6
Yamigakure no Sato, Chikage's office, 15:34pm next day
'Ah if only I were younger,' an old voice said stepping into the office.
The Chikage, now discovered to be Tsubasa Chi, sat up straight in her chair and looked at her Obaa-sama. But her Obaa-sama's eyes were not focused on her but rather the ninjas just leaving the room. She groaned under her breath when she realised where her Obaa-sama's eyes were paying attention to. She was checking out the Kazekage's ass.
'Damn that's a fine piece of ass!' the old woman exclaimed and laughed at the disgusted expression on her granddaughter's face.
'Obaa-sama!' she shouted in embarrassment.
She was grateful that they had already left. If they had heard what her Obaa-sama had said or heard what she's like… She didn't want to know what that would do to her. It was bad enough that her Obaa-sama didn't restrain herself around her. If she did it in front of others… Groaning, she covered her face in her hands. She didn't know what she was going to do with her Obaa-sama. The crazy old woman was more concerned with getting her married and pregnant than anything else.
The old lady huffed. 'Don't ruin my fun. You always know how to do that.'
She lowered her hands onto the desk. 'Can I help you with something, Obaa-sama?'
'Yes you can,' she said. She suddenly levitated into the air and then got straight into her granddaughter's face. 'Get married and have kids already!'
She pushed her Obaa-sama away and watched as the old woman flipped in the air. For a moment the old lady flipped in the suspended air, enjoying herself as if she were on an amusement park. Chi watched with a deep pan face, following her with her eyes. Finally having enough with her Obaa-sama's messing around, she clicked her fingers and suddenly her Obaa-sama froze in midair, unable to move.
'Eh?' the old lady said confused. Then it clicked on. 'Chi, release me…! Dammit.'
'I'm sorry. Did you say something, Obaa-sama?' Chi queried.
'Now listen here, child, if you don't release me this instant –'
'Obaa-sama, I have been patient with you thus far, but I cannot allow this to continue. I try to do my duties as Chikage and yet interfere. Regretfully, I must say that if you hinder me once more, I will be forced to take action to ensure that you cannot hinder me when I am on duty.'
The bright blue eyes of the old lady blinked. 'Oh my… Chi-Chi's finally gotten serious.'
'Deadly,' the young Chikage agreed. 'I assume you are here to get information about our guests.' Reluctantly, she released her Obaa-sama from her paralysis jutsu and watched as the old woman lowered herself to sit on the desk. The old lady nodded her head and showed she was listening. 'They've not provided me with much information about themselves. But I do know this. They just want to know more about us and seem to be rather interested.'
'Not much good as a Chikage if you can't get all the information you want.'
Chi glared at her Obaa-sama. The woman showed her hands in a no harm gesture.
'I'm a young Chikage, remember? I'm not as old or as wise as the previous leaders.' Chi stood from her chair to stand by the window. Her gaze followed the path to the exit of the village were large towering trees – surrounded by shadows – waited at the end. No one's been out of the village before and Chi's dying to get out so she could explore the world. 'I don't' come close to matching them.'
'Nonsense!' the old woman snapped. Chi turned to face her with surprise. 'You may be young and have much to learn, but you are by far more than the previous Chikages.' Before Chi could ask how she was more than the others before her, the old woman spoke up. 'You're just going to have to find out for yourself,' she said with a smile.
Chi sighed with a shake of her head and turned towards the window. How long was she going to plan on allowing her guests stay in the village? She wasn't sure yet but she knew that they wouldn't leave until they've got what they wanted. Not only that but they may also want to take a look at the rogue encampment.
Yamigakure No Sato, Five star hotel, 16:31pm
Gaara wasn't sure what he should do. The Chikage, Tsubasa Chi, was rather…different. She's a year younger than him but she's still a Kage. How did she become the Chikage to begin with? There must be some reason why one so young was chosen. Do they follow the same procedure to become a Kage or were their rules for that just as different? He'd have to find out from her the moment he next speaks with her.
'Hey, Gaara, now can we go explore the village?' Naruto asked from where he sat.
'We need to discuss what we're going to do now,' Nara Shikamaru stated from where he said. Gaara looked at the smart but lazy male. He stared right back at the Kazekage. 'She didn't really provide us with much to go on. We can't go back and report such little information. Not only that we need to get her to tell us where this rogue encampment is settled.'
