The End Is Never The Same [S-rank]

[Takaki Saeko]

The End Is Never The Same​

Continued from: http://www.ninpocho.com/viewtopic.php?p=104006#p104006

Entrance to Saint Isamu’s Square
Holy See of Tenouza, Boundary of the Lateran Treaty
…0800 Hours

Even though it was shorter than the Torre Celeste, the main spire of Saint Isamu’s Basilica, not to mention the actual supercathedral itself, was an imposing sight. Situated at the far end of the massive, travertine cobblestone-paved plaza named after the same saint, the Basilica sported four-column-deep marble colonnades that encircled the plaza in a partial ellipse, as if it were the torso of a giant, whose arms attempted to sweep all present into its embrace. In the center of the plaza, a needle-shaped obelisk of red granite stood nearly thirty meters tall, and was supported by bronze lions at its base, with a Tenouzan emblem capping its point. The obelisk was said to be perhaps the oldest man-made object on the planet, and was older than Tenouza itself by at least three thousand years if the story was to be believed.

Radiating out from the main cathedral and surrounding the plaza, innumerable other ancient buildings sprang up in the chaotic, non-planned pattern that marked the truly ancient cities. The plaza itself was at the lowest point of a natural U-shaped valley, and everything else was built up the sloping hills surrounding the basilica. The Pontifical Palace of Saint Himura was located on a hill to the west, its roof poking up above the line set by the roof of the encircling colonnades, and beyond, the lush gardens that marked the geography of most of Tenouza itself seemed to envelop the chaos of the plaza in a calming sea of green. On the valley ridge, the faint lines of aquaducts could be traced going downwards, bringing water from natural reservoirs to the city below.

The first thing that Masao noticed, of course, was that there were no real walls or gates which separated the living heart of Tenouza from the outside world. Against the armies of Daimyo Amakusa Ryuu’s private forces, Tenouzan guards had used the chaotic layout of the outer city itself as a means of fortification. The tactic had proved effective in the end, but only at the cost of a great number of the city’s defenders. Now however, with the peace brought about by the end of the Lightning civil war, the barricades and impromptu defenses had long been cleared away, and the city was laid completely open to all comers. Including Enishi and his Kingslayers, thought Masao resentfully. Although he could see marching patrols of the Tenouzan Pontifical Guard in their colorful uniforms and glimmering heavy plate, there were innumerable places for anyone with a whit of stealth to slip through.

“They’re already here. I can feel it,” he said to Do Natsu, shaking his head as the shinobi group loped forward on horseback. “And why wouldn’t they be? This place sees fifty-thousand pilgrims a year. All our enemy would have to do is whip out a begging bowl and he’d be given the red carpet entrance. We’re going to have to begin our investigation of the city immediately and discreetly. I am giving you control over operatives Mochizuki, Kichida, and Narashi,” he said, pointing to the three Main Branchers who flanked them. “Your mission is to find out the location of Enishi’s nuclear device, and disable it if possible. Limit collateral damage if you can, but above all else prevent it from actually detonating. There are, including Enishi, three Kingslayer operatives left functioning. I would expect at least two guarding the bomb, with unknown resistance from native forces. According to your report, some of the Tenouzans have drank the Kool-Aid and may be planning to side with Enishi’s faction. Be prepared for anything – this is their territory now.”

He slowed his horse’s canter, pulling up beside Kitsune, Ayumu, Shin, and Hikari.

“Your tasks, if I may be so bold as to order a fellow Sennin and the Raikage around, are to make sure that the diplomatic portion of the mission goes off without interruption, and to safeguard the dignitaries present from any assassination attempts. Your priorities are the Shogun and Chancellor of Lightning as well as the Raikage, above all others. Hayata-sama, I know you are a strong fighter, but please, if there is trouble, do not do anything rash. Safeguard your own life first.”

He fixed a leery eye on Shashu, who drove the wagon to the rear of the shinobi caravan.

“So they made you a trainee? Very well, it’s the right branch for you. Just listen to what Sennin Kogami has to say. Also, they don’t brush in the ANBU. They whip you with a cat-o-nine instead,” he said, nodding to her.

As the small caravan passed the middle of Saint Isamu’s square, a sense of urgency was already present in the air. Around the obelisk, a group of what looked to be People’s Liberation Army soldiers passed the shinobi surly looks, and more than one hand went toward the direction of a side-sword. Nearby, a patrol of Tenouzan guard marched warily down the square, glaring daggers at the communist forces. Strange, thought Masao. The terms of the treaty had clearly limited the numbers of each nation’s soldiers allowed into the Holy See, and already he had seen at least half of a platoon of each side present. He had seen no obvious carrying of bolters, which was a relief. All he needed was for a shooting fight to break out in the plaza and the Kingslayers wouldn’t have to lift a finger to derail the entire peace process. Finally, they stopped before the massive iron gates of Saint Isamu’s Basilica. Open slightly, he could hear the strains of choral music wafting out, and the smell of burning incense from within. A Tenouzan, a Bishop by the looks of him, stepped out and bowed, and was immediately flanked by a formation of two dozen servants and altarboys.

“Welcome to Tenouza, my brothers and sisters. I am Miyatogi Junichi, the Camarlengo to His Holiness Pontiff Yamauchi Kiyoshi. Please, if you would dismount and make your way to the altar, Pontiff Yamauchi will offer the formal prayer of welcome and blessing. Our stable boys will attend to your horses and carriage,” he said, rather obsequiously. Masao nodded, and swung his leg over the horse to dismount it.

He stepped inside, and was immediately struck by the sheer volume of sensory experience within. Strong, acrid incense burned at his nostrils and almost caused him to sneeze. The inside of the cathedral itself was rather dark in comparison to the outside, both from the haze of smoke as well as from the fact that it was lit with traditional torches, as opposed to modern electric lighting. Stained-glass windows inside let in rays of sunlight that danced across the floors, making them seem like pools of undulating reds and greens. It was much larger inside than it looked outside, and the granite walls and soaring arches inside seemed to stretch for eternity upwards. The ceiling of the cathedral was gilded in gold leaf, and one could even make out the dim outlines of frescos that had been painted by hand. The strains of chanted hymns echoed from the front to the back, and the words were clearly perceived, even if they were not understandable. To the front of the cathedral was the main altar, a large, richly-adorned stone bench topped with all matter of ornamentation and at least a thousand blazing candles. A latticework gate of wrought iron separated the altar from the innumerable wooden benches before it, and through the gate, Masao would now make out the figures of a choir, swaying as they sang. Leading the choir, was unmistakably the Pontiff Himself.

Te Deum laudamus,
te Dominum confitemur.
Te aeternum Patrem
omnis terra veneratur.
Tibi omnes Angeli;
tibi caeli et universae Potestates;
Tibi Cherubim et Seraphim
incessabili voce proclamant:
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus,
Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt caeli et terra
maiestatis gloriae tuae...

The Camarlengo strode up to the Pontiff and whispered in his ear. A moment later, the man signaled to the choir, turned, and strode down the steps of the altar to face Masao and his delegation.

“Sennn Takaki, Raikage Hayata. What’s up!? Thanks for coming,” said Yamauchi Kiyoshi, vigorously shaking the hands of the two men in front of him. “And Ambassador Tanaka…where’s my WcDonalds shake and fries?! You promised me we’d share an order when we next met!” he said, clapping Hikari on the shoulder. “Aw, no worries, we’ll just go together when this is over, alright?”

What the fuck is wrong with this priest? Is this…manchild the spiritual leader of Tenouza? Is this some sort of joke?! Masao thought, a vein on his forehead bulging slightly.

“Your Holiness, these are official guests of our city…” sighed the Bishop.

“Ah, you’re right, Brother Miyatogi. Excuse my manners. In any case, I offer the delegation from Kumogakure my most grateful welcome, in the name of peace. Deus vult and stuff,” he said, earning an elbow in the ribs from the Bishop. “We expect to begin the conference on the morrow. For now, my Camarlengo will be happy to show you to your quarters and make all arrangements necessary!” he said, winking at the Bishop. “Oh, and those of you who follow the teachings of Saint Isamu are of course welcome to receive communion from me, although…where did I put those wafers…sorry, Brother Miyatogi, can I borrow yours? I kinda ate mine…”

“Your Holiness, I will do as you command, said the Camarlengo to the Pontiff. “Please, if you would follow me, I will show you to your rooms in the Pontifical Palace,” he said, starting to lead them out of the Basilica. No sooner had the shinobi stepped back into the light of day, than they saw trouble. A circle of people had gathered nearby, shouting and cursing excitedly. Immediately, they could tell what had transpired just now.

Trouble in Tenouza​

A Bear soldier lay gasping on his side, with the broken blade of a thrusting sword poking out of his midsection. Around him, blood slowly pooled as his compatriots attempted to press torn linen bandages into the area around the wound. Nearby, a blood-smeared PLA soldier struggled in the grip of two Tenouzan Guard, who were in the process of slapping him in irons. However, the Tenouzans were quickly becoming outnumbered by a growing number of PLA soldiers, who were clustering around the scene and hurling insults and challenges at the Tenouzans. The wounded Bear soldier’s companions were also starting cluster, hurling insults at the PLA forces as well, and shouting at the Tenouzans to deliver their prisoner to “real” justice. A gaggle of Lightning Imperial Army pikemen formed a loose cluster nearby, pointing excitedly at the escalating situation.

“Release my soldier immediately, Tenouzan,” intoned a commanding and chillingly female voice from within the Marsh group. The PLA soldiers immediately separated to make a path, and now it was apparent that General Sumihara Kaede was among their number. The Tenouzans looked at each other, nervously.

“Oh, so you can help him hide from punishment?” growled a voice from the edge of the Bear delegation. Sennin Kaibutsu Kuro reared up to his full height of eight feet and marched menacingly toward Kaede, who stood her ground with a sneer on her face.

“We punish our own, Imperialist,” she said, narrowing her eyes. “You can take your vigilante justice somewhere else.”

“Come now, little girl, you know the price for drawing blood is to shed blood in return. And you would best think twice before challenging me to battle,” growled the Sennin, making a slow, deliberate fist with one of his massive, clawed hands.

“No! No violence! Guardsmen, take your prisoner to the gaol! You two! You are in violation of the terms of the Lateran Treaty!” shouted the Camarlengo, waving his arms wildly as he strode toward Kaede and Kuro. Masao inhaled sharply, cocking his head toward Hikari.

“Tanaka-dono, defuse this situation!” he hissed. “Everyone else, help her if necessary!”

First task of the mission is mainly for Hikari (who, at the time of this mission’s opening, is now a Chuunin in rank). Everyone else can post their entry into the mission and their character’s reactions to events, but you don’t necessarily have to directly assist in this situation unless you feel that your character has something very meaningful to add in terms of helping. Remember that you are currently under the terms of the agreement established between Cloud and Tenouza as a prerequisite for holding the conference:

1. No openly-carried, obvious weapons (includes bolters, swords, mobile artillery, puppets, etc.)
2. No unnecessary bloodshed. Of course, I don’t think anyone here thinks it’s a good idea to slaughter everyone in the city to resolve a standoff, but you never know.

If you are already in an OV area, you do not have to make a separate village exit thread, you can simply post right here. If you are still in the village, please make a quick exit thread, be let out by one of your fellow shinobi, and then join up here.

 

[Yukari]

Hikari couldn’t help staring at the vast disorganized city. Her mouth was slightly agape as she took in the buildings, sprawling as far as the eye could see, and each one, a work of art. The obelisk in the midst of the square was older than… well anything. There were references to it in many a work of historical literature- much of which Hikari had not more than skimmed, in years- It’s significance at once completely unknown and all encompassing. “I didn’t expect…” She muttered, then shook her head, and put on her game face. She watched the spymaster and Sennin, speak ahead of her, dreading whatever it was that made them so… tense. Masao gave an order to Do, before slowing down and riding beside herself, Kitsune, the Raikage and Ayumu.

“Your tasks, if I may be so bold as to order a fellow Sennin and the Raikage around, are to make sure that the diplomatic portion of the mission goes off without interruption, and to safeguard the dignitaries present from any assassination attempts. Your priorities are the Shogun and Chancellor of Lightning as well as the Raikage, above all others. Hayata-sama, I know you are a strong fighter, but please, if there is trouble, do not do anything rash. Safeguard your own life first.”

“Yes, bossman.” She nodded, passing a hand through her curly mane, “You’re expecting trouble… I’ll be ready for it.” She promised. It went without saying that she’d do all she could to make him proud, as both her superior and kin. Her parents may not have any idea what she faced on a daily basis, and they wouldn’t likely want to know, but he did, and he thought she could handle it. That meant more to her than she’d ever be able to say, so she’d say nothing.

Masao then turned to Shashu, the little poisoner- well not truly, it’d turned out to be someone else, in the end- from the party, and spoke to her, but Hikari’s eyes were already before them. There was a group huddled in the square. Tensions seemed to be high already. Hikari picked up her pace a bit, trying to spot General Sumihara. There were too many soldiers here. “Ho, soldier, where is your commander?” She asked one of the surly faced men in tight and well ordered uniforms. The woman simply glared at her. Perhaps she didn’t speak the language. Before she could address the issue further, a bishop emerged

“Welcome to Tenouza, my brothers and sisters. I am Miyatogi Junichi, the Camarlengo to His Holiness Pontiff Yamauchi Kiyoshi. Please, if you would dismount and make your way to the altar, Pontiff Yamauchi will offer the formal prayer of welcome and blessing. Our stable boys will attend to your horses and carriage,”

“Ah thank you, Miyatogi dono. Your courtesy and hospitality is well appreciated.” She said, trotting with trepidation, away from the soldier, with every intention of returning to find Sumihara once introductions had finished. “I am Ambassador Tanaka, and this is my superior, Sennin Takaki Masao. You, of course, are familiar with the Raikage Hayata Shin, and this is Sennin Kogami Ayumu.” She bowed in return to the Bishop, then followed Masao toward the Pontiff. She exhaled sharply as the scents reached her, and tried to block the scents out.

At the altar, in the choir, Hikari noticed the pontiff, a slightly underwhelming man, singing along in the language of this god. “I strongly suspect Miyatogi wrote the treaty, and that the Pontiff had little to do with it, save for the signing of his name.” She murmured to Masao.

“Sennn Takaki, Raikage Hayata. What’s up!? Thanks for coming,” said Yamauchi Kiyoshi, vigorously shaking the hands of the two men in front of him. “And Ambassador Tanaka…where’s my WcDonalds shake and fries?! You promised me we’d share an order when we next met!” he said, clapping Hikari on the shoulder. “Aw, no worries, we’ll just go together when this is over, alright?”

Hikari smiled, “That sounds like a plan, Yamauchi sama. I’m sure working this treaty out will work up an appetite!”

The brother seemed appalled at the Pontiff’s behavior. It seemed that the Pontiff was less a holy man than a dude-bro. But really, who was Hikari to judge the leader of a nation-wide religion? Maybe all Pontiffs were dude-bros. Maybe it was a job requirement. Whatever the case, it looked like it’d be easier dealing with him than the bishop.

“Your Holiness, these are official guests of our city…” Sighed the Bishop. Poor man looked exhausted already.

“Ah, you’re right, Brother Miyatogi. Excuse my manners. In any case, I offer the delegation from Kumogakure my most grateful welcome, in the name of peace. Deus vult and stuff,” he said, earning an elbow in the ribs from the Bishop. Hikari smirked, catching his eye. The more he spoke, the more Hikari suspected it was intentional ribbing at the Brother’s expense.. “We expect to begin the conference on the morrow. For now, my Camarlengo will be happy to show you to your quarters and make all arrangements necessary!” he said, winking at the Bishop. “Oh, and those of you who follow the teachings of Saint Isamu are of course welcome to receive communion from me, although…where did I put those wafers…sorry, Brother Miyatogi, can I borrow yours? I kinda ate mine…”

Hikari stifled a chortle, pretending to cough. “Very good. Thank you, your holiness. I don’t know whether any of our number follow the teachings of Saint Isamu, but I’m sure that any who do will be honored to join you.”

“Your Holiness, I will do as you command, said the Camarlengo to the Pontiff. “Please, if you would follow me, I will show you to your rooms in the Pontifical Palace,”

No sooner had they stepped through the doors, than did Hikari regret exponentially, not seeking the general immediately. There lay a bear soldier in a pool of his own blood, and a PLA soldier struggling in the grips of a group of bears. “Five minutes.” She said to Masao, “They’ve been in the same place five minutes and already…” She huffed.

“Release my soldier immediately, Tenouzan,” intoned a commanding voice, immediately identifiable as General Sumihara.

“Oh, so you can help him hide from punishment?” growled a voice from the edge of the Bear delegation. Sennin Kaibutsu Kuro reared up to his full height of eight feet and marched menacingly toward Kaede, who stood her ground with a sneer on her face.

“We punish our own, Imperialist,” she said, narrowing her eyes. “You can take your vigilante justice somewhere else.”

“Come now, little girl, you know the price for drawing blood is to shed blood in return. And you would best think twice before challenging me to battle,” growled the Sennin, making a slow, deliberate fist with one of his massive, clawed hands.

“No! No violence! Guardsmen, take your prisoner to the gaol! You two! You are in violation of the terms of the Lateran Treaty!” shouted the Camarlengo, waving his arms wildly as he strode toward Kaede and Kuro. Masao inhaled sharply, cocking his head toward Hikari.

“Tanaka-dono, defuse this situation!” he hissed. “Everyone else, help her if necessary!”

With that, she rolled her shoulders and nodded, “Yes, Boss.” She said as she strode forward, eyes flashing, in full angry mom-mode. “General Sumihara, Sennin Kaibutsu.” She called, her voice resounding and clear even above the din of jeering soldiers. “I expect you will remember,” She began to snarl, “That we have not come to this place to make war, but peace.” She stopped, standing between the giant and the general, glaring at them both. “Neither of you will punish this man. Sennin Kogami would you please relieve the soldiers of Hoshigakure of the People’s soldier?” She turned toward the wounded bear soldier, and asked, “Kitsune san, will you do your best to heal this man?” Hikari once again cleared her throat. “You each have brought far more soldiers than you were allowed. You may keep five of your best men, the others must go. Those who can travel will go home tonight. If there is any argument regarding the terms You agreed to, which I am now enforcing, I will enforce the last clause, and leave you at the mercy of the Tenouzan jailors, who, not by coincidence, will be dealing with him.” She pointed at the attacking soldier, “And more than likely, him.” She pointed at the man with the sword in his gut. “Don’t worry, he’ll live. Kitsune san is an excellent healer.”

She turned to the crowd, the Lightning imperial pikemen first. “You will return to your duties as peace keepers, or whatever assignment you’ve got. It is shameful that you stopped to jeer rather than halt the fight. I’ll be writing to your superiors. The rest of you,” She commanded, “Move along.”

Moments later, she asked the giant, “Kaibutsu sama, where is your Kage? I was under the impression that she was your leader, and would thus be leading this conference on the side of the Hoshigakureans.” Presumably, this was the man who had mistaken Shin for a sex maniac, so knew what other misjudgments he was capable of. “Ah, and also, welcome to Tenouza. I’m glad to see your people represented.” After speaking to him, she would ask Sumihara whether the Dear Leader would be there, or simply represented.

[mft 1500ish] [OOC: I meant to have this up yesterday, but due to stuff, a computer freakout, and internet problems, was delayed]

 

[Sato Daigo]

The beauty of the city was all too familiar to the veteran Raikage. Over the years Shin had been invited to several luxurious parties and events from the center of Raiden's Eye to the far rural parts of Solum de Asphodelus, yet the serene atmosphere was hard to not to marvel. Shin's gray glanced at the slow moving crowd as they walked toward the center of the city where the flags fluttered the air and the music allay the people.

Ambassador Tanaka started to debrief Shin and his company to their task. "Your tasks, if I may be so bold as to order a fellow Sennin and the Raikage around, are to make sure that the diplomatic portion of the mission goes off without interruption, and to safeguard the dignitaries present from any assassination attempts. Your priorities are the Shogun and Chancellor of Lightning as well as the Raikage, above all others. Hayata-sama, I know you are a strong fighter, but please, if there is trouble, do not do anything rash. Safeguard your own life first.” He said.

Shin nodded his head. In Shin's mind it was not his life that he was worried about. Eventually, the carriage passed a group of shinobi and clad soldiers that appeared to be from the People's Liberation Army. Shin could sense the tension between the two parties as they passed by each other with strong contempt and more than once could Shin see a hand pressed against toward the the right side where the sheath of any solider's sword would be.

