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Post by j8cob on Mar 2, 2014 3:07:33 GMT
The Official End of Kiri's Occupation
Prefect No More
j8cob, Roro, Lesli Summary:
The former prefect is tried by Rika before all of Kirigakure. After deciding that she won't execute him, Rika instead gives him a job. However, her intentions for him go beyond just his new mission for her...
One Week Into Timeskip
Meditating on the hard wooden bench he wondered how Saitsuru, his second-in-command was doing right now. Having been imprisoned for a few days already, not having bothered to keep count, he had since long banished the thought of 'what-if' scenarios. They wouldn't help to improve his situation. In fact, they'd probbaly make him feel even worse. Eversince he had been captured by the 'new' Mizukage, he had accepted his faults, and didn't bother dwelling on them. Instead, he had tried to find a new, better way to rule a political entitity such as a shinobi village. How would it be possible to lead such a militaristic entity to a more peaceful composition?
Originating from ninja clans combining forces and forming a solid state in order to prevent the previous order of incessant strife, making contracts with local daimyos to be provided with sustainance in exchange for military might. It was a vast improvement compared to the previous system of nearly autonomous clans in a loose feudal system, but it had also proven to be disastrous in a certain scenario. As soon as all the clans and the entire land itself had been absorbed into larger congregations and 'villages', their goals would inevitably conflict, resulting in war. The only difference was now that these wars were fought on a scale never seen before. The destruction was less intense, but a lot more widespread. Instead of entire clans being utterly destroyed, it was entire regions being thrown into war. That could have been solved by fixing the nature of shinobi. The armed forces of every nation, who were so amazingly strong a single one could beat a hundred normal people. With their weapons and the abolishing of the shinobi ways, they could have gained a monopoly on warfare with the only weapons being steadily availible being their state-owned muskets.In time, this monopoly could have expanded into a monopoly on violence in general, and righteous violence that was. That would be the way to a better and safer society for all. The creaking of iron in rusted hinges drew him from his train of thoughts, but didn't disturb him enough to halt him from meditating. Footsteps in the hallway made him aware of someone approaching, and the soft iron tingle every step the man made produced told him he had the keys of his cells. Not that he had any plans to escape, but it was in a way comforting to know that finally his judgement would come.
From down the hallway, the young jonin approached the holding cell. In fact, it was none other than Hiroshi Genji, the personal aide of Rika Suzu. Though, he didn't carry his sword with him. Once in front of the cell, he stopped at looked at the man inside. "It's time," he said, before brandishing the keys. With that, his solemn expression remained as he opened the cell door and stepped to the side, to allow the prefect room to walk past and down the hallway. "I was instructed to give you a heads-up of what's to come. You'll be speaking in front of the entire population of Kirigakure," Hiroshi told him, though his look turned to a glare. "I would start preparing your speech now if I were you."
Slowly looking up as the door swung open on equally rusted hinges, which surprises him - they should've seen enough use during the reign of the previous Mizukage - and sent the young man a calm look. "A speech?" He said, slowly getting up with the calculated and calm movements of a man at age. He wasn't exactly old, but old enough to feel old after sleeping in an uncomrfotable cell for a week. "I must say that I'm intruiged. Does your master intend to have me admit all kinds of heinous crimes in exchange for something? Or is there more behind it?" He contonued ona normal conversation tone while testing his joints and following the young souldier.
As the two walked down the hallway, they turned into a sort of lobby area. Already, it would be visible that there were several other shinobi on standby. It would seem that the prefect was being given a proper escort for security purposes. "To be honest, I don't know what she is planning," Hiroshi confessed as the two walked along, being joined by some of the shinobi. "From what I'm gathering here, she is giving you one last chance to defend yourself. But I could be wrong. Rika has her madness, but I must confess that there is always a method to it." The group approached the door to the outside and halted. Now, the shinobi formed a circle around the prefect. "After all, she seems to care enough for us to ensure you make it to the stage in one piece."
Nodding as the man spoke he rubbed his stubbled chin and ungroomed beard while walking out in broad daylight. It blinded him, and for a moment he hesitated in a natural reaction against the bright light, before following the group of shinobi protecting him. Rapidly blinking his eyes he looked at the crowd gathering, and resisted the urge to try and look for familiar faces. "Sounds sensible enough."
The group moved into the open. The sky was clear, and actually surprisingly warm. Though, this may have had to do with the mob of civilians and shinobi that had amassed in the streets. Though the crowd was rather orderly in all considerations, it was by no means quiet. The prison was two blocks from the city square in front of the Mizukage Office. So the tight group had to wade through this crowd the entire way there, which was not fast by no accounts of the word. Occassionally, it could be discerned that Hiroshi was swearing under his breath about one thing or another. But finally, the crew reached the square. A wooden platform had been erected in front of the Mizukage Office, with a small flight of stairs leading up to it. Alone on top of the platform was the Mizukage herself, sitting on the edge of it while donning her Mizukage robes. Rika was notably short enough that her feet didn't even reach the crowd beneath her while they were dangling off the edge. Once the group reached the stairs, the moved to allow the prefect access to walk the rest of the way on his own.
Walking on the platform when they finally reached it uneventfully he looked down at the sitting Mizukage, garbedin the traditional long cloak and hat. Storing his hands in his sleeves behind his back he waited for her to take up the word, unshaken by the enormous presence of the public and the shinobi around him. The crowd, suddenly seeing the not particularly remarkable man climb the platform, fell silent as they observed the one who had ruled over them, barely a week ago. He wasn't exactly impressive. Dressed in a rather simple yet comfortable kimono, his usual well-groomed moustache and beard now overgrown with stubble and his rather long hair, somehat crudely tied together in a small ponytail. It had the colour of silver, with hints of the black it used to be still peeking through.
Once the crowd fell silent, Rika looked around for a moment. She appeared rather calm, almost nonchalant about what was going on. Without looking back toward the man standing behind her, she began speaking to him, loud enough for those closer in the crowd to be able to hear her. "I thought about your words. Every fiber of my being drives me to want to end your life on this stage," she told him, before raising her hand toward one of the nearby shinobi. In response, a sheathed katana was tossed toward her, which she caught with the outstretched hand. "But... I'm going to give you one last chance to defend yourself. Prove to me what you did was not only acceptable enough to let you live... but prove to them." The young woman now stood up and turned to face the man briefly. Though she was significantly shorter than he was and had to look up to him, her expression conveyed all the sincerity of her words. "You have the stage..." Rika walked around the prefect now, to stand behind him and to the right. Her eyes locked onto him.
Finally being confirmed in his suspicions of what was expected of him, he looked at the crowd gathered around him, letting his gaze slowly circle over the men and women of Kirigakure. "Good morning, citiziens of Kirigakure. My name it Tatewaki Yoshida, former prefect of Kirigakure. I have been sent here to enforce Shoji's laws and bans with force, if necessary, all for the great good. Sadly, our well-meant endeavours haven't been well-received, and here I stand disarmed and dethroned, and I suspect that my collegues in the other villages hae or will suffer the same fate. But thanks to the generosity or a sadistical whim of your Mizukage, Rika Suzu, I am allowed to defend my name, and explain our cause." He cleared his throat and tried smearing his voice somewhat, a week of dungeon-dwelling hadn't helped him much, but he continued nevertheless. "In order to completely understand our goals, we must look back in time. Quite a lot in fact. A little bit more than 60 years ago, there were only clans of shinobi, locked in a never-ending war. Life was short and hard, and peace was as rare as a diamond in the rough. After a while, mighty shinobi clans combined and formed villages, improving their own safety from external threats. More clans combined according to the same principle, and the current shinobi nations were formed. The first true lasting peace in centuries had been forged, and the people and the land prospered under the new and revolutionarily equal system. However, it had been proven in the first great shinobi war, which most of you will probably remember as well as I remember the founding of the villages, that it is far from an ideal system. Tha absolute reign of shinobi in the militaristic villages and on the battlefield, combined with the size of the villages, set the stage for a long and hard global conflict of a scale never seen before. This time, everyone was a victim of the war."
He coughed again, trying to stop his voice from turning hoarse. "And this is what we tried to solve. By monopolizing all forms of warfare and abolishing the lethal and unstoppable shinobi arts, we wanted to create a new society that was directed towards peace, and prepared for war, instead of the other way around. If only the soldiers, armed with the muskets provided by the village's governments would be allowed to fight, in service of the nation in order to protect its people, a lot of senseless and unrequired violence would cease to exist. Not only that, but it would create true equality. The battlefield of today is ruled by clans and great hereditary houses, where a single warrior can easily kill a hundred common men without breaking a sweat. This is one of the reasons why the shinobi areso hard to control during a war, and why unprotected and innocent, yes, even neutral places were often destroyed, or worse, in the wake of the fighting ninja." Turning towards the Mizukage now, he finished his speech. "And that is why, we saw it in the best interests of the land, in order to create a lasting peace, to abolish the shinobi system, and replace it with laws."
Rika contemplated on his words a moment, not removing her gaze from his as she thought. Only after a moment did she look out toward the crowd of people. Her people. The silence over the city was surprising, considering the amount of people packed into the area. But the silence was finally broken. "Well then," Rika began, lifting the sheathed sword up. Before she continued, the young woman tossed it to the prefect, figuring he would catch it. "Were you aware that your boss, leader, superior, whatever you want to call him... Shoji Hakouten, that he had amassed a weapon of mass destruction and intended to use it on the villages?" Rika asked, now pacing back and forth while she kept her eyes on Tatewaki. If he looked closely, he would be able to see the anger in her eyes when it came to the subject she spoke of.
"Yes, I was aware of Project Kenyou. It was deemed necessary as a tool of deterrence against inevitable rebellions. We never truly intended to use it to destroy an entire village, since that would antagonize the other villages." He replied honestly. Carefully observing the Mizukage's face he had a dark suspicioin of something, and decided to press into that matter. "You wish to know wether or not I approved or Iwagakure's destruction? Please, Mizukage-sama, do you see me as a monster? It's not only unethical, but also terribly impractical, and probably the reason our plans haven't succeeded, compared with mismanagement of the villages."
The Mizukage didn't stop pacing as he spoke. And once he was done, she continued for a moment longer. When she stopped, she made sure to face him. "Though... Using a deterrant would imply that your organization was prepared to end the lives of thousands of innocent people for your cause. In all honesty, do you think it is worth the level of sacrifice Ippozenshin attempted? That achieving a total peace would be worth building it on the bodies of millions?" After she finished talking, she walked close to the prefect. She stood almost close enough to make him uncomfortable. "Were you prepared to accept the consequences... of succeeding?"
"In the way you are putting it, yes, we were." He replied with the same calm voice he had been using during the entire conversation. "Although not all of us truly approved of that. We were prepared to sacrifice everything for a lasting peace. The lives of many, the reputation of ours and our children, we were ready to make ourselves the eternal villains of history if that would improve the situation of mankind right now."
The short woman's green eyes seemed to bore a hole into the prefect. "You and I have very different definitions of what a monster is," Rika spoke, though her voice was low enough to keep the crowd from hearing. Almost a whisper. With that, she backed up and walked around him to face the crowd. "So tell me, Tatewaki... What are you willing to do right now to ensure peace?" Though she asked the prefect the question, she was examining the crowd, to see their reactions to whatever it would be that he would say.
"Whatever is necessary." He replied, but after a short period, adjusted his answer. "Whatever is the most efficient and practical to reach peace." He replied, ignoring the public as if he was having a friendly conversation with the Mizukage in the privacy of his, or her office. The young woman examined the faces of the crowd. Most seemed to be paying absolute attention to what was unfolding on the platform. While there was plenty of variation, she was able to determine a general consensus of their feelings on the subject. "Very well." Rika turned around and placed her hand out, with the palm upwards. She was expecting him to hand her the sword back. "If you indeed are willing to do whatever it takes for peace, you will listen very carefully. There is no force in this world or the next that can bully its way with the people. You aren't going to be the last to try something like this, I believe. But while free will is not maintained, there will never be a success. So with this in mind, you and I are going to make some compromises."
Nodding as he handed over the sword, he felt a new respect bloom for this young lady. Perhaps, he thought, he had been too narrowminded in his beliefs that Shoji would be right. Or rather, he had never been, but Shoji had the means to start something big enough. And this lack of interaction with the newer generations, those that went through the shinobi war as children, and those born after it, might have proven his ideas about the entire caste wrong.
"You will be working for me now," Rika began, moving the sword to her side. "For them." And with that, she motioned with her head toward the crowd. "You are to renounce your previous organization and pledge allegience to Kirigakure... If that is difficult for you, just remember that you aren't the only one that wants to find peace in this world." Rika turned around and threw the sword back to it's original owner in the crowd. "Oh, and one last thing... You are to apologize." The Mizukage looked over her shoulder back at the prefect now, to see how he would react to her stipulations.
A sly smile broke through on his face as he heard her demands. "You want me to apologize? You surprise me, young lady." Surpressing some laughter he nodded several times before clearing his throat again. I, Tatewaki Yoshida, denounce my allegiance with Shoji and all his affiliates, and pledge loyalty to the village and people of Kirigakure, and I wish to express my sincerest apologies for the inevitable friction caused by my short-lived reign over the village."
The crowd was silent, not quite sure how to process this. Were they to cheer and accept him? Or remain quiet so the two on stage could continue their conversation? The silence seemed to win out and Rika turned to face the former prefect. "Good. We have come to an understanding. You aren't a horrible monster... and neither am I." With this, Rika motioned for Tatewaki to step down from the platform, as she herself was heading toward the stairs. "I will provide a place for you to stay the night, away from the prison that is. Tomorrow, we will go over my plan for you and get things in motion. Sound agreeable to you?"
Not particularly waiting for him to respond, the shinobi escorts he had earlier gathered around him again and started to lead him back to the prison. While the crowd began to grow in volume, it was simply that everyone was conversing with themselves again about what had just happened. As everyone began to disperse, Rika started to walk back toward her Office. However, without even looking, she pointed toward one of the shinobi that was next to the stage and motioned for her to follow. It was one of her ANBU.
And the ANBU would follow the Mizukage instantly after the gesture. The ANBU, which followed Mizukage, made no sound at all. No questioning or such. The ANBU agent simply followed the Mizukage to her Office. The masked person would sink on a knee, bowing the head deeply out of respect and loyalty as they arrived in the Office. Once the two were alone, Rika sat in her chair behind her desk and removed the Mizukage hat. "Kimi," she began, before opening one of the drawers on her desk and removing a file. "Tomorrow, I am going to send the former prefect on a mission to the Land of Fire. He will be escorted by several of our nin with the goal of preaching, just like he did today and when I met him, to the shinobi of the mainland." With that, she handed her over the file. "Your job is to ensure that he does not make it across the ocean."
''Understood, Mizukage-Sama.'' The ANBU responded. She kept kneeling down, holding her head down. No questions, objections or what so ever. The woman that held the name Kimi, wouldn't even dare it if Rika would say otherwise. All her life she had been taught to give her life to the one that held the seat of Mizukage. Her goals and wishes in life were to simply follow and achieve the commands of the Mizukage. Everything else than that wasn't worth of striving for.
"And one more thing," Rika added, almost as if she forgot to mention it. "Make it look like an accident. If that requires eliminating the escorts, then so be it. I want him dead and I want no suspicion. If you do this well, I may have bigger... better things for you to do." With the serious talk aside, Rika started to smile. As well, her sweet voice actually started to seem sweet now that it wasn't speaking of morbid things. "I have arranged your ship to leave tomorrow at one, just an hour before the prefect will leave. If you don't know how to operate a ship, as I certainly don't, I would advise you either get familiar or find an equally sneaky way of eliminating him. Any questions?"
Listening to the words of her superior, the one she would follow to the end as long she held the Mizukag title, Kimi was a bit surprised by her words. Bigger? Better things for her? The mind of the woman played a bit with the words, but she didn't lose focus. ''I will make sure that everything goes as you wishes, Mizukage-sama.'' Kimi answered, thinking about something. ''Does the Mizukage-sama wishes somebody to carry the blame of the targets death?'' Kimi asked, having neither further questions or the courage to ask more. She was sure to keep her head lowered as she kept her kneeled position.
