Fiscal Farfour Fickleness

It had been almost two months since he arrived in Iwa, but after waiting and re-acclimating himself with his old homeland, it was refreshing to receive the notice that the person in charge of Iwa's finances was able to finally talk with him. It was quite annoying when he found out that they were originally out of the village and, in an almost ironic twist, in Konoha when he had left. to say he was miffed was an understatement when he had found that out. But, he wouldn't hold it over either the Kages or the financial worker, not yet. Administrative work was something that he understood too well was a troublesome hassle, and his own work required him to send letters every so often so that he still had funding.

He had made it a point to arrive at the Tsuchikage Complex earlier then requested, partially because he held the motto of 'early is on time, on time is late, and late in unacceptable' as well as to make it clear that unlike whoever this person managing finances was that unlike her he could keep time. When he did arrive, he'd go up to one of the clerks behind a desk (or what looked like a clerk, it was always troublesome to tell) and present both the letter from the Hokage as well as his Ninja ID. The clerk would take the letter, read it over and them hand both back to Bernie. Even if the emotion on their face didn't say it, he could feel the clerk's dislike towards him already, probably for being an Amandi, though it could also be due to the Accords. He didn't care which, both were valid in his eyes. The clerk would then get up and begin guiding him to the meeting point, Bernie casually following behind the man.

It had been months since Mitsu had been in Iwagakure, her trip to Konoha had taken far longer than she had anticipated and while she was glad to be home, being home meant responsibilities. She was a moderately responsible person, in the ways that matter. Time keeping was not one of the things that she thought mattered. Not in a rude or inconsiderate way, but in the same way that a butterfly didn’t wear a watch, Mitsukira didn’t check the time. She had been inundated with requests for her presence and consequently running around like a chicken missing their head. With less horror. Not none, but less.

The auditor from Konohagakure had been sent to Iwagakure, ironically at roughly the same time she had arrived in Konoha, and a meeting had been arranged in the Tsuchikage Complex. She knew virtually nothing about this person except that they would undoubtedly be good at accounting, since their entire purpose for being in the Land of Earth as far as she knew was to audit their debt to the Leaf. She had spoken with Shin about it and had finally found a way to pay off the Land of Fire and hopefully, should they stay true to their word, free Iwagakure from their future of eternal vassal status.

She was just running into the building, hoping to make it into her office before the arrival of her guest, when she saw the assistant leading a man she didn’t recognize down the hallway. ‘Dammit, I was too late. Again.’ With a small sigh she rushed to catch up and called out to the pair. “I can take it from here, thank you.” The assistant would turn and shrug subtly and make their way back to their desk, leaving two white haired people in the hallway, part of the way to a waiting office. “I’m sorry I’m late, please follow me.” She would offer a sheepish smile to the man as she attempted to slip past him and welcome him into the small room. The office was hardly personalized, it still held all the pomp and circumstance of its creator, relics and art depicting the strength of Iwa with nary a whimsical touch to be had - save for a single potted flower. A tiny pink peony in a hand painted clay pot; scenes of the Land of Wind emblazoned on the smooth surface of the container.

Once inside, assuming the man followed her in, she would gesture to a stone chair in front of a desk. “Please have a seat, can I get you anything? Refreshments? Anything at all?” She knew instinctively that she was trying too hard, but she was terrified that her being late would have ruined everything, and just like everything else she touched, would ruin any hope for the future of Iwagakure.

The unknown man from Konoha seemed uninterested in refreshments. Or staying awake for that matter. As she watched the older man slump onto the floor, her voice rang clear through the building. “Someone come help me!” She wasn’t strong enough to lift him on her own, and as a fairly accomplished medical nin, she knew straight away what the problem was. She’d seen it often enough recently that she felt her heart sink as she ran through the list of all the fallen shinobi.

Once medical help arrived, she assisted in getting him transported back to Konohagakure. It would be a long journey, but he wouldn’t notice. As for herself, she went back to her office and kept sifting through papers, trying to make the numbers work.

[Exit Thread]