Two Kings Meet

The warm breeze was rather relaxing to Chrollo as he walked through the village. He had stopped at an inn earlier to catch up on some sleep, roughly an hour or two, and now he was ready to go. Of course his first thought was to head to an area in the village, and train, but he knew better. He had made sure to schedule a meeting with Kaede before doing anything else. He wanted the man to be up to date with all of the recent events. Well, that was one reason he wished to speak to the man, and it was also the most reasonable one. It seemed rather normal for allies to meet one another, like this.

Walking through the village, the familiar frame of Kaede's chambers enters his line of sight. He begins to walk to the building, opening the door with his left hand he moves around, and finally spots the secretary, at least a person whom he assumed to be the secretary. Walking to the desk, he looks around the room briefly. He had only been in the chambers a single time, and still his vivid mind plays the past meeting as if it occurred yesterday. Walking down the hall, he comes to a stop in front of the room he had met the leader in previously. Raising his right hand, he knocks softly against the door three times, and takes a step back withdrawing his hand, he waits for the man to greet him. He hopes he doesn't appear too informal to the man. Wearing a black coat, fur extending eight inches from he collar, the coat itself extends pass his knees. A black vest is worn underneath the coat, his feet are covered in a pair of black shoes, his legs fitted with black pants.

Kaede sat in his office, arms resting behind his head. He hadn't really left bothered to go anywhere else since he had come back from meeting Chrollo at the gates. He was actually about to doze off when a knock on the door alerted him to someone's arrival. Pushing himself from his chair he strode over towards the door. Normally he would have an attendant deal with the door opening, but Kaede didn't feel like making someone do such a simple job today. His shades for once were not over his eyes, instead resting amongst the mess of blonde hair atop his head. Kaede was not dressed in his usual casual wear. Instead the man wore a plain white shirt and shorts. If one were to look down they would notice he was bare foot, after all he had no need for shoes or sandals when he wasn't walking outside.

He opened the door and looked out into the corridor. His suspicions were correct it seemed, as Chrollo was stood there. "Ah Chrollo, come on in." He said with a slight smile, turning and making his way back to his desk. Seating himself he waited for Chrollo to do the same. "I notice your friend isn't with you." Honestly Kaede didn't really care that much, he was more interested in why the man had come back. "Let's get right too it shall we. You wished to talk about something?"

Chrollo nods respectfully to the man once he opens the door, following suit he takes a seat in a chair in front of his desk. He listens to the man's statement after noticing that the ninja he had brought with him before was absent this time around. "Yes, I'm afraid he couldn't make the trip this time around, but as you can see I brought someone else in his place." His eyes narrow, and all traces of the smile that was once on his face vanishes. He makes a point to stare the man directly, in the eyes, leaning back against the chair he exhales loudly. "My village was attacked." He lets a moment of silence set in before continuing. "Two men dressed in robes. I was able to fight them off, only suffering minor injuries. Though before leaving they did manage to kill a bountiful amount of my villagers." He says this in the most casual way he can, fighting against the urge to shout, and flip over the man's desk. Both hands grip the armrest of the chair, to the point where his knuckles begin to turn white. "I don't suppose you would have any knowledge about this?" He looks at Kaede, leaning forward in the chair a bit. "I would appreciate any knowledge you may have." He stresses the word 'any'.

Kaede nodded as he spoke of Shingetsu. He noticed the smile leaving Chrollo's face, seemed it was time for what he could only assume was bad news. The news of the attack on Takigakure was surprising. Though Kaede did not show it on his face, in fact his expression did not change at all. The pleasant smile was still on his face as he listened, though his eyes grew cold as Chrollo spoke. The smile faded however when the man leaned forward and spoke. His eyes narrowed slightly and Kaede remained silent. "I'm not sure if you're trying to imply something friend." It was after he spoke Kaede realized that there was quite a hint of malice in his own words. Taking a moment to collect himself and leaned backwards and thought for a moment. "Our village is quite isolated from others. Thus I have no knowledge of this atta-." He stopped dead, his eyes widening slightly. Though as soon as they did, his face was back to what it was before. The smile however was somewhat forced when he spoke once more.

"Apologies, something that had slipped my mind just came back." Kaede stood for a moment, making his way towards the door. Opening it he took a moment to look out into the corridor, making sure it was empty he closed it once more. As he walked back to his seat he began to speak. "Recently I made a trip to another minor village, Yukigakure." He walked past Chrollo, "I arrived to in what was seemed to be a takeover. Of course it made no difference to me on the outcome, I was there to make an alliance with the leaders regardless of who it was." Pausing to sit down once more and let Chrollo take in the information he continued unless interrupted, "The attackers numbered two. One was armoured..the other I don't quite recall." He waved his hand in annoyance at his own bad memory, "They directed me to Iwagakure if I wished to make an alliance. If you want information, you could try that village."

