Re: No Country For Old Men [Private / Koyoko]
With the depth of experience that he had accrued in times of great strife, he guided himself towards just conduct in all pursuits in life. From his own home, the art of war was defined as something heralded by ingenuity and integrity. In Iwagakure, men of all persuasions were shaken by the quakes of their unanswered questions. Stubborn were they whom sought answers to their questions, but refused to hear the true answers. The chakra within Koyoko's body began to flow more freely through her, indicating some internal change. He didn't like this. Not one bit.
Do not be mistaken, I have no immediate interest in violating your personal space.
His eyes flashed for a moment, glinting with the weight of the Hakumei Byakugan. If anything, he was merely showing it off to her as a means to indicate his transparency. If he wanted to touch her, he would do so very well on his own terms without her intervention. No interference would be had if he had anything to say of it.
...And in regards to Iwagakure, I have a greater purpose inviting you here than to marvel at the state of your nation. I could talk until the day is old of the grace of my homeland.
He trailed off, disturbed by the image of it covered in several meters of frost. It made him sick, so he withdrew it from his mind to keep weight from his heart. It worked.
I can tell you as a matter of my personal achievements as the last known captain of Kirigakure's A.N.B.U., that I have not traveled here in ignorance to your customs. I have observed them as closely as I have been able to in my time here. You and your kin tread perilous waters, because you have been vexed by the pressing nature of your shift in leadership. This much is well understood on my behalf, as it can be rather complicated if approached by a berserk mind.
He spoke clearly to her, trying to impart some form of reason. He wished solemnly to communicate his status as an individual of knowledge in the art of tracking, government operation, civil protection, and above all military excellence.
You took me up on my offer to meet and discuss these matters, knowing full and well that either one of us could leave this spot in a body bag. Or worse. Your sword doesn't frighten me; what you can rend asunder with it, I can just as easily do without any extension from my very own fists.
He continued circling her, doing a little bit of bagua. The airy motions of his hands formed a movement of energy, and he danced with it to create a peaceful ambiance. He wanted to project some aesthetic beauty to her, almost as a peace offering.
I'm going to paint a picture for you.
He began to dance around her, flourishing with the agility and precision he had been honing a lifetime over. He bore his heart in his dance, as he began to depict to her his analysis of the crime scene he came upon not so long ago.
A hillside, somewhere etched just below the sisters on Titan's Keep. A thick fog had rolled over the city, obscuring the outside. A gathering of few, a foreign messenger bore a message to Inu Endo. For whichever purpose, Haruka saw tyranny in his actions and voiced her opposition to his actions. Thus, the conflict began.
His motions began to accelerate, appearing less beautiful and more jarring and violent. Cutting back his motions with sharp fists and kicks, he cut loose into the open air leaving plenty of space between himself and her. He made it as obvious as he could that there was no direction of this energy towards her, to show he spoke a similar language.
The two prepared to clash, and sustained techniques to best advantage themselves to fight their opposing party. The messenger tried to escape, but among the first blows dealt a sequence of explosives annihilated the foreigner to nothing but ash and oxygen. Haruka sustained many injuries from this, no doubt. I was the first response in your village to the turbulence.
As he danced, he pulled two phials from his bag. Each one contained a droplet of blood, crystallized in its container.
When I encountered the scene, I smelled and tasted the blood of the fray. Two samples stood out. A heavy frost coated the field--black ice, covered in lays of char and red revealed a semi-chronological explanation of the Ninjutsu employed. If you know anything of the Toujigikou and the Haku, there was intent to kill behind both of their actions. If I were investigating the battle on my on soil, I would not say this battle was unexpected. I would say it was completely mutual, in force and destruction.
In the middle of an axle kick, he stopped his leg in mid air. Drawing his limb down to stand, facing away from Koyoko, he formed his thoughts into words with purpose.
Factual evidence thus far: Three individuals fought a bloody battle on the gates. One was obliterated, turned to ash by the explosive techniques of a Toujigikou. The force of the techniques indicates intent to kill on behalf of both parties, with a mutual consensus. Cause of death of the messenger would be quickly deduced to be death by explosive hidden technique. Neither body was found present at the scene of the fight.
He prayed from within that she heard his voice, and actually could see his logic.
After collecting samples of metal, fragments of debris, and fibers from the scene I departed with samples of blood towards the village. I ended up in the Inner Maruishi, where by some stroke of fate I encountered Minamoto-Kono Haruka. Her physical state bore all signs of the battle, so I immediately detained her for analysis. I interrogated her briefly, and tended to her wounds. If a medical deposition is required, I am more than happy to inform your chief of medical staff with a report of her injuries.
He turned back to her, giving her eye contact once again.
Given the nature of her psychological and physiological state, I confirmed quickly that she had killed the leader of this nation. I investigated the cause of death of Inu Endo personally, and can confirm that she was the killer. Through evaluation, however, I would say with full certainty that this violent end to your leader was necessitated by his actions. If a battle occurs between the leader of a nation, and her alleged subordinate, he should alert the proper authorities immediately. Especially given the influence of a foreign agent who he had killed himself in what appears to be cold blood.
He laughed at the thought.
So, your former Tsuchikage kills a foreign messenger on village soil, then wills death upon one of his alleged subordinates without indicating any of it to his A.N.B.U. Personnel? Regardless of the nature of their disagreement, this would appear to indicate foul play in any setting. He had something to hide, and had Haruka been the one to fall that afternoon, perhaps he would have disposed of her and left you all to think nothing of the day.
He began to walk circles again, trying to digress from the information he relayed to her. It was certainly a lot more information than he needed to offer her, but he knew that in order for the proper course of actions to be executed, some compromise would have to be made.
I don't dangle information before you in exchange for anything. I don't need to. I would say that your unit and greater organization are lacking in intelligence on the subject as of now, and I would be concerned by the fact that the Sennin of your branch has not thrown all other concerns to the wind to patrol the scenes of the battle and obtain full detail of what occurred here before warranting an arrest on a civil woman.
He spoke passionately, knowing the ins and outs of his branch on a personal basis. To him, it didn't really matter what excuse she or anyone else had. No one had even bothered to investigate the crime but him since he had arrived. All of the proponents of either faction simply opposed one another based on the political traditions of the village, instead of seeking answers to explain why it had even happened in the first place.
If you have the authority to do so, I urge you to suspend your warrant for arrest against Haruka. Incarcerating and interrogating her will do you no good. It will kill her, or your men, and leave you with fewer conclusions than you sought after. I would urge you to garner the attention of your leadership to immediately contact the home nation of the deceased messenger for diplomatic purposes, and assess Inu Endo's motives in the killing. If your nation does not publicly surrender this information to the world at large, and claim responsibility for the crime, more than the crown of your nation could end up jeopardized. Your entire village could be seized and dismantled, as we have seen happen to Konohagakure in recent times. Or worse...
He tried not to think of what had happened in his own home.
And finally, thank you for listening to me.
He wondered if his statement would make sense to the woman, and if she would even bother to discuss matters further with him. The facts were all there in black and white, whether or not she chose to believe their empirical truth. He saw them, first hand. He knew the specifics of what had occurred, and was more than willing to engage in discourse to end the warmongering. All he wanted was to see justice, and he would fight for it tooth and nail if necessary.
[MFT]
