sunshineverse | Waterlogged

It wasn't the best idea she'd ever had. In fact, she questioned it heavily. She probably could have gotten away with not doing it at all. If he discovered the holiday at some point later, though, or if he somehow knew about it already, there was a chance he might feel offended. He was...difficult to offend, she'd found, but it was still her diplomatic duty to make Konoha look good.

She really didn't know how to do that, she still didn't, and she was still sure that choosing her was a terrible decision, because even if she hadn't done anything wrong yet, she was bound to do something eventually. That was why diplomatic ninja had special training to ensure such things didn't happen. She couldn't be trusted with her own Hokage. Trusting her with another leader was either preposterous or purposefully setting her up for failure.

...But those were concerns for another time. Or this time, if her actions were taken the wrong way and Nagato felt offended by the familiarity of them. Which was possible, if...somewhat unlikely by her experience with him so far.

Still, it felt sort of right? She wasn't the type to get very much for the people she knew back home during this holiday, and Ame's choices of candies were rather limited, but she worked with what she had. It wasn't home made, because she absolutely wouldn't be able to make it, but he'd mentioned during the Konoha chuunin exams that he liked this candy of Ame's...hadn't he?

...She was positive he hadn't criticized it, at least.

Anyway.

She'd bought something, and she'd wrapped it in papers carefully so that it looked a little less absurd than simply handing the leader of a city exactly what he could go out and get for himself if he wanted. She was by default always on duty while serving in Ame, so there wasn't really a time to do it as it would be appropriate for a personal gesture. As it was really meant to be a gift from Konoha to Ame in the spirit of the holiday Konoha was observing that day, though, it seemed appropriate simply to wait for a regular meeting with him as Konoha's emissary, and give it to him at the end of it.

She really didn't know if that kind of a loophole was acceptable or not. This was yet another reason not to have chosen her for the mission at all.

He tended to not go out of his way to seek the girl out, but the fact that she was actually pleased to see him, as much as she was pleased to ever see him it seemed, was heartening in a way. It allowed him to think that perhaps over the next weeks she might settle to a point where she would be less awkward about being in his village.

"Haruno-san. Has your day gone well?"

It wasn't so much that she felt awkward being in his village (though she still couldn't say she was a fan of the constant rain that was a part of it), as much as she was awkward being the diplomatic representative of her country in the village. It wasn't like she wasn't always a representative of it, of course...but usually what that meant was that she simply had to be polite to the client and do her job well.

When the job itself was diplomacy, she had really no idea what to do, even now.

At least giving candy was something that didn't seem wrong, though. "Ah..." Should she inform him ahead of time? Possibly. He might be busy otherwise. "Actually, I have something to give you today."

He blinked, then a small frown came to his face. "You didn't need to get me a gift. I'm content with your presence in my village, so there is no need to repay that."

She shook her head, quick but slight. "It isn't a thank you gift." He was paying her, after all, giving a thank you gift to someone who hired her would be rather unprofessional and silly. "It's...the observation of a festival in Konoha." It didn't seem like there was a more accurate or succinct manner of explaining it than that, and waffling on trying to explain it too long would simply hold him up.

He blinked a few times at that, then reached to accept the parcel, examining it. "What is the festival about?"

"It..." Well, technically the holiday was about a sort of affection that would be inappropriate to offer as a gift of goodwill, but in practical application, it wasn't about that. People tended not to restrict themselves in that way when giving gifts. Perhaps it was better to share less information about Konoha in this case than more. "It's a festival meant to show someone's appreciation for a friend or associate." She gestured at the parcel. "The nature of the gift reflects that of a story from early legends of the Akimichi clan." The truthfulness of it was...suspect, in her opinion, given that simple candy couldn't have restored his energy in the state he was, but either way legend was an appropriate term. "In a harsh winter, the husband of an Akimichi woman was buried in an avalanche and nearly frozen, and she had only one thing to feed him to give him the energy to bring him home alive. In honor of that, the people of Konoha give something similar, so that the person will be given the energy they need to make it through whatever difficult time they encounter in the future."

That...was enough of the truth that it seemed like a fair compromise between being inappropriate and showing good will of Konoha. She coughed slightly. "...Ah. Symbolically. The usual gift...isn't present in Ame..." That was, neither the usual sorts of candies that the citizens of Konoha offered, nor the actual food pills she usually gave to her friends and teammates. (After all, those were much more useful and therefore thoughtful gifts than candy that wouldn't actually give them extra chakra or stamina.)

Edited 2015-03-13 09:40 (UTC)

He stared at her, then the gift, before looking back again and his head ducked a fraction, just enough that his hair swung forward to hide his blush.

Mostly. "Thank you for thinking of me. You could easily have passed it by without my even knowing."

Well, she didn't think it was anything flattering enough to require him to blush. Were her actions inappropriate after all...?

She shook her head quickly. "If I failed to share Konoha's customs with you as you've shared Ame's, I would be...a very poor envoy..."

"Ame has no holidays of this nature. Few holidays at all, actually, given our history rarely makes room for such things." He shook his head slightly, watching her. "It is appreciated none the less."

Well, hadn't Ame existed for a shorter time than Konoha? It stood to reason they would have less such traditions.

For a moment, she hesitated. It seemed like the appropriate response to a lack of holidays would be simply to set out new ones. As leader, it wasn't as if there were any other resident who could make such decisions...

But that would certainly be beyond the bounds of an envoy. Instead she gave a small nod. "Perhaps next year, someone will be able to bring you the appropriate gift, rather than a substitute..."

"I have doubts in a year I would be in a position to accept such a thing." His murmur was wry and soft, and he shook his head. "But the thought is kind none the less."

His statement was...odd. If Ame was opening up relations with Konoha, as he seemed insistent upon, she saw no reason why there wouldn't be someone willing to bring him a proper gift next year. Konoha was, after all, rather...aggressively friendly at times.

Nothing that she could think to ask seemed appropriate, or would necessarily enlighten her any more than she already was. Instead, she simply offered him a confused frown.

"If...for some reason it isn't possible for someone to give you one, I'll try to bring you one myself."

He stared at her then, before slowly dipping his head in inclination and acceptance. "If such a thing is still your wish at that time."

Waterlogged

Feb 14 - Nagato

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