Throne of Red

Anzo stops at the door leading to the administration building, and he turns to his two companions; they'd been with him for only a short while, but the Senju woman and the Nara clanswoman were both helpful to him. Still, he didn't want them to get too involved in whatever this mission was. It was somewhat sad that Masae had needed to leave, but she seemed heartbroken to lose Peragus, it seemed. Anzo himself was unhappy with Peragus's chosen response, but now that he was sober, he was also well aware of how Peragus might have felt such intense hatred. It still forgave none of his actions, and Anzo was not going to show sympathy or sadness publicly for the man. He was fairly certain that if he did show remorse, Airi might try to harm him, too.

With both members of his entourage sitting on the bench in the shade, Anzo alone entered the building and went straight up to the Hokage's office. He wasn't sure if he should wait for the other two, then decided they would likely be arriving soon.

He pulls off his sunglasses and sets them in the pocket of his jacket, a very well made piece of armor hidden as a simple piece of clothing. He then takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out, preparing himself for the harshest dressing down of his career, before he steels his resolve and firmly sets his face to push open the Hokage's door, then deftly closing it behind him. He walks forwards towards the Hokage-to-be, a woman he had once peeped in the hotsprings (but that was a long long time ago) stops smartly before her in the center position, and reports.

"Chuunin Anzo Aburame, Human Typhoon, reporting to Hokage Airi Hyuuga."

Despite his very serious and stern expression, he realizes he's accidentally locked his knees. Uh oh.

The world seemed to be changing fast, just last week he had returned from a mission for Tengoku the Previous Kage. Promoted to Jounin as well as access to the village's more exclusive techniques, he celebrated his return and promotion with Airi, but after their date they had both been busy. Yesterday the announcement came from Tengoku on the radio at his post, it was mostly a standard announcement about promotions and then the biggest shock would come, Tengoku was stepping down as Hokage and naming Airi his successor. Ren nearly spit out his drink when he heard the news, he had always known Airi would do great things he just never expected Tengoku to step down so suddenly.

Ren would be leaving the grand training facility when he was met with a messenger from the new Hokage, needless to say he would be mildly surprised by the summons to the Hokage's office. Having planned to try and visit Airi later on in the day, hopefully when she wasn't busy. Airi however would beat him to the punch with the message from her requesting him to her office, it was times like this that he almost wished he knew the technique Airi had that allowed her to teleport. Of course, that wish does not last long, as he remembers how much he disliked the sinking feeling in his stomach caused by the teleportation he had been a part of so far between Kimiko and Airi. Even though it is not as bad as the first time he traveled with Kimiko, it still made him queasy to go through. He didn't want to keep the new Hokage waiting so he would head straight from the training facility to the administration building.

His Blue Kisode only slightly dirty from his training, with Singing Tempest strapped to his hip. Ren had been to the Hokage's office many times in the past, so when he arrived and saw those particular windows opened, he decided to save some time and enter through the window. This was something that he never would have even thought about while Tengoku was Hokage, but now with Airi as the Hokage he felt slightly more liberal in making his approach. Jumping up and landing himself on the windowsill, Ren would bow his head slightly. "You summoned, Lady Hokage." he stated with a briefly playful smile before lifting his head and realizing that there was someone else in the room as well and his smile would fade. It seemed that he was not the only one with an audience with the New Hokage, and Ren was already starting to dislike the look of this. This was the same thing that Tengoku pulled on him with Peragus and Satomi when he wanted them to go claim the land of wolf for him, he would look to Airi with a slightly look of WTF in his eyes before it quickly changed. He was no genius, but he could tell from one look at her that something had changed about her, and it wasn't the new rank. For now, he would mind the boundary of Airi being his superior and not asking her what the matter was in front of others, it was something that they could talk about later. Standing from the windowsill, Ren would move to stand closer to Anzo though not giving him any real acknowledgement beyond a curt head nod, waiting to hear why they were summoned.

