Subject. [Shinrya Estate]

[Morishige]

It wasn't an everyday occurrence that he left the confines and safety of the island up in the sky. But this was something that he felt needed to be handled personally. After all, she was a baroness of lands granted to her by the shogun.

Azuma Masahiro stood with his personal guard outside of the rather tall gate. Had Kitsune been a man, a joke about compensating for something probably would have been appropriate at the time. The man admired the attention put into the details of the gates and walls though. Still, the family had been one of the first in the village so it wasn't any surprise that the place would look so nice.

His guard that day was Tomomi, the changeling. While he would have preferred his usual companions, travelling through Kumo was more dangerous than other places. Tomomi wasn't a bad guard by any means, but her personality was... unstable. Thankfully she did make up for it in her versatility when it came to fight. Today she took the form of a man that she had helped defeat days ago. He had the features of a Haku and the muscles of a martial artist.

The purpose of their visit was not known, as they had sent no missive beforehand. So it was very possible she wouldn't have been at home, but Masahiro was willing to wait for Baroness Kitsune. There were things to speak of, and information to exchange.

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

As Masahiro’s luck would have it, today was one of the days that Kitsune was working at home, so when Tomomi and he arrived, one of the maids scurried off to tell Kitsune that she had visitors, while another maid showed them to the study on the ground floor of the mansion. That was where Kitsune usually accepted visitors, and today would be no exception. As for the Baroness herself, well, she was in the middle of a delicious foot-long sandwich laden with seven types of meat, and four types of cheese, as well as two different types of dressing.

”Please follow me, sirs.” the maid said and led the way to the study while smiling. She hadn’t been there much more than one and a half years, but she enjoyed her job. For now though, her duty was to show the two visitors to the study, while one of the others went to fetch the Mistress. ”It’s right through here.” she said and gestured to a set of doors as she stood beside them. ”Please wait inside. The Mistress will be with you shortly.” she said and curtseyed, clearly expecting the pair to go inside.

After five minutes or so, Kitsune entered the room with Hisako following directly after her, and as Kitsune went to her desk and sat down, Hisako would stand beside her. Kitsune looked at the two visitors. She had seen neither one before, and was wondering what business they had with her. Regardless, she’d hear them out. ”Well, gentlemen. Pleasure meeting you both. So, what can I do for you?” she asked in a no-nonsense all-business tone of voice.

 

[Morishige]

They followed in silence as the voluptuous maid showed them to the study. It was a short and relatively uneventful trip. The maid didn't trip over anything and accidentally find herself naked before two men like in some crappy hentai. No, they were delivered to the study within incident. "Thank you." replied Masahiro with a nod of his head. Tomomi was already snooping around the room looking at various shiny things or the titles of books. "Tsk!" grunted Masahiro. He missed Hato.

Kitsune found herself in the study minutes later accompanied with a companion of her own. The pair of men payed Hisako no mind. At this point, secrecy wasn't really necessary regarding anything they said. That is, if whoever this was wasn't trustworthy. Though they didn't plan on speaking of anything particularly damning that day.

Masahiro bowed his head quickly and motioned for Tomomi to hand over the gift they had brought. "We are here to offer solace for how you were so rudely ousted from power by the usurper, Saito Akira." he said while Tomomi presented a golden letter opener. It was formed in the shape of a dagger often depicted as the type rogues used. The types of rogues who stabbed their allies in the back. "I find it peculiar that he punished you while all the rest involved in such a dreary mess are punished with nothing. Not very fair, I suppose. But life never is."

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Kitsune raised an eyebrow but accepted the dagger nonetheless. ”Indeed. But, I’d assume they’re working on deciding a punishment for the others involved. As for myself, well, I’m satisfied with only being demoted one step with chance for proving myself again, and regaining my position.” she said and folded her hands ”It’s given me more time to pursue my research, as well as manage my various businesses.” she continued and looked at the man in front of her, while Hisako stood motionless.

”I am curious though. Seeing as you call Saito a usurper, I’m assuming you don’t agree with his course of action?” she asked inquisitively ”If not, then what course would you have pursued?” she added.

 

[Morishige]

"To rise up against the will of the people and snag power after they had picked Haruka as their leader, despite what she might have done, is still going against whatever laws he swears to protect at this time. Imagine if all shinobi had his audacity to ignore the will of law. There would be none of you left." he responded. Kitsune would likely bring up Haruka's absence, so Masahiro would head that off. "Yes, yes, Haruka mysteriously vanished from the village. You think she didn't have her own loyalists keeping an eye on Saito? She'd likely be dead had she remained here. There is no shame in retreating from a great enemy. Especially to regain strength and return to oust him. I can imagine her triumphant return now; to kill two Raikage. Imagine having that on your resume!" he said with a wide grin on his face. It was obvious he had little care for the politics of this foreign village now.