"Hmmm..." Shin thought to himself as he deliberating at the possible events that could transpired. It was clear that this peaceful event was not going to be easy to maintain as the Pontiff obliviously hoped for.

Finally, the carriage had stopped at the iron gates blocking the grandiose towers of Tenouza. They were greeted by a man named Miyatogi Junichi. There was nothing much to describe about him besides the plain ceremonial robes. The company of Kumogakure shinobi dismounted from their horses as they walked through gates. The familiar calm atmosphere had been suddenly replaced by a caustic smell of burning incense that could put any trained warrior aback. The music had grown louder as they passed by the orderly choir singing an alluring song in a foreign language that Shin could pick some of its translation. The man at the front instructing the choir was no one other than Yamauchi Kiyoshi.


Junichi crept toward the man as he whispered in his ear alerting the arrival of the shinobi. A moment later, the man signaled to the choir, turned, and strode down the steps of the altar to face Masao and his delegation.

“Sennn Takaki, Raikage Hayata. What’s up!? Thanks for coming,” said Yamauchi Kiyoshi, vigorously shaking the hands of the two men in front of him. “And Ambassador Tanaka…where’s my WcDonalds shake and fries?! You promised me we’d share an order when we next met!” he said, clapping Hikari on the shoulder. “Aw, no worries, we’ll just go together when this is over, alright?”

"Likewise." Shin said with a generous smile as he shook the man's hand. As observant as Shin usually is the Raikage could not help but notice the sudden annoyance on Masao's countenance. It was not hard to assume that Masao was not appreciating the overly zealous and eccentric pontiff. Masao could be looking too far into pontiff's behavior or the man was distracting them from the real underlying issue which did not take very long to surface.

...​

The leader of Bear and Marsh delegates were seen berating one another after a small confrontation had turned violent. Hiraki attempted to diffuse the situation before the two groups were sentenced for their acts against the treaty.

Shin was focused on how exactly such a secured event could still lead to such chaos in such a short period of time. Kiyoshi may act like a baffon but he was no real fool to let his event collapse. Shin walked between his sennin.
"Μην σας φαίνεται παράξενο ότι έχει φτάσει σε αυτό τόσο γρήγορα." Shin whispered to them.

Do you find it odd that it has reached to this so quickly.

 

[Tsuyoshi Takeo]

Tenouza was, as all ancient cities are, a wonder to behold. The twists and turns of unplanned city streets crowded with buildings crammed shoulder-to-shoulder, the top floors added on later as the occupants ran out of room, gave Jo the feeling of being in the center of a labyrinth; albeit, a crowded, filthy, smelly labyrinth. Before entering the city, Jo had changed out of his mud-caked traveling clothes and switched into his normal street attire: black leather steel-toed boots, denim blue jeans, black leather belt, a black t-shirt, and a brown leather jacket. His previously openly carrier Desert Falcon .50cal handbolter was now safely stowed away in a horizontal concealed holster nestled in his lower back. The hand-cannon was perfect for taking down bull elephants and shinobi alike, but it wasn’t what one might call “tacticle.” So, in an effort to maintain his ability to execute targets stealthily, he’d also procured a Grok 57 pistol from the armory before leaving Kumo. The pistolbolter fired the 5.7mm bolt, known for its high accuracy and armor penetrating abilities, rather than its stopping power, the weapon came equipped with a suppressor and an under-barrel flashlight. The second bolter was tucked in a vertical holster under his left arm, a heavy dagger and extra magazines for both bolters were tucked under his right arm. The small arsenal was neatly concealed beneath his heavy leather jacket; all the more heavy for the fact that the interior was lined with a fine chain-mail mesh, the silken lining replaced with a layer of Kevlar. It wasn’t Dragon Scale body armor, but it would have to do. Jo had made it himself by fashioning the mail rings from 12 gauge steel wire and using the Kevlar that was left over from his ruined combat suit after the marsh mission. The finishing touch; his Kumo headband, tied snugly around his forehead. When he wanted to infiltrate somewhere, he removed it, but today, he was acting as an official representative of his village (or rather, the bodyguard/agent or one).

Masao was tense, and for good reason. There was never a better place to strike at the leaders of warring countries than at the peace conference where they were all gathered at the same time. Jo nodded to Masao and Do Natsu, indicating he received and understood his instructions and the importance of success. Failure would mean catastrophic losses: a) the holy city itself, b) the leaders of all three countries, c) any semblance of law and order in the region, and d) the countless lives that would be lost as a result of the prior. Jo was almost in awe that he was included in a group of the most powerful shinobi in the known world, including Raikage Hayata Shin himself! So, the sight of the few familiar faces in the group (Masao, Tama, and Shashu) gave him comfort; especially Shashu, the only person in the group more wet behind the ears than himself. ”Honestly, I’d prefer the cat-o-nine.” He joked with her after Masao made his comment to the new trainee.

One thing was terribly certain during their journey through the city. No one was following the terms of the treaties that specified the limitations on how many soldiers you were allowed to bring with you. Granted, Shin only brought along a handful of people; but that handful was capable of wiping out the entirety of the combined forces of all the other leaders. Beneath the surface, the city of Tenouza was boiling with the threat of violence. Jo refrained from allowing his hands to reach for his bolters, instead, he simply pulled out a pair of well worn fingerless black leather gloves and donned them, fastening their Velcro straps securely. To anyone else, they were simply gloves; to Jo, they were an extra layer of protection between his fist and someone elses bones. He preferred the skin on his knuckles to remain intact.

If Jo thought the city was wondrous, then nothing could compare to the basilica. If Jo had ever had a passion about architecture beyond its functional and tactical uses, this would be the place to study it. It was absolutely breathtaking! His attention, however, was more focused on the people around him than the buildings. They were greeted at the gates, and all the formal niceties were exchanged between their group and the Camarlengo, resulting in them dismounting and entering the basilica proper. The smell of incense and ancient stone filled Jo’s nostrils as he entered, immediately scanning the area for threats; but all he found was the Pontiff. Jo’s neutral façade hid a vast sense of astonishment as he watched what one would think was just another choir boy dressed up in kingly robes jokingly greeting the Kage and Sennins’. Jo was prepared to kneel and accept the ceremonial blessing, but it (along with any scrap of social formalities) was done hurriedly and in jest; so instead, he simply stood at-ease, watching and waiting.

It didn’t last long. Before he knew it, drama had unfolded in the sanctuary itself! Heated words were thrown left and right as the People and the Bear threatened complete and utter violation of the treaty. Masao ordered Tanaka to diffuse the situation, and she tried admirably; but Jo wasn’t foolish enough to think a few choice words and implied threats guaranteed compliance. So, not wanting to interfere with the diplomatic attempt at peace, Jo leisurely placed himself between the action and the Raikage. His stance wasn’t particularly threatening, but by simply placing himself in front of Shin, he created a human shield for the Raikage. Every muscle in his body seemed relaxed, but it was a false tranquility. He was like a tightly coiled spring, ready for action at a moments notice.

{Topic Entered. MFT: 966}

 

[Hameru Ren]

As the company made their way into the city, Natsu couldn’t help suppress the sarcastic thoughts. Wow, such city. Much people. Many amaze. Very architect. The Jonin had been here before, if only briefly. The massive city had been a mandatory stop after his promotion to Spymaster. The large amount of inhabitants made for juicy scandals and plenty of potential informers. Unfortunately, it had proved of little value in the past few years. The information he received was either completely made up, likely in the false hopes to earn an extra coin for more words written, or yet another attempt to persuade him to follow the teachings of Saint Isamu.

The only useful, yet surprising, nugget of information Natsu had received was about the Pontiff. Apparently, the man was a total bro. The Spymaster had once even received a report of the Pontiff organizing a beer pong tournament. Which reminded the blond he had to warn Masao and the others about the particular matter. It’d be a god-awful, see the irony?, surprise for them. “They’re already here. I can feel it,” Masao spoke, picking Natsu back up from his train of thought. Before the Spymaster could interject with what the Pontiff would be like, Masao continued with a rather pessimistic rundown of the city and handling the mission details. “Very well, Masao-Sama.”

The pontiff was long-forgotten, the grim reality of the mission on Natsu’s mind now. And on that of his team, no doubt. Mochizuki Tama; The Hand; Division Chief of the Merces Letifer. Whether or not she actually had used that power was another matter altogether. Narashi Jo; Genin in the Merces Letifer; Typical-Kun. He showed exceptional potential considering his track record and Masao’s personal opinion of the kid. Also balls rivalling the size of Shinbatsu’s, daring to start dating Masao’s daughter. Kichida Kazuki; Non-Prominent Character. Natsu had not managed to skim through the man’s dossier before setting out but had certainly seen the name flash by a few times in reports. Reportedly even lover to Tama, though anyone who’d seen her rant on about the Shogun was quick to dismiss that thought. And all three had seen the 'glory'..

As they arrived at the Camarlengo, Natsu quickly dismounted. The Jonin was no fan of drawing attention and the horses did just that in this city filled with poverty. As soon as the formalities were over he’d be splitting off from the main group and get to work. A task he was not looking forward to, considering the amount of people filling up the city. Normally tracking down Enishi, if he did not want to be found, would’ve been like finding a needle in a haystack in this massive a settlement. Now it was more akin to finding a Tenouzan that was actively posting for more than a week in Kumogakure. Lingering behind for a moment, he exchanged a quick set of words with one the stableboys. Anyone bothering to pay it any heed could also see the glimmer of coins switching hands. Moments later the Shinobi and stableboy nodded and the former quickly rejoined the group.

“Te Deum laudamus, te Dominum confitemur. Te aeternum Patrem omnis terra veneratur.” Natsu groaned as he heard the chanting. Latin was such an annoying language. Thankfully the Carmalengo quickly intervened and the Pontiff was summoned straight away. Right! The Pontiff! I knew I’d forgotten something! Natsu realized with a start, yet it was too late. And indeed, as the Pontiff spoke, Masao seemingly fought the urge to whip out his brush and discipline the dudebro. Thankfully, Hikari was quick enough on her feet to deal with the no doubt surprising attitude the spiritual leader presented. She clearly lived up to her title of Chief Ambassador. Some day possibly Spymistress? A voice in his mind suggested.

As everyone seemed to focus their attention on the Pontiff and co, Natsu once again spoke to one of the bystanders. “Annyeonghaseyo gunin! Tangsin eui-..” Natsu addressed one of the nearby Marsh Soldiers, before a shout drew both their attention. The matter became clear quickly enough, Natsu muttering a curse under his breath. The man next to him stirred, but with a quick hand Natsu refrained him from rushing in. Perhaps it was because he had spoken the man’s language or Hikari’s words in the background showing him reason, but the man did stay. Assuring him in Hangul once more that the Medical Officer they had brought was indeed very skilled, he went on to ask about any potential sightings of the Kingslayers. Perhaps he or one of his comrades would have seen something of use.

Departing the soldier with a formal salute, the Spymaster addressed his squad, before noticing Jo’s location. With a soft smile, the blond called him over. “Admirable defense, mister Jo, but I think the Sennin and Raikage will be all right without you. We must be focusing on our own task right now. You all heard Takaki-Sama. All three of you have witnessed the weapon he’s planning on unleashing once more so I don’t reiterate what is at stake here. Tama and Kichida, scout the northern part of town. Follow up on any leads you can get your hands on, but do try to distinguish actual traces from gossip. We can’t afford to lose any time. Jo, you’ll be lurking around the plaza. See if you can pick up anything here. Keep an eye on the Palace and its guards too. Last time we mistook the identity of guards it cost us the life of a King. Don’t forget your main objective though.”

“We’ll use the secondary headset channel. If any of you speak Vulgar, use it. With this many ears in the city I’d hate for someone to overhear the wrong things. Any big leads or incidents, share it with us. May Raiden guide us.” With those words and a final nod, Natsu would depart if there were no more questions. The diplomacy brigade could have fun in the palace, Natsu knew it for the awfully dull place it truly was. The Spymaster would blend in among the crowds in the slums, looking for leads and contacting his informants. Of course, asking about a massive atomi.. chakra bomb would be suspicious, as would inquiring about the Kingslayers. So Natsu stayed as subtle as he could, feeling the clock tick away.

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

Riding alongside the rest of the shinobi group, Ayumu was sporting the pseudo-uniform he had come to wear often when he was acting formally as Sennin. He wore a long blue coat atop a black vest over a white button up shirt, blue pants, and black boots. The saber he usually had at his side was notably absent, much to his chagrin. This was the first time Ayumu had come to the sprawling city of Tenouza, despite his recent appointment as ANBU Sennin. Since becoming Sennin, duty called him to several places within Lightning Country, but he had yet to have been called here. The first thing that struck him was how different the architecture seemed than Kumogakure's. Of course the basilica was what drew the most attention, but there were so many tall structures throughout the city. The Torre Celeste may have been taller than the tallest in Tenouza, but it seemed likely that on average the skyline of Tenouza was higher than that of Kumogakure. The buildings here were an artform even the roads seemed to fit into the masterpiece as a whole. Like art, it was also chaotic with seemingly no thought given to the practicality of the layout. There was no pattern, the architects seemed to just spring up buildings wherever they looked good.

The cathedral was, of course, the most impressive structure of all in the holy city. As they entered Saint Isamu's Square, the cathedral came into full view, although the top of it had been visible for some time now. Colonnades extended from the basilica, surrounding the square, so it felt almost as though they had already entered. Perhaps the most interesting piece in the square was the ancient obelisk that towered above them. Ayumu stole a glance upwards at it as they passed, but there was little time for sightseeing. These were simply observations he made as he inspected the area much as Masao was doing. It wasn't surprising given that Masao had been at the head of ANBU during Ayumu's development there.

There was alarmingly little protection provided the number of important people present and the number of enemies they collectively had. Enemies like Enishi and the Kingslayers, whom the thought of caused Ayumu to unconsciously bite the inside of his lip. Again, his thoughts mirrored Masao's, though he didn't know it. Of course, the Kingslayers were responsible for the death of Masao's wife, so who could hate them for than him? There were no walls protecting their gathering, so if any should arrive, they would have to be stopped by a wall of Sennin and shinobi. That was why Ayumu was there, why several of them were there. The Raikage was present, and they certainly couldn't trust the guards of any of the other parties to protect him.

Ayumu stuck close to the Raikage's side alongside Hikari the ambassador and Kitsune the recently promoted medical chief. Shashu, the fresh trainee, drove the wagon just behind them. Of course there was a brief suspicion of her poisoning a lot of important people, but her name had been cleared. Even before that incident, Ayumu had known of her as a potential trainee. Now that she was one, she was immediately being pushed into the ocean, sink or swim, much like Ayumu was with his first mission as a trainee. He was thrown onto a speeding train trying to rescue the most important person in the country while she was tasked with aiding in the protection of several of the most important people from various countries. Hopefully the mission would end the same way.

Masao was ahead, addressing a team from the Main Branch which would be searching for the most dangerous weapon in existence which was quite unfortunately in the hands of their enemy. Masao slowed to match pace with the Raikage and company, addressing them now. Naturally they were here as guardians to protect the VIPs while they hashed out the details of a treaty. "Seems like that's always our task," Ayumu said simply in response after Hikari verbaly complied with Masao's instruction. Ayumu was well aware of why he was here. Masao addressed Shashu next, obviously recognizing her as the girl whom he had pulverized with a brush not long ago. He reminded her that ANBU's punishment was slightly... severe. Jo made a fair point about which might be worse, the brush or the whip.

"Honestly, I have to agree. After seeing what you did to her with that brush, I'm not surprised she avoided your branch. But of course, I'm sure she'll avoid any need for punishment, right?" he asked, looking at Shashu expectantly. A moment later, the group stopped before the cathedral, where a bishop and a group of altar boys greeted them. They welcomed them to come inside and meet the pontiff. Ayumu dismounted from his horse and took a moment to stretch his legs and arms and also crack his neck and back. It had been a while since he had been off of that horse. His backside was sore at the moment. Hikari introduced the bishop to him and Ayumu nodded at the man in acknowledgement.The group moved inside, giving Ayumu further time to stretch his legs, but it wasn't worth it once the scent hit him.

"Oh, good lord..." he said under his breath, holding his arm up in front of his nose as if it was any protection to the infiltrating scent. At least a distraction was provided in the form of the interesting young man that came up to them. Apparently this was the pontiff, although he seemed like anything but a holy icon of their religion. Ayumu felt bad for the bishop who tried his best to reign the boy in and make him act civil. Upon receiving the subtle correction, he at least welcomed them semi-formally before falling right back into his unique way of talking. Fortunately, it was time for them to head to their rooms so they wouldn't have to listen to him any longer.

The moment they stepped out the doors, it was clear things had already gone awry. A man in the Bear uniform lay in a pool of blood with a sword sticking from his midsection. 'Now why do they get to have weapons?' Ayumu thought with annoyance. There were soldiers from Bear, Marsh, and Tenouza and the situation was rapidly spiraling out of control. The presence of the maneating general and the literally bear sized Bear Sennin was not helping matters. Masao looked to the ambassador to diffuse the situation which seemed to be her specialty as he had seen at the party. Ayumu stood prepared to use force in whatever way she deemed necessary. He had a sword hidden on him, though it was in a few pieces, that would only take a moment to assemble. He did not have any intention of bringing it out to deal with these men.

Ayumu was tasked with ensuring the prisoner remained in custody of the Tenouzan guards who held him. He made his way over to place himself between the Hoshigakuran soldiers and the Tenouzans with the prisoner. Any that attempted to pass him would be pushed back into their ranks with considerable force. "I recommend you let these men take their prisoner as our ambassador has instructed," was all he said, crossing his arms in an almost challenging manner. He would continue to guard the prisoner and Tenouzans until they had gone. Though he stood here, he kept an eye on the most dangerous members of this gathering encase they would start further trouble.

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Kitsune mostly stayed quiet during the exchange of pleasantries due to generally not really caring for them. She wasn’t her usual chipper self and it showed quite clearly. She was tightly wound and fully on edge because anything could happen during this event. She overheard the chatter amongst the rest of the group and was reminded of Shashu’s defiance at the party not too long ago. She willingly took the brush out of stubbornness. And she had lived. Not many could claim to have taken Masao’s ultimate brushing techniques and survived to tell the tale. And of course, she had jumped branches over to Ayumu’s ANBUs, something she did indeed seem to be proficient at already.

Only a bit later, the group witnessed the beginning of a fight between the Star Sennin and the Marsh General. Kitsune sighed deeply and was of course expected by Hikari to heal the soldier with a sword sticking out of his midsection. ”Hai hai, Hikari-chan” she said and got right down to it. She removed the sword from the soldier, resulting in pained yells, and then she proceeded to heal the man with all she could muster. It was a simple fix, though he might feel stings of pain for a few days. Phantom pains they were called.

”Don’t strain yourself too much, or you’ll tear the healed tissues right open again. Y’hear?” she said sternly to the soldier. ”You’re in charge of making sure he doesn’t strain himself for the next two, three days. By then the healed tissue should be strong enough to handle everyday life for a soldier.” If he ignored her orders, he’d end up being sorry. A skewered midsection normally required the man be put in a hospital bed, but they didn’t really have that luxury here, so if he disobeyed the orders, he’d likely die from the wounds reopening.

 

[Tsuirakuya Shashu]

It had been somewhat of a long trip to Tenouza from Kumogakure, but Shashu didn't mind. She was more excited than bored, and looked forward to being able to visit a new place. After all, she had really only been to her home village and Kumo, so she didn't have much experience with the outside world, something she hoped to help rectify with this trip. The fact that it was her first mission as an ANBU trainee didn't hurt either. Her first mission, and already she was doing something this important. Even if it was only babysitting some minor official, the stakes here were a lot higher than she would have expected for her first mission. Oh well. Sink or swim, as they say. I'm gonna make this count.

Everyone in the group had been at pretty high spirits when they set out, which was to be expected, this being a peace conference after all. If they succeeded, it would mean an end to hostilities and the needless loss of life between two countries that should have worked together from the start. As the journey wore on, however, everyone settled down and fell into their normal habits, talking to those they were familiar with and making friendly jabs to keep the mood light. Now though...the mood was tense. It was especially notable on Masao, Hikari, and Ayumu, as they were the ones most emotionally invested in the events that would transpire here, and it was Masao who finally broke the oppressive silence.

