Although it was rather brash of him, Naruto did go to meet Sasuke once again. It had been nice to do so for the blonde, Sasuke was largely the opposite of the people he spent most his time around. Of course, many of the people he knew were submissives and rifes so that was to be expected to a degree.
That said, of the dominants Naruto did know, Sasuke was in an entirely different category. In fact, he reminded the princess of his childhood, playing and roughhousing with the dominants of his neighborhood with Fuu. A fact of his upbringing he very pointedly never mentioned to his grandfather- who would likely die of shock.
Naruto dreaded to think what Jiraiya would do should he found out his grandson was spending time frolickating with a dominant in his downtime, and in 'the bad side of town' no less. A true dread, not an amused 'well he probably shouldn't know' type of dread. Naruto knew that Jiraiya would demand he be examined by Sakura or even Tsunade to make certain he hadn't been assaulted- which was horrifying for many reasons.
Then Jiraiya would burn all of his phones and attach a 24/7 security detail to him for: At the very least. Meeting with a dominant noble in their own private garden was one thing; that was politics, Jiraiya could let that slide. But being entirely alone with a street raised dominant would likely put the Grand Duke in the hospital following a stress induced heart attack.
Naruto truly enjoyed Sasuke's company. The man was unfiltered, he spoke his mind, had a sharp tongue, and was not overtly paranoid about sitting with a submissive and saying the wrong thing. Sasuke was cocky and while not quite egotistical, he did have a strong confidence about himself that Naruto found particularly attractive. Yet, if Jiraiya were to find out about their meetings… it hurt to consider, but Naruto knew he would choose his grandfather over his dominant…friend.
He and Sasuke had met up three times in the past week, not including their first meeting. An certain type of aura seemed to manifest around them both when together, and it was comforting and confusing all in one. Neither of them had attempted to define their relationship, for neither of them understood why there was a chemistry to begin with. Though it would not be unfair to say they were dating, Naruto was uncertain if Sasuke accept such a term, and he himself was somewhat on the fence about it as well.
Dating implied possible commitment, an escalation into the future. With his situation being as it is, the princess felt a panic in his heart whenever hidden thoughts of romance came to fore. There was no one within his family who would be accepting of him dating a dominant- not even his beloved mother would be keen on the idea. Although Naruto imagined Iruka would be more understanding then anyone else, that did not mean the older submissive would be happy at the prospect. Tenten would be of no aid either, she was hardly better then his cousin- though she held her tongue a mote more -a bad point for the cherry blossom princess.
Presently the sunflower princess was at the door to an important meeting, one which would either significantly improve his stature to the common civilian or lay scandal down upon his name. It would either outline him as a refreshed change or an imposing radical. Well, this was technically a preliminary meeting to that extreme as it were. Naruto was to meet with several dominant clan representatives from the most powerful families in the empire- one would think such a meeting would be a trial to arrange. The truth however, was rather sad in its simplicity, put bluntly, these persons were so poorly valued amongst their families and their country that they had nothing better to do: That, and they were so desperate for a change that they were entirely comfortable leaving their respective corners of the empire for a chance.
Naruto was standing somewhat nervously in front of the large silver meeting doors, a folder of his own proposals and profiles of each attendee in his arms. He stood in an orange suit and skirt combination- his official dresses made for court will still not prepared, this outfit was the most appropriate Tenten could find on short notice, luckily it would be acceptable for another week. The princess smacked his own face for focus. A determined sapphire taking over his irises, this was important to him, no matter how much his mind shook at the intimidation of his own bold ideas.
He burst through the door with his chin high and a warm smile showcasing the confidence he truly held. Naturally, his presence gained immediate attention from those he invited. Naruto frowned however, when he took notice of the heavy security inside the room. At least four security people stood at each exit, perfectly poised and watching each dominant sat with rapt attention, it vexed Naruto. He wanted for his guessed to feel welcome, and for them to be comfortable speaking their minds, that was hard to accomplish when one had people constantly monitoring your movements, constantly thinking you to be a threat.