"But I digress, you asked me a question. Unfortunately, answering it is difficult, as I am not Saito. I would have never gotten in the mess he's in now. But had I been in his position? I would have discovered what needed to be discovered and used it as leverage either against the council or against Haruka. She is a potent ninja and having her run off would be quite the waste of an asset. Though, I do commend him for replacing the old council. Now he will have an entirely loyal group of individuals who owe him their jobs. A great way to consolidate power under the guise of 'reforming' a non-corrupt government. It's corrupt in it's nature for him to have any say in how it's put together. A conflict of interests I suppose. But still, a great play on his part. For being such a beefsteak, he's got a mind too."

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Kitsune laughed a little and shook her head. ”A fearsome résumé indeed.” she said and giggled ”And you’re right. From when I spoke with Saito, he seemed the type of man that would’ve struck first, listened later in the case of Haruka-san.” she mused and leaned forward. ”It’s perfectly clear though, that you’ve got no care for the politics of this villag. Mind if I ask why?” she asked inquisitively, only to get an answer to her previous question, and hopefully an answer to this one afterwards.

”Well, ideally he would have no say in it, but seeing as Kumogakure is in effect a city-state, and is entirely ruled by the Raikage, it’s kinda hard to overrule him without taking to force. It’s highly doubtful the Shogun would take action against Saito, either. And you’re right on the money that Haruka running off is a waste of an asset. I’ve met many shinobi in my time, and she’s one of the more skilled ones, especially in hiding what she was actually capable of.”

It was at that time Hisako brought out a tablet and tapped a few things into it before handing it to Kitsune. Sure, she might not be the medical Sennin anymore, but she still knew exactly who had what Kinjutsus, and she had fed that information to Hisako along with everything she knew about the various Kinjutsus so the ‘bot could identify them when seeing them. Well, mostly. The tablet Kitsune had just been handed read Subject: Shima Haruka. Status: Kinjutsu holder. Type: Jinchuuriki. ”Thank you Hisako-chan.” Kitsune said, handing the tablet back to the artificial human. Of course Kitsune already knew that. She had filed the registration herself. It still lay in the registry, locked in the self-incinerating box that, if opened wrong, would burn the paper.

 

[Morishige]

Masahiro kept the question in mind as she spoke. It made the man smile, as this was the type of government he wanted to eradicate in lightning country. But that would come in due time, when he was ready to make his play. Funny thing was, Kitsune was apart of that plan whether she wanted to be or not, as one of the multitude of royalty in lightning country. She would have to make a decision just like the rest when he time came. But the question was, would she make the wise decision. Her choices that day in the Raikage's tower lead Masahiro to believe she would indeed make the right choice.

But there was another question that needed answering. "Quite frankly, and somewhat literally, this village's politics is beneath me. Now that we are no longer based here, our actions are no longer affected by what goes on here. Unless of course you are referring to missions such as the recent one to disrupt our mining operations below Kami no Yama."

"Nevertheless, Kumogakure too will be swallowed up by the wave of change that will sweep across this country. Shima Haruka will have actually been right in the end, no matter how she came to power. If I remain patient, the greater good will prevail and the people of the old world will be sent asunder. Here I wonder if you will willingly change along with the world, or be forgotten to history?"

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

”We’ll see.” Kitsune said with a sly smirk ”That’s the fun thing about history. It’s defined by the ones who write it, and lots of details are forgotten to the ages. The same can be said about visionaries. If they succeed, they’re geniuses, and if they fail they’re mad. I wonder which you’ll turn out to be” she finished and placed the letter opener she had received down on the table. ”That’s what I’m curious to see, really. Either way, that’s about all I’ve got to say on that particular matter.” she said, and ran a hand through her bright red hair ”Is there anything else I can assist you with today?” she asked, and looked at the man.

 

[Morishige]

Masahiro nodded his head. "I had come here today to offer you a position, should you wish it. Within Tengoku no Tobira, we work as a collective and work towards one goal, the advancement of the human race by any means. You are uniquely gifted and would be an asset towards furthering this goal. This offer will only be made once, but we don't wish to make you force a decision. Take your time. If we do not have a response within a month, then we will assume you have refused the offer. I trust you will make whatever decision benefits you the most." concluded the man.

Tomomi and he headed for the door. They had gathered insight into the type of woman she was, and Masahiro already had his assumptions to how she would side.

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[Shinrya Kitsune]

Kitsune nodded to Masahiro. “I’ll let you know what I decide. It shouldn’t take the full month.” she said, smirking a bit and running a hand through her hair while using the snapshot jutsu, as the two others were heading out, just to make sure she could recall this entire conversation with perfect clarity later on.

[Using Snapshot: Slot 3]
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