Then Hōseki was up on her lap again, sticking her nose under Aiko's shirt and burrowing underneath. Her head popped out Aiko's collar. She grinned bad breath into Aiko's face. "Pakkun told us you were back. Why take so long boss?" She didn't wait for an answer, giving one hot lick up the underside of Aiko's throat. "It been good. I took Pakkun's shampoo. I met a rabbit! Oh, oh, oh, and I train Naruto to give me many barbeque bones. And Mitsuo has boyfriend!" The little dog readjusted, front paws still down, but her back end pushed up in excitement.
"Oh really?" Aiko asked, not sure what part she was questioning. The boyfriend bit, probably.
From the floor, Mitsuo made a huffing noise and put his paws on the couch. When Aiko held out a hand, he climbed up to lie on Aiko's legs with quiet dignity.
"That's good," Aiko decided, running a hand down Hōseki's spine through her shirt. "Congrats, Mitsuo."
The smaller dog made a smug rolling sound from the back of her throat. "I have three," Hōseki pronounced smugly.
"Of course you do." Aiko stretched her neck to kiss the wet tip of Hōseki's nose and contorted to rub at Mitsuo's tummy with her foot. That was the scene that Tsunade and Shizune opened the door to, stumbling in with pink cheeks and the drifting scent of liquor.
Tsunade stopped in the doorway and shook her head. "I want those off the couch."
Mitsuo let his ears flop down and whined from the back of his throat. Hōseki was still rubbing her nose into Aiko's neck, but Aiko managed puppy eyes.
"Down," Tsunade enunciated.
"It not your couch," Hōseki pronounced without lifting her head.
'Is she actually turning purple?'
Slowly, carefully, Aiko wrapped her arms around Hōseki and scooted bodily to the ground. Mitsuo followed with a reluctant clattering of nails against the wood.
"I am going to go write some letters," Tsunade said, deathly quiet. "You are going to go put on something with less hair on it. And then you are going to deliver my letters."
When the Hokage left the room, Aiko slunk off to the bathroom, wet her hands, and half-assedly wiped at the dog hair on her clothes. She hadn't brought a ton of spares, and she hadn't seen a washer-dryer combo in the suite.
"The dogs have to go!" Tsunade called out from the adjoining room, with a bite of temper to her words. "It looks hostile to have summons hanging about."
Aiko twisted to give a skeptical look to her ninken. Hōseki was scrabbling in the bathtub, attempting to get enough reach to knock down and investigate the shampoos and bodywashes. Mitsuo was slurping water out of the toilet, sending droplets flying against the seat and floor.
But she dismissed the ninken anyway, because the alternative was arguing that her summons were totally harmless, 'ttebane, and why are you laughing, that's not funny, my summons are cuddlier than yours and that's what counts.
It was a road better left untraveled.
She made a pot of tea while she waited, drunk the whole thing, and then ended up shifting through the cupboards out of boredom. She turned when Shizune cleared her throat from the doorway.
"The envelopes are labeled," she said. Shizune held out vanilla-colored envelopes for Aiko to take. Aiko hastily scooted off the counter, shutting the cupboard door on the way over. The older kunoichi was all brisk professionalism, a familiar, determined set to her mouth. "Take one of the boys out with you. Oh, wait." She wrinkled her nose. "It has to be Yamato-san. Uchiha-san is a civilian." She shook her head and murmured, "I keep forgetting that."
"It is weird," Aiko agreed. Without arguing, she tucked the papers under her arm. "I'll wash up and head out." She moved away from the other kunoichi as hastily as she could while appearing casual and went to push open the door on the room Yamato and Uchiha were sharing.
Yamato was sitting on his bed, staring intently at the window curtain. Uchiha Itachi was leaning against an end table and fidgeting with something that appeared to be putty.
'I'm not going to ask.'
"I'm heading out," Aiko said.
Yamato stood quickly and nodded. "Of course." He gave Uchiha an uncertain kind of half-salute. "Thank you for the talk, Uchiha-san."
'I am definitely not going to ask. No. Not doing it.'
They went to the Mizukage first. She was too busy to see them, but Aiko's very best friend Utakata came out to scowl and accept the package.
"It's you," Utakata said flatly. He extended his arm at a distance instead of stepping closer to Aiko. When she bemusedly placed the envelope in his grip, Utakata whipped it away and backstepped. "Is that all you came for?"
