Despite being the one with the most "social capital" on Team 3, Heiko hadn't exactly attended many formal functions. Of course she had had reasonably extensive etiquette training as a clan heir, but there hadn't been much opportunity for her to put it into use. She had also, much like Shodo, decided that formal attire wouldn't be needed during a chunin exam.
Heiko decided to ask Takanome for help, since he probably knew more about this stuff than she ever would. He quickly accepted, and then immediately shot Shodo an uncharacteristically smug grin. It didn't take them long to find a high class tailor, who, once Takanome explained the situation to him, offered them a beautiful purple furisode. Takanome was gushing over it as they exited the store.
"The craftsmanship on the weave is simply incredible, I mean look at the patter-" he was about to continue when he was interrupted by a melodic voice just behind them.
"Oh really? I guess I've found my stop then. I've got an important meeting to shop for." The pair spun around, finding themselves face to face with the red-haired Kiri Genin, the blood that had stained her clothes the night before now absent. She had a mocking smile on her face, one that made the hairs on the back of Takanome's neck stand up. She passed the two of them on her way into the store, but stopped before she entered.
"Looking forward to seeing you in the next stage," she said, a sardonic smile the last thing Takanome and Heiko saw before she slipped inside.
===
As the sun began to set that evening, Shodo and Takanome were waiting in the lounge as the members of the dinner party finished getting ready. Heiko was the first to emerge, her teammates stunned by her uncharacteristically elegant outfit. The furisode fit her perfectly, kept closed with a red obi that contrasted against the purple silk. She had been growing her snow-white hair out the past couple months, and now it flowed down to her shoulders rather than its usual place in a high ponytail.
"So? How do I look?" Heiko's tone betrayed that she already knew the answer to the question.
"You look beautiful Heiko, I love your hair." Shodo gave her teammate a hug, while Takanome opted for a smile and a thumbs up. Fugaku and Hiruzen emerged soon after, each wearing their own finery decorated with their respective clan's regalia. They bade farewell to the remaining members of Team 3 and Minato (Tsunade had already departed for some "exploration" of the local bars), before walking the short distance to the restaurant.
On the way however, Heiko worked up the courage to ask the Hokage a question.
"Excuse me Lord Hokage, but Kenzo of the Steel Wind will be at this dinner will he not?"
"He will indeed be in attendance Heiko, why do you ask?"
"Well, all of the other Kage's guards seemed so scared of him, but we never learnt about him in the academy."
"Ah, that's because Kenzo has always worked somewhat behind the scenes. He was the heir to the Soku clan, a widely respected family that was one of the founders of the Hidden Sand, renowned for their kekkei genkai of swift release. However, Kenzo abdicated the position to his younger brother, opting instead to focus fully on expanding and consolidating the Sand's power. He mostly achieved this through scientific research, but he was also a key figure in multiple battles during the second war.
As for his most common epithet…in his younger days, he did some highly alarming things with large quantities of knives," Hizuren finished his recount with a somewhat distant look on his face, as Heiko thanked him for the information.
When they arrived, the hostess took them to a private room, with a floor to ceiling window overlooking a perfectly maintained garden covered in a light dusting of snow.
The sight filled Heiko with a sense of tranquility that calmed her frayed nerves as she inspected the rest of the room. It was traditional in its decor, with tatami mats on the floor and a low wooden table surrounded by brightly coloured cushions in the center. The table was already laid out for an extensive meal for six, and a pair of waiters entered the room after the trio sat down in seiza positions. They stood stock still in the corner of the room, reminding Heiko of ANBU with their totally blank faces, a comparison that returned some of the uneasiness to her mind. The flash of a butterfly mask filled her mind's eye, and she had to do everything she could to keep her composure. The last thing she needed was to have a breakdown in front of the Kazekage.
Heiko's internal turmoil was interrupted by the door to the room opening, revealing another party of three, each dressed in similar finery to the Hokage and Fugaku. At the head of the trio was Rasa of the Golden Sand, the recently appointed fourth Kazekage. A man of average height with pale red hair, he didn't look like much on the surface, but even Heiko's poor sensory skills could sense the immense pool of chakra the man was suppressing.
To his left stood Kenzo of the Steel Wind, his silver hair tied back into a topknot, as opposed to its messy state it had been in the last time Heiko had seen him. Also understandably absent were the swords, although there was a similarly styled dagger at his hip in a golden sheath.
On the right of the Kazekage was a boy about Heiko's age, who she had seen at the post-test briefing the previous day. He bore a striking resemblance to Kenzo, and since the Hokage had not mentioned the man having any children, she guessed this was likely a nephew, the heir to the Soku clan. After all, the Hokage had mentioned that the Kazekage was bringing a clan heir.
