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Great Lakes & Expectations chp 38
🕑 Added 2020-02-12 06:31:53 +0000 UTCRegina woke up the morning of her trip with both boys in her bed. Naruto was protectively hugging her still, even in his sleep.
Sasuke’s little fingers were entwined in her hair.
‘This is going to be hard to get out of.’ She gently moved her head away from Sasuke and felt her hair pull uncomfortably tight. ‘Well, they got what they wanted. I can’t possibly leave without them being awake.’
“Boys.” She whispered. There was a soft snuffling sound into her shoulder.
“Naruto. Sasuke.”
“Noooooo.” Sasuke moaned quietly. “Sleepy.”
“Your hands are pulling out my hair, sweetie.” She tried to reach back to find him with her non-trapped hand, but she couldn’t.
“Unnhhhh.” Naruto whined. He slowly disengaged from squeezing her torso and stretched long, like a cat. “Don’t wanna get up.”
“You can go back to bed, but I thought you wanted to say goodbye before I left.” She ruffled his hair.
His eyes shot open and Naruto immediately rolled off the bed and hit the floor. She heard Sasuke do the same a second later.
“Okay kaa-chan, we’ll get dressed and come back!” Naruto was already down the hall.
‘Oh. They were serious about walking me to the gates, I guess. I thought they’d give up on that once they realized it would be at 4:30 am.’
She slid out of bed and went to her closet, where she’d already laid out her travel clothes the day before. She counted everything again in her head- she had enough kimono? Enough nice Western clothes? Travel clothes? Warm things? Underwear? Lethal accessories?
It all made her head spin. It was a lot to think about.
But it was all there- as much as she kept thinking that she’d forgotten something, there wasn’t a single thing anyone could come up with that she hadn’t already planned for or packed.
Her clothes were vacuum-sealed in bags, in chests, that had been sealed into storage seals that would go inside her pocket. Nothing extra to carry.
‘Ugh. It all feels so wrong. Maybe it’s just because I’m nervous.’
Shimura-shishou had given her an update that the other Elemental Nations had been invited to the meeting, which was… not helping.
‘I’m not sure I really want to meet most of these people in person.’ She slid on her traveling clothes and made sure that all of the ties were perfectly secure. It would be a horrific time to have a wardrobe malfunction. ‘The Raikage is weirdly aggressive enough in letters, and intelligence out of Mist is a nightmare. Rock… I don’t even know what to say about them. Isolationist aggressors? So they probably won’t be coming, anyway.’
She breathed out, trying to settle her nerves. Regina would eat a good breakfast, walk to the gate with the boys, and say goodbye.
...Then wait up to two hours for Kakashi-san to show up.
Regina shook that off and walked down the hallway. The boys were gone, so she walked down the stairs.
She found them in the kitchen, where Ikemoto-san was resignedly portioning out early breakfasts to the extra intrepid adventurers.
“I prepared bento as well.” She said to Regina. “For you and Hatake-san. I do hope he’s not as picky as you are.”
Regina did not care to respond to that.
She ate her breakfast in a leisurely manner, trying to enjoy every bite. They boys had gobbled theirs down like they’d never seen food before, and just stared.
“Kaa-chan, aren’t you excited?” Naruto asked, head quirking to the side. “You have an adventure!”
“I’m just enjoying the moment.” She replied, drinking more of her coffee. ‘Actually, I should check where the hell the beans are from. That’s not a native plant.’
“Could I see the bag for the coffee beans?” She asked, which seemed to baffle Ikemoto-san. She went into the pantry and brought out a sizable bag.
‘Yep. From the Americas. Must be traded via Lightning, then. That’s probably way marked up.’ Regina mused, ‘And probably through a middleman. I don’t think we have any trade with the Land of Lightning for… reasons.’
Those reasons being war, a series of human trafficking/kidnapping incidents, and mutual utter hatred.
“Thank you, Ikemoto-san.” Regina chirped. “That’s all I needed to see.”
Ikemoto-san took the bag back with a tight mouth, evidently unsure of what the hell Regina had been looking for.
