Uchiha Kanna had been killed in action less than a month before the massacre. That meant that her records were the most recent Uchiha information that had not been buried in the political havoc and cover-up. The fact that she was one of Sasuke's more distant cousins didn't hurt, either. His memory of her would be vague and less detailed. Most importantly, she was the eldest sister of Fukiko's father. Surely she would have approved of Aiko's reason to borrow her image.
Aiko still felt dirty as sin when she pulled together a cloak of genjutsu to wear the dead woman's face and the unusual black flak jacket the chuunin had favored. It was an ugly deception, no matter how many children it would help.
Utakata seemed to notice her change in mood. He drew back, quiet. He kept watch from the hall when she went into the room. He was not particularly happy about being in Konoha General Hospital.
Sasuke looked so small in the hospital bed. He didn't look relaxed, either. It was obvious from his dry lips and sweaty skin that he was suffering, even if she hadn't been able to see the heart monitor jumping.
He was just a baby. She couldn't wrap her head around leaving someone to suffer like that, unless she really hated them. But Itachi supposedly loved Sasuke. No, be fair- he loved Sasuke.
'He was seriously twisted. This isn't love.'
It was starting to look like the genjutsu wasn't going to break on its own. So someone had to do it, and that someone might be her.
She was sure that she could do it. The genjutsu had been made by sharingan, and sharingan could unmake it. But Aiko still aimed a prayer at anyone who would care to help- her mother, Sasuke's parents, the god of children- and got to work. It might have been her extreme optimism, but she felt like someone might be listening. The belief strengthened her nerves.
She did not dare resort to the Rinnegan. She didn't have enough finesse to use that kind of power here- that was why her genjutsu had been overpowering before. So her sharingan spun. It was the only part of her that was not a Rinnegan illusion. Carefully, she plucked at the threads of Itachi's tsukiyomi.
The unraveling took time, an excruciating amount of time. She had definitely been right to think that it would be impossible to help Kakashi as well. She couldn't afford to spend that much time in his room. Someone would catch her, especially after they realized that Sasuke was awake and went to check Kakashi.
And Kakashi would not be fooled by a genjutsu of a dead relative or friend. If she woke him up, he would know who had done it. And that would tell Konoha that she had a sharingan. And that she was far too involved in their internal affairs. She was an international leader. She could not risk hurting Kiri in order to help a foreigner. Her duty had to be carried out in good faith, for the people she had sworn to safeguard.
The web that Itachi had spun was a glistening mess of knots and power. It spun chakra in a circuit. It was impossible for a system to run indefinitely, but she really couldn't see any weaknesses that would eventually break it down on its own.
The growl that her inner demon made shook her ribcage.
She was the last person to defend him, but… 'Surely Itachi did not intend for this to be indefinite.'
...The thing was, this genjutsu was so vicious that it didn't really make the situation much better. It was beyond irresponsible to use something of that power on people you supposedly loved. Aiko was a vicious bitch, but she knew she would never be capable of torturing Naruto like that. Itachi had been sick.
Loathing rose hotly in her chest. "He was despicable," Sanbi spat. It was hard to tell where her feelings ended and the bijuu's began. "Were he alive, I would instruct you to eat him."
Ew, but she agreed with the sentiment.
Of course, it was possible that Itachi had to manually end the genjutsu and had intended to do so. Since she'd killed him on the same day that he had cast it… Maybe he simply hadn't had an opportunity to end it.
The last threads began to unravel on their own, snapping and coiling faster than she had been able to do on her own. Aiko stood back and watched it happen.
Sasuke's eyes opened. He gave a full-bodied shudder. His mouth open, he looked at the ceiling blankly.
And then he noticed her. His face went slack. If he hadn't already been sickly and pale, he might have gone white with shock.
Oh, poor baby. Aiko felt her face soften. "Hello, cousin."
The whites around his eyes showed red strain from the nightmares. On an impulse that she didn't understand, Aiko bent to brush his hair back and kiss his forehead. It felt right. Sasuke jerked, but not in an attempt to stop her.
"You've done so well," she said. It was partly to disguise her voice, but the very low, airy tone she used also fit the situation. "Uchiha Sasuke, you bring us honor. I cannot linger, but I must give you a charge."
He made a whimper in the back of his throat. His skin was clammy and damp. His eyes were locked on hers. He managed just a flicker of sharingan, clearly trying to see if she was real. He didn't have the chakra to hold it for more than an instant. But it would have been enough to see that her sharingan was real. He wouldn't be able to see through her actual genjutsu.
She was relentless. "You are not the last Uchiha in Konoha." Aiko drew herself up to her full height, which was a little more impressive in her guise as Uchiha Kanna. "There is a girl, born from Uchiha Shion and a girl of the merchant class, four months after the bloodshed. She needs you. Find Fukiko." She stroked his hair one more time. "The Uchiha do not need to be avenged. They must be safeguarded. If she returns, seek out the Slug Sannin. You will need her guidance."
Sasuke still couldn't move, weak from his ordeal. But he seemed to be drinking her in with teary eyes. He was shaking.
'I need to get out of here asap. His heart monitor is going to be noticed soon.'
"Your parents are proud," Aiko promised, meaning it to be a comfort. But as she said it, she felt a disorienting double presence- yes, we are, a woman whispered in the dark. Listen, you called. She felt tears trickle down from her eyes. She drifted.
She shut her mouth. Why was it hanging open? Belatedly, Aiko processed that she had been saying something else. What? What had she been saying? She blinked, dizzy.
Sasuke was full-blown crying now. He rasped out one word through his abused throat. "Mother."
Aiko gave him a gentle smile and felt the last trace of something slip away. It was replaced by a chill awareness.
'Oh my god. Did I just channel an actual spirit? Did I invite an Uchiha in? Do- do the dead hear me if I call to them?'
"This is not free real estate," Sanbi hissed. He was curled up. "I did not like that woman. Keep her out. I require my space."
She felt a scream well up in her throat. Aiko took in a ragged breath and trapped it. She needed to keep it together.
'I'm a fucking monster and I'm barely keeping it together. I'm dead. I'm long-dead and the death god owns me and I need to kill Orochimaru for him. I need to kill him, soon. I don't know what I'm becoming.'
