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electrasev5nwrites · 1 year

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Ninja Daily: AIC 27

"Thank you all for coming so promptly." The Sandaime seated himself at the end of the table, nearest the door. ANBU filed in to dot the walls and crowd his shoulders. "I'm afraid that we have a lot of news to discuss."

Genma kept his lips pressed shut and his back straight. Maybe no one would notice him if he was very, very still.

'Clan heads, commanders, councilors... This isn't good. Judging by this group, the news is above my paygrade.'

Tenzou looked similarly terrified and out of place. Genma would have saved the other ANBU a seat if he'd known the young man would be attending, but so much for that.

"First off all, we do have one more member." The Sandaime raised a hand, and the door opened once more. "You may have heard rumors. It is time to lay them to rest here, and then with the public. Namikaze-san, if you wouldn't mind?"

Inuzuka leaned back and let out a low whistle. Maybe it was shock, maybe it was commentary on how damn good the man looked. 13 years dead, and he was in his prime.

The long-deceased Hokage gave her a polite nod while he passed to the only unoccupied seat.

Tenzou looked absolutely mortified when he realized he'd wound up next to the Yondaime. He slunk down in his chair. It was hard not to smile at that. On Minato's other side, Jiraiya sat up to his full height and clapped his student on the back.

'I haven't seen Tenzou in months. This is not where I would have expected him to pop up. He doesn't look like wants to be here, either.'

"Hello." The Yondaime paused before he sat. He smiled around the table. "I apologize for the strange situation, but I am glad to be here." He met everyone's eyes one by one in that steady, personal way he had.

He got varying reactions. The councilors were clearly prepared for this introduction, a silent wall of solemn faces. Some of the shinobi who had been informed or involved in vetting Minato offered nods and bows. But Inuzuka Tsume was eyeing him critically, dark eyes clever and sharp. Hyuuga Hiashi was implacable, but probably pissed as anything that he'd been in the dark.

Genma gave up on being still and silent. He waved subtly. Because Kakashi wasn't there to do it, the absentee little bastard, and the Yondaime needed some support..

'He's either on a mission or something has gone wrong. He'd be here if he could, no matter that it would ruin his late streak.'

The last possibility was too dire to linger on for long, even direr than the chance that Kakashi might be dead- the possibility that the Sandaime had chosen not to invite him, because Kakashi would be too loyal to the Yondaime. The chance that the Yondaime might be judged as a traitor for whatever he'd probably done.

"As you know, Orochimaru was successful in reviving the First and Second Hokage for the purpose of fighting me," Sandaime said. "He failed, however, to revive Namikaze-san."

"Namikaze-kun was successfully revived for unknown reasons by the woman later determined to be the Godaime Mizukage." Kotaru raked her milky eyes down the table. "Following preliminary vetting, we are now confident that he is who he appears to be and is not under and compulsion from the Mizukage or other parties." She folded her hands on the tabletop.

Inuzuka let out a barking laugh and shook her head, her skepticism fading to sharp-toothed joy. Tenzou looked like he really needed to breathe in soon, but had forgotten about it in favor of gaping.

Genma mostly felt ill. 'The counselor didn't say that she trusted Namikaze. Nothing about whether he'll take up his old role.'

"On to current affairs." The Sandaime seemed impatient. That really did not bode well. "The breach of security was the entrance of two enemy shinobi, Hoshigaki Kisame, formerly of the Mist, and Uchiha Itachi."

"Dear god." Utatane's fingers fumbled on his glasses. Koharu's expression didn't change but she leaned back and her hands flattened on the tabletop.

Danzo glanced at his peers, expression serene next to their evident surprise. "This is bad news," he observed. "What was their purpose?"

"They attempted to kidnap two genin, including the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. In the process, they attacked jounin Hatake and genin Uchiha." Sarutobi seemed so tired. "The genin, Uzumaki-kun and Haruno-san, have been returned to Konohagakure and released from the hospital. Hatake and Uchiha are stable, but show no signs of recovery from genjutsu."

'That explains why Kakashi isn't here. Is Tenzou his stand-in?'

He glanced over at the ANBU. Tenzou was pale under his tan, but unsurprised. Yeah, he'd already been told. He was probably Hatake's medical contact.

"How were they returned?" Homura was incredulous. "Surely Uchiha Itachi was not outmaneuvered by genin."

The Sandaime turned to look at-

Oh, no.

'That's why he's here. So why am I here?'

Tenzou looked like he might faint at all that attention. He cleared his throat. "I have spent my last mission in Kirigakure determining what relationship we may have with the new leadership." The tone was so diplomatic that he had to be full of shit. "The Mizukage heard about the abduction. I do not know how. Using what I can only assume to have been a space-time ninjutsu or fuinjutsu, she took me and two of her private guards to engage Uchiha and Hoshigaki."

'Holy fuck.'

"She knew before we knew about the intrusion. From Kirigakure," Jiraiya said flatly.

Tenzou nodded.

"And came to Fire Country. In minutes. Before we knew."

Tenzou nodded again, miserable.

Jiraiya tilted his head back and said something to the ceiling that ought not be repeated in polite company.

Utatane ignored him, leaning forward over wrinkled hands. "Are we to understand that the Mizukage, engaged enemies of Konohagakure for no perceived benefit? She allowed the jinchuuriki to return?"

His tone was exactly as incredulous as it ought to be. Any reasonable person would be wondering what the hell was Uzumaki up to, what angle she could possibly have. Genma wished he was wondering. This felt like it was going to go badly, fast.

"She took him back personally," Minato-sama said. His tone was hard to read. He didn't seem surprised, but Genma didn't assume he'd be able to tell. "Along with Haruno-san. They chose to stop at training ground 7 and accompany Kakashi-kun and Uchiha-san to the hospital on their way."

That seemed like an acceptable time to bury his face in his hands.

'Uzumaki is a hard woman to predict. I wish I hadn't pissed her off. I want to understand the way she thinks.'

"The Mizukage chose personally to engage Uchiha Itachi," Tenzou added, because apparently he was going to get all of this over with. The Sandaime seemed too miserable to prod him for more answers. "She killed him."

The table erupted in a din.

The loudest voice was- "Holy shit!" Tsume slapped her hands on the table. "Uchiha Itachi, dead? Uchiha Itachi?"

That was interesting data. Genma turned it over in his head, considering just how the international community might react to news like that. It was a bold move, especially considering how weak Kirigakure had to be. Drawing that much attention was a risky move.

'I was wrong. I didn't piss her off that badly. She'd have killed me if she really wanted to. I don't think she gives a shit about consequences.'

'Still might be a good idea to send an apology. A fruit basket, maybe? And a nice card.'

Tenzou raised his voice to remain audible. "Working together, we drove off Hoshigaki-san. I remained with the Kirigakure shinobi to explain the situation to the border guards who came to investigate the fight." He sat back down and tried to sink under the table, as far as Genma could tell.

"How did she kill Uchiha?" Genma didn't realize the question was coming out of his mouth unless everyone was looking at him. But he didn't regret asking. He'd never really thought someone would manage to kill that monster. Not while he was still in his prime, anyway.

Yamanaka Inoichi nodded agreement. "I saw her fighting the Nidaime. If it had continued, I believe she would have lost the match. From that, I wouldn't have thought it certain that she could kill Uchiha Itachi."

