A lost soul, part 2. [Masao]

[Tsukino Dante]

Apologies for the short lag between topics; unfortunately, my ability to be distracted/ill/discouraged has hampered me yet again.

For anyone who is reading this and is not Masao, please PM if you want to intervene in this impending train wreck. Preferably before kicking the door down and starting a bar brawl. ^_^'

INPC - Yasu Ren​

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It was a slow day at the small establishment located in a somewhat obscure corner of the district; Ren wouldn't have it any other way, he did not enjoy having to speak over a rowdy crowd. What's more, of the few patrons who had shown Ren didn't recognize any of them as shinobi, all the better... regardless of how well this conversation went it might be better if none of Ren's peers or subordinates overheard.

The atmosphere of the business, somewhat of a mixture between a pub and a proper restaurant, was overall friendly and lively despite the relatively slow evening. It was the friendly charm that kept Ren coming back here, the staff here knew him by name, and were always ready to fill a reservation for him; which in this case allowed Ren a semi-secluded table near the corner of the room, easy to see anything that might be going on in the room, easy enough to be 'part of the crowd' if need be, easy enough to maintain a reasonable level of privacy if proper effort was taken to avoid raising one's voice. Ren sat facing out towards the middle of the room; the veteran shinobi looked about the same as ever... dark hair down to his shoulders, dark coat that made him look like something straight out of an action movie... but at the same time he seemed different- worried, maybe.

In the man's hand was a tall glass of water that he had been sipping on for the past ten minutes or so, and on the table in front of him was a file that appeared to have been taken from the Main Branch's records; any identification of the file's contents were intentionally obscured however.

'Well, I must admit, I had wished this meeting had happened under better circumstances... but I cannot afford to wait to bring this issue up. I've waited too long already, I've let her go too far already.' Ren thought as he stared into his nearly empty glass.

The stage was set, the meeting had been arranged; Ren knew what he had to do, what he had to try to prove.

'... but I hope we can at least delay that conversation for at least five minutes; it's been too long since I've been able to have a civilized discussion with anyone in this village.'

 

[Takaki Saeko]

“Notify the division heads that I will be unavailable for the next hour. Emergencies are to be handled to the best of their abilities,” said Masao to his secretary, a silver-haired, hyperactive genki-girl who was also his family’s illegally-immigrated eldritch-horror-in-human-form of a maid (if arriving in Kaminari no Kuni through a Hellgate and without a valid entry visa wasn’t illegal, then nothing else was).

“Hai!!!” she screeched happily, setting about to dispatching the short radio transmissions. “Onii-chan, where are you going?!” she asked.

“Obviously, to have a drink,” he remarked, not entirely untruthfully. He had promised Ren a meeting earlier, and did not intend to break his pledge. As he exited the Legation, he started up his pipe. Breathing had been so much easier since his last visit with Kitsune, so in his mind that meant more license to smoke (no one ever said he was perfect). He knew of the little eatery where Ren was waiting – it offered S-Class Danger Beast Fish and Chips on Wednesdays and Fridays, initially for the Tenouzans, but the menu offering had become popular for the non-believers as well and was one of their favorite entrees.

Ren sat at a table, looking like his usual leather-and-chainmail-clad self, and probably more are home at a biker’s rally than in a shinobi village. But unusual to him, the jounin seemed troubled and preoccupied by something. This was worrisome – Ren was usually a stable individual known for stoicism and smart decisions, so if he was in trouble, these were grave tidings indeed.

“Ren,” said Masao as he sat across from the man. “What can I do for you, my brother in arms?”

 

[Tsukino Dante]

Did I really just put a ten-day lag on this topic? Holy [Expletive].

The actual verbosity of this topic will probably go up starting next round. I'm no good with openings. xD

Ren seemed more at ease now that Masao was present; at least now he could just 'get it over with'...

"Masao! Well, I take it from your lack of... missing limbs that the Juggernaut-class suits were a good investment?" Ren said with his usual level of welcome; even if he had business to attend to, this was a friend he was dealing with, someone he could trust (which, in this world, is a bit of a luxury, what with people trying to assassinate authority figures and go missing every other week). "I have to admit, I was considering having this conversation with the previous sennin, but I doubt he would have listened to anything, with you I at least have the benefit of you hearing me out before you shoot me down!" Ren explained somewhat jokingly.

