Menza & Nozomi: Exit Interview?!

Menza Sukiyama warped in an alleyway not far from the Heavenly Gardens. He had placed a tag in the area not really expecting to visit all that often. Shin was a bit of sourpuss when it came to him sometimes and so he had kept his distance from Suna. It was probably his second least traveled village after Iwagakure, his "home" village. He walked into the gardens with his hands in his pocket. Menza was wearing his typical outfit, a green vest, jumpsuit pants, and pointed shoes. His long black hair was silky and immaculately groomed with a fresh scent of wisteria. He'd chance upon a small blonde girl drawing a picture.

The gardens were rather beautiful and he couldn't help but admire the fact that she drew inspiration from her surroundings. That was probably just the Nature Clansman in him though. Every member of the Nature Clan resonated with pro-environmental actions and activities whether they liked it or not. Menza coughed slightly drawing attention to himself. If Nozomi was half the shinobi that Honiko was, she'd have known of his arrival long before the cough.

"Well, well, well....Honiko's famed successor....Nozomi Himitsu....Its a pleasure to meet you...officially."

Menza began to bow as a show of respect, but the bow went so far and low that it became mocking. The man righted himself and gave a cheshire grin. His eyes bulged accentuated the inhumane feature that had made so many recoil in horror. The sockets were misshapen. They were somehow trapezoidal in nature and the pupils appeared to stretch upwards blotting the eyeball itself, and creating an eerie effect. Most Doujutsu were aesthetically pleasing and symmetrical but this man's eyes were just plain old fashioned disturbing. They were haunting, avaricious, and mutilated.

If Nozomi had heard one thing about Menza that was irrefutably true, it was that his eyes were a window into his soul.

Nozomi wore just a plain white silk Kimono, cut off at mid thigh, with bare legs and a basic pair or sandals, trying to keep herself cooled down in the heat of Sunagakure. While she waited for Menza, she was busy drawing the landscape of the gardens, a new addition to her art collection. Menza teleported in and Nozomi paused slightly, before continuing her drawing. She looked over at him and put her notebook down.

"Charmed. Where is Rin?" she asked, noticing a lack of Uchiha with Menza, and ignoring the obvious mocking bow. "I suppose it doesn't matter." she answered almost immediately, not giving Menza a chance to answer. "So, what do you want for him? Konoha can't pay, we stole all their money, artifacts, and exclusives. You may as well get something for Rin, I need him."

Nozomi wasn't really a word mincer. She didn't usually like to waste time on talking when business was at hand, and apparently there wasn't a whole lot that Neko could even do about the situation, given that she send Nozomi a message out of desperation.

She criss crossed her legs as she sat, an apathetic and emotionless face looking up at Menza. The girl was completely unassuming, and if someone passed her on the streets, she'd just be another cute face, but that was the extent of her charm. The more people talked to her, the more they'd realize that. She wasn't good at talking to people.

Menza smiled when Nozomi asked him where Rin was. He was about to answer but the kunoichi cut him off. She didn't give him the satisfaction of bragging about his insolence. Nozomi was straight to the point. No chit-chat. No banter. No witty one-liners. The man crossed his arms and sighed.

"You really do take after your sensei....no pleasantries nor small talk. Just business"

Menza shrugged. He couldn't complain. One of the few things he liked about Honiko was that she kept her word. The woman was joyless but with joylessness came reliability. Something that was sorely lacking in the shinobi world.

"I believe I have named my price to the Kage of the world. If they cannot pay, then unfortunately that is their burden to bear. I assume you didn't know of my plans when you took the money from Konoha but even if you had I calculated that their funds would likely not be enough....not on their own at least. What I really wanted was Yui Kotoshura and an member of the Ōtsutsuki Clan. Yui was the one who owed me and she has refused to pay. I plan on making an example of her....the Ōtsutsuki is for my own research purposes. They are the rarest bloodline currently in existence and I would very much love to study one of them. The yield would be beneficial not just to me but the organization as a whole."