'He really doesn't like me. I don't get it. I'm likeable.'
"Sorry, do I know you?" Aiko asked. She tilted her head to the side and let her forehead crease in confusion. "Hi, I'm Aiko." She smiled winningly.
Utakata turned a thunderous purple and shut the door in her face.
'That went well.'
Aiko let out a little snort, feeling her eyes crinkle. When she turned around, Aiko nearly walked right into Yamato's disapproving form.
"You know," he started. "I'd expected you to show a little more diplomacy."
Aiko blinked up at him. "I can't be responsible for living up to your expectations. That sounds like your problem." She whapped the front of his vest with her remaining documents. "Come on, let's go. I don't want to be here when he remembers that I greeted him by name earlier today."
Yamato inhaled a quick breath. He shook his head, but started down the semi-enclosed hall at a clip. "That's terrible." He was smiling. "Senpai would be proud."
"Morality is relative and life is cruel," Aiko shot back. She was smiling too. At least, until she remembered that she was supposed to go see Gaara now. At the fork in the hall, she purposefully turned left.
'Maybe he'll be too busy to receive us too.'
"Aiko?" Yamato nudged her. "Aren't we… heading the wrong way?" When she didn't answer, he pressed, "I thought that the rest of the suites were all that way." He pointed in the opposite direction.
She took a deep breath and spun around, making the action look deliberate. "I was shaking off possible pursuit," Aiko lied.
Yamato made a polite sound of comprehension.
'He could be out. I'm sure he's busy. Gaara seems like a man with a full social calendar.'
Unfortunately, a mousy-haired Chuunin opened the door to Suna's suite and flushed red to the tips of her ears. "I'll get the Kazekage!" she squeaked. Aiko held up a finger, ready to say no no that's not necessary. Then the door slammed shut.
Aiko frowned at the door. Yamato shuffled around. She could just hear him thinking that people slammed doors on her an awful lot. She sent him a preemptory scowl. He was holding his hands up in a gesture of innocence when Sabaku no Kankuro opened the door again. Unimpressed, the Suna Jounin gestured them in.
"He'll be here in a minute," Kankuro said. He flopped down on the windowseat and watched the Konoha Jounin with lidded eyes. He didn't ask them to sit. They waited in silence for nearly a minute before soft footsteps sounded in the hall.
"Uzumaki-san," Gaara greeted. He looked over at his brother. "You may go, Kankuro." The older Sabaku didn't waste time, clattering directly out of the building.
For a moment, all three stood and did not quite look at each other. Then Gaara extended a hand.
"Come, sit." Gaara took a single seat, leaving Aiko the chair across the table from him and Yamato to waver before taking Kankuro's old perch. Aiko crossed her legs, rubbing her thumb over the papers in her hand.
"Thank you, Kazekage-sama," she prevaricated. She used to call him Gaara. But he didn't seem to be interested in that lack of formality. "I have some papers for you, from Shizune-san." When she put them on the table, he didn't move for them. He was watching, waiting for something.
And hell, she knew what.
Aiko slumped in her seat. "And I need to apologize," she admitted. She met his eyes, felt uncomfortable, and moved her focus down to his chin. It was less piercing. It was kind of pointy, but it definitely wasn't staring into her soul. "I'm sure Temari told you I was with Akatsuki that day. When that four man team drew off three of the Akatsuki, only one was left with me. I attacked him and tried to sabotage things by breaking the container they were using for the bijuu." She steeled herself and managed to meet his eyes again. "I didn't understand what would happen," Aiko admitted. She rubbed her hands against the top of her legs. "I am sorry."
"And Fuu-san?" Gaara seemed disinterested.
She wilted a bit. That had been hard, and he didn't even seem interested. Not that she deserved forgiveness, exactly, an apology didn't make things okay. "What about her? I helped get her moving, slapped Utakata-san into consciousness, and sent them running before I tried to break the statue."
"Yes, but how," Gaara asked sharply.
Aiko gave him a surprised look. "Does it matter?" She very deliberately did not rub at her prickling eyes.
Gaara leaned back in his chair, muscles relaxing. "Fuu-san says a very curious thing," he mused. "She claims that she was taken directly from her village to a location where her bijuu was extracted. Yet there is a significant period of time-"
"Between when she was taken and when she escaped, yes," Aiko interrupted, eager to not think about what had been done to Fuu. "She's right."