Ren gestured to the file that was on the table "I tried my best to prepare something... presentable ahead of time. Most of these records are from the Branch Roster, or at least what little of a roster we keep nowadays. Heh, I remember back when the guys at the archive would hesitate to let me touch a D-rank scroll. Things really are different now, aren't they?"

Ren paused for a second, planning out how he would handle the subject at hand... maybe he needed to stall a little? "But anyway, I'll get to that file in a minute. Can I get you anything while you're here? Honestly, ever since Mai-chan made surgeon and started paying off her own treatments I haven't really spent much of the yen I make, so money is little issue today. I understand if you have somewhere else to be, so I'll try not to stall you too long."

 

[Takaki Saeko]

“Yes, the armor suits saved our asses. Makoro wasn’t fucking around. The steel flying toward us was thicker than in the battle of Okaya, and plus, there was that warhawk. Damned thing strafed us with a ‘thirty,” he said, shaking his head at the memories of the still-officially-denied operation he had led to rescue Hayata Shin. The approved story was that the Raikage had led Makoro’s forces into a devious trap and dealt with the terrorists single-handedly. It was a necessary falsehood to cow Kumo’s enemies, but it also unfortunately meant that Ren’s craftsmanship would never get the wide recognition it deserved. Fortunately, one of the last things he had done as Vice Commander of the ANBU was to order enough of the things to keep Ren’s workshop busy for a long while.

“Ah, Fujinami-san might have listened, but he’d probably just have started quoting old movies or something,” chuckled Masao. He looked over to the file Ren had assembled, and moved it in front of him. He was about to open it, but instead, he sensed that Ren wanted to talk a bit more.

“Sure, I’ll take an order. I hear the Fish and Chips are good here. The Tenouzans in the village seem to enjoy it well enough. Have you ever spent much time around them? A curious people with an ancient faith that has survived for nearly a millennium. It’s said that their archives might contain information about the state of the world before there were those who could use chakra. Imagine a world without shinobi. Scary, but somehow…more fitting.”

 

[Tsukino Dante]

"Masao, I thought you knew me better by now. I was a right church-goer back when we were out on the streets, right up until Bishop Nakato was pulled out of the village. Heard the Pontiff put kid in the chair now, not sure what to think of it. Anyway, a few of my friends growing up traced their lineage back to Tenouza, unfortunately I don't keep in touch anymore." Ren quipped, after a short pause he continued "No shinobi, eh? Well, we might be better off. For all the good chakra science has done for the world, you realize we're fielding an army of.... people of mass destruction." the thought was interesting, to say the least, but Ren really didn't want to dwell on it any more than he already had.

"Yeah, the fish has always been pretty good. Never been big on seafood, though... I think I might have an allergy. Shame." Ren said, he quickly waved over to one of the waitresses who, thanks to the relative calm, was mostly idling about doing nothing. The server, a Kaminarijin woman in her late teens, energetically skipped over to the table. Ren didn't recognize her, so she was most likely a newbie. She seemed excited (and nervous) like a newbie.

"H-h-hai sirs! What can I get you today?" the waitress said as she fumbled a small notepad in her left hand.

"Good evening, miss. First day on the job?" Ren said, the girl nodded shyly. "Well, you'll be fine, the managers are nice folks." he added, a cheap attempt at comforting the new girl (although the managers did tend to be more-or-less fair folks).

"Anyway, I'll just have a glass of tea. And... Masao, fish and chips, right?" as soon as the waitress had taken note of the two shinobi's orders she scurried back into the kitchen; and Ren's attention turned to the floor.

"Some people shouldn't be in the same world as shinobi, I'm sure." he mumbled, not so much talking as thinking aloud (he did that sometimes, especially when he was nervous).

 

[Takaki Saeko]

“Ah yes, you’re right, I’d forgotten that you were a church person,” said Masao, as Ren related the fact that he was in fact, quite an adherent to that faith. “Ah, so then you know about the Fish and Chips thing. Tell me, is it true that one of their pontiffs decreed that the Capybara is indeed a type of fish?” he asked, citing an old urban legend that never seemed to have any actual backing, but sounded like something those crazy Tenouzans would do.

Their waitress seemed new, but Ren was an old hand with comforting anyone, so all Masao needed to do was sit back and watch the man work his magic, so to speak.

