The winds of change. [Private]

[Seijin]

Life is like a dice game,
One roll could land you in jail or cutting cake,
Blowing kisses in the rice rain . . .​

<i></i>

Despite the fact that Umashi had been in a coma for nearly a month, there was still the utmost care to make sure that things would be more than ready for him when he woke it. It was a foregone conclusion that the Hokage would eventually come to. There was only the question of when. Like most persons in a coma it simply seemed as though he was in a deep sleep. Sometimes he’d have fits in his sleep, sometimes he’d seem to mutter names but overall, all he seemed to do was sleep away. With the power gap in flux, the village council had announced Yamaguchi Yume as Umashi’s replacement until he woke up and then she ended up in the hospital herself.

To say that security was at an all-time high would have been an understatement. It was for that reason alone that instead of receiving a randomly assigned room for her hospital stay, Yume was sharing a floor with the Hokage himself. The perverts of the village probably tried to link the Hokage and the pop star together in some sort of twisted arranged marriage alliance snafu since Yume was the previous Hokage’s daughter but the simple fact of the matter was that it was easier to keep track of two high profile persons in one place versus spreading the village defensive forces thing. The security details were constantly pacing the floor and indeed all general medical visits were being diverted to other minor doctor offices. Umashi probably wouldn’t have preferred that but when he was out of commission, he didn’t exactly have the ability to enforce his own rules.

Like any other day it was around noon and a thoroughly vetted medic-nin was doing a checkup on his vitals when suddenly a peculiar gust began to stir the room. Looking to the window, the medic found it odd that the window was closed despite the gust but he brushed it off as simply working too long a shift. As he turned to he was looking at the Hokage’s charts when Umashi woke up in a panic. Loudly gasping for air, the Hokage attempted to reach out with a left arm that wasn’t there. Panicking at the fact, Umashi unleashed a torrent of chakra in the form heavy gust of wind. His mind racing, flashes of the previous battle came and went in his mind and despite seeing that he was no longer fighting the former Daimyo, his mind simply refused to register the difference between memory and current reality.

Having heard the commotion, a quick thinking ANBU guard fought through the chakra wave and slapped the Hokage with an elemental seal, blocking off Umashi’s elemental prowess until he calmed down. As medics began to stream into the room, Umashi began to slowly realize where he was and like the last bit of water swirling in a drain, his memories of the battle that had rendered him comatose reminded him of his lost appendage as well as his current state. The man who had interrupted the fight between the Kyuubi had somehow managed to absorb some of the essence of his connection to the sandworm. In a strange way that Umashi found hard to put into words, something was different but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Looking around at the faces of the people around him, he looked for one in particular and suddenly the gravity of the situation weighed in on him.

It would be another few hours of checks and catching up on details before he’d find himself free enough to walk the floor. With that freedom he’d switch out of the hospital robes and into something a bit less skimpy. In a simple white medic-nin robe and scrubs he made his way down the hall towards the daughter of a man he hadn’t seen in a long time. Apparently she’d come just that close to making the Hokage name a dynasty. Still waiting on the research and development branch of the medical branch to gift him with a proper replacement left arm, Umashi knocked on Yamaguchi Yume’s door and waited to be let in. They had a lot to discuss about the current state of affairs in Konoha.

OOC: Private topic between Yume and I but if anybody joins, expect to run into security, lol.

 

[Yume]

If Yume was aware, she'd be sure to appreciate that the Hokage referred to her as Yume instead of her birth name... but at the same time, she'd also scold him for tacking her family name to her alias. It was either only Yume, or Yamaguchi Kiseki. Never a mix.

Behind the doors to a private hospital room, Yume sat silently in her bed. The blankets were useless in providing warmth in a cold hospital and the mattress was just simply uncomfortable. Her brows furrowed in both concentration and frustration, as her hand pressed gingerly against her chest. It still ached quite a bit.