Regina finished her breakfast, downed another cup of coffee, and then let the boys lead her out to the genkan.
“Come on, come on.” Sasuke tugged at her coat. “You can’t be late.”
“I won’t be!” She reassured him, patting him on the back. “It’s fine. I promise. Let’s get our shoes on.”
She investigated the genkan to make sure that packing her multiple sets of geta had not been a fever dream (it had not), and tied up her boots. The boys slid into their open-toed shoes and opened the door.
It was still dark out, which was really hampering Regina’s mood. This was too early to be doing anything.
But she stifled the complaint, aware that it would only further empower Naruto and Sasuke’s considerable heck force the next time she had to make them go anywhere.
The gate guard at this hour wasn’t anyone she knew- a scarred-looking Jounin with an intimidating mega shuriken thing on his back.
“Good morning.” She greeted, and the boys echoed.
“Morning.” The man blinked. “Papers, Rejina-hime?”
“Here.” She handed them over with care. “Has my escort arrived yet?”
He huffed. “No. There’s some seating over here, if you want to wait.”
She bowed. “Thank you.” Then Regina turned back to the boys.
Sasuke was scuffing his shoes into the dirt. Naruto was looking around, as if Hatake was going to pop out of a bush like a rabbit.
“Okay, then.” She leaned down. “I’ve got to say goodbye, because you two should go back to bed. It’s early.” She held out her arms. “Can I have a hug?”
Naruto leapt into her arms and gave her a vicious snuggling, and only stopped when Sasuke pulled him off. Sasuke gave her a much more reserved hug, but obviously attempted to breathe in her hair scent.
“Love you both. Be good, do your stretches, do your homework…”
They both seemed to react to that with mild disgust. “No talking about work this early.” Sasuke commanded. “It’s sad. I’m sadder now.”
She blinked.
He gave her another hug. “I’ll miss you, and I’ll take care of Naruto.” Sasuke promised.
“Ikemoto-san, Gai-san, and Ebisu-san will take care of you.” She corrected. “But thank you for looking out for each other.”
She stood and pointed back at the gate. “Go. Now. Before I start crying and ruin my makeup.”
They giggled, but immediately bolted back through the gate and in the direction of the house.
“Cute.” The guard said, obviously bored. “You can wait here for Hatake-san.” He gestured to a lit booth with a cushioned chair. “He should be here soon.”
She took the seat and pulled out a book from her bag- a dull but informative tome on Iron’s founding and first governments. She sat back and began to read.
A short time later, there was a shift in the breeze and the rustle of dried leaves. Something light hit her head. Probably a shunshin. Regina looked up.
Hatake was standing there, looking remarkably unimpressive for having bothered to make an entrance.
‘Seriously, why not look at least a little bit cool if you’re going to get leaves in my hair? You’ve already gone to all the trouble of making me look.’
“Saaa. Good morning. Shall we get going, Rejina-hime?” Kakashi asked, gesturing in the vague direction of the Fire Daimyo’s palace.
“Good morning. Yes, thank you.” Regina tucked the book bag into her bag, after marking her page with the leaf he’d blown into her hair. At least it had been useful. “Let’s go.”
The driver she’d scheduled for 6:00 am (half an hour after they were supposed to arrive) pulled up.
Kakashi looked at her. It was definitely judging.
She delicately climbed into the carriage, feeling her injured ankle whine in protest as she climbed the couple of steps.
‘Definitely a good call. Running would have sucked immensely.’
“Am I supposed to ride in there with you, Rejina-hime?” He asked flatly. Oh, he was judging her for not running, maybe? Or possibly for accurately predicting how late he would be.
She turned to look back at him and blinked. It was too early for attitude. “You can do whichever you want. I’m not running today, for sure.”
He rolled his eye and clambered into the carriage, sitting across from her. He pulled out his own book- a well worn copy of Icha Icha, and settled into the seat.
The driver closed the door behind them, and they set off on their way. Regina got her book out again and continued the dull task of becoming an expert on the Land of Iron.
They rode in relative silence for hours, until they finally reached a spot to stop for lunch. The driver got out and went into a kyuushoku place.
