An Appraisal of Sorts Part 2 (Shogun's Ring Plot Set-up)

[Suzuki Setsu]

A messenger arrived with a note for the Sennin of the Main Branch, sealed with chakra so as to show proof of it not being tampered with. It read:

You have a bigger cubicle than I do, so I’m bringing the party to you. I’ve got Kaguya and that old man you mentioned meeting in the mission report at the gates. I’ll bring the ring as well. Kaguya sent me a letter as well, which is why I haven’t just shipped the bauble off to the capital yet. I’ve enclosed a copy for you to read over.

The second slip of paper bore a slightly messier script, as if it was written fast.

Kazuhiko, I’ve got information concerning the ring. Burutesu says that I shouldn’t write it down, and that this is risky enough as it is. But we’re on the run from Karachi’s thugs, and I know that this was important enough to involve shinobi. So we’re heading towards Kumogakure, to bring you an “appraisal” as Burutesu put it.

Shortly after the note’s arrival, there would be the sound of footsteps up the Torre stairs into the main cubicle, er, office of the Main Branch Sennin.

 

[Takaki Saeko]

So the kid’s alive after all. Guess I have to give more credit to the old man for protecting his charge. Burutesu seems to be the name. As in the old Marquess Burutesu. What the hell is he doing here at my gates? thought Masao, sighing as he gave a ten-yen note to the courier and dismissed him. This would bring complications – if the old man was who Masao thought he was, that meant dredging up a thorny issue that had long since been buried, or so everyone thought.

Footsteps outside his office meant one thing – that Kazuhiko was dragging more trouble into the cubicles of the Legation. Well, the party would be here any minute now. He briefly thought of sending a quick telegram to Tokugawa at the BSA, but decided against it. He would hear the old man and the kid out first, and decide if what they were about to say was in the village’s best interests or not.

 

[Suzuki Setsu]

Kichida Kauzhiko​

“Excuse us,” Kazuhiko said while opening the door. The chuunin then stood to the side of the doorway and allowed two familiar faces to enter the room.

Kaguya -- Former Guardsman

Burutesu -- Vagabond?​

“You’re the Sennin! Of the Main Branch!” Kaguya’s mouth hung open in surprise as he registered the fact that the shinobi that he had met in Maru Maru was actually one of the top four shinobi in Lightning Country.

“Kaguya, you can’t be surprised by this. In this world, appearances are rarely what they seem,” the old man said before focusing on Masao. “I hope I’m not being too forward, but I need to see that ring.” His voice had lost that kind mentor-like quality it had when he was talking to Kaguya. Instead there was a hurried urgency in his voice.

“You’re help in that matter is appreciated, but you have no claim to it. I intended to not let anyone see that damn ring until I could deliver it myself to the Chancellor,” Kazuhiko butted in.

“That ring may be a fake,” Burutesu continued, his focus remaining on Masao.

The words fell like a bombshell on Kazuhiko’s ears. If they were true this man Burutesu may have saved Kazuhiko’s credibility at the least, his life at the most. But Kazuhiko still needed proof, he had no information on the man that Kaguya had seemingly found out of nowhere. “That is a serious claim. What do you have to back it up?”

The elder man sighed at this point in the conversation, “Unfortunately, any proof I might have had is beyond my reach. All I have is my word that I know that a duplicate ring was created at one point, and that I am able to tell them apart.”

“That’s not much to go on, Burutesu-san,” Kazuhiko said.

“Kazuhiko, you can trust him. He saved my life,” Kaguya muttered, “I mean both Haikuno and I trusted you for no reason besides you spared our lives.”
Kazuhiko was at a loss for words, it was true. Haikuno and Kaguya had both trusted him implicitly after he had spared their lives. But his motivations at the time had been to use them for the benefit of the mission, the fact that they had maintained any sort of contact was useful, but unintended. Still, over the years Kazuhiko had become attached to the two boys. And so he was inclined to be somewhat protective of his charges, especially when people show up out of the blue like this Burutesu did.

“Then Takaki-sama, I’m leaving it up to you.” Kazuhiko placed a medium-sized box on the table in front of the Sennin before continuing, “We don’t know anything about who this man is, or where he came fro--”

“I am sorry to interrupt, but if you want I will sit and tell you my whole life story after this. But right now time is of the essence, and I must see that ring!” The last five words Burutesu spoke held a commanding presence, like that of nobility, and for a split-second a his eyes had the hard look of a man used to having his demands met. Then in an instant, that commanding aura vanished, and the man took a deep breath. “I apologize for that outburst. It is no longer my place, nor privilege to demand anything from anyone. Still, it is very important that you let me see that ring. For both my sake and yours.”

