The Poor People are Burning [p,nk]

The one thing that Kozurou didn't quite expect was to be woken up by the sharp sting of a needle laced with a mild stimulant. By "mild", he meant to be something a little bit weaker than caffeine. So, something just to keep him awake, huh. There was a message nearby on his nightstand. Reading it, Kozurou would then sigh slightly. Why did the Mizukage want to see him at two in the morning? It must, he thought, be something important enough so that it had to be discussed with nobody else around. But why him specifically? Was it because he had won the Blood Games? Maybe.

It then dawned on him that maybe the Blood Games had been more of a selection process than its participants had realized. Still, there was really only one way to find out. Standing up, he began to get dressed, going through the ritualistic behaviors that would normally have come about 3 hours later in the day. No excuses, though. This was an order from the kage, one that he was bound by loyalty to obey. Walking out into the night mist with his uniform, Kozurou would make his way silently to the kage palace.

Opening the door and stepping into the surprisingly lit lobby, Kozurou would take a seat and await further orders. At this point, he had enough inner will and discipline to keep himself wide awake, even at this time of the day.

The arrival of Kozurou had, of course, been anticipated by the ANBU of Xyxer. After all, it was them who relayed the message, or to be more specific.. Jester. Jester had been well known to climb through children's windows to stimulate them, but this time it was under the Mizukage orders, using his powers for good! The figure waited beside the elevator, awaiting the boy to arrive, and so when the victor walked through the entrance of the building, his wispy voice spoke out, "Kozurou, Lord Xyxer will see you now." With that the ANBU Operative stepped backwards into the elevator, waiting for the boy to place himself inside. Once in, Jester would press a single button on the keypad before the metallic doors jolted shut and the machine was lifting itself up towards the top of the building. Quite the professional molester, Jester remained quiet throughout the whole ordeal. Once they reached the top floor, Jester would walk down the hallway towards the already open door, stepping towards the side of it to allow Kozurou passage into the chambers of the Mizukage, where Xyxer and Wraith awaited, with his hounds sound asleep in a huddle near the wall with what appeared to be.. bones?

Stepping in behind the boy, Jester closed the door and stood at the other side of Wraith to protect the room, while the blue haired male spoke towards the new entrant, "Congratulations on your victory in The Blood Games, Kozurou, you should be most proud of your abilities. I'm sure you understand the gravity of the situation, with what happened to Hinoki and all." This question of course, was a poke by Xyxer to see how the boy would react to the untimely death of his partner, potentially his friend, while he continued on, "There's only so much that can be done for those who don't wish to become strong enough to survive such ordeals, and you of all people in that tournament displayed that trait.. the desire to achieve. To be the victor instead of the failure. The predator, rather than the prey. This quality.. is very important for our shinobi." Xyxer would go somewhat quiet at this moment, allowing for Kozurou to speak if he so desired.

Oh, already? Right, he supposed that there wouldn't exactly be a long queue at this late hour. Nodding in acquiescence, Kozurou would follow the man into the elevator. Hah! He would bet quite a large (nominal) sum to bet that other villages didn't have such facilities in their kage palaces. However, the his general expression and demeanor would be a focused one. The strongest man in the village had asked him to come to his place at a time when nobody else would be there, and he needed to take this seriously. As the elevator came to a stop, the apprehension in his heart grew. After all, he hadn't had a chance to train after the Blood Games had ended. He'd overcome his bottleneck, but needed to raise his power level to a point where it surpassed that of your run of the mill chunin.

Stepping into the kage's chamber, the first thing he'd notice was the man himself. He'd seen him before at the games, but he was no different here, a striking example of how to be an eyeliner wearing fuccboi a prominent figure in the village. He also noticed the pile of bones next to the puppers. How cute.

Hearing Xyxer's words, Kozurou would nod.

"The one who wishes to be victor must work hard, but in the end, it's better to live than to become the prey of another." With this terse sentence, Kozurou would signal that he was ready and willing to hear Xyxer's orders, but at the same time revealed that he agreed with his leader. To always better himself... that was Kozurou's true goal. He didn't believe that there was a limit to human capacity... or rather, that there was, but that it was self-imposed. People were brought up or believed that humans had a limit to how far they could go. But that was something that the boy rejected.

Throughout this, Kozurou would be standing in a straight position, showing that he was attentive.

Of course, around about this point Xyxer would allow a faint smile to stain his neutral features, looking over the boy once. Perhaps it was the nature of the situation that made him believe he was exempt from the rule now, or perhaps the immediate talk of the Mizukage that had made him forget the correct procedure, but it was of no matter, Xyxer would remind little Kozurou, "In front of the Mizukage, you should kneel, Kozurou. Are you nervous?"

Crap. In the buildup of his apprehension, he had forgotten probably something important. Dropping down, he would sink to one knee. A breach in propriety would do him no good, he thought. There was only so much he could do at this point.

"I apologize; perhaps I am a bit nervous, my lord." This was the truth. He was someone who had been recently a mere genin of the village, just a number among numbers. As such, receiving personal attention from his leader was disconcerting and strange. An honor so unexpected that he could still barely wrap his brain around it.

