To Regain Power {Osuteno/Kitsune}

[Uragaeshi Riyoji]

[col]Two letters. Two letters were sent, both containing the same message, to two big names in the village know as Kumogakure. The first, to a clan known for their long standing relationship with the village, as well as the powerful bloodline each member holds which gave their group such power. Beyond that, only rumors. This letter contained not only the invitation to meet, but asked for permission to meet in their residence. Upon receiving a letter of approval, a second was immediately sent to the second clan. This was was known for their successful businesses in several industries, as well as their contributions to Kumo over the years. And most recently, for the drama caused at the village's lightning festival. This group, too, had many rumors revolving around it. These letters were sent by an ancient clan, who were accepted into the village years before the notorious Demon Wars that plagued Kumo. Their powers and title were stripped from them after being falsely accused for taking up arms against the village and its people, but those who knew otherwise saved them from exile, or even death.

"So a reclusive group obsessed with blood and a family made up of business people..." The girl assigned to ensuring the success of this meeting was none other than Kyodo Tesaki, the daughter of the Kyodo clan's current leaders and the most likely candidate for the future Matriarch. "How the hell do they expect me to convince these people to go along with our idea?" She whined as she and a group of small hooded figures walked through the village. They were all headed for the Chigokai's residence, where the girl hoped to strike a deal between the clans that would be beneficial for all parties involved. It was sunny on this day, and surprisingly warm as well. For Kumo, anyways. Tesa's large black horns shone in the sun, and brought attention to not only her, but those that followed her as well. Whispers could be heard from most of the commuters on the street, each one asking "what's going on", or "who could they be?" But who could blame them? It wasn't every day you saw a girl covered in summoning signs with large horns being followed by a group of little demon people in cloaks, right? But despite any attempts to berate or frighten the girl, she went on without even noticing anything different.

This wasn't because of her oblivious nature however, it was because nothing was different. Those damned demon wars made most of the villagers, shinobi, and government officials hate anyone associated with demon kind, so a clan that coexists with them isn't exactly a welcome sight. So everything said, is something that was most likely heard some time ago. Most people didn't take the time to think of something creative anymore, always shouting the same damn insults they always have while she marched happily on.|

[/col]

After a bit of walking, it was pretty obvious the group had reached their destination. Strange architecture, massive walls, blood red colors.. Tesa couldn't think of anything else that would make the building more obvious! "For a clan who's supposed to be reclusive, they sure like to show off their wealth." Masuta commented.

"Don't go saying anything like that during the meeting, might make me repeat it. And that is a rumor, so it might not even be true!" Even for fellow clan member's, seeing other people talking to themselves was always a strange sight to see. Not only that, but it was always a bit awkward doing it in the first place, most others don't realizes that there's another living being inside each of the clan members, so to them it just looks like they've got a bad case of the crazy's. Almost as soon as they arrived at the large complex, they were greeted by a young female servant, accompanied by an older servant of the same gender.

"If you'll come with us, our lady is waiting for you in the Maze Gardens." As the young girl held her hand out to the side, the large door leading to the entrance opened slowly, and once the group began moving again, so did the servants. The pair made sure to stay a few steps ahead of them, and would take sudden turns here and there without warning.

The group of fledglings looked around, fear in their eyes while Tesa continued to be her happy self. Further in now, the sound from the outside world seemed to be blocked out entirely. No footsteps, no haggling, no yelling. It was almost surprising how well concealed such a large building could be, and it only got worse once they entered the center of the maze. But at this point, the lack of sound wasn't what mattered. On the opposite end of a medium sized table, was a disturbingly large, pale woman arguing with the first male servant they'd seen since arriving. There were plenty of servants on the way, but it almost made it strange to see one that had male extremities since all of those ones were female. The servants that led them to this place bowed and exited, leaving only the group with Tesa and the woman and her servant. The girl simply stared for a few moments, before realizing it might be a better option to say something. "Kyodo Tesaki, I'll be representing the clan that asked you here today." She gave a slight bow before spinning on her heel and facing the hooded figures, "Go on then, introduce yourselves!" Each of them gave her a blank stare, then looked at the large woman without saying or doing anything.

"You know they won't..." Masu sighed.

"Shut up! You never know!" Tesa whispered as a reply before spinning back around. "Sorry about that, they're still young. New surroundings. Unfamiliar faces. All of that, I'll set em' straight later. Mind if I take a seat?" If Ookami allowed it, the demon girl would take a seat and get comfortable, "Guess we're still waiting for on more huh? I'll save all the business stuff for then, how was your day?" Small talk would be her only salvation, there was no way she would survive with absolutely no talking. Even with all of the servants bringing various food and drink items in for everyone to enjoy.

{MFT}

 

[Osuteno]

Spoiler

"Oh holy fucking Raiden and the hundred odd damn ancestors, my head is killing me!" Such was a normal wakeup for Chigokai Ookami, leader of the Chigokai clan which has stood vigilant over the Village Hidden in the Clouds since its creation. Despite having the ability to handle more liquor than two dozen men she always managed to drink too much even for her... Actually she had a few men and women tied up around here somewhere. It would be best to get the servants to find them all before they got hungry or something. Tanake, the annoying old man that had been her own mother's head butler, was saying something to her about it being after noon and getting dressed and something about the proper state for the clan head. Aion's tits, the man needed to shut up from time to time. Blah, blah, blah, blah... Wait... "What was that about a meeting?"

Spoiler

"Ah so you are awake. And here I thought I was simply wasting my breath, there is hope yet." She was going to have his tongue removed one day. "I said that you should not have had that second cask of sake last night when you knew we would be having a meeting today with the head of the Shinrya Clan and a representative of the Kyodo... Clan."

"That was today? Oh I hope Kitty brings some sake, they make it so smooth. I wouldn't mind a taste of her either though... Who are the Kyoda Clan?"

"KyoDO clan, Lady Chigokai. The..." He hesitated," The demon affiliated bunch." Several nearby glasses, vases, and frames cracked in the brief moment Ookami's temper rose, and all the servants in the room felt briefly as if their blood was about to be ripped from their bodies.

"Ah wait you mean the clan that was disgraced after the war. My mind jumped somewhere else briefly. You shouldn't use the term affiliate so vaguely, it made me think of something else entirely." Tanake covertly dabbed a bead of sweat off his face while the maids were still recovering.