Tenzou made an uncomfortable little sound from the back of his throat. He seemed to decide not to stand up again to answer. "It was faster than I could completely observe. I understand that Uchiha-san activated his Sharingan in preparation to cast a genjutsu. Uzumaki-san drove her hand through his chest in retaliation. She was using her bloodline limit at the time. I do not know if she managed to attack before Uchiha-san managed to use a genjutsu on her, or if she deflected it. The attack she used appeared to be suijutsu of some sort."

An elemental technique that the user drove through the victim's chest at speeds fast enough to counter a sharingan. That was uncomfortably familiar. And very specific. Didn't seem like the kind of thing you just came up with on the spot.

'That's an uncomfortable amount of high-level skills that she didn't feel compelled to use against the Nidaime. Why wouldn't she have used everything she had in her arsenal, if she really was pressed to win?'

"There is one final matter to consider. The Mizukage alleged in my office that her parents were Konohagakure shinobi."

The room fell dead silent. The air had changed.

The Sandaime looked around slowly. The weight of his attention and anger pressed down. "Is this true?" He paused. "Minato-san."

"Yes," the Yondaime agreed easily. He leaned forward and then stood up as though he was answering a question in class. "Aiko is my and Kushina's firstborn. I admit I had hoped for one of them to one day be Hokage, but this is something of a surprise, isn't it?"

'And that explains her benevolence to Naruto- it's familial loyalty.' The conclusion was not satisfying. He just felt tired.

The room erupted. Several people stood up. Homura cried out in outrage that could be heard over gasps and exclamations. For once in his life, Danzo looked like he'd been shocked silly.

Having the confirmation made things real, finally. What the hell had Minato been thinking?

The two Hokage matched stares, neither backing down. In contrast to the Sandaime's grimness, the Yondaime was calm and unbothered. He wasn't surprised. He wasn't ashamed.

'How did he hide this? What possessed him to do it?'

"This is why you recognized her when she revived you," the Sandaime accused steadily. His only answer was a nod. "You withheld critical information."

"I was choosing to evaluate the situation," Minato rebutted. "Surely you can understand a bit of caution at seeing the world of the living for the first time in over a decade." His voice was dryly amused.

Genma felt a shiver walk up his back. He had an unpleasant premonition that they were about to learn more than they really wanted to know.

"There is one additional, crucial piece of information that I have gathered in the weeks I have been here. I saw the first hint of it after being revived and I chose to hold my tongue until I understood where I had found myself." He smiled, miserable and cold. "This is not my Konohagakure. Aiko was not born in this universe. If she had been, she would be 13, Naruto's twin. As far as I can tell, she has found herself in an alternate timeline. When she was ordered to summon me, she rose the Minato that she had personally known. Not the soul of the Minato who lived in this world. He must still rest in the stomach of the death god."

The report was bland, slow. Insane.

"That... matches what the Mizukage claimed." The Sandaime seemed to understand something new. He leaned back slightly, but not in a relaxed manner. "I thought that she was mocking me when she said that Jiraiya might guess what I cannot." There was a hint of a wheeze in his voice.

"I don't know why she's here," Minato admitted. He didn't seem upset about it. "I do know that she specializes in space-time manipulation fuinjutsu. She relies heavily on a modification of my hiraishin. That's why she's faster than you can see, by the way, Yamato-san. I can only assume that Jiraiya gave her the materials after my death." He stopped for a few moments, but no one spoke or even breathed.

'Do I believe any of this?'

"That may be relevant to how she came to this place. But we have also seen that she has somehow found herself in the service of the god of death." His lips twisted in a bitter way Genma had never seen in his years working with Minato. "As she is Naruto's twin, I obviously did not know her long. I can provide some information." His eyelids slid low. "The dead are not entirely unaware of the living."

'Very creepy.'

Jiraiya cleared his throat. He looked up and down the table, cataloging expressions. When he looked at Minato, he seemed pained. "Well, shit."

"I am very pleased," Aiko said, because her jounin seemed kind of nervous. "Thank you for coming today."

Hayashizaki gave her a smile, but he still looked a little ill underneath the professional veneer.

'Probably, if I was the first person to publicly challenge the woman who became my kage, I might not be totally chill about her calling me in to a meeting. That seems like exactly the kind of person a different Mizukage might make an example of.'

Fair. His terror was well-founded.

"I am not displeased," she said again. Maybe it would sink in this time. "Actually, I decided at the time that you were one of the more sensible people present." Aiko nodded at him. "You were right to challenge my qualifications at the time. Any patriot would wonder who the hell I was and why I thought I deserved to be your kage. Only you were brave enough to demand an answer."

She flicked her attention to Sanbi, expecting an insult. It never came. Disappointing.

Well, then. Despite her best efforts, Hayashizaki was still waiting for the shoe to drop. She sighed and gave up being soothing as a bad job. Aiko wasn't suited to it. "You've never taught. Do you have any interest or inclination?"

"Not in particular." He was trying way too hard to look impassive.

"What would you say are your strengths?"

Hayashizaki faltered. "My suspicious personality?" He said, but it came out more like a question. "I am methodical and detail-oriented. I am quick to notice irregularities. My genjutsu is above-average." He seemed to get a bit desperate as she just waited. "My fire-nature chakra is an unusual asset in Kirigakure. Aside from the expected weaponry, I am proficient in Gunsen and manriki-kusari, which make me a valuable asset in non-lethal disarmament or in combat in open air and expand my tactical flexibility."

'Wow. He just keeps talking.'

"I bond well with others, as evidenced by my record of team cohesion and string of successful partnerships."

'This is a thing that works? I can just look at people and they feel uncomfortable and talk forever?'

He seemed to realize he was going a bit far. He tried to deflect with humor. "I can also make a completely edible nikujaga." Then he finally had the sense to stop talking.

She gave him a good minute and a half of pointed silence to see if he'd restart the babble, but he'd figured it out. She made a note to remember the nikujaga thing, though. Only a fool would let that slide. A possible source of meat and potatoes should not be passed up.

Aiko sniffed. "Weaknesses?"

"I've heard that I am not prudent about minimizing my words," Hayashizaki said promptly. "Prone to outbursts, and a disappointing swordsman."

Aiko thought back to their first meeting, when good sense but an underdeveloped sense of self-preservation had meant he was the only one with guts to ask her who the hell she thought she was. "I see."

'The Utakata was wary about exposing this person to you,' Sanbi said 'I had assumed that he feared your violent retribution for wounded pride. Perhaps he was instead concerned that you might intimidate the boy into incoherence.'

Plausible, actually. Utakata had said that they were agemates.

'I don't think he's actually timid,' Aiko decided. 'These are unusual circumstances. I think he's more generally hot-blooded. And I saw a strong sense of justice which was offended when he thought someone unworthy might become his leader. That indicates a healthy respect for social institutions. He mentioned his social skills among his strengths, which could be pandering in Konohagakure but in Kirigakure probably does indicate that he is socially oriented.'

Sanbi made a listening sound.

'I think he's a good fit. He's young enough to present an attractive face but old enough not to be dismissed out of hand, is less likely than the average to demonstrate controlling or abusive tendencies, and could build relationships on the ground. What do you think?'