Airi wasn't in a pleasant mood. The last few days had been completely stressful for her, so much so that she had developed a bunch of gray hairs, each threaded within her bright carmine locks. The bags under her eyes were well-pronounced. She had lost her mother and then had killed Peragus the night after. Then the day after she was made Hokage. While becoming Hokage was a crowning achievement for her, she was, in no way in a great position to make any executive decisions. A spiraling vortex of emotion ran through her like a plague running through her veins but she didn't have the luxury to just break down and cry. Not in front of these two; not while in the capacity of Hokage. Her posture, while sitting in the chair, wrote a story unto itself of the burdens she had to endure to get here. The joy she should've felt for becoming the apex shinobi of the village wasn't enough to clear the miasma of dark and intrusive thoughts. Her eyes suddenly began to focus as Anzo stepped into the office, causing her to straighten up her posture, placing her hands interwoven with one another upon her desk. Afterwards, Ren appeared in the room as she motioned the two of them to sit down upon a couch off-centered from the desk and elevated a bit so Airi could see the entirety of the couch. Airi sat there and waited patiently for Hanabi to arrive -- her finger gently tapping upon the desktop with each passing minute becoming more and more frustrating. She didn't say a word to either of the two during those awkward five minutes of silence. The silence, however, was broken when a guard from the Intelligence Division walked in and whispered into Airi's ear. A slight expression could be seen upon Airi's face -- one of shock and horror. Airi nodded and dismissed the intelligence shinobi with him closing the door behind him as he left. She is going to give Hanabi an absolute ear full for being so late. Airi Ohara, The Carmine Hyuga Very well, thank you for showing up. I'm hoping Hanabi shows up soon. she said, turning her attention to Ren and only Ren. She was still upset at what she saw on the night she had to kill Peragus that she didn't particularly want to look at Anzo at the moment. Airi Ohara, The Carmine Hyuga The intelligence given to me is going to make things a bit more difficult. Someone completely destroyed Sunagakure. she said in an informative tone before turning to look towards Anzo. Airi Ohara, The Carmine Hyuga This might actually affect the mission I was going to give to you. Originally I was going to give you and Hanabi a specific mission and Ren another, but due to the news I just received, this mission will require all three of you to attend. Consider this a double mission for all of you -- and Hanabi when she decides to stop wasting my time. Airi said before sliding the letter she wrote towards the couch. Airi Ohara, The Carmine Hyuga As you know, Anzo, you and Hanabi allowed your memories to get taken by the Tsuchikage -- Diana Elena Moneta Korikane-Kotoshura. Let's just call her 'fuckhead' for now on, her name is too long. Anyway, your mission, which you will be forced to take on, will be to deliver this letter to her. It is basically a letter of surrender. She can either come back peacefully and surrender Iwagakure to us, or she won't and we'll just destroy it. Either way -- if she agrees, escort her back so we can perform surgery on her brain. If she does not agree, leave the letter there and declare war on Iwagakure. Your second mission will have Ren be the leader. I want you three to acquire land. I will not be giving you any money, but acquire as much land as you can. Invade it, claim it, do whatever. But try to keep the economic structure in-tact. Airi said, turning her eyes back upon Ren. Her eyes lingered on him for a moment before she pulls out a sheet of paper from her desk and started to write and sketch upon it, handing it over to him. Airi Ohara, The Carmine Hyuga That is the technique Spiralling Ring and Great Spiralling Ring. Read it, learn it, but don't actually practice it. Especially inside of the village. Destroy that sheet of paper once you have memorized it. she stated before leaning back in her chair, stretching her back out a bit, pushing her breasts forward during the stretch. She should really address to Ren about having to flake and postpone their date -- something she hadn't mentioned to him yet. Airi Ohara, The Carmine Hyuga And, if you're at the gates of Iwagakure, keep your guards up. If you cannot have an audience with Fuckhead, leave the message and return. It will be considered a 'No' and we'll declare war. But be careful out there. If you encounter anyone too strong, like the one that destroyed Sunagakure, run away. But if they keep you waiting at the gates too long, go inside and say hello. This will be treated as 2 S Rank Missions. Payment will be 200,000 ryo each and you will receive your choice of an exclusive technique or something from the vaults.   Now she sits there and waits. She should be giving Anzo their very first Exclusive technique, but that can wait until after Hanabi appears.