Menza stroked his beardless chin and went on:

"If you can rob Konoha with impunity and take all they have....why not just bring me what I have asked for? Yui and an Ōtsutsuki. Give me those two things and Rin is yours....Bijuu and all"

Menza gave her some of the highest praise he could have. A small smile popped onto her face as Menza said she took after Honiko. But she let it slide back to nothing, and listened as Menza spoke. She shook her head at his proposal though, having to decline.

"I can't do that. Tattsu's debt would be owed for helping Rin. Taking Yui would likely result in no deal happening. Obviously I'm not going to let them try to kill you, but I do want that deal to go through as best I can. Finding an Otsutsuki may be difficult, but it's doable. The immediate issue I see is time constraints. I'm very busy, and the sooner this is over, the better. Rin's freedom needs to happen quickly, and tracking an Otsutsuki will take time."

Nozomi was silent for a moment as she thought, and then shook her head. "No, I don't think that deal is immediately doable, although I can do that in time. Is there anything else you'd like? Keep in mind I won't bankrupt the Society, but I can certainly do a payment plan, if you'll give me Rin in good faith, and I can acquire an Otsutsuki for your studies as well. You're a valuable asset to the Society according to Honiko, so I won't endanger that relationship. I was told that you're worth it."

The Jinchuuriki watched Menza carefully, unsure about his thoughts. He wasn't like most people she'd talked to, that much was for sure. He was the type to always think, always have something going on in his head, and Nozomi was quite the opposite. She wasn't very quick with most responses or replies, and took time to consider each option, whereas intellectuals quickly calculated and came up with new proposals. Nozomi was like that in combat, but not as much in conversation. The battlefield was her home, not a meeting of minds.

Menza could tell that Nozomi was flattered by his praise. He had not said it because he wanted to get on her good side, he had said it because it was true. It confirmed his suspicions that were was more affection between the two than student-sensei. Although if it was romantic or filial was not entirely clear to him. Nozomi dismissed his demands as not fitting into her agenda. She had rightfully calculated that turning over Yui would kill the chance of any deal between her and the desperate Hokage. The Ōtsutsuki was more within her power but given the time constraints, she rightfully acknowledged that it simply wasn't possible to just go and get one. Menza's encyclopedic knowledge of psychology and international affairs told him that Tatsu-sama was not long for this world. The Hokage was making enemies even faster than Menza had. Her ability to contract with Nozomi diminished every passing hour. It would continue to diminish until the cat was dead and could no longer fulfill whatever bargain Nozomi sought.

Menza kept this knowledge to himself. For one, Nozomi had not proven herself to him directly so he had little incentive to share it and secondly while it was his prediction he acknowledged that his models had been off as of late. Kotoshura in particular appeared to be so chaotic and violent that they defied any conventional degree of analysis. The Cat had a 90% chance of dying but given Yui's luck it was possible that this Nekoian Empire might endure for a century. The shinobi world was wonky like that.

Menza continued to stroke his beardless chin as Nozomi stroked his ego. She had said he was worth keeping and that she wouldn't jeopardize an asset by allowing him to walk away empty-handed. Her words were nice, but they were just words. He had dealt with Yui and Rin, and they had disappointed him sorely. He felt that he would receive the same disappointment from Nozomi.

Then again, Honiko had chosen her and he respected the Dragon Sage. She would not choose a liar and a fool to represent her while she was away. No....what Yui and Rin lacked this girl possesses in spades. Honiko you were a fanatic and an uptight elderly micro-fascist trapped in a young woman's body....but stupid you were not. If this girl aims to do something...she does it. The Shinobi World Tournament. The Blood Prison. The Raid on Konoha. Hmmm....perhaps she is more seasoned than I'm giving her credit for.

Menza sighed and spoke with a level of softness and sincerity that was uncharacteristic of him.

"I have been disappointed by so many Nin of your generation. They talk, they hum, they haw. They dilly, they dally. They make promises, deals, and contracts that they cannot keep. I'm hard pressed to give you shinobi any more of my time. I am researcher not a warrior and my research is calling to me. I've patiently waited for payment and none have been able to deliver. Not Yui, Not Rin, Not the Kage"

Nozomi was probably waiting for him to get to the point. Either reject, provide a counter-offer,  or accept. But Menza was very much unlike Nozomi in that way. He loved language. He loved words. He had been denied the right to speak freely for so long and he had promised himself that he would relish that freedom that so many took for granted.

