What did one even wear to meet the Kazekage? Back in Konoha, it wasn't such a huge deal to meet the Hokage- maybe it was the same thing here? Still though, she was new to Sunakagure, and though she would probably never see the Kazekage again, she still wanted to make a good first impression. Especially since she was not a shinobi, there was really nothing to expect from her. She had seen her files before, knowing that they consisted of nothing but the basics, with no criminal records or grand achievements. No, Momoko hadn't any idea what was and wasn't presentable for the leader of her new village.
She pushed aside the dresses in her closet again, going through each one to look it over for a few moments before sweeping it over to look at the next one. They were all pretty, in all sorts of nice colors and styles, but which one should she wear? Sango had made it sound like he was rather kind, so maybe he wouldn't really pay much mind to anything she wore? Well, still, one of the first things someone noticed when they were meeting a new person was their attire. With a little huff, she put her free hand on a hip and inspected the dress that she was faced with now. It was pretty, not too formal and actually rather causal, but still nice. Alright, that would do.
She pulled it from its hanger and stepped back into her bedroom. After slipping out of her nightgown, she put on the dress she had picked and turned to look at herself in the standing mirror. Momoko turned to the right, to the left, around to look over her shoulder- it didn't look bad..A smile spread onto her glossed lips, and she turned to face the mirror again.
It was a lavender colored dress, falling just above her knees. It was a light, airy fabric that would make the day not feel as hot as it was. The top was sleeveless, but did cover her chest and came high on her neck. There was an off-white ribbon wrapped around her waist, making the curve of her hips a little more noticeable. She wasn't very curvy to begin with, but there was enough there to still be appealing to the eye. The ribbon had been tied in a cute little bow behind her.
With the outfit approved of, she stepped closer to the mirror and looked herself over once more. Her makeup was light, the soft brown of her eyeshadow made her eyes pop a bit, and the mascara helped to add that touch of feminine beauty that looked so appealing to the eye. Momoko had curled her hair and pulled it into a ponytail, the pale blonde curls brushing against the middle of her back.
Momoko had worn makeup for as long as she could. She didn't think she was ugly, or that she needed it to look pretty, it was nothing more than a personal preference. It wasn't to attract attention or appeal to the male (or female) eye. She liked the look of colored lips and darkened eyelashes. Ninjas usually didn't wear makeup, she figured it was because they wouldn't want to worry about maintaining it in the middle of combat or a mission. Since she would never do any fighting, she figured, why not?
With another little swipe of lip gloss, Momoko gave her reflection and smile and decided that she was ready to meet the Kazekage. She grabbed her small purse and threw the strap over her shoulder, checking once more to make sure that her citizenship papers were all in order, as well as any other vital documents they may need. Momoko had put aside a separate folder with all of her important papers, which she kept in the lower drawer of her desk. Once everything was situated and in check, Momoko slid into a pair of white sandles and headed for the door.
. . . . .
It was a peaceful morning in Suna. The sun shined bright, just as it had every day before. Children played in the streets with their balls and parents watched from windows and pourches. There were few who walked with bags in hands, chatting happily to the person beside them or merely going about the day content and alone. It was a nice day, a new day...from the Kage tower, all seemed right with the world.
There was a knock at the door, and he turned his eyes away from the window to look towards it.
"Enter."
A moment later, a woman walked in, a clipboard in hand as she walked through. She held the clipboard close to her as she bowed before him.
"Good morning, Lord Kazekage."
She was given a nod in return, his eyes turning back to the window as she looked at her clipboard again and began to list the events of the day. It was the same as it had been the day before, only minor differences and alterations. Gaara didn't notice anything particularly different, his days being so routine that it was almost useless that someone came every morning to speak about it. He was more than capable of finding out for himself, but they had insisted, just in the event that he had accidentally skimmed over something important.
There were hardly any clouds today, but the few that rolled through were small and oddly shaped. When he had been younger, much younger, he had tried to find shapes and objects in them. It had been a game other children would play. They'd lay in the sand, laughing and smiling as they saw the fluffy cats and ships that drifted slowly across the sky. No one had done that with him, so he had done so himself, seeing the things in the clouds that were not there. Now a days, they were nothing more than clouds.
"And you have an appointment with Momoko Akiyama in twenty minutes." She said, drawing his attention from the sky as she laid a file on his desk. Silently, he reached out and took the file, glancing to her before turning his attention to the papers. The young woman was not a shinobi, she was new to Sunakagure and had come here a month ago from Konoha. If it was not a mission or a report, what was her purpose here?