The Leaf party rose to their feet, each member bowing an appropriate depth for the situation, and being responded to in kind by the Sand delegation. Following this, the Kazekage stepped forward to shake Hiruzen's hand.
"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me Lord Hokage, it is my great honour."
"Do not fret Lord Kazekage, I am always happy to discuss the furtherment of peace."
The assembled ninja then sat down in order of precedence, Heiko doing so simultaneously with the other Genin.
"If it is alright with you Lord Hokage, I'd like to cut straight to the chase. I have it on good authority that the other three villages are plotting a direct strike against the Leaf." Heiko's eyes widened at the news. The boldness of such an attack would be unthinkable, not to mention the immense advantage a village held on defense. Hiruzen kept his composure, save for a slightly raised eyebrow.
"What makes them think this attack will succeed?" he replied, his tone level.
"They plan to trap you and your entourage while at the summit, using a recovered Whirlpool sealing technique. The three kage believe without you and Lady Tsunade, the Leaf would fall to a combined assault."
"Which technique?"
"That I do not know, only that it is being provided by the Hidden Mist."
"I see…" Hiruzen stroked his beard, his gaze becoming distant.
"The reason I am sharing this information is because I believe that a strong alliance with the Leaf is the best thing for the future of the Hidden Sand. With our villages' history, consider this a token of good faith.
"Such a request is one I cannot accept lightly, but I will consider it strongly. I will give you an answer once dinner is over, would that be agreeable?"
"Of course Lord Hokage, I understand your situation." After that, the initial course of food arrived, and the topic was forcibly changed to the current exams.
"Miss Hairo, how have you found the exams so far?" Heiko stuttered a little as she started her reply to the Kazekage, but quickly smoothed out as she went on and her mind drifted.
"Very well indeed Lord Kazekage, most of the teams we have met so far have been of a significantly lower strength level than us, with a single exception, so we are confident that we can at least pass the second round."
"She speaks the truth Lord Fourth, it seems as though Stone especially have adopted a quantity over quality approach to these exams," the sand genin chimed in his speech at a slightly elevated pace.
"I understand your point Jin, I will admit that I myself requested additional Genin be taken to the exams regardless of their readiness. Once again it seems as though the God of Shinobi has the wisdom to see a path the rest of us haven't."
"You flatter me, Lord Kazekage." The conversation drifted from there, and Heiko tried to get a little more out of Jin Soku, but most of her questions were met with at maximum single sentence answers. As the final course was removed, the Hokage cleared his throat.
"Lord Kazekage, I understand if you refuse, but if you would find it agreeable, would it be agreeable if we discussed the matter you broached earlier alone?"
"I would not be apprised. Kenzo, if you would take Jin and retire, I will return to our apartment at a later time. Inform Pakura that I wish to speak with her when I return."
"Of course my Lord, come Jin." And with a sharp gust of wind, the pair disappeared.
"We will take our leave as well, thank you for the meal Lord Kazekage," Fugaku received a simple nod in return, as he ushered Heiko out of the room.
"Well that went pretty well, waddya think the outcome of that conversation is going to be?" she asked him as they stepped out in the snow filled air.
"Hopefully something good Heiko, Sage knows we need some good news in this war right now."
Upon their return to the apartment, the pair found the rest of their group playing cards around the dining table, and Heiko quickly discovered where Tsunaded had gained the nickname "Legendary Sucker" from. When Hiruzen returned that night, he did not speak of his conversation with the Kazekage, and even Heiko wasn't brazen enough to ask him about it.
The next few days went by quickly, Team 3 having spent the majority of their time doing more training under Fugaku and occasionally Hiruzen, as well as attempting to puzzle out their strategy. They had managed to steal some bonus intel using Takanome's Byakugan to copy some of the other team's scrolls. The co-ordinates were obvious enough, but the symbols' meaning still eluded them. Plus, because they were stolen, it meant that any cache they went to would likely be contested by at least one other team. As such, they arrived at a very simple plan
Book it to the top.
Well it was slightly more complicated than that, much to their superiors' relief when they had it explained to by Heiko the morning of the test at the breakfast table.
"Okay so basically, we are just gonna do something similar to stage 1. We are going to use Shodo's seals to hide ourselves, Taka's Byakugan and summon to scout, and I can keep everyone warm with this new yang release move I've figured out. Other than that, just climb as fast as we can."
"Wait, that's your whole plan?" Asked Tsunade, seemingly surprised at the simplicity.
"You're goddamn right is,"
AN: I'm back, miss me? Probably not but I am still back. Expect more in less than year this time.
Unicorn out
(And thanks to TheMasterDoughnut for Alpha'ing and Beta'ing)