Speaking from Old Times [Private]

[Shu]

The boy guided Shu with celerity through the district as they passed through the busy market. Shu examined his surroundings noticing that much had not changed since the last time he was here which was about twenty or thirty years ago -- loud and obnoxious. There was something that was strikingly different and that the village had become more social. The warm interactions between shinobi and civilians were almost surreal that Shu nearly forgot that he was in a military station. If Shu was naive he would have believed that the village had changed over the many years. Shin may have been a proponent of peace but Shu and his brother knew that peace could not be truly be found in the natural world, at least Shin did not die in vain leaving off a positive resonance for the village to follow.

Eventually, the two arrived at the towers which stood like the tall forest trees with branches that seems to extend endlessly to the blue sky. They walked into the tower where they were greeted by several ANBU who inquired for their reason being there.

“I am looking to speak with the raikage.” Shu said.

The ANBU looked at each other and then back at Shu. They could not tell if Shu was part if the ANBU but they did get an alert from the gates that someone was requesting an audience with the raikage. However, like all leaders, the kage was always busy.

“You will need to make a request to see him, sir”

“Very well.” Shu said in a monotone voice as he followed them into the building. Whether or not the boy decided to accompany him was the boy’s business but once he left Shu’s presence he thanked him and continued onward. Shu was meet again by the slew of paperwork that Shu was persistent to falsify as he entered vague responses. He was offered a seat but he decided to stand

[Entering with Osu]

 

[Osuteno]

Osu walked with the suddenly questionless man quietly for a time letting the old man soak in his surroundings. As they approached the towers Osu caught the faintest glimpse of movement from his eye. If he didn't know any better he would have assumed it had been a bird or a trick of the light. However having called for observers he could only assume someone tripped up about to the extent that ANBU do. It was odd that the ANBU waited until they were inside the tower before dropping in as from a security perspective it would have made more sense to do so before the very suspicious individual entered the government building but that wasn't Osu's department so he calmly listened to the brief exchange and walked past the ANBU to the front desk as they were finishing up with the man behind him.

Osu went ahead and requested the paperwork to update the man's citizenship papers, which was rather quick and mentioned the man's request to make an appointment with the Raikage. However it seems they ran into a little problem. "The Raikage has gone on a diplomatic mission to Stone and left the Main Branch sennin in charge? How come no one announces these things? I suppose we will have to make an appointment with the Main Branch Sennin then."

Osu waited until he got a nod from the woman at the front desk before walking towards his super suspicious looking companion. "It seems the Raikage is out on official business so we will have to speak with the Main Branch Sennin Ayumu-Sama instead. A friend of mine who works for him in the tax department says not many people actually want to go speak with him because he normally sends anyone he can get his hands on on life endangering missions so it shouldn't take too long to see him. Do you have any more questions for me while we wait?"

Topic entered MFT WC 325

 

[Shu]

The ANBU guards allowed Shu entrance to the Towers with the young boy following along. The boy took command as he directed Shu to the front desk. The insides was rather hygienic if there was a word to describe it. Everything was nearly spotless from the pristine wooden tiles to the sterile air. There was so much that has changed since the last time he was here.

The boy turned back toward Shu after speaking with the receptionist and stated that the raikage was not presently available in the village. There leader was spending most his time to continuing the diplomatic effort that his predecessors carved for him. The boy suggested that they could meet with the main branch sennin who be less preoccupied by comparison given the sennin’s desires.

“Yes, there is one last thing. I need a courier to find a young man named Aiko. He was the apprentice of the eight raikage. Once the courier tell Aiko to report to my quarters.” He said ending his exhortation with a humble thank you as he gave a short bow.

“We will wait for your sennin” He said still perplex at the need for such a thing.

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

The hiss of the intercom coming to life on his desk broke Ayumu out of the haze he was in. He was so absorbed in the paperwork, stacked even higher than usual since Ayumu was left in charge of the village in Saito's absence, that it took him a moment to come to his senses and realize what the receptionist had said. After all, he was now handling paperwork of his Sennin position and that which couldn't wait for Saito's return. He wasn't sure what time it was, hardly even knew where he was, and wasn't entirely sure what he had been doing for the past however long it had been. The receptionist had informed him that young Osuteno and a much older shinobi, a retired ANBU, were seeking an audience with the Raikage. Of course, the Raikage was not present, so Ayumu would have to do. Shaking his head, he pulled himself together and pressed the button on the intercom to respond. "Okay, send them up," he replied before releasing the button and rubbing his eyes.

