Where's all the staff? [Requesting Hokage] [PVT]

[Yomi]

Yomi looked through the list of active staff members. Checking off names that she knew had legitimate reasons to not be reporting for duty. Nobody at the hospital worked per diem; This was a full-time 24/7 on call job and yet her and Daisy appeared to be the only ones regularly responding to emergencies as well as doing their mandatory shifts. Shifts was a nice way of putting it. Sixteen hours straight though? nobody was getting paid enough for that to be the norm. She would sooner send the Hokage in to cover a medical emergency then take another one this week, as she really needed a break. More than that, she often stayed whole days to keep Daisy complacent. Her family life was joke. She was sure Besito and Asuka thought she had abandoned them completely. This was no way to be. Going through the roster, she came across a name of a person that she had no recollection of seeing as of late.

“Baba, hmm…” There was no indication on the preceding pages as to where he might be. No notes, no nothing. That was peculiar. Yomi left her office, and made her way to her Sennin. Perhaps he could shed some light on his whereabouts.

This…was becoming a habit, showing up unannounced to the Hokage’s office. Hopefully it would not end up like the last time with black clad figures, gunshot wounds, and partial nudity. She spoke to his very nice secretary who told her to wait and she did so.

The other day, this was what she had actually come to talk to him about. The lack of bodies she had especially with a village of this size. What's worse, so many people were on leave/vacation and recently retired, it felt like it happened all within the span of three days. He would have to at least sit with her to draw out an action plan or at least give her free reign to do what it was that needed to be done.

For now, she waited for him to see her so she could ask about Baba.

[Topic Entered]

 

[Seijin]

Still allowing his body to heal from the failed assassination attempt at his life, Umashi was somewhere in between daydreaming and running numbers in his head. His chair tilted back and his face towards the window with a wide view to the blue sky, Umashi lazily yawned as he leaned up just enough to take a sip of green tea before going back to his unbecoming position. One sheep, two sheep, three sheep, four . . . the clouds were in such funny formations as he chuckled at some all to logical joke in his head. Since his job was no longer on the chopping block, Umashi was back to making sure that the village stayed afloat and generally making sure that funding went where it should. While the village council still wasn't exactly on his side anymore than they were before at least now with a proper Daimyo in place, Umashi could get things approved and sanctioned as they should.

Always in his medical whites, Umashi began to whistle when he heard a knock at the door. Without bothering to lean forward, Umashi continued to lean back in his chair and whistle as he used just the barest of kinetic chakra to open the door with a motion from his hand. "You may enter." Not particularly paying too much attention to the footsteps, being that his secretary was no slouch in the discernment department, whoever had made it this far was surely someone of note. Closing his eyes, whatever song was stuck in his head expressed itself by the way in which he got a little too into his whistling and the room was filled with the tune that was somewhere between being able to carry a tune and amateur hour at the local karaoke bar. Whoever it was, they were just going to have to spit out what they wanted.

 

[Yomi]

The Chief thanked his secretary before she darkened his doorway, lightly closing the door behind her. The Hokage didn’t seem to be too interested in whoever it was that came in as he didn’t bother to even look up. No matter, this wasn’t a social call and she got straight down to business.

“Hokage-sama, as you are aware we are working with the bare minimum at the hospital. Some people are on hard-earned vacation, but, you can’t expect a hospital to stay afloat with two and a half-people. Going through the active roster of medical professionals here in the village and checking them against their activity at the hospital, one name stood out to me. Baba Gagoze. He hasn’t reported in for some time and I came to find out whether you had sent him away on a mission of some sort. If you didn’t then is there something else I need to know?”

Yomi knew of Baba’s penchant for doing things that would seem…different, especially when it came to his experiments. It was a shame he wasn’t as easy to tame as Daisy was, who just wanted a friend to inject monstrous poisons into all day. The Goddess assumed if she was aware of the things Baba could and would do her Sennin also knew what he was capable of and it need not be said. Fresh off an assassination attempt, Yomi was convinced that something that struck so close to home had ears on the inside. The less said aloud, the better.