That being said, he knew he'd just made a mistake, and hoped his apology would be enough for it.

Of course, Xyxer didn't pay too much heed to the boy forgetting to kneel. His presence had often caused people to forget what they were saying, perhaps even momentarily stop breathing at the daunting prospect of his gaze. These things all came naturally when hushed whispers snaked through the crowds about the leader who delighted in the breaking down of shinobi and civilians alike, but surely they were mere rumours.

The Mizukage at this pointed lifted his left arm up, resting the elbow on the surface of the desk before him. His hand was partly open, allowing his knuckles to simultaneously rise and lower as some sort of natural movement for him. After a few seconds of this and a silent gaze, he'd nod his head with a faint smile, "It is alright, Kozurou. I understand how things must be for someone like you. It's natural to make one mistake when nervous." Of course, there was quite a highlight on the 'one' aspect, any more would prove to be quite irritating to Xyxer, but he wouldn't let on too much of the anger that would be exhibited, not yet at least, "Tell me, Kozurou. I like to know about my shinobi, the ones that prove themselves worthwhile.. Why are you who you are? What do you aspire to achieve? Who are you really?" The question could be answered in a multitude of ways, and yet the answer would always reveal the person in question better than they knew. Perhaps it would be the order they list things that revealed their true nature, or even their wording.. but in the end, it'd always reveal a truth about them.

Thank goodness. It seemed that he was out of the frying pan for the time being. More importantly, he needed to answer the Mizukage's question, and promptly. This wasn't difficult, as he had spent a while in introspection, as was befitting any proper martial artist. Risking a slight (yet still focused) smile, Kozurou would answer the Mizukage with no hesitation.

"I want to be the best that I can possibly be. The limits that others place upon me, or even the limits that my own body places on me... I don't believe that they really exist. No matter what, this world is the worst of all possible worlds until we put effort in and improve it using our own force of will and power."

The determination to shape his own fate and not allow anyone else to do it for him was evident in Kozurou's voice. It could be said, in a more trite and overdone expression, that this was the boy's ninja way. He felt pride in it. Every time he trained, he felt this exultation within him like a pair of hands were lifting him towards paradise. At some point, once he established his cultivation base, he too would start to seek out stronger and stronger opponents to battle and overcome.

Of course, the answer was rather generic for someone who was a shinobi. Xyxer did not encounter many people who would place other lives before their own. Sure, he'd encountered people who feigned such martyrdom, but each time they had the chance to truly test their resolve, they'd reveal their true nature. Someone who wanted the praise of a hero, yet not the mortality of it. Deciding to try push deeper into the psyche of Kozurou, he'd continue on once he finished explaining his ninja way, "Then tell me, Kozurou. How many have you sacrificed for your attainment of perfection? I'm sure Hinoki isn't the first, nor will he be the last."

Eh...? That was a surprising question, and perhaps also a loaded one. If it'd been an academy student who'd asked this question, or even a genin, Kozurou would have beat the daylights out of him, but this was his kage. That meant this question, as unfair as it was, had some kind of purpose to it. So he, as a ninja for the village, needed to answer as honestly as possible.

"This is actually first time I've had to really 'step over someone' to get what I needed. It's not something I've made a habit of, though if I need to in order to reach the goals that are important to me. Still, I have a desire to seek out opponents who are just a bit stronger than me and to try to triumph over them. It's the most fulfilling way for me to become strong." It wasn't necessary to say what these were. To keep the village, his home, safe. No, not just safe. Kirigakure stood at the top of the world, and it needed to stay that way. No force could be allowed to topple it.

Of course, if anybody threatened his own personal safety, he'd do his best to keep himself alive. After all, he was no good to himself or Kirigakure dead or maimed. So to that effect, he was trying to become powerful enough so that nobody could trample over him. He was a long way off from attaining that goal, but the journey would teach him valuable lessons.

When the boy finished speaking, he noted how he enjoyed fighting those who were somewhat stronger than him. Naturally, Xyxer himself would have entertained the idea of fighting the boy, but he was far out of his league to be able to truly try against him, and if he wasn't going to try, then there was little to achieve from that battle for him. So, instead, the Mizukage glanced over the shoulder of Kozurou towards one of the ANBU guarding the door, the one who went by the operative name 'Wraith'. With a faint nod of his head, the Mizukage would retreat into silence to allow the boy's actions to speak for him, and the truth would be revealed as to whether he was full of fluff, or actually determined to succeed.

Upon recognising the nod from the Mizukage, Wraith stepped forward towards Kozurou, giving him time to turn around before taking another step towards Kozurou to move into his guard, with his left arm sticking out in what was currently a jab towards the sternum of the male.

Of course, for some peculiar reason, perhaps the Mizukage was very excited about the fight, he decided to stand up from the throne he was in and grasp SAMEHADA, the sword he was currently using, the living sword, the one that he was going to currently learn a skill for and was the basis of the rest of the topic. While doing this, he'd casually swing the living sword as if it was a baseball bat, truly, the Mizukage was very excited about the fight that was about to occur.

[The Boys]