"Man, I really need a Hand that I could push some of this shit on," he muttered to himself, leaning back in his chair. He was still in the office of the Main Branch Sennin, not the Raikage's office as some might have thought. Despite handling some of the Raikage's duties, he would be more efficient in his own office. Now he was left to wonder what this retired shinobi wanted. Whatever it was, it was a welcome break from desk work. It was also curious that Osuteno was present. What did he have to do with all of this? Could Ayumu use this opportunity to finally kidnap him? It was likely he was just escorting Shu from the gates. When Shu arrived at the Sennin's door he would find it open. Ayumu spotted him and beckoned for him to enter.

"Come in. What can I do for you today?" Ayumu asked, sizing the tall man up. What brought a former shinobi back to Kumogakure seeking an audience with the Raikage?

 

[Shu]

It only took a few moments before the intercom above them crackled to life. It was the first time Shu heard such a thing given the times. He remember those days when they would use blow horns or simply use a courier. With the ubiquitous use of modern technology, it was a concern whether or not it made the shinobi complacent. They were ordered to ascend and meet up with the main branch sennin in his office. The boy lead the way and he was the first to enter the room.

A debonair man sat across them behind a mahogany table. He was tall, brown eyes against square glasses, slender man of between the twenties and thirties. His countenance lacked depth or concern as he looked onward toward Shu and the boy.

“Come in. What can I do for you today?” He asked as he examined Shu.

Shu cleared his throat as he began with a deep voice. “I was seeking an audience with your raikage but you will do. The death of your eight raikage is one of the causes. I am not going to explain the why but there is an unbalance in spiritual activity and the center of all it is near this village. Do you know how long it has been since his death?”

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

Ayumu leaned back in his seat as the man began speaking. He gestured to the chairs before his desk if either Shu or Osu wished to take a seat. Interlocking his fingers and placing them casually on his desk, he listened to Shu. As was known already, he was seeking an audience with the Raikage but was forced to settle for Ayumu. 'I'll do, huh?' Ayumu thought to himself, a slight smirk barely showing itself on the corner of his mouth. The man spoke of the death of the eight Raikage- of Hayata Shin. He apparently did not have the time to explain why, but supposedly there was an unbalance in spiritual activity originated from near the village and it had something to do with Shin's death. Shu questioned how long it had been since Shin's death. Taking a breath to absorb this sudden information, Ayumu was silent for a moment. A spiritual unbalance? What on earth was this man talking about?

"It has been a couple of years now since his death," Ayumu said somberly, clearly not speaking on a subject he enjoyed thinking about. "What... exactly do you mean by an unbalance in spiritual activity?" Ayumu asked, the skepticism clearly evident in his voice. There were surely a lot of strange things in the shinobi world. Supernatural entities such as ghosts were basically confirmed to exist. Demons were a real and true threat that had nearly brought the village to its knees in the past. There wasn't a whole lot left to be skeptical about in the world of shinobis. Still, when an old man whose very appearance was shrouded suddenly arrived at the village claiming an imbalance in spiritual activity, Ayumu felt obligated to take it with a grain of salt. It was the knowledge that so many strange things existed in the world that led him to hear the man out anyway, however.

 

[Osuteno]

After being called for Osu, had led the super suspicious man up to Ayumu's office. As the man started speaking of spiritual imbalances and such he only became more suspicious. Osu had trouble thinking of anything aside from the guy's manner of dress and what he had said that would make the man seem any more suspicious. This man came off so suspicious that Osu wondered if he were constantly stopped by law enforcement to ask him a few questions. This guy could make looking both ways before crossing the street suspicious. Osu knew that he shouldn't really judge someone by their appearance, but the man wasn't making it easy at all. Next thing they knew he was going to try to sell them something or claim to know how to correct this spiritual anomaly that no one else had noticed. But Osu continued standing near the wall near the door and stared straight forward and didn't show or voice his reservations concerning the man.

 

[Shu]

Ayumu sat back in his seat and gestured his hands toward the two chairs in front suggesting Shu and the boy take a seat. Shu honorably refused as he remained where was was. It would better if Shu had no restriction of motion to explain to the highly ranked shinobi what he had just said. Any discussion about the supernatural world would always resort to confusion. Usually, Shu would get stares of disbeliefs and glares like a lurid magnet, but it did not help Shu's case given that it was not forty years ago when he was well known and possibly neither of these two knew what he was talking about. More importantly, Shu should have spent a bit more time formulating a plan before spewing all of this to complete strangers. Kenshin would have done better but Shu was never one to plan; he was always the first to act. This may be one of those times.

