Returning to The Fold (Arisu)

Now that he had regained his equipment and reported into his direct superior. It was time for him to report in to one of the Princesses. Idly he wondered which one would be in. He had never met Kitsuki, Sayuri he had most definitely met. At least he’d certainly hope so, and Arisu he had met as well although not in the same manner as with Sayuri, or to the same end result probably. Not that he wouldn’t be willing if Arisu was, she was attractive, but he doubted she would be interested. Still the strangest of the three princesses, at least in abilities form what he’d heard, had certainly never done wrong by him.

She had promoted him initially and seen to it that he had gained some of the villages prized secret jutsu. Not only that but she had promised him another if he earned another promotion and then did the promoting herself while they worked together for the Indaina Kujira fight. Giving him access to another powerful technique in the process. He had quite enjoyed her straightforward and to the point demeanor. As it coincided with his quite nicely. He moved into the Princesses building and moved up toward the office. His black, crimson lined cloak protectively around him and his gloves on his hands. His weapon, the Hai no Ha sat at his waist, returned to its owner. After traversing the stairs he would reach the door to the office, closed as usual, and knock politely, but loud enough to be heard.

[1]

Arisu had just returned from a trip to the Moon when she heard a knock at the door. Turning to stare at the empty desk of the office, it was obvious she was the only one in at the moment, so she took it upon herself to do her duty as one of the leaders and actually do some work.

To be quite honest, Arisu had been ignoring some of her duties as of late, focusing more on learning more about what was going on at the moon. She still hadn't discovered what it was that those humans were doing up there, but she didn't like it. The portal behind her closed as she moved to the door and opened it.

It took her a moment to recall the name of the person standing there, but Arisu gestured for Valen to enter the room. It had been a few weeks (months? years?) since she'd probably last interacted with him. How long ago had the attack on the Emporium been? To her, it was a blink, but her sense of scale of time was vastly different than most.

Visually speaking, Arisu was almost exactly the same as normal. She had the Kiba blades equipped on her waistband, and a plain white kimono, but otherwise was normal.

The door opened and behind it stood Arisu, her eyes taking him in a moment. As if trying to recall a name for a face. That did not surprise him, he had personally been gone for a couple of years. He imagined he would get an earful for his absence. Especially after she had promoted him. However, now that he was back he could get to work. He was considering things for the moment, where best to put his efforts and talents. He might request permission to travel and see about correcting injustices in the world. However he might also see about ensuring the safety and prosperity of the village that had taken him in.

There were genin here to train and raise up after all, and they would need someone they could stand to be around for long periods of time. Sero was a suitable teacher, but not many could stand his presence due to his aura. Valen however was much more sustainable as a teacher. He could work hard to ensure shinobi were powerful and that the quality of their ranks were high.

Visually Arisu had not changed, she wore a plain white kimono and had the kiba blades at her hip. Valen moved into the office at her silent invitation and stood, hands folded behind his back and feet apart. He would wait for her to take her seat, or to simply invite him to speak or simply look to him to imply he should. Once that was done he would bow his head politely before beginning. “Lady Arisu, I’m reporting in after what appears to have been two years of absence. Shortly after we last saw each other when we crippled part of the Indaina Kujira I became ill with plague. Lady Sayuri froze me in ice until I was well. That time has come, I regained consciousness in my frozen prison and melted my way out of it. I reported first to Sero, as he is my direct superior in the Nightmare Brigade. Reequipped myself of my gear, and then came here to report for duty.” He would explain, giving his full report of his whereabouts for the past two years. He was professional, and respectful. He knew her somewhat, but she was his commanding officer and he was reporting in. It was expected.

Still, the talk he'd heard coming here from the Kaguya Palace caused some personal curiosity to win out.

“I make no note of Lady Kitsuki or Lady Sayuri, are they away?” He would ask, curiosity in his tone. It seemed strange that Arisu was the one he had seen so often before now. Minus the mission he was going to go on with Sayuri he had not seen her in a long time. His question had more than one reason behind it. There was word on the street of a lack of leadership, which confused Valen. There were three leaders to the village, were they too busy with things to make said presence known? It was possible, the more he thought of it the more he found himself preferring the idea of sticking around home. Ensuring it was in a stable condition. Perhaps he could help in various ways to help make up for his absence.