Regina scowled. ‘I don’t want to eat that.’
She pulled out the bento from her bag. They were still cool.
“This one is yours, I think.” She offered it over to the other side of the cabin. “It has fish in it.”
It disappeared from her hands instantly.
“Hashi?” He asked, sounding curious.
“Mmm. Yeah.” She found them in a separate bag, probably to keep them from getting dirty. Ikemoto-san was a net good for her life. “Here.” She handed them over carefully.
“Did you cook this?” He asked. She didn’t look up- she’d opened her own bento and was munching quietly on her seasoned beef and tamagoyaki while still reading. So, Iron had been controlled by Samurai for the last fifty years or so? Interesting, but very unfortunate for their previous Daimyo.
“No, I don’t cook. I have a housekeeper.” She said offhandedly. Mmmm. Eggs were good.
He huffed. “That’s a security risk.”
“She was personally vetted by the Hokage.” She replied. “But if you don’t want to eat what she made especially for you, do that. I won’t eat it.”
There was silence.
She heard the small clatter of the lacquerware against each other, which meant he’d at least opened it.
“Miso Saury?” He asked.
She slumped. “Kakashi-san, I don’t know. I didn’t pack it and I don’t eat fish.” She flipped another page. “Do you like it?”
“Yeah. I do.” The hell of the thing was, he sounded suspicious. She lowered her book to look at him.
He was staring at the bento with intensity. His mask was down around his neck, but she could really only see the top of his nose.
“I mean. Are you worried or something?” She asked, hesitantly. “You don’t have to eat it, even though I doubt my housekeeper in particular hates you enough to poison you.”
“What’s your housekeeper’s name?” He was now trying to sound casual, but it was too weird of a question. He had to know she wouldn’t buy it.
“Ikemoto Yua. Retired Chuunin.” She replied quickly. “Is there a problem?”
“...No.” He popped some into his mouth. He still didn’t look up.
‘I’m never going to see what this weirdo looks like, am I.’
“Okay then, that’s good.” She lifted her book again and went back to reading.
“That book looks boring.” Kakashi said, much more casually. “Is it?”
“It’s very informational.” She said diplomatically. “I mean, it’s for work. Is your work reading ever personally fulfilling?”
“Nope.” he agreed. “So you are working right now.”
“It’s not a month-long vacation, no.” She re-read the last sentence again. ‘Mifune-sama has been their general for over two decades? Christ.’
“Hmm.” The previously overwhelming fish smell in the cabin began to lift, he must have eaten it already.
“And this is a diplomatic mission.” There was a question in that statement, but Regina couldn’t ‘read the air’ enough to know what it was.
“Yes. About trade. You got your briefing?”
“It was a bit vague. ‘Protect a vulnerable princess on a month-long excursion to foreign lands’, was what the Hokage said.”
“No details?” She asked. “That doesn’t even necessarily mean me. You might have lost another princess back there in the bushes.”
“I knew it was you. And that we’re going to Iron, after the Fire Daimyo’s palace. That’s all.” He sounded a bit terse.
“Mmm.” She responded, still trying to focus on her book. It would be hard to be as good at this as possible if she didn’t finish her research.
“Do you have more details for me, Rejina-hime? As it’s kind of my job to keep you from dying, details are important. Is there a reason this wasn’t a whole team?” He pressed.
She put her leaf marker in the book and set it down.
When she looked up at him, he had his mask back on. His bento was sparkling clean.
“It’s a forum on trade.” She supplied. “We’re going to the Fire Daimyo to assess what exports the Land of Fire has for trading, and what market there is for imports, and what imports either already have demand or could be cultivated. Then, we’re making a stop in Wind Country to meet with their Daimyo, even though that’s entirely out of the way, for the same assessments. I will be compiling a finalized report on what we can reasonably offer other countries in trade, and where we can conceivably get them from. After that, we go to the Land of Iron, where we meet with Mifune-dono to discuss Iron’s economic interests.”
She waited to see if he parsed any of that. He seemed to.