This was day... day three of her hospitalisation. Her recovery was as good as they could asked for--so much so that they let her change out of those flimsy hospital gowns and into comfy pyjamas at least. She was still frowning, ignoring her manager who was in sitting at bedside in the visitor's chair, even surprisingly more so even with her pyjama top half unbuttoned to reveal that vertical scar right down the middle of her chest. The cumbersome wires of the telemetry on her chest were finally off, though the epicardial wires were still stuck inside of her heart. The hand on her scar moved down over to the two pieces of gauze folded over and stuck to her lower chest.

"The scar isn't going away..." she mumbled. The scar should be done away by now, days ago even. There should be nothing but pure unmarred skin. That's how it always was when she was injured, but now... No matter how much she tried, time never reversed. The scar was still there.

"You have stitches," her manager replied, politely averting his gaze from her. "Of course it won't go away now."

Yume was silent. Her hand twitched, though it froze upon his sudden words. "Don't you even think about taking those stitches out yourself. Stop making things complicated."

The girl sighed in response. "Any leads, Oppa?" she asked, changing the subject.

"I'm still looking into it," he replied, getting up from his seat to answer the knock on their door. Yume buttoned up her pyjama top in the meantime. When the door creaked open, the manager blinked blankly from behind his glasses as the first reaction. The door widened further.

"Hokage-sama," he greeted politely, masking the uncertainty he had in his mind. He stepped to the side, looking over to the idol. "Yume you have a visitor." The girl in question looked over, the surprise on her face was put on just a fraction of second late.

"Ossan?" She scratched her cheek in confusion. "Hello?"

What brought him here? Never mind the fact that she should care that he woke up from his coma first and then ask that. But more importantly, how did he know she was here? Her expression turned a little wry, wondering if word from the tabloids travelled so fast that even a recently comatose Hokage knew of her hospitalisation. The basket and bouquet of flowers on the hospital room's cabinet drawer were many and were only growing by the hours.

Even though Yume is still in surgery in another thread, time has no meaning! Thread entered with NPC, The Manager.

Marked for training - WC: 522

 

[Seijin]

Giving a curtesy nod to Yume’s manager, Umashi walked into the room and looked around for a decent place to take a seat. The room was full of flowers and cards, none of which Umashi had been privy to having. A bit jealous that he his guard detail had dissuaded so many from sending him gifts of well wishing, he answered the girls hello in kind while finally finding a chair to sit in. “Hello.” It was with this motion of trying to sit that the awkwardness of not having a left arm came to the fore. It was an odd balancing act to hold oneself steady while legs that hadn’t been used in a month lowered the body down. Grinning through the moment, Umashi held back making a joke about his predicament as he look instead to the room that he was in and then to Yume. “You know the tabloids are going crazy with the rumors about both of us being in the same hospital right? You were a heartbeat away from being Hokage, imagine that, ha ha!”

It was at that point that a medic-nin knocked and then pushed her way into the room without waiting as she presented Umashi with the carefully crafted, nigh realistic looking prosthetic that he’d be using. A quick chakra syncing between it and his body and the suddenly Umashi looked a bit more normal. Thanking the woman for her kindness and refraining from scolding her for being rude, he marveled at the arm as he got back to the fact that he and Yume had a lot of business to consider. “So, what’re in for if you don’t mind me asking? It looks like you made out alright by my guess.” His attempt at clearing the air and setting things more to a relaxed might have come off a bit weird. Unfortunately, Umashi felt completely uncomfortable around Yume. No doubt it showed even in his body language but for that he couldn’t help it. For one, she was Kami’s daughter, secondly she was waaaaay older than she ought to be by Umashi’s math, and his math was good.

On second thought, “Scratch that, that’s rude. How are you doing today? You’ll have to forgive my manners, I’ve been talking in my sleep for about a month and in my head, everybody understands me.” He laughed nervously as he noticed for the first time the hollowness of the arm that wasn’t his own. Although the puppeteers were spot on with matching the weight of a true arm, Umashi didn’t feel the same sort of connection with this one as he had with the somewhat sentient one before. Thinking about the arm even in that small span of time triggered the memory in the back of his mind that he’d been skipping over the entire time. He was no longer full host to the sandworm and thus no longer had the protection of the sands. That’s why his chakra was in a flux and that’s exactly why the ANBU were able to affect him with the elemental seal. It seemed that the Orochi had taken more from Umashi then he’d at first realized.

