Starring:
Tsukino, Daisuke
Date: August 8, 2014
Summary:
A diplomatic meeting with the Hokage or a set-up?
"Mix and Match"
Audience room in Hokage's building
The day had arrived. The meeting between Daisuke, backed by Tobi and the Uzumaki representatives to meet. Unbeknownst to Tsukino (though she should have guessed if she'd paid attention to her grandfather) there had been talks between Tobiramako and Uzumaki Hiro about Daisuke and Tsukino being a possible match. Depending of course on how they liked eachother. Neither were so blinded by politics that they would force such a thing.
Hiro and the young Jounin (and Tsukino's brother) Shigeru wore formal robes for the meeting. As they entered the room, a third, shorter, person entered behind them, mostly hidden by the robes and the fact the person was so short. As they stepped forward, the two men separated and bowed, leaving the third figure more presented to Daisuke. She had exceptionally long crimson hair and wore a traditional headdress over it, in the shape of a pheonix, dripping with pearls from the Land of Whirlpools. Her makeup was done and brought out bright blue eyes. Her dress was formal and traditional too, like a kimono but with an over coat, she wore red trimmed in gold. And when she sank to her knee before Daisuke she kept her eyes down. Her face was schooled into a placid mask. and her hair spread around her as her gown did.
Hiro Stood back up and spoke first. "Hokage-dono, It is a pleasure to meet you." He bowed then to Tobiramako as well, showing a bit of mischeif in his eyes, then looked back to Daisuke, curious as to his reaction to Tsukino. "Might I introduce my grandson, Shigeru, a Jounin of our village and my granddaughter Uzumaki Tsukino." He moved his hand toward Tsukino who remained as still as ever, her eyes watching the floor, obviously following proper protocol for how to act in such a situation.
One day in the office Tobiramako brought up some crazy idea about finding a match for Daisuke within a powerful allied clan in order to cement relations similarly to what they had done with Kumogakure. From then on, Daisuke thought Tobiramako had dropped the issue and went about furthering the betterment of the village. About a week ago, the topic resurfaced, and even stronger than ever. Apparently Tobiramako had been in touch with the Uzumaki clan and had found a potential match for Daisuke behind his back. Suffice to say, Daisuke wasn't pleased and was highly embarrassed at the thought. It had only been a few years now since Daisuke had begun developing a strong social presence, and the thought of having a potential wife picked out for him, without her knowing about him, was highly unamusing to the young Senju.
But Tobi always got her way eventually, and Daisuke had, indeed, eventually given in to this pairing meeting. He had only ever had one girlfriend in his life, and his inexperience in such matters was awkward, but here he sat formally upon his comfortable meeting pillow as the Uzumaki entourage entered. He was wearing his formal Senju robes beneath his Hokage's coat and his Hokage's hat, even if he disliked the visibility in the oversized hat. One thing he could almost bet on was whomever his match was would probably have red hair like himself, which turns his thoughts to the girl he met the other day, wondering what she was doing.
As the young woman walks in, with that long red hair and the attire that probably took her quite awhile to put together, Daisuke was enthralled momentarily, watching her walk towards him with her face down, so he couldn't be sure. But those eyes, he had seen them before… Despite his retreat to his thoughts, Daisuke is saved by the formal announcement from Hiro, turning his attention to the man who greets him and introduces both Shigeru and Tsukino, which confuses Daisuke's original thoughts a bit as he chalks it up to all Uzumaki beauties having long red hair and blue eyes. After all, the name was different! "Thank you all for coming. I hope your trip was pleasant enough and your stay has been welcoming thus far?" he says, finally speaking up.
Tsukino, unlike Daisuke, had not had much warning of this possible match. Similar to Daisuke, thought, her grandfather always got his way and she'd finally just gotten into the crazy outfit. She'd ket her eyes lowered as expected as she was introduced, after her brother of course. Jounin before Chunin afterall. Finally she stood up gracefully, hands folded in front of her… She lifted her eyes, curious what the Hokage looked like. Of course his hair was covered by that hat and his face was partially obscured as well, but something seemed familiar about him… When he spoke she froze, blue eyes going wide. No way… That simply wasn't possible! If Dai-san was the Hokage… She might have botched the entire alignment by being an idiot in public! Her hands twitched and she set her jaw trying to regain control…. But that voice had caught her the last time they'd met and she remembered it well…
Hiro smiled and bobbed his head, Shigeru bowed again in thanks for the welcome. Tsukino just stood there, staring at Daisuke. Hiro blinked and turned around to look at her with a raised eyebrow. Tsukino wasn't the easiest to control butshe usually took politics a bit more seriously. Finally blue eyes fluttered and she dipped in a bow as well, which satisfied Hiro who spoke. "Thank you for the welcome, Hokage-dono. Our stay has been… very nice so far." Even if tsukino /had/ gone awol and disappeared for an entire day! >.<
As Tsukino looks up at Daisuke curiously, the Hokage's eyes fall upon her, actually able to see her face this time. His eyes widen briefly as he recognizes her almost immediately, his initial suspicions true, though being in a formal meeting, he couldn't just jump out of his seat and point or anything to botch the formality of the meeting or Tobiramako would probably chew him out for days.
