Private Hello Little Birdie (Requesting Nao)

[Kairyuu]

It wasn’t hard to get around the Byoin, medics rushing around trying to help the wounded and ill. Never enough medics, always too many seeking their attention. Grab a uniform, pretend you’re in a hurry; no one will ask anything as you rush by. Maki was in no particular panic however, each move he made was a calculated action designed to blend in with the rest of the chaos going on around him. There was never such a thing as true disorder, patterns existed even in the most volatile of situations. So while he was noticed coming through, no one remembered the medic in rush to get somewhere as they had their own matters to attend to.

The door was unlocked. He’d expected to have to pick it but no, they kept their office here open it appeared. Curious. He turns the knob and lets himself in, eyes scanning the room as he does. No one present currently, good. He had a knack for getting into places and waiting on people, something he wasn’t even sure how he’d managed to gain skill at but…it happened too often to be mere luck.

Maki grabs a seat and pulls a notepad from his pocket, a pen appearing in his hand as he begins scribbling notes about the person’s choice of décor and neatness or lack thereof down alongside other notes he’d taken in the last few days. Things were moving swiftly in the village, nothing new there; but these swift actions were unexpected and involved people close to him doing things he’d not foreseen. Even Asuka, one he’d never called friend but considered a comrade in their shared desire to see Leaf prosper, was on his mind now.

The former Sennin needed to know what was going on. He needed to make sure those he cared for were not being manipulated and were safe. And there was just one rogue element in all of these things. One piece of the puzzle he could not place.

So he was here, waiting in the Mednin Sennin’s office, for them to arrive so he could gather some information on that potential problem. That man whose history he did not know, and whose origins were known and were causing concern. A man this Sennin knew well, if the past few days of hitting up old contacts were anything to go by.

(Requesting Nao!)

 

[Sazuki Nao]

Nao was around the Byoin, working on cases that his subordinates found difficult to do. At some parts of the morning, he found himself working in the herbal garden to keep things organized. The life of a Medical sennin was one that most thought would be easy. But running 3 things at the same time was difficult enough..

Later in the morning, he would slowly make his way to the office he had. The office inside the Byoin was more of a fixed spot for people to find Nao rather than important documents, those were all held in his sennin office inside the Hokage tower. When Nao's door was closed, he was either not disturbed or he wasn't there. This everyone knew inside the Byoin and found it often easy to approach Nao for that.

His face turned as he came inside his office, holding a few medical files tucked under his arm and coffee in hand. He chattered still as he entered the office. "Yup! I will see what I can do, but you oughta get things straight with Miss Madonalds... She isn't as bad as you claim to be!" He spoke with laughter before he saw the man sitting in a chair.

"Hello, assuming you are inside my office you need something from me. However, I would like it more if you are next time waiting for me to be in the office before you make yourself home. May I offer you tea or coffee nonetheless?" Nao questioned before he would place his work on the desk along with his coffee.

The office was smaller than his sennin room. There was a couch with a coffee table in the corner, a few locked cabins where he kept some medical files, and of course his desk. A desk is big enough to house the amount of paperwork he used to do while running three branches, but not large enough to work 2 men on the same desk.

[topic entered]

 

[Kairyuu]

Maki turns to face the door as it opens, a smile on his face. It was the one he was here to see. A man named Nao, head of the Medical branch. Information gathering had led him to believe that under this man’s guidance the branch had been the only one not thrown into the grinder after Takeshi’s departure from Hokage. They seemed genial enough, a slight admonishment and then an offer for tea or coffee. As Maki declines he notes the files under the other’s arm and the change of his features to mean he was definitely not expecting someone any time soon.

“No no, that’s quite alright but thank you. And yes, I came to see you and was directed to this office. Apologies for simply barging in but it got a bit hectic in the hall what with all of the medics running around and needing space, so I felt it prudent to duck in and get out of their way. Can’t have a bump on a log slowing down the medical staff now can we?” He gives a hearty chuckle at that, his face and even eyes shining with a levity he did not feel. Something told him gregarious was the way to go here to get what he needed.