"It has been a couple of years now since his death," Ayumu responded. "What... exactly do you mean by an unbalance in spiritual activity?"

"There has been reports of small villages disappearing without a trace. Children gaining spiritual abilities that would make a kage look like more than a child. Fogs appearing in forest taking people to strange and unnatural places and exiting to a place they have never been before. All of this occurring in lightning country with the strangest events happening closer to the village. But...." Shu said as he paused as his masked face peered at the man's rectangular glasses. "You may not believe me without evidence but events will happen. I respect the village to let you be aware of that."

Shu took a moment to allow what he had just said to sink into the man's mind. Whether or not the decorated believed Shu or not was none of Shu's concerns. All the old man cared about what that he did his due diligence for Shin and his well being. The last thing he needed was for the village to not be prepared.

"I will continue my post as ANBU but I will focus my attention on training younger shinobi. The village has a lot to learn from its past if ever wants to not repeat it. I will give my respects to your kage when the time comes for now I will take my leave. I am sure you have questions but I will answer them when the time it is right. It is always best for you to find your own answers."

He walked closer to the door but not before stopping near the boy. "I can find my own way back. Your service and patience is well deserved."

[[Leaving Topic unless Stopped]]

 

[Osuteno]

Okay...

The man of increasing suspiciousness started sharing an... interesting list of supernatural activities. The sort of things that happen in stories told around a candlelight in a dark room. Things that if they were happening as close to home as this man was suggesting, Osu would believe he would have at least heard the town drunks or gossips talking about them. Villages don't typically disappear without anyone taking note and ordering an investigation. Was he saying these things would happen or that they already were?

Then the man who had apparently been away from the village for a long time simply declared he would go back to being ANBU as if he believed he could walk right back into ANBU headquarters on his own authority. The ANBU sennin wasn't even around to approve of that. And then he simply excused himself without offering the sennin,,, really much of anything and speaking in cryptic nothingness about finding one's own answers.

Osu nodded politely to the man as he left.

So he was either incredibly self important... "Or the Takao Institute needs to keep a room on standby for this loony." Uso spoke up from the part of their mind that held the library. "I might simply believe he were a liar if he didn't seem so sure of his supernatural business." Yes, Uso was being as... pleasant as ever but it wasn't as if there wasn't some truth to what she was saying. She was simply rather rude about it. The super suspicious man seemed pretty sure in himself but that didn't necessarily mean these things were actually occurring. Not to mention the suggestion that supernatural phenomena was occurring in some connection to the eighth raikage was a bit... well Osu had heard he had been a good person but in general a rather poor leader with some unadvisable isolation policies who was very adept at burning bridges and standing on them. It was difficult to believe his death would have such an effect on the supernatural world.

Waiting till the man was well out of earshot Osu spoke up. "So... Ayumu-Sama. Are there any such reports coming to the village over these last two years? Disappearing villages we haven't investigated and found cause for, children who are actually that powerful, tales of disappearance that don't turn out to be a rather drunk man walking into a bog or killed by highwaymen? Is there anything about the eighth raikage that would offer some explanation as to why his death would affect the boundary between our world and the realm of spirits? I am trying not to judge a book by its cover but... He came off more suspicious than a patient with a known drug abuse history faking a stroke with the wrong side of his body... It might be best to stop him from walking into the ANBU headquarters where no one would recognize him and they swarm in to kill him for trespassing or whatever ANBU do in that situation. I don't pretend to know much about ANBU but ever since the hospital incident I have a suspicion that you would know a thing or two about that even if you were the only village leader I didn't see put on a mask in that room." Goodness who put frankness flakes in his cereal this morning? Osu felt he was becoming as bad as Uso sometimes.

MFT WC: 568

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

Ayumu had answered the man's questions, now he hoped to have some idea of what this was all about conveyed in return. What Ayumu got were rumors of strange happenings in Lightning Country. The man spoke of reports of villages disappearing, children gaining powers that would trump a kage's and apparently it was all happening near the village. Yet, Ayumu had heard no reports of anything of that nature. His spymaster had reported no such things from his sources. If such grand and abnormal things were happening near the village, Ayumu suspected they would have heard of them by now. Ayumu's face adopted a slightly perturbed look as he processed what Shu had told him. The man seemed to sense Ayumu's skepticism as he acknowledged that such claims may not be believed when he had no evidence to support them, but he assured Ayumu that he was being truthful and wished to inform the village.

