Act 2 - The Scent of Blood (Ashi)

The letter received from the missing ninja styling himself as Maku had caused a kind of panic within the elder's council that Senritsu Akari was rather fond of on a personal level. The young widow had plotted hard to make it to the council but after securing her late father in law's seat, the young woman had been somewhat disappointed. If all the job offered were bossing people around, she would be better of staying at home and doing the very same with the added benefit of being near her children. But this two lined letter had stirred things up.

Old men and woman who only though of their next disgustingly pre chewed meals and knitting patterns were suddenly looking up from their crossword puzzles, the click click of pens was suddenly the loudest sound in a room usually full of sighs about old age and there was a fear in the room... a fear Senritsu had long since associated with people facing the unknown.

Apparently the ninja was quite a famous one, only having escaped Senritsu's notice until now because the raven haired widow had taken little interest in matters involving Konoha let alone the larger world before now. Apparently the Lavender Peacock (and she had to smile at the vulgarity of the name, it had given old Kyoko a coronary) was the man attributed to several villages spontaneously combusting two years ago. He was also responsible for several attacks on Konoha itself, or tempted attacks anyway. Some had been made void, others recorded unclearly. No encounter reports stated what he man wanted though a document from the sixth Hokage, Jason Senju, stated an alliance with Hoshigakure. Several letters from the Hogokage to Kurisu Ametsuchi confirmed this but in the end, an alliance could not be forged.

And here he was once more, claiming he had soemthing they would want. The council had waited exactly twenty four hours for Her Ladyship to contact them with this bit of news. When no word arrived from he Hokage's office, they were forced to conclude that the author of the note had failed to send a copy her way.

So it was that afternoon as the Hokage was out that Senritsu found herself in the woman's office alone. The secretary who's job it was to let people in now so thoroughly terrified of the stern councilwoman, she had barely made a peep as the widow dressed in black walked by, her two children waiting in the visitor's area as usual. Satoshi and Shigeru knew their job, perhaps now it was time to tell the Hokage hers.

Getting comfortable in the chair in front of the desk, Senrtisu waited patiently for the arrival of the frizzy haired Hokage, her elaborate kimono draped delicately over both her frame and the hard backed chair that only supported her strict upbringing of never leaning back while seated.

Surrounded by an entourage of builders, architects, and artists, Ashi Inuzuka swept into the Hokage building with an air of authority befitting a Hokage. All around her people spoke in the innocuous buzz that always seemed to surround leaders of any sort, some contradicted each other, others agreed and some even swore, but Ashi remained silent for the most part. She only bothered to respond with monosyllabic yes's and no's when her input was required. Suffice to say her mind was elsewhere.

The group had spent much of the day touring the various construction sites that Ashi had made her priority during her tenure as Kage. Everything had gone well up until they reached the half-finished statue of  Viper Uchiha—people couldn't agree if the likeness was fitting. Was his gaze too cold or not cold enough? Did one eye look larger than the other? Was the inscription too long? All these questions and more caused conflict as people shared opinions and tried to come to a consensus. The whole thing quite annoyed the Hokage not that she would ever say it.

"Hokage, excuse me, Hokage," the weak voice of the secretary got lost in the incessant chorus of voices leaving Ashi uninformed about the guest waiting for her.

Walking through the halls of the administration complex the crowd around Ashi began to thin as people filtered out to their respective offices until at last only two people remained with the Hokage. The head architect was an elderly well-spoken man and the head builder a young man with firey red hair and a temper to match were still with her. The two were still talking loudly about the cost effectiveness of various materials when they arrived in front of Ashi's office.

"Yes, yes," Ashi agreed good-naturedly to a request by the builder. "I will get back to both of you tomorrow. For now, let's take a break and let cooler heads prevail."

Both men reluctantly agreed, glanced at each other as only rivals could, and went on their way. Taking a breath, Ashi watched the two men go before glancing down to her left. By her side stood, as he always did, Chairomaru.

"Ya know, Chai? I don't think those two will ever get along."

The hound, in response, revealed a row of sharp teeth, which was the closest he could get to a wry smile.

Pushing open the slightly ajar office door with his nose, Chai led the way to what both Hokage and ninken hoped was a well-deserved nap. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be. The foreign smell of perfumes hit the Hokage's nose as she entered such that seeing the individual sitting in the chair only served to confirm her suspicions; she had a visitor.

"Ah, councilwoman," she spoke with the pleasant tone someone might use to address a long lost friend—poltics had grown on Ashi rather quickly. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

As she spoke, she removed her hat of office and with a few graceful strides settled into the Hokage's customary position behind the large oaken desk. Chai, on the other hand, did as he always did when Ashi had guests; he slunk into the back corner where the Inuzuka had set up a makeshift bed for him. No, she did not know what exactly the raven haired woman wanted, but she did know that the council never deigned to come to her unless they needed to. Hopefully, it was something more interesting than a lost budget report.

Then again, senseless meetings about lost budget reports were right up the council's alley.

Senritsu wasn't often caught of guard, it just wouldn't do for a woman in her position. The few scant times surprise - genuine surprise - had marred her perfectly made up features were sharp memories, jagged recollections she only revisited to remind herself why it was so important to never be caught unawares. And yet caught she was when the door opened and the acting Hokage walked in, looking very different from the beast that ambled in beside her this time around. The frizz on her head that had previously masqueraded as hair had somehow been tamed, the face that shouted homeliness redrawn and remapped into some form of acceptability and the clothes - while still a long way from immaculate - were at least clean. Even the woman's nails were free of dirt and grime and hopefully dog shedding.