"What is the reason?" He asked, eyes still focused on the paper before they drifted up to the picture of her clipped to the corner.
"A request to open a business, my Lord. She turned in the request two weeks ago." The woman said, offering a smile, which wasn't given a glance as the Kazekage's eyes fixed on the files. After a moment, he silently shut it and laid it one his desk once more.
"Thank you," He said, his pale eyes turning to her as he spoke, "You may go."
She offered him another smile, bowing again before she turned on her heel and left the Kazekage alone again. He watched the door silently for a moment, almost expecting someone to slip through again, but when no one did he turned again to his desk. For a moment, he spared the file another look, opening it and spreading the documents for him to see. There was nothing remotely special about her. No training, no criminal record or instances with the law. Nothing that raised questions; through, the clean files themselves were curious. From the looks of it, she was nothing more than an average young woman.
It wasn't often that someone new moved to Sunakagure, and less common for anyone to want to open a shop. The stores that were here now had been here for a very long time, and if anything new did open, it was a family member of someone who had already owned one. He couldn't find a reason to deny her a request, especially since she had already bought the space. The curiosity he felt was mild, nothing that couldn't be settled with the basic questions he was to ask her. If nothing raised concern, she would get what she desired.
Gaara's eyes drifted once again to her picture. He hadn't spent much time on it while the woman was in there, but now that he was alone, he spared the time to give it a closer look. She definitely didn't look like a shinobi, her skin looked smooth and unharmed by years of training and harsh conditions. If he was seeing correctly, she even wore a hint of makeup in her photo. Her pale blonde hair fell down her shoulders in gentle waves, and her smile brought warmth to the photo, though the photo itself was supposed to be nothing more than a form of identification. She wasn't like anything in Suna, though he figured a little while in the sun and she'd have a bit more color than the soft ivory that was in her photo. Still, color or not, Gaara could not say that she was not pleasing to the eye.
Miss. Akiyama left his mind almost as soon as the file closed in his hands. He set it aside, not sparing it another glance as he returned his attention back to the papers that rested neatly on his desk. Picking up his pen once again, the Kazekage lost himself once more in the words and letters of political affairs.
It was 15 minutes later that Momoko had gathered up the courage to finally knock at his door. Gaara laid down his pen, his eyes flickering to the file for a moment before he sat up straight in his chair.
"Enter."
Momoko, on the other side of the door, took in one last deep breath before she turned the knob and walked through. At first, she kept her eyes down as she shut the door behind her, then turned and bowed to the Kazekage.
"Thank you for seeing me, Lord Kazekage." She said, staying bowed for a moment before she stood straight again, finally letting her eyes rest on the Kazekage.
He...well, he wasn't at all what she had been expecting. She had imagined someone older, an elder or a middle aged man. Sango hadn't mentioned him being around her age, though she didn't really say much about him anyway. He looked a year or two older than her, which was what had initially caught her off guard. The puzzlement was clear in her eyes as she stared at the Kazekage, who stared blankly back.
"Is something wrong?" His deep tone cut through the silence, his voice rich and smooth as he spoke. Momoko felt her cheeks heat in embarrassment as she realized she had been staring, and she bowed her head in respect to the leader.
"Forgive me, Lord Kazekage. I hadn't expected you to be so...well, young." She said, a meek smile crossing her lips as she looked away. Gaara said nothing in return, taking his own time to observe her before he turned his eyes away and grabbed the file.
"You're wanting to open a business here." He stated, not wanting to question her about it since he already knew. She looked back to him, a more confident smile spreading on her lips.
"Yes, sir. You see, I've recently come here from Konoha, where my family owned a shop there." She said, telling Gaara what he had already learned from the brief skimming of her file, "Since I am not a shinobi, I have no source of income other than this shop...If you were to grant me permission, that is."
He listened silently, watching her slightly nervous smile as she stood before him. She had good posture, he noticed, though he didn't know why that was a relevant thought in his head. Momoko was only slightly unnerved by the pale eyes that stared blankly at her, and the silence that came from him.
"Your family," He asked after a moment, "Did they come with you?"
There was a noticeable change in her smile, but it still stayed upon her face none the less. She shook her head, her eyes drifting away from him for just a second before they returned.
"No, sir. My parents passed in the spring," She said to him.
"I'm sorry." He said, though she could tell that his words were nothing more than a common courtesy. Still though, she just gave him another smile and shook her head again.
"They passed peacefully...They had lived long lives, and they died happy." She said, not quite sure why she had. It was for there mere sake of keeping the conversation going.