"My apologies Lady Chigokai. I hope you at least remember now that the lunch is in less than an hour, and that it will be held in the maze? As you yourself scheduled?"

"The maze? Really? When did I do this again? Was it Monday? I was completely wasted on Monday."

"It was and you were indeed. I would suggest remaining sober at least until business has been discussed. In fact I insist."

"YOU don't get to insist anything to me. But you are right. Give me the same sized glass as the others and get this over with." She stood up already finding one of the tied up playthings under her covers and stood in front of the mirrors while the servant grabbed a footstool and set about dressing her. From a distance no one would notice much odd about Ookami except the bloody eyes which were a mark of the clan and her palor. It wasn't until you got close to her than you realized that, while proportional and curved in the right ways, she was a giant. At 6'5" she towered over most people.

Mere minutes before the guests were expected to start arriving Ookami left her chambers with a group of servants in tow. One wouldn't be able to tell she had just recently been sleeping still. Some of her irritation left as she entered the maze, it was much quieter and she didn't hear as many hearts beating, and she soon sat down at a table that was just receiving its finishing touches. She noted the table wasn't being set to include any of the branch family heads. Good, they were a rather serious lot and would simply make her mood worse.

"Tanake... what is wrong with the flatware?"

"It is no fairy tale that some people of demon ancestry and association actually do possess an allergy to silver, I served with a few such folk back in my day. Killed many more. I am simply taking precautions on behalf of our guests."

She held up a plated gold spoon. "I understand THAT. Do you realize how gaudy this looks? Why didn't you just use the steel?"

The butler harrumphed in a most spectacular fashion. The British would have made him their king if they heard such a harrumph. "They lack any sort of pattern and possess a simple elegance madam. And they are steel under the plating. Plain steel flatware at the table, not on my life."

At that point a young woman and some... children?.. entered the clearing. Tanake oddly enough didn't seem surprised and apparently the servants had already informed the kitchen staff that there were young ones as a couple small round tables entered the clearing and were set up properly.

She couldn't help but notice that the lot of them seemed rather unsociable. They really needed to get out more and out of those depressing clothes. Of course most would argue that her own state of dress was too 'sociable' with a neck deep enough to hang a man but that was not something that she could concern herself with.

"Yes, have a seat Tesa-Chan. I am sure our date will be here soon enough and we can discuss whatever your business is then. And children are, unfortunately, mostly seen and not heard these days. Rather dull when they are serious before leaving their mothers' aprons. As for my day it has been short and dreadful. I might have had one cake too many last night and my head is splitting right now from even their little heartbeats." She said it in a rather uncaring fashion with an honest amount of irritation. "Not to mention my sleep was interrupted not too long ago and I have yet to have the hair of the dog yet... Speaking of which, Tanake something one of my playthings said last night is pissing me off still, he said I should consider getting a tan. Find the one with fresh scars on his thighs and have him work in a field or something for a month wearing nothing but what he was born with. He could stand to gain a bit of muscle and he would be in a position to comment on my lack of sun at that point. Oh and find Hanaka and get her something pretty. She is becoming quite the linguist and deserves a treat."

She turned her attention back towards the young woman with the horns. "Just a bit of housekeeping before I forget. I don't intend to ignore you Tesa-Chan, when you have as much to go through in the day as I do sometimes you have to call things out when you think of them to make sure everything gets taken care of. Speaking of which, you appear to be in the blossoming stage of your womanhood..."

"Madam!" Tanake exclaimed and he was waved at dismissively by the clan head.

"Relax you old windbag. I was simply about to ask the girl how much time the girl is taking to enjoy her youth, for now." She turned to the young woman and waited while listening for new heartbeats to enter her range of hearing.

OOC: Topic entered with NPCs

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Kitsune awoke that morning to Airisuke gently nudging her. ”Wake up Mistress-sama. You have an important meeting today with the Kyodo clan and the Lady Chigokai.” she informed and laid out an outfit for Kitsune to wear. It hadn’t been long since they returned from Kitsunes second province, but improvements were already well underway. Of course, the plans Kitsune had set in motion meant a gigantic boom for the construction sector, and jobs were abundant. So long as there were funds to implement it all, things would work out wonderfully. And with Kitsunes clan having practically unending coffers, things would work out. Hopefully the dear Shogun would be pleased with the progress (and resulting increase in tax revenue).

”What time is it, Airi-chan?” Kitsune asked, only to be informed that she had about two hours to get to her meeting. She groaned loudly and sat up. ”Two hours? Why so early? What the heck was Ookami thinking? … Scratch that. She was probably drunk off her tits again.” Kitsune mumbled with a sigh as she got out of her bed and stretched in all her naked glory. Okay, so, a meeting. This meant Kitsune had about one hour and fifty-five minutes to get ready in. Plenty time.

First, she showered, being assisted by Airisuke with the washing of her back, as well as the maintenance of her long hair. Then came getting dressed, which today meant a tight black frilly dress with an accompanying leather corset, thigh-length socks and elbow gloves. Next came the breakfast, a small meal consisting of seven dishes; she was in a hurry today. Finally, as Kitsune was about to head out the door, Airisuke handed her a sealing scroll and smiled. ”Your hostess gift to the Lady Chigokai. Don’t worry Mistress-sama. It’ll please her.” she said in a mischievous tone.

With that message, Kitsune nodded and put the scroll down the dress due to the lack of pockets. And with that, she was on her way, vanishing from sight in a swirl of nothingness, and re-appearing in the maze, only a few steps from the table. Secretly, Kitsune hoped to have surprised Ookami with the sudden appearance, kinda like how Hisako scared the pants off of Osu-kun whenever she showed up. She had arrived right at the moment where Ookami mentioned a Hanaka and calling her a linguist. ”Mornin’ Ookami-chan~” Kitsune said in a cheery tone, knowing full well she was likely hungover as hell right about now.

She took a seat and smiled to the girl across the table. ”Ookami-chan. Would you say that she’s a cunning linguist, then?” Kitsune said with a grin before passing the sealing scroll to her. ”I have a feeling you’ll appreciate what’s inside this scroll.” she said. Scribed on the inside were several seals. One marked ‘bottle’, with a few lines leading from that to another seal marked ‘cask’, and a third separate seal, marked ‘private’. ”So. We’re here. And for some reason I was invited as well. Quite curious. Tesa-chan, was it? Any particular reason for my being requested here?” Kitsune asked, cutting right to the chase about this whole thing.

