Private Time For Tea~ [Req. Rei]

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Kitsune, being the enjoyer of high quality tea that she is, had decided that it was time for a break from work, so she grabbed her phone, and sent a quick message off to Ryuu Rei, her closest friend and confidante. It was a simple message simply containing "?" and no further explanation. Rei'd know what it meant, and Kitsune'd expect her to show up soon after. In the meantime, Kitsune'd get the water boiling so it'd be ready. In truth, there was a secondary motive to the invitation, and it involved Rei's position in the village.

See, Kitsune had plans. It'd been a solid while since Midori had last been seen, and Kitsune figured it was due to her vampiric nature, that maybe she'd gone into hibernation again. Wouldn't be the first time. But the medical branch needed more stable leadership. So the current working plan Kitsune'd come up with was simple. She'd need to convince Rei to take a more active role in the village's affairs, especially in the medical branch. With Midori out of the picture, it was the perfect opportunity for Rei to step up and fill the void. Kitsune knew that Rei had the skills and knowledge to make a real difference, and she was determined to help her friend realize her full potential. So in other words, this tea break was more than just a casual hangout. It was a chance for Kitsune to pitch her idea of making Rei the Medical Sennin to her friend, and hopefully convince her to take on a more significant role in the village's medical branch.

 

[Ryuu Rei]

A small vibration at her side alerted the moss-green haired lady to a notification being sent; a someone trying to catch her attention. It was a simple day of preparation leading up to a major mission to, hopefully, catch this Lycan problem by the scruff once and for all. Rei’s idea of prep involved a small collection of gear, a long day of relaxing, and an even longer night of embrace with her lover. It was how she had operated for years now, even before she had met Shiro, just now there was a constant in that last section of prep. Currently in the middle section of said mission arrangements and, simply wondering the food sections of the shopping district wondering if she should message Shiro for lunch, or not, the buzz caught her attention like a stray butterfly; an oddly acceptable distraction from her goals.

Reaching down, the ex-sennin snatched the little pager, (she found the phones to be witchcraft), and saw the simple little symbol of a teacup, and question mark next to it. Rei didn’t even need to see the number that had been blurred out to know it had been Kitsune to reel her in for some friend time. Fitting, considering the buzz to be had soon, it would be some time before the scientist could join her friend for another cup. Not just the wolf problem, but Ryuu Tama, was now their prisoner. To say that the Ryuu clan leader had a lot of her plat would be insultingly understated, and as usual, Kitsune had perfect timing in catching her friend while with some small leeway in Rei’s constrained schedule.

A black branch ripped through the concrete beneath her, and dragged the woman underground before popping back up seconds later in front of the main towers. This was done via a series of tunnels the woman had carved out with her plants over the year she had been back, with the only exception being the tower before her. Not that she hadn’t done it before, just that there was a nice scolding to go along with breaking part of the ANBU Sennin’s office with her last appearance.

The journey up towards Kitsune’s office was quick, at least for her. One of the few people aside from the judges themselves had as much clearance as Rei did, and people bowed with genuine courtesy as she ascended the private elevator to Kitsune’s floor where her office resided. She opened the door gently, a simple two knocks and wait to be allowed in, before striding in with a beaming smile to see her friend so…untouched by time.

Rei herself now looked nearly twice Kitsune’s age, though it was due to some rough life disadvantages than actual aging that did this. It never really caught her before just how immortal the Raikage was until now; seeing how time had taken a baseball bat to her own body. Whatever, tea time. There was already a small pool of saliva in anticipation of the special leaves their leader reserved for her most important meetings.

“So, habth yo-” Rei wiped her mouth with a blush and giggle, “Have, you been keeping up with things, Kit-chan? Yuna thinks we might actually be heading off the Lycan problem, once and for all!”

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

A smile graced Kitsunes lips as Rei entered the room. She'd just finished putting the tea leaves into two small silver mesh balls and placing them into each cup, and was about to pour the boiling water over them. "Perfect timing as always." she said with a chipper tone, as she poured the boiling water into each cup. "I was also just thinking about how nice it is to have a good friend to share tea with." She placed the cups on a small wooden tray and carried them over to the little nook where they'd usually sit, away from the big desk where Kitsune normally worked. Away from the conference table. Instead, they sat almost surrounded by curved bookshelves, creating a cozy little alcove. "Here you go, I hope you like it strong." she said with a smile, setting the tray down on the little table, before taking her own seat.

