouring of information."
"Oh?" The old man was giving his full attention, eyes brighter. "What kind of information?"
"Our first emotional response," Hatake butted in. He looked and sounded about a hundred times calmer than he must be, because that was how he reacted to stress.
Genma didn't sigh, but it was close. "I got her angry," he admitted. "That wasn't my intention, but it was a significant break from the public face she's been presenting. I believe it was legitimate. I also believe that we now know why she went to Kirigakure, and that it was largely that it was the first opportunity she had to ally with a village she had no grudge against."
The caveat there was obvious. The Sandaime's gaze flicked to Kakashi, who had encountered Uzumaki before she'd joined Kirigakure.
Hatake shoved his hands in his pockets, apparent disregard rising in proportion with how uncomfortable the topic made him. "Uzumaki-san has comments about how we might improve our treatment of Uzumaki in general and Naruto in specific."
Lines slowly deepened on the Hokage's face.
"She was rather familiar and well-informed," Genma added. "Referred to Kushina-san by first name. She appears to have strong opinions about the relative morality of an adult choosing to become a jinchuuriki and an adult making that choice for an infant." His lips twisted, remembering the tongue-lashing. "Her feeling about the latter is 'no'."
"With a side of 'fuck Konoha,'" Hatake mused. "Her strong feelings cannot be emphasized enough."
"But she knew enough about the situation that I can only conclude she investigated." Genma steered the conversation back on track. "She was interested in Konoha. What she found made her angry and disillusioned, but she wants to be here." He paused, because this bit was risky. "If only for Naruto. She only lost her temper once I brought up the fact that she has no family in Kirigakure. She's very aware of that. I think that she could be convinced to tie herself to Konoha, if we allay her fears."
Her discomfittingly accurate fears, unfortunately. The track record between Konoha and Uzumaki that she rattled off had been well-considered.
Hatake sighed. "Well, I'd better be off."
The Sandaime eyed him incredulously, and Genma felt himself doing the same. Dismissing yourself from a meeting with the Hokage was rather impudent.
"Oh, it's nothing important." Hatake fluffed up his hair. "Sasuke-kun can wait a little longer if you prefer. He's a the gates, waiting to leave for training." He paused. "Probably. It's only been an hour."
~~~
It took some doing to get herself into a meeting with Nadeshiko's leader. They were small, and didn't have the large administration or -apparently- an especially busy day.
It was still, however, rather ballsy on her part to even hope to meet with the country's leader on the first day that she made contact. So Aiko was entirely blasé about being asked to wait four hours, shuffled from building to building and taken on one flustered tour of a historical landmark just to kill time.
She didn't have anything better to do in Konoha. And so what if they dared open the door and discovered she wasn't in there- were they going to accuse her of something? What grounds did they have?
'When we attempted to invade the privacy of a foreign delegation that we allowed in under strict treaty conditions, we couldn't locate them or any proof that they were engaged in any activities counter to our interests. We cannot speculate about how they escaped our notice, but we can't outright disagree if they say we must just have not noticed them walking out the door.'
Mm. That's the kind of statement every country wants to issue. Everyone else who caught wind of that would laugh themselves sick. The only thing that would accomplish would be making Konoha's security look weak.
The thought that the ANBU might have dared check in by now and that Konoha would be running the same calculations she had kept Aiko in a fairly good mood.
The meeting went well.
"I would not call you a liar, but I would need some assurance." Shizuka was hiding her nervousness, but not quite well enough. "It is… rather fantastical to think that Kirigakure's administration has changed so much in such a period of time. One of the great nations has never had a female leader. Among the smaller nations, Nadeshiko still stands alone. Have the times changed so much?"
Aiko didn't let her irritation show, because the other woman was being perfectly reasonable in thinking she was possibly an opportunist. "I understand your caution," she said. "I'm afraid that for a variety of reasons, we are not yet ready to publicly announce the change in leadership."
Shizuka eyed Aiko in a way that implied she could think of a reason or two that might be true. She probably didn't know that Aiko was pretending to be a jounin in Konohagakure in hopes of taking advantage of the chaos Orochimaru's invasion would cause. So she probably was not thinking of the correct reason. Still, she could think what she liked.
"We could, however," Aiko shifted on her zabuton, "make public that the Yondaime Mizukage has perished and that the Godaime has been decided. Would that be enough reassurance?"
The other woman took a moment to think it over, swallowing.
Nadeshiko wanted an alliance with one of the great nations. She was wavering. But she was suspicious of Kirigakure's motivations and honesty. It would not be the first time that a great nation used and discarded a smaller country.
"You are suspicious," Aiko said, ignoring the polite deflection that came. "That is reasonable. Without transparency in our agreement, you lack the protection of the international community's awareness of Kirigakure's proposed responsibility to Nadeshiko." She smiled, and it was a pleasant one, because she actually wanted a respectful, mutually beneficial relationship. "I propose a bonder. The nation of Iron is honorable, powerful, and removed from shinobi politics. Together, you and I, or our representatives, will deliver a copy of our agreement to the great samurai lord of Iron. He will keep it in trust, and know if Kirigakure is remiss in our duty."
Shizuka was still, calculations flickering behind her eyes. "Iron." She flexed her fingers slightly. "Iron is acceptable. I understand that this is a matter of some haste? We could draft up a preliminary agreement today and begin the exchange of humanitarian relief as soon as Mifune-sama has the papers."
"We can do that tomorrow, if the draft is made satisfactory in time," Aiko said, because keeping hiraishin a secret was not worth the human cost that would be lost by delivering the communication by foot. "I possess some small skill at crossing great distances quickly."
From the look on her face, Shizuka might not believe it. But she would when it was demonstrated. And she would see the benefit of tying herself to Kirigakure even more.