For now, the Hokage turns to Hiro as he speaks, nodding his head in approval as he hears their stay had been quite nice. "If there is anything you need to make it that much nicer, please let me know at any point." he says as he turns back to Tsukino and adds, "Our rivers and lake are quite popular as the weather begins to warm up in the Land of Fire, I even hear some people try jumping off the rails of our bridges into the rivers, though we tend to dissuade that type of practice."
"But, forgive me, I am not quite well informed by my Aunt Tobiramako to know that much about your family, Uzumaki Hiro-dono. If you approve, I would like to hear more about those before me." he says, showing interest in Tsukino and her family members while, secretly, making the awkwardness that Tsukino must be feeling last that much longer, perhaps as a test of something.
Tsukino's eyes narrowed and her cheeks flared when Daisuke talked about the river and people jumping into the water from the railings. ~That little…~ No. No. He was the Hokage. This was a formal meeting. But there was a vein on her temple threatening to burst. He had to know. All these pearls couldn't hide her face that much. And he'd still said it. Hiro blinked between the two of then and sent a questioning glance toward Tobiramako as if checking to see if he'd missed something.
In response to Daisuke's second question Hiro nodded and put his hands together inside the sleeves of his robes. "Tsukino-chan is a Chuunin of our village. She spent a lot of time studying non-shinobi subjects as well such as the arts and tea ceremonies. She was schooled in many such subjects as well as the basics of politics." Tsukino sweatdropped. ~Sell it, grandpa..~ She sent a devious expression toward Hiro and Shigeru paled visibly, jumping a little. "Ah, my sister enjoys drawing as well, Hokage-dono, though I do not believe she cooks…"
And There went that vein. Tsukino's expression melted into a smile that was so saccarine it would have made the tea taste sweet across the room. "My dear brother cannot cook either." If she had a kunai she'd…
Was that a small grin hidden within the shadow of the Hokage's hat that was creeping up on Daisuke's lips. Seems he had completed his test, whatever it was, and was pleased with the results. As for Tobiramako, she just shrugged her shoulders to Hiro as he looked towards her for an answer, having no clue that these two had already met.
"Hmm." Daisuke says as he looks at Tsukino as Hiro introduces her to him. The no cooking through got a raised eyebrow from the Hokage, finding it amusing, though her facial reaction and retort was even more so. It looked like he was having the time of his life up there on his pillow making Tsukino squirm a bit. That is, until Tobiramako clears her throat and speaks up.
"To be fair, my nephew here is no cook himself. He has been known to be a bit of a wild child, and constantly in the past, his antics would get him scolded by my sister, the Shodai Hokage, or myself. To say he is anything more than a rough diamond slowly being polished would be embellishment." she says, clearly having picked up on something Daisuke was doing to make the girl uncomfortable. Daisuke shoots Tobi a look, though his cheeks were flushed and ready to spit fire if they could.
Tsukino spotted that grin on Daisuke's lips. She knew he was up to something and thoroughly enjoying thier positions, specificly hers. He'd clearly enjoyed her reaction to Shigeru's attempt to help sell her to the Hokage and she took a deep breath… Only for the Senju Elder to speak up from behind Daisuke. Her words put a smirk on Tsukino's lips, just a little one, but her eyes drove into Daisuke from where she stood in her formal costume.
Shigeru was smart enough to shut up after that and hope for the best. He knew his sister and he knew he'd only made it worse. Tobi's words had made him blink and Hiro just smiled placidly, apparently thinking this was going quite well.
The fact that Daisuke apparently coudn't cook either and was a wild child made Tsukino seem to relax a bit, though that smirk stayed on her lips. His blush made him look more human than the Kage costume was designed to allow. She liked that he wasn't some stuck up jackass full of his own power and authority. She'd been concerned about that…
Tsukino stepped forward, eyes on Daisuke and with the utmost /innocence/ said, "So, the Hokage is human."
