Act I - The You Reflected in the Glass (Ashi)

Senritsu Akari was still in mourning.

Of course, it was only to be expected. The twenty eight year old had seen too much tragedy for her age. First losing a sister at he age of nineteen, then her husband to a mysterious illness that should not have plagued a man of only four and forty and then losing her father in law to suicide. Yes, in a village where shinobi took pride in sacrificing their life on the battle field, Senritsu had lost two close members of her family to petty illness and depression.

It was disgusting.

Regardless, in mourning she was - she and her twin boys who now walked in quiet grace on either side of the young mother. Satoshi looking ahead and Shigeru ever watchful of followers. They had been trained from an early age to not walk blindly on the road or through life.

These boys would not perish from illness or grief, they would not be like their weak father and despondent grandfather. her sons would be like her, resolute and unflinching. And it was to them Senristsu would devote the rest of her life. To see them rise like the stars they were. Brain washed Leaf Ninja could spout the ideology of fire all day long but her sons were neither leaf nor fire.

They were the sun, they would burn and blind, and leave devastation in their wake.

As the three turned into the street leading to the main entrance of the Hokage building, Senritsu inclined her head towards Shigeru, giving him a look he knew all too well. The boy nodded. Satoshi moved a step ahead, giving the illusion that he was leading the group of people dressed in black into the building. Walking smoothly up to the reception desk, Senritsu finally spoke.

"Please inform whoever is bothering to substitute for the Hokage today that the council wishes for an urgent word." Her tone was just authoritative enough to put the secretary on edge while still maintaining the pretense of politeness. Without being told, the twins made their way to a bench in the lobby, knowing they would not be accompanying their mother into the meeting.

As the receptionist scurried to check who was in charge for the day, Senritsu turned towards the elevator, catching a glimpse of her elaborate kimono and obi made up varying shades of anyx. Her deep dark hair arranged in a similarly elaborate fashion and her face painted to reflect both her station as well as her disdain for the meeting she would was about to conduct. Whoever she was meting may not know this but she was the one in charge of this interaction.

For Senritsu Akari may be in mourning, but business always came first.

Want to know something funny?

Well, the term 'substitute Hokage' is quite misleading. It sounds grand, doesn't it? Surely one would expect a whole ceremony and some elaborate dinner. Oh, and maybe a new wardrobe too. Alas, Ashi found that what it really meant was little more than becoming a glorified paperwork slave. In fact, no one in the village, save for a few members of the high command, knew about the work she'd been doing.

Technically speaking, there was no single substitute for the Hokage while he was away in Sunagakure. Rather it was a group of people selected from the upper echelons of Konoha's military. While the council took care of civil affairs this group took care of military matters. The Inuzuka woman just so happened to be spearheading the group of four, for what she lacked in social graces she made up for with the hardened mind of a military woman.

"No, we can't just let them integrate freely," her voice raised for the first time that day. "That is asking for a security threat."

We're talking ourselves in circles here...

The order of the day had become resettlement. The details were still coming, but it seemed that something had happened to Sunagakure. Refugees started streaming in a few days back sending the whole village into disarray. The challenge was to ascertain the facts behind the large influx of people and then finding out what to do with them. Truthfully? The whole thing was a logistical headache and Ashi's group had been in talks since the early morning.

Bzzzt Bzzzt Bzzzt...

The buzz of the intercom interrupted the brief silence following Ashi's statement. It buzzed once more before the woman hit the button allowing the crackly voice of the receptionist to inform the group of the required meeting. These meetings had become commonplace in the Hokage's absence; the council loved to check up on the group. Normally, they'd draw straws to see who's turn it was to submit a verbal report, but Ashi had not attended a meeting in a while so the privilege fell to her. The rest of the group would continue talks while she did her due diligence on their behalf.

It really was a pain.

Gulping down the remainder of her coffee, Ashi went on her way with Chairomaru following close behind. Weaving through the hallways of the Hokage building she approached the conference room that the council always seemed to take up residence in when they visited. The tall doors were shut and all the woman had to do was push them open. However, she hesitated briefly.

Taking care to adjust the battle-scarred armor befitting her rank she tried her best to look reasonably presentable. Then, pulling back her hair into what amounted to a mess of hair reaching down her back, Ashi took a breath. Glancing down to her left she flashed a small smile at Chai who returned it. This whole reporting to people outside of the military structure wasn't her cup of tea.

Knocking three times on the double doors she waited a few seconds before walking into the room with Chai at her side. Wearing her best smile, which wasn't saying much as it looked more like a toothy grin, she mentally prepared herself. Last time she'd been in here the council had questioned her for hours about a policy her group had formulated regarding increased spending on defenses.

Here goes nothing...