Gaara stared. "That's not possible," he said after a pause. "It aligns with Fuu's recollection, yet it remains impossible."
Aiko shrugged. "We do impossible things every day," she hedged. Her mind wandered back to what Gaara had just said. It was… strange.
'He said that she went straight from her village to the extraction. So Fuu doesn't remember going to Akatsuki's base with me? Or is she just not implicating me to do me a favor?'
"I hear that Pein did many such impossible things," Gaara said levelly. He very deliberately made eye contact.
It took a moment for her mind to catch up. Gaara was referencing what had happened in Konoha.
'He tricked me into walking right into that,' Aiko realized, a little cross that she'd been predictable. She paused, conflicted. 'How good is his memory? Does he remember that I used to have blue-green eyes?'
If it was anyone else, she would have spat out something irreverent or literally shrugged the comment off.
But…
Words froze, heavy on her tongue and so bitter that her mouth watered. Her lips were slightly apart, but she just honestly had nothing to say.
'He knows I have the Rinnegan. He's probably guessed that I was in Akatsuki's custody. He's probably guessed that I was captured the whole time I was missing. I should just say so. Do it. Do it. Do it. He isn't going to judge me or tell me I'm stupid for trusting Obito and being used.'
It didn't come out, though. Her heartbeat sped up and her face felt hot and she felt her shoulders drifting up defensively.
She didn't want to tell him. She didn't want him to know. No one needed to know how she'd been weak. Aiko wished she didn't remember. If she didn't talk about it, it was like it never happened.
"You don't have to say." Gaara looked downright uncomfortable, with a wide stare and a slight line by his mouth. "I am sorry. I should not have inquired."
"No, you have a point," Aiko acknowledged. She waved a hand uselessly. She didn't have anything more to say. She should tell him. She didn't feel up to it. "I think we should go. Please excuse us."
Yamato closed the distance to stand be the arm of her chair. His hand hovered for a moment as if he wanted to touch her shoulder, but Yamato didn't touch her.
"I agree." Gaara stood, pushing his chair back. "We can finish this another time." He paused. "Aiko-san. I am sorry that I distressed you. You may talk to me if you change your mind." He stiffly moved his weight to his left foot, as visibly uncomfortable as she had ever seen him.
"We're on first name terms?" Aiko asked, because that seemed important at the time. "You called me Uzumaki earlier."
Gaara might actually have looked amused for a moment, before seriousness set back in. "Do not further enrich my country with loose bijuu, and we have an agreement." Internal conflict flickered over his face, registering as wrinkles on his forehead. "You are lucky you survived exposure to them," Gaara said carefully. "You have no bijuu to protect you."
Maybe that was as close as he could get to telling her to be careful. Aiko managed a smile.
"It wasn't so bad. Hurt," she admitted. Unthinking, she rubbed at the skin of her arms. It was smooth under her fingers, but it had bubbled up, warping and boiling and peeling… "But they… the bijuu aren't blindly violent. We talked."
The Kazekage didn't try to smile, but something softened in his face. "I am glad you agree." He took a careful step around the furniture, directing her attention to the door. "Be safe, Aiko-san." Gaara nodded to Yamato as well. "I apologize. I should have asked for your name."
Yamato ducked into a quick bow, but his heart was clearly not into it. "Yamato, Kazekage-sama."
"A pleasure," Gaara returned gravely. He ushered them out to the street. Aiko blinked and held a hand up against the setting sun, settling on a squint with one eye entirely closed.
"It's getting late," Yamato observed. He watched the door on the nearest building open, two well-dressed women spilling out and setting a brisk pace for the edge of the diplomatic complex. "Are you ready for tomorrow? It'll be a long day."
Aiko tilted her head back and groaned at the sky. "I don't want to give testimony."
~~~
The second day in court promised to be more interesting than the first, as the floor opened up to people other than kage.
Lord Mifune opened the proceedings with no sign of humor or emotion. "I believe that several character witnesses have been summoned, as well as witnesses to the alleged incident in question. Let us hear from witnesses first, so that we may assess actions before our opinions are further colored." He scanned a paper and smoothly continued, "I believe that no less than five kunoichi have testimony directly relating to the night in question?"
Tsunade-sama leaned forward, but Gaara spoke first. "Sabaku no Temari is unavailable for testimony, as she is required in Sunagakure at this time." Aiko winced at his rough tones. He continued, "The shinobi known as Fuu will give no testimony as well, owing to her current designation as absent without leave from the village hidden in the Waterfall, pending reclassification as a missing nin."