Daisuke mutters something about his aunt that gets a wicked look from her, averting his eyes back from her to Tsukino as she approaches him and states that. He chuckles and says to the girl, "Do not be so sure just yet", a statement that will hold some truth in the coming months and years if they do continue to hit it off enough that Daisuke would reveal just who and what he was. "But yes, I was a bit of a wild child, though I wish my Aunt had given me the chance to reveal that in due time." he says as he shoots her a look.
His eyes return to Tsukino. who had come closer, with renewed interest as he rests upon his pillow, adjusting his feet before he says anything else as they were falling asleep. "Anything else you would say is important for people to know about you, Uzumaki TSUkino?" he asks, a very slight emphasis on the TSU part, though it would probably not be noticed if you weren't close enough to him like she was. "My aunt has pretty much told you my childhood story." he adds with a chuckle. He turns to the family members and asks, "Not just a question to her, but you all as well. As my aunt just demonstrated, unfiltered truth can be a positive thing in the long run." He knew, by her actions, her facial expressions, her wild nature in their previous meetings, that there was more to the girl than drawing, flower arranging, a lack of cooking knowledge, and sealing techniques. He just wondered who would be the first to touch on it. His eyes fall on Shigeru for now, looking expectantly, having picked up that brother-sister interaction earlier.
Tsukino seemed relieved that Daisuke was a wild child, in fact she just seemed more relaxed all around. Which in her case wasn't the best thing. She caught his emphasis on her name and smirked again. But when heasked for unfiltered truth and looked to Shigeru, the Jounin took a glance at his little sister before trying to speak. "Uh Tsukino-chan…" And Tsukino gave him a look. Unfortunately for her, she wsa a Chuunin and Shigeruw as a Jounin and it wasn't jsut for show. He knew he could overpower her if she tried something (it was part of the reson he'd come along). But on the off chance she returned to Uzushiogakure with them, he hesitated. Then plowed ahead. "You should watch out, Hokage-dono, my sister is well known for getting her revenge in your sleep." He ducked a glower from Tsukino then went on to add, "But for better or worse she prefers not to harm others."
Hiro stepped in then. "She has led a life mostly made up of training and schooling thusfar, Hokage-dono, but she is a capeable girl." Hiro's goal was to introduce them and then see what happened. He wanted to leave here in Konoha to function as a Chuunin under Daisuke and his Jounin.
Tsukino, on the other hand, had gone from firey to silent and still when her brother had said that she did not like to harm others. Her eyes were averted and she seemed to have faded a little. Indeed, Hiro had warned Tobiramako that the girl was working through the death of her sister a year before and in an effort to remove all the reminders of that experience, had hoped to form a kind of exchange program with Tsukino being the Uzushiogakure shinobi offered to Konoha in frendship.
Daisuke was amused by the hesitations and looks, something they knew about her that may not be the best information to secure an alliance with a match. He was interested to see what was said first. And then, when her brother spoke, Daisuke almost spit out a laugh, holding it in with a rather odd facial expression suppressing it. "I see." he says finally after clearing his throat, finding the last bit interesting as well. What Hiro added fit well with her amazement at Konohagakure in their previous meeting, which made Daisuke smile. The puzzle pieces were fitting little by little as his opinion of the girl was forming. "Well, if she has led such a life thus far, I can't see why she wouldn't fit right in with Konohagakure." he says as his green eyes sparkle a bit as he looks at her. The sparkle quickly vanishes as he notices her demeanor and averted gaze, wondering what had happened within the conversation. A puzzling look is upon his face as he glances towards Shigeru, then Hiro, wondering what had gone wrong.
Shigeru and Hiro both seemed pleased that Daisuke was welcoming Tsukino to Konoha But Shigeru spotted the look on Daisuke's face. The Hokage was seemingly interested in Tsukino staying and he could see that. Tsukino's sudden change in body language made the Jounin wince. He hadn't meant to bring that up. And it wsan't his place to explain it all but he bowed to Daisuke. "Forgive us, Hokage-dono. Tsukino is still mourning the loss of a sister about a year ago." A nervous glance toward Hiro and Tsukino.
Tsukino caught Shigeru's eye and straightened up a bit, forceing a lighter expression onto her face. Most of Uzushiogakure knew what had happened. So the fact Daisuke did not suprised her a little but she was not in the mood for that discussion at the moment. She bowed her head in respect to Daisuke and simply said, "Please forgive me, that is not a subject for such a time as this." She backed up two steps then and Hiro took back control. "Indeed." Though his look to Tobiramako said he would explain if she asked at a later date.