In lue of this, Naruto stepped forward, his orange heels clicking heavy on the laminate floor, standing infront of two of the tall rife's standing guard. "Gentlemen, I realize your presence is required, but I would appreciate if you took your posts outside of the room." Unfortunate as it were, the princess did understand that Tenten had likely called for extra precaution at the order of his mother, and going against the Princess Mother -given that he was not quite of age- would be a poor decision. However, that did not mean they had to be stationed inside the room.
Both sets of guards glanced to each other, entirely silent, before they all asented by nodding their heads and bowing, exiting into the hall so that it was only the Princess inside the room with the most important -technically- dominants of the empire. Whispers came from the table, no doubt in curiosity for his bold action. Naruto smiled at their quick compliance, having expected at least a marginal reluctance.
With a satisfied skip to his step, Naruto took his place at the front of the table, smiling all the while. He placed his file on the table and stood tall, holding himself as royalty should and speaking in a voice both regal and kindly. "Good afternoon everyone, and welcome to the first meeting for my DRAFA- that is, Dominant Rights and Freedoms Act. Which will eventually clearly outline the a set of equitable rights and freedoms for our dominant born citizens; this act will eventually be proposed to the Garden of Commons; and it is my sincere hope that Empress Tsuande will inshrine it into our charter."
Naruto did not mention how difficult a task that would be in truth. Candidly, he had little hope that the Empress would add such a ' radical' piece of legislation into their empire's charter herself, however he hoped he would be able to when he ascended the throne. Even if he was not chosen as crown princess, there was a profound part of himself that hoped Sakura would do so in his place no matter how unlikely that was.
Many of the dominants stared at him, then each other in complete silence, shocked and puzzled expressions shown in tandem.
"Exuse me your royal highness, but why would you of all people create such an act?" The woman whom spoke was Ino Yamanaka, perhaps the most interesting of those gathered due to her unique position within her family. As it were, Ino was the sole heir to the dukedom of Blanc, as the only daughter of Inochi Yamanaka the Duchess of Blanc. A dominant woman of rather lean stature which may appear submissive at first glance. However, her face was sharp in a ways that only a dominant could hold, with prominent cheekbones that accented her slightly indented cheeks, and a pointed jaw bone which the average submissive could never have. Her hair, as most dominant's, was long, it being a beautiful platinum blonde -which the princess somewhat envied, her eyes were ice, and she stood at an impressive 6'2. In fact the Yamanaka was the only one who had considerable power of all the dominants in the room.
However, it there was a cruel unspoken comprehension amongst all nobility that she was unlikely to remain that way. It was whispered in rotted corners; that Duchess Inochi was actually searching family records for a suitable submissive heir to take his daughter's inheritance. It was actually a ludicious thing to do, and it was favourable to the bigots amongst the court that it remained only a dark rumour- otherwise, by law the Empress would have to officially ratify the dominant woman as the Dukedom's next-in-line; it was one of the only rights noble dominants actually held, the right to claim their inheritance.
The heir had stood, her arms crossed and a rather defiant expression twisting her face, confused more then hostile however. Naruto smiled towards her, Neji had told him when aiding in the arrangement of this meeting that many of his acquaintances were skeptical, and wary. The princess accepted this fact, they had spent their entire lifes made to feel inferior, largely by the royal family, of course they were hesitant that a member of the royal line would be willing to aid them.
"Because I truly think it is necessary. Its 'bout time that our archaic laws changed, times are moving forward and I refuse to let my kingdom be kept in the middle ages if I can help it. All of you are bright, educated, and capable people, entirely able to contribute to the good of the empire, that fact needs to be recognized. At the very least, you should be respected as people, which is why we are focusing today on your rights and freedoms; before we eventually move on to my more radical legislation proposals which involve creating an active dominant representation in the Gardens of government." That gained everyone's attention, as all perked up in their seats, a flickering of aspiration beginning to flicker behind hardened eyes.
