The Silent Hokey Pokey

[Keiji]

Walking across the dark and dank hollowed out building, the loud hustling and bustling of government officials and their secretaries waltzed around, back and forth, in and out of the different offices located on the right side of the hallway, the light from the windows on the opposite side shined through the trees outside, skimming outside one would notice they were on the 2nd floor with a vast and open green area, on the other side the corner of the building was visible as the building was set up as an opened box.
The estranged sense of importance of this building was visible for even the youngest of children, as the symbols, markings and intricate designs easily made one wonder of how they were even managed to be created in the first place, a trait many, if not all government owned buildings.

Granted there were offices of all the sorts, varying from commerce, to politics, from civilian loans, to bank officials.
Everything one would imagine covered all the base needs of a city such as Kumogakure.

And there in the midst of the hustle and bustle, the light brown skinned boy, only 18 years wandered in between, his arms tucked in from the sides, to try and avoid busting into someone.
He had a concerned and slightly frightened look upon his face, granted he was used to crowds, and used to people wandering close to him, but usually they all had their eyes and attention directed at him, or they were a crowd cheering on him and his group.
This on the other hand was nothing but wild crowd bustling back and forth seemingly with no cause or concern for their fellow men. And not to mention a Shinobi.

With a small piece of paper held tightly in his hand, and dressed in his usual day-to-day attire of the white training outfit he walked.

 

[Yukari]

Outside the room, there was a short hall, and then the larger main one, which bustled with activity. Patrons and messengers, assistants and secretaries, even the occasional merchant prince strode through he building with purpose. The office was like a bubble. Within, it was near silent but for the low melodies coming from a music box which sat upon a large well lit desk. The window was open, so it was easy to see how spartan the room was, as yet. In fact, there was little within save the desk, the chair in which Hikari had just sat, and the music box she'd bought to drown out the ruckus.

She was setting things to right. Weeks before, Hikari had worked from a small home office. Now she'd moved into a moderately sized, but poorly decorated room in the heart of Kumo's govrenment. She wasn't sure if it was better for her image, but it was done. After a moment, Hikari stood up, shut off her box, and left the room. She needed to stretch her legs, and the office wasn't large enough.

She closed the door and nodded to her assistant, a balding man who looked like just about anyone's uncle. "I'll be back in five minutes Kuruson." He nodded and continued scribbling. Not a man who was used to desk work, that one. She's read something tragic in his file- not all that unusual- but he had all the necessary qualifications, as well as ambitions on diplomacy, so she'd hired him.

Before she'd gotten around the corner she spotted someone familiar. "Reminds me of Keiji." She said to herself. Of course, she had sent a letter, not actually believing that she'd get a response of any kind from him, as she hadn't seen him in quite a while... since the nastiness with his family. She tried to catch his attention with a wave, as she stood just before the corner of the alcove like hall which lead to her office. "Keiji kun?" She called above the noise.

 

[Keiji]

Amidst the sound of all the hustle and bustle from the people walking back and forth, in and out a pitched, yet easily recognizable voice emitted from a girl standing in the midst of the crowd, her long red almost glowing hair catching his attention. Ahh.. a relieved sigh escaped his mouth as he quickly realized he wouldn't have to stay where he is any longer.

Walking up to her, squeezing himself in between a fat man and another of the same body structure he plopped out from in between standing in front of her with his arm bent in a weird fashion, which he quickly fixed with a small crack from his elbow and wrist. With his other hand he held it high with a flat open hand. "YO!" He said loudly with a bright grin on his lips.

"Got your letter!" He said out loud, as his eyes shifted to his sides to check if anyone attempted to listen in. Or if anyone shifted their attention in their direction.
One man did, a baldy, fat man wearing a light robe with intricate symbols. Quickly catching eye contact with him he shifted his eyes and gulped as he stood up straight, dusted himself off and walked away with what confidence he had remaining after staring into the blank white hued eyes of the Med-nin in Training.

