"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 on 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 thoughtfully. '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 surprised. "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,' she 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.