The young Mizukage thought about it for a second. "I would prefer if it looked like an accident, but if you find that cannot be the case... make the blame fall on Ippozenshin. Let us say that they are outraged one of their prefects would side with shinobi and..." Rika suggested, before pretending to hold and fire an imaginary rifle. "We have't destroyed their weapons yet, so if you want to use one of the rifles you may. So long as the act cannot be traced to you or me, the mission will be a success." With that, Rika withdrew something else from her desk. A kunai knife. "Regardless of he dies, I want you to return with his blood on his kunai. I want to be certain that he felt pain." The Mizukage tossed the kunai to Kimi, expecting she would catch it.
Catching the kunai, not even raising her head, a testimony of her Silent Killing mastery. Silently the left hand stored the kunai away in the pouch, away from the other kunai in the holster she had on her right leg. ''If my Mizukage-sama wants the man to suffer, I will make him go through hell.'' She told Rika with her calm voice. ''And will rather die then fail you, Mizukage-sama.'' The woman said, meaning each and single word.
This made Rika smile. "Fantastic. I will organize your cover story for tomorrow in a few minutes. If you require any resources, you don't even need to ask. Use whatever you deem necessary," Rika concluded, now standing up from her seat. "I will be expecting your return tomorrow night. I will be in my Office, for sake of convenience. You are dismissed." Rika walked over to the door and opened it, waiting for Kimi to exit first. "And one last thing... have a good day." With that, Rika offered the ANBU a smile.
Slowly raising up as she noticed that Rika walked to the door, Kimi kept her head lowered, again as a sign of respect to the shorter woman. ''You're truly kind, Mizukage-sama.'' Kimi reacted when Rika said she wouldn't need to ask for any rescources. It would make it indeed easier for her to end the complete the mission. As the woman was almost out of the office, she noticed the smile of Rika. And those words. For a moment, Kimi froze and was likely after it glad that she had a mask on. Her whole face turned pale. ''Being in your presence has blessed my entire life, Mizukage-sama.'' Making a deep bow, Kimi walked away. Though it would take some time before she would have some color on her face again.
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A day later.
The wind was blowing in his face, and he was overthinking the surprising turn of events that had allowed him to end up here on this ship. Looking backwards at the horizon where he knew somewhere Kirigakure rested, he kept telling himself there was something wrong. Then again, either he was just being paranoid, or he was being outplayed by the Mizukage. Something he didn't have any trouble accepting, but it still irked him nonetheless. As he stared at the distant stripe separating skies from seas, the ship beneath him released creaking noises as it changed direction. The rudder had unnoticed to him swiveled to his right, which resulting in the ship being forced into a large swerve towards his right. Turning around he saw the island blocking their path in the distance, a part of a smaller group of islands he remembered from looking at the map. He couldn't quite remember the names of the group, but what he did remember is that there were some rare herbs on these islands, resulting in a small port being erected to allow daring merchants to build a trade around it. One of his assigned shinobi, what else, bodyguards stood next to him as he observed the sandy shores. He wasn't in the mood to talk, neither was the shinobi. Most likely he was just making sure he wouldn't escape or anything. On second thought, he noticed, he probably was unsure of Yoshida's position right now, being accepted by the Mizukage in this sort of unspecified position, which resulted in the man doubting between just supervizing him or roughly telling him to forget these plans of escape.
"I never learned to swim, lieutenant." He said, earning him a soft nod before the man took his distance again. He could've been lying, but the soldier took his word for true, or at least seemed to. Which was good enough for him.
''Lady, they are in sight.'' A male voice said. A mask denied any view on what kind of facial features he might had. Maybe he had an attractive face? Or maybe he was ugly as the night? Kimi didn't care for that in the slightest. When she heard the words, she simply made a nod. Men and woman yelled as they prepared their plan. Kimi looked around, observing the people that operated the ship. It wasn't bigger than their targets, but if her plan would work, nobody would suspect anything. How could they? They both sailed for the same village. The people on the ship of the prefect would see the ship with Kimi on just sailing in view, coming from behind the island. The woman folded her arms as she looked at the waves. The dark blue waves seemed so calm. For now. Looking up, she caught sight of the ship that would need to be destroyed. And everybody on board dead. Everybody. The thought didn't made her hold her breath. Killing fellow Kirigakure nin was not the thing that made her worried. It was that she had to be sure to collect the blood of the prefect. The fear she had for the Mizukage was great enough that Kimi would likely swim to the depths of the ocean if she had to retrieve the blood of the man. ''Send them a greet. A proper one, captain.'' Kimi calmly ordered with a serious voice. The captain yelled an order, on which some of the sailors began to cry greeting and wave at the ship they were approaching. It would just look like they were in for some talk. Something that wouldn't be too strange since their origin was from the same village.
Another ship, suddenly appearing as they rounded the island, quickly got close enough to yell greetings at them. Yoshida, in his long life having been a naval officer serving the Daimyo of Sunagakure in their attempt to clear the Southern seas from pirates many years ago, wondered why they didn't use signal flags or flares to send messages. Maybe the navy of Kirigakure wasn't really well-developped? That was strange for a rather isolated nation like Kirigakure, but who could really know. Maybe they had fallen out of favour due to sensory nin? But then why hadn't they talked through sensory nin? Why would there be any sensory nin on board of his ship anyways? He managed to subdue his suspicion, which he had named 'healthy' in times of war and chaos. Instead, he decided to just look at them and continue doing what he had been all along. Thinking.
As the ships got closer, Kimi kept looking with a calm stare in the direction of Yoshida's ship. Nothing would make the crew on his suspect of what would happen. The nin under her command, were hiding. Hidden and crouched out of view, their rifles prepared. The captain frowned in the direction of Kimi. ''Send the flare now.'' She ordered on a calm tone. The captain yelled the command and from there it went fast. Even faster than Kimi had planned for. One of the hidden away men fired a flare into the air. On that command, the crouched armed shinobi jumped up. Each chosen for having an excellent aim, chose out their targets within moments as they fire their weapons. Not just randomly shoothing around, but aiming at their collegue shinobi. After the first volley, Kimi pulled out her kunai as the calm waves would make place for something that wasn't calm at all. From underneath Yoshida's ship, a pair of fangs easily bite through the wooden hulk of the ship, making it tremble as a result. While Kimi stared at the target, walking to the side of the ship, the large creature would continue it's foul work. It would continue to damage the ship further, with it's fangs, while holding it to it with its paws. The musket armed shinobi kept firing at everybody, but not Yoshida, for some reason.
He was throroughly shocked when they attacked, as he had managed to concince himself that they were friendly. His face only showed a mild disappointment in his own abilities as he awaited what was to come. The moment he had felt the ship sudder, he could feel that the stem was broken, and that they would inevitable sink. Once, a long time ago, he had submitted to the knowledge he would die at sea once, and he found it ironic in a way that despite meeting Shoji and leaving the navy many years ago, he found himself here again. Perhaps this was the Gods' way of saying that it was time for him to go. Having survived many perils and dangers through skill and luck, his recent failures having brought him here in the waters he once considered his home. He looked at his dying bodyguards, and at those still alive, and knew that this battle was long since fought. Most of his guards had been on the deck to look at the other ship, those still inside would be far too outnumbered to do anything useful. So he decided to go the way he had once seen as the ideal way to go. His hand dropped on the familiar handle of his tachi, and he sank through his knees a bit, analyzing where the next attack would come from. By now, the white clouds of musketfire had already frited away, revealing the corpses of practically everyone on his ship, but him. He didn't doubt his own fate as the muskets were raised again, and in the short moment of utter silence, only disturbed by the sound of the water and the ships, he found his old heart he had thought forgotten.
''Shoot everybody that appears on the deck, except for me and the target.'' Kimi ordered. No answer came, but the musket armed nin would open fire on any unlucky person that would rush on deck. With a jump, Kimi landed with an elegant move on the deck of the other ship. Her trap had worked without a flow. The ship had stopped to tremble as the creature in the water didn't continued its work. With a slow and cautious pace, the masked Kirigakure ANBU approached the former prefect. She held no mercy, pity or whatsoever against him. All she saw was the way for her to obtain Rika's gratitude. All she would want from the Mizukage. Flipping the kunai, given by Rika, the ANBU slowly approached the man, who now without any guards. No defenses against her. An unfair fight, considering she had her weapons and ninjutsu. Standing just two meters away from him, not saying anything or making a move, it seemed that Kimi was expecting any last words of him. Or maybe a prayer for is life?
Suddenly he swirled around towards her and tried gutting her with his first swing as he released the tachi sword from its scabbard. He had once heard a mainland samurai call it 'iaido', but he had been thought the term battojutsu. While on the mainland the manouvre had transformed into an art, to which many dedicated their lives, but for him, it was all practicality. Following his sword as it went he followed up his diagonal upwards cut with another diagonal upwards cut to the other side as his old wrists commanded the blade to follow the movements his mind had planned out for it.
Moving with his movements, Kimi managed to parry his attack, though it seemed she flinched by the impact. Now he was this close, she grabbed him, with her free hand, as she waited for the sound. Muskets sounded, aiming at Yoshida. ''Long Live Kirigakure.'' Kimi hissed as she would keep the man in her grip, while another few would shoot their muskets on the man. Knowing their aim wouldn't fail her, Kimi locked her eyes with his, knowing he could see the pale blue eyes behind the mask.
She grabbed him in a swordlock and for a moment they stared at eachother. He could see her rough texture of the mask hiding her identity, the small cracks in it, the speckles of the water on it, and the beginning of salt forming on it due to being at sea for so long. But he saw her eyes. They were a pale blue with a hint of grey, and bore not a sign of remorse. As the muskets breathed fire and smoke once again, his back was ravaged by the leaden balls, tearing into his flesh. He shivered and felt the familiar pain of being hit by a small projectile, and collected his rasping breath. The blood streaming over his chin didn't make it easier too, and as his tachi dropped on the wooden planks of the ship's deck, he looked right through the shinobi in front of him at a figure only he could see.
"Many times we met
Today my sword is dull
I join the sea of peace."
As the man weakened, Kimi had now little problem with pushing a bit back before the light of the sun flashed on the steel of her kunai. With a quick thrust, Kimi plunged the knife in his neck. With her other hand, she supported him, like she wanted him to die standing. Exerting more force on the hilt of her weapon, Kimi suddenly twisted the weapon, damaging more tissue and wanting to increase the chance of ripping open his artery. Slowly, she made a step back, as she wasn't mortally wounding him in cold blood, but as if both were doing a serious ritual together. As she had made a step back, Kimi pulled out the kunai, before making more space backwards, looking with her cold eyes at the man in front of her. She wouldn't end his life right away, as Rika had ordered to make sure he would suffer. And she would follow that order, being sure to watch the man die his death, in a pace that wouldn't be too fast.
After some moments, Kimi would kneel down. His blood had stained the wood, still flowing out of the grievous wound she had inflicted on him. Not to mention the aimed shots of the shinobi that were under her command. Without giving the man a look, she dipped the kunai in the blood, making sure there would be enough of it to color most of the blade red. Once her deed was done, she rose up and walked to jump towards her own ship. The ship that was ordered to carry Yoshida to the main land would tremble and shake again as something large under water started to ravage the ship. Landing with grace on her own ship, Kimi glanced over her shoulder. ''Head back to Kirigakure.'' She ordered as she thought about something. Storing the blood stained kunai away, she had decided on something. That was a nice poem.
The next night in Kirigakure.
Walking in her ANBU atire, Kimi held a blood stained kunai. Standing in front of the door, that would lead to the Office of the Mizukage, Kimi knocked several times. But she was sure that knocking wouldn't be really needed. Rika would already know she would report the result of her mission. Waiting for the reply of the woman, Kimi waited patiently, pondering on what bigger part she had planned for her.
"Come in, come in," Rika called out from behind her desk. Her voice easily pierced the door and she waited for Kimi to close the door behind herself before continuing. "So I've already heard reports that Yoshida was killed. Nothing detailed yet, so so far it looks like you're in the clear. Care to debrief me?" Rika asked, taking out a paper and pen to write down Kimi's story.
Kimi nodded as she sank on one knee, lowering her head as she held up the kunai. The dried blood was something that wouldn't be missed. With a calm voice, Kimi responded to Rika. ''We managed to make it look like the attack was one of his previous co-worker and comrades. The bodies of the nin and sailors were pierced by bullets. Same with the target. I made sure that he suffered and died, as you wished, Mizukage-sama.'' Kimi reported. ''Other than that, we made sure that it looked like an ambush of the enemy as we eventually later returned to one of the islands, asking around if people had seen the act. We stumbled on a few who could report they had heard something and saw white smoke coming from a shipe, before the other sank. Meaning the population believes sooner or later a splinter faction is trying to harm Kirigakure, Mizukage-sama.''
A smile formed on Rika's face. "Perfect. You've avoided detection," Rika remarked, scribbling down Kimi's details on the paper. After a moment of the only sound being pen on paper, Rika set the pen down and looked back at her ANBU. "I'm impressed. Things are going quite well now, and with the prefect out of the picture and someone else to blame for it, we can move on to more important things." The Mizukage withdrew a file from her desk. It was thick with papers, almost like a book, and appeared rather old. "I was planning on making a new spy network based on the design of my uncle. Though his design is older than I am, the general model is clearly effective. We just need to make a few modern changes to allow it to function in this day and age." Rika set the file down on her desk, closer to Kimi's side, and paused to see if the ANBU would detect her hint.
A moment of silent moved into the office. Kimi wavered as she kept her head still lowered. She heard the hint, but was unsure if Rika had said that on purpose. She wanted to react that it was too much of a honor to work with Rika, but somehow the choice of words seemed not right with Kimi. But staying silent too long wouldn't fall too well either. ''If my Mizukage would request this of me, I would be more than honoured and grateful to aid her.'' Kimi replied, saying on her knee and head lowered. In her head, all kinds of reactions of Rika played. All kind of scenario's.
"Good. Now, to start out, I noticed that the previous Mizukage tried to implement his own spy network. There is a disturbing lack of documents on it, leading me to believe it failed. So my concern is how it failed and how many people know about it. As you worked with the man, do you have any details on such a thing?" Rika asked, before pausing and looking out the window. "You know what? Let's skip that part for now. This design is obviously superior to anything he could've orchestrated anyways. What I need you to do is find some people you trust. They don't have to be other ANBU, or even skilled for that matter. We will make them skilled. Study this file so you have a better understanding of what our goal is and recruit accordingly. We'll start small, to test it out, so I expect... ten? Yes, ten will do. Any questions?"
Kimi looked up, going against all what she had learned. All that had forged into her, as she asked a question. Her voice was soft and a bit shaken. ''Mizukage-sama, why me?'' The woman asked. She wasn't sure what she had done to receive this kind of promotion. In her training, she had learned there was only one kind of promotion. To make Kirigakure a better place by obeying the Mizukage. To hear Rika wanting her to lead an operation like this made her surprised. And she wasn't sure if she was pleasant surprised or worried.
Her words made Rika quiet for a moment. She seemed to be taken off guard by the question. "It's simple," she began, now leaning back a bit in her seat. "You passed my test. I needed two things: skill and loyalty. You managed to cover up what could've been one of the biggest political upsets in the world, all on your own. That's skill. And you were willing to kill your fellow shinobi for the cause. That's loyalty." Now, Rika stood up and walked around her desk to stand in front of Kimi. "Though there are others I can choose for such a position, I have judged that with your orthodox thinking and clever execution, you can lead a project like this better than the other prospects." Rika turned around to grab the file from her desk, before handing it to Kimi. "And by the way, the throat stab was a nice touch." With the revelation that Rika had someone watching her, she gave Kimi a wink.