"Live well," Aiko said, because it was all that she could manage. She could not freak out poor Sasuke any more.
Sasuke managed to sit up, shaking. He reached an arm towards her. Desperation was painted onto his features- he could not bear to be alone. Please stay, please stay.
She felt her heart breaking. She couldn't stay. She gave him a sad smile and hiraishin'd out, but only to the hallway. She heard Sasuke make a low, pained cry.
Utakata materialized out of the shadows. He put a hand on her shoulder. She took them out of the hospital.
They stood in silence.
'This is for the best,' Aiko told herself. 'I can't help Sasuke or Fukiko myself. I can't let anyone know that I'm involved. And…' she felt sick guilt welling up, for another reason. She had chosen Sasuke over her teacher. This wasn't her Kakashi, but it still felt terrible to leave him in that waking nightmare when she technically had the power to free him.
'He would understand,' Aiko told herself. 'He would tell me to choose to save Sasuke. And someone will help him. Tsunade can do it. She did before.'
That had to be why Jiraiya was being recalled to Konoha. The Sandaime hoped that he could persuade Tsunade to come home. If anyone could do it, it would be him.
But it wouldn't hurt to put a little leverage on the situation as well. Another reason for Tsunade to return to Konoha and to power.
'I'm doing this to get rid of Danzo, cover my ass about Orochimaru, and destabilize Konoha,' Aiko reminded herself firmly. 'Getting Tsunade back to Konoha is a tertiary goal at best.'
Utakata put a hand on her shoulder. He moved directly in front of her and pulled a cloth from his pouch. Aiko stood still and let him dab at her cheeks. She was not entirely surprised when the cloth came away red. That seemed to happen when death things happened.
She needed to kill Orochimaru. She felt it pound in her chest. The order had sunk claws into her ribcage and it would not free her.
Tsunade was not exactly easy to track. But it wasn't impossible, either. She had her patterns and preferences. And Aiko had been able to find out where she had been three days before. She left Utakata in Kirigakure, because it would be better not to appear threatening. She made a costume change into a variation on her 'kage uniform', which had been viciously ripped out of Tsunade's own playbook. She took a moment to curse the annoyances of constantly changing clothes for the situation. It was so hard on her laundry schedule.
It took the better part of the evening to find a gambling hall that had been blessed by Tsunade's presence the day before. A hotel receptionist who had recently encountered a pet pig inadvertently confirmed Tsunade's stay.
She settled in a field nearby to wait, and set her chakra on a friendly low buzz. It was a beacon saying 'come here, come find me', essentially.
Aiko couldn't be certain that Tsunade or Shizune would come to see who it was, but it was worth a try. It was certainly better than seeking her out directly. That would seem aggressive. Aiko was not attempting to put Tsunade on edge or looking to get hit. She really, really, was not looking to get hit.
"You are sturdy," Sanbi scoffed.
Not that sturdy.
The turtle made a confused sound. Had he never heard her admit her own limits before? She was very capable, but she was not insane. She did not claim to be the best shinobi out there. She was, like, fifth, at the most optimistic assessment.
"Modest," Sanbi said wryly.
She found a relatively flat rock to perch on and absorbed the heat it was still holding from the fading sunlight. It was a nice day with a light breeze. A blue-bellied songbird was flirting overhead, cheerfully chasing a fluffy brown bird from branch to branch.
She watched the sun set behind pink clouds, and seethed. She had so much shit to do that she was double-booking raids of Orochimaru's bases and break-ins to four fucking countries, but here she was. Sitting on a grassy knoll, for an hour and a half. Fucking idyllic.
'I do not have time to sit around in the beauty of nature,' she thought resentfully.
"You are disturbed," Sanbi said. He rolled over onto his back, which was really fucking weird and unacceptable turtle behavior. She could not condone it. "You should savor this peaceful moment."
"I hate this peaceful moment," Aiko muttered vindictively. She scratched at the rock. Her nails scored lines down it. Huh. She perked up. That was new. Experimentally, she scratched her name into it. Human nails were not meant to be hard enough to scratch stone, unless it was, like, talc. This was her favorite bodily change so far. Was this because of Sanbi? How charming. Usually changes were horrible. It was a refreshing discovery.
The sun had long gone down when two familiar figures crested the hill. Her rock featured her best depiction of Sanbi cavorting in a field of flowers. Hastily, she shifted so that her ass was covering her artwork before the visitors could see what she had been doing. Neither of them had ever appreciated her doodles before, and now was probably not the time they would start to find it charming.
She gave them a mildly resentful look.
"Good evening," Shizune called from about three meters away. Because she was polite.
Aiko opened her mouth to respond, but Tsunade cut her off.
"Knock that off," Tsunade ordered. "What do you want?" She put a hand on her hip.
Shizune sighed. She looked down at Tonton.
"Good evening, Tsunade-sama, Shizune-san," Aiko said. She was unphased by Tsunade's Tsunade-ness. It was not new to her. It was actually a rather comforting familiarity. But she did let her chakra signal fade away. She inclined her head in greeting. "Uzumaki Aiko," she introduced lazily. Shizune's expression went tight. Unfortunate. "I found something that I think you might be interested in. I decided to hand it over, as a courtesy."
"I'm probably not interested," Tsunade said bluntly. "I'm not involved in politics."
"I know," Aiko said. It felt weird, though. Tsunade was very good at that game. "It's not particularly related to current affairs. One of my people happened upon some interesting documentation written by Orochimaru-san." She really valiantly resisted the urge to mention that his handwriting was beautiful. Tsunade already knew that, and it was not relevant.
That did the trick. Tsunade's casual mien dropped off in an instant. Her face went hard and unreadable. She looked almost as dangerous as she really was.
"Someone in Konoha has been engaging in a lot of bloodline theft and graverobbing," Aiko said. She was careful not to leave her tone too light. "Senju-sama, you may wish to have words with someone."
Tsunade's anger rose like a wave of heat. She stepped forward. "What are you talking about?" Her voice was low and incredibly dangerous.
