Audience with the mizukage (IO/nk)

Tatsuo almost couldn't believe where he was going. He had requested to meet the mizukage himself and it seemed as though he was now being given his chance to do so. The sun was beginning to set as the night came slowly crawling in. Reaching the mizukages building he entered slowly and began navigating towards the mizukages quarters. Upon reaching the door which led to his chambers, he paused for a moment taking a deep breath. Afterwards he knocked not too hard not too softly on the door and awaited permission to enter. He didn't want to barge in on the mizukage because he wished to show the man the utmost respect while he was here.

So it was that Xyxer sat in his throne overlooking the village. Of course, the opposite of the door entering the room would be made entirely out of panels of glass. It looked cool that way and allowed the Mizukage to see anything and everything from this vantage point. It was dark, of course, that was the first notable thing. Something about the village felt wrong to the boy, however.. The true Kirigakure No Sato was filled with ghosts.. This village.. he had shown so much restraint. He had not slaughtered many souls, if he recalled correctly, during his occupation of the village he had only took a family hostage, his sheer power alone had commanded the respect of the former leader.. Had this been the right thing to do? Would ghosts make this village seem more like home to him? As these thoughts paraded around in his mind he heard the knock on the door he had been anticipating this evening, turning around in the spinning chair because he's cool and so casual, he'd nod once to the two ANBU guarding the door. Wraith, being the one on the left side of the door would open it for the boy to enter, and Jester would close it after him. They wore the regular ANBU clothing, with Jester's face mask of course being a plain white mask contorted into both a grin and a frown as theatrics deemed it to be, and Wraith's being white with purple spikes running down over the eye holes.

"What can I do for you, Tatsuo?" Atlas inquired, the dogs he ever so loved still chained to the left side of the room, albeit they were quiet now. Perhaps they were sleeping, or their hunger had been sated.

The door opened as the anbu allowed him entry. After he entered a second anbu closed the door behind him, it wasn't too surprising that these men would be here, even the mizukage needed guards sometimes right? Nah, he probably only needed them as a formality. Their masks hid their faces well and Tatsuo recognized neither of them. As he entered the room, he gave a quick bow for a sign of respect before speaking to the mizukage. "To be honest lord Mizukage I had heard many things about you and simply wished to meet you myself. I feel as though lately I have been falling behind on my training and I know very well that in this village there is no one better to talk to about power than yourself." His normal blank tone now had forced respect within it. Hoping the mizukage would hear his request and offer some form of assistance whether it was simple advice or even taking him on as a student. Either way, whatever the mizukage offered would be accepted.

It was just then he noticed the glass wall behind the mizukage overlooking the whole village. That was quite a cool little addition to the chamber, it was almost necessary for a leader to keep constant watch over his subjects. It was also at that moment that he realized the Mizukage had greeted him by name. To his knowledge he had never met the mizukage but then again it wasn't too surprising that his lord knew who he was. He probably knew just about everyone that resided in this village.

It appeared the boy wished for aid in the form of his training, as that was pretty much what he had told Atlas. Normally, people came to the chambers when they wished to talk about promotions, vacations or even murders, but this was interesting none the less. Now, the boy had not displayed any desirable traits to Xyxer which would make him see him as apprentice worthy, and Atlas was unsure on whether he even wanted to release another Xyxer into the world. Pausing for a while to contemplate what was said still, he spoke finally, "How do you fight, Tatsuo? Your preferred methods.. What is your training like? Partners?"

The mizukage had asked him what his fighting style was. He had never really thought about such a thing but he knew how to answer. He removed his katana from his waist and showed it to the mizukage. "Well lord Mizukage, I am a swordsmen. This katana has been attached to my waist for some time now and I have grown quite fond of it. Fighting with fists is one thing but I get a certain satisfaction from slicing things with this blade. Other than that I also have my bloodline to aid me. I can transform and gain incredible power but nothing is without a cost." His demon form used up quite a large amount of chakra and sometimes can be hard to maintain depending on the circumstances. 

After he finished speaking he awaited to see how the mizukage would respond. He spoke one last time before falling silent. "If there is anything else about me you wish to know lord Mizukage, I am usually not so open about my secrets but an exception can be made for you of all people. I just learned early on that revealing your skills and abilities just creates an opportunity for whomever you are fighting to figure out their weaknesses and workarounds."

