A/N: Ugh, my mind is consumed with homework and this story! I'm thinking it's going one way and then suddenly it takes a sharp left into a whole new direction. Not to be mean, but I'm like...three chapters ahead of where the story is now. I think my brain might melt from it all. I hope it's staying interesting for you all because at this point I'm just writing what my fingers are telling me. It's as if this thing is writing itself.
Beams of sunlight penetrated the curtains and hit Setsuko in the face. With a long drawn out groan, she threw the covers over her head and went back to sleep; turning over so her back was facing the window. Temari on the other hand was awake and already dressed as the Princess lay about in bed like a lazy person. Seeing as she was still sleeping, Temari took the opportunity to go out and buy them a big breakfast. Returning, the food still hot, the smell drifted through the halls and into Setsuko's room. With eyes clasped shut, she rose from her bed slowly as if something was hypnotizing her. getting out of bed, her eyes still closed, she trudged her way into the kitchen before plopping down in a chair at the small island bar and opening her eyes.
"Ooo! Breakfast!" she cooed happily, her hair a mess and her eyes still kind of droopy.
Temari chuckled a little. "Yeah, I'm no good at cooking so I bought us breakfast since you were still sleeping."
Setsuko smiled, "That's okay, neither am I."
"Hm, for some reason I thought you would be." Temari grabbed herself a plate of food and stood across from the pajama dressed Princess.
The two women enjoyed their meal in relative silence, neither really morning people and preferring to just enjoy the food. At one point, as Setsuko went for seconds, she mentioned how she ran into Naruto again after having wandered some of the village last night. Temari looked up from her plate at her casual mention of the situation, even though she threatened Naruto with death. It was clear she was no ordinary Princess.
When Setsuko had finally finished her food, she thanked Temari for buying such a big spread and skipped into her room. She would be meeting with the Hokage today, but not until later in the afternoon so there was no need to dress fancy yet. She took her shower, dried her hair and then stood in front of her closet. Dressing in a white collar shirt, she laced a dark brown corset over it that came just under her bust, a simple pair of tight black pants and a lighter brown belt, she strapped her sandals on and looked at herself in the mirror. She stuck in two solid gold hoop earrings, brushed her teeth and put on a light coating of makeup. Hurrying out of her room, she smiled at Temari and the two of them left.
Setsuko's high placed ponytail swayed with each step she took, dusting against the middle of her back. The two of them leisurely walked down the streets, Setsuko watching everything and everyone in childlike wonder. Even though she had already been there an entire day, it was like she was still seeing everything for the first time. As they walked, the two noticed that many shops were unusually busy. Not with customers per say but shop owners seemed to be bustling back and forth through each shop, cleaning, decorating and stocking. They silently wondered to each other what was going on when something caught Temari's eye.
"Hm, this must be what all the fuss is about." She ripped a flyer off a nearby post and looked it over with Setsuko trying to sneak a peak.
"What is it Temari?" she asked after being denied a look.
The flyer was small, but colorful and full of exclamating sentences. "Annual Spring Leaf Festival, March 21st through March 23th. Games. Food. Fun."
"Oh! A festival!" Setsuko exclaimed excitedly. "We should definitely attend!"
"This thing is mostly for couples. Neither of us have boyfriends." Temari discarded the flyer haphazardly, only to have Setsuko save it.
Setsuko let her eyes wander over the paper. "This starts in two days." She looked up at Temari with a sly smile on her face, hidden by the flyer she held against her lips. "You can go with Shikamaru and maybe finally something will happen between you two."
Temari tried and failed to prevent the blush that appeared on her cheeks. She turned around, wrapping an arm around Setsuko's neck with her own devious smile. "Yeah, and maybe you can go with my little brother."
This time it was Setsuko who failed to stop the blush that bombarded her pale cheeks. "That's crazy talk! He's grumpy and a loner, he'd never go to something like this. Plus, I doubt he even-Wait a second!" She looked up at Temari, forcibly pulling herself from the older woman's grasp. "Why do you assume I want to be around Gaara like that?"
Temari smirked at her knowingly. "Well for one, it's my baby brother; I'm not blind when it comes to girls having a crush on him. Plus…" she paused to poke Setsuko's cheek, "You look like a tomato right now!"