"Ah, right. Sorry, I wasn't aware of just how much it affected you, though I suppose that was rather dense of me." Daisuke says, feeling a bit dumb. "Having lost family members, I should know such things take time, I apologize." he says, this time directly to Tsukino with an sympathetic look on his face.
"I feel like the mood has somewhat darkened and my rogue question was to blame. Shall we perhaps sit in a more comfortable setting and drink some of the fine tea I received from a wandering merchant the other day? I assure you, the taste will be quite to your liking." he suggests, the room adjacent holding couches and a table, each facing one another across the table. It was the room he usually spent discussing matters with the Elders and Tobi, with a nice set of windows to look out on the village. He figured a change of scenery was needed at this point.
"It was not your doing, Hokage-dono." Hiro said and Tsukino nodded her agreement but yanked Shigeru to the side as they were led out of the room, forcing the Jounin to take the headdress off for her. He laughed and complied, setting the thing off to one side in the conference room. Tsukino seemed much more at ease without it and could see properly with the pearls out of her eyes. She managed a smile and Shigeru helped Hiro and Tsukino by pulling out the chairs for them then standing behind them like a sentry.
Tsukino sat down easily enough. Without the headdress her hair wsa done up in a series of hairsticks and loops with the bottom half simply falling free. She ran a hand over one side of her hair and secured the hairstick better before reaching out to try and take the teapot before Daisuke got a chance. She poured the tea for Tobiramako and Hiro first then for Daisuke and finally for herself and Shigeru. Setting the pot down she slid Daisuke's cup toward him, still al ittle down but rebounding considering the situation. She sipped the tea and blinked, tilting her head a little. "What kind is this?"
Despite the politeness of the comment, Daisuke still felt a little guilty for being momentarily dense, he was like that sometimes with his social interactions. He was glad that everyone moved into the more comfortable seating arrangements, his legs thanking him for not sitting one more minute on that pillow tucked in. He lets out a content sigh as he sits on his side of the couch with Tobiramako, about to lean over and reach for the pot that had been prepared by one of his staff when Tsukino, sans headdress, does the honor. He looks surprised at first, though pleasantly, watching her pour the tea and hand him his cup. "Thank you." he says with a smile, sipping his first taste of one of the fine sample tins he was given by Maren a week ago. He looks down at the rather colorful tea. "Mmn, I like this one. I think it is the scented lavender one. I have recently found a very capable tea merchant and it seems like she can get anything one would need within a week or two. This was one of the teas she 'sold' me on as a customer."
Tsukino smiled a little bit as Daisuke looked suprised that she'd taken the tea pot. Hiro chuckled softly. Leave if to Tsukino to take a 'demure' job like serving tea and exert control over it. Shigeru accepted the tea quietly, just find standing behind the couch. Tsukino sipped the tea again and smiled a bit. "It's very lighht but aromatic. Your tea merchant must be skilled to get such a thing so quickly." She leaned back a bit, setting the cup down on the table. She watched Daisuke as he sipped the tea. Even while he was picking on her in the audience chamber, Tsukino couldn't help but enjoy his voice. So she listened as he spoke, smiling a bit to herself.
Hiro engaged Tobiramako in some idle political scheming while Tsukino and Daisuke talked about the tea, giving them a chance to speak while not being watched like prey. Tsukino sat up again and lifted her foot slowly under the table, eyes on Daisuke and kicked him in the shin lightly with a mischeivious look on her face. "That was for mentioning the bridge." She spoke just loud enough for Daisuke to hear her. But her expression made it clear she was teaasing more than anything, even if she had assaulted the Hokage.
"She seems to be." Daisuke says with a nod toward Tsukino, sipping some more of the tea. He looks out the window briefly, before a sharp pain raced up his leg from his shin. "Ow." he says, giving Tsukino a look before hearing what it was for and smirking. 'Suppose I earned that' he thinks, looking to Shigeru and recalling his previous statement about her exacting revenge when he was sleeping, or, taken in another way, when he was defenseless. Seems he was speaking the truth.
As Tobi and Hiro schemed away on the other side of the couches, Daisuke watched Tsukino for a good few moments as he sipped his tea. He then sets the tea down and says to Tsukino, "Within Konohagakure there are numerous different styles and sizes of housing. I wasn't sure exactly what kind of house you were used to, or maybe wanted to try out, but I was hoping to make it feel like home for you, at least as best we can if you are wiling to stay here. What exactly would suite you the best?"