'Does that mean she's still in Suna? Is Gaara giving her sanctuary?'
It took iron willpower not to sink under her seat to hide her face. Fuu would be in good standing with Waterfall if she hadn't been kidnapped. And Temari would probably be at her brother's side if some jackass hadn't released bijuu on their country.
Tsunade-sama nodded and took over from there. "I do not request the stand, as my participation was minor and my testimony cannot provide any new information."
That wasn't strictly true, since Temari wasn't speaking, but Mifune did not seem surprised in the slightest. "That leaves Nii Yugito of Kumogakure and Uzumaki Aiko of Konohagakure. Nii Yugito, please give your remarks." He nodded to the Kumogakure delegation.
It took a moment to search Nii out, camouflaged in a sea of similarly clad Kumogakure shinobi. The blonde head bowed as soon as Aiko had managed to identify her. "Hai, Mifune-dono," she enunciated. The Kumo nin made her way to the seating that had been arranged for the witness. She somehow managed to look more dangerous than demurring in seiza. "I first encountered Ame no Konan at a conference function. She was not directly involved in my incapacitation and kidnap."
Aiko glanced over at the kages. A seemed sour that his shinobi had to admit that, wide mouth pressed into a colorless line.
But Nii went on confidently. "The person who attacked me was later identified as Zetsu of the Akatsuki, a known associate of Ame no Konan. While in custody of the Akatsuki, I encountered the jinchuuriki Fuu, then of Waterfall, the missing nin Hidan, formerly of Hot Springs, and Uzumaki no Aiko of Fire."
One of Mifune's advisors had leaned forward to hear better, but the arbiter himself was impassive. "Aa. Do you have any direct evidence linking Ame no Konan to this crime?"
"Conjecture," Nii responded without stalling. "Mine and others. Uzumaki no Aiko had expressed suspicion of Ame no Konan to the jinchuuriki Fuu, which was shared with me in our mutual incarceration."
Wait? She had? She did not remember that. She did remember talking to Temari about that… Aiko did not let her forehead crease, tense with the rusty effort of facial ambiguity. Obito had not been terribly strict about hiding her thoughts, but it was important now. Was Nii lying, or had Aiko forgotten something? Shit.
It kind of mattered. A lot.
"Our kidnapping was clearly aided by inside information and resources," Nii continued. "The noted association between Ame no Konan and the criminal organization Akatsuki, combined with her suspicious behavior at the conference support the theory that she was the security failure."
"Suspicious behavior?" Mifune did frown, just slightly. The expression made him look like someone's kindly grandfather. "What suspicious behavior are you talking about?"
Nii had clearly been hoping for an opening of that sort, since her actual testimony was limited. Her response was prompt. "It is my belief that Ame no Konan was attempting to spread dissonance at the conference in question, sabotaging international relations and encouraging misinformation. She demonstrated overt interest in jinchuuriki upon one occasion, attempting to convince certain villages that Konohagakure had designs upon the bijuu." Left unsaid, of course, her village had been eager to lap up that trash.
Aiko closed her eyes and willed her headache away, letting Nii's voice become background noise.
'I honestly can't tell if this is going well for Konan or not. The actual evidence isn't showing that Konan broke the law. But circumstantial evidence and rhetoric are not working in her favor.'
Aiko managed to dredge her way back up to full attention after Nii had been thanked for providing her interpretation of events. The other woman was sitting down, smoothing out the material of her blues.
She took a quick look around the open, circular room. The shinobi present were artfully distracted, a sea of blank or pleasant faces. The five kage were patiently awaiting Mifune's next suggestion, as placidly expectant as if they genuinely had no idea who he would next ask to speak.
A samurai lord was already peering over at Aiko. If anything, he seemed vexed that she was not immediately leaping to the table to speak her piece. It was an interesting contrast.
Her lips twitched.
Apparently samurai didn't uphold the same pretenses that shinobi did.
Lord Mifune didn't even try to search her out in the crowd, though he had turned to Nii earlier.
'He probably didn't receive a dossier on me.' Aiko's smile cracked like dry plaster. 'Since international opinion held that I was probably dead until very recently.'
"Konoha no Aiko, is it?" Lord Mifune was staring over the tips of his folded hands. "Is this shinobi present?"
