Hotsume Rika, Countess of Tea is a mysterious entity housed within Kododama Keep. Known primary for her position of power, little is known about her origins, those close to her and what makes her tick. Those are all secrets that she keeps close to her heart, the political climate in Tea even on a 'good' day can be 'heated' to say the least. Her rivals often attempt to usurp her in the same way she usurped her predecessor -- behind the scenes in silence where the wizened man would simply announce one day out of the blue that he needed to step down for 'personal' or perhaps 'health' reasons. The opinion of the people is a labile, fickle thing that often came in tides of approval and disapproval based on the latest law or propaganda. It was a balance she had learned long ago, control he media and the flow of information and you control the people. Every book, every paper, every report regarding her said the same thing -- that she was a strong, competent leader that headed a proposal that benefited the people in a certain regard. There would be a few words added here and there to make it apply, but for the most part it was formulaic at this point.
Free speech was certainly muted in Tea. Of course there is a difference behind forcibly shutting a mouth or gagging a dissident and simply failing to publish their brazen opinion piece that speaks out against her efforts and policies. Much like her legacy, her appearance was also cultivated in a similar fashion. She was a beautiful young woman, well not very young anymore but young enough as to pass as 'youthful' still. She never married and any lovers that she had taken over the years were carefully hidden. There have been several offers for her hand, the most notable being Diamyo Ishii Shiro's heir apparent Ishii Susumu on his eighteenth birthday. A brilliant young man, although he lacked the life experience to truly project his intelligence, she was not going to tether herself to another nation. She was not going to grant another man or woman for that matter the ability to potentially force her to cede a portion of her authority over to them.
Yet she was not entirely autonomous, she was swayed by the Otokage. It was his idea to have an international competition at the Hisashī Zenshōsen Arena, a concept she initially debated. It was not that she considered the presence of shinobis from Kohonagakure and Kirigakure as a potentially 'terrible' thing, in fact she saw it as a way to potentially improve Kurosawa's struggling economy. Rika, however was always looking for more. A bit of hesitation, have Kageoni Yami sweeten the deal and then cede to the shinobi leader's desires. Of course it happened, the Otokage offered to send some of his shinobi down to Kurosawa to help maintain the peace. For the most part the shinobi of Sound kept themselves and were rarely seen even in the northcoutry from where it is assumed that their village remains hidden. For free. The graciously accepted, claiming the leader drove a hard bargain and little to know he really did. The Sound shinobi were very good at suppressing crime, better than her militia. The frequency of civilian crime dropped drastically the weeks leading up to the tournament. In fact civilian crime remains near non-existent, but the same could not be said regarding chakra-capable crime. That was on the steady rise, some of the violence was associated with the Sound shinobi 'defending' the community but the community suffering egregious 'collateral damage' and some from foreign shinobi that have taken the concept that "might equals right" or that deviance was acceptable because there would be no consequences for their actions in a foreign community -- the hint of war, the threat of ire, fear...
She had scarcely left Kodoma Keep since the Sound shinobi arrived. There was no force, the threat merely implied. They were watching her. She was concerned that her correspondences were being read, many of the documents she had received were rumpled. In a way she was astonished that Susumu was able to even visit her or come to think of it -- why. She had not seen him in years, not since she had rejected his proposal almost a decade ago. So why now in the midst of the tournament did he come here and why did he try to dissuade her from contacting Sunagakure? Sound was the problem, not the solution.
She eyed her door, she could hear the creek of floorboards, there was someone outside of her office door. There was always someone out there, 'patrolling.' She bit her lower lip as she dipped her quill into a pool of ink. It was now or never, if she did not act now soon all of the foreign shinobis would be gone and she would be left with Sound and their silent threat. They did nothing to her. She suffered no abuse, but there was this welling sense of fear that she could not ignore.
She hoped that the message would reach him. She folded the slip of paper, a sense of defiance in the back of her mind as she slipped the bit of parchment into her purse. Now, she only needed to find a way of sending him this correspondence. She took a deep breath as the gears in her head started to turn. There has to be something. A way.