"My only reservation is the allocation of your resources," Sanbi admitted. "Had you twice the shinobi you have now, I would wholeheartedly endorse this plan."

'Thank you for the input.'

Hayashizaki was still waiting, ramrod straight and expressionless. He'd do.

"We are expecting company," Aiko said in a mild tone. "Sunagakure and Konohagakure, certainly. That will mean a significant increase in guests passing through Wave Country."

Hayashizaki nodded, cautious. "I see."

"We will be establishing a temporary outpost on the nearest island of Wave country," Aiko continued. "As the shinobi traffic is at our behest, we are taking responsibility for ensuring that a burden does not fall on the civilians living there."

That was diplomatically prudent. The Daimyo of Wave clearly didn't know or care much about the inaka, but he might manage to be offended enough to get involved if she caused his people too much trouble.

"You will be posted there to provide assistance to our visitors and protect the interests of Higashi-Gyoson. Their village head, Tazuna, is working on reconstruction efforts here, so your contact will be his heir and daughter, Tsunami. Do you have any questions about this objective?"

"I do," Sanbi said. He sounded "Is that truly the name of that village?"

"Yes, Mizukage-sama. Other than myself, who will staff this post?" Hayashizaki didn't seem bothered at all. "What will the mission duration be?"

'The one with the kindly peasants? Yes.'

"An end time has not been designated, so prepare for a long-term mission. I'm looking into the possibility of sending a chuunin there on a different mission, but they would be under your supervision. Other than that, you will have a rotating staff of either one or two chuunin at a time designated as your assistant in problem-solving and maintaining peace."

He lapsed into thought. "It somewhat lacks in creativity. Is that why they do not often say the name?"

There was a pause while Hayashizaki clearly wondered what that chuunin's mission might be and if he could ask about it.

'I think the name mostly exists for administrative purposes,' Aiko decided. 'I mean, I've lived in plenty of safehouses out in the middle of nowhere and it never occurred to me to name them. I wouldn't think of it without an outside reason even if three other families built houses nearby. Probably it was just a small fishing village on the most eastern coast, and then some government representative either picked out "East Fishing Village" as a name, or the village head panicked or something. Whatever. The Great nations all have pretty underwhelming names, too. Any name is dumb if you think too long about it.'

Hayashizaki apparently decided to risk a question. "Have you identified a specific chuunin for the separate mission?"

"Not yet," Aiko admitted. "Tazuna-san, the village head, has expressed interest in allowing his grandson and a classmate to undergo basic training." She watched her jounin's expression carefully, wondering just what kind of asset she had here.

"Oh, he is intelligent," Sanbi noted absently.

The turtle was right. Hayashizaki clearly got that expansion was what she wasn't saying- a small outpost of friendly, professional shinobi would make a big impression on the locals. When they were protecting the civilians interests and deliberately mingling by dedicating one person's workload to training two local children, it was highly probable that other locals would want to send their children to benefit.

Which was the real reason to locate a suitable chuunin to do the mentoring on a long-term, fulltime basis. Almost anyone, even most genin, could conduct an Academy style training regimen. The only reason to have one person assigned to do it was to build consistency in the hopes of drawing in more candidates from the locals.

'Actually, there's no reason that the fulltime shinobi has to be a chuunin,' Aiko realized. 'I was replicating Konoha's academy system. But a genin can teach conditioning, basic weapon skills, and low level jutsu. If the students are all from civilian bloodlines, there's much less reason to be concerned that one of them might be kidnapped. So the teachers don't necessarily need to be strong combatants.'

"Actually, I may have just changed my mind about the mission arrangement," Aiko said. She leaned back in her chair. "Your assignment remains the same. I will update you about the rest of the outpost when we have a full mission briefing. This meeting was a preliminary assessment of your stability and character before I determined you were an adequate candidate." She smiled at the jounin, who was trying not to look too offended. "I believe you are adequate."

'I can spare a genin long-term much more easily than a chuunin. Actually, a team of genin would be good. Career genin, or at least ones who are a little older. An outpost/mini Academy with one permanent Jounin, three permanent genin, and a rotating chuunin or two is damn respectable. Wave would know I was serious about the relationship, and there would be enough manpower to allow Hayashizaki to conduct more operations at his discretion. And it would really only take a few months for any trainees to have some basic uses that would free up my people in case of an emergency- a decent runner, a couple people who know emergency protocols- that would provide a lot of flexibility and be a self-sustaining system.'

"I am flattered." Hayshizaki sounded like he was genuinely trying to be charming, but couldn't push down the edge of annoyance. Yeah, that was more like it.

"Don't lie to me," Aiko said cheerfully. She flashed her teeth at the other jounin. "It demeans us both. In any case, I'm sure you can gather that building and maintaining good relationships with the people of Higashi-Gyoson is central to the success of this mission." She tossed her hair and dropped the pretense. "Training Kiri shinobi in Wave is step one to annexing the country."

To his credit, Hayashizaki didn't look like he was considering questioning her judgment for a second. Yes, he definitely respected authority when it had been adequately proven.

"No comments?" Aiko prodded, lazy and predatory.

"My only concern is that your seal will need to be replaced when you are the Godaime Mizukage of Kirigakure, first Mizukage of the Land of Waves," Hayashizaki said. It was by far the smoothest thing he'd said in her hearing.

She eyed him. She thought about it. "Shit. I love that seal."

"You might simply use a second seal for the other office to save it," Hayashizaki suggested. "You may also argue that this is because you are holding the office in trust for your dear friends in Wave, who will one day soon rise to the occasion."

Aiko tapped her jawline. "That's rhetorically sound. I'm going to use that. Also, you're friends with Utakata, I didn't know that." She pursed her lips. "I didn't realize he had friends other than me. I don't like this. I'm going to have to have a talk with him."

Hayashizaki tried not to look unpleasantly surprised.

"That flattery was a little too tailored," she critiqued. "Not many people have heard me express my particular fondness for my seal of office, but one of the two who has is the person who provided me with your name. An agemate, ranking peer." Aiko raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, I just don't buy that you happened to stumble upon one of my vanities. Not impossible, but implausible when there is a more direct explanation." She pointed at him with her right hand, rather as if she was aiming a projectile. Hayashizaki certainly flinched. "You get points for pairing it with an attractive rhetoric I can use on Wave, but next time, I expect more subtlety in your compliments. Do you understand?"

Hayashizaki looked shell-shocked. Ah, yes, that was the most extreme expression she'd gotten out of him yet. "Yes, Mizukage-sama," he said woodenly. "Of course, Mizukage-sama."

"Good, good." She curled her hand back under her chin. "You may go, now."

"Thank you, Mizukage-sama."

He let the door shut just a little too loudly. She could see his flinch in the one-way glass at the top.

Aiko relaxed her body language into a slight slouch and stretched her legs. "What a nice young man," she said.

Sanbi agreed, with a rumble of laughter.

She pushed her chair back so she could open the middle drawer on her desk to pull out her itinerary. There was only one more evening appointment, but she double-checked the time. Ugh. Aiko spun on her chair. The light breeze was a relief in her stuffy office. Actually- she stood up and opened the window behind her desk.

There was no reaction, but she was well-aware that her watching guard was annoyed from his hiding spot. Ah, yes, opening up a direct line of sight into a lit room for anyone with a projectile. You fuck.