Then leaning in close to Hikari he whispered "There we go, much better, you seem quite popular in these circles" he said assuringly with a little grin on his lips "Now, shall we?" He asked as he motioned towards the side of the wall where the offices were lined up. Naturally the assumption of why Hikari had asked to meet up there would mean she had a base of operation, that or she just liked hanging out there, the first naturally being the first assumption one would make.

Keiji's body language had quickly shifted from frail, weak looking and confused by his surroundings to passionate, strong, wilfull and confident the second his eyes spotted Hikari.
Was it all intentional acting, or doesn't he simply like crowds? One would assume the first as Keiji had always had a passionate and confident attitude about himself, well, at least a while after and before the incident.

 

[Yukari]

She watched as Keiji heard her. He seemed immediately relieved as he tried to squish through the crowd which separated him from her side of the hall. He bumped into the fat man who always tried to sit beside her and reminded her of a lordling her mother had taught way back when, and the third merchant prince who had decided she owed him a favor. "Yo!" He replied grinning.

"It's been too long, my friend." She said, grinning. "You seem better." She was referring to the fact that the last time they'd met he'd been bleeding from the eyes, or something like that. Now his eyes were blank.

"Got your letter!" He said before looking to the bald chunker who had stopped beside the hallway, attempting to listen in.

"You'd do well to move along Abe-san." She said over the bustle, as Keiji caught his attention. He did so quickly for a man of his stature, gulping as he caught a look at Keiji's eyes. They were unnerving to some, but not Hikari. The fat man shivered and continued walking, occasionally looking back as though he expected a blade in his back. The expectations of non-shinobi were always something like that. Especially when they believed themselves important.

Keiji leaned close and whispered, "There we go, much better, you seem quite popular in these circles"

"Popularity has little to do with it, my friend. Knowledge is like wealth for men like these. They'd like nothing more than to report the strange doings of Shinobi folk to their masters." She said, noting the little grin on his face.

"Now, shall we?" He asked, motioning toward the offices.

"Yeah. This way." The red haired woman lead him through the last door and past her assistant- a mild mannered balding man of about forty- who, once again, looked like a rather generic uncle type. She nodded to the man and held the door for Keiji. "Welcome to my office." She coughed, "Tis new, and I'm not yet fully moved in. There's more to come in the clutter department." She smiled as she walked in, and took a seat. “Now, about the letter…” She hesitated, “Well, no. First, it’s been a long while, Keiji. Let’s catch up… business can wait. How have you been?” With Zaku missing, and many others of her class either dead or otherwise out of contact, Hikari wanted to reaffirm friendship with someone of her own age group. “What’s it like being a med-nin?”


[MFT 414]

 

[Keiji]

Nodding with a quick motion and then following along, smiling brightly at the man standing by the office, assuming he must be her assistant.

Following along into the tight cornered and medium-sized office, noting the large and well kept, clean table and the small file cabinets in the corner, his eyes scanned across the room for any nooks or cracks, fortunately the room didn't seem too downtrodden as one would assume of offices in such an old building. Fortunate Hikari, making her way up in the world he thought to himself.

Even though they were both Genin, both bright in their minds, and both went through the hellish horror that was their exams.
It was strange to even try and remember those days, at least as of late where things before had seemed so horrible and depressive, deaths and horror, from that day, and not to mention the deaths afterwards, it has been a long time. Too long he thought to himself as he turned around, with a glaring self-imposed and self righteous smile and nudged Hikari shoulder. "y'know, I missed the times we spent together. Granted they never seemed to end in the right setting" He admitted with a curious look upon his face.

"Yeah, well, things have been.." He paused for a second to look to the side, remembering the past events in the many years he has spent out in the field, the deaths, the groups he brought out and never returned, the many kills he committed, dangerous enemies to esteemed teachers at the Hospital, his hands trembled for a few seconds until he took a quick deep breath and tightened his fists. "Hectic" He continued with a reaffirmed and plastered forced grin as he looked back at her his eyes had a hint of sadness as he closed them in the last word he uttered.

"But, now that we're alone.." He paused. "In your office.." he focused on the word 'office' "We can finally talk and hang out undisturbed!"