“I believe that they have invited the rest of the Elemental Nations to participate in these trade talks. I am supposed to act as a good-faith negotiator with Mifune-dono in these talks, as well as an economic talk with a representative from the British Empire.”
“And who are they- your home country?” He asked curiously.
She waved her hand. “A massive empire, as I said. But not my home country. We share a language, however, which means that I’m needed, or at least desired, for any fair negotiations with them.”
“Ah.” He leaned back and got comfortable on the cushions again. “And I’m your bodyguard.”
“Yes. But I doubt there should be much trouble- as everyone is invited and we’re not currently at war, it doesn’t seem as likely that someone would bother. Unless they like having a terrible economy, I suppose.”
She paused. “Or are very opposed to external influence and trade. That might bother some people, actually.”
He hummed. “You’re forgetting one- if they really hate Jiraiya-sama.”
Regina blinked. “Or that.”
She didn’t dwell on it.
They arrived in the capital city of the Land of Fire in the afternoon. Kakashi-san leapt out and then let her steady herself on his arm.
‘So that’s the palace, then.’ She thought, looking up at the fortified seven floor castle. ‘Looks a bit like home.’
But for that it was black, with black trim.
‘Surprisingly severe. I thought most castles were white.’
A troupe of ANBU appeared in front of her, indicating that she should follow them. Kakashi walked to her left, suddenly all business.
They led her past the beautiful and winding gardens- the cloud-trimmed trees, and the rock garden in the shape of the fire kanji, past a set of massive gates that probably functioned as a barricade, and up on a small path that skirted the massive stairs that were meant to make a horseback invasion possible.
They were seated in a conference room on the first floor, and one of the servants came in with tea.
They waited.
At exactly 3:00 pm, the Fire Daimyo walked into the room, flanked by ANBU and several other older men.
She and Kakashi stood as one.
‘I didn’t see the Daimyo up close last time. He’s even older than I thought.’
“Jiraiya Rejina-hime of the Land of Fire, Hatake Kakashi, son of the White Fang…” They bowed. “I welcome you to my palace.”
“Daimyo-sama.” They bowed again.
They continued the ceremonial pageantry for another ten minutes, until the Daimyo took his seat at the head of the table. “Let’s begin.”
The ANBU spread out to the corners of the room, and Kakashi stood directly behind Regina’s chair.
The other older men continued to stand behind the Daimyo.
“Jiraiya-hime, it is good to meet you again.” He smiled a little, which mostly served to further remind Regina of a turtle.
“And it is good to meet you again, Daimyo-sama.” She bowed her head. “I believe we have much to discuss today.”
“We do.” He agreed. “Have you come with suggestions?”
“I have.” She opened the folders that she had brought with her. “After researching the current industrial capacity of the Land of Fire, as well as its nearest trading partners and competitors, I have some suggestions for both trade to the Land of Iron, as well as overseas exports and imports.”
“May I see them?” He held out his hand.
A shinobi popped out of nowhere to her right, and she handed them the files with both hands. They reappeared at the end of the table, where the Daimyo took them.
‘Unnecessarily wasteful, but whatever.’ She glossed past it. Rich people loved to show off their perceived authority and power. Not news.
“Of course, Daimyo-sama. The first page is the report on our current economy. The Land of Fire mainly produces agriculture and shinobi, as we know. However, there are significant opportunities in other infant industries in our country.”
He read slowly. His lips occasionally moved, as if he were reading out loud. Regina stayed silent.
After a few boring minutes in which she had thoroughly inspected the wall behind him for mites or stains (none), he spoke.
“...You propose to not deal directly with this Empire you speak of, but to trade through the Land of Iron. Why?”
She’d kind of expected that. “I had two reasons for suggesting this course of action. Again, the Land of Fire is rich in agriculture, but not so many other natural resources. The Land of Iron lacks agricultural capabilities due to geography and weather, but has technology, medical supplies, and other exports that the Land of Fire needs. The other concern is security-based. The British Empire is famously given to invasion, war, and weakening countries who possess desirable territory or resources. I wish to provide them with as little information regarding the Elemental Nations, and the Land of Fire in specific, as possible. As of right now, they are limited to one isolated port in the Land of Iron, per my previous recommendations to Mifune-dono.”