"Why do you criticize yourself in this manner?" Sanbi asked, curious.

Aiko lifted her arms into a stretch. 'I can't tell you how many times I had that exact bitchy thought when I was on guard duty in Konohagakure. It was a whole bunch, I resented every window.'

"What has changed?"

She let her arms drop and shrugged. 'Nothing. Except that I'm hot, my ass hurts from sitting, and it isn't my job to obsess over every way someone could possibly murder me.'

It was somewhat irritating to go back to the office after day one of construction work had wrapped up at 4pm. The challenge had been exhilarating, and working as part of a team was a treat she didn't get that often.

It had been good for her relationship with Gaara, as well. They had worked in tandem to terraform and lay foundation. It was kind of fun to discover new, practical ways to utilize shinobi abilities outside of combat. A shinobi who could control sand and a shinobi with fuinjutsu ability could make cement and move it a lot easier than a civilian could with a wheelbarrow. They were a good deal more efficient than even a shinobi using a wheelbarrow to move cement. Like, wheelbarrows, eat your heart out. Two jinchuuriki coming through to steal ya damn job. They would be the most powerful construction company in the world. Who could possibly hope to compete? Actually, that was an interesting thought.

"Must you?"

Aiko interlaced her fingers and stretched again. 'No,' /emshe thought apologetically. 'That was unnecessary and a bit weirder than I anticipated. I'm a little tired. I will stop talking about quitting to form a construction company with Gaara. I don't really even want to.'

"Thank you," Sanbi said. He let out a great huffing sigh. "Have you ruminated on the strange behavior of your ...puppy?"

She was still functionally alone, so it was totally okay to put her elbows on the desk and rest her head on her hands. 'I don't know,' Aiko admitted. 'I don't think I'll know until I talk to him. His hospital check came out clean, his debriefing didn't indicate any trauma, his teammates mentioned nothing unusual. I suppose it's possible that he just had an usually bad reaction to the time in custody, but it just doesn't seem like Yuusaku.'

He growled. Aiko put a hand to her chest for a moment, because it felt like her ribcage was vibrating under the low noise. But it wasn't. She put her hand back on her head and dug her fingertips into her scalp just enough to feel the points of pressure.

"This job sucks," Aiko mumbled. "Too many people. They are all so small and need help. So much help. I barely have time for writing policy and plotting and hunting traitors and committing malfeasance. What's life without a minimum of malfeasance?"

Sanbi seemed to cock his head. "Least likely to result in jailtime and international disgrace."

She made a rude sound. 'Not you too. I'm being very, very careful with my kage bunshin. But drug running is the only reason our economy isn't in the tank while we build up legitimate income and repair a fucking city. It is not cheap.'

"I understand," he said. He seemed much more reasonable about it than Utakata, the only other person in the world who knew about that source of income. "I merely worry about the effect that revelation would have upon your reputation and Kirigakure's international legitimacy."

'Reasonable fear. Can't afford to stop. Am very cautious.' Aiko rubbed at her eyes and then sat up straight. 'Pays very well because no legitimate party can be caught doing that kind of work, I have no travel expenses, is critically needed direct infusion into treasury.'

Her personal demon hummed, accepting the bullet point version of the argument she'd had with Utakata more than once.

Yuusaku was perfectly on time for his meeting. He slunk in with his gaze hovering a foot above the floor.

Her heart ached. "Yuusaku, what's wrong?" Aiko found that a soft tone came out naturally when she was talking to one of her kids. "You've seemed very down since you came back from Konohagakure. How can I help you?"

He swallowed and took a shaky breath. "I've failed you, Mizukage-sama. I don't deserve this." He pulled at his chuunin vest.

'What?'

It took a moment to work past bafflement and push out a level question that wouldn't make him feel any worse. "Yuusaku, I don't understand. Why do you think you've failed me? You met all my expectations. I'm proud of you and your team. I'm glad that we went to Konohagakure together."

He glanced up at her and away just as quickly. His eyes were red, she saw. Oh. Hell. Was he going to cry? Was she going to have a crying child in her office?

"The boy is 15, is he not?" Sanbi confirmed uncertainly. "Do human young cry even at that age?"

'Humans cry at all ages.' Aiko fidgeted. 'Are you thinking of the wailing babies tend to do? That's different. We don't do that after, like, three years old or so.'

"Ah. Should his parents be retrieved to soothe him?"

...Probably not? She wasn't an expert on human young, either.

"Mizukage-sama," Yuusaku said heavily. He blinked many times. "In Konohagakure, I believe I was identified as the weak link in the team. I was taken to questioning that my teammates did not experience."

"What." Her voice went totally flat. "You were situational witnesses, not captives. Are you telling me that Konohagakure subjected you to interrogation?"

'I'm going to kill them. I'm going to fucking kill them. I'm going to go over there and destroy their petty mountainside and use the leftover bits to crush the rats who run.'

"Yes? No? I don't know." Yuusaku rubbed at his eyes. "I was called in to personal questioning by the Hokage." He cleared his throat. "The Yondaime Hokage."

Oh. Oh, no.

'He was a wartime leader,' Aiko remembered. 'Minato is decades behind on diplomatic protocol.'

But it still seemed like common fucking sense that it was unwarranted intimidation to bring a genin, ostensibly a guest from a foreign nation, into questioning with the fucking kage. That was completely inappropriate. It was a dangerous precedent! Would Konoha fucking like it if she brought one of their genin into her office for private questioning? Your own country's military leader was intimidating enough. It was far too much to ask a genin to endure the pressure of a personal interrogation by a foreign military head. It was cruel and unnecessary.

She very carefully put her coffee cup down, because she didn't want to break the glass. "Please continue, Yuusaku."

"He asked me some questions." Yuusaku was talking faster now, like he just wanted to get it all out. "About you. About how long you trained us, where you came from, and what you would do if you wanted to get rid of him." He glanced up at her once again and then back to the floor. "I told him what you said about the timeline. I thought I was being clever with my other responses, ambiguous enough, but I wasn't, I was wrong. I don't know how but I knew it from his face that he got information from me. I'm so, so sorry." He stopped, choked up. "I'm sorry."

He turned to the side to hide his face. She still heard a quiet sniffle.

"Yuusaku," Aiko said. Her voice was exactly as calm as her heart was braying for blood. "A genin is not expected to match wits with kage to achieve promotion. That situation was completely inappropriate, and in no way reflects negatively upon you." She folded her hands very tightly, laced them together and squeezed until her skin turned white. "You performed up to expectations consistent with your rank and age. I would not expect the vast majority of my jounin to conceal information from a foreign kage. That you attempted it is to your credit."

She wanted to cross around her desk and try to comfort her student. But he was turned away- that indicated he wanted privacy. He wanted to protect his pride. She understood that.

"What did you tell him about how I would get rid of him?" Aiko asked, perfectly still and feeling so, so dangerous.

He took a few seconds to master himself enough to answer. "I said that I didn't know, because I hadn't seen you in a serious fight."

Ah. "He understood from that answer that I cannot remotely unwork the jutsu reviving the dead," Aiko explained. "That's the information he got from you."

Yuusaku flinched, waiting for a blow.

