We have much to discuss

First was the trip from the gates to the hospital. Shiroi was only there long enough to get a vial of blood. The blood would be drawn and safely stored as she began her treck to the castle.

Shiroi would arrive at the gates of the castle, hopefully still with Mu-jin in tow.

"You wait for me here," she said. "I've got to inquire as to someone's current whereabouts."

Assuming Mu-jin agreed, Shiroi would point out a few coffee shops he could wait at.

So Shiroi would begin asking the guards about where Kyousuke might be. They seemed not entirely certain as their shift had just started, but they mentioned he was likely either in the castle or perhaps the Kage's office. Or lunch, considering it was around that time.

With permission, Shiroi would enter the castle and hunt for him in the more obvious places.






[[ I can't think of a reason that Shiroi would want to bring Mu-jin into the castle, so I'm hoping that Kyousuke actually intercepts us at the gate, perhaps on his way out? If that doesn't work out, Jaye probably wouldn't be too upset with posting a one liner like *waits at coffee place, msg me when I can post again* ]]

Holding his kage hat in his hands Kyousuke would flap his wings and land by the gates of the castle. The robes he wore were opened revealing he was wearing no shirt beneath. He would wave to Shiroi and his skin would return to normal as the gray receded from his body.


“Can I help you with anything Shiroi?”

 
WC: 59

So this was the village of Hoshi? It honestly looked like something out of a fairy tale but then again he didn't exactly know what to think of it. He walked in silence as per usual beside Shiroi as his eyes carefully examined where he had been going all the way down to how people and how they were looking at him. Most just stared at his eyes and how weird his pupils were shaped which was an achievement for itself, i mean they were cross shaped after all. Because of that he just slid the hood onto his face and keep the staff on his shoulders until they had arrived at the gates. Once there he stood quietly, the flapping of wings catching his ears until he had seen a man land...Cute. His eyes went back to Shiroi and waited to see what she had to say about this.

Kyousuke in an alternate dimension, this exact scene:

"Um, hello the-" Shiroi began as Kyousuke touched down.

"Wait, are you the Kage now? When'd that happen?

"Holy shit, how long was I out of the village for!?

"Wait- what about the pre-

"Ok perhaps we should take this conversation somewhere private. Oh, also, quick introduction. Mu-jin, Kyousuke, Kyousuke, Mu-jin. Quick background: Mu-jin helped me uncover some stuff that is... important is putting it mildly. So, where's the best place for a private conversation? I'd prefer Mu-jin come with."

Truthfully, Shiroi hoped that Mujin would prove to be completely unnecessary. However, she knew that Kyousuke had his own opinions about Haven, and likely felt strongly of them, but she did not know where his opinions stood, and similarly about his opinions on Akihana and others of the "first generation" of Hoshi ninja, as she had not yet thought to call them. If worse came to worse, hopefully Kyousuke (or someone more fanatical, more likely) would attempt to silence the new blood first, assuming they were the person of import, only to be surprised by a dead man's recompense.

“About a week ago.” Kyousuke would say in response to his friends question. “You were out of the village? Was there a mission or something?” If there was he could read the report on it later in addition to whatever Shiroi would say about it.

“Pre…”” What is she asking. “Okay, I guess we can use my office.” He would say taking Shiroi’s suggestion to move to a more private area to speak. I guess they did something fun on the mission or learned something fun at the least. “Sure, Mu-jin can come along. Nice to meet you, I’m Kyosuke Snow.” He would say going past the guards at the gate and towards his office.


If the other two followed he would hold the door for them and then close it as they entered. “Okay, so what is going on Shiroi we haven’t talked in a while. Anything new?” He of course knew she had something important she wanted to get out, but he had to at least have a little small talk. Maybe, she would ignore it entirely and dive straight into the real stuff.

He simply stood there listening to the conversation at hand until he was mentioned and his eyes moved between the two. Ideally he could have done without going but for whatever reason he was needed to going he went. As the two walked so did he until he was spoken to, in which he simply nodded and kept it brief," Likewise." Once they had gotten into the office he leaned against the wall near the two so that he could hear the conversation in case he needed to say something.

"Yes, I left on a mission, but then things... developed. So I've been out of the village for a bit," she replied before they had been led inside.

Now fast forward to inside the office.

"Alright, yes. A lot of new stuff. I'm just going to talk for a bit, please allow me to do such. Respond to whichever parts you want afterwards."