[2]

Two years?

Arisu blinked. "I wasn't aware it had been that long since last we met. My apologies for not checking in sooner. And this Sero, your superior? I don't recall the name of such a Jounin. Perhaps I have been gone too long myself."

Pondering on this, Arisu thought about the question posed next with some measure of time lapsing in silence.

"I don't quite know where they are. I haven't really seen them much over these last.... two years."

Had she really been that preoccupied? Sure, time mattered less to her than most others, but she didn't know that her studies on the moon had taken her away for that long. It wasn't like she spent all of her time up there, but she was often much less present down here than she'd intended. Things had been relatively peaceful over these last couple of years it seemed. When nothing happened, it was as if time didn't really matter to her anymore. All the important events seemed to meld together into one single time, with periods of insignificance just melting away.

Rising from the seat she had taken as Valen had entered, she simply paced a little bit.

"How has your training gone? I recall promoting you during the battle at the Emporium. Have you come to collect the rest of your request from that time?"

Valen would listen to her question and shake his head a bit. “No Ma’am, Sero is my superior because he leads the Nightmare Brigade. As a Captain within the Brigade he is technically my direct superior within the group. In the village system he’s only a Genin. Though I personally cannot imagine why. He’s more than powerful enough for higher rank. He himself, and the Brigade for that matter. Believe that the villains of the world, the murderers, rapists, pirates, raiders, pillagers and such. Deserve execution, that turning on your fellow man in such degrading and abhorrent ways does not deserve the chance at redemption. The Brigade is a mercenary group attached to the village itself. Many of its members count themselves as village shinobi as well. Lady Sayuri herself counts herself a member.” He would explain, considering the situation further. “Although, part of the reason Sero might have been forced to remain a genin is the feeling his presence gives. It’s a very dark thing. It seems to make one feel as if they’re being hunted by a dangerous predator. The hairs on the neck stand on end. It can dim lights, and overtime it will even degrade certain materials that come into frequent contact with him. It is not easy to spend prolonged periods of time with him.” He would finish.

At her answer to his next question he would frown slightly. Had everyone been so..preoccupied over the years? “Is there any way I can assist in some of the day-to-day affairs?” He would ask, his tone curious. He wanted things to be smooth for the village. He did owe it a great amount of loyalty after all. Kirigakure shinobi had saved him from enslavement. Had taken him in, trained him, and made him a shinobi. He had taken a great deal of time to understand what that all meant. But it translated into a great debt he owed the village.

Arisu would rise from her seat and pace, her next question taking him somewhat by surprise. Rest of his request from that time? He..He didn’t remember what that request had been. Had his time spent frozen affected some of his memories? His brows furrowed as he tried to remember. “I’m..I must admit Lady Arisu, I do not remember the rest of the request from that time. In regards to how my training is going. I haven’t been able to train much since we last saw each other. I was frozen shortly after the Indaina Kujira’s defeat. I did not however get the opportunity to show you how much I had progressed up to that point. I was only able to showcase a mastery of the water element. But Fire has and will always be my bread and butter. My Fire techniques are far and above what I an do with water and far more efficient for me to use too.” He would explain. “I do relish any opportunity to prove my capabilities. Any test you wish to name, I’ll take on to the best of my abilities and allow you to judge.” He would finish bowing his head in respect at the last.

[3]

Arisu listened and nodded, making a note to look up Sero's file in a bit and see if she could push forward his promotion. Chakra feeling weird was no reason to hold a person back. As long as he was mostly in control of it, and she may be able to help if he wasn't. She was uniquely capable of suppressing cursed chakra.