"I don't care if he knows that. The information is worthless to me, it's only valuable to Konohagakure because now they know that Minato-san is not about to drop dead at my convenience." She clenched her jaw. "That is acceptable. I am considering how I am going to murder him, and that seems much more satisfying."

Yuusaku gave her a wild-eyed stare. "You can't!" he protested. "A foreign kage?"

She opened her mouth to point out that she'd killed the previous mizukage before she was a citizen, but kept the words in. Wasn't worth it.

"It is politically imprudent," Aiko admitted. "But it is also righting the state of affairs. The Yondaime Hokage is clearly a relic of wartime, unsuited for modern leadership. I'm going to fucking kill him, and then I suppose Kumogakure will be our friend instead of Konohagakure." She paused, thinking about it. "That is also an acceptable outcome. They're closer, even. That's convenient. And that would open up a line of trade to the Outer countries. We could all have TVs, legally. That would be nice. See how it all works out when you murder the Hokage?" By the end, she was really warming to the idea.

"It could lead to war," Yuusaku pointed out. "And it would endanger our relationship with other nations." His voice was strengthening, more comfortable on this familiar ground. "If we were not already at war, a kage personally assassinating another kage is beyond the pale. We would never have another alliance. Who could trust us? We would be destroyed."

'Not if I kill enough of them that nobody wants to fuck with me. Fuck, I killed Itachi. He's shit-scum and stupid as all hell, but he was a loyal Konoha nin. I've already broken that taboo. What's ten more. What a hundred more.'

Aiko took a long, slow inhalation, and pushed down the murderous fantasies. Those were a lot more common lately. Sanbi? She really didn't think that was all her.

He gave a guilty little grumbled. Some of the rage peeled away. Some of it really was hers, though.

"Aa." She clenched her jaw, and then deliberately relaxed the muscles. "You would prefer that I did not kill him, then?"

Yuusaku gave her a look that was hard to interpret. "Mizukage-sama," Yuusaku got out tentatively. "I do not believe that a kage can be held responsible for mistreating foreign genin."

"He's not better than you," Aiko said darkly. "Minato really is not that great. He's selfish, academically unimaginative, makes way too many assumptions about people's competence, and is a shit parent all around. No wonder that he's a fuckup even when it's other people's kids. He did fuck up his whole genin team too, now that I'm thinking about it. The survivors are goddamn lunatics. I'll introduce you sometime, that'll be a laugh."

Yuusaku made a high-pitched sound. When she looked over, he was white. "Sensei?"

"Oh, right. "He's my father," Aiko admitted. "That's classified information, sorry. But he's a useless, stupid garbage human who behaved unprofessionally because he was emotionally compromised." She kicked back her chair and stood up. "And I'm going to make him eat it. Yuusaku, sweetheart, how would you like a personal letter of apology from the Hokage?"

He just stared at her.

"He's not better than you," Aiko repeated, feeling stuck on that. "He has no right to intimidate my people. He has no right to make you doubt yourself when you are doing a good fucking job." Her voice shook with fury on that last part. "You were a damn good genin, and you're on track to be a damn good chuunin. He doesn't get to make you sad."

"Once, when I was in preschool, my teacher made me write an apology to another student." Yuusaku sounded distant and confused. His eyes were glazed over. "Because I broke his toy ship."

"Your teacher was right." Aiko unfolded her hands because she didn't want to break any delicate bones. "When we wrong another person, we say that we are sorry."

She gave in to her urge and walked around her desk to give her new chuunin a hug. He put his hands around her back a moment later.

"I'm going to get an apology for you," Aiko promised into his shoulder. "And he's going to mean it. If he isn't sorry now, I will make him sorry. And then I will make him write a very nice letter."

"Um. Okay."

She hugged him a little harder.

#vapors #uzumaki aiko #electrasev5n #ninja daily #fanfiction #naruto fanfiction #clarity #AIC #Aiko in Canon

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electrasev5nwrites · 1 year

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Ninja Daily: AIC 29

"They're small."

Genma tried not to sigh at just how troubled Yamato sounded. "Yes," he agreed. He used his tongue to pin the senbon to the side of his mouth to make talking easier. "They're genin, buddy."

Yamato gave him a rebellious look. "I wasn't that small," he said in an undertone. His back hunched. They weren't talking loudly enough for the targets to notice, even if the genin were particularly sharp and realized they were being watched from a holey roof protecting grannies from the sun. It wasn't a particularly stealthy posting, but ninja were perched on just about everything in the area.

Genma rolled his eyes.

'I think he is confusing 'small' and 'helpless'. Either that or Uzumaki hit him over the head a few times.'

"I don't understand these young people."

Genma gave a sharp glance over to his companion to make sure that Yamato hadn't suddenly developed self awareness and a talent for voice acting, but no. That had been one of the elderly women below talking loudly. Maybe her hearing was going. Was there something a doctor could do for that?

'He should relax. These might be the safest kids in Konoha now. They've got the personal protection of the Mizukage, in addition to ANBU following them around.'

Maybe it was the weight of responsibility that ought to have rested on other shoulders. Hatake looked a lot smaller under a thin hospital sheet. Yamato was hovering over his squirts in some misplaced penance. He seemed to be laboring under the assumption that Now was the time the gates of hell would open and descend on everything Hatake had ever cared about, and Yamato was the only person watching the danger with wide eyes.

...twitchy kid. He really needed someone to look over him, but his only mentor figure was unconscious. So.

One of the ladies below was wondering how she could possibly get all her persimmons off the tree before they rotted. She wasn't agile enough to climb the ladder, and her grandson was off at some kind of school in Grass Country.

In contrast to Yamato's nerves-assigned personal mission for Kakashi's sake, Genma was watching the Yondaime's kid, now that his assigned jounin protector was out of action. There was going to be a lot more interest in dissecting Minato's personal relationships than there had been in almost a decade and a half. The information was going to come out. It was only a matter of time.

'Granted, anyone who tried to capture a kid as hostage and wound up holding a damn jinchuuriki is in for an unpleasant surprise.'

It was hard to imagine anyone wanting to take a jinchuuriki alive, but… apparently it was the kind of thing Uchiha Itachi had done.

Genma repressed a shiver and rocked back on his heels. Was this announcement going to start or what? Clearly he had too much time to think, if he was letting his mind wander to the terrifying ground of analyzing what Uchiha had been trying to do. He'd failed anyway. So whether his motivations mattered was for people in Intelligence to figure out, not nice normal jounin who wanted to be able to sleep at night.

The woman below whose persimmons might rot had a distinctive voice. He leaned over and matched the voice to a large tan hat obscuring any hint of the person below it. A real flower had been carefully tucked under the hat band.

Hat woman's conversational partner sounded like her neighbor. She was saying something uncomfortable and sympathetic, about how much work hat woman was doing lately. 'Oh, her husband died recently,' Genma realized from context. He frowned.

"It's starting." Yamato fidgeted. Despite his words, his eyes were trained on two genin standing shoulder-by-shoulder. Genma spared a glance up at the balcony where the Sandaime was coming out. He said a few words, promising exciting news.

Genma looked back to the kids.

Minato's boy was not quite as tall as his teammate, but he was standing straight. The clever little girl's feet were angled inward, but her hips and chest pointed toward her teammate.

'He cried', Genma remembered. 'When they took him from his sister in the hospital. I wonder if they bonded, or if he was just so overwhelmed he had a breakdown.'