[MFT; WC: 520]

 

[Uragaeshi Riyoji]

Tesa chuckled at the large woman's remark, it was absolutely true that children rarely knew how to introduce themselves to anyone older nowadays. However, that wasn't quite the reason these children did nothing but stare. They knew what was going on, and they were likely too distracted analyzing every detail of Ookami so that they would know how to deal with her later down the road. "Ah, I apologize. I didn't realize you could.. Hear heartbeats." This was the last comment she could get out before some "housekeeping" was taken care of. The way the woman handled her "playthings" was rather surprising to the young girl, she'd never seen someone so... She couldn't even find a word to describe it, sexual might do it, but she could only imagine someone having one plaything if that were the case. And working in a field completely naked? That just sounded like torture!

Soon after Ookami was scolded by her servant -- which was also rather strange to see -- another woman appeared rather suddenly, making Tesa jump a bit at her arrival. Judging by the red hair and her association with the first woman she met, she could only assume that this was Shinrya Kitsune. And if she was wrong, that would be quite embarrassing. The red head quickly greeted her and suggested they get on with business soon. "Of course! I guess that's why we're here huh? Sorry Ookami-san, we'll have to talk about my blossoming womanhood later." Even though she wanted to give a sigh of relief, she knew she wouldn't be able to without coming off as disrespectful. Tesa gave the children, who now sat at the tables set for them, a wave of her hand. This was the signal for them to stand up and in a line behind her. The had to refrain from standing up as she was originally instructed, as she wasn't expecting something as casual as lunch in a garden, but she was sure she would get the point across.

"So, as I'm sure you both already know, the Kyodo once had quite the name for themselves within the village. And although we certainly haven't been around as long as the Shinrya and Chigokai, I'd imagine we were shown about the same amount of respect. If not, a little lower." Pausing for a moment, Tesa gave the two the chance to switch gears. "As another well known subject, we also lost all of our power in the matter of days after being blamed for taking up arms against the village during the Demon Wars. Depending on your views, you may believe this to be true, or you may not. But the fact of the matter is that we were falsely accused that day, and were only allowed to remain in Kumogakure if we agreed to live as mere villagers or shinobi. Many men and women from our clan died that day, and-"

"Tesaki, back on subject."

"Excuse me, that matter is mostly unrelated to why I called you both here... Today, as a representative of the Kyodo clan, I wish to make an agreement with the both of you. Our clan, once again, seeks power within the village. And as I said before, you both hail from clans that are among the oldest in the village. So we believe that you may be able to help us." Tesa took a moment to breath, and calm down a bit more before continuing, "Our main problem our clan is facing currently, is the lack of a residence. And land, of course, costs money. All of the money earned by members of the Kyodo go to feeding our people." One last pause was given for the two leaders to take in the information given, "I'm sure you both know where I'm going with this by now, we need funding. And to regain power, we need contacts. But we do not expect you to just give those to us." Tesa held out her arm as a way to present the children behind her. "Each of the individuals you see behind me now are children from our clan," As the pale girl spoke, each child removed their hood to reveal a small set of horns, or snake like eyes, or other demonic features, "And as bad as this may sound, we offer one child of your choice in exchange for funding."

"That won't do, explain it better."

"But these are no mere children, we all grow with a demon who is like a twin to us. Born at the same time, just like a human twin, only they live within us and grow each day, as we do. If raised properly, and if they develop a strong enough bond with their demonic brother or sister, they have the potential to match or even surpass the power of a similar entity, such as a jinchuuriki. For their bond is by choice, not by force, and this kind of bond has allowed even me to tap into the raw power of the demon race." With that, her explanation was done, and the reason for the children's nervous behavior revealed. "I will let you both think about your decision, or ask questions before we discuss the conditions of the agreement. If there will be one."

 

[Osuteno]

Ookami shot a wry smile at Kitsune as she stepped out from thin air. Ookami found it funny that she was around halfway between the age of the other woman's appearance and her actual age. A lot of people called Ookami undead when they thought she wouldn't hear them, but that suited the head of the Shinrya Clan much better. Still, the other woman had a similar reputation for hedonistic pleasures and didn't let the dull fools around her shame her from it, so they were rather cut from the same... maybe not cloth, their patterns were rather different, but maybe their material was similar. As such Ookami didn't really mind being friendly with her.

"Oh that girl is very clever with her tongue Kitty-Chan, though it isn't nice to tease at my sleeping schedule. This morning thing the common folk speak of was hours ago. I actually saw a little of it before passing out the other day, surprisingly enough." Ookami didn't have to glance at the scroll for more than a second before the "bottle" was unsealed. "Oh you are such a good doctor Kitty, you know just the medicine to fix me up!" Ookami winced slightly from her own loudness but seemed to recover quickly after having a servant heat the bottle and pour her first glass and she downed it with a stereotypical kyaa sound as if she were a younger woman chugging a beer. She perked up a bit as she could already feel her hangover relaxing. Ookami went through three more glasses before Tesa-Chan's little presentation was over.

The first thing that came to Ookami's mind was that the girl needed a few more lessons in business speech. She was too stiff and was a bit quick to tangent. Ookami wasn't surprised by what they were requesting aid with but... while not unheard of it certainly was uncommon for a house to offer children to servitude these days. She looked over the children with a hard and studying gaze. She listened through to the end of the explanation and set down her glass

"For the sake of simplicity I will just refer to them as Jinchuuriki. Now, how many are in your clan these days Tesa-Chan? How much land do you seek to acquire and where if there is any particular place you have in mind. I am rather curious as to how much funding do you seek. But first," Ookami turned to Kitsune. "Kitty-Chan, there are plenty of rumors of you and my little bunny trap messing with formerly forbidden things down in the depths of that hospital. Do you know much about the compensation being offered? The extent of my education and experience when it comes to demons and jinchuuriki is what to expect when fighting one and how to kill them."

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Kitsune grinned ”See, I figured you’d like that. The second one is for later, and the third seal is for… Much later…” she said, ending with a sly smirk. As Tesaki began to speak, going off on a tangent about the demon wars and death and what not, Kitsune nodded. ”I remember those events. You were accused for assisting the demons in their invasion, fighting against the Kumogakureans. I recall arguing against the circumstantial evidence, but they didn’t listen.” she said, revealing a bit about just how old Kitsune actually was.