 

[Yume]

"Oppa, can you get me some Pocky? I think I deserve it this time!"

Yume peered intently at the pink haired manager. The man stared back at her with a frown from behind the Hokage and sighed. He wasn't entirely comfortable leaving the old Hokage's daughter alone in a room with the current Hokage. But the look in Yume's eye told him to try, for now. They were in a hospital, what possible shit could throw down in a place like this, besides undercover assassins and noscomial infections?

"Fine, but only one," the manager conceded, leaving the room to buy this accursed Pocky. Yume's big smile dropped a little smaller to just a level above a deadpan and she looked over to Umashi. He looked awkward in that seat, nothing like a Hokage at all right now--just as how she was nothing like an idol at the moment either.

So what was she in for?

The question was quickly brushed off before she could answer, replaced instead with a generic 'how are you' instead. Yume looked over to him, her fingers twitching as if she wanted to squeeze at the scar on her chest again in hopes of removing it.

"I got shot in the chest," she answered his initial question in a nonchalant tone, as if he was indeed asking about her wellbeing. "Apparently I was really lucky, if you can even call it that. The bullet missed the sinoa... sinoarc... SA node. The bullet missed hitting my SA node by this much."

She couldn't remember sinoatrial node. She was an idol, not a medic. Yume didn't go to further detail about the incident. It wasn't like she could anyway. So far there weren't any solid leads on who would want to kill her. All she and her manager had were theories.

Well, enough about her. She should extend the same courtesy.

"Glad to see you woke up without complication. I'm surprised you can walk around after being in bed for a month though!"

Sorry about your arm, she thought of saying as she eyed the limb in question. Wait, stop. That would be rude.

 

[Seijin]

Upon hearing that Yume had been shot in the chest, Umashi couldn't help but to blurt out, “Goodness gracious!” before he quickly stole a glance at her frail (at least in his eyes) form. Shaking his head he chuckled a bit and gave the girl her props. “On the galleys your street credibility will jump ten-fold once this gets to the open seas . . . but on a serious note, say the word and whoever did this is a dead man.” He meant the last part as he suddenly grew more serious and the pleasantries seemed to flow from there. She inquired about his ability to walk and he shrugged it off as if another mere fact akin to the weather. “Thank you, the trick is to use just enough chakra to make people think that nothing fazes you.” Indeed, that’s how Umashi managed to get out of a great deal of trouble, by knowing just how to position the smoke and mirrors for maximum efficiency.

Catching her glance at his prosthetic arm he too looked at it for a moment before casing his wrist to turn in a completely unnatural 360 degree motion. “Sandworm from the Wind Country took it off with one bite. I got the ol’ bugger in the end though.” Taking the time that was focused on him, and knowing that it wouldn’t take incredibly long to buy some Pocky, Umashi decided to get down to business incredibly fast. Jarringly changing the subject he asked a rather odd question but one that would hopefully not have too heavy a series of ramifications down the line. “The event that put me in a coma was . . . or rather, is a classified Black Ops mission. It’s why you’ll probably only hear that I simply lead a force of our shinobi to take out the Daimyo with success, but at the cost of one senior shinobi as well as gravely being injured myself. Heck, the truth of the matter is that the mission was a complete failure and we, the joint forces of Konoha and Iwa, did not even take down the Daimyo, a rogue third party did.”

