wap aiko 23: Aiko makes senju friends!! :) :)

She hated to have the thought because it was a lazy comparison, but Hashirama reminded her of a tree. He was absolutely huge. And his hair was quite brown, too, which added to the general impression of the man as he stood straight and still in his dark brown formal clothes and watched her impassively.

'Why does the guy named 'pillar' have the exact build of one? He could quit the Shinobi thing and professionally hold up ceilings.'

She had been led to the middle of the Senju compound. The streets were eerily empty. She could only assume that people had been told to go indoors to avoid her. The clan head was the only person waiting outside for her.

Aiko tried not to visibly react. But it was hard not to stare. He was powerfully built. Madara had been big enough, but Hashirama was in a different league altogether.

'What are the Senju eating?'

"Priestess," he greeted. His dark brown eyes were somber, his voice low. "Welcome to our home. Let us speak in the privacy of the shrine." He had one of those voices that rumbled in your bones. He had changed out of his daily clothes into something that was clearly meant for company. A hint of his wrist peeked out of the long sleeves when he gestured for her to follow him up the winding stone staircase up the mountainside.

Aiko fell in step without comment. She lifted her face up to peer at the clearly maintained path to what must be the Senju's main shrine. It had been recently swept and the grass pulled from the steps. A trio of slugs raced slow glistening lines up the water drainage slope at the left side of the stairs.

Hashirama wasn't what she'd expected. He was grim and serious, more than anything else.

'Of course, the last time I met a Senju I told him that they were welcome to enjoy a mass grave. That might have set a different tone than I'd hope for.'

The man who had led her to the clan stronghold was following at a respectable distance. She couldn't hear him, but his presence was a steady hum in the back of her mind.

'Is Tobirama gone, or hiding from me?'

Aiko wondered about it as she cleared the last stairs and followed Hashirama towards the main shrine building.

'He might have been uh, uninvited from diplomacy. It's hard to think of a way to describe that meeting that would make him seem like a good pick for friendly conversation with me.'

Therefore if he showed up, she could probably assume that they were going to have to fight.

Hashirama slipped ahead and waited on the right side of the walkway. After a moment, the door slid open. An older woman sitting in seiza let her hand fall to her lap and greeted them with a deep, deep bow.

‘She’s important. His aunt or grandmother or someone like that.’

Both of the standing Shinobi returned the courtesy. Aiko eyed the depth of Hashirama’s bow to confirm her theory. Yeah, it was deeper than you would expect from the clan head to a random member. She had probably been above him in the hierarchy for most of his life.

"Please, be welcome," said their hostess. "Come in and have a seat."

"Thank you," Hashirama murmured, and stepped up. Aiko followed him into a room with a low table and more two stone-faced elders.

Ah, hell. Aiko gave each of them a respectful bow and settled on top of the zabuton the hostess indicated. She sat to Aiko's right, while Hashirama went to the opposite end of the table.

Unfortunately, it seemed like they were going to have peace.

‘It would have been faster to fight them,’ she thought, a little wistfully. Now she had to put a genuine effort in.

"You have traveled a considerable distance to see us," said Hashirama. He notably did not express any kind of thankfulness for her travel.

"You're too kind," Aiko said, because what the hell else was she going to say? "Thank you for your hospitality. Shall we have introductions?"

The three elders introduced themselves, both men first and then the older woman. Aiko did not even try to remember their personal names. Senju-san would be sufficient for all of them. It would be absurdly rude to do anything else.

The situation with Madara had not been friendly, exactly. But he hadn’t decided they needed the full formality of beady-eyed elders and a rigid opening process with explanations of everyone’s roles within the clan, along with stiffly offered refreshments and traditional sweets. Aiko made the correct polite noises about the quality of the offerings and the beauty of the setting. Absolutely no one was happy to be there.

It was stifling.

‘Is this how it is to live in a clan compound? I would not have thrived in this environment.’

Hashirama finally took control of the conversation and broached a topic with some substance. “Priestess Aiko, we have heard that there was a situation at the royal court. Our friends have said that a priestess of the valley was present. Do you know of what I speak?”

Oh. That. “I was there,” Aiko confirmed. So they had to go through this. Listless, she resettled on her cushion subtly. “What have you heard?”

This wasn’t really that relevant to why she’d come, but fair enough. Of course they were interested in changes to the political landscape.

Hashirama seemed to be keeping a very deliberate control over his expression and tone. It was very level. “We have heard impossible stories, but they agree on the point that the Daimyo is dead, and his son has not become the Daimyo yet.”

“That’s true,” Aiko agreed. Boring and true.

The muscles around his eyes were too steady. He wasn’t calm, he was controlled. “Are you responsible for the death of our lord the Daimyo?”

Aiko pursed her lips. She’d feel honest answering yes or no. Yes, it was my hand that pointed him out as doomed. No, because he deserved it and because someone else gave the sentence?

“No,” she decided, but she could tell that the pause before the answer had not reassured anyone. “I was a vessel for divine judgment.”

One of the older men scoffed.

It took an instant for her irritation to be washed away with a tidal wave of rage. If another one of these worms dared-

Hashirama put up a hand for peace. “I’m sure you can understand that we have concerns.”

Aiko inhaled slowly and then let the air out with pointed control. She forced her jaw muscles to relax. She dragged her gaze off of the man who she wanted to rip apart with her bare hands. She closed her eyes.

No one said a thing. The room was dead silent for much longer than made any sort of social sense.

When she had her godly passenger under control, Aiko opened her eyes again. She looked over all 4 Senju. They might have been a bit paler than they’d been the last time she’d been paying attention to them.

Fuck this.

“Can we talk about what actually matters?” Aiko said stiffly. She was done. “I am bored with this petty nonsense over the fate of some insignificant degenerate.” She was fed up. “More relevant to our meeting is your woman who came to my shrine and attempted to start a fight with a visitor. I understand that she has claimed I am a pawn for the Uchiha and necessitated conflict. I came to inform you that she was mistaken and no conflict is necessary.”

The Senju glanced at each other as if trying to work out who should speak next.

She stood up. It was unforgivably rude. She had no capacity to care at the moment. It seemed a lot more urgent to leave before someone else provoked Izanami with fatal results. “Do what you like with this information, but don’t place responsibility for aggression at the feet of my shrine. If you would like to pursue peace, I would be happy to facilitate a discussion.” She gave a bow and took a step backwards. “I am certain that you will require time to discuss your choice. You know where you may find me. I would like to… advise you.” The word tasted bitter on her tongue, but it was more politic than ‘warn’. “Izanami-no-Mikoto does not enjoy disrespect. Please do not speak carelessly around me.”

Or snort in disbelief when you’ve been told she’s acting on the mortal plane, apparently.

“Wait, please!” Hashirama blurted out. He stood suddenly. She eyed him. He was lifting both of his hands to show his empty palms. It might have been an act, but he seemed sincere and open. “Please stay. Let the two of us speak in privacy for a few moments. Elders, please.”

Aiko’s eyebrows shot up. She looked over at the elders to see what they would do. She had the distinct impression that the power dynamic wasn’t as simple as Hashirama being in charge.

She wouldn’t go so far as to say that they seemed happy about it. But all three of them gritted their teeth and agreed.

She didn’t really relax as the three elders filed out of the room with correct and polite goodbyes. Aiko didn’t reciprocate verbally, only trusting her self control to nod her head and watch them go.

When they were finally alone, she turned the full intensity of her gaze on Hashirama.