"What about you? What've you been up to, getting this office must've been difficult and tiring!" He commented with an unshackled voice, it would appear he hadn't completely lost his touch to his humanity if anything good can be said.

 

[Yukari]

"Hectic... Yeah, that's the word." She chuckled, "I've got diplomats from three different city states- no... four... demanding time, and concessions. Some say the reason I've done so well is that I pay homage to the blood god." She leaned back in her chair, "A rumor started some time ago by someone somewhere. Completely malicious and untrue." She said with a blank face. In reality, she did worship a blood god, but not the one people thought of. Her blood god was a fiery goddess who governed sacrifice, the moon, motherhood, and that angry bitter feeling women get for one out of the four weeks of the month, in which they might well squash the hearts of their enemies in their bare hands. Or run naked and gore splattered through the field of battle after their enemies, a crushing hammer hefted above her head. Hikari smirked at the thought, then returned to the moment. "Anyway. Yeah. I know the feeling. Hectic is hectic."

"Me? It's been a lot of putting out fires. I'm currently working on a peace treaty between Bear, Marsh, and us. Figured I needed something more than a home office to see diplomats in. Granted, this isn't the prettiest place either, but tis better. At least here, I have Kuruson- my assistant- to keep the nosy neighbors from stealing my paper." She chuckled. "Though there are more neighbors, and some of them snoop through the trash."

"Are you in contact with any of the others from the old days? Kahako is a MiT, I know." She hadn't heard from that girl in ages. "I know Zaku... has trouble with the law." She was a bit ashamed for him. He abandoned his post. He weakened the village. Hikari couldn't imagine his reasoning for such a thing, and as such considered it... beyond her, both in comprehension and duty. She thanked the stars it would not fall to her to decide the fate of her old friend. "I also hear Kaoru is in ANBU. You gonna stick with the Medical branch. I hear Kogami sama is recruiting. His branch has thinned in recent years. Especially after my aunt's death." She frowned thinking of Rin. Hikari had not known her as well as she would have liked.

"Ya know... If you're unhappy, that could be a good career path... of course Main is also always looking for capable hands. I believe we have the best opportunities, but I may be biased." She grinned.

 

[Keiji]

Placing his bum in the chair in front of Hikari's office table he listened and nodded at her words, uttering a few words in response.
"Yeah.. Hectic.." He continued after the word kept getting uttered.
"What are concessions?" he though to himself in his own mind as he simply nodded in obliviousness.
"You? A blood god believer and tribute payer? Ha! Only blood here is what's inside you and I, that and your fiery red hair, bloody mess that is" He commented the last with a bright and joking smile as he pointed at the curly and wavy hair protruding from the top of Hikari's head.
"Hectic is the definitely the word." it almost felt like he was walking in circles with the words uttered as he said them in a calm, mellow and distant tone.

As Hikari mentioned a peace treaty between Bear Marsh and Lightning country he felt reminiscent to the great battle he played a part in. The peace in Lightning country alone is shaky he thought to himself, it would a wonder if such a peace treaty ever became a reality.. Ever so closer to what one might refer to as world peace, heh, wild dreams.. he thought to himself as he leaned back with a slight grin on the side of his lips.