After Burutesu finished speaking, and uneasy silence settled over the room. Kaguya was looking anxiously between Burutesu, Kazuhiko, and the Sennin.

 

[Takaki Saeko]

“That I am, guardsman. I see you’ve avoided death quite handily,” said Masao, nodding to Kaguya.

The sennin’s face remained stony as Kazuhiko, Kaguya, and the old man started to argue and drop revelations like they were going out of style. That the ring might be a duplicate had been a possibility all along – one that he had considered and then disregarded because such things were really only important to the nobility. The shinobi of Kumogakure had done their job, which was to retrieve the ring that had been lost in the course of the crash of the Raiden’s Breath. And that ring had been in the Chancellor’s possession in the first place. What was more interesting was that such an issue was essentially forcing the old man to reveal his true identity to the room. He had clearly invested many years and much effort into hiding from the public eye, and now he was willing to throw it all away over a ring. It was strange how politics worked and how the past always seemed to come back and bite a person in the ass. Masao sighed and crossed his hands in front of him, fixing an inquisitive gaze on the old man.

“I thought there was something off about you when I met you, Marquess. Or should I actually say, former Marquess Burutesu,” he said to the old man. “Kichida-san, the man in front of you was once one of the most powerful people in the country. He had Shogun Yoshinobu’s ear in his lips and Chancellor Sunuke’s balls in his hands, and by all accounts wasn’t afraid to squeeze to get what he wanted. That was, until he went and allegedly killed Chancellor Tachibana’s father. You know, he’s technically still on the run from the Imperial Court. Fortunately for him, the recent Civil War and our mutual friend Enishi's antics trump everything else.

“So in any case, Kichida-san, it’s fine – you can let him see the ring. He’s not going to steal jewelry to make a few yen, the bakufuu can wait a little longer, and I’m interested in seeing what he has to say about that whole incident from the past.”

 

[Suzuki Setsu]

Kichida Kazuhiko​

That Marquess Burutesu? Kazuhiko had always pictured him a bit more regal. Granted, he had never heard much about the guy except that he was disgraced nobility. Nevertheless, Masao had okayed it, so he opened the box and set it on the table. The ring itself was ornate, like one would expect the heirloom of a royal family to be, but simple. The gem inset was tinted a ruddy color, with a white streak through the center, and the gem itself was clear enough so that one could see the insignia of the royal family behind the gem.

Burutesu -- Fallen Noble​

“A long time ago,” Burutesu began, “when I was still a Marquess of note, I was also a man with a burning curiosity as to how the world worked, and why it worked the way it does. One such object about which I was curious was the shogun’s ring. The ring itself is nothing special, a simple alloy made of gold, silver, and steel. Expensive to be sure, but nothing to write home about. The gem, though, is special. It is a highly refined mineral, the properties of which even I don’t fully understand. But as far as I do know, it has the power to record memories of the one who wears it,” he paused as he picked up the ring and placed it on the table for all to see. “The ring can also playback those memories at any point, a useful tool for any head of state, don’t you think? However, the ring works only for the members of the royal family. Its activation is somewhat related to chakra, perhaps a chakra signature unique to the bloodline of the Shogun? I never fully figured it out. While I was studying it, an,” here the old man stopped for a moment to grasp for the proper words before continuing, “unfortunate incident occurred which left me unable and somewhat unwilling to continue my research. Before that incident happened I was able to obtain another sample of this mineral and properly refine it into a second gemstone, which curiously retained the same appearance as the original. And retained its properties save one, this second gemstone was not specifically linked to the Shogun’s family lineage.”

“So what you’re saying is, that anyone with even a remote chakra potential could activate the fake ring, but not the true one,” Kazuhiko posited.

“Unless they were related to the Shogun, then they would be able to activate both rings,” Burutesu added, nodding his head. “Kichida-san if you would,” Burutesu-san gestured toward the ring.

Tentatively, Kazuhiko channeled chakra into his hand and picked up the ring. The white streak in the center of the gem began to dance around the center of the ring and images began to playback in Kauzhiko’s head and the head of any chakra-sensitive people in the nearby vicinity, most of which he didn’t understand but the mere fact he saw them meant that the old man’s story was true. Thankfully, the official cubicle of the Main Branch Sennin, had countermeasures in place to ensure that information and chakra could not penetrate with ease, so Masao was the only other shinobi to see the images contained within the ring.