But a day later, here he was, looking composed enough to offer his teammate support. Bluff, probably. The type of kid who wouldn't look vulnerable in public if he could do anything else.

The sound of a thousand bodies gasping at one revelation was a really weird experience. Genma was in a wind tunnel for one instant, and then it erupted into cries and cheers. A couple pockets of people started up a chant- Yon-dai-me, Yon-dai-me. It spread through the crowd. Genma mouthed along just once, caught in a flashback from a much better time.

Naruto's mouth was hanging open in wonder.

Something in him softened and really wanted to smile. Genma pulled the senbon out and whirled it through his fingers. "If that's how he looks now," he said in an undertone.

Yamato let out a huff. "Wait until he hears the other news?" he offered.

Genma nodded. Minato was going to tell the kid, for sure. Now that he had been vetted and was going to stick around, it would be difficult to keep him from his son. Minato was a fantastic shinobi, but he wasn't that cold.

"As of this time, there are no plans for Namikaze-san to retake his position as Hokage." The Sandaime's voice was strong and clear, aided by microphones. He went on before the crowd could be too confused by that. "He's missed a thing or two while he was away."

He got a laugh from the crowd for that. Genma glanced up to see Minato's yellow-headed figure making a sheepish wave and bow of acknowledgment. It played off well with the crowd. Of course it did, everyone liked a laugh and unexpected good news. Especially when the tone indicated it was going to go on. "I believe that Namikaze-san would like to have a word."

Minato stepped up, cutting a fine if distant figure from the Administration Tower. "Good morning."

It was bizarrely like being in school. Konohagakure reflexively echoed the greeting back.

Minato looked pleased by that. "It is good to be back. The village has changed in my absence. I look forward to getting to know it and you again. But now, I'd like to talk about my next priorities going forward from here. I have been very sorry to see the destruction that Orochimaru of the Sannin left recently. Konoha's strength, in producing some of the most powerful shinobi in the world, has been turned against us."

Solemn silence reigned.

"But now that's going to change!" He clapped his hands- god, Genma had forgotten that he did that to emphasize a point.

Genma hid a laugh in a cough as Minato folded his hands together and leaned forward. "That's why I am personally taking over a proactive approach regarding our missing nin. I am happy to announce some good news- two days ago, an ally of Konohagakure took out Uchiha Itachi. You may have heard that there is a new Mizukage- Uzumaki Aiko. That was nice of her, wasn't it?" He leaned back to allow the crowd to react. After the shocked silence- that was big news to just drop- came cheers at the announcement.

'The Mizukage,' Genma thought, 'is going to be so fucking pissed. It made it sound like she was acting on Konohagakure's interests.'

Yamato let air out between his teeth. It was hardly audible over whooping. "Uzumaki-san would probably have worded that announcement differently." His face was caught in a horrified amusement.

Genma considered the younger man. He was going to ask about Yamato's impressions of Kirikgakure's leadership, he decided. When they had a quiet moment.

"We have our friends in Kirigakure to thank for that," Minato said cheerfully. "That's a bounty I am glad to see paid off, because it means Konoha's people will sleep more safely. I'll be sending Kiri no Uzumaki Aiko the best money we ever spent." The crowd screamed again, because they were so worked up that they'd cheer for a sack of muddy cats if Minato said something nice about it.

Oh right, the bounty on Uchiha. How much was that? Probably a good chunk of change. The Daimyo had kicked in on it- it had been a big damn deal at the time and all that. Mass murder stirred strong feelings, especially when the hard reality of paying out that much money was so distant in the future.

"Our next goal, of course, is Sannin no Orochimaru. A three-country task force is being formed to bring him to task. Sunagakure is already in talks. An envoy is en route to Kirigakure as we speak. Together, we will bring him to task for his crimes against Konohagakure and the world."

'Whatever Minato did in the land of the dead, his oratory skills weren't getting rusty. He's hitting all the right notes. He's sounding a lot like a godsend to the village. Luck we would never have looked for, just when we need it most.'

Genma sighed and crouched down on the edge of the roof. He glanced over to the west observation point. Nothing was visible, but he held a hand up to the relief he knew was watching. Yamato gave him an alarmed look, but didn't question the request.

As the speech wound down and the crowd began very slowly to dissolve, an ANBU arrived.

"Afternoon," Genma said lazily. He nodded to Salamander. "Watch the kids. There's something Yamato and I have got to do."

The younger ANBU nodded and left on Naruto and Sakura's trail.

Yamato gave him a sharp look, straightening. "Mission?"

Genma smiled at him and walked off the edge of the roof. He waited until Yamato had landed beside him to find the widowed grandmother. She was absolutely tiny, maybe 140cm. She was half-hat. What the fuck was her grandson doing? No wonder she was talking loudly in public places about chores she needed done, she couldn't do them herself. At least she had good problem-solving skills. "Excuse me." He pulled out his most charming smile. "I hear you could use someone to pick fruit for you. My friend here would love to help you out." He gestured to Yamato.

"Oh, my." Her mouth stayed open just a little too long. "I wouldn't want to impose," she said. But she said it in the way that polite people try to reject help they actually want. A delighted smile pulled her face up, showing off capped teeth.

The younger man froze for just an instant, and then bowed. "It would be no trouble at all, ma'am. Is today alright for you?" His smile was more pained than sincere.

"Today?" She glanced to her neighbor. "I- that would be lovely. Thank you for your time." Grandma Hat seemed thrilled. "I'll make a little something to eat while you take down the fruit. What's your name?"

"Yamato, ma'am. This is Shiranui Genma." Yamato ducked a few more bows than he really needed to, flustered and polite. "May I ask..."

"Ikemoto Keiko, dear, but please call me Keiko." She sounded absolutely thrilled. Well, of course, her house was too empty.

He put his hands in his pockets and followed, letting Yamato stumble through conversation.

Every newspaper's front page was about Konohagakure. Objectively, Aiko agreed. A country announcing that their previous, wildly divisive leader was back from the dead was a good story. It was the kind of story you got to run literally once, because what the absolute fuck.She would lead with that too.

The articles about Kirigakure's official announcement of their new leadership and series of interviews were being pushed back into page 2.

"I'm not mad."Aiko batted at her desk with the newspaper, suddenly irritated by all the crap on it. A pencil case went flying and sent a spray of writing implements to smack into the wall. It was somewhat satisfying. Not enough. A thud would make her feel better. She slapped the papers down on her desk and sucked in a breath through her teeth.

It was a blow. It was a real, damaging, godawful blow to her attempt to rebrand Kirigakure. It didn't matter what she said if no one was listening. Being an after-thought was better than not being in the paper, but it was still such bullshit.

Utakata watched until the last pen had stopped rolling. Then he looked back at her.

She looked away from the stack of books she had been eying to narrow her eyes at him. Aiko crossed her legs at the knees and folded her arms. She dared him to comment. Just fucking try it, buddy.

"Of course not." He broke eye contact and settled back in his chair in a way that highlighted his truly excellent collarbones. "The timing has taken attention away from our announcement. Perhaps this is a benefit. It would be wise to focus on how we may expand our position in light of this circumstance."