“I do hope all is well out there, it looked like one poor person had gotten their entire arm debrided and I knew better than to interfere on that count.” He was trained as a mednin, in a past life. Even helped out when Leaf was resurrected like the mythical Phoenix after the Daimyo’s forces destroyed it so many years past. From there he’d moved to leading the ANBU branch, then into the main branch, then back into a Medical role. Now he was…well technically he was still retired.

“I must say, you keep a tight ship here. I’ve not seen such a well regulated medical facility since the great Daichi! I’m sure that coffee is a required tool in your arsenal for such things! But no, I’m here about a protégé of mine who has gone missing. Upon last speaking with him he told me he’d actually encountered you and walked away quite concerned he'd offended a Sennin. A younger man named Tosukana Hone, you likely found him aggressively passed out sleeping and lazing about the day.”

He keeps the facade of a smile going for a moment before letting it slip into the face of someone worried about their offspring. "He's not been seen by myself or my staff since he reported that encounter, and considering his condition I'm worried he might even now be a patient here. If not then I've not a clue where he could be, sadly. I tried asking at the reception desk but was told that I'm not privy to any information on the patients, no matter how adamant I get. I was perhaps hoping you could help me determine if he is here or not?" Step one - the hook. Every con needed a hook, something to draw the other in and pique their interest even if only mildly. A chance encounter was a good one, and he was glad he'd been informed of it by Hone upon their return from said passing moment months ago. Give the target something familiar to latch onto, and a pull of their heartstrings, and you could guide them like a horse through this emotional bit and bridle.

 

[Sazuki Nao]

Something wasn't making sense... This man told Nao that he was directed in, yet his assistant never mentioned any of it, and neither did the front desk. Not to mention, there was always the coffee place where people were often directed to wait before going to an office. It made Nao wary of the man, a gut feeling so to say. 'I need to threaten carefully with this man...' was the thought inside of his mind before he would listen in to the male.

At first, he gave him compliments about how he was running the branch and the boing along with it. "The coffee indeed is, we recently switched from filter to fresh ground also. It gives a lot of compliments to staff and patients who are allowed to take caffeine." As he spoke further regards of a child he had to search inside his memory. "Hone..." He repeated the name and would lean in his hand searching for the face matching the familiar name. "Ha- the one that keeps falling from the branches.." he eventually said and tilted his head. "He is an odd one if you were to ask me. He even dug in his sleep." He would cross his arms before going over the face of the man. Something felt odd... really odd about the story.

"I am afraid to say I do not recognize him for coming in frequently with the Byoin, despite having a medical thing," Nao stated bluntly and would start to look o the man. "Why don't we start from point one, without turning around the bushes?" He would then stand up and place his mug on the small coffee table and sit down on the couch. "I am Sazuki Nao, medical Sennin." He would first introduce himself before looking to the man waiting till he did the same. And he would remain quiet until he heard who he was. Not replying to any other question or story being told. If the man left, he left if he stayed and answer Nao would simply say after; "Just spill it. I do not like sugar-coated moments."

 

[Kairyuu]

He could tell the other was hesitating, distrusting of his presence there. That was a good sign in some ways, it meant that not everything in this village had gone to shit in his absence. It was bad because he was here to gather information and through some misstep he’d just made that far more difficult for himself. Maki wasn’t one to stress over spilled milk, however, and would keep right on trucking. He moves into the compliments to keep things calm, something the other played along with even if their heart obviously wasn’t in it.

And then the name drop with the description. The head tilt, the exceedingly accurate description of his gadabout pupil….these told Maki he remembered. And then they clammed up completely and called him on his bullshit. Everyone seemed to have a sixth sense these days, conmen around the world must be out of work with how often people saw through things around this place. As the other gives a name, one Maki knew, the former Sennin holds his hand out to shake. “Tonkon Maki, former ANBU Sennin, former Hokage Advisor, currently retired.” And then came the rude, but not uncalled for, comment from the other.

