First Day, First Impressions
After three days, she stood surrounded by her council and said her farewells to the team and guards that had escorted her to the Hidden Cloud. She could feel the eyes of the Raikage on her. He was studying her and his gaze followed her. The Raikage was a man of caution when it came to new people and he could not stop noticing what she did around him. He and his brother stood behind her entourage with some other Cloud shinobi, who knew Naruto and his team. They also bid the team farewell, until their figures disappeared behind the gate. The gate closed with a bang, locking them in.
'And now, let the game begin,' Ayame thought as she turned to the Raikage.
Ayame turned to face the Raikage. He raised an eyebrow waiting for Ayame to speak. He stood there tall and proud beside his brother and Darui. His piercing gaze searched her as she looked up at him. He noticed that she was dressed in a lightly patterned kimono with minimal make-up and small delicate hair accessories. Her stature was tall, but she still was a head shorter than him and she tilted her head back to meet his eyes. Ayame felt that the man in front of her was too tall, and even the height advantage she had and heels combined were not enough to put them at the same eye level. She had always been tall compared to the other girls and boys in her class, but standing in front of the Raikage she felt tiny. Then after a short silence, she gave him a polite smile.
“Now, Raikage, I shall return to my office and sort through my papers before meeting you this evening.” She made sure to use her sweetest voice, her eyes shone with excitement when talking to the man, leaving him feeling more confused by this young woman in front of him. Her way of speaking was entrancing, and the Raikage did not know how to feel.
Bewildered by her voice, he barely got a word out of his mouth “Umm…”.
He froze and missed his chance to answer Ayame as she began to walk inside the building. Ayame smirked as she walked. She knew that the Raikage was already affected by her charm. She plans to break down his walls and make the Raikage see that she is the only one for him.
The stubborn fool has been avoiding marriage for many years, but Ayame would make him marry her and succeed in her mission. Of course, she needs to handle this mission with care and patience. The Raikage is known for his short temper and explosive mood when angered.
After the Raikage had tried to speak up to the ambassador, but gave up after noticing that she had turned to leave. He began to walk to his office, and his team and brother followed. Slightly frowning at her quick retreat. He opened the door to his office and sat down in the chair. “Yo, bro…. Are you alright?” Bee asked his brother after the man sighed loudly, walking cousiously toward the desk.
Ay answered, “I am fine…. I just need…. I.. BEE you are giving me a headache” Feeling frustrated, He lied to him and began to massage his temple, “You may leave now, I need to finish my paperwork.” The others looked at him before saying their goodbyes.
Ay put his head in his hands and asked himself, “What is wrong with me? Why am I acting like this? And why does this only happen in front of the ambassador?”
He closed his eyes to calm himself down. Afterward, he felt a little better and started to work on the papers that had been piling up. He cursed loudly, “Damn you Father, and this cursed paperwork! I hate paperwork!”.
Darui and C walked together in the opposite direction of Bee, who had walked the other way to meet with his team. Mabui sat quietly by the desk outside the Raikage's office, sorting papers and checking the schedule. Darui was the first to speak as they walked the long corridor, “The boss had his head in the clouds today,” he said in a playful tune before turning his head to look at Cee, “I have a feeling that he will act like this for some time now.”
“Do you think so, Darui? He has been quiet and alert lately, but I am guessing that you want to know why he is acting out of the ordinary?” Cee raised his brow as he stopped and looked at Darui. Darui gave him a smirk as he told him “Oh, I know WHO did it!” Cee’s eyes widened and Darui spoke again, “The long pauses, his speech and blank stare ... He likes someone, but you did not hear it from me. His eyes have been attracted to someone lately and I know who it is!”
Cee mumbled, “He likes someone? No way!” Darui has always been good at reading his Raikage’s body language and it did not take a genius to notice that the man was acting differently. Darui could only wonder - ‘Why now? What made the ambassador so special that the Raikage would take a liking to her?’ Cee was confused, ‘Did the Raikage take a liking to someone after so many years?’
Darui began to walk again and Cee feeling clueless followed after him.
Ayame arrived at the embassy and told the people following that she would be in her office to work on her first documents from the Raikage. She entered her study and sat down. Her desk was placed in the middle of the room and chests of drawers lined two of the four walls. A door leading to her private sleeping area was on one of the walls with chests of drawers. From behind the desk, she had an excellent view of the Hidden Cloud, through a window taking up the majority of the wall. Ayame was impressed by the building of the embassy.
Ayame began to work on the papers delivered to her study. Later she would deliver the documents to the Raikage for him to read.
As she wrote, the sun was about to set and Ayame heard a knock on the door.
Misato came in and told her that she would prepare her outfit for the next day. The first day as ambassador is about to come to an end.
“Misato” Ayame called and the elderly lady turned her attention toward her and said, “Yes, lady Ayame?” Ayame looked up from her paper
“Would you please prepare some tea and something light to eat soon?” Ayame looked over her last paper and collected the pile of documents. “I will be heading to the Raikage office to deliver what I have for today”
Misato nodded and asked, “How long will your meeting be?”
Ayame frowned as she thought of an answer, “Maybe an hour or so”
She approached the door and looked back, smiling at Misato
“Don't worry if I am late, sometimes meetings can be prolonged to ensure that the documents are correct”. Ayame slowly closed the door and began to walk toward the Raikages office.
As Ayame walked toward the Raikages office, she asked a guard to walk with her, it was then she noticed that the other guards were watching her every move. She knows that the Raikage is wary of strangers. Ayame passed every guard with her head high and she paid them no mind.
After following the chosen guard to the Raikages office, she bid him farewell and knocked on the door. After a few seconds, she heard a deep and tired voice say, “Come in”.