Still, surprised she may be but showing it was a different matter entirely. So Senritsu's face remained smooth, her dark brown eyes unmoved as the Inuzuka greeted her with a politeness that must be recently learned. "Lady Hokage," the young widow greeted, her expression as perfunctory as possible. There would perhaps never be any warmth in the Akari, not that the Hokage deserved any, "Has he council been kept up to date with all important matters concerning the Hidden Leaf?" she would ask directly, not wasting precious time on pleasantries that would never endear one woman to another.

"If so, then I come bearing bad new and if not, then I come bearing worse news." Regardless of the Inuzuka's answer, Senritsu would first ask.

"Enlighten me, what do you know of a Missing Ninja by the name of Maku Jemuzu. The council finds him.. intriguing."

During the past few months Ashi concluded that there were two types of politicians. The first type lived and died by their personality and ability to win people over through sheer charisma; Ashi quite liked these types. The other type was quieter and worked their way up the ranks of the bureaucracy in a distinctly Machiavellian manner. The councilwoman, Ashi decided, was this second type. Sure, the raven-haired woman said all the right things and knew all the right people, but she lacked a certain spark. So, it came as no surprise to the Hokage when the councilwoman got right down to business.

“They have indeed been kept up to date,” she smiled a slim mocking smile that seemed to say ‘why ask questions you already know the answer to?’. “I believe…”

She paused ever so slightly and casually thumbed through papers on her desk until she came to a schedule.

“…Yes, it looks like I had last month’s report sent to you roughly a week and half ago. As for Maku Jemuzu,” her tone shifted sharply at the mention of the missing ninja. “Unfortunately, I know as much as anyone else does. In my time as an anbu we used to call him the red dawn, because wherever he appeared calamity was sure to follow. So, I wouldn’t call him intriguing, I would call him dangerous. Why do you ask?”

Interesting. the more Senritsu heard, the more she could appreciate this man's reputation. Reputation was what a persona was built on, not actual abilities, and this Misting Ninja clearly understood that secret. "We received a rather intriguing message from him," she explained, her interest in the man of course not showing on her politely blank face. Nothing save make up and smoothness would ever show on the widow's face, something she carefully worked towards every day.

Pulling out the rolled up parchment that belied the short message it contained, she laid it carefully down on the desk between herself and the Hokage. Should the Inuzuka reach and open it, her visitor would simply wait. "It turns out our intelligence was on to something in their deduction that Hoshigakure was somehow involved in the attack on Sand," she would speak casually. The tragedies were great but nothing personal to her, Senritsu had learned years ago to not take things personally. The only exception were her children.

"It seems he wants to initiate communication. And what kind of army do we have to impress upon this man that Konohagakue's mighty force is something to be reckoned with?" The words were almost an causation, almost. The handful of chunin and jounin, a missing Hokage and ANBU so deep undercover they may as well not exist, these were not all Ashi Inuzuka's fault. But Senritsu liked making her think it was just the same.

"Unless our Genin have developed skills of a diplomatic nature, how do you propose we deal with this, Madame Hokage?" For her part, the young widow had an answer. But she would have to wait and see what the older woman suggested first.

Intriguing?

See, this is why the Inuzuka had a distinct distaste for the rank and file politicians. They never said what they meant and when they did they said it in such a way that it would not reflect poorly on themselves. All the Hokage asked for was someone who would tell her the size of the situation without useless double talk and senseless ceremony.

Taking the parchment she unrolled it carefully making sure not to rip it cleanly in half as she so often did. What struck her first was the poor handwriting. Was Maku a child or something? Perhaps he should work on such things if he wished to be taken seriously and what a silly title he had given himself. Maku, by her estimation, was a showman at heart.

"Army?" Ashi nearly laughed at the woman's naivety. If politics was Senritsu's calling then the military was Ashi's and she knew how it worked better than most anyone in the village having worked for years within its darkest corners. "A show of force would be foolish in the extreme. No, I will write back to our dear friend Maku and explain to him the impossibility of his request. I will meet with him on our terms. I feel that he is the type to accept."

Ashi did not form her plan of action as a request, but rather a statement. Senritsu, of course, would add her opinion, but it would not sway Ashi from her predetermined path. Senritsu did not know war like Ashi did and the Inuzuka would not court it with some overblown show of force.

Senritsu would listen to the Hokage's foolish plan, clearly no one had ever taught the woman the importance of looking the part. A pity really for beneath all the grooming and scrubbing , the Inuzuka remained the same creature Senritsu had first laid eyes on, barely better groomed than the beast that now slunk behind her. Unlike the Hokage however, at least the dog had learned its place, it might do better in politics than Ashi Inuzuka.

"Loath as I am to part with good advice," the young widow began after the older woman had outlined her idea, "I find myself forced to sometimes. And now seems like one of those times. If Maku wished to speak to you, he would have written to you, no?" Her scarlet lips would close over the question, dark kohled eyes watching for the Inuzuka's response. They both knew what the implication of writing to the council meant. The mantel of Hokage was respected once upon a time.

Now, well what a pity.

"However I will not force you to take that advice, if you wish to "meet him on your terms", go right ahead. But before you do say, please name a replacement for your station so the council can look into this ninja." The words were delivered casually, because it mattered little to Senritsu personally if the other woman made it back alive or not. Hokage were replaceable if the council was strong. And she had ensured the council took full advantage of recent political turmoils to cement her own position in the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

"The Council also requests to be kept in the loop over all communications with this Missing Ninja should you proceed with this communication."