The ANBU would knock and enter only to find Senritsu already seated - at the head of the large conference table of course - and looking disappointed as ever in the situation she found herself in. It was a look the young widow had perfected from an early age, believing that people did their best when under the uncomfortable realization that they had done something wrong and now needed to make up for it. Rich brown eyes took in the woman with equal parts disdain and vilification. Clearly personal grooming was not required to be what Senritsu would only refer to as "The Stand In" unless told otherwise.

"Leave the beast outside," the Akari would speak before any greetings could commence. She had the curtest to leave her children out of this, there was no reason a mutt should be allowed in. Should the other female comply, Senritsu would simply wait for her to handle the creature before coming in and introducing herself. This may be her very first time carrying out a council task on her own but Senritsu intended to observe all formalities, including having the other female introduce herself first.

Once the introduction was out of the way, the widow would begin without preamble. "The council would like to express its deep concern a the lack on information we've been receiving lately. As I'm sure even..." another look at the ill kept kunoichi as she spoke the words. "You would know, it is the administration's duty to report to the council on all shinobi activities that we help run and fund." A subtle reminder again. "For months now, half of the village's top shinobi are missing, the Hokage himself has not been heard from and uncertain news has reached us from Suna. Would you care to explain why we received it from Suna and not your administration - who's sole duty is to report to us?"

While her words were condemning enough, her tone remained politely inquisitive, as if it really was a genuine question she was expecting answers to. "Perhaps all of the birds in the aviary died? Or all messenger ninja broke their legs at the same time?" she offered before giving the other female a chance to explain. Senritsu would hear out the ANBU before continuing.

"Beast?" Ashi questioned incredulously—maligning an Inuzuka's companion is never a good idea if you value your life. "This 'beast' has done more for this village than most shinobi. He has as much right to be here as you or me, if not more.

Taking a breath and erasing the scowl that had formed on her face, Ashi composed herself. Now, was not the time to upbraid a supposed superior. No, sadly, she could not exact a very physical revenge for the slight against Chai, shame.

"But very well," she paused and half considered sticking her tongue out in defiance only to think better of it. "If you insist."

Chairomaru was not some mindless beast however and when Ashi looked down to send Chai on his way she found that he had already gone. The hound had been following the conversation closely and had in fact already made his way out the door as Ashi defended him. In some ways, the big brown dog was probably smarter than his companion or, at the very least, better with people. Funny how that is.

"Shall we begin?" protocol time, there was a dance of sorts to this whole thing. "Ashi Inuzuka of the interim military governemnt. How may we help the council today?"

Luckily, it seemed that the lone councilwoman liked to get straight to the point. Unluckily, the topic of discussion would be a difficult one. The missing Hokage, the uncertainty of Sunagakure, and the absentee military force were all, for the moment, questions without answers. However, Ashi now found herself having to create answers.

"We would have reported to you if there were anything to report," the woman's voice held a cold edge now, this was the commanding voice many knew to be operative Wolf's. "It is far too early to say with certainty what happened. Some say a bijuu attacked, some say a plague ravaged the village, and still others claim Hoshigakure launched an unprovoked attack."

She shifted her feet into a wider stance and clasped her hands behind her back as she continued.

"These, however, are all rumors and we don't report rumors. It is important to first gather all the facts and this takes time when sifting through useless information—we don't deal in fake news. I personally assure you that when we know," Ashi gestured to herself and then back at the councilwoman. "You will know. In the meantime, we have doubled our guards around the village and increased patrols of our borders. This will ensure the safety of our village against whatever may come."

And that, dear reader, is how you say 'we have no idea what is happening' without saying 'we have no idea what is happening'.

Senritsu remained stone faced as the ANBU defended her mutt. Passion had no place in her life, if screaming one's opinions from the rooftops got anything done, the village would not need a council to oversee it. Apparently the mutt had more of a streak for obedience than its owner as the dog walked away even as the woman with it rose to its defense. Senritsu's expression changed none as the meting transitioned into what could hardly be called a report.

"So to summarize, you have no idea. Not of what happened to the Hokage, what happened in Sunagakure no Sato or where parts of your military have been away adventuring for the past few months? And your response is to put a few extra Genin on guard duty?" The coldness in her tone matched Ashi's, her expression making it clear how disappointing she found the interim military's efforts.

"The council is unable to reach the Hokage or the head of the Uchiha clan who - despite his banishment - has always been available for remote communication. Sources in Suna claim that the Kazekage has also vanished. We may not know how he vanished but we know he did, wouldn't that be worth reporting - unless of course that particular bit of information hasn't reached you yet?" The implication was clear, their intelligence gathering was severely lacking.

"The council has met and decided to declare a state of emergency over all the village. Your team will immediately send out a message to recall all of our shinobi to base. This will be done by today as safety of the village is of tantamount importance. Any shinobi who refuses to respond to the call will be labelled a traitor and dealt with appropriately. It's past time you get your affairs in order, Ms. Inuzuka, running a ninja village is not child's play."

With the council's expectations issued, the Akari would wait for a reply. Upon receiving it, she would ask the next question that had been troubling the council of late.