“Very well then.” That said the smile would drain from Maki’s face, leaving it blank. And yet his eyes held the look of a man with a maelstrom of things going on his mind. It was indeed a calamity inside his skull as his neurons snapped and discharged in a never-ending lightshow of information gathering and processing. “I see you’re not going to fall for false gregariousness nor a red herring of a missing chuunin. So allow me to be blunt in return.”

“I retired after I got my arm cut off and my eye clawed out in defense of this village. It led to me doing some pretty bad things to the former Hokage, Uchiha Asuka. Asuka and I were never close…in fact I believe I hated that little shit. But what we had in common was a deep care for this village. And now she’s gone. No one seems to know where to, but you’re one of the people who remained through her vanishing act. I get news of shinobi being attacked in the village, of one of my former ANBU, Soku, being wounded; I get news of Asuka vanishing into thin air and then of some people rising to fill that void.”

He raises a hand which, though empty mere seconds ago, now held a strange metallic coin that he began rolling across his knuckles. “Takeshi was not a stretch to bring back, nor was Yuki. And you were already here doing good things. But someone I’ve never encountered, someone from another village, CLOUD of all places, is in charge of the ANBU branch. A foreign national leading the branch in charge of foreign affairs and intelligence. Strikes me as a little odd, especially considering Cloud’s track record in regards to what kind of shinobi they’ve sent our way in the past.”

He was indeed being quite blunt now, and his face had gone from blank to a hardened edge. “So I ask you forgive my rudeness when I admit I was here to dig into this situation to try and find out what happened to Asuka, where in the blue hells this Keiji character came into the picture, and what in the blazes is going on in this village that I thought was under good control when I retired."

 

[Sazuki Nao]

“Tonkon Maki, former ANBU Sennin, former Hokage Advisor, currently retired.” It raised Nao's eyebrows to now see this man before him. Why did he not know of this man? Takeshi, nor Asuka ever spoke of him. Yet he had held so many titles before. "The way I see... In these times, being blunt shows what you have on someone. Good or bad wise." He would speak sincerely. "besides... common sense slowly seems to die out of this world." He simply said as he would listen further.

"Let me try to help you with some parts of the story as you are missing things, and just trying to get answers..." but before he would speak he would walk towards the door, open it and place a sign on the front. Do.Not.Disturb. It was a red board on which the people knew unless it was a very very urgent thing they could get him. Otherwise, there was his medical chief to bother.

"As to where Asuka vanished, I have no idea. but I can tell you what happened in the meanwhile as I kind of was almost every time on the scene. A missing ninja went through the gates, murdering a few guards and shinobi. They went rampart near the Hokage tower in search of Asuka. Asuka was nowhere to be seen and Soku along with a kid called Daisuke got in combat with the missing. Soku got killed and Daisuke went missing. When I found Soku just after the battle... It seemed her heart had been ripped out. Now keep in mind, our lady fifth is nowhere to be seen or heard. I got Soku a new heart and tried my best to resurrect her in a sense. It took me out for a few days after. Bedridden for a good day or two hell..." He would comment and start to scratch the back of his neck.

"The missing then went out of the gates, blowing it up to smithereens along with a few shinobi alike... We already had placed more shinobi at the gates. Which resulted in a lot worse..." He sighed as he still saw the gates with the people and burned... seared flesh in front of him. Shaking the picture away he would continue. "I met Asuka once after that.. Acting a lot against Takeshi and Yuki when they returned. But ignored my words, ignored anything I said regards the recent events and where they were. I called her out but she straight ignored me. The fact she was not there at the scenes... Or at least trying. Made me regret the choice as her being kage. For the first time, I regretted the vow I had made." He simply said the truth. Maki held the advisor's role before. So he might as well had known this.

"I am not one to beat around, right now she is gone. Which is for the betterment of the leaf if you were to ask. I do not know where Soku went. She vanished also around the same time as Asuka I believe... I don't even know if she is alive now with the new heart... She never reported back in for a checkup.."

He would leave room for Maki to reply to it before he would start about.. Keiji.

"As for Keiji... you are talking over my fiance." He said with a straight face. And holding the mug more so that you could see the ring around his finger. "He came to leaf seeking refuge from Cloud. He served under me as a Medical Chief for a good year if not more... Kinda list track of time. And I kinda hate he is gone now out of this branch. he did god damn good work.." he complained a little. "If you are afraid he means harm... you have nothing to fear, he isn't one to betray Konoha."