“They’re already here. I can feel it,” said the sennin, foreboding invading his features and the sound of his voice. She had been briefed on the situation, so she knew he referred to the Kingslayers, a small but powerful organization that had been responsible for alot of heinous crimes against Kumogakure and Lightning country as a whole. Apparently they had also got their hands on a massive bomb of some sore, and were planning on using it on the entire city of Tenouza if their plans didn't go right.

She only paid half an ear to the sennin's orders to the rest of the group, enough to recall them if she needed to but remaining focused on her own thoughts. What kind of monster would destroy a whole city just to get their way? I'm sorry, but I doubt any ideal is worth that much loss of life...

“So they made you a trainee? Very well, it’s the right branch for you. Just listen to what Sennin Kogami has to say. Also, they don’t brush in the ANBU. They whip you with a cat-o-nine instead,” spoke the sennin with a nod, jarring her out of her thoughts.

"Honestly, I'd prefer the cat'o'nine," Jo interjected. Shashu still hadn't gotten a clear story on what his job was, whether by oversight or design. Oh well, I'll just have to poke him about it later.

Her new boss Ayumu, ANBU sennin, followed up with a comment of his own. "Honestly, I have to agree. After seeing what you did to her with that brush, I'm not surprised she avoided your branch. But of course, I'm sure she'll avoid any need for punishment, right?"

Shashu could feel a grin creeping up the side of her face as she leaned back into the wagon's driving seat. "I dunno, getting brushed didn't seem that bad. It felt pretty nice, actually. Takaki-sama even promised to brush me again if I ever felt like I was being a bad girl, didn't you Takaki-sama?" Regardless of Masao's reaction Shashu wouldn't be able to stop grinning. She knew he was dumbfounded and not a little bit repulsed by her ability to not only take the brush, but enjoy it. "I mean, who wouldn't want to get brushed? The feel of the bristles against your scalp is simply heavenly. If that is supposed to be worse than a cat'o'nine, then I don't really see what I should be worried about." Shashu crossed her arms behind her head and let the lead lay in her lap. The horses didn't need direction right now, surrounded as they were by the animals that the rest of the group were riding. "To be honest myself, I would have joined the Main Branch just for the brushing, but ANBU seemed like the better choice all things considered." She closed her eyes, then opened her right back up and fixed Ayumu with a silvery stare. "As for punishment...there won't be any need for punishment if I make sure to always perform at the best of my ability, will there, shukun?" After letting her gaze linger on him for a moment longer she closed her eye again, falling into a light doze as they approached the city. Everyone else had other things to discuss, things that didn't involve her, so she rested her eyes for a short while.

______________________________________________​

When she next opened her eyes they were just entering the city, the sounds of people going about their lives much louder here than in Kumo. She marveled at the architecture like the rest of her party, but the more she looked around the more she noticed the sheer number of desperate people milling about. The hungry, the downtrodden, those without a home or a single yen to their name...there were so many. This...this is what the Kingslayers want to destroy? What possible reason could they give to justify killing a city of homeless beggars and pilgrims? Aren't they supposed to be about changing the status quo or something? No so-called 'revolution' is worth this...

Before she knew it they were at the great cathedral where they were ushered in by a formal man in white robes. The first thing she noticed upon entering was, of course, the overpowering smell of incense. Really now? How is this better than smoking the place out with cigars or something. Moderation, people... The second thing was thankfully heard, not smelt. The lilting strains of singing echoed and filled the cathedral, not unlike the Hymns of the Fayth she was more accustomed to. In a way it was rather nostalgic, and she she found herself humming along as the chorus wrapped up their singing and they were approached by what was apparently the Pontiff, though he didn't look the part

“Sennn Takaki, Raikage Hayata. What’s up!? Thanks for coming! And Ambassador Tanaka…where’s my WcDonalds shake and fries?! You promised me we’d share an order when we next met!” Said the Pontiff with a great deal of familiarity and exhuberance.

Not only does he not look the part, but he doesn't sound like it either... Shashu sighed. Total dudebro. Well, to be fair, Shin doesn't look or act like a Kage either, so I guess we're even?

Shashu once again paid half an ear to the rest of the conversation between the party and the dudebro Pontiff while making sure to keep an eye out for anything out of place. Not that it was likely just yet, not in the cathedral, but still. One could never be too cautious...

As if to take the words out of her mouth, the instant they stepped back outside they came across the scene of a recent fight, one soldier bleeding out on the ground while another struggled to escape the hands of the Tenouzan guard. "Seriously...not even ten minutes and they're already at it? Sheesh."

Masao hissed at Hikari to handle the situation and immediately things got alot louder and alot quieter. Hikari's thunderous and commanding voice echoed throughout the plaza, silencing the jeers and catcalls while enforcing her orders through will and force of personality alone. Hikari might not look that intimidating at first glance, but the ginger had all the ferocity of a rampaging bear when she was angry. And not a small one either. General Sumihara and one of the Sennin of Hoshigakure butted in, attempting to assert control of the situation, but Hikari was having none of it. The Sennin may have had the stature of a bear, but Hikari had the spirit, and that was the important part.

The conflict was resolved shortly, with the Tenouzans taking custody of the intact soldier while Kitsune healed the other. Shashu hadn't had much to contribute to the whole scenario, other than watching out for snipers (there hadn't been any, to her knowledge), so she decided to lend a hand here. After Kitsune had finished lecturing the man, she made a quick handsign and sticky webbing spooled from her fingertips. She quickly wrapped it around the soldier, who was either too scared or too smart to think about moving, spinning the silk till it encased his midsection. The silk quickly dried upon contact with the air to form a rock-hard carapace, acting like a brace to keep him from twisting his midsection and tearing his muscles. It would also make it pretty hard to run from the Tenouzans he tried to make a break for it.

"Now, this brace will stay on till Shinrya-sama says it's fine, at which point it will flake off on it's own. So no stupid business, you hear?" That done, she stepped back to Ayumu's side to wait for whatever would happen next.

[MFT: WC-1539]​

 

[Takaki Saeko]

Sorry about the delay! Tama, I have to skip you for this round. I've made it so Kazuhiko says a few lines, hope this is okay. Also, some sections were co-written with Do Natsu and Narashi Jo

Kaede’s eyes narrowed to slits as she grasped the handle of a compact folding sword and flicked her wrist, sending the weapon into full extension. Frost shimmered over its blade and a blue aura began to swirl threateningly around her. Kuro, meanwhile, cracked a bestial smile of satisfaction as a triad of metallic-looking blades erupted from the gaps between his knuckles on each hand. He bled from the new wounds, but did not seem to register pain. The taunting of each opposing side, Marsh against Bear, grew louder while calling for blood and death. The Camarlengo’s protests and cries were ignored. Kuro took a step forward…

“General Sumihara, Sennin Kaibutsu.”

Hikari’s voice was crystal clear, even above the din, and the two commanders stopped in their tracks, unsure of what to do with the new arrival.

“I expect you will remember…That we have not come to this place to make war, but peace,” she said, positioning herself between the two. It was incredibly risky to do this – no matter how much they might have respected her, decades of passionate nationalistic rage were a significant obstacle to overcome. Noticing this, Jo stepped subtly between the two impending fighters and Shin, ready to intervene…

“And what of my wounded soldier, Ambassador? That’s a gut wound he’s suffered. He will likely die from that. Are you going to let the Communist Scum get away with murder?” growled Kuro as he loomed over Hikari menacingly. His breath felt hot on her face, and his eyes bore a sheen of vengeance.

“In case you’ve forgotten, Tanaka-dono, I am the ultimate judge over my men,” growled Kaede, who still leveled her sword at Kuro. “If he must be executed, it will be by my hand, not those of the Tenouzans, and certainly not by my sworn enemies!”

“Neither of you will punish this man. Sennin Kogami would you please relieve the soldiers of Hoshigakure of the People’s soldier?” commanded Hikari, whose experience in being snarky with Masao had taught her how to order around those above her rank without actually seeming like she was ordering them around.

"I recommend you let these men take their prisoner as our ambassador has instructed," said Ayumu, taking the cue and pushing his way through a gaggle of angry Bear Country soldiers until he reached the beleaguered Tenouzans and their marsh prisoner. It was not a moment too soon, as by this point the Tenouzans had been virtually stripped of their weapons, and the Marsh soldier of his clothing. It was not a stretch to imagine what would have happened next to a man in the clutches of an angry mob. Several of the Bear soldiers’ hands went to their side-swords, but they did not draw, as the menacing flash of Ayumu’s adjusted glasses made them think twice.

“Kitsune san, will you do your best to heal this man?” ordered Hikari.

Hai hai, Hikari-chan,” drawled Kitsune in an uncharacteristically subdued tone, as if she were under the weather. Nevertheless, she trudged over to the wounded Bear soldier, shooing his companions away, before yanking the sword out of his midsection and plunging her hand into the wound to ligate severed arteries and close wounded gut-fascia. Spurts of crimson shot upward and splashed against her face and arms. For a moment, the man’s eyelashes flickered, as if he was about to die, but quickly, his breathing slowed and his expression calmed. ”You’re in charge of making sure he doesn’t strain himself for the next two, three days. By then the healed tissue should be strong enough to handle everyday life for a soldier,” she instructed his companions, who regarded her in wonderment. Some offered hurried bows of mixed gratitude and confusion.

“Now, this brace will stay on till Shinrya-sama says it's fine, at which point it will flake off on it's own. So no stupid business, you hear?" deadpanned Shashu, who finished encasing the patient in the equivalent of a whole-body cast. The Bear soldiers lifted him with ease and trundled him away. Upon seeing this, Kuro inhaled and straightened his posture. The blades retracted back into fresh wounds on his hands, and he crossed his arms.

“Very well. If my soldier’s life is not forfeit, then there is no reason to take the blood payment. I will let the Tenouzans punish his attacker as they see fit. But if my soldier dies, know that I will exact vengeance with interest,” he declared in a deep basso voice. Kaede snarled in disgust.

“A proud soldier of the People’s Liberation Army reduced to having his life saved by a useless, spineless virgin,” she spat, glaring at Ayumu. “Absolutely disgusting. I hereby terminate his commission. He is now a civilian, and no longer part of the Revolution,” said Kaede. “Pay for his passage home after he serves whatever sentence these Priests impose,” she instructed two subordinates nearby, who bowed deeply.

“You are fortunate today, Tanaka-san,” purred Kuro. “But will you be able to intervene for every fight our soldiers have?”

“You each have brought far more soldiers than you were allowed,” said Hikari, glaring back at him. “You may keep five of your best men, the others must go. Those who can travel will go home tonight.”

“I refuse,” said Kaede and Kuro, almost in unison. Realizing what had happened, each turned their heads angrily away.

“If there is any argument regarding the terms You agreed to, which I am now enforcing, I will enforce the last clause, and leave you at the mercy of the Tenouzan jailors, who, not by coincidence, will be dealing with him,” Hikari said, pointing to the healing man.

“We will not do so until the enemy also withdraws,” said Kaede, shaking her head. Kuro, however, chuckled.

“You owe me many a favor now, Tanaka-san,” he said, before snapping his fingers. “Do as the Kumonin says,” he said to a nearby adjutant of the Bear Army. “Four Supernovas*, to me. The rest, prepare for withdrawal to the ships and depart. Lay anchor in international waters and await my command,” he said. Slowly, the gathered forces of Bear started to turn and file away in a column, heading toward the gates under shouted orders from their officers. A great grumble went up from the regiment, but fell on deaf ears. Kaede inhaled, closing her eyes.

“Colonel Jang, order the withdrawal. The highest-ranking officers in Unit 124*, as well as I, will remain with the Dear Leader,” she said, reluctantly. The withered PLA officer next to her bowed, before signaling to his men. The Marsh contingent started to also file out, and before long, the square was empty of uniforms.

The Lightning Imperial Army pikemen who Hikari had chided reluctantly stepped back, although not without some attempted subtle obscene gestures once they thought her out of sight.

“Kaibutsu sama, where is your Kage? I was under the impression that she was your leader, and would thus be leading this conference on the side of the Hoshigakureans,” asked Hikari. Kuro rubbed his wounds as he surveyed the mass of moving humanity bustling around the square.

“Nanasaki-sama is currently accompanying our Queen Ekaterina, who is the leader of our people. Nanasaki-sama is, like your Raikage, a vassal under the control of a non-shinobi. Even if I disagree with the current state of affairs, I must do as my Kage bids and obey the Haninozukas above all else,” he shrugged. “Ah, and I see you have brought your own Kage. Between you and I, he definitely appears to be a true pervert. I have warned my daugh-, my Kage to avoid unnecessary contact with him in the future,” he said, turning to depart.

“Of course my Dear Leader is present. His health, however, takes precedence over all else, and so he will not be setting foot in this filthy place longer than necessary,” said Kaede to Hikari, before blushing slightly. “And…uh…how are you doing since the dinner?” she asked. During their time together, a way in which the General and the redhead had bonded had been for Hikari to teach her how to engage in “small-talk,” which she only really felt comfortable practicing around Hikari to begin with.

“Do you find it odd that it has reached to this so quickly?” asked Shin softly. Masao closed his eyes, wiping his unexpectedly sweaty brow.

“No…I don’t,” he sighed, switching to the Ancient Tongue. “This smells of deliberation – of some influence beyond mere nationalism and drunkenness. Public disorder is what allows Enishi’s agents to operate freely in this city, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this and other incidents like it were all a part of their plan,” he said, scanning the dispersing and disappointed crowd. “But for now, they aren’t going to show their faces. All we can do is be ready to fight. Hopefully, Do-san and his crew will be able to find enough information for us to start hunting, rather than being the prey.”

*: “Four Supernovas” – the four highest-skilled jutsu practitioners in Hoshigakure, with skill and training equivalent to an experienced Kumogakure Jounin. An elite unit that forms the personal guard of the Hoshikage and/or Queen of Bear when needed. Composed of the Northern Black Star, Southern Red Star, Western White Star, and Eastern Blue Star.

*: “Unit 124” – a highly-skilled unit of PLA operators personally trained and augmented under the orders of General Sumihara Kaede. While the use of chakra-based jutsu techniques is forbidden by the Juche directive of the People’s Republic, this unit as well as Kaede herself utilize special and highly controversial weapons and techniques, essentially giving them battle parity with a Kumogakure Jounin.

Meanwhile…​

The distraction in the square had been all the opportunity necessary for Do Natsu and his squad to slip out undetected and start hitting the streets. Shinobi trained in the shadows – were raised in darkness, and thus the poorly-lit labyrinthine alleyways of the Tenouzan metropolis were like home. Beyond Saint Isamu’s square, the layout of the city became organic, with building plans dictated more by acute desires and whims than any actual sense of urban planning. It had been what allowed the Tenouzans to defend their city so well. Every window was a murder hole or a sniper’s hide. Every blind alley was a spot to be impaled on a cluster of pikes and every sewer grate was an invitation to have one’s Achilles tendon severed for standing still too long.

Post-conflict life bustled along, and the shinobi often ran across washerwomen, young choirboys marching home excitedly, and groups of musicians and poets plying their trades. The city had a rich culture of beer and wine, and taverns and eateries sprang up seemingly out of nowhere. The party had split by now in an effort to uncover more information given a limited timeframe – Jo interviewed tourists and priests under the guise of a Lightning National University student, while Natsu sought out and milked his informants for all they were worth. Tama and Kazuhiko were assigned to utilize their senses to detect any subtle traces of radiation or disruptions to the natural firmament, as their talents meshed together nicely.

Sneaking off into the city had been easy enough. Those from their group who hadn't seen the city before had been gawking off or been too tense around the massive crowds in which danger could lurk all too easily. Perhaps even by the Pontiff's behavior or thoughts of the massive banquet that would undoubtedly follow later tonight. Besides, it wasn't as if they required the Spymaster anyway.

Masao had received numerous reports ahead of time and Hikari had been too busy preparing her ritualistic offers to the Blood God. The ANBU Sennin had his trainee and Kitsune no doubt could find some innocent bystander to perv on. The Raikage no doubt was preparing his speech, or possibly inquiring about new lobster recipes. It suited Natsu just fine. That kind of non-attention was what his position demanded most of all anyway. And Tenouza was a perfect playground for the Spymaster.

"I swear to Isamu's chest hair! That blue general and that massive bear-man were fondling each other in one of the back alleys! Me nan saw it with her own eyes!" Natsu groaned. A playground it may be, but it wasn't the most reliable of all playing fields. Inns and taverns were his most visited and fruitful fields of harvest. The only ones that could offer better were the agents he'd securely placed in the city. Anything else was too inconsistent or dangerous.

However, with the amount of people and the tension in the city, the amount of drunkards and their nonsense gossip had increased as well. "Your nan eh? And she doesn't happen to be ninety with bad eye-sight?" Natsu responded sarcastically. An uncaring shrug was his only answer. Sighing, the Jonin rose to his feet and made his way to the streets again. He figured he still could visit a few more before the squad would be meeting up. But as the Spymaster made his way past a side-alley, a posted flyer caught his eye.

Hæresim!

Fellow Brothers of the Flock, we pose you a question:

Does a MAN owe his allegiance to ANY but the One True God?

No, says the Shogun of Lightning: it belongs to Him!

No, says the Athiests of Marsh, it belongs to the State!

And No, says the Pontiff, if belongs to false idols!

But we know this to be false!

OBEY the One True God, lest ye be damned to an Eternity of Suffering!

The Witches must be purged from our Holy City!

The Slayers of False Kings shall embrace our cause!

Restore the Church Militant, and spread our Holy Faith to the World!

By the Gospel, By Fire, and By Sword!​

<i></i>

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

The Spymaster’s eyes narrowed at this. There were of course, extremist political factions in every society in the world, even in seemingly tranquil Tenouza, and he was well versed in them all. The main Tenouzan group that seemed to be at odds with the interests of Lightning County (and thus Kumogakure) was a cadre of Cardinals and their Bishops who advocated for isolationism. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, however, was a relative newcomer on the fringes of Church politics. From what Donuts knew and from what his informants had told him, they had previously advocated for increased efforts are proselytization of non-Tenouzans, in addition to being opposing several reforms that the last two Pontiffs, Nakahara and Yamauchi, had passed (mainly loosening up previously rigid interpretations of scripture). But in this flyer, their tone had definitely stepped up in intensity. One line caught his attention more than the others… “The Slayers of False Kings shall embrace our cause…”

"Vittun Satana perkele!" The blond muttered, cursing in a language spoken only in some far-reached mountain villages. He usually had more control over his vocabulary, but the flyer predicted very bad news. If it indeed was as he now suspected, the Congregation could mean serious trouble. A sliver of doubt nagged at him, pointing out how very coincidental it was. It was too much of a risk to ignore however, and thus the blonde set on further. Only this time he knew what to ask for.

Meanwhile in another part of the city, Jo’s query to a Tenouzan Guard High Captain was met with a smile and a rather generous bear-hug.

“You’re a Cloud shinobi! Welcome to Tenouza! Are you one of my daughter’s friends? Her name is Senna, by the way, and she’s just about your age. Oh, I’m Nemoto Aran, of the Guard,” he said, smiling. “I think she’s still single, you know, and you seem like an upright young man,” he continued. Mainly through deft deflection of offers of the Captain’s daughter’s phone number and offers to arrange a date, Jo was able to keep up the conversation and steer him to the topic of suspicious activity.

“Yes, to tell you the truth, Genin Narashi, this conference couldn’t have come at a worse time,” sighed Aran. “You see, these peace talks between Marsh and Bear are happening right at the same time as the Feast of The Most Precious Blood. There’s going to be a massive parade through the city that most of the pilgrims right now are actually here to attend. It starts at the Mausoleum of Our Lady of the Sorrows and ends right in front of Saint Isamu’s Basilica. The Plaza is going to be clogged with thirty thousand people plus a hundred flammable effigies of the Saints, and of course there will be endless drunkenness and debauchery. The gaols will be completely full for a few days, I’m sure. Between you and I, I think His Holiness probably was just so enthusiastic about the peace process that he forgot to think about this…”

* * *​

“The term Camarlengo, it means ‘Keeper of the Keys,’ does it not?” asked Masao of Junichi as the two men strode side by side down the velvet-carpeted hallway of the Himura Palace, trailed by the rest of the shinobi party. The inside of the spacious building was no less impressive than the outside, which boasted ancient marble statues lining a wide reflecting pool, and soaring granite columns preceding a golden entryway. Tenouzan Pontifical Guard were posted at regular intervals inside, and true to their reputation, were silent and stoic regardless of the happenings around them or the strange sight of so many motley shinobi at once.