"Oh," Sanbi said, pleasantly surprised. "This is a frightening woman. She is the one whose fashion you have stolen, yes? A good selection. We would do well to emulate this one."
With no flippancy or funny business at all, Aiko produced the folder. It had the two reports that were definitely about Danzo in the front, Fukiko's information buried at the very back to validate what she'd told Sasuke, and information about other surgeries and experiments in between. They were not all related, but they would all help form a picture that Tsunade would want to act on.
She handed it to Shizune, because it was safer not to get into punching range. Aiko was careful to move slowly, and did not try to stand up, because Tsunade would quickly move into punching range if Shizune seemed at all nervous.
"If you're lying, I will kill you." Tsunade said it without any menace at all. It was simply a promise. She did not seem to consider that this might be difficult, politically or otherwise.
"Could she and would she?" Sanbi asked, sounding fascinated. "You are durable and important."
'Probably and definitely. Tsunade is not to be fucked with.'
Sanbi made a delighted sound and hugged his tails to his belly.
She knew how he felt. Aiko nodded. "I'm aware. I'm not lying about this."
Tsunade shot her a sharp look at the specific wording, but didn't contest it. She gave the folder a hard look. "I've heard a lot about you," she said. Her tone didn't imply that she had been hearing nice things. "What is an Uzumaki doing in Kirigakure?"
There was a definite undertone of accusation. Aiko bristled, disliking the implication that she was some kind of traitor to her clan for winding up in the country that had destroyed it. Tsunade didn't know her story. She had no right to judge- and who was she to cast stones about loyalty, given the fact that she would have been considered a traitor to Konoha for desertion if her teacher wasn't the village leader? It was pretty fucking rich.
'Hypocrisy has always been one of Tsunade's uglier traits.'
Tonton completely missed all the tension. The pig darted forward and butted into Aiko's legs. Shizune closed her eyes and clearly resisted the desire to press a hand into her forehead.
Aiko glanced down at the pig, not particularly moved one way or the other. This seemed within the range of weird, undignified things that happened when she was trying to conduct business. At least Tonton wasn't leaving sand around, or dripping onto her floorboards, or leaving half-eaten pudding in her office. What the fuck ever. She decided not to take offense at Tsunade's rudeness. "The best that I can," Aiko answered honestly. She let her exhaustion show. "Protecting the people that I care about, trying to improve the world, keeping my promises, and hopefully finding that I can fit in somewhere by the end of it all."
Oh. Oh, no. There was something in the air next to Tsunade. Like a heatwave. She blinked and then it was gone.
Probably nothing. Probably just her failing eyesight, even though she usually had perfect vision when using Sharingan or Rinnegan. Wasn't some fucking Senju ancestor poking their nose around Tsunade's business. It wasn't, no matter that a sick chill in her gut told her that's exactly what it was.
'I'm being paranoid and insane,' Aiko told herself firmly. She flexed her foot, inadvertently stroking the pig. Tonton gave a delighted grunt and nuzzled the rock. 'I am totally fine.'
"What do you want from me?" Tsunade had crossed her arms sometime when Aiko wasn't looking.
"Nothing," Aiko answered honestly. If this had been her Tsunade, she would have begged for help with her eyes and possibly with her brain. But she didn't know this woman. She couldn't trust this Tsunade. Especially not since Tsunade knew Aiko only as a foreign politician. "This is a courtesy. These records don't do me any good, and keeping them would not be in the good faith of my relations with Konoha. But also." She glanced away. "I would want to know, if it was me." She stood up and turned away. She couldn't stand to look at Tsunade and the ghost that might be next to her. "Do what you will." She'd look arrogant as hell for turning her back on Tsunade, but, well, that was fine.
"Is that all?" Tsunade sounded unimpressed.
"Unless you have something to say, yes."
Aiko waited a moment. Shizune hissed something. It was equally likely to be directed at the Sannin or the pig.
"You were in Konoha when Orochimaru invaded." Tsunade's tone faltered. "They say that you revived the Yondaime. They say that Orochimaru..."
"He partially revived the first and second Hokage as his slaves," Aiko confirmed. She felt her body shudder. "It was a profane thing." She didn't know where those words came from, but they felt right. Oh, no. Oh, no no no. "He twists and steals fragments of souls, imprisoned in clay to his will. Until he is sent down to death, he will reuse those souls at his leisure." Her chin went up. "I will end it."
She heard Shizune coming cautiously around her side to get a visual on Aiko's face. The medic was too professional to startle, but Aiko knew what Shizune was seeing. And that it was not super normal. Medically speaking.
"Ah." Shizune lifted a hand uncertainly. "Mizukage-sama, you have something on your face."
'I should not have prayed to the dead to watch over Sasuke. I drew far too much attention. I reached across. I'm so fucked.'
Aiko stared blankly at her. The shimmer was following Shizune now, and it was gaining shape and opacity. It was a young man she had never seen before, so probably someone long-dead. He stood between her and Shizune in a futile attempt to keep her safe from the foreign kage. She thought she knew who might haunt those two particular people. "That happens sometimes."
When she returned, Utakata hissed out air between his teeth. "Again," he said softly. It wasn't a question. She let him clean the blood off her face once more, painfully gentle with a soft cloth. It was difficult to care about the blood from her poor stressed eyes when she had so much more to worry about. So she just didn't.
"Jiraiya," she said. "Tell Nishikawa that I'll see him tonight. I just want to get it over with." Utakata was not quite finished, but she pulled away and began striding into her house. "I'll go to his room. Have the message waiting there." But first. "Suigetsu, Karin, are you well?" she called.
Footsteps thumped down the stairs. Karin whirled into view, hair a cloud around her head from the humidity. "You're going to give him a legendary sword?" she demanded. "I want him to train me in that. I would be such a good legendary swordsman."
Aiko blinked at her cousin. She really didn't care one way or the other. "Ask him which one he wants, or what he trained in," she said. "We have all but one. He can use anything other than Chojuro's. Yes, training people will be part of his responsibilities." She drifted into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water. She was pretty dehydrated at this point.