 

[Keiji]

"You could say the moment I walked into the village I had found a new home."​

The voice came from the other side of the office door and silently Keiji's index finger pushed forth the door to the office open. "My passions for this village and it's people echoes through the band around the finger both me and Nao share to this day." In the doorway stood tall Suzaku Keiji with his wild dreadlocks set in a ponytail wearing his usual white garments with a lab coat hanging out, not truly taken to the garbs of the ANBU just yet, still feeling more comfortable in his Medical-nin garbs.

He had come to visit his Fiance after hiring a new ANBU Captain, and he wanted to share the news and the humour of the circumstances that had lead to it. He even had a bottle of sake with him, which Hitomi now carried with her. It was almost as large as her so she seemed a little dumpy with it in hand behind Keiji. He had previously handed to her as he was listening in to through the door only hearing Nao's response to the questioning ocurring.

His eyes stared directly towards Maki, one might say in a threatening manner. "As I understood from what little I did hear, there seems to be someone with some.. Misgivings about my presence here in the village and in the position I now hold?" He paused and took a step into the room, allowing his short statured red curly-haired humanoid Demon girl to put down the bottle, walk silently in behind and closing the door behind him leaving herself outside standing guard. "I'd like to hear them directly if I may, I don't like my fiancé here getting peppered with a hundred questions about me, when you could just as easily have asked me directly. So here I am at your leisure." He gave room for a dramatic pause and then proceeded.
"I am Suzaku Keiji, Missing-nin of Cloud, Leader of the Harvester Lodge and current serving ANBU Sennin of Leaf. Pleasure to make your acquaintance" He said as he bowed and stood back straight almost mockingly as if this was a theater production he just walked into.

 

[Kairyuu]

At least he was getting something. His snooping up to this point had led him to believe Nao was a mostly honest individual, or at the very least they were corroborating what he himself knew, sadly. He raises a hand which now held a notepad and begins writing as Nao explains what’s happened. In truth most of it was known, he was filling in blanks or simply underlining things to cement the point he already had. It was a sad state of affairs however.

No one knew where Asuka was, check. Missing broke in,murdered people, Soku was killed…not injured. Scratch out and underline. Daisuke missing. Soku’s heart ripped out. Soku…resurrected? Maki looks up at Nao as they casually explain they brought a dead person back to life, one eyebrow climbing above the other in vertical relation. He was going to call bullshit right there except…everything he’d found on his own led him to think Soku was indeed not dead. He goes back to writing as they continue.

And then he brings up his relation to Keiji, which was closer than Maki had anticipated. Damn but he was getting rusty, he’d been out of the game too long; his contacts were no longer reliable or missing in most cases. But apparently he’d been a mednin previous, much like Maki himself. But he had this one’s trust.

And then a voice sounds through the door, lead Maki’s hand drop to his hip as it opens to let in someone he’d never seen in person but had seen imagery of. It was quite obvious he was feeling a bit like a cornered animal as Keiji speaks, Not good. He didn’t expect a fight, but he hadn’t planned for this and now it was time to improvise.

“Well, it appears I’ve been retired too long. Didn’t even hear you coming to the door.” Maki’s hand moves from his hip, not holding one of his weapons but bringing up a flask which he pops the cap on and takes a draft from. A little liquid resolve was never a bad thing in the right dosage. His eyes, previously a dark brown, were currently showing a bright blue. But as he calms and collects them slowly fade back to their natural shade. Improv time, Maki.

“Alright, I do believe I’m not getting out of here without a full explanation so I suppose I’ll just set my prejudices aside and give one. As I explained to Nao here, my name is Tonkon Maki. I’m the head of the Isaki clan, grew up in Leaf raised by distant cousins of the clan and trained as a Mednin until the samurai attacked. I came back after the village was restored to help out with my medical knowledge, but wandered after that until Takeshi found me and convinced me to return for good. I joined as an ANBU Captain, took over as ANBU Sennin after he became Hokage, then moved on to a position as Hokage Advisor. I say this not to brag but to explain where I come from – I care about my friends, and I care about Konoha.”

