Fumiyo was walking into the hall what looked to what was the center of the entire level. Or rather the center of what looked to be an enormous tree that stretched upwards.
The compound, the Konoha compound that was, stood roughly a few hundred meters from it, so not bad at all in terms of their social standing when it came down to it.
Fumiyo was not just a simple Senju girl, of course, rather she was one of the direct lineage lines, niece to the Hashimara himself, her father having died fighting the Uchiha some time back. She didn't hold it against them of course, they were merely doing what they had been paid to do. It was just the way the world worked, hire ninja, kill ninja, and deal with the losses that came from it. It was the way her clan worked and now that they were part of Konoha… well, maybe the clan could do things like focus less on the whole "kill everything" mission statement.
She was here now as the eyes and ears of the Senju as well as the one who would be coordinating the younger ones, they had been briefed earlier on what it was expected for them to do and they were going to carry out their jobs with pride and skill she was sure. They were Konoha ninjas, trained the lot of them and they were going to the best they could be. The other clan delegations had been briefed on what she would be expecting of them as well, the Uchihas on the other hand, had not.
Thankfully her new friend Mitsue had seen fit to bring the rest of them in regardless. This was Fumiyo's chance to make a break for the future and to put an end to the amount of hatred that both sides had to each other. She was going to if it killed her, forge all of them into a unified whole, one that if the main Konoha branches decided to end up killing each other, would remain strong despite the familial ties otherwise.
She was not going to fail because she had seen the writing on the wall, the Uchiha were not going to like being second fiddle for long, and in the future, they would try to break away from the village in some way. It was only natural, their bodies were simply incapable of doing otherwise, they were too passionate, too emotional, too everything. They were going to explode whether it be now or at a later date. It was just natural.
In that respect, Fumiyo was pre-empting the problem, she would do her best to make them into something that was going to be bound by the stupid traditions and preconceptions that their elders had. It was going to be effort but she could tell that the others were thinking like her on some level at least.
They were all essentially "exiles" from the clan proper, their loyalty to their clans was assured, but they were all sent out here because of their different views and the way that they saw the world.
Radical ninja… what a thought.
It was going to be slow going, and likely not accomplished in her lifetime, but she was going to make this work.
With that little declaration in her mind, Fumiyo turned to her newest friend, Mitsue. She probably didn't consider their friendship to be an actual friendship, but Fumiyo was going to get Mitsue to agree. Now… or later.
The young woman was certainly a ninja, it was just that whether or not she remembered that she was also a person that Fumiyo didn't quite understand.
Being scared of caring about someone was certainly rather funny for her to watch, that much was true, but she was also going to need to get over it. Their mission had been to get pregnant by the Mitsugo, or at least set the groundwork for those following them at a later date to be able to do so.
Not exactly the nicest thing, but it was necessary for the future of Konoha. They possessed power both politically, socially, and from the combat that she had seen on the way here, militarily as well. Allying their clans through marriage would only strengthen their position, especially with the way that the Rice Nation bordered the Land of Fire, and offered an enormous bounty in food and supplies.
Keeping them on side was paramount to the future of Konoha. Unbroken lines of food? Yes, please.
They could keep fighting and devote more of their attention to the military, their peoples not forced to keep working the farms and could be pressed into service.
She had been briefed on the importance of the Mitsugo and the Rice Nation, and she was going to be paying attention to both. It would be a critical turning point in the power of Konoha if she could get them on side.
Fumiyo took a deep breath and considered just how much weight was on her shoulders. The Elders were… rather useless all things considered, too set in their ways to even consider the possibility of change, but change was what was needed going forward. Without it… they weren't going to make it.
As it was, Fumiyo was looking forward to this little outing, she would be moving and cruising, get a little deal going here and there. If she could make some headway here, she should be able to leverage that into something tangible at a later date. Both for the clan… and for herself, a girl could always do with more things, like custom made kunai.
Stepping into the main room her eyes were blinded by the glare for a moment, nothing a few blinks wouldn't solve. But by then she would have lost the initiative.
Pouring chakra into her eyes to clear them, Fumiyo cleared them and walked forward with purpose. She wasn't going to be giving up any advantages, no matter how small they might seem.
The room itself was large… but not so much that it would feel as if it were suffocating. Sure it was big, but the dividers that were placed on the ground cut it down to something that roughly would fit 200 people with little problems.
Inside were 100 people already waiting for them. They certainly looked diverse enough, very few… or rather none of the triplets that the Mitsugo were infamous for.
The Konoha delegation made sure that they sat down in the proper order, each of them had a place in the hierarchy and it wouldn't do for them to usurp that, even if it was unknowingly.
There were little name plates on the table which while a little insulting certainly helped.
Each found themselves opposite that of a clan member, likely a place for them to do a meet and greet of some kind. Maybe the Mitsugo had the same ideas that Konoha had, intermarriage to increase the cooperation of both factions and to create an alliance.