Ino sat down with a simper, with all the dominants now giving him their complete attention, Naruto was surprised to feel not a drop of sweat on his person. He was filled with determination to make certain his movements succeeded, and these dominants support was vital to accomplish his goals. "Now, I've called each of you here both as representatives of your dukedoms so that you can better outline the trials dominants in each of your regions struggle the most with. As well as to speak onto me your biggest grievances with our current system, and what you would most like to change. Because I'm sure you've all noticed, but I am a submissive, and I cannot properly represent your wishes to the Gardens without your council. These will be your rights and freedoms, I will simply speak on your behalf." With that said, the Princess took his seat at the had of the table with a smile, and ears perked up ready to listen.
There was a lot of whispering between the gathered dominants which Naruto did not try to listen in upon. He knew that his declaration would cause shock, he knew that these people would be nervous to speak their minds after so long having their mouths sown shut. It took several minutes of uncertain glances before one of the assembled dominants finally saw fit to speak.
The man who spoke up for his comrades was the recently instated Kiba Inuzaka, Marquess of Wolford; the son of the current Duchess. For one of nobility he had a rather ragged appearance, more street then polish- Naruto was able to recognize. Most of the Inuzaka family appeared the same in truth however, Wolford's noble line -much to their own determinant- had an aggressive dominant gene and due to this much of the family held a rather more aggressive -rather then the preferred soft submissive-like appearance preferred by the majority of the empire.
Kiba's hair was fuzzy most of all, fuzzed around his head in a virtual cloud of dark brown. The unique irises of the Inuzaka however never failed to attract attention. They were narrowed much like a predator's, if only slightly, the Duchess, Kiba's mother whomst alongside her heir -Kiba's sister, Hana Inuzaka, both of which were rifes, also had this uniquely aggressive feature. The noble family of Wolford also had the unique tradition of tattooing their faces with fang-likened triangles on each cheek as a sign of respect to the Wolf; whom was sacred to their ancient, and largely abandoned, religion: Naruto found it facinating.
"You're saying, you actually want us involved in the governance of the empire? Us? How would that work exactly? Wouldn't we just end up destroying the Garden hall's like savages?" The bite in the young Marquess's voice could not go unnoticed, nor could the prominent scowl twisting his expression closely representing an animal growling. Naruto paid it no mind, entirely adapt to the beahaviour from his youth. The predominance of dominants in his experience, who made such an expression usually did it as a form of intimidation when feeling particularly vulnerable. Not as a threat.
"Why would you do that?" Naruto blinked innocently up at the man, of course already completely aware of why the Marquess asked such a question.
"I dunno, what if we lose our temper because someone says something stupid. Or we try to randomly attack a submissive because they lifted their teacup wrong?" The questions were of course all ridiculous, but that was the result of decades worth of widespread propaganda. Bitterness laced the man's tone, he- Kiba, of course knew this wouldn't happen. The princess knew Kiba was testing him, testing to see if their princess held the same prejudiced stereotypes of dominants as the majority of society held.
"My Good Lord Inuzaka, were one to do such a thing to a teacup I assure you my mother would be the first to say something, not you." He jested with a minor smile, before continuing with a most serious cadence. "Let us be candid, there is nothing I can do which will undo the damage done by our decades of discrimination and propaganda against dominants, and there will always be those who believe a dominant will lose control at the most minor infraction. I however, am not one of those people, and I am completely confident that such a thing will not happen. I will not insult any of you by claiming any of this will be easy, the opposition will be extreme and tedious to swim through, but I do believe it is possible to create this change."
Kiba stood silent for a moment, but grumbled as he sat down- obviously still skeptical.
The next individual raised a respectful- if highly held hand. This being the Marquess of Lotus, a small dukedom which was in fact an island on the border lake between Konohagakure's empire and Sunagakure's desert. The Duke of Lotus as of yet had no children, and thus no official heirs; it was because of this that there was a rumour circulating which said he was going to return complete control of Lotus to the royal family before he died rather then appointing someone to inherit the role.