"I have indeed kept up with things. I'm hoping Yuna's correct in her assessment." she said, taking a sip of her tea. "Buuuuuuut. I'll have to admit. I do have an ulterior motive in calling you for a cup of tea." she continued, setting her cup down. "I was hoping you could help me with something." She paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts. "You see, I've been thinking about making some changes." She looked at Rei with a thoughtful expression. "I was wondering if you could help me by becoming my Medical Sennin?" She smiled warmly at Rei, hoping for a positive response.

 

[Ryuu Rei]

Kitsune was, of course, already prepared. While the ruler of the Lightning country remarked on Rei’s own timing, the medical shinobi couldn’t help but reflect on her friend’s own penchant to be in the right place, and time, with near omniscient precision. The tea already being poured and steeped was one of these moments that just left her in small awe all over again. Before Rei had even made it up, the tea had already been prepared and was within moments of her grasp.

She settled into the chair, with almost child-like impatience, and immediately felt both a relaxation, and hunger hit her all at once when the tea scent wafted her way. The Raikage always had a hand for tea, and it was how they met when she was still just barely a teenager. The gentle scents always brought Rei back to that little private office Kitsune used to make personal acquaintances, in a time before the rebuilding efforts after the war. Was once a time the Raikage, and their interest, were just better off protected by high secrecy. It made since, in a way, for a shinobi militia; but their leader was nothing if not eccentric for a Raikage. Peace, instead of war. Deals, instead of out right seizure. By the end of the Holy War, Kumogakure could have taken every last bit of land from the samurai, abolished the clans, and turned the entire country into theirs. Sometimes, Rei wish they had. Yet, their ruby-haired leader insisted on brokering peace to assuage the common-folk instead of ruling with the iron fists of the past.

So far, she had been right.

“Of course I like it strong! Honestly you should smell the coffee I make in the morning. Shiro says it looks like pudding,” she giggled a little before greedily placing the rim of the porcelain to her lips and drawing the flavored water across her senses. The flavors were alike an explosion. Nostalgic, but somehow also new. Different in just the most subtle of notes but the base was still there lifting her mood into the heavens. Rei about drank half of her cup in one go before reluctantly pulling it away; didn’t want to be rude, after all.
“So, whatcha need help with?” she said nonchalantly before reaching out to take a small teacake and bite down on the end. A burst of raspberry flavored gelatin shot into her mouth to Rei’s great pleasure before swallowing and going for a second bite - one, in which she did not finish. The words, “I’ve been thinking about making some changes,” came out of Kitsune’s mouth. That meant business. Would she need to kill someone? Wait, no, that was Yuna’s job. She sure as heck didn’t have the stamina to run the Main Branch again; not that was an issue with Kazan already doing a fine job. What on earth did she need a little washed-up scientist like her for? Foolishly, Rei didn’t give it much thought and just prepped to react and took that second bite of cake.

And nearly choked on it.

“Bwha-” she said with a full mouth before grabbing her tea to down the other half and rinse out the cake, “WHAT?! The Medical Sennin? Me? Why, I mean, Midori, and the Lycan Research, and…”
That was when it struck. The funding, the research, the breaking point of finding a cure to Kumogakure’s most notorious disease in the entire history of Lightning. Rei had been the helm of all of it, with the Raikage’s full support. They had devised the proto-cure already, and the scientist had been so wrapped up in stepping back into life she hadn’t realized how much Kitsune, a previous medical sennin, had been tutoring her. It was so easy to hide friendly banter behind lessons, and helping a friend catch up to the recent advances in technology in their time away. The news came as a shock, but she was already processing it; and just right after reminding Yuna she wasn’t a Sennin. Wait! She knew! That conniving…

“I take it our resident vampire is in one of her hibernations? Shame, but probably for the best. With the ousting of Lycans, the Hunters will be refocusing back onto other Darkners. I accept,” she said with an extended hand, “but I have a feeling this was already in the works, and you were just waiting for the right time. I’ll have you know though, I’m gonna demand one helluva retirement package.”

Rei raised her hand to accept Kitsune’s offer.