"I see... we will look into this and try to ascertain more information about these strange events you speak of," Ayumu said, wondering how exactly he was going to frame this conversation when he told his Spymaster about it. His thoughts were interrupted as the straightforward man announced his departure as quickly as he had arrived. This probably held the record for the shortest meeting Ayumu had ever had. Shu declared his intent to stick around now, returning to ANBU and training young shinobi. He was going to come out of retirement, for whatever reason. Currently handling the Raikage's duties, Ayumu could approve of Shu's return to the village, but ANBU was no longer Ayumu's branch and he wouldn't make the decision of whether to allow Shu to return to their ranks. That was up to whoever they had left in charge during Kouin's absence. He wasn't terribly concerned about that, but more interested in the other things that had been said. If this was all really true, it was very troubling, but Ayumu still held some doubt. The investigations would determine whether or not he he eventually believed it. As the man said, it was best for him to find his own answers.

"Very well, welcome back to Kumogakure. Be aware that your return from retirement will require some paperwork. You can speak to the ANBU Sennin when he returns from his business outside the village. The receptionist will handle you on your way out," Ayumu said as the shinobi made to leave. He watched as he thanked Osu and then exited through the door he had come from. Osuteno, on the other hand, remained. He appeared to be waiting for Shu to leave. "Well. That was interesting," Ayumu commented, scratching his head. As suspected, Osu was waiting for Shu to have been out of earshot before stating his opinion. Being frank might have been an uncommon occurrence for Osuteno, but this was the second time in their few meetings that Ayumu had seen his speak his mind freely to his superiors. He was beginning to think this was who the little man truly was. He expressed his own skepticism over Shu and asked if they had received any reports matching those claimed by the man. He also showed concern for the man if he attempted to march back into ANBU headquarters right this instant without being officially reinstated with them. He had a point there. Fortunately Ayumu was the former ANBU Sennin, which was no secret, and knew what to do.

"I haven't had any word of any small villages disappearing or children gaining powers the likes of which he claimed. I intend to speak with my Spymaster on that, but it's likely he would have heard of something that ominous and would have informed me. As for Hayata Shin, this is also the first I've heard of any connection like that to a spiritual realm," Ayumu said, leaning forward and placing his elbows on his desk. There was one instance of a "village" that had "disappeared". The floating island associated with Titan had seemingly gone missing in recent weeks, but it was likely associated with Kouin's betrayal which led to a number of Titan's nefarious deeds being revealed, something which had caused Kumogakure to take notice. They had gone into hiding. The only mystery behind that disappearance was how they had pulled it off.

"As for your comment of stopping him from entering ANBU HQ, I'll take care of it. At any rate, you did well to bring him to me. Thank you," Ayumu said, offering a smile to Osu. The little guy had gumption, Ayumu had to give him that. Normally an ANBU or a Main Branch gate guard would have performed such a task, but here was this 10 year old Med-nin handling it. For a moment, Ayumu considered kidnapping him attempting to recruit him, but decided against it as he would catch hell from Kahako. "Anything else?" Ayumu asked curiously.

[MFT]

[Topic Left if Osu does]

 

[Osuteno]

Osuteno nodded as he heard about what he expected from the main branch sennin. Still, this would be handled by the proper people now. Osu politely declined the sennin's thanks with a shake of his head. "I was simply covering for Biru and Tedo, I didn't do all that much. A replacement came and took over for my clone not long after I left so I will be seeing if I can fit some more surprise house call checkups before the day is through. You would be surprised how many forget that regular check ups are mandatory for shinobi, or not considering your relationship with Kahako-Senpai." Osu nodded to himself. Since becoming a fully licensed mednin he began handling things like that on his off days. There was simply too much work to be done to spend time relaxing. "No Ayumu-Sama, that is all. I simply stayed behind to satisfy my own curiosity admittedly. I best get going, if I don't already have a blood sample it is rather difficult to track down the sennin's more forgetful and hyperactive shinobi." Osu was returning Ayumu's smile now, the poor little bastard looking all the more like a girl for it. And with that Osu turned to the hallway and stopped right in the doorway. After noticing the hall was empty, Osu turned his head back to Ayumu, "My control over the Memoria's library has grown as of late, should you need anything from them." And with that Osu continued walking down the hall.

[TLUS]