The words of Rika caused a shiver going down her spine. Not that she had been placed in a test. After all, she viewed each mission as a test. A test if she would be good enough to serve Kirigakure, helping it to become greater. Even the fact that Rika had somebody watched over her during her previous mission wasn't what caused the spine. It was because of the wink and the road that was now in front of her. ''If the Mizukage wishes my humble skills in this, then I will try to not disappoint her.'' Kimi said after accepting the file. Her left hand trembled a bit, as she briefly glanced at the file. The promotion was clear, but Kimi had a lot of questions. But it wasn't her place to ask questions.
"Splendid," Rika remarked, before almost skipping back to her desk. She looked the bloody kunai over, a smile still on her face. It seemed almost eerie the way she examined it, but after a few seconds she set it down. "Before I dismiss you, I have one more thing to ask of you. Something a bit more personal." The smile faded as Rika turned her green eyes toward Kimi. "How would you compare me... to Fumiyo?" she asked, her sweet voice sounding notably diminished by seriousness.
First word that came into Kimi's mind was : Different. But that wouldn't suit well. She quickly used all words that would suit Rika, but then she knew the right word. ''The right person to lead Kirigakure, Mizukage-sama.'' Kimi said with a confident voice. She even looked straight in Rika's eyes as she waited for Rika's response on her answer.
The young Mizukage pondered on this for a moment, before closing her eyes. "I guess I could be doing worse," she mumbled, before opening her eyes again and looking at Kimi. Her smile and cheery demeanor quickly returned. "You may take your leave now. Once you have ten potential spies lined up, you can approach me either here or at the mansion. If I'm at neither location... Just wait a spell for me to return." Rika opened one of the drawers of her desk and moved the bloodstained kunai into it.
Slowly nodding, Kimi rose up and made a deep bow in Rika's direction. Keeping her head lowered in the deep bow, she spoke again. ''You can count one me, Mizukage-sama. I shall be sure that you won't be disappointed.'' Kimi said, slowly walking back in the bow before turning around as she straighten her back. Though it was actually too late to work now on the plan, Kimi couldn't help but already think about what Rika had given her. Her heart skipped a beat as she realized what kind of positions she had received. Not only a way to make Kirigakure greater, but also to win the approval of the Mizukage if she could pull this off. If she could pull it off...
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Post by j8cob on Mar 2, 2014 4:37:52 GMT
Nightmares
A rare glimpse into the mind of Rika Suzu... Two Weeks into Timeskip
Bodies. Bodies everywhere. The ground was litered with them. The streets were lined with blood and corpses. And she could recognize every single one of them. Not all by name, but she has seen every face. There were signs of battle, judging by the ruins of the buildings across the village, but it was more akin to a slaughter. Hardly a structure remained standing, and debris filled the floors of the ground level. It looked like a full scale war had broken out. But most of the bodies were innocent civilians. All left with faces of shock and terror. The young woman stooped down to examine one particular body that looked familiar. Upon flipping the corpse to lay on it's back, the bloody mess proved to be someone all to familiar to her. She stood up and backed away, her eyes still locked with the vacant ones upon Hiroshi's body. This was wrong. Very wrong. Something was incredibly wrong. And then she saw him.
Further down the street stood a lone figure. He wore a large black coat, but it was evident he wore the Leaf jounin vest underneath. His boots were covered in blood, much like the katana in his right hand. The Konoha headband was visible just below the short-cut red hair. But the striking feature she could see was the blue eyes. A perfect calm. The sight of his tranquility boiled her blood. Their eyes locked, but that was not greeting enough. "Jinkama Moto!" Rika angrily called out, as if she was confirming his existence. The large man didn't react. Something about him seemed odd. He didn't look like she had last seen him. No. But Rika couldn't figure out what it was. He appeared as if he was much younger than the last time she had seen him. But Rika was only thinking how much he deserved to die.
The big man adjusted himself to properly face the small woman now. A small smirk formed on his face, and this only enraged Rika further. "Die!" the small woman shouted, forming her trademark handseal. As the markings spread across her skin again, Jinkama launched himself at her. Though there was a few street blocks between them at first, the gap was closed remarkably fast. The swing of the bloodied blade still only met air as Rika bent backwards to let it pass over her. Using that momentum, she swung her left foot up, to kick her foe in the jaw. But despite the window of vulnerability, the man was still fast enough to avoid the blow, lashing out with a backswing with the katana. Though it was the blunt end, it merely passed through Rika as she flipped back onto her feet.
Looking into his eyes now, Rika could see they were no longer blue. They were red. Such a small difference, but it changed his demeanor greatly. He seemed much more frightening. Rika reached into her clothes now, withdrawing a wire. Upon this wire dangled dozens of exploding tags. The trademark sizzle began, but that was all it did. With impressive speed again, Jinkama swung his blade, making sure to pass it through every tag. All of the tags, now perfectly bisected, failed to detonate. This thoroughly surprised Rika, as the big man used his left hand to swing at the small woman. His fist only passed through her, but she quickly moved out of the way, sending a kick toward his face while he was in such an awkward position. But as her foot neared his face, Rika felt only pain.
The tip of the sword stabbed through her foot before it could reach his face. She quickly became intangible again, but the damage was done. As Rika got back on her feet, her left foot felt too fragile to put weight on. Now her blood was on the sword, and it was also spilling onto the already bloody street. How could he be so fast? Rika watched as Jinkama stood upright, seemingly done with the fight. "We aren't through," she told him, but he only shook his head and turned around. "There was never a fight here. I will only kill you, like I've killed everyone else. I've already destroyed your spirit and your past. All that's left to destroy is your body. And if I did that, I couldn't keep torturing your mind," he said, his voice also sounding significantly younger. This made the young woman freeze, but anger quickly consumed her again.
In one quick move, Rika withdrew one of her daggers and lunged at Jinkama. With his back turned and her perfectly noiseless, he stood no chance. But as she drove the dagger into the back of his heart, he only stopped walking. No blood formed from the wound, and Rika's face quickly changed to express her confusion. When Jinkama turned around, knife still in his back, his red eyes seemed even more vivid. And then she felt pain again. Massive amounts of it. Rika fell to her knees, letting out a grunt of pain. She knew this feeling. But it couldn't be. As she began to claw at her shirt and twist her right arm forward to try and look at the back of her shoulder, the world around her and Jinkama began to fade away. No longer were they in the ruins of Kirigakure, surrounded by the sea of blood and bodies, but instead were now in an ephemeral blackness. A world of nothing.
As the older man looked on to this display, Rika finally saw it. The Dragon Seal on her shoulder. "But..." she began to stutter, before looking back up to Jinkama. She knew it was gone. It was removed. This couldn't be. Everything was so wrong. The bodies, the ruins, a young Jinkama, the Dragon Seal. She tried to get back to her feet, but much to her surprise, Jinkama began to move again. He reached behind his back and withdrew the dagger. It was perfectly devoid of blood. And as Rika finally managed to balance herself on only her feet, she never made it to full height. With the impressive speed from before, Jinkama brought the dagger into Rika's midsection. More pain. The young woman looked down and saw her blood leaking from her body. The older man let the blade go, and Rika fell backwards. Now lying on the ground, a pool of blood beginning to form underneath her, she realized what this was.
It was a nightmare.
Upon coming to this conclusion, more figures suddenly appeared from the blackness that surrounded her. Dark, featureless figures. But as they approached, they suddenly turned human. They began to circle around her, as if they were examining a corpse. The first one to turn human took the form of Zakito Hon. The next that approached was Soru Deshuga. And one by one, Dragon Lotus members began to surround Rika. She wanted to wake up, or at least to be able to look away from their faces. But she couldn't. And the last figure stood over head. And as Rika looked up to see who it was, she already knew before her eyes confirmed. Chase Irozaki. She looked on silently, to see what would happen next. But they all merely stood over her.
This clearly wouldn't do. Rika began to pick herself up again, despite all the pain. The pain from the Dragon Seal, the pain from her injuries. As the young woman pulled the dagger from her abdomen, she saw her wound seal itself up, perfectly clean. But blood was still on the blade, and now on her hands. Upon looking at the ground, the pool of blood also vanished. Her foot began to feel marvelously better too, and a quick glance confirmed it was suddenly healed as well. "I think she thinks she's alive," Chase commented, but his voice was vastly different. It was the voice of Dragon. Then Katar spoke up, his voice also the same as Dragon's. "Definitely. This bitch just doesn't learn."
"Learn what!?" Rika snapped, before jumping onto her feet. The pain of the Dragon Seal never subsided, but she was overcoming it nonetheless. This earned a round of dark chuckling from the people surrounding her. "You are dead, Rika. You've always been dead," Zakito spoke up, his voice like the others. This earned an immediate scowl. "Shut up!" Rika lashed out with her dagger, slashing it across Zakito's chest. But as it passed through, his body changed into black wisps of smoke, vanishing into nothingness. The others didn't react aside from chuckling. This only drove her mad. Rika swung out again, stabbing the blade through Jinkama's head. But this only caused him to vanish like Zakito did. But the chuckling continued.
One by one, Rika attacked every figure there. And each one vanished upon contact. But the chuckling turned to laughter, and the evil laughter only grew louder as she defeated more illusions. This continued until there was finally one left. As Rika turned around to face Chase, the ear bursting laughter suddenly stopped. Rika looked into Chase's eyes first, dagger still poised to strike. The man stood still and remained silent. Just as Rika began to move forward, to bring her dagger down on him, he finally spoke. "I love you," he spoke, his voice no longer the dark, evil voice of Dragon. This made Rika stop mid-stab. The tip of her blade merely inches from Chase's chest. His face revealed nothing, but Rika could feel something was different about him.
Her hands began shaking now. She closed her eyes for a second, and once she opened them, he was gone. The short woman looked around. Everything was gone. She was alone in the infinite darkness. "Wake up," she commanded herself, but it did nothing. Her voice didn't even echo. It was pure silence the moment she ceased her command. The silent emptiness continued a little longer, before Rika could hear voices. They slowly began to grow in volume. It sounded like a crowd was approaching. But she couldn't see anything. The darkness around her began to unfold, and she found herself back in Kirigakure. Only this time, it was the village as she remembered it: alive. She was standing in the middle of the street, as people passed by without a glance. It began to feel strange, and then Rika figured out what it was.
Nobody could see her. People passed on by, going about their daily business. They couldn't see their Mizukage. "Hey," Rika let out, trying to grab the shoulder of a young man passing by. But he heard nothing, and her hand merely passed through him. Not only could nobody see her, it seemed that she wasn't even there. Rika looked at her hand and saw that her markings weren't there. But she never cancelled the technique. It clearly wasn't over. Rika looked around, before noticing a little girl. This little girl looked familiar, but Rika had never seen her before. In fact, Rika could see that she looked similar to herself when she was little. But visibly different. The hair was blonde, the eyes were blue, the girl seemed normal sized. But she sat all alone on the side of the road.
The girl didn't seem sad. Rather, she seemed distant. She seemed oddly important to Rika though, and thus the young woman walked through the crowd to get closer. Once next to the little girl, Rika crouched down to look into her eyes. Perhaps the secret lay there. But as she was examining the girl, she suddenly lit up. A smile grew on her face and she seemed excited. "Mommy!" she shouted, before jumping to her feet. This confused Rika, and for a moment she thought the girl was talking to her. But as she got up and ran past Rika. This let the young woman breathe a sigh of relief. That would be just too much for her. However, upon turning around to see where the girl ran off to, her heart skipped a beat.
She saw herself. Some version of her. A happier, better dressed version of herself. "No," Rika muttered to herself, standing back up to full height. Though the girl and this other Rika were now out of earshot, she could tell they were having a brief conversation. It was likely that this Rika had gone into a store and instructed the girl to wait outside. "No." She stood perfectly still, unblinkingly watching the two. And as they finished whatever they were doing, the other Rika held her daughter's hand, before looking over her shoulder. The two Rika's locked eyes. And the illusion Rika gave the real one a wink, before facing forward and walking away with the girl. This left the young woman puzzled. Nobody else could see her.
Every fiber in her body wanted to follow. To see where this would lead. What else was different in this alternate reality. But at the same time, she wanted nothing more than to wake up from this nightmare. She could feel the mental stress coming on again. Rika could feel herself losing control of her mind here. She was starting to feel insane again. "Come on, wake up," Rika said aloud again, before attempting to stab herself with her dagger. But upon making the motion to do so, she found the dagger was gone from her hands. A brief look around showed that she never dropped it. It was just gone. A quick examination of her clothes proved that her other dagger and her tags were all gone.
With seemingly no way out, Rika finally began to walk again. She was a fair distance behind, but she was still able to follow the other Rika and the girl. They made their way across the village, finally stopping at a nice house. Rika immediately noted they weren't living in the Mizukage's Mansion. So Fumiyo is alive in this world? Rika quickly shook her head. She had to take on one thing at a time. The house seemed fairly normal. Modest, at any rate. Once the door closed behind them, Rika walked up to one of the windows and looked inside. She could see herself inside walk into the kitchen and begin cooking. The girl disappeared somewhere deeper in the house. Probably her bedroom or something. But something felt really bad. She had a hunch what was going to happen, but she refused to believe it. She wanted to leave, but was compelled to stay. She could feel the inevitable approaching, but she couldn't bring herself to leave.
And then it happened. The little girl ran back into the kitchen, followed by none other than Chase. Rika could feel the color in her face drain. "Wake up," she instructed again, but as she looked on, it was evident that wasn't happening. "Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up." She watched as the family inside began interacting as per their usual. She couldn't hear their words, but there was some sort of pleasant conversation going on between the other Rika and Chase. Rika's fists clenched tight as she watched, riveted and unable to leave. She watched as the girl ran off into another room of the house, leaving the two adults alone. They continued their conversation a moment longer, before Chase grabbed the other Rika by the waist and kissed her.
This was too much for the real Rika to handle. She felt everything around her spinning, and everything became blurred. Rika closed her eyes and her balance began to give way, making her fall backwards. In a dream, Rika managed to faint. But as she opened her eyes, she realized she was still falling. The world around her had changed again. She was once again in an infinite blackness. Now infinitely falling down. Tears began to form in her eyes, and she could see the teardrops falling up from her face. "Just stop," Rika muttered, her voice sounding broken. For a moment, Rika hoped it would actually work. But then she could hear wind. The blackness around her began to erase itself, revealing she was now falling through the sky.
This caused Rika to panic somewhat, and she twisted around to see where she was falling. But there was much less space than she thought she had. Beneath her was a lake in the middle of a frozen tundra. This place seemed very unfamiliar to her. She had never been anywhere so snowy. But that train of thought was interrupted by crashing into the freezing water. The impact hurt, considering she fell pretty far to reach it. But she could tell that no bones were broken. However, the water was ridiculously cold, and Rika jumped out into the snow. It was all so cold. She wasn't dressed for this, and now that she was wet, the cold air just made this significantly worse.
As Rika began to trudge through the snow, she crossed her arms over her chest in a sort of self embrace. An attempt to keep somewhat warmer. She was already freezing. She knew this was hypothermia inducing. And the soaking wet clothes just felt uncomfortable anyways. She wanted to take them off, but she wasn't sure if that was a good idea or not. She had no clue where she was. So far in this nightmare, she's been either nowhere or somewhere familiar. But this was too far off. After another minute of this, she decided it was enough. The small woman began cursing as she removed most of her soaked clothes. Now only clad in her underwear, the icy air actually seemed less cold. But she felt more vulnerable. Rika looked down at the Tenrai seal on her chest, before looking over her shoulder. The Dragon Seal was gone now. "Where am I?" she finally asked out loud.
In the distance, she heard some shouting. This immediately made her take cover behind a tree. She didn't want anyone seeing her like this. And since she was aware this is only a dream, she wasn't too worried about needing any "saving" or anything like that. She made several handseals, to use Hiding with Camoflage. But nothing happened. This puzzled her, before she began cursing. She was tired of this goddamn nightmare. It was like a powerful genjutsu. She just couldn't get out of it. Then she had an idea. She began to disrupt her chakra flow, to see if perhaps this wasn't a nightmare but instead a genjutsu. But once again, nothing happened. Rika cursed softly, before hitting the tree she was hiding behind.