That was a good thing… at least Fumiyo hoped that it was. The negotiations regarding what would happen to children between the two factions had not yet been finalised which was going to be problematic.
Fumiyo was ready to do her duty for the clan and the village.
Whatever was possible.
As she found herself being seated, Fumiyo looked across the table to her and found… a man that looked rather… fetching. Very fetching indeed.
It was only her mental fortitude training that allowed for her to maintain her cool. Glancing up and down the table from the corner of her eyes, Fumiyo could see that the same situation was occurring all over the room.
This… this had been planned.
They had… some kind of Jutsu that had allowed them to match everyone up. Because of course, they did, that totally made sense…
But it was also the only answer that she could come up with for the sudden reaction of so many people from Konoha. Judging from her opposing numbers smile, he knew what had happened… and was that a little bit of approval in his eyes?
It looked like they were compatible of mind as well as body.
Dastardly Mitsugo.
"I'm Jancis, and you?" He asked, the soul of courtesy. It would have been the perfect introduction except for the glint in his eyes.
Probably knew who she was, a whole file of data. Well, she wasn't going down without a fight.
Fumiyo smiled at him and started her own offensive.
Cuteness to the max.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Fumiyo Senju." She said coquettish, tilting her head to the side for maximum effect.
He looked taken aback for the briefest of seconds there.
Point to her.
Now for the small talk, time enough for them to score a few more points and enjoy their little battle.
The meal had been a… success if it could be called that.
Fumiyo had learnt that she did indeed enjoy the company of Jancis who in turn enjoyed her own. Both of them shared enough of a sense of humour to enjoy each other's company, but so much that it became stale.
She was just the right height for him to wrap an arm around her shoulders without discomfort, she was more of a talker than a fighter and so was he.
In short, it was as if they had been carefully tailored to match the other and wasn't that scary.
Maybe the Mitsugo were able to create people? That would explain their numbers at least.
The meal was over and now it was time for them to get to socialising. Out of the little group that they had been sitting in, out unto the now expanded hall that had the dividers taken out.
They could walk around and gain a modicum of privacy if they really wanted.
Walking alongside Jancis, Fumiyo kept an eye out for Mitsue, the woman was very likely to have been matched up with that Leo of hers if the compatibility test that she had assumed was real… worked.
Certainly a little dangerous if she said so, but it certainly was working…
With her hand on Jancis' arm, Fumiyo certainly looked like the model little woman, perfectly poised. It would take a little more effort to tell that her nails were digging into his arm, Jancis was too funny for his own good. Laughing out loud would only cheapen her public image.
Ah.
She spotted Mitsue who was looking at her… date… in a rather infatuated manner. Was this the Leo? Or was Mitsue the kind of girl that flitted from one flower to the next?
Unable to bear the curiosity any longer, Fumiyo dragged Jancis over to the Uchiha, or rather she gently guided him over.
"Mitsue, this is Jancis, Jancis, this is Mitsue." Fumiyo said, starting off the conversation.
"Hello, I'm Mitsue." She said bowing slightly, very well done.
"Leo, this is Fumiyo, Fumiyo this is Leo," Mitsue said, motioning her arm at her.
"Leo," Said Jancis rather simply.
"Jancis," Leo replied in kind.
"Do the two of you know each other?" Fumiyo asked, a little lilt in her voice.
"Cousins," they both replied, grinning as they did so like there was a joke that Fumiyo wasn't aware of.
"Well then, why don't we go and meet the rest of the couples Hmmm? Your clan is certainly very good at setting these things up." Fumiyo said, emphasizing the word setting.
"Don't look at us. It's the Minds." Said Jancis, waving his free hand in the air.
'The Minds?" Asked Mitsue, tilting her head just right for Leo to get a look at that neck, he had that air of innocence about him, vulnerable to a critical strike. You go girl Fumiyo said in her mind.
"They're Trios that spend all day just meditating and thinking about problems people bring them. Sometimes they tell us to do things and we do them. You don't want to ignore their advice." Leo said in all seriousness.
"Bad?" Asked Mitsue.
"Each of them are some of the most powerful ninjas of the clan. When they throw their tantrums things never end well," Said Jancis, shaking his head at the memory.
"So what are we going to do now?" Asked Mitsue, following Leo as he led her through the small crowd.
"Say our hellos, introduce ourselves, the usual at functions like this." Said Fumiyo, raising an eyebrow at the Uchiha, she had known they were insular but this bad?
"Why are you so good at this?" Came the complaint.
"We do this every few weeks Mitsue, how else do we meet the other clans?"
"We don't?" Came Mitsue's mutter, prompting laughter from the 2 Mitsugo.
Fumiyo could see this was going to be a trying assignment for the Uchiha.