The sun rose hours ago, and although Kahako slept little after finally making it home from the Raikage tower, she still felt better than she had in the past week. Not much, but enough to make her fully formulate a plan with which to avoid possible conflict with her mission in Suna over the next few weeks. She had a very short window with which to build her hand, and some of her cards—she began to quickly realize—could end up being double-edged.Which is why she currently stood outside the lab she believed her mother to be currently occupying. She did not look ragged or disheveled, she took meticulous care in how she presented herself this morning. And when she opened the door, she contained air of determination and the poise of nobility. As if she silently commanded a level of respect to be given to her to those outside her family. All traits she believed, after all her years of living in this house, the matriarch of her clan expected her to have.
“Mother,” Kahako spoke softly as she peered her head around the door. She did not want to startle Kitsune while in the middle of her experiments. “Might I have a moment of your time?” Once beckoned in, Kahako would close the door behind her. “So… Ayumu reinstated me. I am to leave in a week on a mission.” Kitsune would no doubt turn at this, knowing full well why Kahako was placed on medical leave in the first place. Kahako shook her head, “No, I’m not better, but it’s a mission we both believe won’t go smoothly without my being there, and I have my own plans that align with it. Don’t worry, he’s sending ANBU to join me.”
But Kahako wasn’t here to just say her goodbyes. “But before I left, I wanted… no needed to speak with you.” Head held high, Kahako got to the point. “From the moment you took me under your care, I have been grateful for the generosity you bestowed on me. I have flourished under you, and have accomplished a good many things in my life that I never thought I would. In part, I have you to thank for that.” At this, Kahako smiled slightly, “as a matter of fact, I often wondered if the reason behind you adopting me in the first place was because you saw potential in what I could bring to the Shinrya name.
“And I would be doing a disservice to our clan if I did not admit that with my potential came my ambitions. I was appointed as Sennin during a time when our clan was not looked kindly upon, I have lead the Sentou for a good many years, and although the main reason behind my relationship with the Raikage is one of love, I still have his ear and his trust. A political feat not many outside the current leadership can say they have. I feel I have done a good many things under the name of Shinrya given my station, and I want to do more.” Kahako paused for a breath. “I cannot do much more as just some adopted daughter of the main branch, and still receive the recognition I feel I deserve. I would like the clan elders, our countrymen, and anyone else to see that a decision from me is one that you would approve of. Is a decision that carries the weight of the authority Lightening nobility has bestowed upon you. My wish is for you to name me as one of your legitimate heirs. Entitled to lands upon the unfortunate instance of your death, and any titles that would come with it.”
She paused, taking in every minute detail at Kitsune’s reaction to this. For years Kahako never expressed the wish to hold a position of leadership within the clan. And for years, she believed that both she herself and Kitsune was content with the arrangement. But with the threat of losing everything dear to her—her village, her son, her very self—Kahako could not fail her mission. Any power she could grab, no matter how small the seeming insignificance, was power. And she knew Kitsune recently secured a seed of power in the very land she was travelling to. One Kahako knew she could use. And—Shinbatsu willing—a seedling of power she could coax into flourishing. Silently she waited for Kitsune’s response.