Tesaki continued her explanantion and as she spoke, Kitsune began forming an impression of what exactly it was she was asking for. And the fact that she was willing to exchange other humans to obtain it was surprising. Slavery wasn’t exactly uncommon, but it was mostly in rural areas it was seen. Not in urban areas like Kumogakure. ”I’m with Kyuu-chan on this one. We’d need to know more about the amount you need before we can even form the foundation for an agreement.” she said, leaning back in the chair she had planted herself in. ”I bet there are rumors. But I’m fairly sure they’re all vastly exaggerated, my dear Kyuu-chan.”

She smiled before continuing ”I haven’t gotten around to the Jinchuuriki parts of my trials yet, but I do however possess my very own sealed demon, that I can do experiments with. Closest thing to a Jinchuuriki I’ve worked with, is someone with demonic genes in their veins. Her name is Nikkou Yuuki. Her dad was the demon. Though, from her description, he isn’t like the demons we saw during the war. On the contrary, if you saw him, you’d think he was Chigokai.” she said, now grinning before delivering the punchline. ”He. And his daughter. Drink blood. They’re both vampires.”

Struggling to contain her laughter, Kitsune continued ”I’m sorry Kyuu-chan. I couldn’t resist. But in all seriousness. I know that Jinchuuriki have the potential for great power. And destruction. If they don’t learn to control their powers, they could wreck entire city districts. By that alone, it’d be in our best interest to ‘help’ them control it.” she explained while straightening her frilly dress a bit as she adjusted her position in the chair to pull her legs up under her. For some reason, sitting normally hindered her thinking, or so she claimed anyways.

 

[Uragaeshi Riyoji]

It was interesting to hear that Kitsune had successfully captured a demon without the use of a human vessel, but the fact that she had tried to research jinchuuriki -- or demons at least -- in the past nearly made Tesa smile. That, and the willingness to possibly accept demon children for potential trading "items." "You see, that's where we are different." She smiled as she rose from her chair, walking behind the one of the children. "It may not be uncommon for someone with demonic ancestry to show demonic traits like these children do, but the species of demon that reside within us are actually weaker initially. Most members of our clan do not have any resemblance to their demon until they reach a certain age, or become powerful enough for their demon's traits to show dominance over their normal, human traits. For these children to show any sign of their relation to demons at such a young age is honestly remarkable." After boasting about the strength of the children with her, she returned to her seat. "As for what we plan to do with the money, and how much we would need. We plan on building a rather large estate somewhere in the Ancient Forest; the number of members in our clan has reached the point that our current residence is too crowded, and we've had to separate and spread ourselves amongst the city. If we continue growing as we are, we would likely begin to lose members, forget our traditions, the clan would practically cease to exist. As for the cost, we estimate that we'll need about one million yen total for the materials, and the rest would be to increase our reputation in Kumo." Letting the two think about the price for a moment, she would try and explain better why she brought the children.

"Now, it is not necessarily uncommon for children to show demonic traits early, regardless of their level of skill and bond with their counterpart. So that is not the only reason I chose these five children to accompany me today, they have proven themselves time in time again to be among the best fighters and scholars in their age group. The cream of the crop if you will. So they have the highest chance of becoming what we now call a "Zentai." These are the shinobi in our clan that have achieved the level of power, and a strong enough bond with their demon to match the power of a jinchuuriki, or even surpass the power of one. As I said before, the bond is not forced upon them, so there is far more room for cooperation." Another pause was taken as she sipped some tea that was given to her by some of the servants. The children had a brief moment of happiness when they were complimented, but they were still aware that they may be sold soon enough. "There is also a certain level of risk in this, as I'm sure you already knew, but there have only been two incidents I can recall. You see, we don't seal the demon inside of their host's. Usually, the pairs remain in a state of equilibrium, but there have been times where the demon consumes too much power. This is easily identifiable, and the most logical solution has been to seal the demon rather than kill them both, so even if it happens, there should be no real problems."

"Come now, are you really embarrassed to say such a thing?"

"*Cough* *Cough*... I also heard a rumor that the chigokai favored females over males, so I was sure to mostly bring our little girls. There is only one exception in the lot you see behind me." Upon being called out, the boy looked up from the ground and glanced at the two women sitting with Tesa. "Also, the prices I mentioned before are fully negotiable. It would be ideal, however, if you could give us half a million yen each for the child of your choice. And if you would like to examine one you've had your eye on, you are welcome to.

 

[Osuteno]

Ookami smirked at the nickname that was used on her. Kyuu-Chan, was that some reference to her height? It didn't matter though, and did sound a bit cute. As it turned out the rumors that Kitsune was studying kinjutsu weren't completely unfounded. At the very least she planned to in the future if she wasn't already. Ookami's eyebrow raised as she heard there was a demon who could visibly pass for a Chigokai up until Kitsune said drink blood. When the word vampire was used, with the exception of Tanake, the entirety of her staff flinched and froze. There was even the sound of a tray of utensils clattering to the ground and a glass breaking. The word vampire had become a very ignorant and hate filled term for Chigokai in some parts of the world. Some of those parts were very close to home. The last time the word had been used within the estate had been nearly 6 years ago as far as the servants knew. No one wanted a repeat of the incident that followed.

But Ookami didn't flare up. She wasn't the cause of a glass or twenty breaking. She didn't even become tense. She simply said, "Actual vampires? I have to know, has the bunny met her? With how timid the little thing is I can only imagine how frightened it was." The servants quickly started moving again as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Tesa-Chan proceeded to elaborate a little on the life cycle of her clan as well as their situation. One million yen was all that they were after for two of their children. It would certainly allow them to buy a section of the forest and the lumber would cheapen the cost of building significant;y. If they performed their own construction labor it was feasible for the amount, particularly if they limited themselves and passed on many modern amenities. Something more traditional most likely.