Shiroi took a deep breath, and started.

"So, I was out on a mission when I came across an... acquaintance is the wrong word, because that would imply we were ever on good terms. But it's that sort of relationship. He confirmed some ideas that Shina originally told me about.

"I guess I should probably clarify a bit about my past, if you don't know it. Do you know it?" Obviously, if Kyousuke answered in the affirmative, Shiroi would only give a very cliffnotey version of the following cliffnotey description. "Ok so, I was raised by two people who worked as courier nin. When I was abouts ten, they sent me to Haven with an important letter, told me to show the guards and they'd know what to do. Well, I was ambushed on the road, and the letter was stolen. I chased down the attackers and got it back, but was severely wounded. I woke up from a coma years later, my treatment having been paid for by the queen. I always assumed the guards saw me, saw the letter, and the connections happened then.

"That's... not what happened. Shina filled in the gaps that everyone else had been very vague and avoidy about. So, yes, guards had found me. And they tossed me into a pile of bodies, presuming I was dead. I wasn't. Shina found me while scavenging. Found the letter with the royal seal. Took it to the guards, hoping for a reward. Got turned down, interrogated, and some other bad stuff. Guards collected me, hospitalized me, and... yeah. Years later I woke up, and the story was generic since then.

"So, back to more recent events. Turns out, that letter was very likely about some forgotten or lost heir to the throne. The... 'acquaintance' I met while on mission basically confirmed that there was a high probability of an illegitimate child between the late queen and a foreigner. And there was an idea on how to find them, too. So... I went searching. I found Mu-jin. I found the missing heir.

"So now there's other things to talk about. You went to Kumo, didn't you? Why... why are they allowed in here? There have been such atrocious acts committed by Kumogakure. But I guess, that was probably only the higher ups. So I guess the nobodies are probably cool. I mean, I just got back, so I don't actually KNOW, but I assume they've not caused trouble?

"But are we certain they won't? When I was out, I heard rumors about conquest by Kumo. I didn't have the chance to confirm it. Do you know anything about that? I don't want to do anything impulsive based on a mere rumor.

"Another topic... have you noticed the disdain within the populace? Akihana's actions have not promoted community. It's promoted hatred, just hushed it. The people hate in private, afraid for their lives if they speak openly about it.

"We've had silent killings of prominent anti-ninja individuals. We've publicly executed groups of them. And now, someone with no royal blood, has claimed queenship, saying that the already dead queen, who's death we hid from the population, gave her the title. The queen who was poisoned by a ninja. The queen who was too sickly to speak in public. Who was constantly under watch by the ninja who claimed queenship.

"People aren't happy, Kyousuke. And this is only the tip of the ice berg. There was this one man. He was against the methods of the ninja occupation. But he actively supported our presence. He wanted us to stay, he just wanted us to not... be the entire legal system of Hoshi, and by extent Haven.

"He's given up on those ideas. And he's a rich man. A RICH man. If he wanted, he could probably hire an entire village to just force us out. I doubt he will. He's still advocating peace. He wants us to peacefully leave, and has offered to hire protectors from other ninja villages out of his own pocket.

"But he's not the real issue. He's just the example of how. Fucking. Far. We've fallen in the eyes of the population. Do you know how many groups there are gathering weapons, waiting for a proper chance to strike? There's almost certainly a few with ex-queensguards or queensguard hopefulls. And I've personally fought mercenaries bought to stop a wedding. You were there! Do you honestly think that those same types of people would even hesitate before buying mercenaries to take back their nation?

"Akihana lived in this fantasy realm where everyone would see her actions as for the better good. Or perhaps her goal all along was taking over. I honestly would not be surprised if she coordinated the attack that poisoned the late queen, and then actively avoided giving her the proper medicine. Sometimes the most nicest, most sociable person ever is also the unfeeling sociopath that cares for nothing but themselves. But maybe that's not the case. Maybe she's a fucking idiot who has no ability to think from someone else's shoes. Or perhaps she doesn't care. She knows that a civilian revolt would end extremely poorly for the civilians. Hundreds if not thousands dead. And the fear of extermination is a great way to control people.