 

[Seijin]

A voice like no other completely caused Umashi to stop whistling the tune that he was so into and straighten up his look. Looking around nervously, Umashi made sure that the door was closed behind Yomi and exhaled. "You know, the last time you rushed into my office I ended up having a bad day. Now you bring me more bad news!" Umashi sighed as he slapped his forehead and began to shake his head as if to imply that he could take no more. "I've only assigned one special mission in the past month and his name definitely wasn't on the roster which means that he's probably managed to . . . Have you spoken to the ANBU yet?" His mind immediately jumping to the all too logical explanation for Baba's disappearance, Umashi really hoped that the ANBU would confirm that they were fully aware of this disturbance and that they'd already dispatched a unit or two to look for his whereabouts. The medics were already running on limited staff but with Baba missing, this only made things worse. Leaning over to rummage through his files he pulled out a list of all the shinobi who'd been cleared for travel abroad and sure enough, Baba's name wasn't on the list. This was a problem indeed.

 

[Yomi]

Yomi smirked at Umashi’s response. Of course, she expected this kind of reaction. Why wouldn’t he think that she was some harbinger of bad news. He almost died the last time, but the key word was almost.

“And you’re sitting here able to admonish me about it.” A little jab, she could’ve left him to die. She moved on, leaving him no room for a witty retort.

“I have not spoken to any ANBU, I thought to ask you first…can you summon them?” It was more of a request than an actual question but she needed to frame it as such as he still outranked her, village wise anyway. His question left a bitter taste in her mouth, but, she would need confirmation of what was implied before she would settle on that conclusion.

While waiting, she pulled a piece of paper from her bag and slid it on his desk. The paper had the number 143,257.32 written on it. She would let him look at it before she would explain.

“A bill, for my things.” He was lucky she didn’t include a fee for her services. As far as she was concerned, he was getting off cheap.

 

[Seijin]

Looking at the bill, Umashi would grab his headset and call for Takeshi to meet him in his office ASAP. Eyeing the bill further, Umashi shook his head and started to pull out banking information for his account when it dawned on him that Yomi should have had more than enough money to cover any and all expenses of that day. "I'm pretty sure that the village council adjust Sennin pay for market inflation and that you got a bonus because you stitched me up real good. So either this is a shake down or suddenly I'm regretting not signing a prenuptial agreement." Umashi's face deadpanned before he burst into laughter and leaned back in his chair a bit and motioned towards one of the chairs available. "I'm pretty sure that Takeshi won't be ready for Sasha Fierce today . . . but in other news, how's the office move going? Surely you're enjoying the extra space, no?" Small talk was something that Umashi could do quite well, that and pivot on points that were important. However if there was a fact that Umashi did notice, it was the fact that Yomi wasn't budging on the check that still sat on his desk. The game of chicken over the check was on!

OOC: Yomi's being made Sennin https://www.ninpocho.com/viewtopic.php?f=755&t=53275&p=267672#p267672
Takeshi also called into the topic.

 

[Uchiha Takeshi]

Takeshi listened to his headset as he hauled himself up, he was already in a cramped little office, leaving it behind he allowed a small stretch to reach across his body in that second. Walking out of the office he turned around and locked the door behind him. He hadn’t finished the paper work for the day but that wasn’t his concern right now. Being summoned by the Hokage was always something he was wary of their last few meetings he had been the messenger of bad news, he didn’t want to keep that trait going of course.

As he walked through the hallways and passed people he allowed his hand to come up as he pushed open the door to the waiting room. He gave a small nod to the secretary that was behind the desk wondering why he had been summoned this time he allowed himself to walk through and to the door to the Hokage Office. He allowed his hand to reach out and open the door walking into the room he looked at the two people currently present in the room before walking forward and shutting the door behind him.

“You called for me Umashi? Hello Yomi”

Recognising her from the recent lesson, he was in a black coat with the Uchiha logo on the back, his black trousers and sleeveless top gave his normal look as always, gone was the mask and robes of normal when he was not on a mission there was no need for the secrets. Waiting for an answer he allowed a few seconds to pass to see why he had been summoned.