Chrollo is about to inform the man of the misunderstanding, when he sees his eyes widen. He remains quiet, as the man goes to other end of the room to perhaps check on any possible people in earshot. He listens to the man explain his recent visit to Yukigakure, and how when he had arrived at the village it was under siege. By two men.  The chances of the men being responsible for the attempted attack against his village seemed very likely after hearing this. "Iwagakure," he says after the man is finished talking. He leans back against the chair staring up at the ceiling, and back down at Kaede. "I'll be sure to pay them a visit." Oddly, he feels a sense of calmness overwhelm him. For the first time since the attack he had never felt this way. He linked his calmness with the fact that he had now found a target he could direct his rage towards. "Thanks Kaede. My village is in debt to you, and because of this I will lift the ryo deal we established earlier...times have changed, as you now know. An alliance is needed now more than before." He stares at Kaede while saying this, the edge in his voice gone. 

Chrollo looks around the room, removing both of his hands from the chair handle. Setting them both in his lap, he would begin to speak, his voice calm, and collected. "I figured it would reach this point after the attack. Which is why I chose your village to come to. If you do not mind me, and my ninja will be preparing ourselves. I will be making him ready for battle, along with tidying up things on my end. We will remain here for a little while, and train before setting off. If that is alright with you?" He waits for a reply, his mind beginning to race. Iwagakure the land of the Earth, was not too far from his village, in fact they were practically neighbors. The same went for Yukigakure. How could he not know that Yukigakure had been invaded? The news should have reached him long before now. This led him to become concerned, while waiting for a reply. He would not allow his concern to show itself physically.

Kaede nodded along as Chrollo talked. His mind had wandered to elsewhere at some point. Likely thinking about those two men he had seen before. If they were intent on increasing the borders of Iwagakure then it could be possible they might at some point come to his own home. The idea angered him. Did they think they would be able to get away with waltzing in and trying to take what was rightfully his?

Such thoughts ended quickly when he was snapped back into reality by Chrollo. "That is fine. But what if they attack again while you are staying here?" He was quite curious, perhaps Chrollo had a number of strong nin in his village to hold the two of them off? Well, that was the only reason he could see for Chrollo leaving the village. Waiting for an answer Kaede folded one leg over the other, and rested his chin in his hand while leaning to the right. These were quite some shocking developments. And just when he had been thinking of given up leadership too. It seemed Kaede would not be getting the early retirement that he wished for.

[Apologies for the short post.]

Chrollo looks off, and he thinks of a response to the man's question. It was true, the chances of them attacking seemed verly likely, but..."At the moment defenses are being put in place to alert me if something like that were to happen. Also, I left Shingetsu there, so I'm sure that he'll be able to send off a letter in time if he has to." Staring back at Kaede he would lean forward. His mind in a million places at once. "Do you know what this means? If they have already taken Yuki, then it is only a matter of time before one of us becomes their target of interest." His eyes remain on the man's. "Are your ninja war ready? Even I, as a Leader am unsure if I can protect my ninja. Combine that with the fact that the threat targeting us is unknown at the moment...We must ready ourselves. Which again is why I have come here. I feel that by the time I leave this village, and return to Takigakure I will be a new man. The same goes for my ninja." He waits for a reply, looking at Kaede in wait for the man's response.

War ready? The question was one Kaede wasn't sure of. He himself was hardly war ready, and he considered himself to be the strongest ninja in the village. "I only have one ninja I'd consider strong enough to send into a war. I doubt I myself right now is fit to fight." Now if this were several months ago, when he had first taken to power, he would have seen fit to simply send himself to deal with this matter. Alas the roll of leadership had taken it's toll on Kaede, his skills were slipping. He doubted he could actually put up a fight against most ninja these days. The idea of being targetted had not crossed his mind, the new defense system in place had made him feel secure in the fact his home would not be attacked. "It seems I myself need to begin training then." The man sounded slightly upset when he said those words, he had hoped he would not have to fight for the rest of his reign. "Tch, this could become a problem." He murmured to himself.

Looking down at the floor, he raises both hands, and rubs them against his temples. "Tell me about it. After this is over I'll be sure to place myself in a tequila coma." He says this somberly, dropping his hands back onto the armrests. It seems things went to hell real quick. A few months ago he'd been in Shimagakure No Sato for a completely different reason. He always knew he would have to engage in warfare sooner or later. Peace doesn't last forever after all. He had always though he'd have more time to prepare, but now. It seemed as if he would only have a week, two at the very most to train before heading back to his village. Times like this he wished he lived off the map like Kaede. Hell. He's in a more worse position than Kaede. He's literally surrounded by his enemies..."We'd better get to training then." He stands from the chair, and looks around the office his mind traveling elsewhere. Snapping back to the leader his face turns grim, "By the looks of things we'd better prepare now, rather than later."

Kaede smirked slightly at Chrollo's remark. Despite the situation he didn't really feel all that worried. Stretching his arms in the air he watched as Chrollo stood. Kaede mirrored him, rising to his feet as well. "Tch, it's been awhile since I've actually taken part in training. This is going to suck". He said with a hint of irritation. Nodding to Chrollo he made his way towards the door. "Hm, I should inform the nin of my village at some point." Mumbling under his breath he opened the door and began the walk towards the exit of his building. Kaede wasn't sure on how much time he had to prepare, so the sooner to start the better it seemed. This was going to be such a drag.