Hikari continued, and Keiji leaned on closer as she did so. He waved his hand in front of him flat and waved the sides up and down in an unsure fashion. "A little on and off really, it's shifty at times, with our different schedules and all" He commented to her question if he had contact with the others. Keiji unfortunately had never the opportunity to get any real time with Zaku, besides for that one class, but Keiji assumed he was important or at least played a big part for Hikari as she seemed distant when she commenting on his situation.
Upon reaching the subject of Kaoru, he nodded happily "So I heard myself, she seems to be doing great there, although I haven't heard much from her either, unsurprising really, those Anbu always seemed like such shifty fellows." Reaching for his chin upon being asked if he was going to be staying in the Medical branch he seemed considering towards his reply. He thought it through on the matter of whether he could trust Hikari with his intentions, maybe telling her would boost his chances of getting accepted? Maybe it would be a good idea to at least hear her suggestion, if she had one for that matter.
"Yes, well, The Medical Branch is fine as it is, even without me, my Sensei treats me nice" He shifted for a second as he rubbed his left leg. "Granted he did beat me up good, but it only left me stronger in spirit. And because of it, I want to get stronger.." He tightened his hands a little "Granted the Medical branch has given me a lot, and I have gotten wiser and smarter in many ways. But the Anbu Branch might teach me patience and the ability to utilize the strengths in a much better way." Confirming his words in his mind he looked across her table. "And it seems to me that the Main Branch doesn't do much other than sitting around.." He paused as he scratched the back of his head with a joking grin.. "I'd rather beat up some idiots while protecting the village without being in the spot light all the time."
"So yeah, I have most definitely considered switching to the Anbu Branch.. But I have yet to inform my Sensei of that idea" He scratched his arm as he tucked his arm in close in a concerned fashion, he honestly feared Kushin's possible responses. He can just imagine them coming from his mouth. "You wish to neglect your duties as a medical specialist and instead become a pawn for the shadow folk? Pfft.. Baa~aaka.." (note: His mind does a horrible impression of Kushin.)

"So.." He paused.. "About that letter.." He paused again as he grimaced with a concerned look on his face.

 

[Yukari]

Hikari only smiled in response to his disbelief. It was not surprising that he wouldn’t believe it, in the old days, she’d sworn by Raiden; the change had been gradual, mostly accomplished in his absence. “Hey!” She patted her hair, “Bloody mess it may be, but I’m still stuck with it! I thought men as a rule, knew better than to insult a lady’s mane.” She said, affecting a frown. “T’isn’t very polite.”

He commented that he’d had little contact with any of them, due to differing schedules, and Hikari nodded. She’d not seen Kahako… since… that awkward incident in the dojo, involving her, Zaku, and Donut. That’d been terribly embarrassing.

Upon reaching the subject of Kaoru, he nodded happily "So I heard myself, she seems to be doing great there, although I haven't heard much from her either, unsurprising really, those Anbu always seemed like such shifty fellows." He said.

Hikari nodded, and asked whether he’d change branches, and he hesitated, before deciding to trust her. She made note of both the hesitation and the eventual trust. "Yes, well, The Medical Branch is fine as it is, even without me, my Sensei treats me nice" He shifted for a second as he rubbed his left leg. "Granted he did beat me up good, but it only left me stronger in spirit. And because of it, I want to get stronger.." He tightened his hands a little, "Granted the Medical branch has given me a lot, and I have gotten wiser and smarter in many ways. But the Anbu Branch might teach me patience and the ability to utilize the strengths in a much better way." Confirming his words in his mind he looked across her table.

Hikari frowned, having no doubt as to who his sensei was. Not for the first time, she groaned inwardly, Fucking Isaki Kushin, what an ass “Being beaten is not nice treatment, Keiji-kun.” She said quietly. “it is not my place to comment on things to which my knowledge is so limited, however, I do believe I expressed my opinion on our Medical sennin, when first we both met him. My opinion hasn’t softened with familiarity.”

"And it seems to me that the Main Branch doesn't do much other than sitting around.." He paused as he scratched the back of his head with a joking grin.. "I'd rather beat up some idiots while protecting the village without being in the spot light all the time." She made a quick note to send Sennin Kogami word of Keiji’s desire to join ANBU. "So yeah, I have most definitely considered switching to the Anbu Branch.. But I have yet to inform my Sensei of that idea" He scratched his arm as he tucked his arm in close in a concerned fashion.

Hikari pointed the pen she was still holding at him warningly, a crooked grin on her face, “Hey! I’ve made some damn fine progress toward a peace treaty between three groups that openly hate each other, and I got your boss to come to a party, a feat which despite, in retrospect, probably being ill advised, as he has all the social grace of a monitor lizard, though I believe he did well- anyway! All you medical lot do is play with organs and apply band-aids with chakra!” She looked up through her lashes at him, then stuck out her tongue teasingly.