"Is now the time for your theory about the evils of optimism?" Sanbi asked. He curled his tails up in the foreground of her mind. "Please regale him. I enjoy the outrage it provokes. He will make most satisfying sounds."

"Don't tell me to have a good attitude," Aiko said firmly. She pointed at Utakata, deliberately rude. "A moment to grieve lost chances is reasonable and you don't get to police my emotions. You should be upset when something doesn't go to plan. Obviously I can't let it make me less effective, but frustration at being thwarted only goes to show that I am passionate about my work, you rude fuck." She resisted the urge to punctuate that by tossing a folder at his head. Tsunade's explosive work habits were starting to make a troubling amount of sense to her.

Utakata examined his nails. "An innocent woman has never described herself as being thwarted."

"Who was talking about guilt and innocence? This attack on your character is irrelevant to the topic at hand."

'Damn right it is. I don't have time for that pettiness.'

"Assert your authority!"

Damn right. Aiko rolled her eyes at her friend. "Ugh." Then she scoffed for good measure, because Utakata still looked unimpressed. "Get the fuck out and don't come back until you're ready to pout with me. I refuse to be tricked into a good mood when I have to deal with Jiraiya this afternoon." She made a sharp, irritated motion gesturing at the door. "Fuck out my fucking office."

He actually laughed at her, the bastard. Utakata gracefully gathered his things in one motion and swept out of her office. She glowered at his back.

Sanbi hummed. The roar of his combative amusement was working down to a simmer, now that the encounter was over. "Did he win that?"

Aiko buried her face in her hands. "Yes," she said resentfully. "Because he gets to go with Gaara to meet the Suna-nin. And I have to go meet Jiraiya. He's going to ask me questions, and poke around, and have feelings."

"Could be worse," Sanbi mumbled comfortingly. "The shinobi of sand are… unsettling."

She thought about it- glassy eyes and cracking jaws and crevices opening wide to spit poison and metal. "I can't kill all the puppeteers," Aiko said.

Sanbi drew back in alarm. "I had actually not asked."

"I know." She rubbed at her face and then sat up. "I'm trying to convince myself."

He made a troubled sound and receded.

Aiko sighed. She leaned back and toyed with a paperclip, letting her eyes glaze over. Things could be worse. She had managed to check in with Obito last night when he stole away from Pein's gaze. Kisame had reported back to headquarters without Itachi's body. That meant he had either disposed of it, concealed it, or that Konoha had it. Probably Yamato had done something when she hadn't been looking- he was a good, loyal little ANBU.

But maybe not. Maybe Akatsuki really had recovered it.

She was a little troubled by the possibility that Pein and Kisame might revive Itachi and conceal it from Obito. Except, wait- once Obito had a chance to talk to Kisame in private he would know for certain. Pein wasn't loyal to Obito, but Kisame was.

Whatever. As long as Itachi stayed dead, she didn't care that much about where his corpse had ended up.

'I am kind of disappointed that his death didn't end the Tsukiyomi.'

Kakashi and Sasuke really weren't her problem, though. So she shouldn't focus on it, or the troubling feeling of guilt. It wasn't her fault at all that they had been attacked, of course. But it seemed fairly likely that a Rinnegan could trump through a sharingan illusion. If she was more competent, and willing to try, perhaps they would be saved weeks of suffering.

..The Tsukiyomi was an assault on mental health that neither of those two could afford, if she was to be honest. They were already kinda troubled.

And she, personally, had really not been a fan of the Tsukiyomi. 0/10, one of the worst things to have ever happened to her. It was up there with Sasori, and the time her brain was bleeding, and realizing that she was a fucking dead monster, a corpse walking with someone else's eyes in her skull. It was worse than realizing she was going fucking blind and that she could never go home, and that her family and friends were essentially fucking dead because she could never see them again. Only copies.

"Are you alright?"

She didn't like how small and gentle Sanbi's voice sounded. 'I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be? Life is unbearably bleak sometimes but I'm sure it's that way for everyone.'

Whatever. The point was, helping Sasuke and Kakashi was someone else's problem. She picked a little bit of dirt out from under her fingernail and dropped it into the tiny trashcan under her desk.

At least it was Friday. She could feel office hours stretching to a close like it was a physical gate. She just needed to keep stumbling forward to meet her patriotic duty, and then she would have two days of only being on emergency call.

Aiko had meetings. She did paperwork. She sent a spy to infiltrate the Daimyo's court in Wave country. She put everything away and changed into clothes that looked a bit neater and more formal than her boots and shorts combination, so that she was ready to go when the grim news came that Jiraiya had been escorted to the meeting spot.

She stole a glance at herself in a store window as she walked the last block on foot. She had gone with tight-fitting black slacks, a clingy gray long-sleeved top, and a long, loose blue jacket that flowed with her movement.

...Aiko was big enough to admit that she had been channeling her dad and Tsunade in her sartorial choices when she had tried to look like a leader. The heels in particular were definitely Tsunade, but Jiraiya was just too fucking tall to go unchallenged.

'I look like a Hokage in a different color palette,' she thought, and wasn't entirely displeased by the thought.

It might have worked. Jiraiya took a deep breath when he saw her.

Aiko paused for a moment, a little uncomfortable with the way that Jiriaya was drinking in her features. There was a line on his brow and faint wonder in his eyes. He spent a full 3 seconds sweeping the curve of her jaw, the set of her nose, the shape of her eyes.

'I look a lot like my father, if you know to look for it.'

She saw him swallow.

"Mizukage-san." Jiraiya bobbed his head to her, like a pleasant idiot. He clattered forward. "Ne, you really made me look like a fool in Konoha. It's good to see you in your environment."

Aiko spared him a thin smile and gestured for him to enter ahead of her. "Jiraiya-san," she said politely. "Let's have coffee and discuss your stay here." He held open the curtain for her and then glanced into the dark room for the first time.

She saw his smile turn wry when he saw the place was deserted. The restaurant had been emptied- a single member of staff was in the kitchen, with a dozen of Kiri shinobi keeping watch around the building.

When he faltered, Aiko swept past him to take a seat. There was something intimidating about a large room with a single two-person table in the center. Utakata had probably thought of it, it looked like his style.

A chuunin swept out with a tray and a hard set to her mouth. She set down two coffees, sugar, and a pitcher of cream. She walked away without another word.

When Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at her, Aiko smiled pleasantly back. She didn't speak. A different shinobi came out, deposited cut persimmon and orange, and left.

Jiraiya let out a sigh and took the lid off the sugar. He dropped a single cube into his coffee and then pushed the dish to her. Aiko ignored it and mixed cream into her coffee. She kept her face distantly pleasant when she took a sip of her godawful bitter coffee, as if she was a madwoman who liked it that way.

"Why?" Sanbi asked.

'Just messing with him,' Aiko admitted. 'Iruka saw me put a gratuitous amount of sugar into my coffee before. They have so little information on me that the detail would definitely make it into my profile. Now Jiraiya will be wondering what my preference actually is, or perhaps if the sugar here is poisoned.'

"That seems unnecessary." Sanbi sounded approving.

'It can't hurt to divert his brainpower to the little things. Keep him off balance.'

Jiraiya stirred his coffee for a little longer than truly necessary, spoon clinking.

She smiled at him.

He smiled back and pretended to be drinking it.

'Joke's on him, this is high quality coffee.'