The Marquess was a lovely young dominant a year older then Naruto himself, whom the blonde simply adored interacting with: by the name of Lee Rock. The man was quite simply; too lovely, he was kind and gentle, honourable, modest, and had a respectable confidence in himself that many dominants, and even submissives lacked. Were it not for his and Sasuke's odd affinity for each other, the Princess knew that it would be Lee who held his affections instead- if only in the form of a forbidden crush.
In fact Lee was rather favoured in submissive circles because of his rather submissive appearance and, yes, common personality traits. With a more circular face possessing of more puffed cheeks then the average dominant and large, wide beautiful darkest grey eyes, and short cut hair. The most dominant indicative trait of Lee was his profoundly muscular form; which was typically well concealed by large jumpers and baggy trousers.
"Princess! What rights do you plan to implement?!" As he ever did the Marquess spoke with loud enthusiasm unbefitting of his rank, joyous despite the serious nature of his title and duties. Many of respectable society would flinch at his volume and energy, Naruto found it inspiring.
He grinned in face of the question however. "Well that's just it, I don't know, that's why I invited all of you here. What rights and freedoms do you think are necessary for the dominants of Konoha? I can come up with some basic principals I'm sure, but I'm not a dominant. I want to hear what you have to say, I will merely present your ideas to the Garden's for validation. As your representative." Again, all assembled looked to each other in various stages of awe and confusion. It soured Naruto's mood slightly, to see just how shocked they were at such a basic form of kindness.
Ino coughed, a glare in her eyes which Naruto felt was not directed to him- but oddly, it were as if it passed right through him and landed upon his bloodline instead, both deceased and alive. "How about the right to go into rut?" It was so crassly and boldly said that the princess felt his cheeks flush a bright red. Not having expected that answer to be the first thing said. Being as it was considerably taboo to discuss in public, or at all really.
He coughed himself, squirming in his seat momentarily before righting himself, and pulling his chin up. This was not an unreasonable request and in fact it was one he should have expected. He nodded and indicated for her to continue, she raised a brow at his brief display of discomfort, but made no comment. Ino elaborated. "I for one am really sick of not being allowed to let my body go through an entirely natural sexual process, one that is proven to improve the health of dominants.-"
"Yet, we are forced to take suppressors for it every month because it makes rifes and submissives uncomfortable . I'm not saying that dominants entering rut should be completely free to do as they like, or even that it should be permitted every month. But if there was something akin to a protective facility where dominants going into rut can go every few months under reasonable safety precautions, then that would significantly improve the lives of many."
Everyone nodded along with her statement, quiet muttered agreements spreading throughout the room. Naruto pulled out a few of the blank pages he had in his folder to began writing down her idea for later editing and application. Once written he looked up towards her with a gratified smile. "That seems entirely reasonable to me, I'll make sure its added." Naruto replied diplomatically. The platnium blond woman clearly hadn't expected him to agree with her, as she stared at him for several moments obviously baffled. Then a twitch of a smile came to her lips as she looked away.
Her bold request brought out the confidence in the others and they too began to speak up. Kiba spoke next, a grumble still remaining in his voice: "What about the right of healthcare? Basic dominant-specific healthcare isn't covered by our health system." Naruto quickly wrote that down with a frown, he hadn't known that.
"Umm…" Lee made a quiet sound and Naruto turned to look at the man, finding the noiret with a pretty pinkish blush, on his creamskin tone that Naruto couldn't help but find endearing. "The right of representation? Dominant's aren't appointed a lawyer by the courts when charged with a crime; we have to purchase their services out of pocket, and because most dominants are below the poverty line the majority are forced to represent themselves to a bias jury." This Naruto did know, though he hadn't considered it, he wrote it down regardless- rather impressed that though they were nobility the dominant's in the room seemingly knew even the minor hardships of their constituents.