She did not have many options, she feared being overheard if she called him. She wondered if whoever was guarding her office could hear what she said. She could whisper. She looked out the window, she was on the top floor, there was no way of sneaking out without being seen and if she left routinely she knew that she would be followed. That said, it was her best chance. She would ready herself, a pair of earrings and a fresh coat of lipstick. She had appearances to keep. There was still this lack of a plan, where would the Kazekage be?
There would likely be a crowd, some pomp and circumstance with his moments. Any establishment that housed someone of note would likely announce such with great pride. She did not need a plan, just the statement that she was going on an outing. Her purse tightly clutched to her side she nervously opened the door. A guard was waiting on the other-side, a Hyuuga with his Byakugan staring at her, wordlessly his eyes looked down at her bag. "Madam... allow me."
Katsuo you and your Sennins are invited to come to Kodoma Keep. you would have received that letter verbatim.
Description of the setting you would find.
Kodoma Keep is primarily an office building with a multi-level structure and tight security. This is also the residence of the governing body of the city of Kurosawa, the capital of Tea Country. The sentinels were scarce, at least if they were present they were not particularly visible. At the front door there would be a large bear of a man with yellow hair and bulging muscles, pale blue eyes and a dull expression on his face. He would silently appraise you all as you passed, almost as if he was comparing something. His gaze would linger on Roku the longest (if he was there). There was a second guardian as well, a young woman with white hair and a devious smile. She looked like she wanted to say something but for whatever reason she changed her mind and announced simply: "have a nice stay boys." She would gesture to the elevators, her extended finger pointing to the top floor.
The elevator played some cliche elevator music. The worst kind really, only a few noted on a short loop repeat (careless whisper sax solo).
When they reached the top floor after a period of time that felt longer than it actually was, they would be met with wealth. The thick carpets, the mahogany trim and the large likely overpriced paintings. There was only two doors, an office and what appeared to be an apartment door. The office was left ajar. There were no other guards. No other employees. However, there was someone sitting inside, silhouetted by a faint light.
There was a woman sitting behind the desk. "Welcome sweet friends. Take a seat and allow me to greet, you are in for a treat."
Free speech was certainly muted in Tea. Of course there is a difference behind forcibly shutting a mouth or gagging a dissident and simply failing to publish their brazen opinion piece that speaks out against her efforts and policies. Much like her legacy, her appearance was also cultivated in a similar fashion. She was a beautiful young woman, well not very young anymore but young enough as to pass as 'youthful' still. She never married and any lovers that she had taken over the years were carefully hidden. There have been several offers for her hand, the most notable being Diamyo Ishii Shiro's heir apparent Ishii Susumu on his eighteenth birthday. A brilliant young man, although he lacked the life experience to truly project his intelligence, she was not going to tether herself to another nation. She was not going to grant another man or woman for that matter the ability to potentially force her to cede a portion of her authority over to them.
Yet she was not entirely autonomous, she was swayed by the Otokage. It was his idea to have an international competition at the Hisashī Zenshōsen Arena, a concept she initially debated. It was not that she considered the presence of shinobis from Kohonagakure and Kirigakure as a potentially 'terrible' thing, in fact she saw it as a way to potentially improve Kurosawa's struggling economy. Rika, however was always looking for more. A bit of hesitation, have Kageoni Yami sweeten the deal and then cede to the shinobi leader's desires. Of course it happened, the Otokage offered to send some of his shinobi down to Kurosawa to help maintain the peace. For the most part the shinobi of Sound kept themselves and were rarely seen even in the northcoutry from where it is assumed that their village remains hidden. For free. The graciously accepted, claiming the leader drove a hard bargain and little to know he really did. The Sound shinobi were very good at suppressing crime, better than her militia. The frequency of civilian crime dropped drastically the weeks leading up to the tournament. In fact civilian crime remains near non-existent, but the same could not be said regarding chakra-capable crime. That was on the steady rise, some of the violence was associated with the Sound shinobi 'defending' the community but the community suffering egregious 'collateral damage' and some from foreign shinobi that have taken the concept that "might equals right" or that deviance was acceptable because there would be no consequences for their actions in a foreign community -- the hint of war, the threat of ire, fear...