“Yes, I’ll have the Fish and Chips. With S-Class Danger-Beast tartar sauce on the side,” he added. A comment made by Ren quickly clued him in to perhaps what the old acquaintance had summoned him here for.

“Ah, and what do you mean by ‘some people’, Ren? Or rather I should ask, ‘who’ shouldn't be in our world?”

 

[Tsukino Dante]

Ren grinned as Masao mentioned the old myth: "A particularly mischievous priest made that one up a long time ago, just to see if anyone would believe it. I'm sure that fool is laughing in his grave right now." he answered, obviously amused by the topic.

And, of course, Ren's comment didn't go unnoticed by Masao (the Gods of Narrative wouldn't have it any other way); there was a bit of awkward silence while Ren waited for the waitress to fully vacate the surrounding area. "Well, no sense putting in off any longer. As I said, that file is from the Main Branch roster... with some intelligence I dug up personally tacked on for good measure. Go ahead and give it a once-over if you want." Ren said, if Masao took him up on the offer he would find a good deal of information all pointing back to one specific genin that had provoked concern and alarm from Ren.

"Genin Himura-san. Suzuki if we're going by birth records. This is everything I have on her." Ren would give Masao a minute or two to peruse through the information before making a point.

"If I may say, Masao; her record doesn't look good. Her pre-service history just seems like a traumatic nutjob waiting to happen, even before we factor in her unwitting involvement in the Makoro Incident... there's a lot of red flags." the record seemed to support Ren's case, everything about Kiyoko's past was there for Masao to read; the death of her parents, the somewhat fractured state of her adoptive family. How did Ren become so familiar with a lowly genin? Where was the connection?

"I know taking children from odd circumstances is nothing new for us, but I think this one is a potential liability." Ren continued, he took a deep breath before finishing the statement. "I think we should consider suspending her from mission duty- maybe even dismiss her from the village- before she snaps and turns into something we can't deal with. Last thing we need is another psychopath taking up space at the Takao Institute." he wasn't joking about any of this, he really wanted the poor kid to be fired.

Seriously... what the hell, man?

 

[Takaki Saeko]

“Ah yes, Himura Kiyoko. Graduated first year of Hayata Shin’s reign. I am well aware of her particular connection to that incident,” said Masao, perusing the files with the air of an old professor peering over a pair of reading glasses. Calling her involvement with Hayata Makoro an incident was probably downplaying things too much – after all, she had inadvertently caused the deaths of thousands of citizens and a few shinobi in Kelmura by delivering a bomb wrapped around a chemical warhead right to the Bakufuu Hospital in the city’s center. Of course, her name had been cleared completely in the ensuing investigation, even if she had been briefly subject to a brief detention in the bowels of the Sileo Tempestas. She had even been allowed to keep the genin promotion she had earned, seeing as the Council of Cloud had approved Hayata Makoro to administer the exam-task, even if he had done so under completely false premises. It seemed too cruel to bump her back to student status given what she had undergone to graduate.

Of course, her pre-academy history was not exactly a shining example of well-adjusted normalcy (actually it was the kind of upbringing that made adults point and whisper that the kid was definitely going to try to assassinate the Raikage for lulz in the future), so he could understand Ren’s concern to a certain degree. The interesting thing was that she was one of two groups of children who tended to survive the academy very consistently, the other group being children from strong, healthy, supportive families.

Still, it looked like Ren wasn’t joking around when he made his case. And if he was going straight to the leader of the Main Branch with this issue, then it meant that the jounin thought the issue was of utmost importance and needed to be addressed yesterday. Masao put the report down and rubbed the space between his eyes.

“As you know, our branch has had some loonies for sure, but it sounds like you’re concerned that Himura-chan is actually going to turn into some sort of Hayata Makoro or Yukimura Enishi. I can get behind ordering someone like this to attend intensive counseling and suspending them from duty if they refuse, but you’re talking about practically and maybe even officially firing a thirteen-year-old from the only occupation she has any skills at, for something that she might do in the future, based on mainly circumstantial evidence. Sure, she has the risk factors but has she ever done anything to merit such treatment? And let’s say I tell her she can’t work or that she has to leave. What does she do then? Run off to join the Kingslayers with those expensive shinobi skills of hers? Does she simply remain here as a prisoner for the rest of her life? It’s too cruel, my friend.”