“What did you see?” Burutesu asked, his face unreadable.

“A woman, not the Chancellor, more harried and less composed. She had auburn hair and wore glasses,” Kazuhiko reported. He was still amazed by the recorded memories within the ring.

Burutesu’s face held a pained look for a fleeting moment before continuing, “There is your forger, a woman by the name of Nadeko.”

“And you would know her because…,” Kazuhiko left the statement hanging.

“Because she was on my research team, and had direct access to both the shogun’s ring and the gem we had created. After my departure from the capital she probably created the fake ring and gave that to the Chancellor. Although I don’t know why she would do something like that.” The former noble ended with a puzzled air about him.

“As for your story, Takaki-dono,” the man changed the subject swiftly, clearly indicating that he had divulged all the information concerning the woman in the ring, “I was a noble of some repute a long time ago. I worked alongside Chancellor Tachibana’s father serving the previous shogun. Unfortunately, I succumbed to human weakness. The Chancellor’s father was of common birth, and as such enjoyed great popularity amongst the rank-and-file of Lightning Country. Myself, being first and foremost a member of the nobility, and secondly a member of the intelligentsia, could never enjoy the same kind of adoration he had,” Burutesu smiled wistfully as he remembered better days.
“A young and cunning nobleman was able to use that against me. He convinced me that the Chancellor’s father was plotting a coup. Even going so far as to plant false evidence which I discovered, and foolishly believed, I convinced myself that there was no other course of action but to take matters into my own hands, and I killed him. Soon after that I was tried, and when I called upon my supposed ally to show the proof that I had found, he feigned ignorance of the whole plot. It was then I realized what I had done. So I stopped trying to defend myself, and plead guilty to the charge of first-degree murder. I was stripped of my title, my lands, exiled from the country, and my family was forced to bear the burdens of my crimes.”

“I traveled far and wide, seeking for a way to atone. And then I heard tell of the civil war, no doubt started by that same rapscallion that encouraged my own downfall, so I began to head back thinking I could be of some use, somehow redeem myself in battle. But as I reached the borders of Lightning Country, I heard that the war had ended and a new shogun was on the throne. So I waited in the town of Maru Maru, for further developments. It was there I met Kaguya, who seemed to share the same passion for justice that I had before my untimely fall.” Kaguya puffed up his chest at the sound of this; he considered it the utmost compliment to be compared to his mentor. “I encouraged him to join the city guard to stand up against the corruption that plagues that poor town. While I was there I heard whisperings of these ‘Kingslayers’ of yours. The public has mixed feelings about them; they seemed to be quite a threat to the hard-won stability of the new Shogun’s reign. And then Kaguya told me about the information concering the Raiden’s Breath salvage, and you know the rest from there.” The old man was silent for awhile, before continuing, “If that’s all, then I would like to ask a favor, I need to get to the capital to check on some things that may or may not pertain to the case of the ring, but I can’t have anyone there know my true identity. I don’t expect charity, and I’m willing to report back to you about what my investigations turn up,” Burutesu remained calm throughout all of this, as if he had rehearsed this speech and several more depending on the response of the Sennin.

(OOC: Sorry it took me so long to post, I ended up having to rewrite much of it...thanks for your patience!)

 

[Takaki Saeko]

“Help me, Obi-Wan, you’re my only hope,” quoted Masao as drily as possible in response to the projected memory playback contained in the gem. The somewhat mousy-looking woman he had seen was now confirmed to be the creator of this ring, now revealed to be a duplicate, and a damned good one, for sure. “As far as why this Nadeko-san had given the ring to the Chancellor, I can think of a few possibilities, but let’s hear about the Marquess’s situation first,” he said, clasping his hands on front of him.

As Burutesu told his story, Masao regarded him stonily. For all of their talk of superiority above the rest of society, the nobility could be just as brutish as a group of peasants stabbing each other at the dinner table over the right to the last dregs of wine. Unfortunately for Burutesu, he had been easily manipulated by Amakusa Ryuu, who was easily the biggest snake of them all.