Ino reared up as Lee spoke, quite obviously about to say something pronounced and perhaps a little rude, because beside Naruto Neji spoke up in her stead in a calm and sophisticated tone. "It is a good point Lee raises. Dominants make up more then sixty percent of those below the poverty line, and that is only in Konoha, those numbers can very between each dukedom considerably. I think we need to think of a way to outline workplace equality into DRAFA to ensure there is no legal loophole businesses or originizations can exploit as an excuse for further discriminatory hiring." Neji tapped his finger as he spoke, clearly considering his words carefully.
Naruto placed his chin on his folded hands, thinking himself. Workplace equality was, of course, one of his primary goals with his inclusion ideals; however, it would have to be declared a fundamental right rather then a freedom, and it would have to be concise in wording with no room for exploitation as Neji said.
Pressing his lips into a line the princess wrote in his rather imperfect cursive: ' The right to work: all persons have the legal right to work for self-sufficancy and familial support. Under the declaration of imperial law: Workplaces do not have the right to refuse applicants on the bases of: Appearance, sexual orientation, religion, marital status or secondary-sex. Furthermore, employers must provide equal pay in due with a worker(s) appointed station regardless of; appearance, sexual orientation, religion, marital status or secondary-sex." It was a beginner draft, but it would work as a placeholder Naruto asented to himself. There was certainly refinement to be done as he was largely unsatisfied with it, but that was a piece he could focus on in his own time.
Thus he once again focused on his guests. It was Lee who spoke again, somehow his face was more flushed, even his neck had a margin of colour, and he rubbed at his exposed neck with obvious nerves. The other dominants in the room said nothing to this, just smiled encouragingly at their fellow. Submissives, Naruto knew, would have torn him apart for such beheaviour. Then again, they all knew each other well, the dominant nobility were a much more tight knit group -one could even saw friends- as opposed to the noble submissives who were always trying to ascend over one another in status and prestige.
"What- what about-" Again the Marquess coloured further and the princess relaxed his rather stern posture to something less regal and more kindly to try and encourage the nervous man.
"Marquess, you can speak your mind here, nothing will be held against you." He hoped his smile would calm the man, but Lee flushed more and Naruto found he could not find Lee's eyes as they kept avoiding looking at him directly.
"What about the freedom to marry?" Lee spoke quietly, hesitantly, as if he expected a large booming retaliation for his words.
Internally Naruto cursed his family, more specifically his great-grandfather. Naruto had cursed the man many times since learning of him, but another reason always seemed to manifest once the previous ire had passed. One of the primary reasons he despised the man -despite having never met him- was the lies he had integrated upon his son, Jiraiya:
Tobirama Senju had been the thread for much disciminary legislation and stereotypes now sown within their empire: his legacy of hate was nothing to scoff at, even if it was hidden well to the common man who knew not what to look for. One such law, was banning dominant's from marrying, oh that law had softened slightly over the decades, wherein faux-weddings could now occur, even be officiated by the church- but in the eyes of the law it was still an offense for a dominant to be wed, and in the eyes of the people it was largely frowned upon.
Naruto grit his teeth, attempting not to showcase his hateful emotions in front of his guests. As he knew the secret, one that none but the royal family were aware of. This being: that Tobirama Senju had in fact, been a dominant, contrary to the public records declaring him to be a rife. Tobirama had been the brother to the previous Empress Hashirama and became Emperor Consort when his wife Mito Uzumaki inherited the throne in his place -by his own request.
Yet, he had taken control in drafting many of what he called 'protective measures,' to ensure the 'safety of dominants and submissives alike.' Whilst in reality, his 'reforms' managed to abolish many of the rights and freedoms dominants had held at the time- a great deal more then what they currently held- without mass protest because of the stubley in which they were deploys, such that no one really noticed until the effects became more prominent years later. That is not even mentioning the vast war campains attrubited to him, despite the fact that Empress Mito had technically been the one in power. There were many reasons why Naruto ardently despised his ancestor.
The princess forced a smile, hopeful that it did not appear strained in any way because of his unpleasant thoughts about his inheritance. "I agree. That will absolutely be in the DRAFA charter." Everyone's mood apparently lifted at his words and the princess smiled truly again at the hope on their faces.
This meeting was going better then he had expected.