The thing Ookami was mostly concerning herself with wasn't the price, she would barely notice paying such an amount. Rather it was how eager this clan was to sell children. Children with Jinchuuriki-like potential. It felt rather like a long term arms investment. Ookami began wondering if this clan planned to do this every time they needed money, or if they already had other investments lined up. Ookami glanced at Kitsune. No, when it came to wealth this table was probably the highest concentration in the village at the moment. They were likely the first to be brought this offer. Ah it wasn't like herself to be so cautious. "I see no problem with the amount you ask for, but I have to wonder if your clan will make a habit of this sort of arrangement. By many interpretations this would be considered an arms deal and it is well within the concern of the Chigokai as to what happens with military resources in this country. It wouldn't due to hear of some unsavory types like yakuza or worse duchy holders, no offense Kitty-Chan you are Cloud aristocracy first in my eyes, to have access to such chakra weapons. It is very important to me the such stays within responsible Kumogakuran hands. But yes you are right to bring mostly girls. I don't mind having a few boys around but my cousins, the branch heads, would have aneurysms if I brought a young man unrelated to the clan to live on the grounds. They can barely accept such a young stud like Tanake here." She said the last bit with obvious sarcasm as the man was well into his sixties. While young women were everywhere about the estate, there were only about ten male servants, not a one under 50 and each had to be far beyond qualified to get their positions. It said much about Tanake that he was the only male head of the servants for about 200 years.

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Kitsune nodded ”I know, right? Who knew such things actually existed? As it turns out, the garlic thing? That’s just because of allergies. And yes, Osu-kun met her. Of course, he wasn’t made aware of her heritage and nature until AFTER the procedure had been performed. It would’ve hindered his performance, so I decided not to tell.” she said, ending with a sly smile. Then Tesaki began explaining more about their bond with the demon and various other rather exposition-y things. Who knew so much exposition could be crammed into that short a monologue?

”So in other words, it’s a symbiotic relationship with the demon, like that one science fiction show starring Richaado Diin Andaason based on that movie starring Kuruto Rasseru. With the being from beyond the stars that took over a person. And the off shoot species where they live in harmony with their host.” Kitsune surmised ”So, one million, huh? Well, at least it isn’t a loan from your dad to get started.” she commented and grinned ”But yeah. I’m gonna have to agree with Kyuu-chan here, if you’re this willing to ‘sell’ off your own clan members to get off the ground, so to speak, who’s to say you wouldn’t do it to less savory types?”

Then Ookami had to mention duchy holders, as if all Dukes and Duchesses were bad. It made Kitsunes head turn to Ookami and a glare be sent. ”Hey. I worked hard to get where I am now, Kyuu-chan. And my position as owner of two provinces make me uniquely qualified to provide jobs. Heck, I’ve made tens of thousands of jobs recently with the revitalization project of my duchy.” she said, a little miffed that she had specifically said duchy holders. But! Time to let that go for now, and resume the conversation at hand.

”Somehow, I’m not surprised about the aneurisms from your cousins, Kyuu-chan. If the stick up their rear is as big as the one up Kushin-sans… Well. Anyways. My opinion is that it’d probably be best if they were kept together.” she said, being pragmatic ”I don’t mind supporting this endeavor, but again. It’d probably be best to keep the kids together. I’m sure we could come to an arrangement regarding that, right Kyuu-chan?”

 

[Uragaeshi Riyoji]

Kitsune's comparison to the movie made little sense to Tesa, her experience with such a thing was little because of her studies. The only thing she did outside of training was party with friends or deal with clan related matters. To be polite however, she chuckled slightly at the reference while she listened to the two's concerns. "What you said is entirely correct Ookami-san, this is an arms deal. These children with me are weapons, as I am, as I'm sure you both were or are. As a shinobi should be. And I cannot say that we haven't considered selling to 'unsavory types,' but we decided against it. It would be stupid to come to the both of you if we had gone through a transaction such as that. If we had to keep this between qualified residents of Kumogakure and any trusted allies, that should be acceptable. The amount we seem to have agreed on should be plenty to get a decent enough foothold in the village, allowing us to supply weapons. Both biological and other weapons such as swords, or other shinobi utensils." The girl smiled a bit as she finished, and listened to Kitsune's concerns as well.

"I haven't considered keeping the children together honestly. If you believe they might be friends or relatives, however, you would be mistaken. The closest these five have gotten is having little rivalries in their competition for best in the clan, but I can see how that could lead to better or quicker growth from them. Now, if you intend to take more children than the one offered, I'm sure we could come to an agreement on the price for any additional child you would like." Some of the children began to look more concerned now that their chances of being purchased had raised, but Tesa continued sipping her tea without taking notice.

"If you meant simply keeping them together in a squad of sorts, I'm sure that could easily be arranged. After all, from my experiences you are placed with random shinobi each mission. But I have seen people form their own teams."

 

[Osuteno]

"Oh Kitty-Chan I was just teasing but you do realize you are the exception to the rule. Not too long ago you got to see the lot of the fools who lead this country under the service of the Shogun, long may he reign, and have forgotten what our village has done for this country over the last thousand years, correct? How many of the "Allfather" worshipping dimwits would you trust with any sort of actual firepower to go along with their endless rows of militarized farmers?" Goodness she was still a bit cranky from the hangover and lack of sleep. Oh Raiden the sake was on point. She put the glass aside and had them simply bring her the bottle. "Oh the sticks up their asses are even stiffer and they aren't even a quarter as entertaining as little Ku-kun to make up for it... I hadn't really considered keeping the children together myself either, but competition is the key to growth. It is a long standing family tradition to have the potential heiresses compete physically, socially, and economically with one another. Even the servants started having these yearly games to establish their pecking order. It produces a better crop of talent. At the very least they will need some distance in their habitation. Rivals who sleep under the same roof and not having some way to take a break from interacting have a habit of either sleeping with or killing each other. Both hinder progress, and are the reasons this estate has five separate mansions rather than one large palace. Even the illusion of distance is beneficial. But that aside, it is time for break... I mean lunch."

Tanake flipped open his watch and nodded right before a dozen maids entered the clearing, presented the food, and left with the food covers without so much as a clatter. Ookami, being the hedonist that she is, didn't hesitate to crack open a crab's leg and suck out the succulent meat inside. Miraculously she devoured entire crabs in this fashion without getting any on herself or anything else for that matter. Plates of truffle tagliolini, bowls of shark fin soup, and wagyu steak also happened to grace the table but Ookami had always found that seafood was particularly effective for her hangovers and this was demonstrated by the staff having prepared more of that. There were spectacular salads, cheeses and breads as well, but they weren't very likely to get attention from the Chigokai head. She was the "eat your favorites and only your favorites" sort. The children's table had a bit more basic but still rather high quality plates in preparation for the chance of picky eaters.