She had scarcely left Kodoma Keep since the Sound shinobi arrived. There was no force, the threat merely implied. They were watching her. She was concerned that her correspondences were being read, many of the documents she had received were rumpled. In a way she was astonished that Susumu was able to even visit her or come to think of it -- why. She had not seen him in years, not since she had rejected his proposal almost a decade ago. So why now in the midst of the tournament did he come here and why did he try to dissuade her from contacting Sunagakure? Sound was the problem, not the solution.
She eyed her door, she could hear the creek of floorboards, there was someone outside of her office door. There was always someone out there, 'patrolling.' She bit her lower lip as she dipped her quill into a pool of ink. It was now or never, if she did not act now soon all of the foreign shinobis would be gone and she would be left with Sound and their silent threat. They did nothing to her. She suffered no abuse, but there was this welling sense of fear that she could not ignore.
Dearest Kazekage Sunahoshi Katsuo;
Hello, my name is Hotsume Rika, Countess of Tea. I hope that you are
enjoying the wonderful scenery Kurosawa offers to the
likes of such esteemed guests. I look forward to finally meeting you.
Please meet me in Kododama Keep with your Sennins for a meeting.
Hotsume Rika
She hoped that the message would reach him. She folded the slip of paper, a sense of defiance in the back of her mind as she slipped the bit of parchment into her purse. Now, she only needed to find a way of sending him this correspondence. She took a deep breath as the gears in her head started to turn. There has to be something. A way.
- Bribe a Sound shinobi to find him?
- Sneak out and deliver it herself.
- Hide this letter among other documents that could be delivered and hopefully not read due to the length.
- Scrap the letter, try calling him over a headset frequency.
She did not have many options, she feared being overheard if she called him. She wondered if whoever was guarding her office could hear what she said. She could whisper. She looked out the window, she was on the top floor, there was no way of sneaking out without being seen and if she left routinely she knew that she would be followed. That said, it was her best chance. She would ready herself, a pair of earrings and a fresh coat of lipstick. She had appearances to keep. There was still this lack of a plan, where would the Kazekage be?
There would likely be a crowd, some pomp and circumstance with his moments. Any establishment that housed someone of note would likely announce such with great pride. She did not need a plan, just the statement that she was going on an outing. Her purse tightly clutched to her side she nervously opened the door. A guard was waiting on the other-side, a Hyuuga with his Byakugan staring at her, wordlessly his eyes looked down at her bag. "Madam... allow me."
Katsuo you and your Sennins are invited to come to Kodoma Keep. you would have received that letter verbatim.
Description of the setting you would find.
Kodoma Keep is primarily an office building with a multi-level structure and tight security. This is also the residence of the governing body of the city of Kurosawa, the capital of Tea Country. The sentinels were scarce, at least if they were present they were not particularly visible. At the front door there would be a large bear of a man with yellow hair and bulging muscles, pale blue eyes and a dull expression on his face. He would silently appraise you all as you passed, almost as if he was comparing something. His gaze would linger on Roku the longest (if he was there). There was a second guardian as well, a young woman with white hair and a devious smile. She looked like she wanted to say something but for whatever reason she changed her mind and announced simply: "have a nice stay boys." She would gesture to the elevators, her extended finger pointing to the top floor.
The elevator played some cliche elevator music. The worst kind really, only a few noted on a short loop repeat (careless whisper sax solo).
When they reached the top floor after a period of time that felt longer than it actually was, they would be met with wealth. The thick carpets, the mahogany trim and the large likely overpriced paintings. There was only two doors, an office and what appeared to be an apartment door. The office was left ajar. There were no other guards. No other employees. However, there was someone sitting inside, silhouetted by a faint light.
There was a woman sitting behind the desk. "Welcome sweet friends. Take a seat and allow me to greet, you are in for a treat."