“Ah yes, the letter.” She said, “I have been having a bit of trouble with a… gentleman… by the name of Aya Kiho. Apparently his interests are out of sync with my own, in terms of the war. That is, he’d like to keep it going, and he’d like to shunt the blame for whatever he does, onto me.” She stood and walked carefully toward a bookcase. “When I first met him, he seemed a reasonable man… then his obsession with an acquaintance of mine showed him to be a bit unstable. The more contact I’ve had, the more convinced I am that he needs to be dealt with… in a nonlethal fashion. Recall that he’d like to lay blame for continued hostilities at our feet, and we don’t want any more blame than belongs there, so violence should be limited, and the solution, clever, and effective. The destruction of his reputation, for example. could be one solution.” She turned back around, and smiled, “He’s the head of a large corporation, which has been trying to get its fingers into Kumogakure. He believes because of his wealth, he is entitled to status equal to or greater than any Shinobi, or titled civilian. There are those who agree with him, mostly on his payroll. They’ll cause trouble if they can.” She said, “So… I asked you because I trust you to be both delicate and effective. Can you help me?” Hikari asked earnestly.

 

[Keiji]

Nodding in reply as Hikari continued, her red hair bouncing on her shoulders entrancing his eyes as his head nodded with her words.
The words "The destruction of his reputation" resulted in him shaking his head quickly to listen properly.

After listening to it all, he replied in a calm and collected fashion. "Yes, sure, I might be able to help, we can figure out what makes him tick in terms of his honor, and find out how we can make his honor fall to the ground like a pair of lemons squished for their liquid." He held his hand under his chin, deliberating the possible methods.
After a second or two, while continuing staring in the ground, "We could capture him, like, an interrogation for a crime, where we blame him for a crime he may or may not be involved in, that should squeeze him for any details if in fact IS involved in anything criminal, and if we found out nothing, we simply let him go, no harm done, but we stalk him, to find out if he does anything stupid like talking with any accomplices, basically a non-violent shakedown."
Then, looking back up at Hikari. "But what do blame him for? What can he possibly be involved in? What kind of acts could he possibly have commited? Any theories?" He asked in a contemplative tone.

 

[Yukari]

Hikari listeed to Keiji speak, thinking of methods to assassinate the reputation of the merchant prince. Hikari shook her head as he said, "We could capture him, like, an interrogation for a crime, where we blame him for a crime he may or may not be involved in, that should squeeze him for any details if in fact IS involved in anything criminal, and if we found out nothing, we simply let him go, no harm done, but we stalk him, to find out if he does anything stupid like talking with any accomplices, basically a non-violent shakedown."

"No, Keiji kun. If it were as easy as capturing him and charging him. I would not have asked for assistance. I would have had one of my subordinates pick him up and charge him. No, Aya san is a respectable business man. He would be able to defend himself from charges legally and financially, it would sting the village. He has invested much in Kumo's commercial districts. No that would simply make matters worse... As of now, he is involved in nothing that Kumo considers illegal. If you wish to undermine his reputation, you may wish to undermine his financial records. Perhaps you could steal them and alter them to make it appear that he is embezzling from his company. Make him appear incompetent as a businessman, or something in that refrain." She said.

 

[Keiji]

He nodded in response to her words as they came, mh, mhm, mhm.
"Rewriting and adding a few extra notes is easy enough to do. The question is whether if that is enough.."

He considered his own words and Hikari's try to decimate a strategy to best utilize the time in his house or business place if he was to attempt to sneak in.
"What of his family, the Aya? Is there anything that can be done with or towards them that might render his reputation further negatively, perhaps a cheating wife, a dumb child? We could utilize the newspapers to our advantage and get them to publicize facts of him we discover."
"Maybe we can exploit rotten branches to infest the whole tree.." He said, almost whispering.

His words was spoken with a genuine interest in the mission and not with a hint of backing down. He had practically at this point accepted the mission, he merely needed to build the best method of completing it with the most precision as possible.
He hadn't heard of the Aya family before, so he assumed they were powerful but not very public speaking, or publicly known.