While drinking from a crab's heated body (a most flavorful and wondrous sake dish for those who have never tried it) Ookami gave a warmed and delighted (and mildly erotic) shiver and smiled at her guests. She was finally feeling awake and fully aware. "Aside from some more particular details such as living arrangements and education, this investment appears to be decided upon. I will want to have a look over the girls here in another crab or two. They can come up one at a time, provide proper introductions name and age, let me get a look at how pretty they are under those dreadfully dull cloaks, and tell us just what special little snowflakes they are. Both modesty and exaggeration are forbidden." All other things being equal, Ookami would likely go with the youngest or meekest of the girls. The easier a girl was to mold, the stronger a woman she could make out of them.

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Kitsune raised an eyebrow. Did she just get called a weapon? Fairly sure she did. That wouldn’t do at all. For some reason she had to fight the urge to preface her statement with ‘Dammit Jim’ ”I’m a doctor, not a weapon.” she said and leaned back in the chair, looking at Tesa, trying to gauge just how she intended to supply weapons without raw materials. ”You say you would supply weapons. How would you do so without raw materials? If need be, I happen to have an excess of raw materials in both of my provinces, and my storage facilities are starting to get rather full. It could be a lucrative business partnership, y’know~”

To no ones surprise, hopefully, Kitsune was already in full business mode, looking to increase her profits substantially. ”As for how many I trust with power, Kyuu-chan… Not many. Most of the other nobles are the ‘old money’ sort and haven’t had to work for anything in their lives, leaving little else for them to do but cause intrigue and scandals to the amusement of the rest of them. Then again… None of them have two provinces in the country, but I do… Funny how that goes, isn’t it?” Kitsune said with a smirk to Ookami.

When Ookami made the comments about the cousins, Kitsune had to stifle a laugh. The woman certainly had a way with words. ”We could also set up a separate facility for their training. I’ve long been considering tossing some money at livening up the Chronopolis a bit. Let’s face it, it’s basically a slum, and it’s a stain on this city. If we could tear it down, and build new structures in the classic Kumogakurean School of Architecture, I’m sure we could improve the value of the area immensely.” she said, referring to what other countries might’ve called ‘gothic architecture’.

But, that discussion had to be tabled, because lunch was served. Hah. Get it? Tabled? Lunch? Ah, I kill me. The dishes look spectacular, and Kitsune swiftly went for some of the tagliolini, and anything with shrimp and salmon in it. Even better if it was a pasta dish with shrimp, salmon, and a creamy tomato sauce. Or lasagna. But nothing could beat lasagna.

[MFT; WC: 375]

 

[Uragaeshi Riyoji]

The partnership that was mentioned piqued Tesa's interest, "That certainly does sound like it would be rather lucrative.. Our clan currently works with whatever raw materials we can get from merchants, or we melt down unused weapons and armor whenever we get the chance." She paused for a moment, "Would 20% of the profit for a steady supply of materials work for you? We could discuss this later if you'd rather stay on topic." Whether this continued to be a subject of conversation or not wouldn't bother the girl, she would be sure to bring it up later now that it was a possibility.

It seemed that both of the clan leaders were intent on having all, or at least some of the Kyodo children receive a different kind of training. "I can see how that would work, Ookami-san, perhaps these five could be the first generation to be raised in such a way?" Kitsune also brought up a very good suggestion that pleased Tesa, which she showed with a slight smile, "A new facility for training our young would certainly be appreciated. As I'm sure you've guessed, the powers we can obtain are rather.. Destructive, and although we originally intended to have a facility of our own, it might be difficult to find a place to do that where we plan on building." The demon girl hoped that this facility became a reality, it would be nice to have an area outside of their own home to train the way they do.

As servants carried the food into the room, Tesa became a tad worried. She saw nothing but seafood, and although she didn't plan on refusing to eat, she had never been a fan of seafood. Once everything was placed on the table, she grabbed the shark fin soup near hear and stuck to only having a spoonful every now and then, to avoid becoming too sick from it all. Once Ookami expressed her interest in seeing the children up close, Tesa nodded. "Of course, I'll have them do that now." The girl looked back to them, and they knew this meant they were to remove their cloaks completely, which they did, and approach the large woman. Each child had a combat uniform on, as they were always trained to be prepared in any situation. They all stood still for a moment, before one of them walked up to the leader.

This one was a young girl with short blonde hair, her eyes were that of a serpent's. When she spoke, one would be able to see that her tounge was forked as well, but this did not make her speak like some snake person one would imagine. She began her introduction with a low bow, "My name is Kyodo Sutori, I am 8 years old." Tesa would give Ookami and Kitsune a moment to look her over before chiming in.

"Su here has always had quite the silver tongue, and has had no problem beating other children her age to a pulp if diplomacy didn't work out the way she wanted. She's actually one of our top children when it comes to taijutsu." The next child would step up after Su was allowed to leave, this one being the only boy. He, like Tesa, had rather large horns on his head, but instead of sticking out like a bull's horns, they were to the side and curled like a ram's. He also had shoulder length black hair. Just as Su did, he gave a bow.

"I am Kyodo Girudo, 8 years old." Just as before, the two would be given time before Tesa told them about his skills.

"The boy has always had a strong will, actually been hard to break him into the ways of a shinobi since we started training him. But despite his mental and physical resilience, he's always preferred to use ninjutsu in combat. He has an affinity for water, and there have been several occasions that he has shown this outside of the affinity test."

The next child approached, and she would have no characteristics that were obviously demonic until she got a little closer, her hair was white like snow, and her eyes the same color. When she bowed, a small tail poked out of her pants, which she hastily tucked back in before introducing herself. "Ky-Kyodo Gurena, 8." She stated, as she stood nervously in place.

"She's always been one of our more.. Scare-able children, which might be part of the reason she uses genjutsu so often in combat. She prefers it when she's able to make it through a spar without harming her opponent, but when she must, she can still pack quite the punch with taijutsu." Gu quickly scurried back into her place once Kitsune and Ookami were done looking at her, and another child quickly took her place. This one was taller than the rest, and seemingly had no sclera or iris, as her eyes were simply black. When she spoke, it would be clear to see that each of her teeth were sharp as well.

"Kyodo Togatta, 8 years old." She announced, with a bit of a cocky demeanor.

"Toga has only ever used taijutsu, and has never actually made an effort to use anything else. It isn't entirely uncommon in our clan, but she's special because out of all of the other children, she is the best. No contest really." The final child would approach after her, this one with red hair and a small pair of horns sticking out of her head. If someone described her as having a fire in her eyes, it would be quite literal. Even though it wasn't the main characteristic, her eyes seemed to give off a strange orange glow, similar to her hair color.