'Yepp. Awkward.' She did not let herself wince as she stood to make her way to the cushion at the apex of the room. "I am here, Mifune-sama."
Cool grey eyes weighed her worth and withheld judgment in the space of a heartbeat. Mifune only nodded. His attention shifted over to the dais. When Aiko's gaze followed, the Tsuchikage was gesturing for attention. Unsurprising. She slid down into a seiza position, hands neatly on her lap.
"Yes, Tsuchikage-dono?" The old samurai's head tilted in invitation.
Without standing, the Tsuchikage nodded at Aiko. "I would like to express trepidation," he began with a little wheeze. His back straightened. "and no small amount of confusion. Perhaps I am mistaken, but it was my understanding that this kunoichi was recategorized as missing in action not four months back. Hokage-dono, by what fortuitous circumstance did you recover your soldier in time for this event?"
Tsunade gave a seeping, catlike smile.
After a moment without a response, Mifune gave a ponderous nod before the Tsuchikage turned too purple. "You fear that this individual may not be the shinobi in question?" He managed to make that sound completely reasonable, but still Naruto's spine stiffened.
'Calm down,' Aiko willed. 'It's a fair concern.'
So her tone was mild. "I am she, but I will take any test you offer, Tsuchikage-sama."
It wouldn't hurt to verify her identity. She wouldn't be taking questions about what she'd actually been doing, but soothing suspicions that Konoha had sent a fraud to testify was more than fair. Konoha could claim that Aiko had been taken on internal business and refuse to answer anything sensitive.
She half expected to be asked to demonstrate Hiraishin, or perhaps chakra chains. That would be a good proof, as well as provide a rare chance for others to scrutinize a rare technique without the distracting hazard of facing it in combat.
But the Tsuchikage turned toward her and mildly asked, "How many Iwagakure shinobi did you encounter and kill in Rice country?"
What.
In the silence that followed, he pleasantly clarified, "In a deserted base belonging to the village styled as Sound."
'He just aired a covert operation that Tsunade didn't even order. This is not good.'
Suddenly, the room was far too hot. No one knew about that. Sai was the only person alive who knew most of her sins. How had that been traced back to her?
Well. If the Tsuchikage had been aiming to negatively impact how she was perceived by the audience, the damage had already been done. No amount of denials would take the words back.
'Wait. I did tell Tsunade about that, didn't I?' Aiko strained to remember. 'I think I did, though not in detail. She'll be pissed that the Tsuchikage knows, but that might not be my fault.'
Aiko plastered a pleasant expression on her face and leaned forward, eyebrows raised in polite interest. "That sounds like an interesting mission. You'll have to tell me about it sometime." She tilted her head slightly and blinked sweetly.
Yeah, no one would believe she was innocent, but that was no excuse to make things easy for him.
Titters floated around the room, but it was impossible to see which straight-faced military personnel the sounds were coming from.
"Yes, most amusing." Tsunade seemed to stretch somehow, without doing anything so gauche. "May I suggest we find a more reputable method of identifying Uzumaki-san?"
"Yes," the Raikage butted in seamlessly, coming to the conclusion Tsunade had hoped he would. "I would trust that only Uzumaki-san could perform either chakra chains or the Hiraishin for us."
Aiko winced, just on principle. They had expected that and planned for it, but publically demonstrating a technique for others to scrutinize and attempt to replicate was absolutely unspeakable.
"Lord Mifune?" She tilted her chin down, deferring to the overseer.
"I agree." The samurai lord folded his arms. "Would the five kage agree to accept a demonstration of chakra chains as proof positive of Uzumaki-san's identity?" When they concurred, he nodded. "Please be kind to the décor," he said dryly, leaning back slightly. "Perhaps Hiraishin would be less damaging, but I would not trust my eyes to distinguish it from a shunshin."
Aiko's lips twitched. "I will do what I can," she replied, tone professional. She took a deep breath, arched her back like a cat, and popped a few links of chain out. The first two were an effort, but the rest slid out like they'd been oiled. She curled the chakra chain up over her head like a scorpion's stinger and let it sway slightly. "Are you satisfied, Tsuchikage-sama?" She didn't try to make eye contact.