 

[Yomi]

“Oh, my pay would cover it, though this was done off the record. As such you are beholden to my private rate. It’s already been heavily reduced.” If the Hokage thought that he was going to worm his way out of this, he was sorely mistaken. Whatever number was written on that paper was not enough to justify destruction of evidence, records tampering, and the hush money that any normal person would charge to keep quiet about this whole thing. Of course, she didn’t need the hush money, as she would keep it to herself regardless. The point was he was bickering over a number that already cut him some major slack. The audacity.

“The move is fine, although, I really only settled into my last office.” Yomi was about to ask him how his wounds were healing up when the ANBU Captain came in. So much for that line of questioning. Takeshi spoke to the Hokage first and then to Yomi, who nodded in acknowledgment. She would stand there quietly, now on ceremony because someone else had entered the room. Proper protocols and all that jazz.

 

[Seijin]

Umashi glowered at Yomi in a halfhearted menacing way before putting the check into his desk just as Takeshi was entering the room. Fixing his face he welcomed the man in but cut right to the chase of getting down to business. "Welcome Takeshi. You were called in today because our newly appointed Medical Sennin Yomi noticed that we had a people skipping out on their duties, notably a rather capable medic named Baba. I haven't seen any reports of any new nuke-nin attempts or successes so it's to my knowledge that he simply slipped through the cracks. Something that none of us here in this room want happening but something that has happened since Yuuto went missing. In a manner of speaking what is the state of affairs in your branch and what is your knowledge of our Bingo book records. Sad to say, whether it's the case or not, it's really looking like the hounds were only after Yuuto and no one else which is egg on your face as well as my own."

Folding his hands, Umashi dared to look Takeshi dead in the eyes despite the fact that he was pretty sure that for all his mental defenses that the Uchiha could at least attempt to sway his thoughts. "I like my eggs scrambled soft with no cheese, preferably for breakfast . . . not on my face. So please, allay both my own and Yomi's fears with a palatable response." Perhaps Umashi was a bit harsh with Takeshi but that was simply due to the fact that he expected much out of Takeshi and slip ups like this gave full credence to Yuuto's claims that there were many a weak shinobi in Konoha. Umashi didn't like proving those claims true, and so he leaned heavily on Takeshi to make things right and to make them right as soon as possible. Grabbing his cup of tea, Umashi purposefully took a loud sip of it to clearly give the indication that he'd rather be doing other things at the moment but that business was business.

OOC: This topic is considered about a month after the Zone Four mission and about 3 weeks after the assassination attempt on Umashi's life which officially never happened.

 

[Uchiha Takeshi]

Takeshi looks back to umashi listening to his words pausing slightly to think on his response. A sigh escaped the Uchiha's lips as he focused solely on the hokage, deciding the best reponse was the direct one in this matter.

"there's no easy way to say what I'm about to say. So I'll say it bluntly both main branch and ANBU are struggling without a leader. They both need focus and direction each branch has potential with the members inside of it that's my experience from the time inside the branches"

Takeshi stood there a pondering look on his face as he thought about his next words carefully, glancing over to Yomi he tried to give her a slight smile of reassurance before addressing the hokage again.

"during my time inside main branch I allocated teams and have since had people work with them closely. Inside the ANBU I have started making amends for the missing ninja this does mean that the bingo book is starting to be cleared, I am up to date with the current list of missing ninja including baba and akumi I'm trying to drive the branches to a purpose and focus giving them goals to achieve."

Takeshi let his hands come up to his chest crossing his arms as he thought on what else to add onto the conversation.

"Umashi I am pushing the branches to continue improving"

Takeshi waited for the hokages response to this

 

[Yomi]

Yomi listened to Takeshi’s words. In a lot of ways she could understand where he was coming from. Her own branch was suffering but it was because of lack of bodies, not lack of leadership. It was a trying time for the village indeed. She looked to Umashi, before she spoke. She too chose her words very carefully.

“If I may interject, where are we on finding him? I need him back here.” Yomi thought that in their last meeting Tamashii was placed in charge of something or another. It didn’t actually matter now, her focus was on her own branch and getting that in order. She was not here to offend anyone, however, because he was the head of his branch, she expected him to have a little more information. Was she even entitled to it? Maybe maybe not, but, she was going to ask anyway.