"Kyodo Kasai, 8 years old." She said with a bow and slight smile.

"Kasa uses a mixture of ninjutsu and genjutsu when she fights.. Most of the time she actually will light her opponent on fire, but sometimes they'll just think they are. We prefer the latter of course, but yeah. She and Girudo are regarded as the best among the clan's children when it comes to ninjutsu, and they already have quite the rivalry. Which seems like it was destiny, seeing how one uses fire and the other water." With that, each child had been introduced.

"So that's all of them, what do the two of you think?"

{MFT}

 

[Osuteno]

"Oh Tesa-Chan I might be generous," as she said it Tanake seemed to have a coughing fit, "but it would be best to point out that the facilities wouldn't be for the use of your clan. Rather I imagine a larger facility for the general public might be in order but maybe setting aside a small something for the training of the servants. Gentrification is mostly centered on making an area more appealing to the broader public after all. Also I don't know why you bring up all five of them. I don't know about Kitty-Chan, but I only intend to take in one for this initial trial."

As the children cycled before her she sized them up. While a good target for puns the first girl didn't really catch her eye. The boy that followed her had a skill set that would have been rather easy to train, but even though the children were living elsewhere an employee that couldn't freely come and go from the grounds without having her cousins bitch at her was useless. The third child was immediately deemed adorable. The little thing was timid yet at the same time apparently had recognizable talent when compared to children her age. An easy-to-tame personality coupled with ability is a winning combination for servants, not to mention that she would be very easy to guide. Some backbone wasn't the hardest thing to train into a person over a few years and admittedly there was a shortage of genjutsu users on staff.

The fourth child was a confident young lady for one whose only talent lay in the most mundane of the arts. If she were smart she would try to expand her talents. The final child did have Ookami's interest, but in the end it was little Gurena that appeared to be the best candidate. "You there, with the white hair and eyes, Gurena-Chan was it? Come back so Auntie may another look at you child." Ookami waited patiently for the shy little thing to come closer. Ookami pulled her up close when she came within reach and began examining the clay as it were, maneuvering the child's head by her chin to make solid eye contact. "Don't mind the blood little one, or rather if I take you, the people you will serve will have eyes just like this for the most part... Tanake, you are an old perv right? Oh stop having an aneurysm, you don't even try to stop the maids from tricking the boy I left you to observe into thinking that is how men dress and the bridal, no, 'self sufficiency' training. All I want to know is do we have one of the maid uniforms that fit him when he first arrived? I want to see this girl dressed up in one and that seems to be about the right size."

One of the maids near the children's table raised her hand nervously while seemingly throwing her eyes in every possible direction. "My room won the... I mean my roommates and I happen to have held onto one of those. I will go fetch it if the Mistress desires." Few maids could completely hide their shock of someone offering such a collector's item and didn't bother hiding their relief when Ookami said she simply wanted to borrow it for a few minutes since it wasn't likely the size would be perfect anyway.

Ookami picked the likely startled girl up and placed her in her lap, which happened to be a much higher position than the child was likely used to, and began playing with her hair. "Just look at this one Kitty-Chan. If I were a tenth the monster people claim I am I wouldn't be able to stop myself from gobbling her up..." Ookami was suddenly wearing a dark smile that, along with her undead-like pallor, made her look like she was the actual vampire around here as she hugged the child close to her. In a very menacing tone of voice she said, "Actually I might just go ahead and have you for dessert... Pffft." Ookami started laughing and relaxed her hold on the child revealing that somehow and sometime during the embrace she had put bows and pigtails in little one's hair. Very audible sighs from the staff made it obvious that this sort of teasing wasn't exactly uncommon but also gave the impression the little girl got off easy. "Oh yes, this one seems fun. Do you have a favorite Kitty-Chan?"

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

”Kyuu-chan, I’m fairly sure Tesa-chan trotted them all up to allow us to pick.” Kitsune said before also confirming that she was indeed only intending to pick one to begin with. ”Kyuu-chan is right too. It wouldn’t be an exclusive facility. That’d be counter productive. And, to be honest, just bad for business. I had an idea of making memberships with a monthly fee to use the machinery present. Knowing most people they’d rather stay at home. It’d likely also bring a surge of new memberships that’ll never get used around new years, due to resolutions. It’s brilliant and easy to do~”

After the kids had all been shown, Kitsune looked at Ookami for a brief moment before looking back at the kids a second time. ”All interesting candidates, but, Kasai-chan. Let me have a proper look at you, my dear.” Kitsune said and gestured for the kid to come closer. Like Ookami, she inspected the kid like she were a commodity, which to be fair, she pretty much was at this point. ”Hm. If you didn’t have those horns, people would probably mistake you for a Shinrya, dear.” Kitsune said and smirked while bringing out her phone, sending off a message to Airisuke to have one of the maids get off their butts and bring a uniform.

”Kyuu-chan. You are a tenth the monster people claim you are. In bed that is.” Kitsune said with a laugh. ”You know. I really should introduce you to Yuuki-chan sometime. I think the two of you would hit it off splendidly.” Then, Ookami asked if Kitsune had a favorite, and she nodded. ”Yup. Kasai-chan is right up my alley. Specializing in both ninjutsu and genjutsu, particularly fire types, and with red hair? Come on. How could I not? It’s like she was made for specifically for this purpose.” she said with a smirk.

[MFT; WC: 311]

 

[Uragaeshi Riyoji]

"Either way works, this just means I won't have to explain coming home with no children." Tesa replied with a chuckle. "As for the facility, I figured as much. If we wanted a personal training facility, we would have to make one ourselves. It will simply help having a place to train until we can afford to build one." By the time the three had begun speaking about the possibility of a training facility again, all children had already returned to their places. At the mention of her name, however, Gurena jumped and slowly looked toward Ookami. She cautiously stood up and approached the woman, only to be treated as a doll in the game of dress up as the Chigokai leader had her way. Despite trying her best to stay still and obedient through the whole thing, the young girl couldn't help but squirm while her hair was done as the the servants were getting a maid's outfit. It was like a nightmare to her.