"And who is the face of this... operation may i ask? Since the Hokage is not present. Who signs the documents and attends the meetings and carries out his personal work" In other words, who would be the one to publicly blame should things go sour.

Extra Genin?

For a councilwoman who was supposed to be in the know, well, she really didn't know much. This was the problem when dealing with non-military types. Everyone who knew anything knew that gates guards were often lower ranked shinobi for a reason: all the important security work was done by the higher ranked shinobi patrolling the borders. The lower ranks were, more or less, there as a formality to catch low-tier threats.

Then there was the matter of the councilwoman's claim, conveniently based on a claim, that the Kazekage had gone missing. Perhaps the woman was not familiar with how intelligence gathering worked? Yes, that had to be it. Furthermore, this was not the first time the Kazekage had gone a while without contact. The woman before her clearly did not do her research. A bit worrying, no?

Alas, Ashi also knew that was not what the councilwoman was wanting to hear. As far as anbu drill sergeants go the councilwoman would probably rate as a 4/10, she was soft. However, what councilwoman wanted was probably the same: for Ashi to break. The trick here is to break without breaking. The illusion of subservience is everything until it isn't.

"On the behalf of our group I apologize for the lapse in intelligence. We will send out the order as soon as possible and allow a week for all shinobi to return. Those who do not return will, as you say, be labeled traitors"

Ashi's stomach boiled as she swallowed back the bile in the back of her throat. She really really hated playing the fool.

"As for who is at the head of our group," she paused for a moment. "I suppose that would be me for the time being."

It was good to see she'd landed the arrow on its mark. As the Inuzuka readily agreed, Senritsu chalked it down to a tentative victory. She had expected more opposition especially given her new position on the council and her age. Certainly, the young widow had suspected this job was given to her to set her up as a failure. Little did the council know, Senritsu Akari did not fail.

"Very well," the brown eyed female replied. "Might as well make it official then. There is paperwork for you to sign declaring you the Deputy Hokage until Kurisu-sama's returns. At which point we will be expecting a full report from him too. The council does not take kindly to being blindsided, and despite what the administration thinks, we have our own sources of information when yours fall short."

In a perfect world, the council and the Kage's team would collaborate but that had not been the case these past few years. What with each Hokage taking personal prerogative to run the village like his personal dollhouse, the council had had just about enough of it. One Hokage killed by the other, one killed by his own ANBU and rumored to die of sickens and one the former Raikage. This was a military village not a circus.

"I expect the papers to be signed and at my desk by this evening. Congratulations on shattering the glass ceiling." The sentence was perfunctory at best, no warmth accompanying the statement. "You will be making pubic statements about the death of our two shinobi as well as answering to the village where our military forces are and when we can expect them back. the council also expects more regular reports from here on."

A stiff mechanical nod was all the councilwoman would get as a response. For matters such as these fewer words were better than more. Well, that and the Inuzuka could not very well trust her own tongue around the other woman. Something about the councilwoman brought out the worst in Ashi. Unfortunately, she couldn't quite place her finger on what that 'something' was.

"Thank you for this honor," She said with a bow though her voice betrayed no real emotion.

Gathering the papers, Ashi went on her way. Further talk would prove fruitless for all parties involved. Plus, she now had some affairs to set in order and shinobi to recall. The whole thing was quite troublesome, to say the least; she really should've sent someone else to the meeting in her stead. Operative Parrot would've been better, he always was.

Perhaps, as she and Chai made their way back to the Hokage's office, Ashi should've been happy or maybe even a little apprehensive. However, she felt nothing as she had never aspired to power either political or physical. Rather, she had always been in it for her village and now her village called on her to lead. So, she would lead, not because she wanted to, but because it was now her job.

And Ashi Inuzuka, if nothing else, lived for her job.

[Exit, claiming Deputy Hokage and stuff]

The Akari widow made no move to bid the new Deputy farewell, remaining stone still as the Inuzuka took her leave. At least there had been no grovelling or excuses. Senritsu had little patience for people who employed those. Waiting until the ANBU and her mutt were gone, the councilwoman rose to her feet, taking a last look around the meeting room before heading out herself.

Her sons were waiting exactly where she'd left them, though they hadn't been idle either. "Come children," she spoke softly the boys coming to stand on either side of her in their usual formation. The trio dressed in black passed the receptionist without sparing a glance her way, leaving her more uncomfortable than before.

"Twelve," Satoshi murmured once they were clear of the bundling and any possible eavesdroppers. "Fourteen," Shigeru corrected his brother. Their mother raised a single eyebrow, prompting both boys to hastily correct their answers simultaneously.

"Thirteen."

they would only get a nod for their efforts, praise made children weak. Their next task was clear: looking into Hoshigakure and the threat it might pose.

(Exit Senritsu, naming Ashi Deputy Hokage but none of the perks of it. She's still ANBU rank etc.)

Approved, RIP Gary