“And do you believe that we have nothing to offer this Empire, other than vegetables?” The Daimyo asked amusedly.
“Far from it, Daimyo-sama. Exports of luxury goods such as silk cloth, camellia oil and combs, and lacquerware would be very desirable and I suggest trading them through Iron to the Empire, as a proxy.” She folded her fingers delicately.
He tapped the paper. “You explicitly advise against trading silk worms, iron ore, copper ore, and other natural resources, which could be good for our economy.”
She bowed. “Yes. Due to the relative low cost of returns, compared with finished goods. We could export lumber, but we would make much more money if we export furniture, or lacquerware, even with the cost of labor and specialization. This also limits any other country’s ability to compete with our export market- if we sell our silkworms, we may very well be competing with the Land of Lightning to sell silk fabric. Selling only the final, finished product stabilizes demand and price.”
He blinked and processed that, and read on. He opened the next folder. “And this is your proposal for the Land of Wind?”
“Yes, that is correct, Daimyo-sama.” She bowed her head yet again. “The Land of Wind benefits also from our agricultural largesse- but has significant mineral wealth in gold, silver, and iron. While this is currently difficult to extract, investment in this area would significantly enrich our ally and enable them to trade with us more fully and to participate in overseas trade.”
“And you want to use the iron ore to make steel.” He rubbed at his temples for a moment. “Another ‘finished good’, as you call it.”
“Exactly so, Daimyo-sama.”
The room was quiet.
“Advisers, do you have any questions or suggestions?”
The men behind him bowed.
“Jiraiya-hime, if this Empire is so dangerous, why trade with them at all?” The man on the left asked.
She recognized him from Danzou-shishou’s files. Ukida Matsuo.
“Ukida-san,” she nodded. His chest rose up with self-importance. “It is a fair question. When I was first visiting the Land of Iron a year ago, I was asked to mediate discussion between the crew of a wrecked ship from the British Empire.”
“Yes, we have heard.” Ukida-san said, giving her a nod. “And received very positive response from Iron as to your conduct.”
“Thank you.” She bowed. “At the time, I realized that while the sailors had not intended to reach these shores, that it was only a matter of time before another ship would come. The British Empire has seized Chuugoku for their own, and will be sending ships constantly to the area.”
She examined their faces. The one on the right- Moriyama Enoki- looked a bit pale.
“The options at the time as given to me were to determine what to do with these sailors, including killing them and disposing of the bodies.”
They flinched.
“I reasoned that killing them had a very limited chance of success- if it was ever discovered, the British Empire would likely respond with overwhelming force.”
The Daimyo nodded. “A difficult position.”
“And yet they could not feasibly be repatriated into Iron, due to existing isolationist attitudes and lack of language skills.” She looked directly at the Daimyo, but avoided actual eye contact. “So I proposed the third option, which we now discuss today. To send the sailors back to their homeland, with a ship full of goods, and propose trade. I had hoped that this response would secure their trust and interest- providing our economies with a much-needed trading partner, and pivoting them to peaceful trade instead of potential conquest.”
Moriyama nodded, very slightly. The Daimyo looked evaluative.
“The British Empire has access to both goods and technologies that the Land of Fire could benefit from receiving- in manufacturing, travel and transport, and medicine. I reasoned that we would be able to trade our desired luxury goods with their inventions and technology, in order to rapidly improve our economy and secure stability.”
“Did that answer your question sufficiently, Ukida-san?”
“Yes, thank you, Jiraiya-hime.” He bowed lightly. “It seems the reports regarding your education were accurate.”
‘That’s a weird sort of not-compliment, but I’ll take it. At least it hasn’t done sideways so far.’
“I believe I would agree in the face of such overwhelming arguments.” The Daimyo said seriously. “It would be advantageous to secure more revenue in this manner. We have a significant surplus of rice and fresh vegetables, as well as tsukemono and tea. I see that you consider trading tsukemono, shoyu, and sake with this outside country, is that correct?”