There was a long period of silence- perhaps forty painful seconds where there was no response. She glanced up. The Tsuchikage was wearing an odd grimace, a muscle ticking fiercely in his eye. His breath was coming fast. But when his response came- "Yes, I am satisfied," the Tsuchikage acknowledged smoothly. In the audience behind him, his granddaughter leaned forward to stare.
"Then we may proceed." Lord Mifune gifted her with a nod. "Uzumaki-san. Would you give your accounting of events?"
Aiko let the chakra dissipate. "Hai." She caught Tsunade's eye, but whatever the Hokage hoped to communicate was lost. She looked at the other kage instead. It was not an openly friendly audience, and making eye contact with Gaara was supremely uncomfortable. But Mei, at least, should be willing to listen. So that was where Aiko looked. "Nii-san mentioned that I found Ame no Konan suspicious," Aiko started cautiously. She didn't remember talking to Fuu about that, so she didn't want to confirm or deny that. It sounded like a damn lie, but it was hard to trust her own memory. Events had to be spun so that things didn't sound so awful for Konan. "I disliked her on a personal level. We met in the crowd and clashed. On the night of the alleged incident in question, I became aware that she was out and about in the hotel," Aiko picked her words primly.
In the distance, she could see Nii mouth the word 'alleged' with a bit of indignation.
Mei seemed to sigh, her chest rising and falling heavily. Her face turned away. Aiko jerked her gaze up and tried not to analyze that. "I followed her," Aiko explained, ducking her head just a bit, just enough to indicate youthful sheepishness, to look embarrassed by her impulsive action. "I encountered her in the room of Sabaku no Temari. We fought, Temari and I against the defendant. Ame no Konan and I ended up fighting on the water, leaving Sabaku no Temari at the hotel." It took supreme effort to keep authentic sourness out of her tone when she admitted, "I lost the fight and consciousness. The next I knew, I was in the custody of Akatsuki in an unnamed location that I later ascertained to be in the country of Rain. I did not encounter Ame no Konan there."
There. She'd hardly twisted the truth at all. And clever Mifune caught on to what she wanted him to. His eyebrows were raised. "So, that is to say that you cannot testify that Ame no Konan was directly responsible for your abduction?" he asked, honestly curious.
"I cannot."
'I can think it really loudly, though. Of course it was Konan.'
"What stretch of time did this encounter last?" Mifune pushed.
Good question. That was a long time ago, but-
"Approximately thirty minutes," Aiko replied, keeping uncertainty out of her tone. Giving a high end guess might help Konan's case.
Lord Mifune had turned back to the gathered kage. "Hokage-sama, do you recall the time of this incident?"
Tsunade didn't hesitate to answer. "Uzumaki-san left our rooms to follow Ame no Konan at two ten."
Next he looked at Mei. "And in what stretch of time were Fuu of Waterfall and Nii of Kumogakure spirited away from the premises?"
The Mizukage almost seemed amused by the proceedings. "Nii was last seen by my staff at eleven pm and noted missing at three fifteen am. Fuu was last seen at two am, however, and reported missing at three ten."
Lord Mifune did not seem to realize he was stroking at his mustache. "I find it difficult to understand how Konan-san might have engineered either or both of the disappearances of Fuu of Waterfall and Nii of Kumogakure in such a time frame. It appears that she was occupied at the time."
"She could very well have arranged the security breaches beforehand and delegated."
Surprised, Aiko jerked just a little too fast to look at Tsunade. It was hard to see how pointing that out served her agenda.
'Maybe that's the point? She's playing devil's advocate so that her impartiality can't be challenged?'
"That is true, but we are discussing the alleged violation of a ceasefire on hostilities at an internationally sanctioned event, not the possibility of condoning or contributing to subversion of security," Lord Mifune ruled. "Abduction is a clear indication of hostile intent and direct harm. If we wish to prosecute Ame no Konan for a lesser charge, the appropriate venue would be at the discretion of the Mizukage."
Most of the audience was either blank-faced or betraying outright surprise that someone was interested in the letter of the law, rather than whether or not parties felt wronged.
Everyone in that room knew Konan was guilty as hell. Aiko choked down a surprised laugh, but some shocked amusement broke onto her face.
'This is such a civilian approach to the problem. Kage pay a lot less attention to applying the law and justifying their perspectives. We'd rather fight it out. If this was kept internal, we'd argue, and then whoever lost the argument would probably try to subvert the ruling.'
"I must disagree."
Her stomach hit the floor.
'I've never heard Gaara sound so cold.'