Shikamaru was right. The whole reason they were in the first place was the rogue encampment. The Chikage – Chi – knows about the place and has yet to mention it to them. She mentioned it in the letter sent to the Hokage but she didn't bring it up in the conversation. Gaara knew the reason why she didn't. They weren't very respectful or polite when they were talking with her. So why would she help them when they were rude to her?
'Go explore the village and make sure you write up a report about what you find,' Gaara orders them. 'I'm going to go back to the Chikage tower and have a talk with her.' He stood up to get going so he could question her when the others, - namely his team – looked at him with worry.
'At least allow some of us to go with you, Kazekage-sama.' That was Matsuri.
'No. This time I will go alone.' They looked ready to argue with him. 'I said no. I believe she'll respect a fellow Kage approaching her. She may think we may mean a threat if any more of you accompany me.'
He didn't want them to think of anything else to say that would stop him, so he left. Outside the place was lively and bright. A place much different to the forest they had been in before. He was still confused by that very shadow surrounding the place. Why were the shadows there? What's the purpose in that very darkness? He narrowed his eyes in thought. Could it be…? Could it be that those shadows are providing a cover for the village so it cannot be found?
He moved away from the scene. He fixed his gaze on the Chikage's tower a moment later. The sight was impressive. It was a beacon to everyone in the village and to those such as himself. It was a sign of protection and mass power and knowledge. He didn't feel very safe with that knowledge against him. This Kage was all about protecting the village from curious people like him and criminals out there in the world. If he was seen as an enemy, this whole village would be against him and he wouldn't survive the onslaught.
Ignoring the fear that started to churn in his gut, he pushed through the doors and up the stairs to where a desk sat along the wall next to the door leading to the Chikage's office. A female sat behind it. Her brown hair was pulled it a neat bun on the back of her head. Knowledgeable hazel eyes looked up and caught his eyes. She was young, he realised. Not much older than him and very beautiful. She didn't smile at him but she did nod her head in polite and respectful acknowledgement. As a guest or as the Kazekage, he couldn't decide between the two.
'I'd like to speak with the Chikage.'
'On what matter?' she asked, opening a book he suspected was an appointment book.
'A chat between two Kages.' He didn't like the way she looked at him with suspicion. 'Business matter,' he settled with slightly annoyed.
The door opened cutting off the woman's reply. She turned quickly in her seat to face the Chikage who stood at the door less than impressed. Her lips were drawn in a thin line and her eyes didn't look quite happy with him at all. In fact, he could have sworn he saw anger in her eyes. She waved him in, turned to the woman at the desk and smiled lightly before following Gaara into the office. She closed the door behind her. Walked around him and sat in her chair.
'I knew you would return.' She waved her hand at a chair in front of the desk. It hadn't been there before. He took the seat but didn't break eye contact with her. He couldn't understand why she was so angry. 'Let's get straight down to business, Kazekage. What exactly are you looking for in the village? Don't lie to me when I know you've sent those ninjas with you exploring the village.'
'I won't deny I told them to explore. They are naturally curious about this village. It has been kept hidden for centuries. I would have explored but I needed to speak with you.'
'About the rogue encampment?' she said raising an eyebrow.
'That and some other things that have been bothering me.' She nodded, allowing him to continue. 'What's with the shadows in the forest?'
She blinked but didn't turn to look at the shadows. She knew what he asked. 'They're to protect the village from curious or wandering ninjas.'
'So it's like a defence against the outside?' She nodded. 'Why do you feel the need to protect yourselves from the outside?'
'I'm not stupid,' she said with narrowed eyes. 'We don't want a war coming to our gates.' He frowned at her, wondering what she was on about when it suddenly hit him. 'I've heard about the wars. Even if they are minuscule, they are still wars, nevertheless. We've been without for centuries and despite having exposed ourselves to you, we're not willing to risk exposure to war because of it. The shadows shall remain where they are, and without help from one of us, you'll never find the village.'
'Fair enough,' he said with understanding. Her eyes looked as if they were in disbelief. There was nothing he could do about that. 'And the rogue encampment? What do you know about that?'
She looked relieved that the subject changed. It looked as if she wasn't ready to talk about her village yet. At least not until she's got more trust in them. 'To the west of the village the rogue encampment is settled. Somehow they've managed to get some of our weapons to use against the Five Great Nations. I've already established a warning to them. They know there's someone else in the forest with them but not who. Since they've targeted the Five Nations, I thought it best to inform you all of them, invite you inside so that you can do with them what you've planned.'
'What's in it for you?' he asked.
'What's in it for me?' he nodded. 'What's in it for us is that you don't cast the blame to us for the crimes of those rogues. We'll help you capture them but after that they are your business. They hail from your villages, not ours and therefore you have to deal with them, not I.'