“The Daimyo Amakusa is more serpent than human, it’s said. After all, no other person could have started a civil war, several times attempted to directly harm the Shogun and Chancellor Herself, and yet still come out with his title and wealth intact,” sighed Masao. “Perhaps I should have told Horo Danshi to simply assassinate him when we had the chance, but…well, I can’t undo the past.

“As far as your request, I can offer you the support of our intelligence service agents embedded in Raiden’s Eye. We will let the Spymaster know and make the appropriate arrangements. In exchange, I do expect to be informed of all you find, Marquess, because what you tell me about the ring is very worrisome indeed.

“Chancellor Tachibana clearly intended to present this to the Shogun, making him the primary target of whatever machinations this Nadeko-san might have intended. A ring that can store the Shogun’s memories is a truly dangerous thing. His Majesty reviews a vast amount of classified material every day relating to matters of national security and military intelligence, not to mention the fact that for most of his life he was a medical branch shinobi of Kumogakure with access to A-class shinobi secrets. Anyone with a modicum of chakra ability could simply walk away with all of those memories from merely kissing the damned thing while giving the Shogun a formal greeting, and do it again and again. And unfortunately, the Shogun would go on believing that those precious memories were only accessible to himself. Our enemies would have Lightning Country’s vulnerable belly completely and utterly exposed.

“Kichida-san, you'll be working with the Marquess on this. We need to find out who Nadeko-san is working for. The Kingslayers, the Continental Congress, the Serene Kingdom, the People’s Republic, Marquess Lee Kwan Yew, Daimyo Amakusa, everyone’s a potential rat. I want the entire chain of command for this espionage attempt, and I want them fed the information WE manufacture, not the Shogun,” he said to Kazuhiko. He returned his attention to Kaguya and Burutesu again.

“Oh, and Kaguya-san, you helped my team and myself out tremendously during the last mission. I have here a recommendation letter for you to give to the Margrave Tokugawa Mizuki at the Bakufuu Security Agency in Raiden’s Eye,” he said, sliding over a wax-sealed letter across the desk to the boy. “His organization is looking for true patriots who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty to protect the Shogun. If you’re looking for a new job, I think you’d fit the bill perfectly,” he said, starting to rise from his desk. A moment later, however, he stopped.

“One last thing before we part. Several of my shinobi coming back from the siege of Takadama Castle reported that one of the Kingslayers mentioned a name before she died. A ‘Haikuno’ from Maru Maru. Would you happen to know who that person is?”

 

[Suzuki Setsu]

Kaguya -- Former Guardsman​

"Haikuno?" Kaguya spoke up suddenly, "You know where he is? I haven't seen him in ages."

Kichida Kauzhiko​

"When did you last see Haikuno, Kaguya?" Kazuhiko asked. "When I wrote to both of you in Maru Maru I never got a response from him, and you had said that he had already left."

"He didn't tell you?" Kaguya responded quizzically, "He said that you were his inspiration for leaving. Something about how he felt he could change things by by going. Though he wouldn't tell me where he was going or what he was going to do. Wanted to leave me out of it, he said. It sounded like he was going to do something dangerous. But he said that if he succeeded that crime lords like Karachi would be a thing of the past."

That sounds like Haikuno, Kazuhiko thought to himself. But what would take him out of Maru Maru? I thought he would never leave that place. He pondered that for a moment, he would need to try to find what might have influenced the boy to leave his beloved hometown. "Kaguya, did Kazuhiko meet anyone before he left, anyone come to talk to him, anything at all?"

The young man paused to think, "Not that I could remember. We haven't been keeping in touch very much as of late. We started to drift apart when I applied for the city guard. Haikuno was always of the opinion that we should fight fire with fire, that the government wouldn't be able to do what was necessary, or that they didn't care enough about a small town like Maru Maru. Although when I mentioned that you cared enough to keep tabs on us, he would shut up. But he refused to join the city guard with me. He had been involved in a lot of petty thefts of Karachi's stuff, but that's all I think. I was able to get a few raids on Karachi's warehouse early on, but then he started leaning on the guard pretty hard. He used that as an example to justify his actions."

Kaguya paused and thought about it for a second, "Though there was something that was odd. Soon after Haikuno left, someone reported a murder in one of the shadier parts of town, near one of Karachi's safehouses. It was one of Karachi's henchmen, a pretty important one at that, he had been known to have had his hands in slave trafficking, among other things. We were never able to get enough evidence to pin anything on him though, but we had a growing case that was almost complete. But I suppose the guy had enemies all over the place."