Rika heard the voices again, and she adjusted her position behind the tree. She peeked around it, and saw that two people were making their way through the snow. It appeared to be a man and a woman. They seemed to be arguing. But more importantly, they were walking in Rika's direction. It seemed they saw the clothes in the snow that weren't too far from Rika, as the man pointed it out and said something. Rika couldn't quite catch it with all the wind. The two sped up, stopping at Rika's clothes and examining them. This close to the two, Rika could hear them. And she didn't like how familiar the voices were.
"It's a girl's clothes," the man spoke, turning around to display the shirt in his hand to the woman. "Well she couldn't have gone far. These tracks look fresh," the woman responded. Though they were well covered, to the point Rika couldn't see their faces, she knew who they were. She ducked back behind the tree as they looked up, to see her tracks leading to the tree. Rika could hear them begin to approach, and she just wished she could wake up now. As the steps came closer, Rika felt something in her hand. One of her daggers was now there. This startled and disturbed her, but at the same time, she felt somewhat more comfortable. The two were right by the tree now.
Rika jumped out from behind her cover, dagger poised to defend herself. This made the two jump back a bit, but both instinctively made the Suzu handseal. However, it was a standoff from there. The three were silent for a moment. Only the wind could be heard, before the silence was finally broken. "Easy there. We just want to help you," the man said, lifting one hand to pull his scarf down. Now his face was easily visible. It was her father. But he seemed much younger. Rika remained silent, blade still poised to attack if they got closer. The woman took a step forward, and Rika adjusted her position, causing her to stop. "You must be freezing. Poor thing. Just put your knife down and we can help," her mother suggested, also moving her scarf to reveal her face.
The almost naked young woman still didn't say anything. But with her lack of action, she began shivering again. It was evident to the other two that she was miserable right now. "Just calm down," her father instructed again, taking a step forward. It took a moment, but Rika finally let her guard down. She simply dropped the dagger in the snow, before falling to her knees herself. She kept thinking to herself that she couldn't handle this, but no matter what, she wasn't waking up. The two others moved in now, helping Rika to her feet. "Put your coat on her. Oh, better yet, grab the blanket. Use that instead," her mother instructed to her father.
The small party was soon situated next to a campfire, and Rika was covered in a blanket. This was a dream, but it felt so real to her. "So, who are you?" her father asked, sitting down across the fire from Rika. She remained quiet as her mother sat down next to her. "It's okay, you can talk to us. We aren't going to hurt you. We don't even care what village you're from. Out here, we're all just trying to survive," her mother added. Rika let out a sigh, but finally caved in. "Rika." The man nodded, before distracting himself with the fire in an attempt to warm up his hands. But her mother had something to say. "That's a beautiful name."
This was torture. But Rika couldn't resist smiling a little. It felt too real. And for this, she hated it. "I just want to wake up," she said out loud, before realizing she did so. This made her parents become interested. "Wake up?" her father asked. Rika decided to just go with it, so she nodded her head to confirm. "Poor thing. The hypothermia is getting to her," her mother said, placing a hand on Rika's forehead to check her temperature. For some reason, this made Rika feel a bit better. But at the same time: worse. However, her mother continued. "She thinks she can wake up." Those words were incredibly suspect, and Rika tried to stand up. To get away from these two.
But her mother was quick. She grabbed Rika and pinned her to the ground. Her father jumped over the fire and moved to her other side, grabbing the blanket. Rika began to violently resist, but she couldn't break free. "No, you're never waking up. Your life is a nightmare," her father added, his voice eerily calm. He then moved the blanket over Rika's face, attempting to smother her. She tried to scream, but it was muffled. Her struggle was useless. She could feel herself getting dizzy again. Everything was going black and she couldn't breathe. Just as she felt like passing out, everything became warm suddenly and the blanket was removed from her face.
Rika was in a dark room now. She tried to get up, but found that her wrists and ankles where chained to the ground. She was still only in her underwear right now, but the room was significantly warmer than wherever it was she dreamt last. "Wake up. Wake up. Wake up," she began saying again, very quickly. However, upon this, the ground began to rotate. It slowly flipped vertically, becoming a wall. Now, with some gravity against her, Rika found herself chained to the wall. She began struggling, but was interrupted by a voice. "Even after you wake up, you're going to have to wonder..." Dragon's voice spoke. A cloaked figure appeared in front of Rika now, wearing the infamous mask. "Is this the nightmare... or is what you wake up to the nightmare?"
Despite the chains, Rika began struggling even more violently. "You shut the fuck up! Let me out of here!" Rika shouted at him. She was clearly losing her temper now. Dragon merely laughed for it though. "What's the point? Is this the real torture? No matter what you do, you can never free your mind. Every minute you spend awake is a tortured minute. But here..." The chains suddenly vanished, letting Rika fall to the floor. As she picked herself up, she found herself now clothed. Except she was wearing an ornate, beautiful pink dress. She was confused, and looked back up to Dragon.
"You have always been a victim of reality. Events beyond your control have punished you and tortured you all your life. There has been nothing you could do about it. But here... in your mind... You have the control," he explained, walking across the room toward the wall. Rika looked confused for a second, so Dragon nodded. "In your dreams, you are only as tortured as you let yourself be. You rule your mind, after all." The young woman looked down at herself again. Now, she was holding a tanto. "This isn't real. I just want to wake up. To get back to reality. I'm not going to succumb to... this... this insanity!" The masked man simply shrugged. "You can tell yourself that your life is great now all you want. But you and I both know that you will never escape your past. It will haunt you until you die."
Rika had enough of this. In one fast move, she cleared the room and stabbed the sword through Dragon. Surprisingly, it seemed to work. Blood began leaking out his body as he fell to his knees, the sword still in his chest. Rika let go of the blade and took a step back. She simply watched with unforgiving eyes as the man slowly died. "You can kill me here. But I'll never leave your mind," he mumbled, the words clearly pained. The moment he hit the ground, his body exploded into crows. More and more crows kept appearing, filling up the room. There was no space to move around after only a moment of the infinitely spawning birds. As the black mass of birds pushed Rika against the wall, she closed her eyes. "No. I'm done here," she stated, her voice surprisingly calm. Tears began to flow down her face again. And after a moment, Rika realized everything was silent.
She opened her eyes. It was the blackness again. However, she wasn't alone. She heard a tapping behind her. Rika turned around to see Jinkama again. This Jinkama looked exactly as she last saw him. His face, his sword, his clothes. This seemed real. His blade was tapping against the ground, but upon her turning around, he ceased. "This is what you want, right?" he asked, raising his arms for a moment. Rika raised an eyebrow, before looking down. She was in her normal clothes again, and she found that she had her weapons back. A small smirk formed on Jinkama's face. "If you really think you can do it, then do it."
The young woman looked back up at Jinkama. Tears were still rolling down her cheeks, but she wasn't sobbing by any means. "Oh, I will," she spoke up, pulling both her daggers out and rushing at the man. He seemed slower now. More realistic, in terms of ability. Jinkama still managed to block her onslaught of slashes, but Rika felt like she was gaining ground. Without doing anything, she noticed her Tenrai seal activate, as the markings appeared on her skin. As well, she felt a sudden fury wash over her. A violent one. Her slashes became more rapid, her movements more aggressive. Her demeanor had changed. Rika's face was devoid of emotion, aside from the tears down her cheeks.
However, much to her surprise, Jinkama managed to send one of her daggers flying. Not wanting him to gain any advantage, Rika pulled a wire of explosive tags out. And as Jinkama brought his blade back, to disable them like last time, Rika moved closer to him and twisted her arm with perfect timing. His blade only cut one tag in half, before cutting the wire. But cutting the wire holding them together did nothing to stop the inevitable. The explosion sent Jinkama flying. The proximity made it fatal. But, as the smoke cleared around Rika, she saw that his mangled body was still moving. This enfuriated her, and she stormed up to him. Jinkama was still alive, if barely.
"Just fucking die!" she shouted at him, grabbing him by the collar with her free hand. This only made Jinkama smirk. "Kill me." Without hesitation, Rika thrust her other dagger into his chest, twisting it a few times to make sure it did it's job. Jinkama let out a grunt, before he looked up to Rika and smiled. "Kill me," he repeated, but his voice was different. It was the voice of Hiro. Jinkama began to morph now, and Rika let go of the dagger. The big man shrunk somewhat in size and his clothes changed. The sword in his hand changed as well. Now, on the ground in front of her, was the mangled body of Hiroshi. "Kill me," he said once again, but his voice weak and faded.
Rika brought her hands to her mouth. She did that. But, at the same time, she didn't. "No," she muttered. She was tasting regret now, and fear was in her eyes. But the Hiro in front of her continued repeating himself. "Kill me. Kill me. Kill me." It was surreal now. It was too much. It felt like an eternity has passed. While Hiro kept telling her to kill him, Rika continued repeating herself as well. "No. No. No. No no no no no... No!" she finally snapped, falling to her knees and shouting. She brought her hands to her head, as suddenly she felt a powerful pain in her head. She began to scream, but Hiro's words only grew louder and louder, to overpower her scream.
She opened her eyes and bolted upright. Rika could feel some tears down her face, and that she had broken out into a sweat. But as she looked around, she could see that she was in her bed. Was this another twisted part of the nightmare? Rika felt her face quickly, and then checked her clothes. She was in her pajamas now, as she was when she went to bed. The room was still dark, and when she looked over at a clock, it revealed it was only 2:08 AM. With an exasperated sigh, Rika laid back down onto the bed.
She was awake.
"Hey," she heard behind her. This made Rika jump, but as she looked over her shoulder, she saw it was only Hiro laying next to her. "You had another one, didn't you?" Rika remained quiet for a second, contemplating whether she could trust Hiro. Or whether she could trust this was real life. But she concurred with a nod. "You want to talk about it?" he offered, but Rika shook her head promptly. The young Mizukage tried to relax again, but now she was afraid to fall asleep again. She didn't want to go through another nightmare. "Did I wake you up?" she asked, keeping the conversation going, somewhat.
"Well, yes you did. But that doesn't matter. I'm here for you, you know," Hiroshi explained. He put an arm around Rika now, but she still felt somewhat uncomfortable. "I know," she answered, but that was all she gave. Rika rolled onto her side, staring at the clock. 2:09. She wanted to sleep, because she was feeling the tiredness catching up. But she didn't want to slip into another nightmare. Not again. Rika looked over her shoulder at Hiroshi. He already had his eyes closed in an attempt to go back to sleep. She felt jealous for a moment. That he wasn't tortured like her. But that quickly passed and Rika faced forward again. As much as she didn't want to, she closed her eyes.
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Post by j8cob on Mar 2, 2014 21:00:39 GMT
Second Chances
Do they really exist? Three Weeks Into Timeskip
Rain was pouring down on the village. The pitter patter of raindrops was almost rhythmic from the Mizukage Office, where Rika currently sat. However, despite the peaceful and calm ambience of the village, Rika seemed anything but calm. If anything, she seemed rather nervous sitting behind her desk. Dressed in her Mizukage robes, though the hat was sitting on her desk to the side, she seemed incredibly preoccupied. Judging by her lack of her typical whistling and the fact she was tapping her fingers against her desk. Her eyes locked on her fingers. The sound of tapping and the sound of rain was the only thing coming from this room. Almost a total silence.
The door opened, causing Rika to dart upright and stop tapping on the desk. It was a young man, who appeared to be a chuunin. "Lady Mizukage," he spoke, rather anxiously, "You requested a messenger?" The young woman nodded, and the chuunin fully walked into the room and shut the door behind himself. "What message do you want me to send and who to?" Rika remained quiet for a moment, before looking down at her hands. "To Hiroshi Genji. I believe he is presently at the Academy, today. Tell him to stop whatever he is doing and come to the Mizukage Office. Immediately."
The young man nodded and exited the room, rather quickly. Despite Rika's much more positive and less tyrannical attitude as compared to the previous Mizukage, she has noticed that most people treat with a little too much respect. However, she appreciated it nonetheless. Especially now. With the young man gone, she resumed tapping on the desk and now stared out the window. The people outside mostly went about their business, but there was notably less pedestrians due to the weather. And those that were out mostly had umbrellas. It was an interesting view. It had a sort of calm to it. Rika couldn't stand it and looked back at her tapping fingers.
She remained like this for another ten minutes. Then she heard the door open again. Rather than dart upright, Rika entirely froze. She seemed almost afraid, for some reason. When she looked up, she saw Hiroshi closing the door behind him. It was evident that he was busy before, as he had Hiramekarei strapped to his back. "What seems to be the big hurry, Rika?" he asked, before turning around and seeing the Mizukage himself. Something about her was off. He could tell something was bothering her. Extremely. "What happened?" Hiroshi asked now, his voice clearly concerned.
Rika stayed quiet as he approached the desk, her eyes locked into his. She knew what she wanted to say, but didn't want to say it. "It's happening again," Rika spoke, her voice slightly over a whisper. Hiroshi leaned in a bit closer, resting his elbows on her desk. "What's happening again?" he asked, confused and concerned by her behavior. She stayed quiet, trying to determine what to say. But Hiroshi didn't seem so patient. "What's wrong?"
Rather than say anything, Rika placed her elbows on the desk and rested her head on her hands. She closed her eyes tightly, and seemed to clench her hands into fists for a moment, before looking back up to Hiroshi. "I'm pregnant," she said, blunt and direct. Her voice was no longer low and shaky. Hiroshi seemed stunned for a moment, but then he began to wonder why this seemed to bother her so much. And she had said again before. "Are you scared?" he asked her, much to her own surprise. Rika looked at him for a moment. "Not of what you would think." "What is it then?" "Just... never mind it. That was what I had to tell you."
Hiroshi stood up straight now and breathed a sigh of relief. He thought something bad had happened. "So what are your plans now?" he asked, before removing his sword and leaning it against the desk. "I just don't... I don't know," Rika answered, once again closing her eyes and clenching her hands into fists. "Hey. That's okay. I'm here for you. I lo-" he began, before Rika quickly interrupted him. "Don't fucking say that." This startled Hiroshi, and his appearance did nothing to hide it. He had never heard her swear before, nor had he expected her to be so against what he was saying. This left him confused. "Well... What do you want?" he asked, his voice sounding somewhat shaken now.
There was a silence between the two for a moment, before Rika sighed. "I don't know, Hiro. I just don't want it all to happen again," Rika confessed. Her words seemed to make no sense to Hiroshi. "Don't want what to happen again?" With that, Rika slammed her fists onto the desk, creating small cracks in the wood underneath. "I don't want everyone dying again!!" she shouted. Once again, Hiroshi was taken off guard by this outburst. There was a moment of silence as Rika calmed herself down, and placed her head on the desk. "This isn't the first time. Last time... it didn't end so well. I lost everything again."
Though he couldn't see her face, Hiroshi could hear Rika sobbing. She was afraid of losing everything again. Now he could tell. He couldn't understand exactly how she would lose everything, but it was evident this was her fear. "Relax, Rika," Hiroshi tried to comfort, leaning in and placing a hand on her shoulder. "You aren't going to lose anything here. You've earned the right to be happy." With his last words, Rika looked up into his eyes. There were some tears rolling down her cheeks, and she seemed almost confused. "What?" This made Hiroshi chuckle lightly, but he still went on to explain.
"After all you've been through, and all you've done, I think you've earned the right to be happy. You've lost so much, but you don't have to lose anything else now. You don't have just me by your side now," he said, before motioning with his head out the window. "All of Kirigakure supports you. You won't be losing anything on our watch." Rika looked out the window for a moment, letting out one last sob before wiping her tears. "You're right," she said, her voice back to normal now. Though her eyes were still red, she otherwise suddenly seemed back to normal. "I can be happy now."