==Gave Anzo or Ren (ya'll choose) a letter to Diana with an FTG seal upon it==
==Gave Ren a sheet of paper teaching him Spiralling Ring and Great Spiralling Ring==

Anzo nearly falls over from locking his knees, but thankfully Airi gestures them both to the couch, and he rapidly sits down in it. He had thought Ren's entrance... unorthodox, but if the Hokage didn't have a problem with it, neither did he. He also pretends not to have noticed her expression or the signs of a declining mental and emotional state. He couldn't blame her, he would have reacted quite poorly if he had some need to kill Keno, since they were a part of his family that he was closest to. Which reminds him that he should go ahead and get that shinobi a terrarium like his. He was lucky he'd chosen not to bring the thing with him, it would have made sitting on the couch rather awkward. It seems they were waiting on a third while they were seated on a couch; Anzo stayed completely silent for those five minutes of waiting, although his head rapidly turned when the door opened. Unfortunately, it seemed to be a messenger, and it looked like he brought bad news to a Hokage that was already filled with bad news. His heart sinks a little, knowing that he and Hanabi are likely to face the brunt of her frustrations, but he also knew that if he did, at least he would deserve it.

Indeed, the news is shocking. He knew there had been massacre in Suna some time ago and that it wasn't safe in that village, and now he was fully aware of the destruction of an entire ninja village. He's also told that although originally the mission had been for two different teams, they would now be working as a three-man team, with himself, Hanabi, and Ren. Just what he needed, two Uchiha with him. Well... Hanabi was different.

Anzo stands as Airi slides a letter to the edge of her desk, and accepts the letter, holding it firmly, but carefully in one gloved hand. As soon as she mentions Diana's name, there's a burning fire behind his sunglasses, but he keeps his face and his body stoic and stonelike. The last thing he needs is for Airi to think that he's too aggressive for such a mission when this is his chance to finally have the Tsuchikage realize that her slimy manipulations had consequences, and dire ones at that. After having his forced mission explained to him, he moves back to the couch and allows Airi to give Ren instruction, in a significantly safer form through writing, on two of the most destructive ninjutsu Anzo knows. It seemed Peragus taught many people many jutsu.

To be honest, he's a bit surprised that he's being paid anything at all for this mission, considering it's his fault, and he actually considers declining the reward and offering to do the mission without payment, but he can always simply return the payment to Konohagakure's vault after the mission is completed. Still, none of them were dismissed yet, and he entirely ignored the Hokage's stretching. Despite what she might think of him, Anzo wasn't really that way; besides, now he only had eyes for Hanabi. Who was still missing. He considers offering to find her himself, but decides that might not be the best idea for now.

With Hanabi's recent experience, she seemed to lack the effort of showing to Airi's office. While airi was explaining what to do and why, Hanabi was still laying in bed, her eyes puffy, the whites in her eyes strained from the crying she had been doing. She looked tired, exhausted, and mentally not okay. Her eyes had been cleared from the vision she had suffered from the Mangekyo Sharingan Activation, still not understanding exactly what it did. She turned her body, her entire being covered under the blankets, her nose stuffy as she sniffed. "Ugh." She groaned as she sat up, wiping her nose and rubbing her face. It wasn't right to leave her hanging.


Hanabi managed to get out of bed, get dressed in a low profile look, a Hoodie and sweats with her konoha wrap around her neck. She made her way to the Hokages office, sniffing and wiping her eyes along the way there. People stared from the gossip that went around, some thinking it was her fault whereas others just talking mad gossip about what had gone on behind closed doors. She kept zoning out, wanting today to be over with, but she also wanted to be there for Airi.