Kasai responded much differently when she was called to Kitsune, calmly approaching the red head and standing quietly in front of her as she was being looked at. The only sound she made during the entire process was responding to Kitsune's claim that she could be mistaken for a Shinrya if she didn't have horns, which she replied to by saying nothing more than "Oh?" with a slight, mischievous smile.

"Glad you think so Kitsune-san, and I can see that you've taken a liking toward Gu there Ookami-san." Assuming that these were in fact the children of their choice, Tesa would give them both a moment to enjoy their time with their new slaves family before sealing the deal. "So, whenever you're both ready, I have a document for each of you to sign. It simply says that you both agree on the price of the children, and that we agree to give them to you. We've already signed, and had the parents sign, so the only signatures needed now are both of your's." Tesa would pull two folded papers from her pockets and hand one to each of the women in front of her, waiting for them to do what they needed to do. "One for each of you."

[MFT]

 

[Osuteno]

Ookami put on a mock pout and spoke in a tone of voice belonging to someone half her age, "Oh Kitty-Chan you shouldn't speak like that in front of my little Gu-Chan. It will be the greater part of a decade before she enters my strike range... Though... this Yuuki-Chan is fun then?" She had returned to her normal tone of voice and had managed to get a nice braid on "Gu-Chan" with rather impressive speed and dexterity. The girl had such nice hair... Maybe some curls would be fun? No more importantly she had a tail, an actual tail.

"Old Perv, take a look over the documents for me, something of the upmost importance has crossed my mind." Ookami said tossing her personal seal, second in importance only to the clan seal itself within the clan and a mark of great power, like a wad of paper she was trying to get into a waste bin. Several maids started to dive for the object worth more than their lives for fear it would hit the ground but Tanake caught it easily enough with a very visible sigh and a look of exasperation that screamed 'I fear for what your ancestors would think of this'. Meanwhile Ookami needed to fish out that... there's the tail! "She has an actual tail Kitty-Chan! I can't even decide where to start with this one." Ookami had a delighted look on her face with a hint bucket of mischievousness and began twirling the tail with her finger. This statement also caught the undivided attention of a number of maids with glints in their eyes. This was a very dangerous house to live in for the unprepared as sexual harassment was rampant among the women and small cute creatures such as 'Gu-Chan' would become sought after dress-up dolls. No few maids actually spent a good portion of their wages dressing up the estate's smaller inhabitants and even a few of the actual little princesses and a prince of the household, as they were called, could become targets if they let their guard down. Moral was one thing that was never low among the servants.

While Tanake made sure all the documents were in order along with a mysterious team of what could only be described as 'legal maids' Ookami and a few others had already put Gu-Chan into one of Osu's old maid outfits. It fit almost perfectly. There was visible drooling among multiple parties. Ookami however had a serious look on her face. "Get her measurements, we need a custom set that will accentuate and display her tail. Oi you old badger, you done yet over there?"

"Mistress you shouldn't speak in such a rough manner, if your mother... Never mind. Yes everything appears to be in order. After these three finish going over everything themselves we will sign the... you're done? Very well. Your thumb here Mistress." Tanake said after stamping the document. In the traditional Chigokai fashion thumb stamps were made with their special chakra infused blood instead of ink, which they considered more reliable in authenticity and permanence as it were. And it was done. Ookami pulled Gurena into her considerable bosom which matched her height well in proportion and said, "Isn't this great Gu-Chan? You are mine now and we are going to have so much fun making you into a fierce young woman. I plan on spoiling you a lot if you meet my expectations. Why don't you tell Auntie how excited you are?" The earlier mentioned bucket of mischievousness was overflowing considerably. Cute things always seemed to end up in her hands and she loved the thought of making monsters out of them. Power was attractive, thus the attractive should be powerful. It was an ideal she loved.

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Kitsune accepted the document, and before anyone could say “But that’s cheating!” she had scanned the document onto her tablet and was in the process of transferring it to her mansion, where a maid would bring it to a lawyer that was standing by, just for good measure.”Hm. Not even a hint at fine print. That’s surprising.” Kitsune said and looked over at the other two women. ”Sorry. I’ve gotten used to expecting fine print and other such tactics through having to deal with owning two provinces in this country. Most people know they won’t get past my eyes, sadly they still try. It’s a waste of everyone’s time.”

After only a few minutes, a notification sound came from the tablet, informing her she’d received a message. As it turned out, the lawyer had been incredibly fast, and hadn’t found any loopholes, caveats, fine prints, or other such underhanded tactics. And only moments later, one of Kitsunes maids showed up with a uniform for Kasai-chan. The poor maid looked rather disheveled, presumably from a rather rigorous security sweep, but let’s face facts here. Her outfit was so skimpy and tight she wouldn’t be able to actually hide anything under it.

”Lets put it this way Kyuu-chan. She handled being forcibly bonded with a weapon through an experimental process I invented. There’s only a handful of people yet capable of handling that.” Kitsune said with a sly smirk. What she wouldn’t give to witness Ookamis reaction to finding out what Yuuki-chan actually was. It’d be priceless! Regardless of that, she had a document to sign, so she withdrew her official seal and a candle for proper seal wax as well as a little bright red ribbon with the Shinrya crest on it. She laid the ribbon next to where she had signed her name, melted wax on top of it, and finally pressed her seal into the still pliable wax, adhering the ribbon to the piece of paper, making it official.

[MFT; WC: 330]

 

[Uragaeshi Riyoji]

"Now that everything's all signed and ready to go, I must ask." Tesa said as she collected both of the signed documents, "Would you prefer to pay now or later? Either works really, as long as we receive payment. Preferably in cash, of course." The girl would wait for both of them to make their decision. Once she either collected the money or was given details on how and when to get it later, she would stand up and call the remaining children to her side.

"It's been great doing business with the both of you, and I thank you for a wonderful lunch Ookami-san. I hate to be leaving the both of you so soon, but I have some other business to take care of before the day ends. I sincerely hope that the children live up to your expectations, and I invite you to send any complaints you might have by letter to the same address you did before." Tesa would turn and begin to walk away, or wait for a servant to lead her out if she was provided with one. The three children would form a triangle around her as they walked. Before turning any corners, the demon woman turned back around. "In regards to that training facility, Kitsune-san, would you like to meet later and discuss it more? Whenever is the most convenient for you, of course, it would be simple to make room for something as significant as that." Upon receiving an answer, Tesa would continue her exit, and begin making her way to the next meeting she had to attend for the clan.

{TLUS}