“Yes.” She nodded again. “Sailors are infamously low on foods that are non-perishable and provide vitamin C, among others. Tsukemono is high in nutrients and keeps well. Shoyu and sake would be considered finished luxury goods to a country that has no such foods and beverages.”
“Interesting” He steepled his fingers. “I believe that this proposal is good, and I accept it on these terms. Excellent work, Jiraiya-hime.”
She bowed a little lower this time. “Thank you very much, Daimyo-sama. It is my pleasure to serve.”
He gestured to the folders. “Are these documents mine to keep, Jiraiya-hime?”
“Yes, Daimyo-sama.” She bowed yet again. ‘So much bowing.’
“I have other copies for all parties to these agreements, and have prepared extra.”
“Good.” He picked them up and handed them off to Moriyama-san. “We will continue to review these, and may send you any further questions or suggestions while you are in negotiations. I trust you will keep us informed of any developments.”
He stood up.
Regina stood up and bowed again. “Of course, Daimyo-sama. I will let you know immediately if anything changes.”
He bowed, she bowed again, and then he left, taking his ANBU and advisers with him. A moment later, a different ANBU appeared in the doorway.
They followed the ANBU to a smaller diplomatic residence on the other side of the garden, where they were evidently going to be staying for the night.
She waited until the ANBU was at least not visible to look at Kakashi.
He looked bored.
“And think, you get to do this with me all month.” She said with faux cheer. “Aren’t you thrilled?”
“Ecstatic.” He said blandly, slipping his book out of his pocket and relaxing on the floor. “I’m learning so much about trade. And goods.”
“Just what you’ve always wanted, I know.” She stepped around him and stretched. Her neck popped.
‘Ugh. Fucking bumpy carriages. That’s gonna get old really fast.’
“I’m going to freshen up.” She informed him, as she headed to the bathroom. “I think we have to eat with the Daimyo.”
He grunted.
“How are you going to eat it, if it’s fish?” His voice wafted from the other room, as she was putting toothpaste on her toothbrush.
She felt her face pull into a frown. She knew it had been likely.
“I’ll eat it and suffer, obviously.” She responded. “I hate it, but I have manners.”
There was an evaluative hum from the other room, and the sound of a page flipping.
Regina brushed her teeth dutifully, before taking a shower and changing clothes into what was going to be demanded of her station for a dinner with the Daimyo, instead of a working meeting.
When she emerged, fresh, clean, and with her hair up in a towel, Kakashi was still on the floor, reading. He hadn’t changed.
‘So lucky.’ she griped. ‘Bet they don’t expect any of this pageantry out of you.’
He didn’t reply to that, partly because she hadn’t had the nerve to say it out loud. She searched around her trunk for a hair dryer, because this place didn’t have one for some godforsaken reason.
“Any threats to my person yet?” She asked disinterestedly, as she re-emerged from her trunk empty-handed.
“Mmmmm not so far.” something rustled behind her. “Except a cold if you don’t get your hair dried.”
She didn’t even pause. “There’s no medical basis for that whatsoever, you know that.”
“I didn’t.” A page flipped. “Good to know I don’t need to waste money drying so many towels anymore. Kami knows I need the ryo for other things, since my income’s been slashed.”
She blinked.
But there was her hair dryer. She lifted her prize out of her trunk and quietly shut the lid.
She did not respond to his passive-aggression regarding his pay, because she’d personally made sure he came out as close to even as possible. She wasn’t a dick.
Comments
Ellen
I'm a bit surprised that as Fize kage she hasn't more protection on this important trip. I'm a sucker for fluffy cuddling. I think the young trouble makers are cute as hell and love Reji a lot. Go, Reji! Show them how awesome you are!
Linny
I'm glad that Naruto and Sasuke were mostly excited about her leaving on an "adventure", and not sad about her *leaving*. Although they'll no doubt miss her a lot. I appreciated the politics! Regina has such an upper hand in that she knows the kind of goods that are/will be popular to Western audiences. And it's annoying, but I guess Danzou has been useful, what with briefing her on important people she might meet.