Gaara didn't say anything, instead he nodded in understanding. No, he didn't relate to her in the slightest bit, but he did feel some vague trances of sympathy for her loss. The Kazekage reached into the bottom drawer, running his finger along the files there until he finally came across what he had been looking for. He pulled the pamphlet from the file, setting it on his desk. The papers would give her the permission to open her shop; after a few signatures, she would be free to do as she wished.
"This shop," He said, grabbing his pen once again as he began to fill out the page, "What will you be selling there?"
That question seemed to bring a new light to her eyes, and she gave Gaara the most genuine smile he had seen in a long time, "Flowers, sir! I'd like to open a flower shop."
The pen stopped etching across the page, pausing for a moment as the Kazekage turned his eyes to her.
"Flowers." He repeated again, almost questioning what he heard. He raised his head fully to look at her, his green eyes once again piercing through her.
This time, she didn't seem to falter under his gaze. No, she stood straight and stared back, the smile still on her lips. She was firm about this; he could tell. The fact that she didn't crumble under his gaze, or look away made it clear that she had her heart set. Still though, no matter how confident she was, there were still questions that needed to be asked.
"How will you maintain them?" He asked, now giving her his full attention as the pen stayed in his hand.
"I plan to return to Konoha once a month so that I may get more flowers there." She said, "A friend of mine, Ino Yamanaka, also owns a flower shop and is willing to help gather inventory for me since I am no longer there. With the right amount of sun and air conditioning, I believe I can make it work here."
Momoko didn't just believe, no, she knew that she could make it work. Flowers had been her life for the past twenty years, there wasn't any way she couldn't handle this. Sure, the summer in Konoha was nothing compared to the every day heat of Suna. But, she was prepared for whatever came her way, and had more than enough experience to know just how to handle it. She had the endurance, the capability, and the motivation. The only thing she didn't have was the Kazekage's signature.
"Have you spoken with the Hokage about this?" He asked, the mention of the position bringing the image of a loud voice and whiskers to his mind. Had he been alone, the thought of Naruto would have brought a fond smile to his lips. He wasn't Hokage currently, but Gaara didn't doubt for a moment that he one day would be.
"Tsunade doesn't mind-" She paused, realizing her mistake as soon as it came from her mouth, "I mean...I've already asked the Hokage, and she doesn't seem opposed."
The thought of Tsunade made her remember home for just a moment: more specifically, team seven. She had never been to close to Sasuke, but Sakura had been her best friend and Naruto...Her personal life wasn't any of the Kazekage's business, nor was it anything that he would want to know about either. Besides, Naruto was in the past, all of that was in the past. She couldn't, and wouldn't, dwell on it anymore. Now she had to focus on her future, which was currently printed out on the papers in front of the young Kazekage.
The name slip did not go unnoticed by the Kazekage, and the thought crossed his head that she may have known her as more than just the village leader. Had they been in a more appropriate setting, he would have asked how she knew her. Instead, he focused on the matter at had. She stood patiently as he finished signing his name where it was necessary, before he turned the papers to face her and handed her the pen.
Signing the papers had been one of the greatest moments of her life. It was empowering to feel the weight of the pen in her hand, still warm from being in the Kazekage's grip. She signed it all with a smile, under his gaze, and began to feel that this moment was finally when her life had really started. When she finished signing them, she handed the pen back to him, and turned away as he pulled out the official stamp so that she could blink the few tears away from her eyes.
"Welcome to Sunakagure," He said, holding the pamphlet out for her, "And good luck."
She looked back to him, her eyes meeting his for a moment. He seemed to be sincere in his words, and now that she was a few steps closer, Momoko realized that he really wasn't anything like she had thought he would be. He wasn't some elder or some common middle aged man. No, this was still a young man, and she was beyond grateful to him for doing nothing more than signing his name.
"Thank you, Lord Kazekage," She said, a wide smile spreading on her lips as she took the papers from his hand, "Thank you very much!" Had he been standing near her, she would have hugged him. But all she could do know was offer him the biggest and warmest smile had ever mustered, before she turned on her heel and left the office with her head held high.
Gaara watched as the door closed behind her, still staring in her direction. She had smiled so brightly, there had been so much light in her eyes...Gaara felt his own smile appear, small and hardly anything more than a twitch of the lips. Maybe he would never see her again, but where ever those papers lead her, Gaara wished her the best.
He turned to the window again, his eyes trailing the figure in the purple dress until she disappeared from his view. After a moment, he looked up to the sky.
For the first time in years, Gaara saw a shape in the clouds.
OOC: Don't forget to comment and vote! Thanks for reading!