 

[Yukari]

Hikari shook her head, "Aya said he never married. His family is of little consequence to him. What truly matters is the man's reputation as a business person. Missing cargos, altered manifests, funds not paid to debtors. I want his reputation shaken but not ruined. As I mentioned before he does significant business with our village, and I would like that to continue. I simply wish him to be reminded that money does not make power in Kumogakure. Power makes power." She paused, "I want him to remember his place." The Ambassador rubbed her face, "He's done good things for Kumo. The trade we see because of him greases many palms, and feeds many hungry mouths. And he is not a bad man. This is simply a case of a tool forgetting how to be properly used. More than that, I will not direct you. Do you accept the mission as it stands? I understand it may be challenging to cause harm without causing too much..." She stopped speaking suddenly, appearing as if she had just remembered something.

"I... may have one other lead for you. Aya san... is a bit in love with a friend of mine. It may profit you to look to her. Speak to her, at least. Her name is Shima Haruka. You may know her, she was a mednin for many years." Hikari wrote something down on a piece of paper, an address. "Speak to Haruka. She may remember things about Aya san that could help you. Perhaps you will find something that could help you." She passed the paper to Keiji, "If you choose to speak to her, tell her I sent you."


[mft 279]

 

[Keiji]

"Mhmm, okay I see." he responded as Hikari went on to explain how and why he shouldn't be too severe with the task at hand.
"It's fine, I'll see what I can do, and see it that it is handled." Getting up from his chair as he waved his dreadlocks behind his shoulders.

Turning his head as Hikari began talking again, "Yeah?" Listening closely as she elaborated on her sudden silence.
Love is such a frickle matter, it's surprising anyone ever abides by its ways. he thought as she explained how he was in love with someone and it apparently held much sway in his words and ways.
"I will try and seek her out and try to find out what I can. If we're lucky I'll stumble into her at random, but I hardly know how she looks, knowing her address is one thing, another is knowing her face and eyes."
Wait, he thought silently to himself as he blinked for a few seconds remembering something, That name, her file, I've seen her file in the Medical journals for a few of my patients. He remembered a few patients that had been sent his way due to a Med-nin stepping down from their position to join the Main Branch instead. Maybe I can look up her file there.. he assessed, as he stepped besides the chair he sat on.

He bowed elegantly with a smile as he concluded his visit with a few words. "I'll see to that it gets handled, I'll try and keep you informed of what I do."

Turning around he made his way to the door, then quickly turning his head and smiled nonchalantly "Oh, and you look lovely these days, Hikari, just thought I ought to let you know." He quickly opened the door so as to not let her reply and quickly made his way out.
Granted his final words may have seemed a little forced, but he did mean it, Hikari had ended her young years beautifully, and came out on the good side of the oven, which made Keiji see the promising future of having so many wonderful close friends, and yet, he strangely had a nagging feeling in the back of the mind that the only way he could ever reach any form of social acceptance he'd have to be someone he was not.

The steps he took took a direct line towards the Medical offices, he had to look through some of his paperwork, even though it was his day off.

[Topic Left]

 

[Yukari]

"It's fine, I'll see what I can do, and see it that it is handled." Getting up from his chair as he waved his dreadlocks behind his shoulders. Hikari then stopped him, telling him about Haruka. :"I will try and seek her out and try to find out what I can. If we're lucky I'll stumble into her at random, but I hardly know how she looks, knowing her address is one thing, another is knowing her face and eyes."

"She's a Shima. Long dark hair, beautiful... somewhat cold. I'd introduce you but..." She waved at her paperwork. "As you can see. She now serves as an undersecretary to Masao sama and Natsu san."

Keiji bowed again and assured Hikari that he would handle things. "I appreciate your efforts, Keiji kun." She smiled.

The mednin then went to the door, and tossed a compliment at her, He smiled nonchalantly and said, "Oh, and you look lovely these days, Hikari, just thought I ought to let you know." just as he exited.

Hikari's mouth opened as the door closed, but as he was gone, she didn't say anything. The red head was not used to compliments, and being blindsided by that one would not change the fact. Still, she smiled. "That was nice." She said signing a the letter she meant to send to Ayumu, about her mednin friend.

[mft-228 / Topic left]