Smirking a little, the side of him that found quips entertaining found one he could use. This was going great, not too long into meeting a new person he could already make a joke! "Perhaps that is the problem then, Tatsuo. Your katana is attached to your hip, not your hand." He paused a little to listen to the rest of what Tatsuo had to say, nodding once more as he continued, "I admire your cautionary nature. It is true, during my younger years I had often dissected the skills and abilities of my opponents from 'harmless' smalltalk. It proves a great advantage, do you not use that yourself? Deception is also a key part of combat for a lot of people, sometimes when you face somebody of greater raw strength, you can attack them with something that their eyes can't register; a dagger hidden in the dirt from when you fell, kicked into their shin when they come to you for the final blow." He paused once more, wondering how to further go about this, "If you are in dire need of help, I am sure I can arrange for somebody to spar with you, if that is what you desire? Otherwise, feel free to speak your mind."

The Miuzkage made quite a clever joke and Tatsuo himself couldn't help but chuckle a small bit at it as well. The Mizukage then spoke very wise words, these things registered in Tatsuo's mind and he thought about them quite heavily. Deception was a very useful tool for anyone but a shinobi especially in a fight. Brains could definitely triumph over brawn in many cases, it doesn't matter how strong someone is or can be if they do not know how to handle and use such strength. "I agree with you entirely Lord Mizukage. Being able to dissect any piece of information that would give you an advantage of some kind over your opponent is invaluable. As for the power of deception, such a thing is also an invaluable tool for a shinobi. To be able to pick apart your opponent before the fight even begins can decide the outcome almost instantly. I've always been one to say brains over brawn. What good is all the strength in the world if you don't have the experience to utilize it properly." After speaking he decided to stay silent for a few moments and just listen. After more advice and wise talk the Mizukage said he could arrange a sparring partner for Tatsuo. This was something Tatsuo was quite happy about, having a rival to pit himself against was something he had been searching for recently. 

After the Mizukage finished speaking completely Tatsuo decided he could now begin speaking his own words. "That would be good, I have recently been searching for someone whom I can consider a rival. I also feel I can trust that whomever you have in mind will be strong and provide a good enough challenge. Fighting against someone stronger than you is always better than fighting against people who are just ants beneath your might." After he finished a thought popped into his head for a moment and he ultimately decided to voice it. "In fact Lord Mizukage, maybe one day when I have become strong enough, me and you could have a match just for grins." Just thinking about it was exciting, to be able to have a sparring match with someone of said stature got the adrenaline going just to thing about.

"Without tasting defeat, Tatsuo, you will not know the greatness you truly strive for. As such, I believe.." He paused for a moment to consider the options he had among the Genin bracket before coming to a decision, "Mitako Raicho will be a good choice for you. I hear he is also fond of blades, and he too, has recently engaged in grueling combat which ended in defeat. Qualities you could desire may be found in him, but if you believe my choice is of ill-favour, then please, feel free to voice your concern at any point in time."

A small smirk formed upon the male's lips at the sign of the challenge. Oh boy, it had been so long since the demon had truly tested it's mettle.. The decapitation of the traitor.. the halving of the invader.. It's lust for battle shaked within him, but the boy was not to be ready for such a thing yet. However, he would nod, "In due time, Tatsuo, if you grow as I hope."

Mitako was a name he was unfamiliar with. He knew this person was a genin and for a moment the name rang a bell but for the life of him his memory failed. He would need to trust the Mizukage's judgement on this one but he felt he could so with little concern. [color]violet]"I do no believe I have met this person before but I will trust your judgement. Should I await for him to contact me or should I go and find him myself lord Mizukage?"[/color] Honestly the answer to this question mattered not. All that mattered to Tatsuo was that he got what he was looking for, the power he wished to gain in order to make a name for himself in this world. Awaiting the Mizukage's response for his question, he stood visibly excited at the thought of a challenging fight from this Mitako.

"You may seek him out yourself. Is there anything else you require?" He smiled faintly, awaiting either an answer or for the boy to skip merrily on the PATH DOWN DESTRUCTION TO BEGIN THE START OF KIRIGAKURE'S SECOND SUMMERSLAM.