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Post by j8cob on Apr 17, 2014 5:46:21 GMT
The Little Prince
One Year and Four Months into Timeskip
It was as pleasant a day in the Hidden Mist that there could be. The sun was out, actually lifting the village's trademark mist. The nice weather wouldn't last, as the temperature wasn't very high despite the sunshine. This indicated the inevitable return of the mist in the morning. On this day, if one were to try and get a hold of the Mizukage, they would find that she was not in her office. In fact, if one inquired further they would be told she was unavailable today. Rika Suzu was enjoying a day off. Something that could be argued that she deserved. And there would be few people that would claim otherwise anyways.
Presently, she sat on the balcony of the backside of the Mizukage Mansion. She wore no Mizukage robes today. In fact, she wasn't even wearing her shinobi clothes. She wore a plain white t-shirt and sweatpants. In other words: she looked relaxed and like she wasn't going anywhere. But more importantly than her attire was what she was holding. Or rather: who. As she sat in a comfortable rocking chair, looking over Kirigakure, she held her small child. Only five months old, he was on the smaller side of babies. That would be expected, considering the stature of his mother. The child, Emi Suzu, was wrapped up in a blue blanket, but he was perfectly awake.
His mother was whistling an old, soothing tune as she rocked her child. She wore a smile on her face as she watched Emi fight to stay awake. However, the peace was interrupted. The sound of someone landing on the balcony behind her made Rika stop whistling. A masked ANBU kneeled down behind her. "Lady Mizukage," he began, bowing his head in respect, "I am sorry to interrupt you on your personal time, but the representative of the Honey Country has arrived ahead of schedule. He awaits you at the Mizukage Office." There was a moment of silence, though Rika continued rocking her child. In fact, her green eyes never looked away from Emi. "Did you tell him that I am unavailable today?"
"We was told such. However, he insisted in seeing you today. He claimed urgency, which is why I came to your home to ask you for what course of action we should take." Rika continued looking into her child's eyes. So far, they were a pretty hazel color. They reminded her of her father's eyes. "Did he say why this meeting is so urgent that he must intrude upon my family time?" The ANBU seemed to stutter for a moment, as if he was afraid that Rika was upset with him personally. However, he seemed to quickly realize that was silly and spoke up. "Lord Fujiwara claims that he fears the Marsh Country is preparing to invade the Honey and desires immediate military assistance in a pre-emptive strike."
At this point, Rika let out an audible sigh. Finally, she closed her eyes and thought about it. When she opened them, she looked over her shoulder at the ANBU. "Instruct Lord Fujiwara to meet me here, at the Mizukage Mansion. Let him know that I am not pleased with his persistence." "Yes ma'am." Silently, the ANBU jumped off the balcony. When Rika looked back at Emi, he seemed puzzled. Probably wondering why his mother stopped whistling the sweet tune from before. Despite the frown on her face, she could not maintain it looking at her child, and a smile crept back onto her lips. She began to whistle again, remaining seated.
After half an hour of this, Rika saw that Emi had finally fallen asleep. He really wanted to stay awake, but perhaps his mother's whistling was too entrancing to resist. Slowly and gently, Rika stood up from the rocking chair and walked back into the mansion. On her way to Emi's room, she heard the front doors open and several people enter. As Rika walked past the stairs on the way to Emi's room, she could see two Kirigakure ANBU operatives, Lord Fujiwara, and some sort of assistant of his. Clearly, the ANBU would not allow his personal guards to enter. "Lady Suzu," Fujiwara called up to Rika with a formal bow. Though, he still looked like he was being impatient. This transformed Rika's smile into a frown, that even after seeing why she was busy he was still rushing. Without any verbal response, Rika continued into Emi's room. After setting him gently in his crib, Rika leaned in and kissed him on the forehead. "Sleep tight, little prince," she told him, before standing upright.
As Rika walked down the stairs, she finally acknowledged Fujiwara. "Lord Fujiwara, I wasn't expecting you to arrive so early. As you can probably see," she said, in reference to her very unprofessional clothing. The older man chuckled nervously, and seemed to turn a bit red. "I'm sorry that I've interrupted your... family time. But we have a big problem," he began to explain. Rika motioned for him to follow. As Lord Fujiwara walked behind Rika, his assistant stayed by his side and the two ANBU followed behind them.
The party walked to Rika's study, where a large oak desk resided. Rika sat down in the large comfortable seat, before prompting Fujiwara to sit across from her. There was only two seats, so his assistant remained standing. Fujiwara was an older gentleman, with greying hair that once was black and a beard stretching down to his chest. His assistant, however, looked much younger. Almost a boy. For what Rika could tell, it might even be his grandson. "I have received reports from your spies that the Marsh is militarizing suddenly. This, combined with the recent scuffle at the border two weeks ago lead me to believe that they are going to attack the Honey Country. Our military is still weak, so I request you send some men over as a deterrent. It is already in your... infinite kindness that your shinobi have been training ours, but what we need right now is more men."
After explaining the problem, Rika closed her eyes and pondered for a moment. When she opened them again, she noticed Fujiwara was looking a bit too low to be looking her in the eye. This didn't bother her so much as it used to, but the most irritating part was that this was on business. "So this was the problem that could not wait until tomorrow?" Rika asked, surprising Lord Fujiwara and his assistant. The young assistant started to look scared, as if he feared Rika would not give any assistance now. "Uh, Lady Mizukage, this is a pressing matter as their forces can move at any minute. So any minute to spare could be a minute to save."
His cryptic words earned a raised eyebrow, before Rika shook the confusion away. "Listen..." Rika began, shooting a glance at the assistant before looking back at Fujiwara. "I will send some ANBU directly to the Marsh Country to speak with their leaders. I do not want to start militarizing, even in your country. So I will settle the difference with alternative methods." A small grin cracked on the face of Fujiwara. "Some good ol' fashioned dirty business?" he asked, clearly referring to the past of the Suzu. Without waiting a split second, Rika slammed her hand on the desk. This made everyone jump, including the ANBU.
"You are not going to talk like that in my presence," Rika said, her voice not sounding any different than normal despite the outburst. This caused the Lord to gulp back some fear, almost in unison with his assistant. "As well, the next time you are informed that I am unavailable, you are to respect that. It does not matter if I'm here at home or out abroad. If I am not available for a meeting... then you don't insist further. Am I clear?" Rika continued. This earned a nervous nod from Fujiwara. "Next time, I might not feel so kind as to see you anyways. Or for that matter, ever again."
"Now go." Fujiwara almost jumped out of his seat, quickly giving Rika a bow of respect. "Thank you, Lady Mizukage. Once again, you have pulled through for the Honey Country." He turned and gave his assistant a little tap on the shoulder, and the two were escorted out by the ANBU. Rika remained in her study for a moment longer, simply closing her eyes and reflecting on events. She didn't get a chance to reflect very long, as she heard some footsteps enter. She didn't need to open her eyes, as she knew who it was. The young man sat down in the chair across from her. "So I just get back in time to see the leader of the Honey Country leaving..." Hiroshi said, his tone light-hearted and joking.
This made Rika look up. He could tell she was very irritated by the whole meeting she just had. "You know, no leader in the world except the Mizukage has ever stepped foot in the Mizukage Mansion until today?" he asked, as a sort of light question to get conversation going. "And trust me, it will never happen again." This made Hiroshi chuckle a bit, before leaning forward. "Well, you got through it. Now we can relax and enjoy the day. Did you put Emi to sleep?" "Yeah. It seems that my whistling did the trick. He drifted off, just in time too." With that, Rika closed her eyes one last time before opening them for a smile. The young Mizukage stood from her seat and walked around the desk, also prompting Hiroshi to stand up. "Did he do anything while I was out?"
The two started walking up the stairs now. "No, you didn't miss anything. He was awful quiet. Now that Emi knows I can whistle, he prefers listening over making noise. I was told that babies are crying machines, but over the past few days, not a peep out of him." This earned a laugh from Hiroshi. "He will be soft spoken. A good listener. And because of you, probably will enjoy light music. Just like his father." This earned a small chuckle from Rika, and the two were standing by Emi's crib. The baby was still sound asleep. "He seems so calm and peaceful," Rika said, looking down on her child with a smile.
"He does," Hiroshi agreed. The two parents stood over their child silently for a moment, before Rika held Hiroshi's hand. Though this wasn't totally uncalled for, he didn't expect the movement and looked over at Rika. But she continued watching over her son. "He will grow up to be a strong man. Not physically, but in willpower. Once he's old enough, I'll tell him the truth about me and his family, and he will understand. He will inherit my spirit, and bring the Suzu clan back from the brink. In his hands is the power to change the world. To bring a golden age of prosperity. He is at peace now because he will bring peace later," Rika said, not taking her eyes off Emi. Hiroshi couldn't help but smile at her words. Though his dreams were different than hers, they had one thing in common: Emi would become something in his time.
"He is my little prince. He will make me proud," Rika added. This brought a grin to Hiroshi's face now. "So that makes you a queen, doesn't it?" he suggested, getting a slight giggle out of Rika. "You can say that, I guess," she agreed, now looking up to Hiroshi. "I'm tired, Hiro. I'm going to take a nap myself. I haven't gotten to do that since I was Emi's age." With that, Rika let go of Hiroshi's hand and started to walk away, before suddenly stopping herself. She turned around and gave Emi another kiss on the forehead, before now officially leaving the room. Hiroshi stroked Emi's right cheek, before following Rika.
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Post by j8cob on May 1, 2014 2:15:17 GMT
A Broken Mirror
One Year and Five Months into Timeskip
There is nothing worse for the lying soul than the mirror of reality.
The evening was beginning to descend upon the Village Hidden in the Mist. The day was clearly one of the more common cloudy days, so it was particularly dark already. While the weather never did much to bother the population, it was noted that today seemed darker than usual. Surely a sign of an early winter, they would suppose. The young Mizukage was now arriving at the Mizukage mansion. Though it was unseen by the unwary eye, her ANBU that had accompanied her on her walk in the dark now dispersed. Once inside, the small woman removed her hat and robe, hanging them up on the coatrack that was near the front doors.
Now successfully in her home, she let out a sigh and began to casually ascend the nearby stairs. The house was eerily quiet. Though, it was actually a good sign. Upon entering the nearest room, that of her infant son, Rika took a look around. In his crib was her son, Emi. Next to the crib, asleep in the chair, was a teenage girl. Emi's babysitter, named Sakura. She had a book open in her lap, and appeared to have fallen asleep reading it. Across the room, leaning against the wall, was an ANBU operative, who proceeded to stand at attention once Rika entered the room.
"Ma'am," he greeted with a polite bow. The noise, although low and quiet, seemed to startle the young girl awake. She was an average teenager, probably in line to take over her family's store some day. But a kunoichi, she wasn't. "Lady Mizukage," the girl began, jumping up from her seat and giving Rika a polite bow as well. It seemed that even this girl of thirteen was notably taller than Rika. "Emi behaved well today. He only cried once, and that was because he was hungry. He fell asleep... uh..." The ANBU finished the rest. "One hour and six minutes ago."
The young Mizukage gave them a smile. "That's great to hear," Rika said, walking over to the crib and looking in. She stretched out her arm and gently stroked Emi's cheek, careful not to wake the sleeping infant. With her greeting to her son, Rika stood upright again and withdrew a wad of cash from one of her pockets. "Here is your pay for the week. You've been doing well so I'll give you a little extra." The teenage girl blushed and brought her hands up. "Oh, you don't have to do that. It's fine, really..." But Rika wasn't taking that as an answer, and held out the money for her to accept. With a bit of hesitation, the young girl did.
"Thank you, Lady Mizukage," the girl said, holding the money in both hands. "You're welcome. This ANBU here will escort you home tonight, if you wish," Rika offered, now walking out of the room. In suit, the ANBU and the girl followed behind her. "I'll be fine tonight, thanks." With one final, respectful bow, the girl walked down the stairs and removed her coat from the rack. With a final smile, she left the Mizukage Mansion. With her gone, Rika looked over her shoulder at the ANBU. "She's a good girl. I see no threatening signs from her. Typical civilian," the ANBU explained.
Rika had this ANBU watch the girl every time she took care of Emi. Hiroshi was on a mission for a while, and so while Rika was at the office she hired Sakura to watch Emi. And she had this ANBU watch Sakura. "Good. I trust her. You are dismissed," Rika instructed the man. With a nod, he also took his leave. Rika remained near the staircase for a moment, leaning on the railing that let her look to the front door. Almost as if she was waiting for someone else to enter. But after a few seconds of this, nothing happened and Rika let out a sigh. There was a silence now, as only Rika and her sleeping child were in the mansion. Though, there could be a couple of ANBU hidden outside the mansion, but if there were any they were absolutely silent. The quiet seemed to bother Rika, and she let out another sigh and stood upright.
The young Mizukage began to undo her hair, letting it fall down her back. Her brown hair was long enough to reach her waist, but considering how short she is the actual length of her hair was unimpressive. She was tired and wanted to relax. Sometime in the next morning, Hiroshi would be back. All she had to do until then was sleep through the night. But first, Rika decided she was going to take a shower. To wash the day away and help herself relax. The thought of relaxing made Rika chuckle to herself. I'll never relax, she thought as she entered the nearby bathroom.
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The steam from the shower had mostly fogged up the bathroom mirror by the time Rika stepped out of the shower. Now she felt warm and refreshed, and figured that she would go to bed early tonight. All that was left on her to-do list was check on Emi. The young woman stood before the bathroom sink, which was below the mirror. She was wrapped in a blue towel, with a matching towel around her hair. As she stared into the mirror, she took a deep breath. It was too foggy to see her reflection, so she had no idea how she looked. Despite having towels within arm's reach she could use, Rika lifted her left hand and wiped away some of the moisture from the mirror.
What she saw was strange and immediately garnered a surprised gasp. She saw her reflection, only it was different. She was looking at a younger version of herself. Though her reflection also wore a towel, Rika could tell this was her face from seven years ago. Not this again. I thought I wasn't having any more nightmares. No more hallucinations, Rika thought to herself as her jaw began to drop. Her reflection, however, began to chuckle. "You seem surprised. As if you've seen a ghost," her reflection said. Rika could hear the words clearly. It was her voice, but she wasn't the one talking. This earned another gasp, but she slowly recovered while the younger reflection began giggling again.
"Not a ghost, a hallucination," Rika said. This seemed to make the reflection pout. "That's harsh. I'm no hallucination. I'm just the inner part of you. The part that has been hidden away," the reflection spoke up, sounding somewhat hurt. "You are the younger part of me. And as per I'm aware, time only flows forward. You don't exist. My mind is playing tricks on me again." This time, the reflection started laughing. "You know you can make that stop. You are too far off the path, me. You haven't been doing what you were trained to do."
This created a silence in the bathroom. The mirror began fogging up again, and Rika wiped the moisture away again. Despite how crazy she was feeling, she felt compelled to continue the conversation. However, this time, it wasn't her reflection she saw. Rather, it was an image of her father. This made Rika's eyes widen in terror and step back. Her other hand had been holding her towel, but in her surprise she let it go. But her father's image didn't seem to care. "What are you doing, Rika?" he asked, rather straightforward. His voice was stern, almost like he was reprimanding her.
"Wha-what do you mean?" Rika managed after a moment, bending down and picking her towel back up to cover herself. "You know very well what I mean. This life isn't what I trained you for. You are too young to be a mother, and too naive to be Mizukage. You know this. What you should be doing right now is righting the Suzu name. Men who have betrayed us are still alive. The Rika I trained would not allow that," he scolded, raising a hand and pointing at Rika accusingly. This seemed to shock the young woman, and she took another step back. "It doesn't work that way. I can't just go kill everyone. I-... It's pointless." This didn't please her father any bit. "It isn't pointless. We spent hundreds of years building up our name, our abilities, and you are going to let that be thrown away?"