“Indeed it does, Sennin Takaki!” smiled Junichi, visibly impressed. “I’m surprised you knew that. Are you a student of Classical Tenouzan?”

“Not of Tenouzan per se, but the classic variant of the ancient language of Kumogakure has many parallels. I admit to being something of an enthusiast for these old things,” said Masao, shrugging.

“And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Being able to read the works of Saint Isamu in their original words is a powerful experience – one that reaffirms my faith every day when I study his works. And Classical Tenouzan is incidentally what many other masterful works of literature from ancient times are actually written in, you know,” replied Junichi enthusiastically as they rounded a corner into an wheel-shaped antechamber decorated simply but elegantly with a round wooden table and a gilded candelabra. “Ah, here are the guest rooms for your party. Naturally, the Raikage Hayata-sama will have the Papal Suite with balcony, while you, Sennin Kogami, Spymaster Do, and Chief Ambassador Tanaka will be staying in the adjoining Cardinals’ Suites. Each of you will be given a steward as well as a Lady’s Maid or Butler to attend to your needs, of course. As far as the rest of your party, they will be given Bishops’ accommodations with three to a room, separated of course between men and women. Inter amo enim silent leges*, you understand,” said, with a knowing smile.

“Thank you, Camarlengo,” said Masao, bowing. “Are all of the delegations lodged here, by the way?” he asked, to which the Camarlengo shook his head.

“No, they are not. At risk of inflaming tensions due to perceived differences in quality of accommodation, I chose to lodge the Kumogakure and Lightning delegations here in the Himura Palace, while the Serene Kingdom’s delegations are in the Villa Casina Pio and the delegation from Marsh is staying in the Domus Internationalis Paulus VI. Given what happened today, I am doubly glad now that this separation was made, aren’t you?” asked Junichi.

“Yes, a wise choice,” said Masao.

“Taking care of his Holiness’s diplomatic affairs has taught me a thing or two, I’ll say. Now…will the members of your delegation be attending the pre-conference gala tonight at the Paulus VI Audience Hall?”

“I suppose they shall. After all, if there is a repeat of today’s tensions, then I think everyone’s interests would be best served by having Chief Ambassador Tanaka on scene.”

“Very good, Takaki-sama. Then I shall look forward to seeing you all again tonight!” said Junichi, bowing deeply before he turned to leave. As soon as he was out of earshot, Masao signaled to the rest of the party for discretion.

“The Spymaster and his men are going to be gone on recon tonight. But our job is no less important. This may be a fancy ball that the Tenouzans are planning on, but I expect everyone here to remain completely sober and on guard. Tanaka-dono, if you see tempers become inflamed, you are free to intervene at will. Kogami-san, keep an eye on Hayata-sama as well as our Shogun and Chancellor. Shinrya, you help him, and for Raiden’s sake, please wear something more conservative than last time. Finally, Trainee, stay the hell away from the kitchen, and assist Kogami as a poison-sniffer. Nothing gets to the VIP’s lips without having been cleared by you first,” he said, whispering intently. “For now, let’s take a break, wash up, and get changed. We have another godrotting party to survive.”

*trans: When it comes to love, rules have no meaning

Later...​

The last slivers of a dying sun lit the horizon with brilliant orange verging into crimson as Natsu and his group met up finally at their prearranged rendezvous point. It had been a long, hard day pounding the pavement and finding leads, and even the Spymaster could not help but feel some resentment at the fact that the other half of the delegation was likely enjoying themselves mightily at the pre-conference reception while his team had not even enjoyed a change of underwear. For such a pious people, the Tenouzans knew how to party hard, but the streets outside the palaces were dry and completely boring.

From what he could understand, it seemed that Tama and Kazuhiko had been unsuccessful in locating any obvious radioactive signatures in the city, so that option was out. Jo had uncovered information regarding the unfortunate coincidence of the peace talks with a massive celebration to take place within the city. And Natsu’s suspicions were irked regarding the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

“A group that opposes the Pontiff’s leadership and makes references to ‘Slayers of False Kings’…a massive parade amidst an influx of pilgrims… No sign of the bomb within the city’s limits… Interesting,” said Donuts, rubbing his chin while channeling the Raikage. He closed his eyes, remembering a conversation he’d had earlier in the day. The man, a drunken priest, had mentioned in passing. “According to one of my informants, the Congregation is actually one of the major sponsors of a large effigy of Saint Himura that’s going to be carried by pilgrims and dumped in the Plaza with all of the rest of them… Supposedly it’s so big it could hold… Oh Dear Raiden...” gasped the Spymaster.

“We have to find that effigy,” growled Kazuhiko, coming to the same conclusion. “But wait a second. Saint Himura is one of the most popular holy figures in Tenouza, only second to Saint Isamu. There’s going to be hundreds of those statues around the Mausoleum! Most of them are lined with lead, as well. Detection of isotopes would be impossible, even for me!”

“Then we have to let the enemy lead us to it,” intoned Natsu, cracking his knuckles. “We have to make a gamble. Based on what I’ve been told, The Congregation is meeting tonight at a local tavern on the outskirts of the city. ‘Deuteronomy 7:1*’ is the name. A fitting title for when we’re talking about nuclear annihilation. I propose we enter the meeting in disguise and see what they can do for us.”

*: From Saint Isamu’s Fukuin: : ‘When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations . . . then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy.”

* * *​

“Nuna, are you sure it’s okay for us to, you know, hold hands like this?” asked Sumihara Hotaka, the Supreme Leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Marsh, to his older sister. “I mean, the Tenouzans are kind of conservative, you know…they wouldn’t understand our customs and all,” he said, trying to wriggle his hand out of her rather iron-styled grip.

“Of course it’s okay, Dear Leader,” smiled Sumihara Kaede back at her younger brother, blushing slightly. “These Imperialist Scum have no place lecturing either of us on morality when their entire state of being is dedicated to exploiting the proletariat for their own selfish gain. Besides, you’re my cute little brother, too!” she whispered in his ear. Compared to Hotaka’s staid appearance, Kaede herself appeared to glow, looking uncharacteristically glamorous in her ballgown.

“Still, it’s a little embarrassing, Nuna…” sighed the Dear Leader. He looked around the grand, gold-gilded ballroom of the Paulus VI Palace and sighed. Hotaka felt overdressed, overtaxed, and wished for nothing more than to be back in his bed in Yangnyeoum in his cotton pajamas watching reruns of basketball games featuring his favorite player, Denisu Roduman. Of all things, he dreaded being in crowds the most, but Kaede had insisted that he make an appearance. If you do not show your resolve from the outset, they will doubt your nation too. We must show the others that we are willing to fight to the bitter end and that this peace treaty means nothing to us without concessions from that damn bitch Queen, she had said to him, before tossing him in the shower and laying out his formalwear for the evening. Of course, he was probably safe here even with all of his forces having been forced to withdraw from city limits – five members of Unit 124 were among the attendees to the reception he now attended, in addition to Kaede. So it was simply a matter of enduring the handshakes and platitudes of the Tenouzans and the Lightning party, and hostile glares of the Bear delegation. Part of him simply wished to go up to Queen Haninozuka, shake her hand, and declare the war over so he could return home. Then again, Kaede might skewer him personally if he were to do that, he concluded.

“Do not engage them, Dear Leader,” said Kaede to him, as if reading his thoughts. “Keep your emotions in check. You are here to show your resolve, and the resolve of the Revolution. And…stand closer to me.”

Hotaka swallowed, looking miserable. His eyes wandered across the room, skipping over the death stares of the Bears. The massive, animalistic Sennin of theirs looked like he would have no hesitation swallowing the Dear Leader whole if given the chance. His gaze settled on the Cloud delegation. He had never seen that many shinobi together before, and marveled despite himself at the way they appeared so noticeably human. A middle aged man who wore a permanent scowl on his face, a lanky younger boy with glasses, the redheaded chief ambassador, a bookish librarian-type with coke-bottle glasses, an older redhead with possibly the largest breasts he’d ever seen, and…what looked like a little, dark-haired girl with them. For some reason, his and Shashu’s eyes met, and they looked at each other for a while. Sheepishly, he smiled and waved slightly to her.

“Ekaterina-junha,” intoned Kaibutsu Kuro of Hoshigakure to the petite, emerald-green clad woman next to him. “Please forgive me for earlier. I…”

“Kaibutsu-shi, I know that you are a most loyal subject, and that your intent was pure. However, forgiveness for the earlier incident in the Plaza should come from Nanasaki-shi, should it not?” replied Queen Haninozuka Ekaterina of the Serene Kingdom of Bear. On the opposite side of the Queen from the Sennin, the Hoshikage let out a sigh.

“Kaibutsu-nim, I’ve already told you, I forgive you for today. I’d probably have done the same thing faced with what you saw. I’m just glad that Tanaka-nim was there to defuse the situation,” said Ai, shaking her head. “Still, we’re not out of the woods just yet. General Sumihara after all, has a short fuse, and I have no idea how she will react with the Dear Leader present.”

“Agreed, and once again, thank you,” sniffed Kuro. “It would be better for all our sakes not to engage them directly, and save our efforts for tomorrow. Also, Nanasaki-seonsaengnim, I see that the Lightning Delegation has the Raikage Hayata in attendance. The man reeks of carnal intent. I would not have him attempt to take undue advantage of you.”

“I’ve told you before, Kaibutsu-nim, that Hayata-nim is completely harmless, and that furthermore, I find him charming in a very goofy way,” laughed Ai, glancing over at the Lightning delegation. Kuro’s expression darkened.

“It’s always the quiet ones who hide the worst character flaws,” he muttered. He was glad, privately, that besides himself and Ai, that there were at least three of the Four Supernovas present as well. After all, it wouldn't be out of the purview of Unit 124 to attempt an assassination on the Queen.

“It does pain me that I cannot go directly to Shiranai-junha. Although our engagement was discontinued, I do regard him as a friend,” said Ekaterina wistfully. “But…I do not wish to alienate the Marsh side. To do so might cause them to outright leave.”

“Unfair, isn’t it? That they are on the brink of losing the war and yet we are forced to treat them with kid-gloves,” sniffed Ai.

“A wounded, cornered animal is the most dangerous kind, Nanasaki-shi,” replied the Queen, patting the Hoshikage on the hand.

In another corner of the ballroom, the Lightning Delegation and Cloud delegations kept council, muttering amongst themselves. Shogun Shiranai vi Kaminari was in a sullen mood, having expected a certain Mochizuki Tama to attend, only to be told that she was occupied with other affairs at the moment. Chancellor Tachibana Ami and Masao exchanged pleasantries, but any observer could tell that they were both preoccupied at the moment. Masao’s eyes kept flicking back and forth across the room, maintained on high alert. All of a sudden, he felt a hand clapping him on the shoulder.

“Dude, this is terrible!” lamented the Pontiff Yamauchi Kiyoshito the Sennin. “Why isn’t anyone like, talking with each other?! I even hired a DJ who said he knew how to play Dubstep! He’s kinda giving me the stinkeye, you know. Man, this is worse than one of those middle school dances where the boys and the girls all cluster on opposite sides of the room and wait to see who makes the first move, right?”

“Perhaps, Your Holiness, they do not wish to endanger the talks tomorrow with rash statements or misunderstandings?” sighed the Camarlengo.

“Look, what happens in Tenouza stays in Tenouza,” chuckled the Pontiff. “Alright Brother Junichi, how about I spike the punch? You think that might loosen everyone up?”

“Your Holiness…” seethed Masao, clenching his fist until his knuckled turned white. Junichi simply rolled his eyes.

“Ha, I kid, I kid,” chuckled the Pontiff. “But really, someone needs to break the ice. How are you all going to talk about peace and stuff if you can’t even ask the other side to dance? Please no grinding, by the way. But regardless, my point stands. Anyway, look, if someone doesn’t do something to ease the tension, I am going to go and…DJ! Oppa Gangnam Style!”

What the Pontiff of Tenouza is doing right now, Jesus Saito someone stop him...​

If you noticed, many of the honorifics and terms of address used by the Bear and Marsh delegations amongst themselves are different from those used by the Lightning and Cloud delegations. A brief rundown:

Nuna : Older sister, equivalent to "onee-san", used exclusively by men, never by women. ("Un-ni" would be the term used by women).
-junha : Ancient term used to refer to kings or queens.
-shi : equivalent to "san" if used after a given name. If used after a family name, it actually denotes that the speaker is superior in status to the one being addressed.
-nim : equivalent to somewhere between "-san" and "-sama". Can be used with a family name to indicate a high degree of respect.
-seonsaengnim : equivalent to "-sensei". English equivalent is "teacher" or "master" which is the intent of Kuro when addressing the Hoshikage.

-

 

[Tsuyoshi Takeo]

Jo turned his gaze to Do Natsu and shrugged at his comment. Sure; the Raikage was the most powerful shinobi in the village, and the skill and battle prowess of the Sennin was said to rival Shin’s; but that didn’t mean you shouldn’t at least put in the effort to protect them. Even if that meant you would end up being either a human shield for a jutsu you had no way of defending against, or just getting caught between the Raikage and his assailant; as cliché as it was, the thought really did count. Following orders, Jo took the time to tune his headset in to the secondary channel. The gennin didn’t speak Vulgar; it seemed that every time he’d decided to take the time to learn it, something managed to drag him away from his studies. Using the distraction in the square to their advantage, Jo and the rest of his unit were able to slip out undetected. Jo neatly removed his Kumo headband and tucked it away into one of his jackets many interior pockets on the way out. Once that single identifying marker was removed, Jo became just another person in the sea of people roaming Saint Isamu’s Plaza; blending into the crowd and virtually vanishing when Do Natsu, Tama-sama, and Kichida took a momentary glance away. Typical-kun… just another average Jo(e).

As he roamed the Plaza, Jo’s eyes seemed to be everywhere at once. To even a trained eye, Jo would appear to be just another tourist gawking at the marvel that was Tenouzan architecture. What he was really doing was scouting the area. He wasn’t looking for anything specific; he was just looking. Jo wanted to take in all of his surroundings before decided on a specific course of action. He had been ordered to keep an eye on the palace and its guards as well as the Plaza, and Jo intended to do just that… as soon as he was done searching for any leads in the Plaza. The gennin had his own suspicions as to how the Kingslayers were going to sneak an atomic warhead into the city. Granted, one could simply stick the thing in the back of a wagon and cover it with hay, but that would only get it so far. If Jo knew Enishi (and he thought he’d stidied the Kingslayer files enough to know him by now), then he was going to place the device either in, above, or under the Basilica itself. Personally, Jo was betting on the latter.

With a device as devastatingly powerful as the atomic warhead the Kingslayer had acquired, it could be detonated anywhere within the city, and it would wipe it from the face of the world in a blinding flash of light; but Enishi wouldn’t want to detonate it anywhere, he’d want its placement to be symbolic, the explosions point of origin to mean something. If the Kingslayer really wanted all the heads of state for Marsh, Bear, and Lightning dead… if he wanted his message to come across loud and clear… he’d detonate the bomb at the Basilica. The grandiose symbol of the Tenouzan faith was not only a holy site, but was also being used as the location for the peace talks between the three nations. It was the only location Enishi would ever choose to make his final move; a proverbial and literal check-mate.

Now came the functional questions. How do you get the weapon into position? Where can you hide such a weapon with the lowest possible risk of detection? The answer (at least, one answer) came to Jo’s mind instantly: the Necropolis. Beneath the main basilica was a veritable city of mausoleums and tombs, including the tombs of previous Pontiffs and the tomb of Saint Isamu himself. The apex of the basilica was said to be situated directly above Saint Isamu’s tomb, the massive cathedral having been built above it, and several other tombs having been added to the area prior to the buildings construction. As of now, the only access to the Necropolis was directly through the basilica; but, if the catacombs and sewer system beneath the city was as extensive and convoluted as Jo suspected they were, there was bound to be a way into the Necropolis through an ulterior underground route.

With a plan prepared in his mind, Jo began canvassing the area. He pulled out a spiral notepad and pen from one of his many pockets, and (under the guise of Saiken Jo, student of Lightning University) began questioning the locals wandering around the Plaza in their daily routines. His questions were seemingly harmless; simple inquiries into the day-to-day life and activities of those who worked, sang, or praised at the basilica, all asked under the semblance of a student doing research for a term paper. Seemingly innocent questions to (hopefully) as innocent choir boys about routine life at the basilica were actually slyly veiled attempts to learn about out of the ordinary goings on in the church (or, more importantly, anything out of the ordinary). Inquiries to maintenance department workers, sewer repairmen and other utility employees about the infrastructure of a large city and the basilica itself camouflaged probing investigative questions about any unusual incidents below the earth. Outwardly pious questions to passing priests, cardinals and other clergy about the position of the church on the peace conference (and perhaps a request for a blessing or two) were in fact attempts at unraveling church politics with the hope of convincing them he stood for the cause of whatever clergyman he happened to be speaking with at the moment, which would then give the priests a false sense of security in revealing any secrets they might be hiding. All in all, Jo was going to be tired of talking out his ass by the end of the day.

When he thought he couldn’t stand speaking any more, Jo would climb up onto a set of stairs high enough to look out over the entire plaza; and, incidentally, give himself a full view of the area. What could’ve been a student going over his notes from the countless interviews he’d taken that day was actually a shinobi doing… well… just that. He was also keeping an eye on the guards while he was at it, watching their every move as he took full advantage of his elevated position. Once he’d gotten his thoughts pulled together and his leads all hashed out, Jo would remove his headband from his jacket pocket and refasten it to his head before approaching the captain of the basilica guard. With a smart salute and plenty of formality, he’d question the man (or woman, who knows?) on how security was faring considering the high stress level of having this many soldiers who had until recently been at war with one another, all in his/her town and under his/her jurisdiction. He’d even offer assistance in checking in on any leads the guard captain had, including any suspicious activity within his own ranks (though that subject would be broached tactfully and with all due respect).

Through polite objection and deft changes in topic, Jo was finally able to get the guard captain to stop trying to marry his daughter off to him and focus on the topic at hand. Jo’s heart froze at the revelation of the festival and parade. Thirty thousand people, plus the local populace and the diplomatic parties from the three nations… if Enishi were going to detonate the weapon, there was no better place to do it than in the center of the Plaza during the lighting of the effigies. Of course! The effigies! They were holy shrines to the saints, not to be desecrated or interfered with en route to the plaza! A perfect mode of transportation to the epicenter of the festival! Jo thanked the Captain for his time and assistance before heading back to the Basilica to regroup with his team.

…

…​

…​

After giving his report to Do Natsu, and hearing everyone else give share their intel, Jo’s dread suspicions were confirmed. Jo nodded in concurrence with Donuts; if they were going to find out which effigy held the warhead, they were going to have to infiltrate the religious fanatics meeting. If any of the Kingslayers were present, Jo, Tama, and Kazuhiko’s disguises were going to have to be foolproof. While he had mastered the use of the Transformation Jutsu, shinobi of their caliber would be able to see right through it; and they would sure as hell recognize them from the incident in Marsh. As Tama was head diva of the Mochizuki Troupe (and also the only female in their team), Jo deferred to her for the makeup and costuming of his disguise. His only concern; that he be able to conceal all the weapons he brought… and that she didn’t decide that dressing in drag would be his disguise.

{WC: 1489, MFT}

 

[Sato Daigo]

“No…I don’t,” Masao sighed, switching to the Ancient Tongue. “This smells of deliberation – of some influence beyond mere nationalism and drunkenness. Public disorder is what allows Enishi’s agents to operate freely in this city, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this and other incidents like it were all a part of their plan,” he said, scanning the dispersing and disappointed crowd. “But for now, they aren’t going to show their faces. All we can do is be ready to fight. Hopefully, Do-san and his crew will be able to find enough information for us to start hunting, rather than being the prey.”

"Indeed." Shin said. Do Natsu and the others were more than prepared to volantly scavenge for intelligence; however it was very likely they would run into spurious claims. There needed to a better approach then clandestine inquiries. Unfortunately, there was not enough time and resources to plan thus Shin allowed them to run their mission. Shin's attention returned back to the current conflict. Hikari was refining to be a well-equipped chunnin in such that Shin's was bewildered as to why she has not earned the chunin rank. Regardless, the harsh tension had receded and the streets were cleared.

...​

In time the Lightning delegation were seen walking down an expansive hall with rather ostensible artifacts from the brimming pictures of deceased priest to the dark red carpet. Masao and Miyatogi Junichi were quietly speaking to once another. Eventually, the reached the end of the hall revealing their accommodations for the evening.