Kazuhiko's eyebrows raised at this revelation. He looked at Masao, silently asking what he hoped was not true.

"You don't think they could be related, could you? Haikuno's disappearance and that random murder?" Kaguya said, his voice raising slightly, "He would never kill anybody, I'm his closest friend. Nobody knows him better than I do. We practiced fighting together, grew up together, met you together. He was not involved, he couldn't have been."

Burutesu -- Fallen Marquess​

The former Marquess placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, "Listen, Kaguya. No one is assuming anything. Your friend might be in a bit of trouble and they're just trying to get him out of it if possible."

Kaguya nodded as he sat back down. The Marquess continued, "Thanks you for your assistance and for the recommendation for Kaguya. If you don't mind I think we'll rest for the night and then continue to the capital in the morning. We'll be travelling slowly, so I'm sure you'll have everything ready before we actually reach the capital. I'm sure we both have given you two much to discuss." With that the old man and Kaguya left the room, leaving Masao and Kazuhiko to discuss what had transpired.

 

[Takaki Saeko]

“Thank you for your help, Marquess Burutesu,” said Masao, nodding to the man as he and his young charge left the room. The sennin clasped his hands together on his desk, looking deep in thought for a moment, before turning back to Kazuhiko.

“Kichida-san, what I am about to say does not leave the room. Granted, many things here don’t leave the room, but this one especially. I debriefed Nemoto Senna after the siege of Castle Takadama. As you might know, she killed Nakamura Yukiko, a former missing nin of Kirigakure and a confirmed accomplice to Yukimura Enishi and Tanaka Daishi. She was a Kingslayer, for certain. As Nakamura died she said something very peculiar: ‘Haikuno, don’t cry.’ I didn’t know what it meant until now.

“You don’t have to be a Seikon genius to realize that this presents a problem. It seems that you and this Haikuno were close, along with Kaguya-san. Somewhere along the line, however, I think your friend went and joined the Kingslayers,” he said, pointedly. “Don’t worry, I don’t suspect you of treason, nor Kaguya-san. But this business with the ring, and Haikuno, and Kaguya, it fits a little bit too well for this all to be coincidence.

“I think we can use Haikuno as a means to track this group's movements, and as a means to find and terminate their leaders. With the right prodding, we might even be able to make Haikuno work for us from within the Kingslayers. After all, a little threatening of loved ones goes a long way. But that’s all in the future. For now, we need to take our time and gather more knowledge. Then we will have our first actual advantage against these terrorists.

“Oh, and Kichida-san, whatever your relationship with Haikuno was in the past… He’s an enemy of the state now. I advise that you start thinking of him as one,” he said as he rose from his chair. “I’ll look forward to your and the Marquess’s report.”

[TL]

 

[Suzuki Setsu]

Kichida Kazuhiko​

Kazuhiko sat alone in one of the chairs in the now empty office. Haikuno was a Kingslayer. This hadn't been completely proven of course, the evidence was all circumstantial. But Masao had a point when he had said that the timing of all these events was too perfect to be mere coincidence. If he considered all the evidence at hand, the only possible, plausible explanation was that Haikuno was now an enemy of the state.

He had trained, albeit briefly, one of Kumogakure's enemies. That was a huge blow to Kauzhiko. He knew that no matter what the teacher said or did, it was up to the student to decide their own path in life. Still, a part of him felt that he had failed as a teacher, even though he had only held that mantle for a short while.

"I guess this is my mess to clean up," Kazuhiko quietly whispered to no one in particular. His path was clear, he needed to confront Haikuno and uncover the truth. And, if necessary eliminate an enemy of Kumogakure. To that end, preparations needed to be made.

He understood Masao's reasoning that Kazuhiko could prove a useful means of tracking the Kingslayer group. But how to accomplish this, was the question. He would need to force a meeting with the boy. And he only knew one method of contacting him.

Conjuring a shadow facsimile of himself, he said, "You remember Haikuno's shadow right? It's been awhile, but I want you to give him a message if you can. If you are unable to do this, return. I will not risk this being found."

Kazuhiko quickly scrawled something on a scrap of parchment, and covered it with a screen of his shadow-imbued chakra. That should make it difficult to read if intercepted, he thought. Handing it to his shadowy doppleganger, Kazuhiko wathced it sink into his shadow and disappear, beginning its journey. Then Kazuhiko left the office himself, he had a lot of work to do.

[TL]