Rika seemed to feel like she was under pressure now. "I'm not letting that happen. I'm keeping our name alive and honorable. That is what my son... your grandson, is a part of," Rika began. But as she took a breath to explain more, her father interrupted. "That doesn't matter as much as you think it does. You are still young. You had plenty of time to pass the name on, but for some reason you chose now. You should have avenged us first, Rika. Our name cannot possibly be honorable while our blood still weeps for revenge." This made Rika stop and begin to think. She scowled, but her father wasn't done. "You've gone soft. I knew this would happen if I let you out of my sight for too long."
Rika's scowl turned into something more angry. "Shut up! I haven't gone soft. I'm just not stupid. I've learned things that you never taught me. I have changed, but I have changed for the better. I'm not... soft," Rika retorted. This seemed to mildly amuse her father. "You have forgotten," he began, his voice surprisingly devoid of emotion. "Rika, you should have never forgotten. You are the product of over four hundred years of training. You were not only built to be an assassin, but destined to be. From before even I was born, you were fated to be a killer. That is what we did. It was our way of life. The outside world has tainted you. You have lost sight of who you really are." Rika was quiet now. She looked away from the mirror for a moment, but when she looked back it was evident that her eyes seemed a bit watered up.
"No, I wasn't. I was never like that. I may have been built for it but I was not destined at all. You know that. That's why we had to train so much together. You nor anyone else liked me the way I was. You have always said that I'm too soft. This is nothing new. The only new thing here is that I'm now being visited by hallucinations of the dead," Rika said, taking two steps forward to stand back in her original position. This response displeased her father. "If you ever really were meant to do anything else, then can you explain to me why your past is so bloody?"
Before Rika's eyes, various images of people began flashing across the mirror. Every face lasted only a split-second, but they all had two things in common. They were images of people that Rika has killed in her life, and they were all looking as the last time she saw them. Though Rika never knew that she could remember the faces of everyone she killed, she could recognize most of them. What really startled her was the quantity. The faces just kept coming and going. They seemed to be in no order, as she saw her father with his neck sliced open after she saw Fumiyo Nagano. This lasted for a while, and though Rika wanted to look away, she seemed almost mesmerized. It was surreal.
Eventually, the images stopped coming and Rika was staring at a reflection of herself again. "I have lost my mind," Rika muttered aloud, placing both her hands on the sink and looking at the floor. She needed a moment to just breath, and she took now as an opportunity since it seemed over. But when she looked up, she saw herself again. Only this time, her reflection was covered in blood and held a knife in her hand. But the worst part was the look in her eyes. There was something in them. Not anger or hatred, but a sort of lust. A bloodlust. Rika perceived this reflection as a sort of evil version of herself. Anger began to consume her, and in a flash Rika's fist shot forward and struck the mirror. If her reflection was real, it would've punched her right in the face. The impact shattered the mirror, and shards of it fell to the floor. Most of it remained intact, though severely cracked.
As Rika withdrew her hand, she noticed that blood was dripping from her knuckles. The towel around her fell down again, but she didn't care this time. After examining her hand, her anger started to fade away and she looked back at the mirror. She could see herself in the cracked mirror now. Naked, and judging by the expression on her face: afraid. As the blood began to fall to the floor, Rika backed up and leaned against the opposite wall, before sliding down to the floor. She kept looking at the mirror, even after she was no longer at an angle to see her broken reflection. Once she was seated, she brought her knees up to her chest and looked at her bloodied hand. That isn't me. That never was me. That was not my inner self nor was that my father. Father would never say anything like that, Rika consoled herself in her head.
But it was no use.
Slowly, tears began to well up in her eyes, and she rested her forehead on her knees. In that motion, the towel on her head also fell off, but Rika still didn't care. The sound of her sobbing could be heard all the way from the hallway, but nobody was around to hear it. In her head, she was trying to forget what she just saw. She knew it was all in her head. A morbid imagination that would eventually go away. But while she knew the reflections were not real, she couldn't help but feel that the words were true. That the reason she wasn't happy was because she tried to give up on her previous life. That she was destined to live in bloody murder. But the conflict of nature versus nurture was driving her to madness. Rika could remember her youth quite clearly.
She knew that as a child, and even as a teenager, she had been as kind and sweet as she could be. That is, as she was allowed to be. It was pressure from her family to stop that behavior. A true assassin would not act like her, would not be as sensitive as her, would be more serious than her. She could remember them saying that. Rika knew that she was molded to be a killer. But somewhere in the process, it was never truly completed. And now her mind was fragmented from being mostly conditioned to be an assassin against her natural behavior of sweetness. Which reality was the truth? Who am I?
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Post by j8cob on May 15, 2014 1:15:53 GMT
Trust and Paranoia
One Year and Five Months into Timeskip
j8cob and Lesli
The young Mizukage sat alone in her office, staring at the door across the room from behind her desk. Though it appeared that she was waiting patiently, it was more that she was waiting nervously. Recent events within her own mind had her worried, and she needed someone she could trust. Kimi Iomaski. She had sent an ANBU to fetch her five minutes before and was now waiting for her spymaster to arrive. Though she knew in the back of her mind there was nothing to be concerned about, she couldn't help but feel that she was losing control of herself. And she needed someone to keep that in check.
Approaching the door, Kimi was geared up as she usually was. Wearing the Kirigakure ANBU gear and a mask. With her gloved hand, she knocked on the door and waited for the permission to enter. Though the growing trust that Rika had in her, Kimi felt less worried. Still, there was always a chill going through Kimi when Rika summoned for her. It somehow was unable for her to not worry when she was summoned before the Mizukage.
"Enter," Rika said, sitting upright in her seat from the knock at the door. Once Kimi was inside, Rika stood up from her desk and walked to the window. "First, I have a personal question I want to ask you," Rika said, looking over the village for a moment. After the pause, she turned her back to it and looked toward Kimi. "If I were to tell you... if I were to tell you to kill me, could you do it?" Rika had a serious expression in her green eyes. Though the question was clearly hypothetical, she wanted to know the sincere answer.
Entering the room of the Mizukage, Kimi was nearly about to kneel and bow, but Rika managed to beat her to it. She said she had a personal question and what kind of question. The face of Kimi turned pale as a corpse and if it weren't for the mask, Kimi would have likely feel the urge to run for her life. ''Mi-Mizukage-sama! I would do every order and w-w-wish, but that is too much.'' Dropping on both her knees, Kimi pressed her forehead against the ground. The question reminded her of the Fourth Mizukage. What if she had answered it in a wrong manner? Kimi wasn't never afraid of death as she was now.
This made the Mizukage pause for a moment. She seemed to be calculating something. "That is fine," she said after a moment, before sitting down in her chair and closing her eyes with her hand on her forehead. "Sometimes..." Before she could continue, she stopped herself and looked back at Kimi. Then she looked toward the door. "Bring him in!" After a moment, the sound of a struggle was heard from the hallway before two ANBU came in, dragging a man behind them. He was tied up so he couldn't use his arms or legs, and the put him on his knees a few meters behind Kimi. "If I told you to kill this man, could you?" Upon hearing this, the man began protesting, though not much got through thanks to the rope through his mouth.
Getting up on a knee, Kimi didn't even had to turn around. Her head was still lowered, so it was clear she couldn't see the man that was bought in. ''If your wish is to end his life, I would so, Mizukage-sama.'' Kimi answered. Her voice was still a bit shaky, but she managed to at least talk. Her senses were telling her to run away. This was clearly a test and that meant trouble. Trouble with the Mizukage, which was in other words equal to death. A horrible and grim death.
Rika stood up from her seat and walked to Kimi, before removing something from under her Mizukage robes. She handed the ANBU a knife. "Kill him then." Something in Rika's eyes suggested that something was wrong with her, but the rest of her expression was dead serious. The man began to struggle and protest again, but the other two ANBU held him still. "Use the knife. Stab him in the heart." Rika's eyes shifted to the bound man briefly, and then back to Kimi.
Rising up, she kept her head lowered and remaining in a bow, as if she wanted to make her smaller than Rika when she took the knife. Something that wasn't easy, with the length of Rika. Turning around, Kimi flipped the knife to hold it in a reversed grip. Walking towards the man, she didn't waver. Raising her hand, she was about to stab the man. The Mizukage's hand shot forward and grabbed Kimi's from behind, halting her before she could strike. "Why didn't you question me?" she asked, her voice sounding somewhat relieved. "You weren't curious at all as to why I wanted this man to die." On queue, the two ANBU began untying the man, who stood up like nothing had happened. It was all an act.
Kimi realized it was an act when the man suddenly calmed down like everything was okay. This was bad, very bad! Shivering when she realized that the Mizukage was still holding her, Kimi didn't move an inch. ''Cause you ordered me, Mizukage-sama. I am trained and in your service to obey the Mizukage. Not to question every order or mission. If you wished the man to die, you had your reasons for it. And else, its why I was trained.'' Kimi paused. ''To kill who you wished to die, is simply one of the service you have the ANBU for.''
Rika released Kimi's hand now and took a step back. She thought about her response for a moment. Kimi was trained under the regime of Fumiyo, so it made sense. In retrospect, Rika couldn't have expected any different results. "You have a new task now," Rika said, rubbing her forehead. "This is more personal than it is business... I need you to question me every now and again when I give extreme orders." With that, Rika looked up to Kimi, before looking at the others. "You three are dismissed. Immediately." The two ANBU bowed respectfully, and they all left. Leaving Kimi and Rika alone. "Sometimes I think that I am losing my mind, and I need someone to help make sure that doesn't happen. Can you help me with that?"
Another cold shiver went over the back of Kimi. Rika already had promoted her to become her personal spymaster. Kimi had went to her best to keep making sure that Rika was content with results of Kimi. But the current request was one that really made her afraid. What if she questioned Rika while she was in a bad mood? ''With all the respect, I am honored, but what if I will annoy the Lady Mizukage?'' Kimi asked with a shaken voice. The fact that Rika still close by made Kimi's stiffen, trying to not make a move that could be seen as a threat by the other woman.
"Do not worry about that," Rika said, turning to walk back toward her desk. "I will be honest with you. Ever since I became the Mizukage, I have been trying to repair the damage that Fumiyo had caused. While I fixed the physical damage, I am yet to fix the mental damage." She looked over to Kimi, and the look would confirm what Rika was implying. "I am not like him. I don't want to be like the Fourth. He was a vile human being. You shouldn't need to fear my wrath, because I will never exact it upon you."
The words had an almost calming and soothing effect on her. Almost. Fact remained she had killed the Fourth and became the Fifth Mizukage. Kimi wasn't aware if it was true, but that was how the Fourth Mizukage also rose to power. And with efficient brutal measures, he had remained in position until Rika had exact her 'wrath' over him. From the rumours, it was said that even the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist were unable to protect the Fourth against Rika. Swallowing a bit of her fear away, Kimi replied. ''Lady Mizukage-sama, but... How can you make that happen? That I will be safe.. From you.'' Kimi asked very carefully, like if her life was on the line.
The Mizukage thought about it for a moment, and a frown formed on her face. "To be honest, I may not be able to," she said rather simply, before a charming smile replaced her frown. "But you can." She let that sink in for a moment, before explaining. "While I am still in control of myself, there can be no problems. I fear losing control. When I was younger... I used to have some problems. And they seem to be coming back. So, to help keep myself in control, I need a little help. So... If I am doing something uncharacteristic of myself, like sudden executions, I need someone to remind me that... well... I'm not being me. Do you understand?"
Nodding, Kimi replied. ''I do, Lady Mizukage-sama. But what doesn't make me stop from not questioning you when you... act like that? I value my life lower than that of the village or that of the Mizukage, but I can be selfish sometimes, Lady Mizukage.'' Kimi said as she knelt and bowed her head after finishing with her answer. She still felt she was in the danger zone. Without knowing a way out of it.
"I'm sorry that I can't guarantee you anything with my request," Rika said, before letting out a sigh. "Like I said, this is more personal than it is business. I am asking you to be a bit brave, I suppose. I won't pretend that I am not powerful or that I have clean hands. But I can promise that I have been doing what I can to right the wrongs. But something inside me, in the back of my mind, is trying to keep me from doing that. And in case I can't handle that alone, I want you to help me. I promise nothing but my gratitude for trying, but I believe that we can be successful." Rika let out another sigh, before looking over the village. "All of those people are happy because I removed their biggest fear. I don't want to be the replacement for it."
All kind of things went through the mind of Kimi. She understood she was granted a huge amount of trust of Rika. To be one that could openly question the Mizukage was something likely nobody could imagine. It costed a moment that Kimi mustered some courage before she spoke up. ''I accept my Lady Mizukage-sama. I hope that I can bring some peace and success in this goal.'' Kimi continued. In the depths of the mind of the ANBU, something was being worked out.
A smile formed on Rika's face. "Thank you, Kimi. I really don't think you understand how much that means to me," she said, before turning to face the ANBU and let her see her smile. "I don't predict anything to happen, but I'm glad you are willing to help with counter measures none the less. In case you were wondering, the man that you almost killed earlier was a Chuunin that I recruited for the day. I promised him his safety. He was young, probably about my age. He said something about needing the money for his woman, whoever that may be. So yes, you can be very helpful in the future." Rika's smile faded for a moment, but it returned again as if she was no longer thinking about what she just thought about. "Thank you, again. You are dismissed."
Hearing the words of Rika, Kimi couldn't help but kept wondering about the new and more personal job she had gained. Rising up from the ground, she made another bow and walked backwards to the door. Making another bow, she turned around and opened the door. Softly closing the door behind her, the heart of Kimi still kept skipping beats now and then. After she had made some distance and was sure that nobody was around, she moved her face mask to the side. Cold sweat was rolling over the pale coloured face of the ANBU and personal spymaster of Rika. Huffing, she leaned against a wall and closed her eyes. Though she was glad with the trust, she knew better.
She was playing a very dangerous game at the moment.