Suigetsu slunk into view, not quite raising his eyes to look at her directly. He was still wearing the dead Sound-nin's pants, but Karin had clearly forced him into one of Gaara's shirts. It did not… Well. Gaara was really scrawny, alright? And rather small-boned.
In other words, he looked ridiculous. She was surprised that someone as fashion-forward as Suigetsu was tolerating that situation.
She seemed to remember him being a lot ruder. Perhaps that had developed while Orochimaru had been torturing him. Mm. That made sense. No one in Kirigakure could get away with that level of casual disrespect unless they were, say, the Mizukage.
"Is that why you took the job?" Sanbi teased. "Your natural qualities do not lend themselves to peaceful coexistence with any being possessing a sense of propriety."
See, that was exactly the kind of backtalk that Yagura probably would not have been chill with.
Sanbi cackled. It seemed to be in agreement. But he was a little shit and unpunishable, so that probably meant that he had been talking like that to Yagura as well.
'I like you. You're so awful.'
But anyway. Most people in a shinobi village were not an immortal turtle, immune to censure. She took a moment to imagine how Kisame, for example, would react to disrespect from an understudy.
A blood puddle. There would just be a blood puddle.
She realized that she was still looking at Suigetsu. He was very nervous. She finished her water. She washed the glass.
What else did she need to do?
She needed to get an apology from Minato, have someone sabotage Nagihara's most powerful rival in the Daimyo's court by intercepting a shipment, send payment to Iron for the hospital supplies, kill Orochimaru-
'I'm working on that,' she told herself. 'I'm going to, I'm going.'
Her body shook with the effort of resisting the need to go now. She couldn't wait for Konoha and Suna. The death god was going to tear her apart if she stalled. He had his eye on her and it burned, relentless and hot.
"Mizukage-sama?" Suigetsu was nearly against the wall.
She blinked at him. Ah. She probably did not look very stable. "Sorry, I'm not at my best," Aiko managed. She inhaled slowly. "What's the time?"
He averted his eyes. "About 7:30, I think."
"That's not so bad," Aiko murmured. She managed to straighten. "I might be able to finish my errands before midnight."
Okay, she had to concentrate on the small things she could accomplish immediately. First: visit Jiraiya. Next: kill Orochimaru. Then: start a load of laundry.
No. No. She roused herself and tried to reason with Death. If she went now, she would be defeated. She would fail. And then he would have no one to set against Orochimaru. He needed to let the living conduct the business of the living, she told him fiercely.
"You are not the living. You have two days."
Aiko winced, at the sound echoing in her head, and at the horrible confirmation that it brought.
But he subsided. It was only her in her skin again. Aiko leaned against the counter, feeling that it was cold and hard. The physical sensation helped to ground her.
Alright. So she knew a bit more now than she had before. Information was power, right?
'If I'm going to push the confrontation with Orochimaru ahead of schedule, I'll need a powerful voice in Konoha,' she told herself. 'I need to go to Jiraiya. He can help.'
With black humor, she noted that there was an upside to Kakashi being trapped in the torture of Tsukiyomi. No matter how he suffered, he was essentially safe there. If he was free, he would almost certainly be ordered to help Konoha's team catch Orochimaru. He was safer where he was.
'Get a deal with Jiraiya. Find at least 4 people to come with me. Kill Orochimaru, preferably tomorrow. Before the death god comes back.'
Doable. Plausible. She started walking. Lost in thought, she missed most of the journey between her house and Jiraiya's quarters. It wasn't far. Raidou skittered away when she came to the door, trying not to catch her eye. Jiraiya bounced into the living room- and stopped. She didn't know what he was seeing when he looked at her, but he decided not to play the idiot.
"Mizukage-sama. I didn't expect you until tomorrow."
She swallowed. Her mouth was so dry. "Let's make a deal," she said. No time for pleasantries. "I'll give you 20 minutes of being completely candid. No deflections, no evasions, no lies. You can ask me about Akatsuki, my home, my plans."
"That's half a deal," he observed. "What do you want?"
Aiko managed to look him dead-on. He, at least, was not a man who called out to the dead often. No one was at his shoulder. "I need to kill Orochimaru," she said bluntly. "I waited too long. You are one of the best people in the world to help me do that."
Jiraiya did not look comfortable with any of this. He raised his hands, placating. "The two of us? That's risky. And it would undermine the treaty between our nations and Suna. I don't have the authority to do that. Besides, it won't take much longer until we can launch the joint effort."
"I need." Her voice rose in pitch and volume. "To kill him." Her body was shuddering. It was going to shudder apart. Jiraiya didn't seem to understand. "He told me to," Aiko added. Admitted. Explained. "In Konoha."
"Orochimaru?" Jiraiya asked dubiously. "Doesn't sound like something he'd say. Unless it was a joke. He's a funny guy, could have been jo-"
"Death," she cut him off, frustrated. "Death." She put a hand to her chest, where the pain of the order was originating. "He does not care about alliances and reasonable timeframes. He commands it. It is a perversion and a breach. It must be rectified."
Jiraiya was white now. Also, silent. It was an interesting look on him. She'd never seen it before.
"That's an interesting party trick," he said.
Ah, the moment was precious because it was rare. So of course it did not last.
She did not know what he was talking about. Aiko frowned at him. She decided to ignore it. "Deal?" She demanded. "I know where his two main bases are. I destroyed one before. He only had three major bases. We can find him. I have to do it in the next two days."
"A base? When did you-" Jiraiya cut himself off. He gave Raidou a look that she couldn't see.
He'll help me. He'll help, she told Death. For love of my father who loves me, he'll help.
Oh. Father. Father would help. It would be easier with more.
No. She was herself enough to reject that. Minato could not dare to do something so risky. His place in Konoha was tenuous enough. And it was her fault that he was there.
She had some time. Take 24 hours to assemble a team and a plan, and 24 hours to accomplish the deed. It should be enough.
"It's a deal." Jiraiya sat on the biggest chair in the room. He gestured toward the couch. "Please, have a seat." He gave her a wary look. "Why don't you have a drink, something to eat? And then we'll talk."