Upon reaching the office, Hanabi would enter and stand next to Anzo, her amber eyes only showing just a bit from the side from her Hoodie. Placing her hands gently on the tip of the hood, she'd pull it back, revealing her messy hair and her tiresome eyes, revealing bags beneath as well. She wasn't looking good and that was normal for someone who just witnessed a loss. "Hanabi Uchiha, present. I apologize for my lateness, Lord Hokage." Hanabi had come in during the end of Airi's speech, hearing about the payment and what to get from the Vault. Her eyes traveled to Anzo, then ren, then back to Airi, sighing. She had lost her love and she felt devastated from it. Not only that, her eyes gave felt heavier since that day. She might need to ask Kimiko about her eyes...

As he moved to sit on the couch next to Anzo, Ren's eyes would remain on Airi. He wanted to ask her if she was ok, to try and see if there was anything he could do to help, but that would be Improper considering the present company. As they sat in silence and even while Airi was receiving a whispered message, Ren's eyes would remain fixed on her. It was times like these he wished he understood more about the Sharingan and how it was that some Uchiha possessed the ability to communicate with others silently through eye contact. If he was able to do that he would be able to offer comfort to Airi without Anzo any the wiser. Even if he wasn't able to comfort her, just to be able to tell her that he was here for her if she needed him would be enough. Alas, that was not the case and despite his father doing his best to push him towards genjutsu Ren couldn't wrap his head around it, the secret communication of the Uchiha eluding his grasp in the process as well. Leaving Ren to sit and stare at Airi as he tried to will his thoughts into her mind, with no actual effect and likely giving off the impression of looking like a disgruntled employee that wants to quit but know they need the job, or a scorned lover who had been stood up on a date and then ghosted. In truth the reason for his stare would be evident in his eyes, there was pure concern and nothing more, a kindness that said he hoped she was ok and he was there if she wanted to talk.

As Airi began to explain why she had called them here, as well as Hanabi whom seemed to be late, a small frown would tick on his face. Hearing the news that Sunagakure had been destroyed was alone shocking, and made Ren silently question himself as too who could have done it. Of course, this thought did not get very far as he knew nothing about Suna or who would want to destroy it, but it did make Ren wonder how Iwa would respond to this. Would Iwa believe that Konoha destroyed Suna before coming to effectively kidnap, albeit if she is willing to hand herself over, their Kage? Would the Tsuchikage even be in Iwa when they arrive or would they attempt to deal with this attack themselves? Or would they just leave the citizens of the village to their fate and seal their gates? At the same time he was also wondering how someone could steal memories as it was not something he had ever heard of before. This process of thoughts wouldn't last long and would be interrupted by Airi speaking of some techniques and holding up a small parchment for Ren, standing and taking the note from Airi Ren would begin looking over what she had drawn on the parchment. The Sharingan had given him many abilities and over time he had learned to use some abilities without needing to actually activate the doujutsu, that being of course the ability to retain written information and learning techniques with ease. Ren would finish reading the parchment and igniting it in fire with his chakra as Airi was finishing and Hanabi stepped into the room. Hanabi too would look as though something was the matter with her, however Ren would not put much thought into beyond wondering if there was simply just something going on with the women in the village. With the parchment now ashes, Ren would move back to the couch but he wouldn't sit down as now he was simply waiting for his dismissal from the room. As much as he wanted to talk to Airi, this wasn't the setting for such talks and now he had missions that needed to be taken care of.