Umashi swallowed hard as he forced himself to try and remember the painful details but found that all that his mind could focus on were the written reports of those who were present for the mission. Reports that filled in the gaps that he still mentally had. “We’re still in the dark about who or what it was that took out the Daimyo and nearly killed me. A few good shinobi in Shinobu, Yuu Kenshin and Yaku Sara were pivotal to keeping us in the fight long enough for the majority of our forces to make it out alive. Heck, I have them to thank for my life. I’ve recommended them all for war merits and promotions but the fact of the matter is that we as a village are severely outnumbered in a country that we’re supposed to be taking the lead in. You’ve done your fair share of traveling, what’s your take our current situation?” She was probably the least qualified person to be his hospital confidant but seeing as how she was here, Umashi would make her earn her rank today. Speaking frankly as he was, he kept did his best to look her in the eye as he wanted her sincerest thoughts on the matter. Lies would not help any right now.

OOC: I’d assume your tours have taken you around the country, lol.

 

[Yume]

Yume was confused. The sudden change of topic from pleasantries to classified shinobi business talk threw her for a loop. She scratched her cheek, mildly wincing at the ache where her sternum was literally wired together as she soaked in the information. Her eyes were closed when the flash of annoyance flickered through them; was he asking about mercenaries, criminal or secret organisations because she was from one herself? In the technical sense anyway. Her conscientious unawareness of what was happening within the underbelly was keeping her safe from their nefarious schemes.

Well, it kept her safe up until she got shot without a warning.

Guess being blissfully ignorant was no longer an option. Yume turned her head to look at Umashi with a shake of her head, mostly in disbelief than a negative. "Forgive me, but I don't go associating with unscrupulous groups when out touring." Her voice dropped to a whisper quickly. "Though there are rumours of an idol I collaborated in the far north of the country with ties to an underground mob. Just rumours though! You didn't hear it from me."

She patted the thin blanket that was covering her knees in a rhythmic manner as if she was contemplating hard. "Mm... honestly, if you're asking if I have any idea who might have taken out the Daimyo, I have no clue. Maybe..."

Yume paused, a hand to her chin and an eye narrowed in thought. "Rogue... Rogue... This mysterious third party might even use a proxy. I have heard whispers of an independent organisation that does whatever for good pay, but that's under the assumption whatever third party took out the Daimyo did that instead of doing it directly. Dunno the name. I dunno, ossan. The old man did always say that money talks."

Typical Kami. There wasn't much more to say at the moment; not when her eyes were still half closed to the underbelly. Umashi would probably have to come back to her after she had sorted out this incident, and not of her own volition, resume some part of her "family business." At the very least, she hoped this was just going to be temporary. The girl stretched her arms carefully, waiting quietly for the inevitable knock on the door. When it did, her manager popped his head through, box of Pocky in one hand.

"Yay, Pocky!" Yume brightened up, reaching out her hands in a grabby fashion like a child. The male merely held it out of her reach with a raised brow.

"Did you walk today?"

She dropped her hands and fell silent, glowering. "No..."

"We'll walk around the ward, then you can have your sweets." The manager turned to the Hokage with a bow of respect before smiling politely at him. "Excuse the interruption, Hokage-sama. Yume has only been lazing in bed instead of rehabilitating today, so we'll be going for a walk around the ward soon. If there are any other things to discuss with her, I can leave momentarily."

If Umashi still had more things to discuss with Yume, the manager would leave the room until the talk was over and Yume buzzed the call button on her bed for nurse assistance. If not, the manager would start helping her out of bed. Getting out of bed was a pain. She'd have to cross her arm across her chest, lest she wants those wires to break and pop open her chest.

 

[Seijin]

Listening to the girl speak, Umashi could almost believe that she wasn't privy to much that was going on around the world but then he remembered who her father was. Yeah, she had ties to information if she needed it. A bit disappointed when her manager friend walked back in the room, Umashi shook his head at the prospect of forcing him to leave again. “No, I won't be taking up much more of her time, plus, what I have to say will be made public in due time anyway.” Getting up to stretch his legs, Umashi reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a simple looking white envelope. On it was the official seal of the Hokage stamped in a heavy red ink. Looking at it for a second before looking at Yume and then looking at her manager before looking at all the gifts in the room, his brow furrowed as he realized that he'd definitely be ending a small part of her life one way or another today.