"Yes," Aiko agreed. She needed a minute or two to clear her head. The deal wouldn't be very fair if she was running on too much stress to answer coherently. She heard someone leave the room- ah, Raidou. Going to get refreshments. She knew that her people would be watching him, wary of poison.
Her heart was slowing down. She shook off his hand and sank down onto the couch. She put her face in her hands.
"So." Jiraiya sounded wary. "Are you… you again?"
Aiko barked a laugh without looking up. "As opposed to?" she teased. Even through her exhaustion, she felt a smile.
"Well, I'm going to assume the deep man's voice earlier was the death god," Jiraiya said bluntly. Too bluntly.
Her smile dropped off. "Is that a thing that happened?"
Jiraiya sucked in a breath. He shifted on his chair. It squeaked. "Well, shit," he said conversationally. "Is this kind of thing going to happen to Minato as well?"
She thought about it. "I don't think so," Aiko said honestly. "I don't think the Death god owns me because I died." She felt Jiraiya's flinch. "I think it's because of..." she trailed off, thinking of all the times she had called on him. How he grew closer and more powerful every time. "Other factors." A connection that she had stupidly, stupidly fed.
"Owns you?" Jiraiya's voice was a soft, deceptive calm. He was furious.
She shrugged. There wasn't much to say. It was clear, now, which was the power dynamic went. "You have more relevant questions, right? Konoha sent you here for a reason."
She heard the sharp beep of a timer being started.
"Are you from an alternate universe?"
"Yes."
"Is it the same year?"
"No. You're way behind my timeline. That's how I know so much about what's going on." It was kind of a relief to admit. People were always so nervous about how she knew everything. But there was a perfectly reasonable explanation.
"In your future, you are…?" Jiraiya let the question trail, clearly hoping for an open ended answer.
She indulged him. "26 years old, Naruto's twin, been Hokage for less than a year. I'm sure people are not happy with me suddenly disappearing. It was not done on purpose." She thought about it. "It must have been very awkward. I had a meeting scheduled with the Kazekage. Imagine having to explain that the Hokage has been misplaced, and then simply never finding her." Aiko let out a genuine laugh. "Sasuke must have been so pissed."
He gave a surprised curse. "You're joking."
It was kind of funny. "I'm really not," Aiko admitted. "Naruto and Sasuke and I played rock-paper-scissors for the hat when Tsunade retired. I won. I wonder who took it next. Either way it'll be fine." She stared blankly at the floor. "They're both very capable. Good kids."
"Kids your age?" Jiraiya prompted.
"I helped train them both, they'll always seem like kids to me," Aiko admitted. She scratched her hands through her hair and huffed. "I'm weak for both of them. I broke into Konoha today," she admitted, honesty that shocked even her. "To wake Sasuke from the Tsukiyomi. He thinks I was a ghost." She let out a rough laugh. "I couldn't stand to leave him like that. He's so little now. Not like he should be, he should be tall and so grumpy. Please take a moment to imagine an Uchiha trained by Tsunade."
Jiraiya took in a sharp breath, clearly trying to gather himself. "So you came here by accident, then?"
She nodded. No point in lying. "And I can't get back," she said dully. "I was doing an experiment. Fuinjtusu. My specialty is space-time. Hiraishin. I don't use it like dad. I was trying to reverse polarity and bring a seal to me. I failed and succeeded. I brought a seal that existed in my time to me, as I also traveled to a seal that preexisted me. One that dad had left. In Kirigakure," she clarified. "That's why I'm here. Yagura thought I was there to kill him, and wasn't going to leave me alone. So I had to kill him. But I fucked it all up, so then I had to take responsibility for Kirigakure. It is a mess, did you know that?" She cut herself off right before she got to admitting about all the drug smuggling she did in order to keep Kiri in the black. Jiraiya did not need that information.
"Did you revive Minato purposefully?"
"No," she said, with feeling. "I would never. He was dead far too long. He belongs there now. It warps you." She twisted her hands in her lap. "The longer someone has been dead, the harder they are to revive. And the less they like it," she said darkly. "It could be coincidence, but they also… seem to die sooner."
She could feel Jiraiya's chakra fluctuate. Oh. She shook her head to cut off that line of worry.
"Like I said, dad wasn't really my doing," she explained. "Death did that. He doesn't follow the same rules. Minato is… not quite normal, but not in special danger. Except that since he's the one from my home, he's doomed." She shrugged. "I don't know what will happen when he dies," she admitted candidly. "Has he talked to you about this? I'm sure he knows to be afraid. His soul might dissolve. Might wander forever. Might get trapped in this universe's afterlife, with the Minato who is already there. His Kushina is alone now."
"That's enough for now." Jiraiya's tone was strained. The beep came again. "It's been about three minutes. Can we continue this later?"
Aiko lifted her head and eyed him. He seemed stressed. "Sure," she allowed. "But you lose 5 minutes of time every time that you call a pause."
"That's fair." Jiraiya ran a hand up the back of his hair.
But actually, she was feeling a lot better. It was kind of cathartic to get that off her chest. She crossed her legs at the ankle and straightened, blinking at her not-godfather.
"Minato did know that, by the way," Jiraiya admitted. He made a face. "He is really hoping that you can help him get back."
She let out a wild laugh. "If I could get back, I would have left." Her tone might have best been described as "cheerful despair." "It's impossible. At least, it's not possible with the way that I got here. And I could not begin to figure out how to return. If research on the topic ever existed, it does not exist now. It died with Senju Tobirama. Minato and I are fucked.
Jiraiya had a better plan than Aiko did.
...At least, he promised that it was. "Tsunade and I can do it," Jiraiya swore. His face was locked in the same grimace it had been for the last hour. Debating the best way to kill a former teammate did not seem pleasant. "If we can get her on board, we can do this. We'll take down Orochimaru, while you run interference on his people."
"Can we get her on board?" Aiko asked dully. She rubbed her thumbs against her cold coffee cup. It was long-since empty, but her assistants had cut her off of caffeine for the day. Supreme executive power was clearly working out so well. Sure, she could fire and jail Nishikawa for the impudence, but then who would make her appointments, update her calendar, and remind her who needed to be assassinated this week? She was stuck with the bastard.