"So, I said we need to talk. Here's the talk. I've got this vial of blood. Technically, I'm not 100% certain I've found the heir. This is their blood. If this genetically matches the queen, we have an heir. If we have an heir, we have a chance to save this country. Will you help me? It will be a huge scandal to exhume the queen. But it will be worth it. The chance that I'm wrong is... slim. And it can likely be done in the dead of night, with no one knowing. We just need to confirm. And then we go.

"So, will you help me? Even if we have to arrest, or perhaps even kill, Akihana and her supporters?"

Well it is starting a little weird already. “Okay, so he is a person you know not necessarily one you like.” Kyousuke would add as Shiroi seemed to be struggling to find a way to describe their relationship. I wonder what Shina told her, must have been important to bring it to my attention.
 
“Nope, I don’t know much about your past. Aside from being brought into the village in a coma. After which the queen ordered you be taken care of.” Giving a quick summary of what he knew was for the best it seemed Shiroi wanted to keep the conversation moving.
 
“Connections? What did the letter have in it?” The giant asked hoping Shiroi would know. It had to be important to have the royal seal on it and to have someone interrogated along with some other bad stuff.
 
As she continued Kyousuke put his hand on his head. “So, you believe this boy is an heir to the throne? Is there any proof? Do you have the letter or are you guessing at what the letter contained?” At this point all the information sounded like mere conjecture. “Why won’t you name this ‘acquintance’?” This story was starting to sound the same as oh you know that story that happened to my friend, but in truth the friend in the story is yourself.
 
Since Shiroi was determined to blow past the appearance of a random dude claiming to be heir to the throne of Hoshi, Kyousuke would follow along. “No, problems with Kumo having been here. I’ve talked to some of them they aren’t all bad. As to answer your other question yes, I have been to Kumo, but those acts were not committed by Kumo just its dictator at the time.”
 
“They are here because the queen allowed it and I support her decision. I admit, I did not like it at first. But after talking to them I learned my hatred was misplaced on all of them and my true target is their former leader.”
 
Walking to his desk Kyousuke would grab multiple files. “Kumo has indeed been on a bit of a rampage. Suna is no more and many minor villages have been taken over.” He would hand them to Shiroi. “Strangely they haven’t done that here. They are leaving soon from what I am told.”
 
“Yes, I have noticed the disdain, but it has always been there. That is nothing new.” He would comment as Shiroi blamed the actions of the people on Akihana. “The people look to us when they need protected and curse us when they are safe.”
 
As Shiroi continued Kyousuke’s face grew dark. “Are you drunk? The dead queen didn’t give her the title. The princess did, when she left for bird country alongside one of the queensguard.” At this point with the jumping topics and allegations the kage was starting to think a night in the drunk tank would be best.
 
“He can hire who he pleases. As he will find himself in the same situation as before the difference is that mercenaries can’t be trusted.” The acts of one rich man would not shake his resolve to protect the village or its people. “Also, maybe you should give me the name of this man perhaps he can be persuaded not to be an idiot.”
 
“We can’t satisfy everyone Shiroi. That is just reality.”
 
“So, what do you propose we do to stop them Shiroi? It sounds like we leave or kill them from your words, but both are not good plans.” Neither of these options were on the table, but he did want the girl’s opinion.
 
Tightening his fists was all he could do to not hit Shiroi at this moment. She moved on to directly insinuating that the current queen had caused the death of the previous queen and that she wanted to have the civilians revolt to kill them all. “You come into this palace slinging shit all over the walls without a shred of proof? Get the hell out! Come talk to me again when you get your head of your ass.”
 

If Shiroi started to get rowdy after that he would open the fifth gate and evening elephant her into the wall before taking her to jail and then be tried for treason. He would open the door to his office and let the girl out. “Leave Mu-jin I wish to speak to someone that doesn’t sound like an idiot.”


WC: 746

[letting Shiroi post before me since i've really got nothing to say, will make my post accordingly when they post.]

[ So originally I just wanted to respond piece by piece and get through everything, but there's no way Shiroi would be OK with Kyousuke A) interrupting her this many times and B) getting so many things she said just... wrong. ]

“Okay, so he is a person you know not necessarily one you like.”

She nods.

“Nope, I don’t know much about your past. Aside from being brought into the village in a coma. After which the queen ordered you be taken care of.”

She just gets back to talking.

“Connections? What did the letter have in it?”

"Shina knows a bit more about it than I do, but neither of us have directly seen it. She just caught the guards talking about it."