 

[Seijin]

For a moment Umashi wondered just who was the most petty in the room but Yomi's question snapped him back to reality as he could only nod and agree with Takeshi on at least the fact that he was stretched thin due to having to be the de-facto head of the ANBU without actually being the head of the ANBU. Holding up a hand, Umashi finally decided to give Takeshi the same upgrade that he'd given to Yomi. "You bring up a good point Takeshi, I'll grant you that. As a matter of fact I'll grant you ANBU Sennin too but on two conditions . . . three really." Pulling out a wanted poster, Umashi slid it towards the Uchiha. "I've word that one of the prefectures on the coast is harboring a fugitive that's an S+ class level threat and they be transporting her to one of the penal colonies off the coast. They asked for me but I'm unable to assist so you're to go in my place. Don't screw it up. Make it back alive with the prisoner transportation cleared and you'll be the official head of the ANBU."

Almost forgetting the other two things, Umashi slapped his forehead and also gave Takeshi a "shame on you" look as he shook his head. "Also there's no record of you learning Fiero or Vulcan . . . learn them and learn them well. All Konoha higher-ups should be fluent in Fiero and in the case of ANBU, Vulcan as well as it is distinctly something that you should be well versed in. It took me twenty-one days to learn it. You've got two weeks and the prisoner transport will take you at least a full week." Pausing as he transitioned to a new point. he spoke to both Takeshi and Yomi as he opted to try something entirely new regarding the branches. Trying new things with the branches had gotten him into trouble in the past but he was hoping that history would favor his bold approach. "To solve the issue of our branches being in crisis, the three of us will collectively share the duties of training the main branch until a Sennin is properly chosen for them. It's messy, is going to leave some cracks to fill but it's the best that we have since all of us will be busy. I've diplomatic stuff to do, Yomi has a medical care system to run and Takeshi has missing ninja to hunt down."

Grabbing at his tea and meaning to take a sip but finding it empty, Umashi sat the mug down and leveled with the both of them. "Takeshi, you're going to be the face of the ANBU screwing up this latest nuke-nin crisis . . . own it. Few things in life worth fighting for come easy. Yomi, people are going to try you because you were born a woman . . . expect it. Plus if anybody goes too hard in the paint, show them just how much pretty hurts. The search for Baba and any cohorts will begin immediately, I'll have Tamashii draw up the paperwork with the village council to make it official. From now on, if so much as a squirrel walks through the village gates, I want to know about it. If a kid comes into the hospital with a slightly less than normal kekkei genkai, I need their charts. With each regular report I will be the judge of if they fall under Yuuto's Law and I'll determine if they are to be further monitored for possibly being a danger to the village. Further, Baba does not fall up under Yuuto's Law. Find him and bring him back alive . . . preferably." Being finished speaking for the moment, Umashi leaned back in his chair and opened the floor to questions, comments and concerns.

OOC: Takeshi can gain the ANBU Sennin banner now but ICly it won't go into effect until after he completes an RP mission to transport a prisoner. I'll be RPing in this mission with him and it will be a couple thousand word RP at least on his part. It starts Aug 31st EST and will be modded in the OV area.

OOC#2: All three of us will share MB duties, lessons, etc until an MB Sennin is chosen.

OOC#3: I should really start making these meetings . . . missions or tutors/lessons for myself because that's all I seem to RP in. Q_Q

 

[Uchiha Takeshi]

Takeshi listened to the words of the Hokage, nodding slowly into the words he agreed to the terms that were set out by the Hokage. It was almost a blur to see how quickly things had developed since he had stepped into the office, he allowed a small shrug to come from his shoulders but nothing specific that he would not over thing. As he allowed a small sigh to come to his lips he knew that Umashi was right of course.

“I understand and accept these duties that you have given to me, I will set away for the mission as soon as possible, I will learn both the language of Fiero and Vulcan as well as soon as possible once I return from the mission you have set me on.”

Takeshi pondered for a few minutes wondering how much of the conversation he had managed to cover inside of his words. Most of it was sorted but one last thing still caught the back of his mind, of course this matter was something that needed to be addressed sooner or later and right now it probably was the best time to do it while he had the attention of the Hokage.