'So why did you move against them?'
A smirk flicked alive on her face. If he could describe her, he could have said that she was both beauty and evil. 'They who intrude on our territory, who insult us by using our weapons and you expect us to not move against them?'
He crossed his arms. 'When you put it that way, one would expect you to completely kill them. So why didn't you?'
'They are not of our village nor are they our problem. That is why I informed the Hokage of us and invited you into the village. It's a matter of dealing with our problems at the moment. I do not trust any outside villages at the moment to aid them in their issues.'
'It's also a matter of us coming to agreement of some kind before you provide assistance, is that it?' she nodded. 'I cannot decide upon the agreement myself. A meeting between all Kages would have to be issued before a decision can be made.' He raised a non-existent eyebrow at her. 'That is alright with you, isn't it?'
'It's manageable,' she agreed. She slowly stood up, no longer a threat to him. He wasn't so sure if she viewed him in the same regard. 'If that is all you wish to discuss with me, Kazekage, then I'm afraid our little talk has come to an end. If there is something else you require from me then do not hesitate to drop by. Before you do, at least inform Lula, my assistant just out of those doors, in advance.'
He nodded in understanding and stood. 'It was a pleasure talking with you, Chikage.' He bowed his head politely. 'Perhaps, another time, we could talk some more.'
A light smile brightened her face. 'Perhaps,' she agreed. 'But for now, we both have other business to attend to.' She walked him to the door. 'Just make sure that the ninjas under your command do not do something stupid whilst they explore.'
Yamigakure No Sato, somewhere in the village, 17: 43pm
Naruto and the others looked around their sights. The village was prosperous, brightly lit and full of amazing people. What would have made the sight more wondrous was if the people were friendlier rather than guarded and suspicious. Out of the corner of Naruto's eyes, he could have sworn that some of the villagers toyed with weapons, as if pondering on whether or not they should attack them. But those beside them tapped their arms and spoke low to them. Their minds were quickly changed. Besides some stares of hostility, the fact was that the village was more than had ever expected.
'This place is amazing!' Naruto said gaping in amazement. He turned to his mates. 'Let's try out their food!' he exclaimed in delight.
'Naruto, we've not long eaten!' Sakura scolded as she glared at the blonde shinobi.
'But we haven't tried their food,' he sulked. 'We've only been eating what's in our packs.'
'Now that definitely won't do,' a croaky voice said from behind Naruto. Startled, he jumped as he turned. There was no one there. 'Down here!' They looked down and there stood a small old woman with her hands clasped behind her back. Her white hair was pulled back into a bun and eyes as blue as the Chikage's stared back at them. 'Why don't you young ones follow me and allow Obaa-sama to feed you.'
She turned and started walking away, expecting them to follow. They did. A twenty minute walk led them to a large restaurant. Its doors were open in invitation. The small old lady led them inside to a grand restaurant with the finest of décor and food. She waved them all inside and they gathered at the front and stared with astonishment at the establishment before them. The room was brightly lit and filled to the brim. Whereas before the villagers non-stopped stared at them, none inside had glanced their way.
A gentleman approached. At first he sneered at them but then he noticed the old woman and quickly bowed. 'Obaa-sama, an honour to have you here.'
She smiled at him. 'Could you kindly set up a quick snack for these young ninjas? I'm sure they're starving from their activities today.'
'As you wish, Obaa-sama,' he said bowing again.
'And one more thing,' she said calling him back. 'I'd like you to arrange a private dinner tomorrow for a seating of twenty-nine people.'
'Obaa-sama, you couldn't possibly mean to dine with these…' he looked at them as he said it then back to the old woman. She had a stern look in her eyes and he closed his mouth.
'Would Chikage-sama appreciate how you speak of her guests?'
'No but…'
'So therefore you know not to do so. Now please book the dinner for tomorrow for six o'clock. I'll show our guests to their tables. Surprise them with a fine dinner.' Then she led them through the tables and to an empty set that was circling one in the middle. 'Please take a seat,' she said with a smile.
'Just who are you?' Sakura asked her, smiling at her in appreciation.
'Why dear, everyone calls me Obaa-sama. You can call me the same.' She bowed her head at them and started towards the door. 'Please enjoy your meal. Tell them to send the bill to Obaa-sama. If you should have any troubles then report it straight to me.'
'Thank you!' Naruto called out to her. She lifted her hand in a wave and departed out of the doors.