"Ah, here are the guest rooms for your party. Naturally, the Raikage Hayata-sama will have the Papal Suite with balcony, while you, Sennin Kogami, Spymaster Do, and Chief Ambassador Tanaka will be staying in the adjoining Cardinals’ Suites. Each of you will be given a steward as well as a Lady’s Maid or Butler to attend to your needs, of course. As far as the rest of your party, they will be given Bishops’ accommodations with three to a room, separated of course between men and women. Inter amo enim silent leges*, you understand,” said, with a knowing smile.

Masao thanked him and later inquired on the overt isolation between each of the participating delegations. The Camarlegno was careful in his words as he stated that the sudden tension of this entire event had lead the administration to separate the parties, a wise choice as noted by the Sennin. Eventually, Junichi departed leaving the Kumogakure to themselves. As leader of the event, Masao reminded the rest of the company of their current objective. There was no time to waste.

...​

It was late in the evening with the crimson moon with her scimitar had now ripped through the clouds providing an eerie blur glow of light as it imitated through the sky. The ballroom was sonorous buzzing with chatter from the each end of the room. There were still some people entering the suite, especially two noticeable ones. The general Sumihara Kaeda holding hands with a young male who looked rather chary as if he did not want to be there. He regained his composure as he gave slight wave in Shin's direction unknowingly waving at Shasu. Shin glanced as his company attempting to determine who the greeting was for.

"Is that young man the Supreme Leader of the Democratic People Republic of Marsh. What is his relations with the general?" Shin thought to himself. He knew to very well the possible danger of two people who are in an amative relationship can present to a country.

"Inter amo enim silent leges" Shin said for his comrades to hear.

 

[Yukari]

Kaibutsu and Sumihara each resisted, as she’d expected. The large bearlike man questioning her on how justice would be meted out for his wounded man, and the cool general snarled over her rights as General, but with the assistance of Kogami and Kitsune, their concerns were each alleviated. After the Bear soldier was healed, his Sennin said, “Very well, if my soldier’s life is not forfeit, then there is no reason to take the blood payment. I will let the Tenouzans punish his attacker as they see fit. But if my soldier dies, know that I will exact vengeance with interest.” He said in a rumbling tone.

“If your soldier dies it will be from neglect on your people’s part. As Kitsune-san said, there is no immediate danger to his life. As long as he follows her directive to rest, his body will heal perfectly. If he disobeys, any injury which comes will be his own doing.” She challenged, leveling her gaze with his.

“A proud soldier of the People’s Liberation Army reduced to having his life saved by a useless, spineless virgin,” Kaede spat, glaring at Ayumu. “Absolutely disgusting. I hereby terminate his commission. He is now a civilian, and no longer part of the Revolution. Pay for his passage home after he serves whatever sentence these Priests impose,” she instructed two subordinates nearby, who bowed deeply.

Hikari turned to the general and placed a hand on her forearm. The gesture was firm and halting, but not disrespectful as Hikari understood it. “Kogami-sama is a Sennin of Kumogakure. He is neither spineless, nor worthless. Whether he is virginal or not, is irrelevant. Whomever he prefers sexually is irrelevant. He is not a sennin because he has sexual prowess. He is a sennin because he is a worthy leader, and a powerful shinobi. Whatever your feelings on the matter, please remember that I hold him in high regard, and treat him with the respect you show me.” She then leaned toward Kaede’s ear, and said quietly, “I agree that your man should be stripped of his commission, but not for being saved by anyone. He made your leadership look weak not only in front of your enemy, but many foreigners as well. I suggest you keep a tighter reign on your men in the future, if you do not wish that anyone would mistake you for a weak leader. I say this with the utmost respect for your capabilities and for your people.” She then took her hand away, and nodded her head respectfully, as she stepped back.

“You are fortunate today, Tanaka-san,” purred Kuro. “But will you be able to intervene for every fight our soldiers have?”

“I was under the impression that was what you were here for, Kaibutsu nim.” She purred back before chiding them on their number of soldiers, and ordering them to send the vast majority of them home.

“I refuse.” They said in unison. Hikari smirked as they, embarrassed, turned their heads away.

Almost petulantly, Kaede refused to order her soldiers away first, and would only do so after Bear. Kaibutsu chuckled, “You owe me many a favor now, Tanaka-san,”

“By my count, only one,” She said, her smile quirked up at one end and she winked, "but perhaps you’ll remind me over dinner some night.” Of course Hikari only meant to imply whatever dinner the Tenouzans had planned, but she’d later fret a bit over her playful ambiguity. Hopefully it wouldn’t be seen as an inept attempt at flirting, or something equally (personally) embarrassing.

Meanwhile, Kaibutsu snapped his fingers at his men, “Do as the Kumonin says,” he said to a nearby adjutant of the Bear Army. “Four Supernovas, to me. The rest, prepare for withdrawal to the ships and depart. Lay anchor in international waters and await my command,” Slowly, the gathered forces of Bear started to turn and file away in a column, heading toward the gates under shouted orders from their officers. A great grumble went up from the regiment, but fell on deaf ears. Kaede inhaled, closing her eyes, her relief palpable, as the tension eased with the soldiers passage.

“Colonel Jang, order the withdrawal. The highest-ranking officers in Unit 124, as well as I, will remain with the Dear Leader” Kaede said reluctantly. Her subordinate bowed, then signaled his men, who filed out and away. Meanwhile, Hikari chided the Pikemen, who reluctantly stepped away.

She caught sight of one making a rude gesture, and pointed a finger at him, not only catching him in the act but also singling him out. “Your name and rank, soldier.” She snapped.

The soldier froze, his jeers frozen in his throat. “M-ma’am-“

“Name and rank, soldier. It’s not a difficult question.” He mumbled something indistinguishable, “I see you have forgotten your name, both personal and familial as well as your rank. That does explain the dishonorable behavior you’re displaying… well, allow me to remind you, that though you serve the Shogun, you are still a soldier. I will be recommending that you receive a formal reprimand as well as whatever punishment you ought to receive for disorderly conduct, and conduct unbefitting an officer.” She told him calmly. “Do I seem harsh? It is simply because your actions have aided our enemies. If anyone had died, I would have asked that you be stripped of rank and left to rot in a Tenouzan jail as punishment for inciting others and aiding in the violation of the treaty I have worked very hard to establish. An offense tantamount to treason, as you not only endanger their soldiers, and ours, but also every official here, including the Shogan himself.” Each word was said calmly but firmly. Her voice light and soft, but unmistakably threatening, she then dismissed him, and returned her attention to the delegation, asking the giant about Ai.

“Nanasaki-sama is currently accompanying our Queen Ekaterina, who is the leader of our people. Nanasaki-sama is, like your Raikage, a vassal under the control of a non-shinobi. Even if I disagree with the current state of affairs, I must do as my Kage bids and obey the Haninozukas above all else,” he shrugged.

“Of course, I’m pleased the queen will be able to attend.” She said. “I understand the sentiment.” She said. “Non-shinobi do not, many times, understand… what is best for them.” She said, thinking of her parents briefly.

“Ah, and I see you have brought your own Kage. Between you and I, he definitely appears to be a true pervert. I have warned my daugh-, my Kage to avoid unnecessary contact with him in the future,” he said..

Hikari snorted, noting but not commenting on the unlikely revelation that the Hoshikage was Kaibutsu’s daughter. That was a tidbit she’d save for later. “Kaibutsu-sama, I must confide in you the only vice I know of that my Kage ascribes to. He is a terrible supporter of ‘human rights’ and ‘forgiveness of past indiscretions.’ Too forgiving, perhaps, but hardly perverted.” She said as he turned to depart.

“Of course my Dear Leader is present. His health, however, takes precedence over all else, and so he will not be setting foot in this filthy place longer than necessary,” said Kaede to Hikari.

“Of course it does, I’m glad he is well enough to attend as long as he can, and I’ll pray for his continued longevity.” She said as the woman blushed visibly, stammering a question.

“And…uh…how are you doing since the dinner?”

Hikari smiled, “I’m doing quite well… much better, than I had been, anyway.” She said referring to the vomiting and poison. “I received a promotion recently.” She confided, “And you? I hope you’ve fared well.”

A little ways off, Masao and Shin whispered together. Her uncle seeming at once exhausted and ever alert. The man needed a rest, and, more than most deserved one, but his grim demeanor told her he wouldn’t do so any time soon. “Beg your pardon, Sumihara sama.” She said with a bow as she excused herself. “I’m going to see about accomidations, so that we may all rest a bit, and clean the weariness and the road dust from our bodies.” She smiled then, she made her way to the Bishop.

* * *​

Hikari and the rest trailed a short distance behind Masao, admiring the view, and likely searching every stray shadow for a kingslayer. Hikari was less worried than impressed by the grandness of it all. Presently, however, she dropped back to the maid she’d certainly offended the last time they met, and spoke to her. “You did well.” She said, her voice soft, “The brace was an intelligent move which I would have neither thought to ask for, or known you capable of. My compliments.” She said. It was only fair, Hikari reasoned, that if she felt free to offer criticism, she should also pay respects when they were due. “Congratulations on your induction into ANBU. I’m certain you’ll prove equal to the task.” Moments after whatever Shashu responded with, they arrived at the suites. The chamber they now stood in was well decorated, not as gaudily as other places.

“Ah, here are the guest rooms for your party. Naturally, the Raikage Hayata-sama will have the Papal Suite with balcony,”

“Naturally.” Hikari murmured, her attention on the man.

“While you, Sennin Kogami, Spymaster Do, and Chief Ambassador Tanaka will be staying in the adjoining Cardinals’ Suites. Each of you will be given a steward as well as a Lady’s Maid or Butler to attend to your needs, of course. As far as the rest of your party, they will be given Bishops’ accommodations with three to a room, separated of course between men and women. Inter amo enim silent leges*, you understand,”

“Most gracious Camarlengo. Thank you.” She bowed, echoing Masao’s thanks, then attending the question he posed about the other delegations.

“No, they are not. At risk of inflaming tensions due to perceived differences in quality of accommodation, I chose to lodge the Kumogakure and Lightning delegations here in the Himura Palace, while the Serene Kingdom’s delegations are in the Villa Casina Pio and the delegation from Marsh is staying in the Domus Internationalis Paulus VI. Given what happened today, I am doubly glad now that this separation was made, aren’t you?” asked Junichi.

Hikari nodded, the idea of all of them in close quarters was not a good one. She was doubly glad it was him and not the pontiff, taking care of these things… privately, of course.

“Now… will the members of your delegation be attending the pre-conference gala tonight in the Paulus VI Audience Hall?” He asked. Hikari flicked her eyes to Masao, waiting on him for the answer.
“I suppose they shall. After all, if there is a repeat of today’s tensions, then I think everyone’s interests would be best served by having Chief Ambassador Tanaka on scene.”

Hikari blushed, pleased at the praise. It’d been tense earlier, but things had smoothed a bit. At least no one was dead. “Very good, Takaki-sama. Then I shall look forward to seeing you all again tonight!” said Junichi, bowing deeply before he turned to leave. After he was out of earshot, Masao signaled to them.

“The Spymaster and his men are going to be gone on recon tonight. But our job is no less important. This may be a fancy ball that the Tenouzans are planning on, but I expect everyone here to remain completely sober and on guard.” Hikari was not disappointed by the revelation that no alcohol was to be consumed. She still vividly remembered her hangover from the night of the last party, and had had no intention of imbibing this evening. “Tanaka-dono, if you see tempers become inflamed, you are free to intervene at will.” Everyone else was assigned duties, and Hikari couldn’t help notice that once more, Shashu was on poison duty.

“Yes, Boss.” She said.
Everyone else was assigned duties, and Hikari couldn’t help notice that once more, Shashu was on poison duty. It was not likely a coincidence. She knew the universe was rarely quite so lazy. She lilely had some bloodline, or affinities with spiders.“For now, let’s take a break, wash up, and get changed. We have another godrotting party to survive.”

***​

Hikari looked over her shoulder at the maid who she had allowed to attempt to do something with her hair. “It’s a bit…” She grunted as half of what she’d been working to pin up spilled back onto Hikari’s shoulders. The maid’s grunt turned into a growl of frustration.

“I did warn you.” Hikari smirked at the maid’s difficulty. “Tis probably better to allow it free reign. It’ll end up that was anyhow.”

“No, no, miss.” She said, “I can do it.”

Hikari shrugged. “I’m clean, I’m dressed- though the outfit is a bit… tight.” She said. It was made from silk; a present from “an admirer” some time back, which she probably should have tried on before she wore it out. Then there was the jewelry, and the hair pins she’d never used. Her appearance for this party was a goddamn work of art. After some finageling, and much hair product- most of which Hikari had no idea about, or even how to use the various bottles and hot tools, she was allowed to see herself.

At first she was convinced she was looking at someone else, but the reflection moved with her, crinkled her nose, and rolled her bare shoulders. “Wow.” She breathed. “I…”

“Is mistress pleased?” The maid asked.

“I… yes. Wow.” She set the mirror down. “You did very well.” She stood up, and went to retrieve some yen for a tip. “I appreciate your efforts.” Hikari said as she handed it to her. “Thank you.” She smiled, then pulled on her long black coat, complete with her Chunnin vest, temporarily sewn into the lining, and slipped on her shoes. “I’ll see you.” She waved as she went. Her hammer was also concealed within the coat. She would have no visible weapons on her person, but would have some on hand… just in case.

***​

Hikari walked into the ballroom and allowed a servant to take her coat and place it on a hanger near the kitchen. She spotted Kaede across the floor, holding the hand of the small one they called “dear leader”. He was younger than she expected. She spotted the giant beside his queen and daughter. Formalwear seemed a concept lost on him. The Queen looked lovely. Hikari smiled vaguely, at the room, as she sauntered through, toward her Uncle-bossman. “Ambassador Tanaka reporting for duty.” She said. “Anything need unfucking yet, boss?”

The Pontiff had been speaking to him, she realized. “Apologies, your holiness.” She coughed, calling herself a pottymouth in her thoughts.

“Perhaps, Your Holiness, they do not wish to endanger the talks tomorrow with rash statements or misunderstandings?” sighed the Camarlengo.


“Look, what happens in Tenouza stays in Tenouza,” chuckled the Pontiff. “Alright Brother Junichi, how about I spike the punch? You think that might loosen everyone up?”

“Your Holiness…” seethed Masao, clenching his fist until his knuckled turned white. Hikari placed a hand on his forearm.

“Best not to offend our host, uncle.” She murmured.

“Ha, I kid, I kid,” chuckled the Pontiff. “But really, someone needs to break the ice. How are you all going to talk about peace and stuff if you can’t even ask the other side to dance? Please no grinding, by the way. But regardless, my point stands. Anyway, look, if someone doesn’t do something to ease the tension, I am going to go and…DJ! Oppa Gangnam Style!”

Hikari clapped a hand on the Pontiff’s shoulder. “Perhaps later, your holiness. For now, let me try and work the crowd.” She said. “It is my job, after all.” She said, winking, as she walked across the room toward the Hoshikage, and her party.

“Hoshikage sama, and my lady Queen.” She said, bowing, “You’re looking lovely. Welcome to Tenouza, it is good to see you both. Hello again Sennin Kaibutsu. I trust you each found your accommodations acceptable?” She intended to mingle… and if they would not join the mingling, she’d unleash the Pontiff and his dancing upon the party. Masao would hate that, probably… then again, it might do him some good. It might also do the guests some good. It seemed that they had all come to the party with the intention of ignoring each other; silly people that they were. Hikari had hopes- not especially high hopes, but still- that this event would serve as a sort of bridge toward peace.

“Kaibutsu nim.” She said, remembering the term in his language, “You mentioned my owing you many a favor, earlier today... Care to brief me on some of the others? Of course I acknowledge that your withdrawl earlier was gallant, and my appreciation is extended, but…” She inclined her head, and looked at him through her lashes, “As far as I recall… I’ve mainly dealt with Nanasaki-sama, and not so much with you.” She spoke carefully, but also teasingly. After all, one could not have a conversation with Tanaka Hikari without experiencing the snark.

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

Fortunately, it seemed the various powers that had collected were feeling more cooperative than usual. It was also a good thing they had brought a good medic along, as Kitsune was able to patch the soldier up. The fact that the man wasn't going to die seemed to be the key to diffusing the situation. The man's life no longer in danger, the Sennin of Bear was willing to let the marsh soldier live (for now). He rattled off some threats to ensure nobody would question his manhood, but Hikari was quick to retort and Ayumu too was certain Kitsune's healing was more than adequate. Kaede had some venomous words to spout too, clearly still bitter about her advances being turned down at the party, but Ayumu simply ignored them and returned to the side of the Raikage. Hikari had words to say in his defense, which he was grateful for. He could have come up with some retort to enrage the general, no doubt, but there were more important things going on than petty squabbles.

Hikari continue to work her magic, orchestrating having the two commanders send away the majority of their troops. This would drastically reduce the chance of further fights in the streets from the undisciplined soldiers. They were sure to leave only their best remaining, whom would hopefully understand the importance of not embarrassing their commanders. It seemed there were many soldiers that didn't know how to represent their leaders as Hikari scolded another from a third faction, the government of Lightning. She sounded somewhat like a mother scolding her child. Ayumu hoped the soldier was soundly embarrassed, and hoped the others would learn from his immaturity. After a bit of further conversation, they were headed to their accommodations. After some further discussions which Ayumu was not a part of, Masao pulled the shinobi aside to discuss what was coming up. Ayumu and the trainee were going to be looking into the possibility of poisoning in the food.

"Let's hope that goes better than the party, hmm. You'll get blamed for the poison this time, too," Ayumu said to Shashu, whom they all knew by now was in no way responsible for the poison of course. Still, she seemed to have some proficiency with poison which made her a prime candidate for making sure none of them ingested any. It was his duty too, of course, so he would actually share the blame. Even moreso given that Shashu was his trainee now. Ayumu had to wonder why none of these very important people could hire a food taster. Regardless, tasks were assigned and it was time to prepare for the party.

***

At the party, Ayumu remained glued to the rest of the group from Cloud, not having any urgent desire to meet with the Bear group and outright avoiding the Marsh group and Kaede. His eyes scanned the room picking out all the important people in attendance. From the bear camp the Sennin was still present now joined by the Hoshikage and the Queen. They were by far the more preferable group to Ayumu's tastes. He had met the Hoshikage recently, and she was very polite. In the conflict earlier, the Sennin was first to send away his troops in order to calm the situation. In the Marsh corner, Kaede remained giving Ayumu a feeling of disgust as he quickly looked to the boy next to her. If he was not mistaken, this was the leader of the Republic of Marsh, a young boy no doubt manipulated by the woman next to him. Ayumu was surprised that the boy remained even as a figurehead, given that he was quite sure Kaede enjoyed eating small children.

Between the three groups, it wasn't hard to see that most of them shared Ayumu's lack of desire to speak among one another. As Hikari entered the scene, the Pontiff spoke of making efforts to spice up the party. Spiking the punch seemed like a reliable method, but the idea was sadly shot down. Continuing on, the Pontiff suggested he go out on the dance floor and bust a move. Hikari quickly squashed that idea as well, moving out to begin working the crowd as seemed to be her specialty. She was seemingly liked by both parties, which indicated how good an ambassador she truly was. However, this party was boring, and a little schmoozing didn't seem like it was going to make things interested to Ayumu. As soon as Hikari left, he positioned himself near the Pontiff nonchalantly to speak to him.

"Don't let the haters get you down, only you can truly save this party," he would say to the Pontiff, in hopes of encouraging him. He quickly moved on as to not be associated with the chaos that might ensue and found Shashu, the trainee. "You're probably about as used to these parties as I am by now. Kinda suck, don't they?" he would ask. He partially hoped that by starting up a conversation with someone he would eliminate any chance of someone from another faction trying to "mingle" with him. Hopefully the Pontiff would cause a disturbance to help him avoid any of that.

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Kitsune had spent hours dressing Shashu up in various dresses and outfits, everything from a serving girl outfit to an adventurer garb to various fancy dresses. Of course, with Kitsune being Kitsune, she also dressed Shashu up in gym shorts and a shirt just for her own perverted pleasure, before finally settling on a specific dress for her. Hopefully Shashu wouldn’t be entirely opposed to attending the party wearing it. It did suit her very very well though. ”I think you’ll fit in just perfectly in this, Shashu-chan~ It suits you so well~!” she said in a tone close to a stereotypical “Kyaaaa” squal.