“So, you believe this boy is an heir to the throne? Is there any proof? Do you have the letter or are you guessing at what the letter contained?”

Already answered the letter part, safe to assume it wasn't reasked? "Mu-jin, at no point, claimed to be the heir. I encountered him while on a hunt, per say, and all the pieces fell together. Note that I DID find proof that the heir was kidnapped at an early age, we're talking barely months old, so I was only able to locate the likely heir by pure chance. But we have a way to verify 100% if they are or are not the heir: test this blood sample against the Queen's DNA."

Kumo stuff.

"Hmm, ok," she would say, grabbing the files but not looking through them. "I'll trust you on those points then, especially if they're leaving soon. Though I doubt I'll drop my guard any time soon."

[[ Author's note: Shiroi would have said "Another topic... have you noticed the disdain within the populace? Akihana's actions have not promoted community. It's promoted hatred, just hushed it. The people hate in private, afraid for their lives if they speak openly about it." just before the following quote, as far as I can figure. ]]

“Yes, I have noticed the disdain, but it has always been there. That is nothing new... The people look to us when they need protected and curse us when they are safe.”

At this point, Shiroi breaks from her tirade. She's tired of being interrupted after having asked him to wait until the end. She wasn't even to the parts where she expected him to react.... very poorly.... yet. It was getting, honestly, quite bothersome.

"Look, Kyousuke. I'm trying to get the whole story to you. Or at least the important parts first. But obviously you want to know every little bit, and I keep having to re-find my place. So, instead, let's do this. I'll write up a report. Give me like 10 minutes. Then you read it. Then you ask your questions. Then we talk. OK?"

Assuming he agreed to the situation, Shiroi would step outside, having grabbed paper and something to write with, while also depositing the files she had been given inside the room, on Kyousuke's desk.


Important past details:

• Shiroi Shinzo's history (described in person, will repeat if need be).
  
• Shina's story (finding Shiroi's near-dead body, turning in the letter, overhearing what may be talk of an heir).
  
• Addition to Shiroi Shinzo's history: She first encountered Izaya, the "not-and-acquantaince", after awaking from her coma but before officially joining Hoshigakure, during a period where she was getting stronger via hunting bounties, essentially. He was, and still is, a resourceful person with a passion for knowledge.
  

Mission details: A Ghost Of A Rose. Out of village search for flowers.

• While on mission, Shiroi Shinzo encountered Izaya. A trade of services was offered. Shiroi Shinzo recieved a wide variety of information, including of a tenish month period of time where the late queen spent a lot of time with a foreigner, and was publically declared sick for a portion of it, therefore being unable to appear in public.The foreign male left one day in the middle of the night. The next day, the queen presented herself.
  
• Other details were ascertained. There was a high likelyhood that the male in question was from Moon country. More specifically, what was once called Tengakure. Mu-jin was encountered on the way towards Tengakure, after Shiroi Shinzo sent word of extended leave to Hoshi. He and Shiroi traveled together when it was found out they were both going to the same place. He was hunting down hazy devils of his own past. Or, to put it less poetically, he knew there was something important about Tengakure that involved him, but did not know precicely what.
  
• Within Tengakure, evidence was found that could potentially be links between the missing heir and the missing father, but were considered worthless at the time and discarded. The largest piece of evidence was found at an inn. It is currently on its way to this village, being too fragile and bulky to have been carried back by Shiroi and/or Mu-jin. This piece of evidence is certain proof that the mystery male mentioned above did in fact have a child with the late queen. It also clarifies that the missing heir was kidnapped at a young age, too young to remember, and that the letter Shiroi Shinzo had carried, many years after the kidnapping, was a status update to the queen about the search for the missing heir being officially ended without result. It does not prove with certainty that the heir has been found, but combining other things known from Mu-jins past, as well as information gather by Shiroi Shinzo, there is a greated than 80%, more likely 90%, chance that this assumption is accurate.
  
• This is where the blood sample comes in. The test itself is simple. A little bit of DNA from the late queen and the suspect heir, perform a test, and we have instant verification with near 100% accuracy. The blood was drawn shortly before Shiroi Shinzo and Mu-jin met Kyousuke Snow outside the castle. However, due to the... sensitive nature of this request, it is recognized that getting permission to exhume the late queen's body may be difficult. Shiroi Shinzo is uncertain of who would be required to do what to gather permission.