Tsukino saw she'd suprised Daisuke with that little kick and felt a wave of satisfaction from it. Shigeru rolled his eyes and just sipped his tea, not going to touch it with a long sword… Tsukino responded to Daisuke's little smirk with a grin. Formal robes didn't suit her so much, clearly. Though had they not met before she probably would have remained the perfectly coiffed princess. She /could/ supress her personality if the situation called for it but she didn't like to and she knew that Daisuke would see it foor the lie it was so she relaxed the facade a bit.
She blinked when he asked about housing. She looked out the window for a long moment, thinking things over, caught between two options in her head. Then she looked at Hiro and back to Daisuke. "It might not be.. appropriate…" She glanced at Hiro. "But I.. don't feel like I should demand a house at all… I'm a visitor, and only a Chuunin. Any apartment should be fine and of course we'll pay the rent…" If Daisuke had something set up for her she would probably take it but she wasn't the kind of 'princess' to bring a houseful of stuff. In fact she'd brought a single bag. A big bag, but just one.
"Don't worry about appearances or asking too much, apparently quite a few of the higher ups had known about this meeting, thanks to someone…" Daisuke says, looking at Tobi who was in conversation with Hiro still. "If you truly just want an apartment that is fine, but you are considered an esteemed visiting shinobi, regardless of any other outcomes. Remember what I was telling you about before with my aunt and building the houses? We have plenty of houses and apartments and manors going up all around the city monthly, so you would not be impeding on anyone or giving off a bad first impression." He felt the need to get that out there in case she was being conservative, being in a somewhat foreign land and trying to make roots there. He really did want her to feel at home as much as possible, and who knows where else that would leave her, in housing, in the next few years, an image of his house flashing through his mind forcing him to clear his throat, his cheeks just a little flushed.
He finishes his tea and sets the cup on the table, looking towards Shigeru and then to the two others chattering away before turning back to Tsukino. "You know, I was surprised that you didn't connect some of the dots in our previous conversation. I was glad you didn't catch the giant face on our mountain, though." he says as a tease, wondering just how she could've missed it in her days since arrival, the thing was massive, and a bit gaudy for Daisuke's tastes.
Tsukino flushed a bit as Daisuke made it plain he wanted to make sure she was comfortable. "Well.. Honestly, my father's house is massive. But I have several siblings too. And of course the servants. But it's just going to be me here so maybe just a little house. I know it will be nice if your aunt made it." She sipped her tea again. As he went on to say he was suprised that she hadn't connected the dots from thier conversation earlier she first flushed then pointed at him. "And you never put Tsu together with one of your esteemed visitors?" She smirked, clearly not expecting him to respond. But then she blinked and sat forward, that innocent (kind of dense) expression comming over her face. "You seriously have your face carved into the mountain??" Apparently she /hadn't/ seen it. Shigeru cleared his throat. "If you had looked up instead of down at all the stalls int he market you would have seen it, sister." Tsukino gave him a baleful look, just long enough to make him uncomfortable before turning back to Daisuke. "I was just distracted and then I met this really nice guy at the bridge." Who wanted to look at a mountain after that?
"A house is just fine, I will get Morina-san to go through all your options with you later on, there are plenty to choose from." Daisuke says, making a mental note for Morina to really push for one close to his own, without giving it away. "If you need staff…for things like cooking, please let me know." he adds, his emerald eyes sparkling with amusement.
"Yes, the Hokage Mountain is something my Aunt, the Shodai Hokage, started. It is supposed to be an intimidation factor for those who are thinking of attacking or harming the Leaf in any way, as the Hokage's watch over the village and the surrounding lands. It is quite a staple here in Konohagakure, you can even see it a ways away over the massive walls of the village." he explains.
Tsukino eyed him as he suggested she might need a staff to take care of cooking and considered kicking him again.. But refrained. "I suppose you would know of a good cook." She smirked. Shigerusighed, but at least they were talking nicely enough. Hiro and Tobiramako were winding down thier conversation and watching Tsukino and Daisuke interact, apparently pleased with themselves. The meeting wound down to an ending easily enough and Tsukino agreed to remain in Konoha. Hiro and Shigeru would be around for a few more days but then the elder and his guard would have to return to Uzushigakure and Tsukino would be left alone. Later, she would agree to a smallish house suggested by Morina that, unbeknownst to Tsukino was indeed close to Daisuke's place and directly on the way home from his office so he would have plenty of reason to be around the place if he chose. Tsukino bowed to Dauisuke politely and thanked him for his hospitality, and though the actions were semi-formal, she wore a genuine smile on her face as she did so.