"I assume that you have spoken to my father." She tilted her head in a way that would highlight the sharp jaw she'd gotten from Minato.

Jiraiya blinked at the statement. He took a moment to answer. "Yes." He inhaled slowly. "That was..." he glanced at her and looked fond. Vulnerable. "Perhaps I should be less surprised. I hear that you are a master of fuinjutsu. And I…."

"You're not my godfather," Aiko said bluntly. She watched the way Jiraiya's hopeful face froze. "You have never known me, and I am not going to be manipulated into giving you concession and kindness that I would owe to my family. Do me the service of believing I am intelligent enough to know that you are manipulating me." She leaned back and muttered, "Or trying to, anyway."

He gave one small, silent laugh, and the side of his mouth curled up to show teeth. "Saa, it was worth a try, wasn't it?" Jiraiya rubbed at the back of his neck.

"Of course it was. And it might have been enjoyable for me to pretend that it was working. But I'm not interested in playing that game." Aiko balanced her right foot on the toes and stretched forward, flexing the ankle. Her left was still tucked under her chair. "I don't have endless time and energy for shenanigans. I'm engaged in quite enough already."

"Oh?" he prompted.

She shot him an amused smile, because he really was predictable. "Oh, nothing. Just spreading crime and mayhem across the continent. In any case." Aiko shook her hair out. "You have come to ask questions on behalf of the Sandaime Hokage. Is this correct?"

Jiraiya splayed his palms out and then leaned back into a slouch. "You got me," he said cheerfully. "I'm working. But it's such a shame to spend my time with such a lovely young lady engaged in painful mundanities, isn't it? Let's do something else. Did you ever find that bikini?"

She gave him her most unimpressed look.

He just grinned back at her obnoxiously. "The bikini is optional," he purred. "I'm dying of the heat in here, aren't you?" He tugged at his collar. She considered having him arrested, just out of spite.

"That is inappropriate," Sanbi said. It came out half a question. "All- everything about that in tone and implication was- it was-"

'He's mocking me,' Aiko confirmed. 'I started the conversation by claiming there is no familial or mentor relationship between us. So he is taking it to the logical inverse, where I am a near-stranger who may be treated as any other he meets. If I rebuff his flirtations as inappropriate due to our relationship, he will argue that I lied when I said our relationship in my universe is not relevant here. If I react to his harassment along the usual lines that strangers do, then he will find it easy to fall back on his arsenal of rhetoric to keep me off-guard and irritated to play into his hands. However I rebuff him, he will have easy recourse to manipulate me.'

Sanbi took a moment to think that over. "I would not have assumed this one had that cleverness. Are you certain this is the case? Perhaps he truly is a fool."

'His rhetorical genius grows exponentially when there is an opportunity to be obnoxious.'

Aiko glanced at the kitchen door. No more snacks ought to be coming for a while… She considered it.

'I bet anything that it's a bluff. He hasn't had the time to get used to this that I have, and he won't be emotionally separated from Minato. He considers me a relation. I have leverage that most people don't when faced with this manipulation.'

She gave Jiraiya the most dangerous smile in her arsenal. "It is hot in here, isn't it?"

"Aiko, no," Sanbi said, horrified.

'I'm calling him on it. If I let him think he can bother me with crude implications, he'll keep the tactic. I need to make him so uncomfortable that he won't try it again.'

Jiraiya's face absolutely froze when she pushed her jacket down her shoulders and shrugged out of it. She lifted it delicately and let the silk pool on the tabletop. Something ticked in his jaw when she lifted her shirt over her head. Aiko took the time to fold it. Jiraiya waited until he absolutely knew she wasn't bluffing about unwrapping the bandages around her chest to throw up a hand and grimace. "Okay!"

Aiko ticked her head to the side and played with the end of the bandage that was the only thing left over her sports bra. "Hmm?" Her tone was so innocent that it rounded back to dangerous.

"Alright," Jiraiya said, disgusted. He looked away and scoffed. "I don't want to see that. You're still Minato's kid. What is wrong with you?"

Aiko let the sides of her lips play up in a smug smile. She tucked the end of her wrappings back in. "If you're certain," she purred. She took her time to put the shirt back on. "How funny you are. I don't say things I don't mean, so I missed the joke entirely."

He glanced back at her now that she was decent and grimaced.

"It worked," Sanbi said. He sounded bemused.

'I do know him well,' Aiko pointed out. 'He has had very little divergence from the Jiraiya who I knew. And now he's gonna listen when I talk.'

Sanbi made a soft 'huh' sound.

Jiraiya took up his coffee cup and pretended to finish it. She didn't know how he was disposing of it, but Aiko was certain that he was not drinking it. He sat the china down with a clink. "That was delicious, thank you." He gave her a too-wide grin. Almost like he was eager to put that conversation behind him or something. How odd.

"There is a method," Sanbi said. He sounded like it was a revelation, but she didn't have time to sort through it now.

She made a noncommittal hum and leaned forward to snag the sugar tray. "I think it's a little bitter." She dropped five cubes into her coffee, channeled heat through her fingertips into the cup, and then stirred delicately. She kept eye contact while she lifted it to her mouth and sipped away, making it very obvious that she was in fact consuming the sugared coffee.

He didn't twitch, even when the door opened.

"Mizukage-sama."

Aiko raised a hand in acknowledgment and wondered what it would take to make Utakata that polite when no outsiders were watching. A lot more money than she had, that was for sure. "Yes?"

Utakata gave a smile that she read as very, very tense. "Forgive me, but there is a matter in need of your attention." He didn't look directly at Jiraiya.

"Ah." She nodded at him. "Thank you. You may go now." While Utakata bowed his way out, she pursed her lips.

'Either something godawful has happened, or he thinks I need a rescue from Jiriaya.'

Well.

"Can I be of any assistance?" Jiraiya showed off his straight, white teeth. "I am at your disposal."

She eyed him. Of course he was. He didn't want to leave until he had his answers, which meant she could put him off for a while and keep him in town. Did she want that? If she gave him information immediately, he wouldn't leave, but he would pretend to.

Sneaky bastard.

It was better to know where he was.

"Thank you, that's quite generous." Aiko felt her smile grow as she had an absolutely delicious thought. "There is something that you could be of assistance with. I have recently given a ninjutsu project to my students. I'll tell Yuusaku to expect your help tomorrow."

Jiriaya liked gardening, right? He liked kids for sure. He'd definitely like gardening with an Academy class.

"In the meantime- we have actually been working on a residence for Konoha's representatives, but it isn't quite finished," Aiko apologized. "For the night you will be in temporary accommodation, but tomorrow we can show you to the permanent quarters."

"Where I'll see the other Konoha diplomat, I assume?" Jiraiya really did look clueless and pleasant when he smiled. It was a dangerous technique.

"We haven't killed him," Aiko confirmed pleasantly, because that was what was actually going on. "We are very friendly these days, here in Kirigakure. Tomorrow my secretary will come to take your questions in writing. You can expect her at 8:25." She stood and tossed hair over her shoulder. "Have a lovely evening."

Jiraiya toasted her with an apple. "Thanks, you too."

#vapors #uzumaki aiko #electrasev5n #ninja daily #fanfiction #naruto fanfiction #clarity #AIC #Aiko in Canon

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