 

[Tsukino Dante]

Ren listened to Masao's entire counter argument (actually listened, not pretend to listen; it's painfully obvious when Ren pretends to listen to anyone) but he showed no sign of being truly convinced by it. "Surely you're not serious; someone as young and bright as her shouldn't have any problem changing her career." he replied, putting a finger on the file and flipping through a few pages, stopping on Kiyoko's academic history "This girl managed to pass certification for Demonology in less than three years... most people either study for it from primary or wait until university. I know the Imperial economy has gone to shit lately but give the girl some credit; even if every chapel, monastery, and cathedral in the country had no room for her- she'd probably just go off and earn a doctorate. If the records are to be believed, the girl's a genius! I just don't want her on the front lines." Ren explained.

"And if a genin ran off for the Kingslayers? Well, then, we just send five genin to silence her. Better to deal with her outside our walls than from within. I don't think she has that in her though, not yet anyway. And if we keep her away from the fighting, she may never cross that line."

Ren realized that he was probably not making a strong enough argument to convince Masao, but he was still trying to at least find some leverage with him.

"Y'see why I tried to hold back on this, eh? I'm not enjoying this conversation one bit. Well, I guess that much was obvious, I never enjoy talking business." Ren quipped, a somewhat shallow attempt to lighten the general mood. He really wasn't enjoying the conversation at all, and yet he was going through with it anyway. Which meant swaying him would most likely be as hard as moving an immovable object.

Next round: What happens when an Unstoppable Goof meets an Immovable Fool? Tune in to find out!

 

[Takaki Saeko]

Masao sighed – Ren was stubborn indeed. It was a quality that had contributed to his skills as a master armorer, but it also meant that there was no getting the man to back down once he was convinced of something. Especially when it came to “family” matters like this. The Tenouzans in Kumogakure were a small community, and considered each other to be like relatives, even if there were only minimal blood ties between them.

“Enough then. I can tell you’re dead set on stopping Himura-chan’s career before some sort of cataclysm hits us all,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “You know, Ren, if it were anyone else but you approaching me with such a request, I wouldn’t have even stayed here. It still looks pretty bad that you don’t seem to have obtained Himura-chan’s opinion or consent before talking to me about this, and this whole thing smacks of punishment for some sort of ‘pre-crime.’ But then again, you know her better than I and you have very rarely been wrong before,” he sighed.

“Very well. I will place Himura Suzuki Kiyoko on indefinite administrative leave and offer her the option of retirement from her shinobi career. But if she comes to my office waving that giant spiked club of hers, I’m directing her straight to you, and will tell her that you hold all of the keys. Is that understood? Now, where’s our food? I’m hungry,” he said, looking around for the waitress.

 

[Tsukino Dante]

"Well, I have that much coming. Price of conscious, I guess." Ren sighed, from what he knew about the young genin he imagined it would take a week or less before he had to deal with the tyke kicking his door down. "It's for her own good too, if she does go rogue she's just gonna end up with a blade in her neck."

Ren slowly looked around the restaurant, "Y'know, if I didn't know better, I'd think we scared the poor staffers off." he jokingly suggested. A few second later the rookie waitress from before blissfully walked out of the kitchen with Masao's meal in hand. "Sorry for the wait, sirs! I'll go get the tea, it'll just take a minute! Sorry!" she spurted out as she placed the food in front of Masao. "Don't stress it... your timing couldn't have been better, actually." Ren assured.

"Ugh... times like this I wish I could order a strong drink, but Mai-chan is working late today, gonna have to drive myself home... alcohol and autobikes don't mix, at all." Ren groaned, somewhat of an offhand comment, yet again demonstrating how much he didn't like talking business. Yeah, we get it Ren, you won't shut up about that one thing.

"I do apologize for bringing this up, I know we have plenty of better things to talk about." Ren said, "So, on a somewhat less serious note, how's your personal life been lately? I'd imagine getting branch shifted- and effectively promoted- must be doing terrible things to your free time. Don't be a stranger if you ever need to hide from all the paperwork, I'm more than happy to provide safe haven." it was a fairly blunt attempt to change the tone of the conversation to something a bit more casual; as far as anyone knew, any attempt at subtlety by Ren was a crapshoot at best, and most of the time he just didn't bother. He was always more of the type to tackle his problems head on, with a giant throwing star, with explosives attached to it.