---

As if right on queue when the music started, Kitsune pushed the giant doors open and entered the room. She had, of course, completely disregarded Masao’s request of her wearing something more decent and had put on what looked to be a latex suit. It had netting at her hips, almost no back, or front for that matter and stuck closely to her skin. She had picked it out to be delightfully outrageous, and to turn some heads. Mostly because she knew it’d likely make Ai-chan blush deeply. After what happened at the party, Kitsune had been wanting to spend more time with the Hoshikage. Now she had the chance to do so.

Kitsune strode over the floor and straight to the Star-nins and queen. She curtsied in front of the queen and smiled ”So nice to finally meet you your majesty, I’m Baroness Shinrya Kitsune, Ph. D., MD., I hosted the party that Nanasaki-sama attended recently.” she said and winked to the Hoshikage as she addressed her as Nanasaki-sama. Then she turned her attention to the beastly sennin and nodded, before finally turning to Ai-chan. ”So good to see you again Ai-chan~” she said and leaned close before whispering ”If you need anything, let me know~ And I do mean anything~”

”I hope your trip home after the party wasn’t too bad.” Kitsune said and smiled ”Well. I’d better go introduce myself to the Marshians. You guys should mingle, it’ll be good for the peace talks if you get to talk to others on your own.” she finished with a wink before heading over to the Marsh people, curtseying before the Dear Leader. ”I’ve heard so much about you Supreme Leader~ I’m glad to finally meet you. I’m Baroness Shinrya Kitsune, Ph. D., MD., I hosted the party that General-chan attended recently.”

 

[Suzuki Setsu]

Tama kicked her feet as she waited for the more serious members of their group to hash out their plans. Why couldn’t I have gone to the party? This is boring, and lacking a serious amount of Shiri-tan. After having failed to locate any weapons of mass destruction with Kazuhiko due to the interference and stubbornness of lead linings, she was rather discouraged. She had hoped to simply scan the place, find the bomb, blow it up, blow up the Kingslayers, and then rush to the party and dance with Shiri-tan. She sighed, as Kazuhiko and Natsu finally mentioned doing something.

“Alright then, blow up a tavern? Got it!” A chance to work out some frustrations.

“Hold it, Mochizuki. We’re infiltrating the damn place, not wiping it off the map. It’s our only lead so far, you can’t destroy it.”

Irritated, the young chuunin grumbled to herself as she stormed off, manipulating light rays to become invisible, Typical-kun in tow. The boy had looked to her for a disguise and she intended to deliver. “First we need an outfit to work with,” she mumbled, scanning the area for anyone posting flyers similar to the one Natsu had found. She searched the alleyways, until she found a boy of similar build to Narashi, furtively putting up another one of those recruitment posters. Putting on one of her most professional smiles, meant to knock out an audience with its dazzle, she tapped on the boy’s shoulder. Releasing her hold on the light rays around her.

“Ano...I have a few questions about this...Conflagration? Consummation?” she said in a voice dripping with cute enthusiasm. Inwardly she grimaced, I can’t believe I have to do this to anyone but Shiri-tan. Though would he like it if I did this to him? She draped an arm over the boy’s shoulder and started to examine the clothing the boy was wearing. A uniform from the Tenouzan Academy, a prestigious private institution famous for the quality of the religious officials it had produced, but not simply limited to the clergy, over it the boy wore a simple white tartan cloak, the humbleness of the cloth contrasted sharply with the opulence of the school uniform. As she gleaned more information about the outfit and its makeup, she also realized that the boy she had been chatting up, was in fact not a boy at all. A girl, who had been masquerading as a boy in the academy. She’s good. Been doing this for awhile, I bet. Nearly fooled me. She also breathed a sigh of relief, she had felt like she was cheating on Shiri-tan by doing this, but it was a girl so it didn’t count. Well she had the information she needed about the outfit, enough to make a copy of it with Quick Change.

She then ran through a few seals with her hand that wasn’t around the boyish girl’s shoulder, and soon the girl’s eyelids began to flutter closed. Once she fell asleep, Tama tossed the tartan cloak to Narashi, and placed a hand on his chest, his clothes shimmered and rearranged themselves until they were an exact match to that of the passed-out student. “You’re lucky that she was cross-dressing,” she said with a feral smile, “or you would be, Exchange Student-kun.”

They returned to the group, where Kazuhiko lectured Tama for her disappearing act. “Now disguise yourself.”

She sighed and shimmered, looking like Tomo in the Tenouzan Academy uniform.

“No, you and Tomo look too much alike,”

She shimmered again, now looking like Kazuhiko in the uniform.

“It defeats the purpose of me disguising myself, if you disguise yourself as me.”

Now she looked like Masao in the uniform.

Kazuhiko facepalmed, “Takaki-sama is one of the most noticeable figures of Kumogakure! Why do you think that’s a good idea? And he’s too old to be a student!”

Tama then transformed into the Raikage, except he seemed prettier and younger.

“The Raikage is even more prominent than Masao!”

“I’m not Shin, I am Shinko!” Tama retorted, “This is Shin from an alternate universe where he is female and younger.” Tama thrust out her chest. and sure enough, it was a female form.

“Why? How?”

“I was snooping around Amichan’s room while visiting Shiri-tan and this was a illustration in a book she was writing. Amichan’s an older guy in the story, an--”

“Stop, just stop, I don’t want to know any more,” Kazuhiko interrupted. He pulled out a small pendant and fiddled with the lock. He showed the photo inside to her and said, “Transform into this.” Tama complied and was soon in the form of a young girl with red-auburn hair and a crescent shaped tattoo on her forehead.

“Lolicon.” Tama said quietly.

Kazuhiko was going to retort, but decided to just ignore her. Turning to Natsu, he said, “Even if we have disguises, a secret religious organization is bound to have signals and passwords that we don’t know. And too much genjutsu will give us away to Enishi, if he’s there. Or to anyone chakra-sensitive in their group. How are we going to avoid suspicion?"

 

[Tsuirakuya Shashu]

As the Camarlengo led them to their quarters a growing sense of apprehension grew in Shashu's stomach. She couldn't quite put a handle on why, but...something was off. None of the others sensed her unease however, and it wasn't until Junichi revealed that she would be stuck rooming with Kitsune that her apprehension turned to full-blown horror. I'm going to be stuck in the same room as her all alone?!? You've got to be kidding me! Please please PLEASE let that Tama girl come back before nightfall...knowing Kitsune, she probably has about a zillion embarrassing outfits stashed away in her cleavage or something that she'll want to dress me in...aaaand there's a party tonight. Of course there is. Shashu thought, the Camarlengo's words serving to corroborate her suspicions. I need to get out of here....

She made to sneak off, but no sooner had she turned her back and begun to creep away than a grip of iron clamped down on either shoulder, freezing her in place. Slowly she turned her head, her vertebrae crackling like old wood, certain of who she would find. Sure enough, behind her loomed the twin figures of Sennin Takaki and Sennin Kogami, their faces obscured by darkness save for evil grins and gleaming eyes. It was revenge, of course, that drove them. Whether one too many pokes here, or prods there...it mattered not. They had her now, and there was no escape.

"Oh, but Shashu-chan," They chided, their voices creating an eerie harmony as they spoke in total synchronization. "I'm sure Shinrya-san has a great many outfits for you to try on. You wouldn't want to keep her waiting, would you?" As they spoke the pair thrust her straight into Kitsune's waiting embrace which, in that moment, was a stronger binding than even the most powerful jutsu in the world could muster.

"Y-you sold me out, Master!" She cried to the two demonic figures, their faces still twisted into macabre grins as Kitsune dragged her away. "You sold me out!"

And with that the doors to her new prison closed shut seemingly of their own accord, the unmistakable sound of a lock slamming home echoing through her head. Kitsune had managed to get her trapped in this room alone, bereft of allies, and there was no where left to run. The instant the older woman let go of her Shashu backpedaled furiously, almost knocking over a table in her haste to get away. Though running was, of course, futile, it didn't stop Shashu from putting as much room between her and her aggressor as possible.

"Oh Shashu-chan, I have so many outfits for you to try on!" Said Kitsune as she brought forth rack after suitcase after rack of clothes, all in Shashu's size, seemingly from nowhere. The variety was absolutely astounding or, if one were in Shashu's shoes, absolutely horrifying. "So many outfits...and only a few hours to use them!" As Kitsune finished magicking up the last of the outfits she glanced toward Shashu, a gleam in her eye. Try as she might the ANBU in training could see nothing but doom in her stare as the med-nin stalked forward bearing the first wave of outfits.

"B-but I am a ninja! A true Shinobi would never wear such impractical outfits as these!" Shashu stammered, recoiling from the onslaught of linen and silk.

"Just give in, Shashu-chan. Masao-san gave you to me for the next few hours, so just give up. You're all mine...now, hold still..."

Yevon, give me strength...

_________________________________________________________​

(What followed was a literal hell on earth, a degree of horror and depravity so severe as to break the minds of mortal men. And so, for the sake of your sanity dear reader, we shall jump ahead to less soul-rending times.)

Shashu collapsed onto the bed, drenched in sweat and utterly spent. The last few hours had taken every last iota of her determination and spirit to withstand, and now that the ordeal was over she couldn't even stay on her feet.

”I think you’ll fit in just perfectly in this, Shashu-chan~ It suits you so well~!” Kitsune said with a squee. "Now let's get you cleaned up for the party!"

Helpless to resist, Shashu was dragged into the adjoining bath and scrubbed mercilessly clean by Kitsune, who left no patch of skin untouched. Thirty minutes and thirty thousand bubbles later, the both of them were sparkling clean and Shashu had managed to recover some of her lost energy. With the party drawing near the both of them made to go dress, Kitsune in a little number that could only loosely be deemed clothing, and Shashu in her usual outfit she had procured upon joining the ANBU. Kitsune had been one step ahead however. Anticipating Shashu's unwillingness to wear the formal dress, she had hidden her normal clothes in the same neverland that she seemed to pull everything else from. With no other choice, lest she prefer to walk around starkers, Shashu let out a sigh and went about putting on the dress, Kitsune more than happily helping her with the parts she couldn't handle on her own.

__________________________Shashu's Dress_________________________​

In short order Shashu reluctantly joined up with the rest of their party as they made their entrance to the ballroom, Kitsune having managed to slip away in the intervening corridors. The room was about what Shashu had expected: large, well furnished, and rather ostentatious. There was no small number of people in attendance, some Tenouzan and some foreign, but each seemed to be sticking to their own cliques for now, reluctant to take the risk of mingling with the rest of the attendees. Not that she could blame them; she wasn't very partial to parties herself unless she was either helping to supply them or cleaning up after them.

The Pontiff and Camarlengo both came up to exchange pleasantries, albeit of different sorts, and Shashu took the opportunity to scan the rest of the room whilst they tried to pretend they weren't all trying to eavesdrop on the same conversation. Nothing in particular caught her attention till her eyes met those of a boy who looked about her age holding hands with the Marsh general, Sumihara Kaede. She quirked an eyebrow and he smiled sheepishly, giving her a small wave.

Before she could wave back or make any other sign of recognition Kitsune made her entrance and Ayumu used the distraction to move over and join her, having just goaded the Pontiff into making an even bigger fool of himself. Not that the Pontiff minded, of course, but Ayumu was still using him to mask his awkwardness. "You're probably about as used to these parties as I am by now. Kinda suck, don't they?" He asked, as if he hadn't just been part of a conspiracy to subject her to multiple hours of hell on earth.

Now, normally Shashu would agree with her Sennin, and would have been happy to provide a cover for the both of them to avoid unwanted attention from the other parties in attendance, but she hadn't yet forgotten his role in allowing such heinous torture to befall her. Just as he had thrown her to the wolves, so would she here. With a little extra kick she had heard from the rumor mill for good measure, of course.

"Oh, I don't know shukun, they aren't that bad. You should try mingling sometime," She would say, looking up to him with a deadpan expression. "I hear it's good practice for when forty year old virgins finally manage to ask out their love interests."

With Ayumu hopefully still reeling from that salvo, Shashu would gracefully step across the floor to speak with Kaede and the Dear Leader, 'accidentally' squashing Ayumu's big toe with her heel as she passed by. Upon reaching the pair she would introduce herself and curtsy politely, as any maid worth her salt should know how to do, then offer her hand to the boy. She offered it by way of a handshake, but would leave it open for the Dear Leader to decide the manner of greeting. "My name is Tsuirakuya Shashu of Kumogakure, it is a pleasure to meet you." She would say as she curtsied.

As protocol dictated, she would leave it up to the boy to introduce himself in the manner he chose. After what had happened during the party at Kitsune's mansion, she had made sure to study etiquette in order to level up her manners to at least noblewoman rank. Hmph. Let's see Tanaka-dono criticize me on my manners now...

 

[Hameru Ren]

"By blending in, of course." Nats responded, focusing his attention on his squad. His thoughts had been occupied by the Tavern and dire words on the flyer. This truly would be a gamble, and he wasn't keen on losing it. "The Congregation isn't exactly an unknown party in the Tenouzan community. It'd not be uncommon for people wanting to join them. There are quite a few fanatics in this religion, that's undisputable. With the celebration, people from all over the country flock to the city. Including Priests from further-off Villages. Kazuhiko and I will play the role of a Priest from one of those Villages, wishing to join the Congregation."

"With that outfit, you'll be a bit more likely to stand out. Students at the Academy eh.. How about we claim that you each came from the same Village as one of us did? It'd be perfectly reasonable for a Priest to invite his younger followers along to what he believes is the right way to practice his belief and ensure his successor in the Village follow the same mindset. It'll also allow us to split up again at the party, covering more ground. To further establish ourselves as such, I propose we wear these medallions. They indicate Faith Militants, who sympathize with a more extremist brand of Tenouzan politics. That should remove most doubt."

"Kazuhiko and Tama will be from Takayama. It's one of the smaller farm villages, southwest from Raiden's eye. It only has about seven hundred inhabitants and their Priest is a rather boring man. The odds of anyone from Takayama attending the party should be slim to none. You can figure out the rest of the backstory yourselves. Jo and I will be from Asuka. It's one of the mountain villages in the Spine. They barely ever come down from the mountain so exposure should be close to zero once more. As for names.. Oh, you lot have fun with it. I'll be Brother Pastris.. No, Crustulum.. Or maybe.. Hmmhm. Yea, Brother Crustum. That works best I think."

Natsu finally finished instructing, before waving for Tama's attention. If she could please use that nifty ability of hers to give Kazuhika and the Spymaster fitting clothing. The target was hers to choose. The Spymaster would have to inquire if she could teach him the trick someday. It certainly was very useful. As she made the final adjustments to his clothing, the Jonin leaned in. "You'll have to tell me the entire story you found in the Chancellors' room someday soon. In return I'll see what I can do about further assignments in Raiden's Eye." He confided in her, before distributing the medalions in the group.

And so the merry band set out in their disguises to stop the nefarious plan of the Kingslayers! Would they succeed? Would they fail? Was it all an elaborate trap they were walking in blindly, set by the Mission Mod so he could catapult this thread into gore and blood? You'll read it next time in 'The End Is Never The Same!' Stay tuned!

[OoC: I'm sorry for the delay ;X]
[Word Count: 474]
[Marked for Training]

 

[Takaki Saeko]

Paulus VI Audience Hall
Near the Himura Palace, Holy See of Tenouza
…2100 hours

“Best not to offend our host, Uncle,” cautioned Hikari as Masao’s fist throbbed under the pressure with which he clenched it.

“I never saw a priest in such dire need of a brushing,” Masao muttered darkly back to her as the Pontiff pranced off and started to gyrate his hips and cross his arms as if riding a horse. Unfortunately, the DJ had failed to pick up on the hint, and no music ensued. This did not seem to bother the Pontiff, however.

“Heeeeey, sexy laaaadyyyyyy!” crowed the Pontiff as Hikari approached him, only to be shut down with the dreaded ‘we need to talk’ hand on the shoulder.

“Perhaps later, your holiness. For now, let me try and work the crowd. It is my job, after all” she said, causing him to laugh sheepishly at the realization that he had been dancing alone and without a musical accompaniment. Not a second later, the long-suffering Camarlengo whispered his silent thanks to Hikari and removed the Pontiff from the dance floor…by his ears.

“Hoshikage sama, and my lady Queen,” the redheaded ambassador said, greeting the Queen and Ai. “You’re looking lovely. Welcome to Tenouza, it is good to see you both. Hello again Sennin Kaibutsu. I trust you each found your accommodations acceptable?”

“Why thank you, Tanaka-dono. Our accommodations have been wonderful,” said Haninozuka Ekaterina, returning the greeting with a slight curtsy that was mirrored by the Hoshikage. Kuro gave a stiff but polite bow. “It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person, after all the praise Nanasaki-san has bestowed on you. Allow us to compliment you on your beauty as well,” she said, smiling at Hikari with an expression that belied not only an appreciation of aesthetics, but also a more physical sort of desire. “Believe it or not, there are those with your type of hair and skin in the Serene Kingdom as well. It is a rare and highly desirable combination to have, for it is thought to represent the union of fiery phoenix and agile-tongued serpent. And both are lovely creatures.”

“Tanaka-dono, thank you for your hard work,” said Ai, clasping Hikari by the hands. “Especially in light of what happened recently…” she said, hoping to avoid an accidental glance at Shinrya Kitsune. What had taken place after the poisoning at the party was still fresh in her mind.

After being gently laid down in Kitsune’s feather-bed, Ai had assumed that the mednin would simply produce another vial of antivenom from some unknown pocket. Instead, Kitsune stated that only a complete realignment of Ai’s chakra would cure her. Ai had grit her teeth and nodded, preparing for painful impromptu surgery, only to involuntarily let out a gasp as Kitsune’s fingers softly worked their way around the knotted muscles at the base of her neck and shoulders, loosening them up and suffusing her with warmth. But they did not stop there. Soon, Kitsune was massaging softer, more intimate areas, and Ai found herself responding in kind, caressing the mednin and enjoying the warmth of her mouth and the feel of naked skin gliding on naked skin. The poison was melting out of her pores and soaking the bed as Kitsune worked, but this was not even the most important thing in Ai’s mind. Long after the last drops of neurotoxin had left her body, Ai gently grasped Kitsune’s hand and guided it between her legs…

“So nice to finally meet your majesty, I’m Baroness Shinrya Kitsune…”

The mednin’s sudden arrival caused Ai’s face to briefly flush red, and she took a step back. The Queen, however, did not seem to notice this reaction and returned Kitsune’s curtsy with one of her own.

“A pleasure to finally meet you too, Shinrya-hakase,” replied Ekaterina. “Ah, now we see that you also have similar features to Tanaka-dono. We would have thought you two sisters in any other circumstance. We look forward to seeing you two tomorrow. Now, please excuse us, for we must go and say hello to Shiranai-shogun.” As she bowed and stepped away, she was immediately flanked by two hitherto unseen women wearing their hair in panda-bun fashion and sporting cheongsam dresses, one blue and one red. Two of the Supernovas had shown their presence.

An expertly calculated move, Your Highness, thought Masao, who regarded the women with a thin smile.

“So good to see you again Ai-chan!” trilled Kitsune, causing the Hoshikage to blush even more.

“Er…uh…you too, Kitsune-chan,” she muttered, looking away anxiously.

“If you need anything, let me know. And I do mean anything,” winked Kitsune conspiratorially, causing the Kage to blush even more furiously. If spaghetti in pockets was a real thing, Ai’s would have been all over the floor by this point, accompanied by meatballs.

“I uh…I…” she began to stutter. Fortunately, Kitsune’s attention wavered to the Marsh delegation, and she was off, leaving Ai to collect her own disordered thoughts. I am NOT a lesbian! she fumed inside, more against herself than anyone else.

“Kaibutsu-nim,” began Hikari in the meantime, earning a grunt of acknowledgement from the massive beastman. “You mentioned my owing you many a favor, earlier today...”

“Hmmph,” he snorted. “You actually owe me a battalion’s worth of favors, Tanaka Hikari-shi, for that is how many men I had. Nevertheless, I am willing to let you pay me back in a more limited fashion. I will explain.