To some it might not seem all that fair that he could do that as the Hokage but such were the powers granted to him. “I believe that your father appointed me in much the same matter of fact way but congrats kid, you're now the Magistrate of Music err, Management . . . which is to say in a bunch of legal mumbo-jumbo-way-more-complicated-than-it-needs-to-be-jargon, that as of today your a non Branch bound Sennin of Konoha over village affairs. Your skill as a teacher has been noted by the village council and especially appreciated by myself and now you're basically stuck doing that . . . until I die or retire and then you'll be Hokage!"</COLOR><i></i> He said the last part with a smirk on his face and then handed the letter directly to Yume.

Stuck somewhere between pride and fear, he wondered both just how much she'd accomplish and just how many people would soon be questioning him for appearing to bend to nepotism. For a fact nobody could deny the girls work, but her career as a K-Pop Star did make her stand out a bit from the norm. Not waiting much for her to acknowledge the honor or give much of a reply at all, Umashi begin to give Yume the minutes that she was now privy to. In an unfortunate way, she was no longer going to be able to enjoy the life that she was used to. <COLOR color="#008000"> “So yeah, right quick, I'm about to head off to Kumogakure in order to open up some trade routes. I'll probably be taking a shinobi or two with me for protection and learning, yada yada yada. Also, being that you are M.O.M. aka Sennin, while I'm away, you really are truly in charge. Just as a heads up, there's this dude named Ha who was with me on that mission that I mentioned before hand, apparently he wormed his way into being Head Jounin and some of the village council have mentioned that it was by fishy means.

I ask that you start an investigation into who he paid off because the last thing we need is a weak village council. That and I would really, really, really appreciate it if you could start working on communication lines with Sunagakure, either you or I will have to venture there to getting trade talks with them as well. Iwa has a decent name with them but we have to reassure them that Konoha is stable now.” Playfully likening Yume to being an actually mother based upon her new rank, Umashi would make his way toward the door as he spoke but before he left he said one final thing. “Oh and one more thing . . . I truly do mean it when I say congratulations Yamaguchi Kiseki, I trust that you'll do well.” With that being said, Umashi left the girl to her whims.

OOC: Topic left unless stopped.
OOC #2: Yume promoted to Sennin (Leaf Sennin are considered Branchless).
OOC #3: Ha promoted to Head Jounin and all Event promotions are also now in effect.
OOC #4: So what if I didn't combine my OOC messages!!! Pardon my typos ~

 

[Yume]

Yume stared blankly at the envelope held out for her to take. She didn't move, leaving the scene to grow a little bit awkward until her manager cleared his throat and took the letter on her behalf. He opened it for her, reading through the contents; though unneeded, what Umashi said out loud basically covered what the letter contained, albeit in a more informal way. The Hokage left the room before Yume could say anything in protest. Hell, she barely reacted to her real name being used.

The door closed behind him, leaving the recovering idol and her manager in the room, dumbfounded at the events that unfolded. Finally, Yume took the letter from him and read it herself.

"Me? Sennin?" she muttered, raising an eyebrow. "What kind of unwanted nepotism is this?"

The manager didn't say anything yet. As an agent of the Yamaguchi, he was inwardly pleased of how things played out. As the manager of U<3ME, he found it a pain now that he would have to rearrange her schedule and balance the amount of idol to village tasks in her life. Well, it seems like Yume's shinobi and idol life couldn't be kept totally separate anymore.

"So..." Yume's voice broke him out of his ever calculating thoughts. He looked down to the girl who was peering back up at him, having somewhat accepted of the fate dealt to her. "Does that mean our world tour will have to start with Suna?"

He rubbed his chin in thought, taking the letter from her and stashing it in his planner. His lips were in a deadpan, but Yume could make out the amused smile in his eyes behind his glasses.

"It seems that way."

Topic left, marked for training - WC: 250+