Nikuyo's Office

Nikuyo sighed when he read the report in front of him. He wasn't exactly sure he was reading it correctly, either. A five year old had graduated the academy, and one of his own blood no less. He had had very little contact with his family since his return, wishing to distance himself from those who had turned their backs on him in his hour of greatest need. He cared nothing for them now, but this one intrigued him by virtue of its incredible rarity. Hizashi was in the office as well, standing to Nikuyo's left and awaiting an order.

The Mizukage placed the young genin's file back in its folder so that it could be replaced later before picking up a scroll that had come sealed in a rope. It had the seal of Konohagakure on it, indicating that it was directly from the hands of the Hokage. Nikuyo opened this, his eyes scrawling slowly across the words written on the scroll. Once he finished the Mizukage scoffed a little. "Inviting the leaders of all of the Hidden Villages to a land that isn't even his." He stopped here, his imagination running with ideas on what could happen. "I think it would at least be interesting. Don't you, Hizashi?"

"Of course, Lord Mizukage." Nikuyo grunted at Hizashi's agreement, reaching for a pen and a small message scroll of his own. The Mizukage scrawled out his response, his letters pristine and perfect in every aspect. His penmanship was remarkable thanks to his as of yet unrivaled precision.

The response read simply: "Nikuyo Yuki, Mizukage of the Hidden Mist, agrees with your assessment. I'll be there." Nikuyo paused here, debating on whether he should tell the Hokage to bring snacks. Perhaps it would be best for him to bring his own, and so he instead rolled his response up and tied it a ribbon which he then sealed with the symbol of Kirigakure in wax. Nikuyo handed this to Hizashi, who took it from him and would make sure it was delivered once dismissed.

"Now, I'm assigning that Kaguya girl to a jonin known to possess the Executioner's Blade." Nikuyo gave a very light grin at the mentioning of that sword, one of the legendary blades said to reside in the archipelago of the Land of Water. "Remind me to find that jonin, Hizashi."

"I can do that."

Nikuyo nodded in recognition, signing off on the order to give Makahshi Kereko control of a full squad. And what a squad it would be, with a five year old Yuki and a dimwitted Kaguya. Nikuyo silently wondered if the third team member would have to pick up the slack, then decided that if they couldn't survive then they weren't strong enough to be in this village anyways. "Make sure that Kagetsu girl does as she's supposed to. Being unprepared will get her killed."

"I believe she's going to do as requested sometime soon, Lord Mizukage." Nikuyo nodded, handing the order off to Hizashi. A wave of his hand dismissed his head councilor who went to find some shinobi to deliver all of this stuff to the proper people.

Nikuyo had gone straight from the gates to his office, still armed to the teeth and sour faced. All the shinobi he passed shied away from him, not wishing to be the target of his wrath. None tried to ask him what was wrong or what had happened. Nikuyo opened the front door of the Mizukage complex and walked straight past the lady up front without so much as a hello. She returned the favor in kind. The Mizukage headed straight for his office, barging through the door to an expectant Hizashi.

"Ohhh, I see we got worked up," he said at first, examining Nikuyo with scrutiny as he entered the room. He was as calm as if Nikuyo was in a good mood, a trait that really fucking pissed the old man off. "No killing though, not enough blood." Nikuyo glared at him as he walked past him to get to the business side of his desk.

"One day I'm going to kill you for saying stupid shit like that," he said venomously. Hizashi's eyebrow raised in surprise. Whether it was genuine or not, Nikuyo could not tell. He looked down, searching for the scrolls he had prepared before leaving to visit the Water Daimyo.

"But who would count the money, then?" Nikuyo stopped his search and glared at him again. The thought of boiling Hizashi into a cloud of vapor like he had done to Ayami crossed his mind and lingered for a few seconds. Hizashi likely sensed the tension, but Nikuyo detected no traces of fear.

The Mizukage sighed, peeling his eyes from Hizashi and continuing his search. "You should count yourself lucky that I hate counting coins," he replied bitterly. Hizashi said nothing more, waiting for Nikuyo to elaborate on what had transpired on his trip. "He signed the scroll," Nikuyo said a couple seconds later, offering no other details.

A smile was the only reply Hizashi gave to this curt summary. He knew what was coming next. Nikuyo found the scrolls he was looking for, two identically written orders. The Mizukage signed them both before rolling them up and stamping them shut with a wax seal. He handed both to Hizashi. "Send Squad 3 and 8 to scout out Nagi and O'uzu." Those two squads were exceptional at scouting out good locations for resource gathering and base founding, some of Kiri's best scouting squads. Hizashi took the scrolls and gave a bow of his head before turning and leaving the office. Nikuyo plopped down into his chair and propped his head up with his arm on the arm rest of the chair. "I hope there's some resistance," he muttered, hoping he'd get to fight again soon.

"They still haven't left? What the fuck do you mean they haven't left?" The irritation in Nikuyo's voice was more than apparent. Enough to send a shiver down the spine of a normal man. Hizashi Hozuki, to his credit, was made of water and lacked a spine to send a shiver down. Even without that, he was not particularly scared of Nikuyo. It annoyed him more than anything else he did, almost outweighing the benefits of letting him continue to breathe.

"Makahshi Kereko has failed to gather his team at the scheduled time, Lord Mizukage. He has not been seen recently either, for reasons unknown," Nikuyo's top adviser replied, calm as if nothing was wrong. Nikuyo pounded his fist on his desk, more irritated than he had been in quite some time. The Mizukage remained quiet for awhile, debating on what he wanted to do.

Finally he would speak with a cold tone to his voice. "Find me the file of a jonin with capabilities similar to that rat bastard of a Kereko and give it to me. I'm going to make sure there are no misunderstandings this time around." Hizashi bowed slightly before exiting the room. Nikuyo remained standing, bent over and leaning on his desk with both hands. His gaze was fixated on the door, waiting for Hizashi to come back.

Ten minutes passed before he returned, holding a file. Hizashi set it on Nikuyo's desk and slid it to the Mizukage before stepping back and awaiting further instruction. Nikuyo opened the file, scanning the pages and reading the file of the jonin in question. "Why is it that everybody with a modicum of skill looks completely ridiculous," Nikuyo asked, annoyance still easily distinguished in his tone.

Hizashi would not answer Nikuyo's insightful statement, but would say something to the Mizukage in reply. "He likes to train. Maybe start there?" Nikuyo would nod, but he needed to give Hizashi an order before he could go.

"Find the other two and tell them the timetable has been pushed back a bit, but to be prepared to answer the call as soon as possible." With that and without waiting for a response, Nikuyo would disappear in a puff of smoke, on the hunt for this new jonin.


[exit]