“As I had inadvertently let slip before, the Hoshikage is indeed my daughter. Many often wonder at my appearance and marvel that she looks to be a human woman rather than some horrid creature, but I was not always this way myself. I was once a handsome young man, but I devoted my life to the study of the martial arts, and as I progressed in my power, I became as I am now. I am a palmoonryong, or Eight-Arts Dragon. Nanasaki-seonsaengnim is a sammoonryong, or Three-Arts Dragon. It is around the level of Five-Arts Dragon that one typically starts to change form. I only became the way I am because of the death of my wife during the first Joseon War, and the desire to protect my daughter. I fear, however, that if she were to experience the same shock as I did, that she would also seek to give her humanity up to attain power for revenge.

“It is no secret that she is infatuated with Hayata-nim. A perverted sex-fiend he may not be, but I also doubt that he has long to live. Men like that, who seek to alter our world, where the strong trample the weak to get stronger, are the first to die in the storms that precede change, and I feel that our world is indeed about to change even after we achieve peace for the time being. Thus I would have you prevent your Raikage and my daughter from getting closer. That will more than repay what I have done for you today,” said the Sennin, bowing.

Meanwhile, Kaede’s right eyelid twitched involuntarily as Kitsune drew up close to the Dear Leader.

”I’ve heard so much about you Supreme Leader~ I’m glad to finally meet you. I’m Baroness Shinrya Kitsune, Ph. D., MD., I hosted the party that General-chan attended recently,” declared the Baroness-mednin in her best ojou-sama voice. The Dear Leader’s jaw practically dropped to the floor at the sight of her very exposed décolletage, and he flushed a deep pink.

“If you call me that one more time, I swear I will-“ Kaede began, her hand reaching toward the .32 caliber hold-out bolter strapped to her thigh-garter.

“Er, uh, thank you, Shinrya-seonsaengnim! It’s an honor to milk- meet you!” gushed Hotaka with a smile, shaking her hand and also spilling a goodly amount of spaghetti from his pockets. Kaede’s face went pale at this.

Shit…He’s completely entranced with that damned titty-monster! thought the General, fuming inside. It was obvious that Hotaka, like any healthy teenager, was very much intoxicated by the sight of boobs, and with Kitsune wearing a dress lewd enough to make a Tenouzan Cardinal renounce his vow of chastity, the effect was so much worse. That’s it. Screw the peace treaty! I’ll kill her and then kill myself!

“I heard that you were all poisoned during the dinner. I wish to extend to you my cock- country’s thanks for helping my dear sister, General Sumihara, during that difficult time,” continued Hotaka, smiling brilliantly. “Isn’t that right, Nuna? I heard she helped shlick- save your life. I would have been devastated if you’d been harmed. Er, Nuna, why are you looking so pale? Are you unwell?” he asked, looking at Kaede quizzically.

“D-d-dear Leader…you look absolutely parched…” Kaede murmured, her hands trembling. “Why don’t we…get something to drink… Away from Shinrya-shi…” she said, herding the boy away from Kitsune’s gravitational pull. As she did so, two men in olive-drab-green fatigues with red berets materialized alongside the pair. Cursing, Kaede shoved them aside, slinging an arm around Hotaka’s shoulders.

"Don't let the haters get you down, only you can truly save this party,” guffawed Ayumu in the meantime to the Pontiff, who looked positively miserable under the thumb (literally) of the serenely-smiling Camarlengo. Upon hearing this, however, Yamauchi Kiyoshi, the two-hundred-fifth Vicar of Saint Isamu on Earth, seemed to suddenly become reacquainted with His Holy Purpose. His green eyes flashed deviously, and he crossed himself before placing a pair of fingers gently on Ayumu’s forehead.

“Bless thee, My Virgin Son, for thou hast shown me the light,” he said as a ray of light appeared to shine down on both himself and the ANBU Sennin. ”In nomine Patris et Fili et Spiritu Sancti… …Amen Based God! You haters can’t stop the paaaaartaaaaaaaayyyyyy!” he whooped as he wormed out of the Camarlengo’s grasp and slid into the center of the dance floor on his knees like a baseball player sliding into home. At that moment, the DJ he had hired rolled his eyes and started to blast Oppa Gangnam Style for real.

The Dear Leader broke out into a smile as he watched the Pontiff joyfully gyrate to the music, and before his sister could react, he also ran up next to the Pontiff and started to “do the horsey dance” too. Not knowing what else to do, all four members of Unit 124 also started to surround him and to everyone’s surprise, break-dance.

</URL>

Najeneun ttasaroun inganjeogin yeoja
Keopi hanjanui yeoyureul aneun pumgyeok inneun yeoja
Bami omyeon simjangi tteugeowojineun yeoja
Geureon banjeon inneun yeoja

Naneun sanai
Najeneun neomankeum ttasaroun geureon sanai
Keopi sikgido jeone wonsyat ttaerineun sanai
Bami omyeon simjangi teojyeobeorineun sanai
Geureon sanai

Areumdawo sarangseureowo
Geurae neo hey geurae baro neo hey

Areumdawo sarangseureowo
Geurae neo hey geurae baro neo hey

Jigeumbuteo gal dekkaji gabolkka

Oppa Gangnam Style
Gangnam Style

Op, op, op, op
Oppa Gangnam Style
Gangnam Style​

​

“STOP!” bellowed the Shogun of Lightning Country suddenly as he broke into a smile. “…Hammertime!” he whooped, as the DJ seamlessly changed tracks to a very old-school tune that everyone who had grown up in the 90’s (BSE) in all three countries knew by heart.

…Too legit! Too legit to quit! (hey...hey...)
…Too legit!
Too legit... Too legit to quit! (hey...)
…Too legit! Too legit to quit!​

“Godrotting…” cursed Masao at this ridiculousness. “Go, dammit! Protect the damned Shogun! He’s surrounded by Norks and Rap Music!” he cursed at the Kumo crew. Nearby, the Chancellor of Lightning Country fainted where she stood (to have a nice dream where she was a tall bishounen in charge of showing the lovely but somewhat sheltered ojou-chan Hayata Shinko all about romance), and General Sumihara Kaede needed to go lay down for a while. Kaibutsu Kuro simply stared impassively, privately glad that his Kage was a bit too cool for school. Meanwhile, the Queen simply pulled out a camera-phone and started to snap pictures of her ex-boyfriend twirling, stepping, and doing flips in the air.

“Yes, that’s right…good, now take off the shirt, Shiri-shi. …Sorry Tama-shi, but these are for me only,” she muttered to herself as she continued to click away.

Hotaka caught his breath and wiped his sweaty brow, laughing at the fun he had just had. Looking around for Kaede, he instead saw the small girl from earlier looking at him with a deadpan expression as she curtsied. Privately, Hotaka thanked his stars that he was already somewhat flushed from his earlier exertion, as the sight of Shashu up close would have caused any young man’s heart to palpitate. She was a petite thing with no real chest to speak of, but in her gossamer and white silk gown, she was breathtaking to behold in a way that even Kitsune in her lacy catsuit could not duplicate. Trembling, he took her offered hand and kissed it lightly, hoping that no sweat would drop onto her arm. At least his training in state protocol was worth something, he hoped.

“My name is Tsuirakuya Shashu of Kumogakure, it is a pleasure to meet you,” she said, thankfully not recoiling.

“A p–pleasure too, Comrade Tsuirakuya! I’m Sumihara Hotaka of the Purple- People’s Republic of Marsh. M-may the light of juche shine on your n-nation,” he said, immediately regretting his choice of words. Did I just call her ‘Comrade?!’ Purple Republic of Marsh?! I sound like an idiot! Dammit, Hotaka, why do you always got to flub up in front of a pretty girl? Shit, I wish I were in bed with my dakimakura…

Suddenly, the rumbling, unmistakable sound of an explosion thundered through the hall.

Immediately, Masao’s wristblades were extended, and he was by Shin’s side. The Dear Leader was instantly surrounded by Unit 124, and Kaede had her pistol-bolter out, sweeping the room for threats. Similarly, Kuro’s blades were extended from the re-opened wounds in his hands, and Ai had a short spear in her hands that pulsed with glowing purple energy. The Tenouzan Pontifical Guard came rushing into the room, halberds ready to defend the Pontiff.

“Report!” growled the Camarlengo to a Guard Message Runner who came bounding breathlessly into the hall.

“Your Eminence!” rasped the messenger, clearly winded. “The Saint Lucy Tower has collapsed! It’s in flames!”

”Matris Futuor!*” swore the Camarlengo in response.

“What happened?! Why is that tower important!?” growled Masao.

“That tower…it’s the base of all of our communications with the outside world! We’re cut off without it!” replied the Camarlengo.

“Shinobi! To me! This is the work of the Kingslayers! Sennin Kogami, Hayata-sama! Please stay behind to guard the Shogun! The rest, follow to the tower!” he roared, before drawing his bolters and barging out of the door.

*trans: Mother Fucker!

* * *​

Deuteronomy 7:1 Tavern
Outside the Old Burial Grounds, Holy See of Tenouza
…0200 hours

Through a little creative costuming courtesy of the prima donna of the Mochizuki troupe, the small band of shinobi had managed to disguise themselves as a gaggle of Tenouzan Academy students and two visiting Priests, bearing subtly-placed but visible medallions of the Faith Militant. The symbols were especially important – the late Pontiff Nakahara had dissolved the order early on, declaring that Tenouza would no longer seek aggressive expansionism, but would rather serve as a shining beacon for all who hungered for faith. The Crusades and Purges and Immolations of the past were over and done with, and the Holy See would enter a new, modern era.

Of course, there were many in the Church who had opposed such a change for reasons ranging from theological to economic. Nakahara’s views had earned him a previously unheard-of Papal Impeachment, in which almost half of the Cardinals had sought to essentially declare that Saint Isamu’s will had been mistaken. The old Pontiff had barely scraped through those proceedings, only to die a few years later in the opening salvos of the Lightning Civil War. Out of respect for the man, the opposition factions had toned down their rhetoric, but now that Yamauchi Kiyoshi seemed to be even more “extreme” than his predecessor, the rumbles were beginning anew.

The doorway to the tavern was guarded by a pair of surly-appearing friars who, although they wore the robes of monks, also carried around hard wooden cudgels that could smash skulls wide open in the blink of an eye. They bore the medallions too, and stood at the front of a small line to get in. When it came to the group of disguised shinobi, Do Natsu was first, and putting up a show of the most reverent zealotry, told them the story he had crafted and gave them the password to get in: Dominus Nomine…

“Wait…” grunted one of the pair of friars as the other was about to lift his cudgel and allow the group to pass. “Brother…Crustum, was it? I’ve been to Asuka before. And I’ve never seen your face…”

“Friar Yota, your vigilance is most appreciated. Himura Shiro bless thee and thine,” said a young-looking, dark-haired man who suddenly emerged from behind the group. The scowling friar’s frown was immediately lightened, and he immediately saluted to the new arrival. “Not to worry – these are fellow members of the flock. Brother Crustum was my fellow Seminarian. He has heard the call to action, and cannot abide by the sinfulness afflicting Mother Church any longer. I invited him and his students personally.”

“…In that case, then, I apologize. Father Kotomine, please show them inside,” said the friar, smiling widely to the young man. Shortly thereafter, Natsu, Tama, Jo, and Kazuhiko were ushered into the sweltering tavern.

“That was too close. I’ll explain everything later… Just be quiet for now and listen to the meeting,” whispered the young man out of the side of his mouth as he patted Kazuhiko and Natsu on the backs.

Inside, the tavern was packed to the brim. Every available space had been taken up by Tenouzans of various stripes, from begging brothers to novice monks to members of the Guard, to more than a few bishops and friars. Chairs were doubled-up on, and some men even sat in each other’s laps. For a while, no one seemed to take charge of this social meeting, but as the clock struck a chord of the early morning, the room quieted down with the arrival of a monk with a cropped white beard, who clanged on a bell to stifle the noise around him.

“Brothers of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, I thank you for attending tonight’s gathering, especially under such secretive circumstances,” said the bearded monk.

“No matter is too great when we do The Lord’s work!” shouted the crowd. The monk nodded and smiled.

“Tonight is a special meeting, because you all are about to witness our transition into a new era. Our leader, Cardinal Hatsune Miike, has come personally to speak with you all! My brother, please rise!”

In the corner of the room, a lanky, white-haired man with a pair of glasses, dressed in the crimson robes of a Tenouzan Cardinal, rose and bowed before crossing himself. The assembled crowd clapped, before the man motioned for silence.

“Thank you for having me here, Brother Ichijo,” he began in a deep baritone voice. “Normally, I would ask you all if you had heard the Good News about our Savior, but unfortunately I only have ill tidings to deliver. For too long, we have sat idly by and watched as our Holy Mother Church has been attacked, defiled, and desecrated by heretics and infidels. It was only five years ago that the vile Witches of Kumogakure brought chemical death into our streets under the guise of medical aid, and murdered His Holiness Nakahara and many of our brothers and sisters! We watched as the hordes of blasphemers and infidels from the North fell on our city during the Lightning War of Succession and pillaged and murdered and raped!”

“Remember Saint Lucretia’s!” shouted a few voices from the crowd, followed by answered shouts of approval. Natsu grit his teeth – Saint Lucretia’s had been a hospital church where PMC forces serving Daimyo Amakusa Ryuu ro Kaminari had raped and massacred a hundred Tenouzan nuns and their patients during the Civil War, and was still a sore point in relations with the Holy See.

“And may Heaven bless their poor souls and forgive their adultery!” declared the Cardinal. “But we have called this meeting today, my brothers, not because we wish to merely remember the suffering we have endured as good followers of Saint Isamu’s teachings, but because it is time to change course. Remember, that what distinguishes OUR faith is the fact that rather than merely believing, we are compelled to act on the world around us. Heaven is reached through deeds, not words!”

“Brother Hatsune! What do you propose this Congregation do?!” shouted a voice from the back.

“My brothers, it is time that we, the true believers and Knights of the Faith, took a decisive stand against that which would plunge our world into darkness and chaos. Specifically, it is time that we made pains to actively spread the Gospel of Saint Isamu to the rest of the world, through charity and literature for those willing, and through sword and bolter for those unwilling to accept salvation. I say it is time to bring back the Faith Militant!”

“But what of Pontiff Yamauchi?” asked a man in front. “Has he not condemned such actions? Is he not the vicar of Saint Isamu on this earthly plane?”

“I will now say what has been in your hearts for a long time, my brothers,” said the Cardinal. “Not only do I believe that Pontiff Yamauchi Kiyoshi is mistaken…I also conclude through much study, deliberation, and conference, that he is in fact a Heretic!”

At this statement, the crowd gasped collectively. Some of the men in the back abruptly stormed out of the room, but surprisingly, the majority stayed. A roiling wave of excited discussion swept across the room, requiring the bearded Monk to shout for order.

“The fact that you remain here shows that you are in agreement, does it not?” asked the Cardinal, to murmured assent. He smiled.

“When we, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, were known as The Inquisition, we were charged with bringing salvation to Heretics through any means necessary. Most often, this was only accomplished through the separation of their immortal souls from the shackles of a sinful body, in order to allow them the cleaning fires of Purgatory. It is my conclusion, sadly, that this is the only viable option for the man known as Yamauchi Kiyoshi.”

“But Brother! The Pontiff is heavily guarded at all times! And now he surrounds himself with Kumogakure Witches for protection!” objected another voice from the crowd.

“And that, my brother, is why I have also found it necessary to bring in outside aid. You may have heard of a group called ‘The Kingslayers.’ They have made their name eliminating and purging blasphemous and heretical nobles and kings, and can certainly take care of a False Pontiff. One of their number even now assists us in preparations for a final, decisive blow against our unfortunate snake on the vine.”

“Can they be trusted, my brother?” asked the bearded monk.

“As much as you can trust any nonbeliever, which is not much,” admitted the Cardinal. “But for this purpose, our goals are the same. They seek to rid the world of not only the False Pontiff, but also of the Witches of Kumogakure, the Blasphemers of Bear, and the Atheists of Marsh.”

“And how will they do this? How must we help them?” asked another voice.

“Saint Himura will show the way, my brothers. All he asks is that you do your part and carry him to the Basilica. The rest will be taken care of by Heaven. But in the meantime, even now, there are agents of the Great Enemy who lurk within the city, trying to disrupt our plans. We must keep a steady watch, and be prepared to fight! We must be prepared for Martrydom! And remember that for every infidel you kill in the defense of Tenouza, a sin shall be cleansed! Now, we must proceed to the Lady of Sorrows to set up watch! The Kingslayer will be expecting our help!”

“Deus Vult!” shouted a few voices within the room. The Cardinal smiled.

“Band with us, brothers! This is OUR Crusade!” exhorted the bearded monk.

“Deus Vult!” shouted a few more.

“We will purge the heretics! We will put the blasphemers to the sword!” declared the Cardinal.

“DEUS VULT! Shouted the entire room.

“Onward Tenouzan Soldiers! WE MARCH AS TO WAR!”

“DEUS VULT! DEUS VULT! DEUS VULT!”

The entirety of the gathering started to stand as one and poured out of the doors of the tavern in a frenzy. Throughout the roiling crowd, voices could be heard, instructing the men to form groups and proceed to hidden caches of what the Spymaster could only assume were weapons.

“Come with me and stick close. We’re going to tail the group going directly to the effigy,” muttered the young man under his breath once the group had a moment of seclusion. “For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Kaguya, and I am a Major in the Bakufuu Security Agency under the command of Margrave Tokugawa. I’d show you my Imperial Seal, but I ditched it a long time ago. Kichida-san can vouch for my identity,” he said, nodding at his sempai. “My group is also involved in tracking down Yukimura’s terrorist group, and we received intel that they would target Tenouza. I’ve been infiltrating the Congregation for the last month. I didn’t expect to see you guys here, but I’m glad I caught you. Please hurry – I sense things are about to get dangerous.”

* * *​

“It’s no use, I’m afraid,” sighed the Camarlengo as he gazed at the smoking wreckage of what had once been a soaring iron lattice tower on a stone base. Gouts of flame still shot through gaps in shattered brick and mortar, and pools of melted metal hardened on the cobblestones, cracking them underneath. Occasionally, an arc of bluish current shot up from within the devastation, as the transformers and capacitors inside gave up their final bursts of power like electric swan songs. “The radio tower is completely ruined. It took us a year to construct, and they destroyed it within seconds!” he spat, with as much rage as a bookish holy man could muster.

“So, we are without radio communications for the foreseeable future,” growled Masao, tapping at his now-useless earpiece. The device only spat static back out at him, and he took it off in disgust and shoved it in a pocket.

“Not only radio, but television as well. I will have crews clearing the debris away in the morning, and we will certainly rebuild, but…we will not have a functional apparatus for at least a month. The switchboards were specially made in NeoKonoha, and, well, it seems that corporation has gone out of business,” replied the Camarlengo.

“Jesus Saito...” Masao swore. “Excuse me…” he muttered immediately after, remembering that in Tenouza, casual blasphemy was probably frowned upon. The Camarlengo, instead of showing offense, simply chuckled.

“I understand, Sennin Takaki. But as Saint Isamu teaches us, occasional adversity and how we deal with it is proof that our Lord gave us free will. I assume that the talks in the morning will go on as planned?”

“We have no choice in the matter. We can only redouble our efforts, Camarlengo,” said Masao, rubbing his gloved hands together and closing his eyes. He turned to address his shinobi. “Everyone, our communications have been compromised, likely due to terrorist activity. From now on, until the end of the conference and our return to Kumogakure, we are at Condition Zero. You are allowed to preemptively strike at threats, real or perceived. Full use of level A jutsu is authorized. Travel anywhere within the city is to be conducted in pairs, and the Raikage is now under constant guard, whether he is sleeping, bathing, or rubbing one out. Kogami-san and I will alternate as his personal detail. Select your battle-partners and stick with them at all times. This is an order.”

“Takaki-sama! You cannot do this! This violates the agreement we established…” began the Camarlengo, visibly shocked. Masao fixed a cold stare at him in response.

“The agreement became invalid the moment the tower blew. Do you want us here or not?” asked Masao.

“Very well,” sulked the bishop. “I shall pray for continued peace, then.”

* * *​

Burning The Past​

Effigy Storage Grounds
Our Lady of The Sorrows Cemetery, Holy See of Tenouza
…0500 hours

It had been a long way to the above-ground necropolis, even from the outskirts of town where Deuteronomy 7:1 was located, and everyone’s feet were aching. In addition, their throats were raw from having had to join in all matter of celebratory and devotional hymnals sung on the way. Do Natsu and Tama knew most of them, and both had needed to compensate for the others, who doubtless mumbled their way along as best they could. The cemetery itself was also a massive place, where thousands of years of Tenouzan faithful had been interred throughout the place’s history, sometimes on top of each other. Sorrowful, faded statuary seemed to stare at the party, their thoughts hidden behind moss and age.