"We have to." Jiraiya cast a dark glance out the window, into the night sky. There was nothing to see except the outline of city buildings in hazy, distant streetlight. But he seemed transfixed. "Look, the Sandaime is not going to give us anyone," he admitted. "He is seriously mistrustful of you and Minato. My attachment makes my judgment suspect by extension- he won't agree to move fast enough to meet your deadline. Even if he did- there's not many people in Konoha I would trust to bring with me for this. I can't waste lives against Orochimaru."
Aiko sighed. "I don't like it," she said. "In a pinch, I'll bring both Mei and Utakata. But if either one of them dies, it would be crippling to Kirigakure's structure."
"So we can't let them die," Jiraiya said bluntly. "Look, against Orochimaru… I would not bring anyone who is not kage material. But he's going to have allies. We need to have allies as well, or we're going to get cut down."
"We need to make a call one way or the other on Suna." Aiko ran her hands through her hair. "If we don't ask them, they could take it as an insult. If we include them, the insult to the Sandaime regarding his exclusion is stronger."
"It's always better to have fewer people angry with you," Jiraiya said philosophically. "It's much easier to figure out who is trying to kill you when there's less than 20 suspects."
Aiko gave him a disbelieving look. She sincerely doubted there had been a 2-day period in the last 30 years when less than 20 people had been actively trying to kill him.
He did not seem to notice her doubt. "Should we go to Suna now, then?"
...how was he still alive?
"Let's wait until business hours," Aiko said. She did not look at the clock, because nothing good came of that after 3am. "But also, I would not contact anyone who is currently in Suna. The real power is Temari."
Jiraiya took a moment to place the name. He leveled her with an unimpressed look. "The 14 year old genin?"
Wasn't Temari 15, going on 16? If Gaara was 13, and Kankurou was the middle child, Temari had to be older than 14.
"She's a chuunin now," Aiko said, as though that made a huge difference. "And she'll probably be the next Kazekage. They're promoting her asap. Her political star is rising." Even she had a hard time injecting enthusiasm into this idea.
"Is it," Jiraiya said flatly. "What did you do? Is she here?" His jaw tightened.
"In Kirigakure? Where it would be convenient for me to talk with her?" Aiko scowled. "Don't be stupid," she said. She waited just enough enough for him to relax. "I moved her to an ally in the Daimyo's court after you got here, I didn't want you sneaking around. So thanks."
"Very stealthy, I like that you hide things for no reason and interfere in every country you see. But that maneuvering isn't going to help if she gets killed against Orochimaru," Jiraiya snapped back. He took two jerky steps away and then stopped himself. "Forget Suna, then. Anyone who comes with us has to be A-class, bare minimum."
His tone didn't allow for argument. Not that she really wanted to argue with that. She wasn't looking to bring home body bags, or risk calling on her god.
Aiko had to grimace. Temari would get to that level of strength, but she wasn't there now. Baki would fit the bill, but he was too loyal and she had no personal relationship with him. Baki wouldn't subvert Temari's orders, and she would certainly demand to come along with.
The only contact from Suna she knew who was accessible and powerful… was Gaara.
Utterly unacceptable. No matter how clever or strong he was, he was too young and vulnerable to trauma. He needed more time. She refused to expose him to Orochimaru. "No Suna, then," she agreed. "We'll tell them it was a total accident that we stumbled onto Orochimaru and killed him without inviting them. They won't mind being left out."
Her life was an unending disaster.
Jiraiya snorted. "Plausible." He stretched. "We should get some sleep. Tsunade won't thank us for waking her up."
"No, but it would be a quicker way to die than a fight against Orochimaru," Aiko mumbled. "Fail to protect your head and it'd be all over. We should keep it in mind as an option."
There was a moment that felt off. Jiraiya turned from the window and looked at her directly with the beginnings of a frown. Then he seemed to shake it off. He ducked his head and snorted. "I, for one, want to live. We'll find her after 10 am."
Aiko opened her mouth to make a reflexive crack about it being a shame, but she held herself back. She nodded instead, and went home for the few hours of sleep she could afford to fit in.
Tsunade had not gone far since Aiko had tracked her down. Jiraiya knew offhand where to find her, which made Aiko feel sadder for him than she knew she had capacity for. She caught herself hoping that she did not end up outliving all of her loved ones and relationships, and then choked on the stupidity of the thought. She had to grit her teeth not to let out a laugh.
She was more alone than Jiraiya was. Tsunade was still alive, at least. The only person who really knew Aiko was Minato, and she didn't know him. There were plenty of people who looked like her loved ones walking around, but they were functionally strangers who wouldn't be more than disappointed if she died tomorrow.
'That's not true. I have Obito. I always have Obito.'
What a fucking blessing. She still had the madman who kidnapped her, lied to her, and dug out her eyes to feed them to Zetsu. Murdered her parents. Given her all sorts of interesting neurosis and nervous disorders. He was the truest of bros.
'Good old Obito. Thank god I'm not alone in the world.'
She really did laugh at that. It bordered hysteria. Jiraiya gave her an unnerved look, but did not ask. Luckily, Tsunade exited the gambling hall about ten minutes later, glowing with a good mood. She was well and truly hammered.
It wasn't even noon. Was she already drunk, or was she still drunk?
She took a moment to watch Tsunade stumble on the pathway. Like, this was worse than Aiko was used to. Aiko had never realized that Tsunade had cut back on her drinking when she'd returned to Konoha. God, this was what she had done for a decade and a half? Shizune noticed them first, and tugged on her mentor's sleeve nervously. Tsunade did not react to the tug, cheerily barreling forward. That was a bad sign.
Jiraiya seemed to think so as well. He looked pained, and then pulled on a smile. "Tsunade-hime," he sang. Her head snapped up and she instantly looked more alert.
Aiko took a prudent step away from Jiraiya. Anyone who Tsunade made eye contact with was in the danger zone.
The movement caught Tsunade's eye. Her stare locked onto Aiko. Oh no. "You," Tsunade said. She frowned. "I remember you." She raised a finger accusatively.
Jiraiya gave Aiko an alarmed and sympathetic look.
"You told me..." Tsunade wavered, and then scowled. "That was depressing. I didn't want to know any of that."