"Luckily for you, I respect your predecessor. In fact, I respect her enough to trust you. I'll give you Rin but I'm keeping his right hand. A bitter reminder to him of what it means to break his word to a man stronger than him. You can keep Yui to satisfy the Kage...." However, long she lasts. "...I'll talk her left hand though, she'll regrow of course as will he but I do love personal decor...they'll occupy a jar on my desk. Sitting side-by-side....a nice furniture piece don't you think Nozomi?"

Menza's hands dropped to his sides and he spoke plainly.

"I will accept payment of 7.5 Million which can be paid at a rate of 250,000 Ryo every three months until the principal is paid off. I will not charge you interest. The Ōtsutsuki can be given to me at your leisure. I find that giving you shinobi deadlines is like casting pearls before swine. We of the sciences value time, you people do not. Your word is your bond, so if you tell me that you will bring me an live Ōtsutsuki in a reasonable time frame. I will leave it at that."

Menza would hold out his hand for Nozomi to shake. He had vowed to never contract with a shinobi of her generation again but Nozomi was not like most of her generation and so he'd be foolish to treat her along the same lines. With this deal, he'd be able to retire in peace and finally be rid of these jutsu-casting bonobos.

Menza liked to dialogue. He was having fun with this thing, and Nozomi let him talk for the most part. At the end of the speech, Nozomi was silent for but a moment, before she nodded her head in agreement. Standing up for the first time in the conversation, Nozomi was still quite a deal shorter than Menza.

"I have yet to go back on a deal. After the Championship and the Blood Prison, I conquered Isobu alone and on the spot when Hizashi told me to. And I've become a perfect sage in my own rights. I've never failed Honiko. This task will be nothing in comparison. I will honor this deal. 7 and a half million, at 250,000 every 3 months, and an Otsutsuki in a timely manner." Nozomi reached out a hand, surprisingly delicate and soft, but her grip would be firm, betraying her monstrous strength.

"It'll be sooner rather than later. I don't like being in people's debt. As for Rin's hand, feel free. I just need him alive and well. Yui's too. I won't assist in that though. That'll be on you if you really want them." Nozomi formed the clone seal, making a shadow clone using the Multi Shadow Clone jutsu, and sent a clone off to gather an initial 250,000 ryo for the trapezoidal eyed man. "I'll need a way to contact you, unless you want me just to send another messenger bird. And then there's the matter of your death. Would you want to fake your death with a body double? I don't doubt you could manufacture a perfectly convincing corpse."

At this point, Nozomi was just finalizing the details. The clone wasn't gone but a few moments, holding a sum of 250,000 ryo. Nozomi wasn't going to bargain over the number or waste time with that sort of thing to get the best deal possible. She had stated her terms, Menza had given his offer, and she thought it was fair so she had accepted it.

Menza raised an eyebrow when Nozomi mentioned that she had defeated Isobu without prior preparation. He analyzed the girl's micro-expressions and determined that she wasn't lying. Of course Honiko could have trained her to hide her tells but Menza didn't take Nozomi for a liar and a bragger. She was saying what she was saying because it was true and she wanted to set aside his concerns. The two shook hands and the deal was sealed. He hoped Nozomi would keep up her end of the bargain. Menza hated to lose and he wasn't about to have Honiko's disciple run roughshod over him. Hizashi rarely involved himself with such squabbles but Menza knew that deliberately going back on such a critical deal would be unacceptable for even him.

Menza knew that if he simply asked for Yui's hand she would give it to him. Not because she liked him but because she'd do anything to save Rin. Menza smirked and nodded. "Alive and well" Nozomi then went on to ask about means of contact and how he wished to stage his death.

The mad scientist shook his head.

"I won't be faking my death. I want the world to know that Menza Sukiyama still lives. It will hopefully keep them on their toes. If they are going against you they'll need every incentive to work hard. That's good for you too because I don't see how you can expect to fight with the wolves at night if you spend all day sparring with puppies."