“Also I have another issue that I wanted to bring to your attention Umashi, at the gates you met a man by the name off Tsukiakari. He has proven himself a worthy asset and could hold great potential for the future of leaf, with your permission I wish to grant him a home once more inside leaf, whip his slate clean so to speak and give him a job inside the branch. He has the certain…………skill set that would do well inside the ANBU”

Takeshi waited to know he had accepted the new roll, job and language and everything that he needed to learn. This was a different question now that he had to get an answer to. Knowing full well the potential for a new asset inside the branch was too good to pass up he wondered if it would be accepted. Waiting patiently for a reply he would get his answer then find the man to tell him the decision that had been made.

 

[Yomi]

Yomi cut her eyes at Umashi. She didn’t come in here to receive more work. Just when she got in good with Asuka, she’d have to go home and give her this news. Suddenly, the Goddess regretted not adding in all the fees he incurred; Sad. She'd think of a way to be properly compensated for this too. What was even worse was Takeshi ignored her question all together. What in Rei’s good name was happening? It didn’t matter though. Based on the statements of the Hokage and Takeshi’s overall response about the status of his branch, it all led her to believe that the investigation was not actually anywhere.

And then the ANBU Captain got a promotion.

Yomi thought of all the possibilities that could have happened when she stepped into Umashi’s office today. In her infinite wisdom, a handing out of a promotion was not one of those possibilities. Then he mentioned something about people trying her because she was a woman. She hadn’t been tried since she got here, she wished someone would. That truly made her cackle pulling her clean out of character. She laughed heartily, before bringing it down a bit and returning to her normal, blank face. Being with the Hokage was like a box of chocolates; She never knew what she was going to get when it came to him. This solidified in her mind that she would no longer come to his office if she wanted less theatrics in her interactions with him. He would most certainly come to her, should she require.

She listened to Takeshi’s request about bringing in some new…or perhaps, returning blood to the ANBU fold. Interesting. If wiping the slate clean was on the table, then she had no reason to believe that she couldn’t appeal to the Hokage to do the same for Baba, should they bring him back.

 

[Seijin]

Thinking on Takeshi's request, Umashi put a hand up to his chin and made a show of stroking it. Noticing that he needed to shave the new stubble that was growing in, Umashi figured that there was little else to lose at this point concerning the man. He'd been working with half privledges for the better part of a month and holding him up longer certainly wasn't going to incur any more favors. "He'll be on probation for a year and should he screw up in that time, both of you are going to finding new homes. He's your responsibility now." In a way of speaking, Umashi answered the question without answering the question. The man would be allowed in but Takeshi had used up all of his favors as of late and the next strike against his record was going to be coming out of his skin.

Grabbing a pen and further jotting down a note for the future about the newest shinobi to Konoha, with his other hand, Umashi pointed towards the wanted poster. Finished scribbling his note, he pulled out another file from his desk and pushed it towards Takeshi. "There's the map information and the general information that we have on the prisoner. For the sake of safety that can only be found with discretion the prisoner is being held in a chakra negating cell within a cell and we won't be allowed to look at them. Something or another about some great doujutsu . . . aka your specialty. Again, you go there, allow them to transport the prisoner and you beat up anything that moves or comes in between you and delivering that prisoner from the forest to the shore to the island across the water . . . got it?"

Umashi hoped that he'd effectively scared Takeshi into obeying orders. Though he hadn't exactly revealed it, this was the official payback for the Black Scorpion and he didn't need Takeshi mucking it up by trying to be a hero. Feeling though he had to actually spell things out for Takeshi, Umashi dismissed the man on his mission by looking and pointing to the clock on the wall. "Your mission time started an hour ago . . . vamoose!" Having heard the word from the original deliverer of the mission, a man from Shin Yoko, Umashi found that he rather liked the slang term.

OOC: Takeshi released/dismissed on his mission.

~Sennin Trial~
Mission: Deliver an unnamed prisoner from the Shin Yoko Prefecture prefecture of the to the offshore penal colony Utau Utau. The Konoha guard is to have no interaction with the prisoner and must see the transport operation through the jungles of Shin Yoko to the shore and across the three mile stretch of ocean to the island penal colony. The mission will only be considered complete once the prisoner has been booked by the Utau Utau guards.