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Post by j8cob on May 22, 2014 5:28:40 GMT
A Sharpened Blade
One Year and Five Months into Timeskip Most would assume that my child has made me dull. That the time I spent out of action has made me weak. They are looking at it the wrong way. It isn't that I am weaker than I was before. It is that I have grown dull. All it takes is a little sharpening and I will be as lethal as I ever was... As the Mizukage finished thinking, she opened her eyes. She was standing in the Arena, but there was no crowd. Only a few people, including medics. The ANBU had closed it off to the public eye. Speaking of ANBU, there were several with her in the arena on the opposite end. There were six masked ANBU, all prepared to battle. Rika had organized a personal training session for herself. She did not want to become rusty. Even with a village to lead and a child to raise, she needed to be at the top of her game. The Mizukage closed her eyes once more and took a deep breath. When she opened them, the green irises suddenly seemed devoid of the compassion that they had come to be associated with. "Come."One of the ANBU immediately began throwing shuriken at the Mizukage at high speed, his arms were almost barely visible blurs. While the other ANBU began to fan out from their position, the Mizukage remained in the same general area. Every shuriken was dodged with incredible speed. Every time she moved, she vanished from sight and would only reappear to dodge again. In a matter of a few seconds, the ANBU had extinguished his shuriken and not a single one hit its mark. Not only did Rika look entirely unharmed, she looked as if she had never even adjusted her pose. She was standing in the same position, just a different location. There wasn't the slightest bit of exhaustion from her, despite her display of speed. A dragon of water crashed toward the Mizukage, but the small woman jumped over it before it could hit her. Rather than entirely dodge it, she landed on top of the water and began running toward the ANBU that performed the technique. The round shape of the water dragon allowed Rika to make a spiralling run, letting her dodge several incoming water techniques while still approaching her target. Just as she was about to reach the water-spewing ANBU, two more closed in on Rika from her sides. Both had a sword drawn, one a katana and the other a ninjato. Rika decided to handle the longer blade first. While still on the water dragon, Rika jumped backwards to avoid their initial strikes. But before they could recover, she dashed forward in a blur and brought her left hand into the man's neck. He made a coughing sound, as she struck his windpipe. And in that same fluid motion, her hand that struck him grabbed him by the jaw and pulled him down while her other hand slid down his arm to his hand weilding the blade. She slapped the tsuba and the sword came right out of his hand, allowing her to grab it. Since she was pulling him down, Rika rolled over his back to dodge another swing by the other ANBU and pushed the incapacitated one into the water dragon, sending him shooting away from the water pressure. Now, with a blade in hand, Rika turned toward the ANBU weilding a ninjato. However, while he was making another swing, the Mizukage tossed the katana in her hand. It pierced the leg of the ANBU that was spewing the water that formed the dragon. The head of the dragon was just above the Mizukage, and the sudden pain made the man cancel the technique and fall to his knees. The water that Rika and the other were standing on fell lifelessly now, causing his blade to miss its target. Before the wounded ANBU could remove the blade himself, Rika dashed over and pulled it out for him, before kicking him across the face onto his back. When she turned around, she brought her blade up in time to block the incoming strike. With impressive skill, Rika began an onslaught of expertly placed strikes. Though the ANBU was at first able to keep up and block her moves, she became progressively faster and started using more footwork. After a few seconds, her arms were a blur and her katana was only heard rather than seen. Her opponent simply couldn't keep up. Now covered in shallow cuts, he began to slow and lose balance. Before he could fall, Rika reached out and grabbed him by the collar, before rotating him around and using him as a shield. Several senbon needles stabbed into his back, but stopped once their owner realized what Rika had done. The man that had thrown shuriken earlier was now throwing senbon needles. The Mizukage let the man before her fall before sweeping past him low, sword poised like it was in a sheath. As he began throwing needles again, Rika charged forward and began swinging her blade at high speed, deflecting the projectiles. Rather than close in all the way, the Mizukage stopped and jabbed her blade to her left. Blood splattered on the floor as the sword impaled an invisible foe. After that strike, an ANBU appeared out of thin air, with Rika's blade piercing his left side abdomen. Since he had a grip on her blade, she simply left it in him before turning around and blocking another invisible attacker. While also dodging senbon, Rika began fighting the invisible foe. Judging by her movements and footwork, this opponent had a blade. But while Rika was mostly dodging, she had withdrawn a wire from under her Mizukage robes. Suddenly, she vanished in a blur. The woman was dashing to and fro at high speed in front of her opponent, making it impossible for him to strike her. However, after a few seconds, she stopped and pulled hard on the wire. The invisible foe suddenly found she had wrapped the wire around him haphazardly, and her hard yank tripped him to the ground and tied him up. Upon impact, he also lost invisibility. And since he couldn't move, Rika looked toward the last opponent. Or so she thought. Just as a senbon needle was approaching her, she snatched it out of the air before rotating to her right. She brought the needle around and shoved it through the neck of another ANBU, the one that had been hit by the water dragon. As it went completely through, he grabbed his neck from both sides in pain, before Rika jumped up and kicked him right on his hand. The pain was even worse now, and considering he already lost his balance he fell over from her kick. Another few senbon needles flew past Rika and she raised her hand, pointing it toward the last foe. A hole was suddenly punched through his leg, and then dragged outwards slicing it open. Though he wasn't mutilated, he let out a scream of pain, notably the only ANBU that had done so, and fell to the ground. Rika brought her hand to her side, cancelling her Blade of Wind technique, and she looked around. The six were all injured, but she made sure not to kill any of them. "I think that is enough for today," she said out loud, before letting out a sigh. Several medic-nin rushed onto the arena now, to tend to the men she wounded. "No hard feelings, gentlemen. Thank you for your cooperation and time." She blinked a few times, and her eyes seemed to be normal again, having that friendly appearance about them. "It is nothing... L-lady Mizukage," the one with a sliced leg spoke up, while a medic was tending to his wound. This prompted a smile from the Mizukage, who placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder for a moment before taking her leave. As she walked toward the exit, she saw Hiroshi ahead, holding their child in his hands. Rika's smile seemed to grow even wider now, and she held her arms out to hold Emi. With a smile of his own, Hiroshi handed their son over. "That was impressive," he said, taking a glance to the ANBU that were recovering now. "It was a bit sloppy. But my excuse can be that I was intentionally avoiding their deaths, so that can be why I was not performing at my best," Rika explained with a chuckle, before giving her son a kiss. Though the baby seemed to be smiling, he made no noises at all. Now, with a typical baby voice, Rika started talking to Emi. "When you're older, I will teach you how to do that and more. And you will make me proud."This prompted a chuckle from the Swordsman. "You really think he will be better than you? Isn't it already established that you are even stronger than the Second?" he asked, his tone light hearted. Rika handed Emi back to Hiroshi, before giving him a kiss as well. "I know he will do better than me. I saw it in a dream, and not one of my nightmares, mind you." This made Hiroshi laugh, before pausing a moment to adjust Emi in his arms. "Well, even so, I think you should be a bit more careful. I know you need your practice, just like I need mine, but..." He motioned toward the arena behind her. "Any of those attacks could have killed you." Rika simply giggled at that, before leading the way out. "But they never will hit me. Like I said: that was a sloppy run. It will take more than that to challenge me enough to even use my seal. And if I used my Tenrai, I would have been invincible. You've fought me before, so you know that.""Well, there are flaws to that technique," Hiroshi said, earning a raised eyebrow from Rika. "I cannot see them, but there are always flaws to any technique." Rika looked ahead now. The party was now on the street, where the bustle of the village surrounded them. "Tenrai has only one flaw, and that is the user. If I am focused and clever, I am untouchable." Though Hiroshi was being light hearted, Rika seemed to have taken this conversation a bit seriously now. "Are you focused and clever?" That changed the mood, and brought a laugh from the Mizukage. "I sure hope I am!"While the two were chuckling, Emi reached his hands toward his mother. She gladly accepted him, taking him from Hiroshi's hands and holding him tightly against her chest. "Mommy will always stay focused and clever for you, my little prince," she told her son. While he made no attempt at responding, he seemed content simply to be in Rika's arms. So she chuckled and looked up at Hiroshi. "You don't need to worry about me. It is you two that I worry about. The more I learn about the men I have to deal with in politics, the more I worry about you." Hiroshi put a hand on Rika's shoulder. "You don't have to worry about us. I might not be in your league, but I'm still strong. And the two of us, together, protect Emi. As well as the whole village, here."A smile formed on Rika's face. "I suppose you're right. But I still can't help but worry. I really want to just keep Emi with me at all times, but that wouldn't go so well at the office. Something bad would come of it out of sheer luck. But at least my mind would be at ease and I wouldn't have to worry about him leaving my sight," Rika said, looking down at her son. Emi was now trying to examine the faces of everyone they passed. "You have no enemies here, Rika. There will be no surprises, because you'll see the problem before it happens." Rika let out a sigh, before looking up at Hiroshi. "I do have enemies here. There are spies. They think I am unaware, but I always pay attention. It is better for me to let them live, for if I killed them they would be replaced and I would have to find them again. But you never know with spies. Some might be sleeper agents as well as information gatherers. Those are the ones I worry about, because I only know where they are not their mission."This created a silence for a moment as the two walked. "But I suppose you're right on the second point. Nothing bad will happen to you guys, realistically. But something inside me makes me worry, despite knowing you're safe." Hiroshi chuckled a bit. "That's just your maternal instinct, not your killer instinct." This formed a weak smile on Rika's face. "Whatever it is, I just want a way to be sure. Once Emi is old enough, I will keep him with me at the office. Perhaps it will teach him about the different walks of life. Many people come and go through that building every day. It will teach him a good few things in a short amount of time, as well as letting him socialize safely." Rika chuckled a bit, because she knew what Hiroshi was about to say. "I don't think letting him spend time with the lunatics you have to deal with counts as socializing.""I meant with other kids. Children go through the office now and then. That will give him something to do. And under my watchful eye, I can be sure that he is safe. Let's be honest here, Hiro..." Rika looked over her shoulder, before looking back at Hiroshi. "There are many people that would give an arm and a leg to see my line extinguished. Emi will be a target until he can learn my techniques and defend himself. Until that point, I want to protect him. I know others can, like you and the ANBU guards, but... I dunno... I just want to do it myself. I want to build that bond as much as I can from a young age, because..." "You're worried that he will grow up and look at you the wrong way?" "... Something like that." The Mizukage let out another sigh, before catching Emi off guard with another kiss to his forehad. "I just want him to love me back."Her words brought a smile to Hiroshi's face. "You know he does and always will. You're a good mother. A bit protective, but that's fair." "It better be else we'd have some problems." She chuckled a bit at her own words, before noticing they were already at the Mizukage Mansion. "It's a mother's job to be protective. I'd do anything to keep Emi safe, like any good mother would do. Mommy just doesn't feel like she's doing a good job because mommy is always busy being Mizukage." The last part was said to Emi, since he looked up at her, but it was more directed toward Hiroshi. "Mommy is just a bit impati-... uh, what are you doing?"Rika handed Emi to him mid-sentence and opened the door, Rather than simply walk into her mansion, Rika made a rapid step forward with her open palm out. From Hiroshi's angle, he couldn't see what she did with her arm. But from Rika's view, she saw her hand strike an ANBU directly in the solar plexus. As he began gasping for air, Rika hopped up and wrapped her feet around the man's neck before flipping upside down and grabbing his arm. With him in this hold, Rika pulled back hard and slammed him into the ground. Not only did she have his neck at her mercy, but his arm was also in a compromised position. She could choose to break his arm or his neck, or both. The man was gasping for air, but used his free hand to tap on Rika's legs. He gave up. As the Mizukage released him and stood to her feet, she began criticizing. "I had asked for a surprise attack. That wasn't a very good one. I saw it coming from a long ways off. Please try a bit harder next time," she instructed as she helped the ANBU to his feet. Now Hiroshi stepped inside, Emi in his arms. "How did you know?" The young woman removed her Mizukage robes and the ANBU walked away, coughing. "The streets was cleared. That meant the ANBU had redirected the public in case the fight got too intense. But clearly that was nothing, because there was no suprise to it at all. And it wasn't very creative, either. My own house? Please, such a basic tactic." Rika let out a giggle, before twirling around and looking up the stairs. "I'm in a good mood right now so if he wasn't the only one, the rest of you may go and not have to suffer a beating today!"There was a silence throughout the house and Rika shrugged. "Must've been only one." She turned back to Hiroshi, who had taken off his coat. For a moment, Rika wondered how he did that so quickly while also holding Emi, but he spoke up before she could be too bothered by it. "Good. That means we have the house to ourselves." The young woman smiled and looked at Emi, in Hiro's arms. They say that I am weaker than I was before. But I would argue against that. I'm stronger than ever now. Because I have something to protect now. This blade will never be dull. |
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Post by j8cob on Jun 15, 2014 10:51:40 GMT
The Last Link
One Year and Five Months into Timeskip
She sat with her legs crossed and her arms in front of her, holding her hands together in a strange handseal. It seemed almost like a mix of the Horse and the Tiger seals, but the proper name given to it is the Suzu seal. The handseal that is used in only one technique: activating the Tenrai seal. Rika was sitting in an almost meditating like pose with that handseal formed, sitting atop the roof of the Mizukage Mansion. She wore her typical combat clothes, without the Mizuakge robes. But the key difference between her now and how she is when the public sees her: there were black markings all over her body. They stretched all the way from her head to her toes in strange patterns. With her eyes closed it was even evident they ran over her eyelids too.
Despite the apparent serenity of the scene, an ANBU jumped onto the rooftop behind her. "Lady Mizukage," he began, kneeling down despite the fact she couldn't see him. "I hate to interrupt but... there is-" "Someone who insists on seeing me at the Office." Though her eyes remained closed and she didn't move from her position, the ANBU grew a bit nervous. "That is correct, my Lady. They-" "They will wait. Tell them I will see them in two hours." "Understood."
Just like that, the conversation was over. The ANBU vanished from the rooftop and Rika continued her training. Though it was once said that she had the ultimate control over her Tenrai seal, Rika was smart enough to take the time to hone her ability. Without training, it may one day come to haunt her. As such, she held her pose with the Suzu handseal indefinitely, intending to sit there for the entire two hours she claimed to need. Just by looking, one would assume that there was little effort to maintaining her stance. But they would be wrong. Rika was testing her control over the Tenrai seal, carefully pushing her limits on reality. It was always a dangerous game to practice the Tenrai, let alone use it in combat, but there had never been a threat for Rika. She had not once slipped up. Before the demise of the Suzu, most would have a scar somewhere from a time they once made a mistake with their Tenrai seal. But not Rika. Her body bore no such signs of failure.
While she continued testing her precision, her mind began to wander. It is always something. Someone is always demanding something. He wants this. She wants that. People have no regard for consideration anymore. They have lost the ability to think beyond themselves. Or perhaps they never had it... Regardless, I will not bend to that. I am not to be beckoned like a dog. If I am not available, it is for a good reason that should be respected. I am not only the Mizukage... I am a Suzu. Dog to no one. I can't be treated like... like some servant. I may be servant to the people but I am still the one calling the shots. People need to know their place in the world.
As her thoughts began to frustrate her more and more, Rika began pushing herself further without even realizing it. She could feel the tension in her chakra system. While she was still focused on her training, so as to not kill herself, she also seemed to not notice the change in her body. Some threshold was crossed, or perhaps a barrier had broken. She suddenly felt like the tension in her body vanished. The rapid change surprised her and she opened her eyes. She was no longer in Kirigakure, but instead she found herself in a strange hall.
It was a grand hall that seemed to stretch infinitely in both directions. The young woman jumped to her feet now, already believing that she was having a hallucination. But a voice behind her spoke up. "So it has finally happened..." The young woman turned around to see there was an old man standing several meters away in the middle of the hall. He seemed incredibly old, like it was a miracle that he could even speak kind of old, with long grey hair that almost reached the floor and a walking stick in his right hand. He was also short, though notably taller than Rika. "Where am I? What is going on?" Rika began asking, prompting a chuckle from the old man.
"That happened," he spoke, pointing with his left hand at Rika's arms. She looked down and saw the markings of the Tenrai seal, except they were different now. Rather than being purely black markings, they now had a blue center that seemed to glow within each stripe. This shocked Rika and she looked back at the old man. "That didn't answer my questions," she said, her voice conveying some irritation. "Oh, I'm sorry about that. I thought it explained it, but then I realized you are not me... You have now truly mastered the Tenrai that I designed." Rika paused to process this.
"You're Kiyoni Suzu?" she asked, earning some laughter from the man. "Indeed it is me, the founder of the Suzu clan." Rika looked around now. "But..." "I vanished nearly four hundred years ago? Now you know where. And you are curious where we are? Why, this is the dimension I created." Rika seemed astounded, still looking around. The walls of the giant hall were covered in mirrors, and she could see many reflections of herself, the pillars, the old man, the carpet... "You created this?" "In a way. You see... My goal was to transcend reality. And I managed to do so with enough tampering with the Tenrai seal. Who would've thought it would take another four hundred years before anyone else could reach my level..."
Before he could talk any more, Rika appeared before him on her knees, holding her hands together. "You are Kiyoni Suzu... That means... I come from your blood. You're family," Rika began. Though it appeared as if she was pleading with him, her words were clear contradictions. "I saw what has befallen our clan..." His remark was cool, but it didn't stop Rika from grabbing the old man in a hug. "I can't believe it. That there is someone left. Even if it is someone I have never met before. Family..." The old man began laughing, before gently removing himself from Rika's embrace. "I understand your sentiments, young one, but I wouldn't get too attached to me if I were you."
This seemed to surprise Rika, and she stood back on to her feet. "Why not? You've been here this whole time? Can you not stay?" Immediately after asking the question, she regretted it. "For nearly four hundred years, I have stayed in this dimension. Watching, waiting. I wanted to confirm that someone could succeed me. Someone could keep the true legacy. But no one could. My time was long, long ago, Rika..." She already knew where this was going. "But wait. You can't be going. I... I've hardly met you. Can't we talk, get to know each other?"