The monologuing descendant then said:

"As for contacting me, that will be done through Hizashi. Only Hizashi will know where I am. If you wish to contact me, pass a message through him. If its anything super important I can meet with you personally. My payment can be dropped off at the Isle of Whispers and I'll have an intermediary pick it up."

With that, Menza's business on the surface world was complete. He had much work to do and the best way to do it was to go underground (quite literally). The Nature Clansman held out his hand and a bird flew to him. The creature perched on his index finger and began chirping to him. Birds are such gossipers he noted to himself. Another landed on his shoulder and told him another story.

It seemed as though the man was wasting time. He looked at the birds and casually began speaking.

"I read the letter that Tatsu-sama addressed to you....my how pathetic and desperate they are~" His own interactions with Nee-san came to mind. "I always believed Honiko to be a zealot but I've come to realize that she was right about one thing. These people are not fit to rule themselves. Whichever way this war of yours goes I don't particularly care, but I do think you are on the right side of things. Any civilization that would let someone like Neko-sama have such power is doomed to fail. Like any failed experiment, the best course would be to start over."

Menza turned to his leader.

"Wouldn't you agree?"

How ever she choose to respond Menza would give a slight chuckle. He'd move his body and the birds would fly away. The man would then toss a Flying Thunder God marked kunai into the dirt and then teleport out of the area.

After a few minutes, Rin Uchiha would be teleported into the area right in front of Nozomi. He'd be unconscious and missing an hand, but otherwise he'd be in perfect health. A note would be attached to his forehead.

Spoiler:

Much like a snap of someone's fingers Rin winks into existence where Menza originally was. It was blistering hot compared to what Menza's lab was. Either way, Rin in the midst of the teleportation passed out from the pain in his hand. Granted Menza did heal the stump, it was still fresh to the nerves. Not to mention Rin wasn't at his 100% condition either so it's not like he can endure things like that for long before succumbing to sleep once again. Honestly, how can one person sleep for so long? And then go back to sleep?

Rin isn't wearing any of his armor, clothes, or gear that he had back at the Kirigakure gates. Instead, Rin is only given a hospital gown as several scars along his arms are exposed. Most notably and most recent is this intricate scarring forming into a pattern from the tips of his fingers up to his shoulders. Truthfully it resembles tribal tattoos that are seen sometimes on shinobi and citizens. Additionally the scars also seems like something stabbed him multiple times, albeit that was due to when he took on Kyoji's Shark Bomb. Even his face sustained a scar like a blade came an inch below his left eye. Face towards the sky of the burning sun, Rin's eyes remain closed and his mind absent from the present. Rather, Rin is succumbed into the void once more.

Nozomi nodded her affirmative. "Of course she was right." She did honestly agree with Menza. The people had proven they couldn't be trusted to lead, and the slate needed to be wiped clean under a new management. With their deal concluded and the details of the payments worked out, Menza no longer needed to be in Suna, and he left post haste, sending Rin to her with a note and without a hand. She was sure that wouldn't last too long, but for now, it would be a bit of a problem for the Konoha Jinchuuriki. Nozomi let out a 'tsk' and picked up the note, reading it.

Folding the note, Nozomi put it in Rin's pocket, as she didn't have any of her own, and stared at him for a moment. He was in a pitiful state. Completely at her mercy. Nozomi shook her head and picked the limp boy up, carrying him bridal style. His condition was unbefitting of a Jinchuuriki. Part of her wondered how he had managed to lose to Menza, and the circumstances of his being taken in, but that would have to wait until he awoke.

Carrying Rin to the hospital, Nozomi would get him on a stretcher by some doctors who had seen her approaching with the unconscious body. "There's a drug regimen in his pocket. He'll be fine if you follow that. Do whatever tests you need, but follow the regimen. Do me a favor and tell him to head to the Heavenly Gardens when he wakes up and gets cleared."

With that, Nozomi went back to the gardens so she could continue her sketching and get to writing some letters as well. The whole thing was a chore. Nozomi had thought about getting some people to deal with that sort of thing, but she preferred doing them herself anyhow. She knew she'd get it right, and if not, then she'd be the only one to blame. And she could trust herself. Other people had goals that she couldn't ever really be sure of.

-exit