---

Learned Spiralling Ring (250/250)
Learned Great Spiralling Ring (300/300)

The silence was broken when Hanabi entered the door. Airi had tracked her chakra signature when she entered the range and continued to follow her arrival, hence the awkward silence. Airi turned her face to look towards Hanabi before a single word was spoken. Airi Ohara, The Carmine Hyuga Sit she stated, directing her to sit upon the off-centered couch in front of the Hokage's desk. Her attention now focused on the three as a whole. She cleared her throat and retook her seat upon the Hokage's chair, one she would need to replace. Airi Ohara, The Carmine Hyuga So, Ren, you are the leader of this Operation, which I will call 'Operation: Stone Breaker'. You will take these two with you to Iwagakure, sort out 'Fuckhead'. If she follows you to the village, return with these two. If she doesn't, Hanabi and Anzo will return to the village so that I can declare war. You, however, Ren, will go off and perform your secondary mission. Steer clear of Kusagakure -- we don't have the fighting power to deal with that. Once you have returned, I expect good results. she stated before pulling out a scroll and began to write out the mission details upon it, dipping her brush into the ink every so often. This would be temporary and she would require the trio to destroy this scroll with the mission details upon reading it fully. Airi Ohara, The Carmine Hyuga Do any of you have any questions? she asked while still writing.

IC Mission request is in the process of getting approved.

Anzo once more turns his head towards the office door when it opens again, and this time he very nearly wants to leap off the couch to hug Hanabi when he sees her. Only the hateful eyes of the new Hokage keep him from acting at all, no more than looking at her with sympathy and support, but unable to speak to her. The Hokage, that had once been her friend, doesn't even seem to react to her appearance, and that fills Anzo with some level of anger that he rapidly cools, like dipping red hot metal in water. Airi was dealing with her own loss as well as new duties that are being thrust upon her immediately, along with having to send the three of them on what is probably the most dangerous diplomatic mission since the ceasefire that ended the last Iwagakure war.

Anzo says nothing about Ren being made the leader of the mission. That made the most sense, since he was the highest ranking ninja of the three with the highest seniority in the rank of Tokubetsu Jounin. Of course, it wouldn't have mattered if Anzo approved of this mission leader or not; it was the right decision because Airi was the one making that decision, ultimately.

As Airi begins writing, she asks if there are any questions, and Anzo nods once; although her eyes are looking down, he's aware that she can probably still see the movement.

"Lady Hokage: what should we do if Iwagakure has decided to enact a kill-on-sight order for Konoha ninja?"

Of course, Anzo was well aware that it was likely that Diana would allow them to enter the village and perhaps even her office itself to deliver the message, but after reading it, she might decide to engage them in combat or have her personal guard attack them and trap them, either killing them or using them as hostages, or even stealing their doujutsu or Hiden clan abilities. These ideas were not far from Anzo's mind, but the answer for that question was simple; they fight as hard as they can to escape. The question of whether they might be met with direct aggression is a different matter entirely.

Hanabi would remain quiet and lower her head to Airi, thanking her to give her permission to sit and then go to sit next to Anzo. Her eyes were definitely weighted from the past few nights, her eyes red from the crying
Her body language kept herself at a distance. Hearing the plan of what should happen if either situations should occur, Hanabi would nod slightly, letting Airi know that she was indeed listening. Her eyes would avoid Airi's stare, especially if they made eye contact. If that were to happen, Hanabi would turn away from Airi and close herself off.

No questions were needed to be answered, however, Anzo's question peaked Hanabi's interest, her left leg moving outward, showing some interests within that question. Didn't Iwagakure have an onsight kill order before on Konoha Shinobi? She would think, her eyes moving faster than what she could really register, her eyes flickering from her Mangekyo and normal. Stress was inducing and so she began to place her hand on her eyes, closing them hard, to prevent any light coming in. This was something that needed to be dealt with and fast. (Sighs at the thought of creating this MS). Hanabi was grieving hard, upset that a mission was given right after the loss.


"What if she's not there."