"Bah!" she swatted her hand away, quickly covering her cheeks. "I do not!"
"Just admit it already. You're not fooling anyone but yourself…and Gaara." She crossed her arms across her chest and shifted her weight to her left leg, that know-it-all smirk still resting on her lips.
Setsuko dropped her hands from her face and threw a finger into Temari's, "Only if you admit you like Shikamaru!"
Temari scoffed and looked away, a red tint on her face again. "Tch, never gonna happen."
"Then I'm never going to admit to anything!" Setsuko huffed, crossing her own arms and pouting.
The two of them looked at each other and laughed. The fact that they could find humor in each other's teasing made it seem like they were similar in personalities. Setsuko's fingers wandered up to her neck, expecting to fidget with the necklace that used to hang around it, but when she didn't feel it she remembered to giving it away. As they walked around some more, Setsuko found a small jewelry stand and couldn't stop herself from looking. Although as she looked, she wasn't aware of the scheming going on inside Temari's mind. She wanted nothing more than to see her brother happy; he deserved it.
"Hey, it's almost time for your meeting with the Hokage. We should head back to the hotel so you can get dressed," Temari said, looking at the time.
Setsuko turned to Temari, clasping a cameo necklace around her neck. The fabric was white as was the ivory inlay, but the shape was visible by the sapphire stones that outlined it. "Oh right, okay!"
The two women went back to their hotel room to allow Setsuko to get ready to meet the Hokage. She fixed her makeup and her hair after putting on a nice powder blue dress with a white fur collar. The sleeves were long and transparent bell sleeves with flecks of glitter scattered throughout. Slipping on her only other pair of heels, the blue glass sparkled against her skin in the sunlight. Placing her silver crown decorated with sapphires on her head, she smoothed out her clothes to make sure everything was in its proper place. Turning to her closet, she pulled out the deep, dark navy blue cape and clipped it under the fur to make it look as if the long fabric belongs to the dress itself.
Stepping out of her room, she seemed to catch Temari off guard a little before she jumped just the tiniest of bits when Setsuko cleared her throat. Her eyes traveled to what the older blonde was doing, seeing an unrolled, mostly blank scroll sitting in front of her with a pen in her hand. She was most definitely curious as to what Temari was writing down and just who she was writing too, but she didn't ask.
"I'm ready." She folded her hands in front of her body, right over left and her fingers occasionally fidgeting. Was she scared?
"Alright." Temari got up, setting the pen on the table and leaving the scroll behind as they walked out. "You should be warned though, the Hokage is a sensitive woman…"
"I know how to deal with village leaders. It's what I do for a living," Setsuko cut in softly, a look in her eyes as if she didn't want to do this.
Temari escorted Setsuko to the Hokage's office, leaving her at the front doors to find her way. With a thankful bow, Setsuko turned and entered the building, biting at her cheeks the entire time. The echo from her clacking heels made the silence around her almost bearable as she found her way to the Hokage's office; almost. She knocked on the door with a surge of confidence she don't know she had at this moment and walked in after a voice said she could. In front of her were two women, on with short black hair and matching eyes with a small pig in her hands, the other sat behind the desk in the center of the room and stared at her with what looked like a permanent look of underlining annoyance.
"How can I help you?" the woman sitting at the desk asked, her voice slightly deeper then normal but still very feminine.
Setsuko bowed respectfully, "My name is Princess Setsuko Ayani from Aisugakure, I'm here to meet with your village Hokage."
"Ah, yes, Setsuko. Gaara informed me of your visit. I'm Tsunade," she greeted in return, only offering a slight head dip as a bow. "What can we do for you?"
"Well, I'm sure a well traveled person such as yourself knows at least a little about Aisugakure correct?" Setsuko asked, not wanting to make Tsunade seem ill educated.
Tsunade laced her fingers together in front of her mouth as she leaned forward on her desk. "I remember hearing about a beautiful, thriving snowy oasis that was the pride of the Land of Blizzards. That was forty some odd years ago though."