“The reason he convinced me to rejoin was Cloud had sent a shinobi to us who took over the spot of ANBU Sennin under Umashi, and proceeded to murder another Sennin and was destabilizing the village horribly. Went by the name of Yuuto. During my tenure as Sennin there were several times Kumo tried to sneak in underhanded tricks through our treaty to mess with the village. So…I’m sure you can imagine my paranoia when I hear the Hokage’s gone missing, one of my former best ANBU is wounded…and a whole new bevy of Sennin comes in including a Cloud native taking over ANBU. History repeats, eh?”

“So tell me, Suzaku Keiji, what brought you to Konoha in the first place?”

 

[Sazuki Nao]

It was safe to say, Nao jumped a little when he heard the door finally open with the voice of his fiance. Looking at him he would tilt his head. 'Have you not heard of knocking?!' His thoughts were, but his eyes would almost speak it if he looked towards Keiji. Yet at the same time he would leave a sigh and look towards the little yokai behind Keiji.

Leaning to the floor he would hold his hand out to take it from the little one if allowed head pets her after and place it on his desk. As Keiji was speaking, he would just do a bit of his work. Sometimes it was better to not stick a nose in someone's business, yet he did keep a listening ear. As he heard the word fiance, he would turn his head around looking to Keiji, seeing it was just talking he would continue on with opening up the window. Grab a few glasses and a weak whisky in percentage. placing down the glasses he would open up the bottle, fill 2 of those glasses and the third one with a 0.00% one. He instantly would claim that one.

After he had done that, he would place a cigarette tray on the desk too and a pack of smokes with it. He would take his 0.00 and walk to the couch, sit down there, and forget he didn't offer Hitomi anything. Getting up and offer her some water, not really sure what she usually took. After that, he would sit down again if Hitomi wanted, pet on the couch beside him for her to join.

Just... watch and listen, this was something between them at the moment.

 

[Keiji]

Hitomi didn't seem pleased with the pets. She merely pouted, she responded with Nao's gestures to grab one of the glasses poured for either Keiji or Maki. Then walked and sat besides Nao, silently sipping the alchohol. Not like she was underaged after all, if she wanted to she could appear like a voloptous lady with curves to write home about, but her small stature gave her the edge in practically all circumstances. Setting the expectations on her way off course.

Keiji stood and listened to Maki's words with a serious stare. His reasonings were fair, but his actions speaks volumes on his thoughts and opinions on Keiji.
"Not exactly an easy tale to tell without lots of further detail added, but I see you're not one to let go, once they've set their minds on something. So let me try and explain.." He paused, pulled out a herbal cigar and lit it. Taking a short pull of it, he continued as he breathed out the vapour. "I came to Leaf after a long travel across many lands which started from Cloud after I ran from false accusations on my innocence in a matter that involved the late Raikage Hayata Shin. To make a long story short, we were accused as cold killers and complicit in his death caused by a group of assassins that came in during a meeting. We were simply unable to save him due to the speed of the attack. We made chase, but due to the circumstances and me and my friend having survived their council had already decided our fate, simply allowing us to live and tell he tale of his demise was enough for them." He took another heave of the cigar and letting the smoke calm his body and mind breathing it back out he continued "I arrived here with my group, as a way to escape the prejudice and punishment for an act I did not cause or was involved in.. Beyond simply being at the wrong place, wrong time.. Simple as that."
After a small breath he further added..

"At this point in time, Kumo is out of my concern in any and all ways. I couldn't care less for how things are going there, and I have no ties or relations I wish to rekindle. My family received enough of the civilians 'kindness' there. There's nothing for me there."
"Does that answer your questions?" He paused again, looking to Hitomi, as if to see if she'd be ready to leave quickly. His emotions were a bit wild at that point, reliving such memories doesn't serve him well, but seeing her chill with a glass of liqour he felt himself getting frustrated a little, but turning back to Maki he tried to maintain his composure.

[Apologies for the delay]