"I already know everything about you, Rika. I have been watching you. Your troubles, your accomplishments... I have to say, you have lead an interesting life. You are wise beyond your years. But... there isn't much to know about me. You already know most of it. My dreams, my accomplishments. Only now you know how my story really ended." A smile formed on the old man's face for a moment. "Once I leave this dimension, I will immediately die. You do not age here, but my time will catch up to me once I leave. I have been denied my right to rest at peace for so long... But now there is someone I can entrust to truly preserve the Suzu."
Rika seemed dumbfounded. Her face seemed almost like he had punched a hole through her. "You don't understand, Kiyoni. You are the only family I have left. You've seen what I've done... Please..." "I must stay a bit longer to explain a few things." He waved his hand toward the wall on his right. Several of the mirrors changed into portraits of various people. "In this dimension, you have total control. Well, that isn't accurate. There are some limitations. But for the most part, this dimension becomes a representation of the owner's mind. Apparently, this grand hall represents me. Once I am gone, it will shape itself to your fitting. You can access this at any time. You do not have to stay here for four hundred years like I did. But... please do ensure that your son or perhaps his children will be able to access this place. They need to truly master the Tenrai to do so."
With all that explained, the old man let out a sigh. "You can watch your family from here. Though, that may be different for you. Like I said: it will fit itself to your mind. But perhaps the most important thing I am trying to say: do not die without passing on ownership to another Suzu. Even if you must do as I did and at the very end of your life come here to wait until it has been accessed. I do not want all my hard work to be in vain." Though he was stern now, Rika seemed to still be in shock. "Why must you go? Can't you stay a while? I... I..." Suddenly, Rika felt a sharp smack across the side of her face. The old man gave her a whack with his walking stick. "You are a Suzu, for crying out loud. And the strongest one at that. Don't be blubbering like a sentimental fool." She rubbed the cheek that was hit, but said nothing.
"I will be going now. It is a shame that this will be the first and last time we meet. But there are many people waiting for me in the afterlife. And I have been longing to see them as well." The old man turned around and began to walk away. The Mizukage snapped out of her daze and ran forward, grabbing him by the arm. "Kiyoni! Please! Just don't go. Don't leave me. You're all..." The old man began to fade away now, and Rika's hand passed through him like an apparition. Like that, he was gone. "... the family I have left..." The young woman collapsed onto her knees on the floor, staring at the place where the Suzu founder had just been standing.
It was so fast. She felt the pain of it, knowing it was her fault for getting her hopes up. Though she tried to tell herself that she couldn't really consider him family for she didn't know him, it didn't matter. The pain of losing another family member, the last family member, was ringing in her mind. As her gaze began to shift downward, she noticed something strange and looked down at her hands. The dimension around her was changing. The mirrors on the walls began to distort, before all shattering into millions of tiny pieces. The pillars twisted and mangled themselves, even though the ceiling did not change in height. The carpet across the center of the hall began tearing itself. Then the color of the entire dimension faded. Rika looked at her hands and realized that she was only seeing in greyscale here. As she looked around the hall, she realized that it was now basically a dark, twisted version of Kiyoni's dimension. One of the pieces of mirror on the floor caught Rika's attention and she looked at her own reflection.
Her eyes were red. Everything else was black and white. "I truly am alone now..." she whispered, though there was none to hear her. "Even a man that defied death decided to die rather than..." Water began forming in her eyes. "Why? I have never asked for much. Is this a part of my punishment? Is this even real? Am I hallucinating again?" The tears began to roll down her cheeks now. "All I ever wanted was for them to be happy. Everything is so wrong... I should be the one that died. If they were all alive, maybe they could have a chance at being happy. But I killed them... They will never be happy... I will never be happy..." She closed her eyes now and brought her hands over face, sobbing into them. The sounds of her crying echoed down the infinite hall of broken mirrors.
Rika opened her eyes and saw she was on top of the Mizukage Mansion now. She could still feel the tears in her eyes. Was that even real? she thought, before looking down at her arms. Just like in the other dimension, the markings across her body now had a blue streak through them. That was... Before she could dwell on it any longer, she heard someone opening the door to the roof. She cancelled the Tenrai, causing the blue streaks to vanish first and then the black markings. She turned around to face Hiroshi approaching her. "Rika, I was-... were you crying?" The Mizukage realized that she forgot to wipe her tears and quickly decided to do so. "It was nothing... another... daydream," she told him. By the time she looked up, Hiroshi had already embraced her in a hug. No words were said. She slowly returned the hug. She wanted to tell him what happened, but she was scared that she would sound insane to him. And Hiroshi was the last person she wanted to seem crazy to.
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Post by j8cob on Sept 2, 2014 6:16:19 GMT
Lady Mizukage
One Year and Five Months into Timeskip
"You don't know where the Mizukage is?" the man asked skeptically. Sitting behind the Mizukage's desk was not the woman herself, but instead Hiroshi Genji. He gave a nervous chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head. "I'm sorry, but I don't. Her exact words were that she needed to stretch her legs. But she left me here to get her work done. So unless it is something very specific to Rika, I can help you." The man seemed a bit irritated and he crossed his arms. "It is specific to her. It's about the conversation we had last week over the deed to my store. I heard my thieving son had made an appeal to her. When will she be back?" Hiroshi chuckled again. "I don't know, sir. She left an hour ago, if that helps. But here, why don't you tell me what the problem is and I'll relay it to her later?"
Meanwhile, the woman of the hour was across the village. It was a surprisingly warm day, considering the sun had even lifted the mist and now shone brightly in the sky. Toward the outskirts of the village, there was a building under construction. Though it was in far too early of a stage to determine what it would become, signs around the neighborhood advertised of a casino opening in the near future. There were presently two dozen men working on the site. Mostly moving the large wooden beams into position, as they were just getting the 'skeleton' of the building complete. But there was one woman among them, and that one woman was also the reason there were several young spectators.
Rather than donning her Mizukage robes, Rika Suzu wore a plain white T-shirt and jean shorts. Otherwise the labor combined with the sunlight would be uncomfortably hot. Though the men working all dressed in a somewhat similar manner, for some reason the clothing seemed rather stylish on Lady Mizukage. Just like the larger men working, she was pulling her share of labor, lifting the large wooden beams and helping put them in position. A feat that is unimpressive for her coworkers due to their stature, but impressive because of hers. One of the thicker supports was on the ground by the street now, and all the men were busy with something else. With a shrug and a sigh, Rika walked over to the large piece of wood.
The onlookers were mostly teenage boys and children, and upon seeing Rika walk over to the large beam, several young men stepped forward. "Need a hand, Lady Mizukage?" one of them offered, crossing his arms over his chest in a manner to deliberately show his muscles. Rika sized him up for a moment before chuckling. "Thank you, but I've got this. I wouldn't want a lad like you hurting yourself." As if he was insulted, the other teenagers began chuckling at his expense. And not to disappoint on her own words, the small woman stretched her arms before wrapping them around the lumber.
With a grunt of effort Rika began to stand upright, slowly hefting the large beam onto her shoulder. Though this surprised the teenagers, considering the beam dwarfed her, this thoroughly impressed the small children. "See...? I've got it..." Rika let out, sounding strained. But a smirk was on her face. Without a warning, she turned around to walk back to the other workers. In the process, this swung the beam around wide, which resulted in knocking over the teen that offered to help. But despite putting him on the floor, Rika didn't even seem to notice her accident. Once the construction workers noticed her struggling to position the support beam, two came over to help her. "We appreciate your help, Lady Mizukage, but we don't want you to hurt yourself," the foreman spoke up. She wiped sweat off her brow before giving him a smile.
"Thank you for your consideration," she told him, with a sweet voice. Her reaction surprised him, as he expected her to be stubborn. "All this labor has me exhausted. I'm going to take a break." Rika began to walk away, which made the foreman chuckle. "You can go back to your job anytime, you know. We aren't keeping you here." Rather than respond, Rika just gave him a wave of her hand. Seeing the Mizukage walking their way, the children that were watching her began to surround her. A little boy, who apparently was a shinobi prospect, was the first to speak up. "How did you get so strong, Mizukage-sama?" This made Rika stop, before crouching down slightly to get eye level with most of the children. "Training hard and eating my vegetables." With a grin, she reached out and pinched the boy's cheek before standing upright again.
As she made her way to a nearby bench, still swarmed by the kids, there was a commotion down the street. The tired woman hardly had a moment to sit down before she heard the shouting. With an exasperated sigh, she stood back up and patted a nearby girl on the head. "You kids stay here, okay?" she said, phrasing her command like a polite suggestion. Despite their own curiosity her sweet, sing-songy voice convinced them to wait by the bench. A crowd was starting to form in the street and Rika had to force her way through. Though, as soon as someone would see who was going past, they immediately got out of her way. Nobody wanted to block the Mizukage.
After getting to the front of the crowd, she found that they had circled around a fight. A brawl from the nearby bar had spilled out onto the street, and the crowd of specators was apparently enjoying it. That is, until everyone noticed the Mizukage. The two men that were fighting, both appeared to be in their thirties and slightly intoxicated, failed to notice her as they slugged it out. As the crowd began to quiet down and step back, the small woman walked directly into the fight. Just as one of the men was about to swing at the other, she reached up and grabbed them both by an ear. This surprised them both, and in that brief moment of being stunned, Rika yanked down.
This tossed both men onto their sides on the ground, both instinctively grabbing their throbbing ears. The Mizukage turned to face them, putting a hand on her hip and wagging a finger at the shocked men. "You two are grown men and should know better than to behave in such a vulgar manner. Fighting in public could get you charged with assault and battery." She leaned forward slightly now, taking a more threatening pose. "Were you two fighting?" They were both still taken aback by the sudden change of events, but the pause was brief before they got her hint and nodded in comprehension. "Good. There are children in this neighborhood so take your problems elsewhere." With that, the small woman walked away with her typical swagger, leaving the fighter and the crowd flabbergasted. She had simply walked over, broke up a fight, and walked away.
Now away from the crowd again, Rika didn't get a chance to reach the bench for her break before she heard someone stomp to her left. Looking over, a teenage shinobi stood a few meters away with a confident smirk. "Lady Mizukage," he began, walking over to her. "You're pretty strong. I want to see what the famous Rika Suzu can really do. I challenge you to a fight." He stopped a meter away from Rika. Since they were within hearing distance of the kids, the children all seemed to perk up at the prospect of seeing their leader do something cool. There was a silence for a moment before Rika giggled. She reached out and pinched his cheek, despite him being taller than her. "Aren't you cute. Maybe another time." With that, she began to walk away again.
For a few seconds, the teenager was stunned and didn't move. After rubbing his cheek, he grew a bit frustrated. "So you are too scared to take my challenge?" The smirk quickly came back, but Rika just gave him a wave of dismissal with the back of her hand. She clearly didn't intend on sparring with this boy. Thinking he could be clever and pick a fight with her by getting in a sneak attack, the boy charged toward Rika from behind, preparing to deliver a low kick to trip her. But as he approached, the Mizukage suddenly stepped ot the side, avoiding his kick. In that split-second, she reached down and put her hand under his outstretched leg. Before he could react, her arm shot upward. This forced his leg up and sent him crashing to the ground head first. As he rolled onto his knees and grabbed the back of his head, Rika giggled again and sat down on the bench.
"There, I won the fight. Now would you be a dear and get me some water?" The teenager looked up at her, before letting out a sigh. He felt a bit silly now, but at least he now knew the difference in their skill. Trying again would only result in being publicly humiliated. "Fine, my Lady." He picked himself up off the ground now and walked away. With him gone, the kids swarmed around Rika again. "That was cool!" "I barely saw you move!" "Can you train me some day?" Rika chuckled a bit, before relaxing into the wooden bench. "Now now. That was nothing. Just a bit of a scuffle. And look at the time." This confused the children, as nobody present had a watch. But Rika pointed toward the sky. "Isn't it about lunch time?"
A wave of realization swept over the kids. After giving their goodbyes to the Mizukage and running off, Rika was finally alone. She let out a sigh and leaned her head back as the teenager from before approached with a water bottle. "It's only a little cool, not all that cold." "That's fine." He gave it a light toss, despite the fact Rika wasn't looking. But her left hand shot up and she caught it. As the teenager gave a polite bow and walked away, Rika opened the bottle and sat upright. She first splashed some water onto her face but after that burst of refreshment she began actually drinking it.
"You seem popular with the young ones." Without stopping drinking, Rika glanced over as an older gentleman sat down on the bench next to Rika. He appeared to be in his fifties and civilian, sporting a greying beard and a shaved haircut. "But you know better." His tone bothered Rika, and once the bottle was empty she took a deep breath. "What are you talking about?" The man turned his gaze onto the younger woman. "The youngin's. They all like you. But people like me... People like me remember." He didn't even have to say it and Rika new where this was about to go. "My generation knows very well what happened those years ago. The young men and women remember the events, but don't know the details. It is their ignorance that makes you so popular."
A frown formed on Rika's face. "I remember what happened very well. It isn't their lack of knowledge. It's that they see I am trying, doing what I can. After growing up under Fumiyo's thumb, I must appear as a godsend." "Then there is the generation before them that grew up under Shouji. The people that are old enough to properly compare things. When I was your age, I felt safe, secure, prosperous. I had confidence in our leadership." His gaze went forward now. "Though this is much better than under the Third or Fourth, I still cannot say the same." The young woman thought about it for a moment, before leaning forward and propping her chin on her hands with her elbows on her knees. "You seem like a wise man. Why are you telling me this?"
A light chuckle escaped the old man. "Because I don't think anyone would tell you otherwise." His gaze became stern as he locked eyes with the Mizukage. "The kids don't know any better. Your shinobi are too scared to speak up. Most of us older folk have given up any hope we had in this village. Even if I am the only man that feels this way, I figured I could take this opportunity to let you know that I don't have faith in you." There was a pause. Despite his sincerity and politeness, Rika felt that his words were stabbing her. "You can never truly lead this village."
"I often wonder if I can." Her response surprised the older man. "I think to how life was when I was a little girl and think that I could never attain as much devotion as my uncle had. The wisdom and leadership skills. But then.." Rika looked up toward the construction site across the street. "I may never be clean of my past, but seeing their smiles..." The green eyes settled back on the man next to her. "At least I am doing something right." There was a silence between the two, before the older man let out a sigh. "You mean well, I see. But my opinion hasn't changed. And I know I'm not the only one who feels this way. Perhaps that will change in the future."
He stood up from the bench now, facing away from the Mizukage. "What is your name, sir?" Rika asked after he took a few steps. The older man paused and looked over his shoulder at her. "I'm sure you can understand why I wouldn't want to tell you." With those words, Rika felt like she was stabbed through. Though it was subtle to anyone that overheard, it rang in Rika's ears. So much that she visibly winced. "I see..." With nothing left to say, the man left Rika alone on the bench. She was quiet and unmoving for a moment, before letting out a sigh and leaning back and picking up the empty plastic bottle. Before she could attempt to throw it in a trashcan several meters away, she heard someone whistle. Glancing over, there were several young men across the street that were catcalling her. A smirk formed on her face.
Then the empty bottle struck the forehead of the man that whistled at her. Though it didn't hurt too much, being only a plastic bottle, it got the message across. The short woman stood up and wiped her forehead again, before walking back to the construction site. "Alright, I'm good to go again." This surprised the foreman and the other construction workers, but he simply shrugged. "Well, alright then. If you would, Lady Mizukage, we need another pair of hands in the back. One of the foundation holes wasn't deep enough. You can either get a shovel and dig or help align the beam." Rika brought a finger to her lips as she thought about it for a moment. "I haven't dug any holes in a long time. I'll get a shovel." The foreman let out a sigh as she walked away. While this was their job, she seemed to be having fun with it. Then again, it wasn't her job. Perhaps that was why.
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