Notes: No less than 4,440 words should be posted and the post should be completed in the general OV area which does not OOCly require you to leave the village. The trial should show Takeshi to be capable of not only following orders but of effectively protecting a group in a manner that shows due regard for the surrounding area, transport and prisoner.

 

[Uchiha Takeshi]

Takeshi listened to the words of the Hokage understand the missing that had been given to him. He knew full well that right now he needed to make sure he followed it to the letter. He wasn’t about to drop Umashi in another load of trouble for just screwing up orders as they were given, he allowed his arms to come down to the side of him for a brief second before deciding to reply once all the talking had been done.

“I understand, I will head there now Umashi. I will sort out this man if I get time before hand, catch you when I return”

With that he decided not to say anything else, knowing full well that he had probably stretched his welcome slightly to far of course. As he turned and walked out the door he gave one last wave to both people inside as he headed for the mission that needed to be completed.

[Topic Left]

 

[Yomi]

Yomi congratulated Takeshi on his promotion before he walked out of the Hokage’s office. She had a lot of questions but none she would ask as she understood the importance of stability within the village. Further, it wasn’t really her business, unless either the new Sennin or Umashi decided it was. There was something about knowing too much that always got people into trouble. She wanted no parts.

Waiting for a few moments she pressed the office door shut. She didn’t forget about her money even if he hoped she did. The woman stood and stared at him for a long while before she spoke.

“I don’t accept payment plans, Hokage-sama.” A slight, respectable, press. Yomi would find out how far he would go. No matter what, she was not opposed to running up on him outside of these official walls to secure her bag.

 

[Seijin]

Smiling as Takeshi left, Umashi gave Yomi a dirty look and took the bill out of his desk along with a sheet of paper with his official letterhead on it. As he wrote out payment for Yomi, Umashi decided to squeeze in a jab along with it for good measure. "You know, if this is such the private rate then where's my private show? Hmm?" Though he was looking down at his ledger, he let the words escape from his mouth just long enough to let the idea hang in the air before he finished scribbling out a note to his secretary to forward money into Yomi's account. Moving to hold the letter out to Yomi, he did so with a wink. The truth of the matter was that he was not one to get involved with the heart but the chase certainly was a welcome experience from what he'd been dealing with recently.

With a lifetime of experience long before Yomi and with his position being what it was, Umashi found that in moments like these that it was refreshing to be somewhat relaxed and normal even if for a moment. And for the record your not off the hook yourself. Despite enjoying the Sennin pay up until now, I'll need to make sure that you're able to hold your own in combat. A weak Sennin is a danger to us all." Adding the last part with a smug look on his face, Umashi twisted his face to give Yomi the saddest puppy eyes as if to show how she might be feeling inside. The Hokage was firmly aware that the woman wasn't cannon fodder but he had to see for himself just how he ought to assess her skills on the battlefield. He had heard rumors from her training exercises but sometimes rumors were just that, rumors.

 

[Yomi]

The woman smiled genuinely. The Hokage was talented in that regard, she’d give him that. “You can't afford me.” But where was the lie? For something like that, money was not her preferred currency. He could not afford to go around sacrificing people in her name; extremely bad for business. It was fine though. She liked him well enough where that wouldn’t be a hard requirement, just a soft need. Umashi then mentioned something about training to make sure that she was a capable Sennin. At least, that was what he said. What she thought he meant was quite different. She took the envelop from him and tucked it into her bag, deciding not to follow that route in case she was wrong.

“Of course, I understand.” Bringing a little professionalism back into the room. She already ran his pockets, no need to defy him for defiance’s sake.

His silly face killed whatever professional undertones she was trying to convey. Shaking her head with a smile, she turned to leave his office.

“I’ll let you know when I’m available.” Yomi opened the door and left, stopping at the secretary’s desk to hand her the envelope. Next visit Yomi would probably advocate for the secretary to get a raise. Her discretion was so valued and she was probably not getting paid enough for it.

[TLUS]