Ah. "That didn't make it any less true," Aiko said firmly. She felt like she was talking to Fukiko, when the girl wanted to skitter away from an unpleasant topic. "You should do something."
Tsunade tossed her hair and made a high-pitched whine. Then she slumped dramatically. Shizune barely caught her. "I don't want to," she wailed.
Sanbi made a sound of disgust. Aiko's stomach rolled in agreement. It was terrible to see Tsunade acting so pathetic. This was the most powerful woman in the world, the titan of Aiko's childhood. A living legend. The woman who Aiko had modeled herself after, whose orders she had followed into fucking hell and back on faith.
Aiko realized that she was making a fist. With effort, she unclenched it. "Tsunade-sama," she said, in as calm a voice as she could manage. "You need to grow the fuck up."
The air felt very dangerous all of a sudden.
Aiko took an aggressive step forward anyway, because she was pissed off. "I do lots of shit that I don't want to do, because I am the only one who can do it. A fairly central premise of adult life is that you fucking deal when someone needs you to. And this?" She waved her hand at Tsunade. "This is not dealing. Do you care about your family? I'd hope so, but even if you can forgive that, who else can or will take responsibility for the rest of that shit?" Disgust colored her tone. "The Sandaime gave up a long time ago. He's complicit. Is anyone else going to stop it? You have no idea what kind of body count Danzo has in Konoha."
"Wait, what?" Jiraiya looked seriously alarmed. "What are you talking about?"
Aiko spared him a glance. "Danzo is a traitor," she explained. She looked back to Tsunade. "He's been eliminating possible rivals for leadership for a very long time. Cooperated with Orochimaru- oh, he was probably a large part of why Orochimaru turned to human experimentation and got banished, by the way. He kidnapped hundreds of children and made them fight to the death to make the survivors his ideal soldiers. Been killing Konoha shinobi and citizens, many of them for the purpose of stealing their genetic material. He has 11 sharingan eyes, and material from the Shodaime on his body alone. God only knows what he's had done to his expendable followers."
Tsunade was covering her ears, but it was clear that she could hear every word. Jiraiya was watching Aiko recite the list with open-mouthed horror. Shizune was the only one who seemed remotely composed- but then, she was both sober and had been piecing some of this together from the reports.
"You're right," Sanbi said, with potent condescension. "Now is the best time possible for this discussion and scolding. When you desire this woman's assistance. How clever of you."
The turtle was right.
Aiko deliberately took in a long, slow, exhalation and reached for calmness. "We didn't come here for this discussion," she said. She managed to make it sound halfway apologetic. "Tsunade-sama."
Jiraiya gave a grim nod.
Tsunade hiccuped. Shizune stepped forward, putting her body between Tsunade and Jiraiya and Aiko. "Now isn't the best time," she said firmly. "Jiraiya-sama, Mizukage-sama. Another day would be much better."
"We don't have the time for that!" Jiaiya ran his hands through his hair and shifted his feet. "Tsunade-hime," he pleased. If she had been sober, she might have killed him for the gentle way he leaned over to put their faces level. "Please. I am begging you. Put yourself together. I need you." His voice broke. "I can't do this without you."
Aiko couldn't breathe. Watching this hurt, but she couldn't look away.
Tsunade wavered, making eye contact. Her lips moved silently. Her brow furrowed. And she turned her face to vomit onto the grass.
The sound Jiraiya made was outright painful to hear.
Shizune supported Tsunade in a way that told of familiarity. She didn't look at either of them. "Jiraiya-sama," she said. "Mizukage-sama." Her voice was tiny and ashamed. "We can't help you. I'm sorry. There isn't going to be a good time for you to have this discussion with Tsunade-sama."
Jiraiya took two steps back, gaze locked on Tsunade. He was a wounded animal. He nodded. "Yeah." He cleared his throat. "Yes." He looked away. "Do you have a hotel for the night? I'll at least… I'll help."
Shizune twitched, just a bit, in Aiko's direction.
Ah, yes. She was an interloper to their grief.
Before Shizune could turn Jiraiya down, Aiko cleared her throat. She plastered on a mildly interested and pleasant expression, although no one was looking at her at all. "Jiraiya-san, I'll leave you to catch up." She tossed her hair over her shoulder and remembered that she ought to tie it up. Her heart was nearly down to her stomach. "It seems that we are changing our plans for tomorrow, which means that I have my own errands to run."
There was another person present, another man with light colored hair. He knelt at Tsunade's side with a heartbroken expression. He was the only person to look over at Aiko. They made eye contact. He didn't seem at all surprised when she looked directly at him. He gave her a slow, defeated look, and then a nod before he turned back to Tsunade.
She swallowed. "I'll give you two hours. I'll go inform Mei and Utakata to prepare. We can discuss the issue further."
Jiraiya nodded. He hovered, hand nearly resting on Tsunade's back. "That… Good, good plan."
Aiko would have turned and ran away if she was not required to maintain a modicum of dignity. She walked down the block and turned out of sight before she allowed herself to cry. She leaned against a building face and buried her face in her hands. Her eyes burnt.
She hated the sounds of her own ragged breathing, but at least she was a fairly quiet crier. It was turning out to be a useful skillset. The Mizukage couldn't be caught uncomposed. She didn't get to have those feelings. She had no right to cry over seeing how the people she admired were as flawed and lost as she was.
She wiped at her eyes with unkind force, willing the liquid to dry up immediately.
Sanbi made a soft sound of comfort. Aiko wished that he was physically there, because she really wanted a kind touch. She felt like she was going to break apart.
It was, she reflected, a very good thing that Utakata was not there. At this point, she might actually let him hold her.
"You could accept a kindness," Sanbi said.
She hated how soft his voice was. She hated that she needed the gentleness. Aiko shook her head forcefully. "I don't feel the same way that he feels about me," she disagreed. "It's not… It wouldn't be fair. And it wouldn't be appropriate, as his boss." She leaned on him enough, too much. He deserved better than that.
"He would not expect anything," Sanbi argued. "He is your friend."