Ren would nod as Airi explained the details about the mission, temporary babysitter and then procuring some territory. Seemed simple enough when he thought about it that way, but it was what it was in his mind. Though he didn't really have any scope of the Tsuchikage's abilities, he had to assume that she had risen to power in the village by being the strongest, it was weird to be the one that had to ask the strongest ninja in a village to come quietly on fear of future loss. Ren did not at all expect the woman to come quietly, any more than he would expect Airi to give up her position. He fully expected that there would likely be a fight, of course this didn't bother him in the least, he was itching to push himself against a stronger opponent that he could really go all out on. That of course wasn't the mission, no they were to deliver the letter and return either with or without the Kage, and Ren would make sure that would happen. As much as he wanted a fight, he couldn't risk the other two, if the Tsuchikage decided against Airi's request then they would leave as quickly as possible. Ren's main focus was how he was going to acquire land without any money, though he supposed he could attack some of the smaller villages that Iwagakure owned if the Tsuchikage decided against Airi's message. He would have to stay away from grass as well as any of the territory that Kiri owned to ensure he didn't accidentally start a war with them as well. The more he thought about it the more he realized he was going to need a map.

Both Anzo and Hanabi would raise questions, Anzo's would make him chuckle slightly to himself before Hanabi would ask one of her own. Looking to Anzo first, "if they do, then I guess we will get to have some fun on this mission." Ren stated coldly with a small smirk as he was now hoping they did have a kill order, with that said he turned to Hanabi to answer her question. "If she is not there, we will leave the letter in return as Ai.." Ren stopped himself and cleared his throat, "as the Lady Hokage stated before your late arrival." He still had to get use to calling Airi Lady Hokage in a public setting, but it was something he was working on.

As for himself he had no questions, but he had something to ask nonetheless as he turned his attention back to Airi. "Lady Hokage, I need to ask for the day to make arrangements before our departure. There are somethings that need to be done as I am not sure how long I will be gone."

Hanabi would take the mission and give a formal bow. "Thank you... Lady Hokage." She'd say, standing back up and turning to ren. "A week. Let's get going. We have a lot to prepare and I would like to teach you some things. First, I need to visit Lor-... Er... Tengoku.." She would gulp and turn, taking her leave.

---

exiting thread

[Sorry for such the short post. *drags ren to training grounds*]

Taking the scroll containing the mission, "Lady Hokage." Ren would give a small head bow to Airi at her dismissal before looking to Hanabi slightly surprised that she wanted to teach him something, but he supposed there were things he could show her that might help them both on this mission as well. "Sure thing, I'll meet you there." would be all he said before taking his leave from the administration building heading for the training facility. He wanted to talk to Airi but it could wait, it was obvious that she had a lot on her mind right now. He would try to talk to her later in the week before they left, hopefully when she had less on her plate.

---

Exit Thread

The two had left, leaving her by herself. Taking a seat back upon her chair, her chin pressed against her collar bone as her eyes began to water. It took all she had to maintain professional in front of them. Her eyes began to water, gnashing her teeth and ground them a bit before she slumped over upon her desk and began to cry. All of the things that had happened to her, all of the pain she had to face within a short span of time was too much for her to handle. What should be one of her most happiest moments became a moment for her to dread. Her mother had killed herself for who knows why, she was forced to kill her kinsman Peragus -- two events that had broken her. Even the ascension to Hokage, the successful sealing of Roen into Tengoku, and the fact that her boyfriend was back and she wanted to spend time with him made this all the worse. She would send out her best friend and her boy friend to do something extremely reckless and dangerous. Maybe she wasn't thinking properly because of the stress she had been under, but what was she to do? She had no other options but to utilize the two that meant the most to her. Who was she supposed to trust? Tengoku wanted a quiet life to himself where he and his new creepy entity could live out their lives somewhere. Kimiko? No. She wouldn't impose a terrifying individual like her. She felt that if she screwed up, she would just be lit on fire for the rest of her life. Something she'd rather not deal with. Her door opened as someone entered before noticing Airi crying upon her desk before quietly closing it. She continued to cry herself dry or until she just got tired of it.

===TOPIC LEFT===