 

[Takaki Saeko]

"Then I will consider the matter settled," he said to Ren. "I will leave it up to you to reinstate her when you've gotten tired of living, sleeping, eating, and showering while constantly wearing your heaviest plate armor. Because if you hear that 'pipiru piru piru pipiru pi' sound she makes, then it's already too late," he said, smirking. A few moments later, their food arrived, and he dug into it hungrily. Ever since Kitsune had shared lunch with him, his appetite seemed to have doubled, making him wonder more pointedly and less vaguely about whether she had slipped something in with the meatloaf. Was she trying to make him into a lardass? Even Rin had told him he was becoming a round thing again.

"Oh, no apology necessary. I'm here for everyone, especially the trusted jounin of the village. After all, there's not a lot of you guys left," he replied to Ren. "My personal life, hmm. Well, so far it's been an unexpected success in terms of the burden of paperwork. There's a lot of chuunin and genin who are really driven these days, and I've appointed some of them as division leadership, which is a great way to deflect paperwork onto them instead of me. I always welcome new help however, so I'll keep you in mind, thanks. My goal right now is to make sure that the next Sennin is well prepared for the job. Rin and I are getting old, and I want to spend more time with her, just as we did when we were retired in the first place. Truth be told I expected us to die on this job, and I was prepared for that, but every day there's a new possibility that we might just beat fate and get to live out our last years together in peace. Perhaps I will make a trip to Tenouza and learn more about the old world in their libraries, and Rin wishes to start her restaurant back up again. The one where you eat what she cooks and if you have a food allergy, then tough shit," he said. It was easy to talk with a peer, even if doing so raised an untold number of death/tragedy flags. Then again, he had lived through such ordeals before.

 

[Tsukino Dante]

Ren was about to speak when he looked down and noticed something; his tea cup had been placed on the table right in front of him. When did that happen? Was he so distracted that he didn't realize the waitress had returned? Or maybe... "We didn't train that girl, did we?" Ren joked as he calmly took a sip out of his tea cup.

"I heard about you giving all those 'upper rank' assignments to the newbies- wish I could have been to that meeting in person, but unfortunately I had to stay home. You know how it is with her... some days she's just fine and goes to work as usual, but other days..." there was a rather awkward moment of silence, it seemed that Ren had unintentionally hit a nerve in his own psyche, not that it would be surprising for anyone with any level of familiarity with the young jounin. "Right, so- best of luck with it I guess. I don't really know of anyone who deserves to retire any more than you do, you've been at this longer than pretty much anyone in this village; I kinda hope I manage to survive that long- not going to be cowardly about it though, and if this job kills me then so be it! Still... I don't want to leave my family alone like that. They're counting on me."

"Anyway, if you ever do end up making that trip; I'd suggest the Pontifical Archives or the National University. The Archives pretty much have every historical document from the city's history- they apparently never let go of those things- and the only requirement for getting in is proving to the guards that you're not going to burn down over a thousand years of national history. And the university usually has some good courses on the arts and history, and they apparently give free tuition if you can prove you're retired." Ren said, demonstrating some of his familiarity with the city. "Truth be told, I could stand a visit there. I've only really been when the guard hires me for a job they don't think they can handle themselves. Sure, I get some free time before the train home arrives, but it's never enough for a good tour."

 

[Takaki Saeko]

“No, I don’t think we trained the waitress. But hang out enough around shinobi and even a non-user will learn a few tricks,” he said, noting Ren’s reaction to finding his teacup perfectly placed in front of him. “Ah, the division directorships I assigned – they’re great for the young, hungry, ambitious genin and chuunin who want to do the jobs. Most of them are single and young and still relish the danger and thrill. But I’m glad that Mai is with you, even if sometimes you might see her as tying you down a bit and preventing you from going on the truly risky assignments. I will always hold that family is more important than any title, rank, or amount in your vault account. Because really, what is it that sustains you in the end?” he asked Ren, thinking of Rin.

He noticed that he had cleaned his plate – Rin would have given him a baleful stare had she been here. His hour was also almost up as well.

“And it seems my time is up, unfortunately. Lunch is on me,” he said as he took out a handful of yen notes and placed them under his glass. “Thanks for the travel tips – I’ll be sure to check those places out, especially if they have the last millennia's worth of documentation stored there. Ah, and good luck with Himura-chan. Remember, it’s up to you,” he said, rising to leave.

[Wrapping up – TLUS?]