Aiko used her sleeve to pat her face dry. She used her fingers to make sure that her hair was falling in an attractive way, and then secured it in a braid. She put her head up high, and she thought about Rice Country.
"Fine," Sanbi said. He sounded as defeated as Dan had looked, as Jiraiya looked, as Tsunade obviously was. "Only Terumi, then. We shall not call upon Utakata. He will be hurt," Sanbi mumbled.
Aiko winced.
Sanbi was kind enough not to mention it. "Your masked warriors served you well against the Akatsuki," he went on. "Shall you turn to Temari as well? Perhaps you should directly contact Konoha as well. Orochimaru's former apprentice may aid you, regardless of her country's stance. Your father will stand with you."
"I am tired," Aiko said clearly. She felt her voice shaking. "I am tired of getting other people involved in my problems. I am tired of being responsible for death."
It was all that she fucking lived. She was dead, she was death, she was plague on this world. Everything she did, no matter how petty, seemed to lead to suffering for other people. She'd started fucking around with fuinjutsu that she didn't understand and accidentally pissed off a man so powerful that he could send dozens of people to assassinate her. And she'd killed them.
And their families, when she fucked over Kirigakure by unleashing bijuu on it.
All the tiny little babies that died when the ancient electrical generators in the hospital failed were at her feet. She'd brought them back but the rows, the rows of little cots in the care unit haunted her at night. Splash, splash, blood on the pavement with Jiraiya and Tsunade bickering behind her, just cutting her way through the city full of scared people trying their best. Splash, splash. Back when they were both taller than her and knew what to do, before they became small and old and flawed.
She took in a deep breath, trying to steady herself and-
Anko made a terrible little gasp, lost under the wet sound of Pein ruining her throat. Her face fell, her head fell too. Her body landed separately, spraying blood and spit. Aiko remembered kissing that throat, sucking hard enough to leave bruises above the pulse point and she was dead, she was fucking dead, Konoha was falling and Aiko just wanted to be fucking dead too and she was going to take that bastard with her
Sanbi made a sharp, alarmed sound that pulled her back to the current day. Dumbly, she looked at her hand. It was hovering an inch from her heart. Aiko realized that she was in the process of placing a hiraishin seal on her chest. She swallowed. Slowly, she lowered her shaking hand.
God fucking damnit, her eyes were welling up again. She averted her face when two civilians passed on the street.
'Good job, moron,' she thought, viciously hating herself. 'Blow yourself up here, and you can kill some civilians when you go. That'd be fitting. Fuck over- god, am I in Tea Country? I don't think I've fucked them over before.'
Her personal demon rumbled. He didn't know what to say.
She didn't either, to be honest.
After a long pause, Sanbi managed to break the silence. "You have no intention of contacting your allies," he said. It wasn't a question. He knew.
She felt her stomach lurch. She pushed off the building she'd been leaning against and started off down the street, away from the quiet sounds of people eating lunch in a restaurant. 'I'm sorry,' she said, and meant it. 'I'm sorry that you have to come with me.'
There was a spark of interest, where Sanbi had an idea- and then he dismissed it. She was grateful. She thought she knew what he had considered. If he told her that she was not allowed to die because it would damn him, she would be trapped.
"I am your friend," he said gently.
She blinked fast and dodged a cart. 'I know. You should take me over before I die. Hopefully I'll kill Orochimaru first. No one else would have a chance at holding you.'
Thank you, she meant.
She just… if it all possible, she had to ensure that he wouldn't end up caught in one of Orochimaru's labs, or dissolved to ignominious non-existence for 50 years.
She went to her office. It was quiet, despite work clearly going on outside. Aiko considered writing a note but she didn't have the stomach for it. She pulled on better armor and weapons from her stash there, lingering over the buckle on her forearm protection. But eventually, she was ready. She caught one glimpse of herself in the glass of a cabinet. Pale. She looked pale, with sunken eyes. Her stomach turned again. She left.
The first wave of Sound ninja fought her. Aiko cut them down dispassionately, wondering how many of them were going to reunite with loved ones. Maybe if she killed Orochimaru, the Death God would let her go back to her reality. She hoped that he would free Minato's soul, too. This was no place for the dead.
She stepped over a girl with pink hair. She wondered if this was a relation to Orochimaru's bodyguard, who had died holding the barrier in Konoha.
Aiko blinked, and the girl looked a little like Karin.
She blinked again and the girl was just a skeleton in subpar equipment, grinning up at the sky. "You're lucky," she told the girl. The Sound nin was probably only a couple of years older than Aiko had been when she had died. That girl got to stay dead. Lucky, lucky, lucky. It was good and right and natural, not at all like what the profane human had been doing. It was not acceptable for the living to take from her realm.
Justice rang in her ears, and brought new clarity to the world. She could see it now, in the last vestiges of life seeping into the air from her people, claimed as her children with a short sword. So fragile. She loved them. It made sense now. Her steps were a little faster. Someone was talking from inside her head, but his voice was unimportant for now. Perhaps later, little chakra beast.
There were more servants inside, but she found that she had no interest in them. Perhaps they had received new orders, or perhaps it was simply fear, but they hung back. None of them dared to breathe, as if that would make them invisible to her.
She felt her steps crack. She gave a glance down and noticed that the weight of her passage was breaking the stone she walked on. This world was not big enough. It chafed. The vessel had been stretched and stretched and she could hold herself in this body, but it would not fit well in this place.
"Mizukage-sama."
The thief was waiting for her at the end of the hallway. His posture was languid, but his eyes were ready and sharp. He thought to toy in the affairs of gods.
"I'm afraid that I was not ready to host such illustrious company. You should have sent word." He grinned, but it was bloodless and thin. She could see how his heart was beating too fast, feel the nervous trembles of his chakra. She raised the short sword. Something dripped off the end.
"Not very friendly," the fool said.
And then the servants closed in from behind. The world twisted, as the thief dared call upon what was hers. The white-haired corpse rose again, without the drama of before. It stared at her with black eyes. She felt a spark of sympathy, a hint of possessive fury.
"That's mine," she said, in a voice that bloodied her tongue. Inconvenient, this body. She had to hack to clear enough air for the next words. "I will take it back."