Maybe that was all perception. Just in her head, on account of how he had liked her in the past and at the moment he knew she had done him and his serious harm through careless negligence. You know. No big. Just perception.
In her peripheral, Aiko noticed figures leaning and fidgeting in anticipation or confusion. Gaara was sort of notoriously reticent.
But at this moment, his hands were folded and his kohl-lined eyes were burning a black hole into her flesh. "I agree that the testimony to date does not support incarceration on the charges of abduction. However, the armed conflict between Sabaku no Temari and Uzumaki no Aiko against Ame no Konan meets reasonable standards for hostility and harm."
Yeah, he was definitely displeased.
The Raikage's body language had opened up toward Gaara, receptive to what he was saying.
"I… see." Lord Mifune rubbed at his temple. "Perhaps you are correct. Uzumaki no Aiko, would you recount the particulars of that encounter?"
She did, with a sinking feeling. Konan's lips were pressed together to the point of being purple, eyes in a thousand yard stare. The shinobi audience was too disciplined to display open excitement, but bloodthirst and energy were rising along with whispered speculation.
Shinobi didn't care about a brawl, which was all that Aiko's testimony could prove had happened. Shinobi were notorious for that nonchalance- careless violence was why civilians feared them and why samurai thought shinobi undisciplined and uncouth. Shinobi fought each other for fun- they'd had a tournament establishing that very precedent even at the conference in question. Lord Mifune must know this as well, from the way he had glossed over the information earlier.
It was an excuse to crucify Konan, with just enough veneer of legitimacy that Lord Mifune couldn't dismiss it.
Words were seeming to pass her by, only registering on occasion. Precedent-treaty-coercion-
It was all just such a damn pity. Konan had fucked up, yes. But… Aiko couldn't blame Konan for it. Obito had sold her the same poison that he'd sold Konan, and hadn't she drunk it too?
Aiko sighed loudly and stretched her neck. Very deliberately and very rudely, she leaned on a palm and readjusted from seiza to a cross-legged position. Her movement caught Lord Mifune's attention, a hard grey stare that bored into her soul. She looked back and made eye contact, flouting common decency.
"Uzumaki-san?" Disapproval warred with curiousity in Lord Mifune's tone. "Do you have something to say?"
The room quieted gradually, people turning from their small conversations to watch.
"I believe I do," Aiko drawled. She didn't look at Tsunade, because the Hokage would definitely know that Aiko was ripping off her cocky routine. "This trial is a farce. No one here cares about Ame no Konan's guilt."
There was a choked sound from the longer kage table, but she didn't try to discover if it came from Tsunade, Oonoki, or the Raikage.
Aiko tilted her head, chin jutting. "Those few of you who aren't attempting to manipulate the outcome for personal gain are here for revenge, never mind that it's on the wrong party." She let her face twist into a sneer.
Her gaze drifted over the crowd to gauge reactions, landing on her fellows. Shizune was stiff and pale with disapproval.
'Oh, poop. She does not look happy. Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut.'
"Thank you for that analysis," Lord Mifune said dryly. "Would you like to return to your seat, or do you have more wisdom for us?"
Hopefully, her hair was covering the burning blush on her ears. "I'm good."
"How kind of you." Lord Mifune settled back to his desk. "I suggest-"
There was a small, shocked noise some distance away. It roused Aiko enough to twist her head, arrested in the motion of getting up.
The Tsuchikage was frowning, holding a hand to his nose to collect a trickling sludge of dark blood. "This is nothing. Please, carry on."
"Tsuchikage-sama, I would be honored to give you a medical examination," Tsunade offered.
The look the Tsuchikage shot her was scathing. "I do not require your assistance, Senju-san."
The Mizukage rapped her fingers on the table, cutting off any protest that Tsunade might have made. "Indeed, Tsuchikage-dono," Mei soothed. "It is merely the burdens of station. The same ailment troubled my predecessor."
Oonoki narrowed his eyes but nodded warily, still pinching his nose. His malcontent was not hard to guess.
'I'm sure he loves being compared to the monster behind the bloody mist, even in this.'
The Tsuchikage was likely embarrassed by his bodily infirmity. Truthfully, the only surprise was that that was the least he suffered at his age. The Tsuchikage was literally older than some dirt and the air in the room was dry. Just a nosebleed and too much excitement.