"I'm sure there are ways you could help. Perhaps you would like to command the Jounin of the village. In most matters of military, Kitsuki is the one in charge of things, but having a Jounin commander would make some amount of sense, especially with our seeming absences. I am not necessarily familiar with the field of battle, so my experience in that area is quite a deal less than most. "

Request hadn't been the correct word, so Arisu thought about how to rephrase.

"Perhaps request was the wrong word. The rest of your... reward? A choice of our exclusives. Whichever you want to request of them. However, if you've been locked in ice for the entire time, then perhaps not. A test though? Hm... very well.."

Moving over to a map showing the territory of Kirigakure and the surrounding islands and nations, Arisu motioned to it.

"Which minor nation would you recommend we add to the Empire? The perfect test of a new position. The acquisition of new land under our protection. I shall supervise the process."

Valen listened to Arisu as she spoke of him potentially leading the Jounin of the village. It would give him authority over others. He knew the rank was second only to the Princesses themselves and he considered it hard for a few moments before nodding. “I’ll work for that then.” He would say. His determination clear in his eyes. Valen was someone who always needed to look to the next step. Always needed to have a target goal in mind. It made it difficult to pin him down at times when one was trying to look for him. However it did mean he kept busy, well, when he wasn’t a popsicle.

He would blink at her words before realization dawned on him. She had agreed to teach him another of the exclusives of the village. Then allow him access to another one when he had reached a certain level of power. “Yes my Lady, I remember now. I obtained the one from achieving my Jounin promotion. But it’s the one you mentioned when I was strong enough that I had forgotten about.” He would say, turning to the map as she motioned toward the map.

The perfect test, the expansion of their borders and territories. Valen blinked in mild surprise at the gesture. He got to choose the target? Any he wished? He turned to the map and considered. Kirigakure was an island empire, and it made sense to continue that trend so other major nations did not think they might be trying to return to the ways it had been under previous Mizukage…Didn’t it? He considered what he knew of the other nations. Thinking back all the way to his days in enslavement on various pirate ships. One Island in particular he had remembered being mentioned by crews as a hive of corruption. It’s people poor and destitute while it’s leading class and governing bodies wallowed in opulence and sneered down at those beneath them. What was the name of that nation again? Such a place was perfect for their governance. Those in power there clearly did not deserve it and their removal from power would be good for the nation and it’s people. Kirigakure could oversee it’s building up and all in all things would be beneficial to all parties. He read the names of the islands carefully before one stood out. “Crimson State Island.” He would say simply, placing a finger on the landmass. He had heard it had been named because of the blood of the enslaved being the bedrock of the higher classes wealth.

A rumor probably, but the name had stuck with him because of the rumor and seeing it on the map had brought back the memories of him rowing as he heard pirates tell tales of the place. “The ruling body there is, rumor has it anyway, extremely greedy and takes advantage of the lower class. Making them essentially slaves while they get rich from their blood and sweat. It’s a perfect location for us to expand to. We can build the nation up, give it’s populace a better life. It’s also a good place to start looking into the rest of the island nations out there if we wish to continue to expand later on.” He would say, turning his eyes to the woman.

[4]

The Crimson State Islands. Arisu looked at it and nodded, before turning back to Valen. Grabbing a bank note and signing it, she handed it over to him. It was simply a blank check for however much money he wished to withdraw from the vaults, and with her signature, it was as official as it came.

"Very well. Meet me at the gates with whatever gear you require for a trip. I wish to see how you go about bringing them into the fold."

Ripping open a portal, Arisu took a step into it, letting it close behind her. She needed to go and grab some gear to prepare herself as well.

-Exit

Valen watched as she grabbed a bank note and signed it off without putting in an amount. Then she passed it to him and give him instructions to meet her at the gates with whatever equipment he needed. Then without another word she would open a portal and step into it. Prompting a surprised raising of the eyebrows from him. Apparently she had more, efficient, methods of travel at her disposal. Still, they would probably have to travel to the islands themselves.  

Still with that bank note in hand he could go get whatever money he thought he might require to help facilitate this venture and without a word of his own he would turn and leave the way he came in. The office door closing quietly around him as he began to work his way over toward the villages bank.

[Exit]

[5]