The sun was almost ready to peek over the horizon as they came upon the grounds of the pre-festival area. A relatively open area usually used for staging of parades, it was now relatively packed with effigies and parade floats, most of which were covered with canvas tarpaulins to protect the statues from the elements. Throughout their journey, members of the party had quietly briefed Kaguya in snippets as to what was going on and why searching for the Congregation’s effigy was important, and now he too had grim purpose etched on his face.

“There. That one, near the Mausoleum. That’s the effigy you’re looking for,” whispered Kaguya as he gestured toward a large, uncovered statue of the Saint in question. Fortunately at this time of day, the grounds were virtually deserted, and Kaguya had estimated that they would have approximately an hour to do what they needed before too many others in the Congregation showed up. “We’ll need a few people to guard the perimeter in case the others start to arrive. Someone with the ability to cut silently through an inch of lead will need to work on the statue,” he suggested, eyeing the shinobi. ”We’ll also need to deal with the guys we came here with. I’ll leave it to your discretion, but know that we cannot afford any errors or living witnesses,” said Kaguya as a dagger flashed into his hands and then out of sight. Ahead of the group, four Congregation members marched along jauntily, unaware of the infiltrators behind them.

According to the Tenouzan Fukuin, Shiro Himura of Abyssinia had been one of the first of Isamu’s disciples to embrace the Faith, and had been instrumental in spreading the word throughout the lands (when he bothered to post every other month). When the Hittites of Boeotia had objected to his preaching at the age of 98, they cut his tongue out. When he then continued to preach by writing and having his sons speak in his place, they cut off his hands and flayed his sons alive in front of him. When he used the stumps of his hands to guide a brush that he gripped with his teeth, they then bashed his teeth to shards and removed his arms at the elbows. And when he used his feet to scratch the scripture in the sands, they finally impaled him upside-down on a spike and left him to die. Thus, statues of the Saint tended to be gruesome things to behold, which was perversely enough one of the reasons for his popularity. Against the first rays of the morning sun, Saint Himura stared blissfully at the horizon through the craters where his eyes should have been, unaware of the burden he carried within.

Alright, next post will be up within a few days as well. In the meantime, make sure your profiles are up to date with your current battle info.

Just to clarify, we are NOT in battle right now. In fact, since there is not a TON of stuff to do for the group at the reception, don't feel like you have to make a long post (there are no obvious or visible threats for now, and even though the bombing looks like the handiwork of Senada Marie, any attempts to detect her presence or that of antagonists will reveal nothing in the area). You will get "extra credit" if you come up with a plans to do things like guard the Raikage and Shogun/Chancellor overnight, or scout out the Basilica for traps or bombs, or try to reassure the guests left back at the party, who I am sure will be pissed and confused.

For Do Natsu's group, you SHOULD probably come up with a plan as for how to dispatch the Congregation members ahead of you, secure the perimeter, and actually get the statue of Saint Himura open.

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

Inciting the Pontiff had gone better than Ayumu could have hoped. Ignoring the virgin title that seemed to follow him around, he watched as the Pontiff literally slid out on to the dance floor as the music started. He used Shashu to separate himself from blame for the chaos he had caused. Nobody seemed any the wiser that he had inspired the Pontiff to achieve greatness. Meanwhile, Shashu seemed to be quite prickly in response to Ayumu's attempts to talk to her. He could only imagine she was still angry about earlier. He could still hear her crying out for someone to save her as he and Masao allowed Kitsune to drag her off to the dungeon so to speak. Having gotten her jab in dripping with venomous sarcasm, she made her way over to see the marsh company. Unfortunately she would be denied the satisfaction of squashing Ayumu's toes as she would find them protected by a steel lining within his boot, but she was no doubt proud of her quip nonetheless.

"Oh come on, you can't hold on to bitterness or you'll end up like the general. Besides, I'm sure you had a blast playing dress up with Shinrya-san," he said as Shashu walked away. She was leaving him to the wolves, but fortunately he had given them all something better to do with the Pontiff. Somewhere, Masao was roaring for them to protect the Shogun who had since joined in on the dance party. Mischief managed, Ayumu took to resting against the wall and watching chaos unfold. In a way, he felt as though he had done his part in bringing the various groups together and breaking down barriers. Moments later, the feeling was replaced by instinct as an explosion rocked the hall and the music stopped. Masao was already next to Shin while Shashu was near the Supreme Leader of the Marsh. The Queen and Hoshikage were in the capable hands of their Sennin and the Hoshikage herself. By process of elimination, Ayumu found himself sword drawn by the side of the Shogun and Chancellor. They all naturally hard their own guards, but no one was better than a shinobi.

Ayumu's eyes shot to the door as the Tenouzan guard burst in to give his report. Apparently a tower had been destroyed which would leave them without outside communications. The first though he had was of the Kingslayers, but it wasn't always good to assume such things even if that assumption was usually correct. Still, he had no doubt that the group would be apt to take advantage of the situation in the extremely likely case that they were near. He couldn't help but have a slight tinge of hope that they would so he could smear them across the floor. Masao shouted for the shinobi to follow him, save for Ayumu and Raikage who he requested to stay behind. Of course, he didn't want to put Shin in danger, but there was also the fact that Shin and Ayumu were very capable fighters in case the present group was attacked while they were gone.

"Send someone to give us intel as soon as you know what's going on!" Ayumu shouted after Masao before he barged out the door with shinobi trailing. "Shashu, stay here in case I need you to run a message to Masao," Ayumu shouted to his trainee. She was likely aware of the other reason he wasn't speaking aloud. All of the VIPs were in this room, they couldn't have every shinobi run off. Ayumu was here, of course, and Shin as well, but Ayumu also had to ensure that Shin was guarded even if he could certainly hold his own. There were plenty of guards present, most notably the Hoshikage and her Sennin, but he didn't want to take any chances that something could slip past them. It may have been obvious to Shashu, but Ayumu didn't want those present to feel more uneasy than they already did.

"Everyone stay calm... we anticipated the Kingslayers would try to interfere. We're not going to let them fuck this up," Ayumu said to the remaining group that was no doubt nervous and agitated. They didn't have time for infighting, not with the Kingslayers looming and waiting for an opportunity to strike. Ayumu began walking around, sword still held tightly in his hand as he looked for anything suspicious or any way the Kingslayers could infiltrate. He was also fully expecting spats to break out between the various parties out of fear. He'd do his best to diffuse any situations that arose from flaring tempers in the tense situation, though he was no ambassador like Hikari.

OoC: I guess it doesn't seem like there is a lot for me to do right now what with the NPCs staring blankly into space as far as I know, but if something arises I'll post again potentially.

 

[Yukari]

“Best not to offend our host, Uncle.” She’d cautioned, noting the spike in his blood pressure.

“I never saw a priest in such dire need of brushing.” He muttered in response, before she could go stop the holy fool from doing his thang.

Hikari nodded, then jokingly suggested, “Perhaps you should teach your technique to the Camarlengo.” She chuckled, “It may not be as effective, but it could still help.” Then she trotted off to stop him from making a spectacle of himself. As she stopped him, the Camarlengo whispered thanks to her, and removed him from the dance floor. In many ways she knew she was like that bishop. She sighed and acknowledged his thanks before going to speak to the delegates.

After passing her greetings to the trio from Bear, Ekaterina curtsied. “Why thank you, Tanaka-dono. Our accommodations have been wonderful.” She said. The Hoshikage mirrored her curtsy, and Kuro bowed stiffly. “It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person, after all the praise Nanasaki-san has bestowed on you. Allow us to compliment you on your beauty as well,”

Hikari blushed bright red, noting that the queen’s smile was not the polite smile of a fairly unknown dignitary, but personal and… well, Hikari blushed some more, uncertain of the proper response. “I- thank you, my lady.” She said, for once, at a loss for words.

“Believe it or not, there are those with your type of hair and skin in the Serene Kingdom as well. It is a rare and highly desirable combination to have, for it is thought to represent the union of fiery phoenix and agile-tongued serpent. And both are lovely creatures.”

[o]I think the queen’s hitting on me… what do I do….?[/i] She thought. “It… my hair that is, is usually much curlier… This’ She gestured at the up-do, “Is due to the hard work of my assigned lady’s maid. In my profession, although style and grace have benefits, one must balance practicalities with them. The color and tendency toward wildness, are just a couple of the many reasons I am suited to my rather public position. Imagine trying to hide with hair the color of fire.” She chuckled, then realized she was rambling, and stopped talking.

“Tanaka-dono, thank you for your hard work,” said Ai, clasping Hikari by the hands, and, thank all the gods, providing a distraction. “Especially in light of what happened recently…” She said, trailing off in thought.

Hikari shook her head, “Nothing that has happened at any time in our acquaintance would stain my opinion of you in the slightest.” She smiled at the woman, hopefully indicating she knew what had likely happened between her and Kitsune, but had no intention of revealing it.

And then Kitsy walked up in a spandex wrapper, with so little of her body actually covered, Hikari suspected it to be a crime- at least in Tenouza-equivalent to public nudity. She sighed heavily. Kitsune chan, you may not be aware, but there are dress codes at social functions to which queens and others are invited… namely that you dress for them. She thought with a sigh.

“So nice to finally meet your majesty, I’m Baroness Shinrya Kitsune…”

“A pleasure to finally meet you too, Shinrya-hakase,” replied the queen. “Ah, now we see that you also have similar features to Tanaka-dono. We would have thought you two sisters in any other circumstance. We look forward to seeing you two tomorrow. Now, please excuse us, for we must go and say hello to Shiranai-shogun.” As she bowed and stepped away, she was immediately flanked by two hitherto unseen women wearing their hair in panda-bun fashion and sporting cheongsam dresses, one blue and one red.

“I also look forward to seeing you, my lady.” She said with a bow, as the queen left.

“Kitsune chan.” Hikari forced a smile, as the queen left, flanked by attendees. “You forgot the rest of your dress, or if not, perhaps you were unaware that one typically puts on clothing at social functions.” She said as sweetly and as snarkily as was humanly possible. Godrotting nymphomaniac

At this point, she diverted her attention to Kaibutsu, as he had begun to reply to her question regarding the number favors she owed. “Hmmph,” he snorted. “You actually owe me a battalion’s worth of favors, Tanaka Hikari-shi, for that is how many men I had. Nevertheless, I am willing to let you pay me back in a more limited fashion. I will explain.”

He told of his transformation, the relinquishment of his humanity for the love of his daughter, and grief over the death of his wife. He requested that Hikari prevent Ai and Shin from becoming closer.

After a moment of consideration, Hikari inclined her head, sympathetic though she was, she needed to remind the giant of certain facts. “I feel I must remind you that I have signed agreements from both your governments and Marsh’s stating that you agreed to the terms of the meeting… one of those terms being a very limited number of soldiers. You’ve suffered no sanctions for the violation at my request. One might say you owed me the favor… but I will oblige you, and attempt to keep them separate, in payment for the battalion of favors… A favor I would have given you for the asking.”

She thought, There will be no problem with that. Shin isn’t remotely interested in anything not starving or destitute, well, that’s not fair. He is also interested in forgiveness.

She smiled, then paused, “Forgive me, I fear I will sound very ignorant with this question, but I am unfamiliar with your martial specialty. Would you keep your daughter from forming any romantic attachments for fear of her losing her… humanity… as you did, or are you only concerned with Hayata Shin?” She did not wish to direct him to what might be a much more pressing concern, but it was, sort of, staring them in the face.

After Kaibutsu’s response, Hikari would look for those things staring people in the face and she found the woman bating the general. “Beg your pardon Kaibutsu nim, my associate is… flashing the leader of Marsh. I wouldn’t want her to get shot.” She bowed then quickly trotted to where the little Dear Leader was discovering the joys of chakra enhanced boobage. “General sama, my respects.” She said, “And of course, Dear Leader. It is good to finally meet you.” She turned to the scantily clad woman, “Shinrya Kitsune, do you still own anything that might be considered by People to be clothing?” She asked, “Likely not.” She pointed at her uncle, “Perhaps you could go cheer Takaki sama. I recall you made an advance on him the night of the party. Perhaps this time he’ll accept.” She shooed the mednin off in the direction of her uncle, silently already asking for forgiveness for throwing her uncle under the bus. After Kitsune left, likely grudgingly, Hikari would return her attention to Kaede, “Sorry Sumihara-nim… Kitsune is… many things… but socially apt is not one of them.

She may have been too late, however. Kaeade was stuttering “D-d-dear Leader…you look absolutely parched…” Kaede murmured, her hands trembling. “Why don’t we…get something to drink… Away from Shinrya-shi…” she said, herding the boy away, flanked suddenly by a pair of men in red berets, whom Kaede shoved aside with a curse. She was much less graceful than the queen… who had totally called Hikari hot not long ago. The red head was idly returning to the Sennin of Hoshigakure when suddenly a ray of light appeared to halo the Pontiff and Sennin. Hikari raised a brow and opened her mouth uncertainly, just before the Pontiff began to ‘boogy’. Hikari watched, slightly horrified as the dear leader and at least four of his peeps joined him, breakdancing on the floor.
“STOP!” Bellowed the shogun of Lightning. All eyes turned to him, for a moment before his face split into a grin, and he whooped, “…Hammertime!” Somewhat on a spiritual level, Hikari felt compelled to join this one, but good sense, and a dress that was not made for that kind of dancing forbade her. Also the look of fury on her uncle’s face at the ridiculousness of the situation. She snorted at that. “Really, dancing at a party,” She said with mock incredulity, “who would think such a thing acceptable?” The red haired woman shook her head, as she teased her uncle.

“Godrotting…” cursed Masao at this ridiculousness. “Go, dammit! Protect the damned Shogun! He’s surrounded by Norks and Rap Music!” he cursed at the Kumo crew.

“They’ll probably be fine.” She said, “If they were… what’s the word? Moshing? Mosh pitting? Whatever, if they were doing that, I might be worried. But unless the dancers pull out their bolters, I doubt anyone’s going to get too hurt.” She patted his shoulder. “Let the kids play… well… one might want to remind the Shogan he’s not a stripper.”

Hikari soon caught sight of Shashu talking with the Dear Leader, and kept one eye on them, praying silently to the blood god, that the AiT meeting the boy leader would necessitate unfucking any time soon.

Suddenly, a rumbling boom sounded, rocking the ground. “Shit.” She bolted for her jacket and hammer, donning the tacked in vest and removing her weapons, before returning to the rest of her party. “Report!” Growled the bishop, as a runner came into the hall.

“Your Eminence!” Rasped he, as he explained what had happened. A tower was in flames. There was no doubt in hers, or any of the shinobi of Kumogakure’s minds who was to blame. “The Kingslayers.” Said Hikari.

“What happened? Why is that tower important?” Growled Masao. Hikari closed her eyes, hoping it was just a fantasmic symbol of their flowery love god’s mercy… or virility, whatevs.

“That tower… It’s the base of all of our communications with the outside world! We’re cut off without it!” The bishop replied.

“Shinobi! To me!” This is the work of the Kingslayers! Sennin Kogami, Hayata-sama! Please stay behind to guard the Shogun! The rest, Follow to the tower!” Masao roared, drawing his bolter and rushing through the door. Hikari was on his heels in a second, her perfect up-do was beginning to fall, and curl, but she paid it no mind. There were more important things afoot than vanity.

***​

The wreckage arced and flamed. Hikari covered her mouth, to keep from inhaling the smoke. The Camarlengo was visibly upset. He spat and snarled at the ruin but no amount of anger could fix what their enemies had destroyed.

“So we are without radio communications for the forseeable future,” Growled Masao, tapping his earpiece.

“Not only radio, but television as well. I will have crews clearing the debris away in the morning, and we will certainly rebuild, but…we will not have a functional apparatus for at least a month. The switchboards were specially made in NeoKonoha, and, well, it seems that corporation has gone out of business,” replied the Camarlengo. Masao swore, and the Camarlengo spat out some platitudes about the Lord and free will.

“But wait, didn’t you say it cut us off from the outside world? Are there backups? Short range communicators? Something that, maybe, you used before the tower was constructed?” She asked, hoping that they’d still have their headsets. “Perhaps things aren’t quite so bad…”

“I assume the talks in the morning, will go on as planned?” The Bishop asked.

“We have no choice in the matter. We can only redouble our efforts, Camarlengo,” said Masao, rubbing his gloved hands together and closing his eyes. He turned to them. “Everyone, our communications have been compromised, likely due to terrorist activity. From now on, until the end of the conference and our return to Kumogakure, we are at Condition Zero. You are allowed to preemptively strike at threats, real or perceived. Full use of level A jutsu is authorized. Travel anywhere within the city is to be conducted in pairs, and the Raikage is now under constant guard, whether he is sleeping, bathing, or rubbing one out. Kogami-san and I will alternate as his personal detail. Select your battle-partners and stick with them at all times. This is an order.” Hikari’s eyes widened. Suddenly the reality of the fight had hit home. She swallowed the lump in her throat, and put a hand on her hammer. She felt very naked now, in the only a dress, and a coat.

“Takaki-sama! You cannot do this! This violates the agreement we established…” began the Camarlengo, visibly shocked. Masao fixed a cold stare at him in response.

“The agreement became invalid the moment the tower blew. Do you want us here or not?” asked Masao.

“Very well,” sulked the bishop. “I shall pray for continued peace, then.”

“Camarlengo san, you must realize,” Hikari said, remembering herself amidst the crisis, “that there are enemies about. The destruction of your tower points to them with certainty. We are sworn to protect our Kage, and our Shogun above all else… even our promises are a distant second to that oath. I ask your pardon, but we must uphold our first oath before and above the other we swore. Just as you would defend your Pontiff, we must defend our leaders.” She said, imploring the man to recognize the validity of their actions. “If there is a way to uphold our first oath, and keep our promise for peace, I will strive to choose it.” She promised, knowing that she would not be able to do so, “I shall also pray for… a quick and bloodless resolution to all conflicts.” She said, wordlessly directing the plea to her Blood God. “For now, Security must be tightened...”

She looked to Masao for direction or dismissal. “Boss. I should get back to the delegates. With tensions raised, I can only imagine what they might start without a mitigating influence… and I would not call Kogami sama such. He does not get on well with the General…” She said, waiting on his word to return to the ballroom.

After returning, she would say to the room, “The added danger we all suspected…” She began, “Has reared its head, and disappeared. I understand how these events must seem to change things, but believe me when I say they do not. We are all still here. We each seek to end conflict through compromise. The only thing that has changed, is that we are each to be vigilant.” She said, her voice as clear as she could muster. “Vigilant against enemies of our four peoples, Tenouza included. The Kingslayers. They are the enemy, and we must put aside our differences, as our presence here indicates we are willing to do, and focus on the real threat. If we are divided in this purpose, we give the slayers power, and their power means our blood. For the sakes of our Queens, our Dear Leaders, our Pontiff, and our Shogun, can we agree to this temporary alliance?” She felt her heart hammering in her chest, but she took a breath, and in the time it took to do so, she caught the eye of each delegate who would look at her. Her supplication was both all encompassing and perhaps, disturbingly personal. “The danger is real.”

She continued, after each had had his or her say… she did not expect them to agree right away, but she would persuade them, “The danger is very real. Sennin Kaibutsu. You said men who seek to alter the nature of our world will fall. These men wish to use your death… your daughter’s, your queens, to alter the nature of their world. Would you like to kill them?” She asked, expression intense, “General Sumihara, they seek to destroy your republic, for although yours is for the people of your land, your brother is a threat to their regime. Pontiff… they hate you for your place as the chosen of your God. The Kingslayers killed the king of bear. They are indirectly responsible for the death of my honored aunt, who was the Commander of ANBU before Kogami sama, and the wife of Sennin Takaki. We will not allow them to tear our peace apart, will we? That which each of us have worked so damned hard to bring about?” Now, hopefully here, they would shout ‘No’, or something. Hikari had stirred them up ina an attempt to bring them together. “Now, As for how we can fight back… be ready to defend each other. You were enemies yesterday, but henceforth, and until the threat is dealt with, you are no longer. It is too dangerous to go alone. Each and every one of you pair up. Have protection details around your leaders. Takaki sama has made plans for the protection of our Kage, I suggest, though I do not doubt your ability, Hoshikage shi, that you make similar plans, Kaibutsu nim, and you as well, General Sumihara, and you, Camarlengo.”