Except that didn't seem right, but Aiko didn't want to contemplate the Tsuchikage's problems. She had her own.
Lord Mifune took a steadying breath that she could hear from across the room, mustache trembling. "Perhaps a cessation would be wise. We will reconvene tomorrow."
People got up. Crowds moved, conversation started. A medic nin was trailing at Oonoki's shoulder, face pleasant, but fingers tense. Aiko remained sitting, ankles crossed underneath her chair. She didn't feel like getting up. She'd have to talk to people who would want to speculate and gossip. And probably scold her for criticizing every international power present.
'Boo. Shizune is going to harp on that, I just know it.'
It was harder to predict Tsunade. She might come down on Aiko like the fist of an angry god, or she might make a 'pffft' sound and ask for a cup of tea.
'Sometimes, I think I might be braver than I am smart.'
Aiko sat and meditated on that for a long moment.
Nails rapped against the witness table. The aroma of weapons polish and sulfur drifted into her personal space, along with a personal scent. She glanced up to see a dark-haired woman leaning over her. Yamato's chakra signature jolted at the sudden intrusion from his position a few dozen feet away.
"I think," said Kurotsuchi, "That you were my favorite witness." She tilted her head, giving the departing form of her grandfather a cold, intense stare. "I know a place where we could get a drink and design the overdue downfall of several heads of state."
Was that a bad joke?
Aiko shrugged one shoulder and imitated the other woman's flippancy. "There is no possible way that tea could make this day worse. Sure."
So she followed.
When they reached the suggested location, it became clear that the Tsuchikage's granddaughter was disinterested in pleasantries. She started out bluntly.
"Iwagakure has made enough use of Akatsuki in past that I, personally, do not want to see the precedent of a country being sanctioned for the actions of a past leader." Primly, Kurotsuchi poured out tea. It could have been Aiko's imagination, but there seemed to be much more steam than usual. The older girl looked like a dragon, wreathed in tendrils of fog.
"Past leader?" Aiko made a considering face and curled her toes. "That's a bold statement." She reached out to take her cup and schooled her face to hide her surprise. The cup was hot, much too hot for comfort. Her fingertips scorched, but she kept her grip.
"It is time for my grandfather to retire. As his heir, should I not take interest in such affairs?" Kurotsuchi tilted her head, letting dry, piecey hair fall over her eyes.
Aiko paused, honestly a little taken aback. "Okay." She put a hand up for a disclaimer. "Before we go any further, I would like to make sure no one is under the impression that I am interested in subverting the rule of kage foreign or domestic."
'I don't do that anymore. It's my new years resolution.'
"Noted." Kurotsuchi waved that away carelessly. Or rather, with a precision designed to look careless. "I don't need your help for that. I am the only legitimate candidate, after all. I only lack the international reputation and respect that would comfort Tsuchikage-sama, so that he might ensure Iwa is in good standing. He might enjoy his retirement better with such assurance." She looked at Aiko through her eyelashes.
'That sounds uncannily like what she might have been trying to accomplish by crushing the competition at the kunoichi conference. It might have worked, if it hadn't been overshadowed by the affair it all turned into.'
"I am flattered by being your confidant," Aiko trailed, feeling that she was beginning to catch on.
Kurotsuchi gave a thin smile, like a knife between third and fourth ribs. "As the eldest child of one of Konoha's kage, you are a figure of international interest. It seems clear to me that you are a driven individual. Perhaps we might help each other." When Kurotsuchi took a sip of tea, Aiko mirrored her. The liquid that slid down her chest was still boiling. "It seems fitting that we should be friends."
'She thinks I'm going to be the next Hokage. She's talking about re-aligning alliances,' Aiko realized with a shock. 'She's saying that it's clear I don't act like I intend to take Tsunade's direction. Like I'm trying to emerge as an independent power, like she is.'
Hysterical laughter was bubbling up in her gut, but she kept it down somehow.
"I can be a very good friend," Aiko said. Lied. She was a terrible friend. But she was trying to be better, wasn't she? Was she?
'I killed the last one. It shouldn't be hard to be better than that.'
"Well, don't be crude," Kurotsuchi murmured. Her expression was wicked. "Someone might think we were up to something, if we go about making declarations of how friendship might benefit all involved." She sighed, casting her gaze up. "It is a pity. No one nurses similar suspicions about family." She tossed back her entire cup of tea, destroying the illusion of delicacy.