Setsuko couldn't help but sigh with well placed depression. Tsunade was right. Their village had once been a lively, thriving village with many people and clans; something similar to the Hidden Leaf. All that however, was no more. "Yes, it's a sad fact that my village has suffered over the years, but that is why I'm here today." She brought her eyes to Tsunade's, a confident air about her than only a figure of high status could achieve. "I'm extending my reach to other lands and villages, asking for assistance in anyway possible. I wish to restore my village to its rightful glory; my people deserve better than what they have now."
Temari put the pen down, looking over what she had written. She smiled to herself and rolled it closed, sealing it. It was possible that she would get in trouble afterwards, but that didn't matter right now. She got up and left the hotel room, clutching the scroll tightly in her hand. Making it to the aviary in about half an hour, she found Takamaru resting in one of the cages. The shinobi in charge of watching the birds that lived and visited there greeted the Sand kunoichi but otherwise didn't bother her.
"Hey Takamaru," she greeted as she opened the cage. Hearing his name, the hawk brought his head up and looked towards Temari. At her behest to leave the cage, he obliged and scuttled onto her arm. "Be quick alright. This needs Gaara's attention right away." She strapped the scroll in her hand into the pouch on his back and let him free out one of the many windows in the aviary.
She watched the bird squawk and take off. Although the letter would reach him in a matter of hours to a day, she knew it would still be at least three until he arrived, unless he was truly in a hurry. She didn't make her letter seem urgent enough. Well, she hoped she did anyways.
"I definitely think there's something to be had from an alliance between our villages," Tsunade said with a confident grin at the much younger ruler.
Setsuko couldn't help the excited gasped and accompanying smile that was suddenly etched on her face. "Really?!" she cleared her throat. "Forgive me. That would be wonderful."
Tsunade smirked at the sudden display of happiness; it proved to her that this Princess really cared about her people. "I don't mind at all. In fact I find most dignitaries lacking the ability to feel truly happy about anything, so your display is refreshing."
She blushed lightly, "Thank you."
Setsuko notice the Hokage's features get a little more serious, if not dark. "I do have to ask you about the…darker practices of your village though. I have heard rumors."
"…" as Tsunade's features became serious, so did Setsuko's at the question. "Those kinds of practices have been outlawed since just before my reign. I have worked hard to swiftly deal with anyone I find using them in or outside my village. Such ideals and practices are barbaric and not tolerated by any means; I assure you."
"I would hope so. The jutsu are forbidden and the practices…well, I'm sure you know all too well." Her gaze held fast to the Princess, watching every move she made under her watch. Even though she was young, Tsunade was impressed; she never once faltered or flinched under such a taboo topic.
"Yes, I am well aware of them. Rest assured, I am very diligent that such things ever happen again. My village is already in turmoil, it doesn't need anymore." Setsuko held fast to her words, her perfect posture never wavering.
There was a long moment of silence, palpable and unnerving. Shizune, who had never introduced herself, felt as if the very building would explode any minute from their deadlocked gazes. "And what of the Ice Dragon? Is it true?"
It was barely noticeable, but there was the slightest of shifts within Setsuko's demeanor. "She's been dead for many years!" Her answer was quick and short. It was obvious that she did not wish to speak of the matter anymore than was required.
"I see…" Tsunade finally leaned back in her chair, looking up at the ceiling with a sigh. Although often unpleasant, these kinds of discussions were necessary when making alliances. She needed to know everything. "Alright. I'll have Shizune draft up a treaty and send it to you for negotiations and revisions."
Setsuko bowed rigidly. The subject of the Ice Dragon was a sour one for her. "Thank you very much. I look forward to it." she was about to turn to leave when she stopped. "I hope you don't mind if I stay a little longer. I heard you're having a spring festival in a few days and I was hoping to attend."
"No, of course not! It's going to be a spectacular event and graciously welcome you to do so." Tsunade gave her a cheeky smile; she had no reason to be suspicious of this Princess. She seemed to truly want to care about her village if she was reaching so far away from home to ally herself for their betterment.
"Again, thank you so much for your hospitality." She bowed again and then left the office.
"She was such a nice girl. Very respectful milady," Shizune piped up after the door had closed.
"Yeah, well they don't interact much with other villages so their etiquette has always been that way." Tsunade got up from her chair and looked out the window in time to see Setsuko meeting Temari outside. "They're more the peacekeeper type then anything else."