Next In Line (Open, Chuunin+)

While it was a bit depressing that only three people had responded to the summons it was actually better this way. Fewer opinions meant quicker decisions, let’s just hope that those quick decisions weren’t to abandon the village. It would be annoying to have to track down deserters especially the ones with the weak excuses such as, “I was just making sure they weren’t staging a coup” or “I was securing new teritory for Kiri.” Although the village hidden in the mist wasn’t one known for traitors every village has them, some are just better at dealing with them than others. Yasha’s grin became more complete, though only briefly, when the pink haired male slid his flask toward her. He would then say his peace which turned out to be thought provocing. It didn’t matter how much or how little contact you had with the man, rumour of his persona was enough to let any genin know that he wouldn’t be away from the village for an extended time without proper preparations. But what could be holding him? He must be dead, this meeting was called because we have no information not because he finally got in contact.

The Terumi would think as she extended her arm to grab the container and reel it back into herself. When Kotsuzui quickly rejected the oppertunity to stand in Xyxer’s place a proper smile would flash upon her face. She respected him for being so forward and Mitako would follow suit, looks like they might have a female kage for a change. With two of four out of the running the one who called them their would turn to her, asking her opinion on the situation. It was clear that the white haired woman was surprised that both men turned the position down. I wonder if she’s afraid of being forced into the position. Yasha thought as she took a swig of the sake while holding up one finger to let Mitako know she’d speak after this action. Placing the bottle back in the center of the table, normally she would’ve passed it to the other woman but it wasn’t hers to share, “We’re all in agreement that this is out of character for the Mizukage and that something needs to be done, even if temporary.” She would start as her hand slipped into a weapon pouch retieving a coin from a small coin bag also inside the pouch. “I would gladly take the title for myself though I was hoping that we might form a council.” She added with a shrug before setting her gaze on the snowy haired one. “How about?” She propositioned with the coin shining between her fingers. “You win, I’ll be your deputy. I win, the opposite.” The smile from before had now returned and unless the others were to interupt, wanting to discuss the council idea she’d be waiting for the Hyuuga’s choice, heads or tails.

The muted sound of the wind and rain outside, muted through the walls, momentarily becaming much clearer as the large doors to the room swung open.  What many would call just a boy, still in his mid to late teens, walked in, letting the doors slowly swing shut themselves behind him.  Droplets of water dripped from his messy blonde hair, wet and partially obscuring the metal plate of his village forehead protector it clung to, just as it dripped from the armor he never seemed without these post war days.   He left a small wet trail in his wake, and the water had even found its way onto a letter clutched in his left hand, a little crumpled from his seeming lack of concern for keeping it neat as he gripped it.

As he strode in, his eyes scanned the room until they rested on mitako, the original inviter.  He registered that his once mighty and proud village's 'top brass' now met as 3 chuunin and a jounin.  It wasnt noted with anger, but with a weary acceptance of fact.  The country had been at war since he had started his ninja training, and that ground at a country like a sanding stone, first sharpening its blade to a fine point, but if applied too long, eventually thinning it.

His stride became more purposeful and he now made his way directly to Mitako.  His eyes did not waver from the eyes of the black robed figure as he forcefully placed the letter on the table in from of Mitako, not bothering to smooth out the paper.  His half-masked mouth didn't say anything as he then looked at an open seat for a moment, before walking to the closest wall and leaning against it, arms crossed.

Should the letter be opened or read (and dont assume you have to), it says::

Soon after Kotsuzui voiced the fact he did not want to take the place of Xyxer, Mitako followed suit in his denial of the role. He did so because he felt as though he were incapable for the role. Incapable of filling the shoes Xyxer had left behind. It was part of the reason why Kotsuzui also had no intentions of taking the role. Partially because he was lazy. But in all honesty, no one currently in the room could fill those shoes. It was nearly an impossible task. Does that mean the position should be left empty all together? After Mitako turned the role down Kotsuzui's attention subconsciously veered over to the two females in the room. Were they adequate enough to hold the title of Mizukage. As it stood, Hikari was the highest ranking in the room. If it came down to both of them wanting it, he'd back Hikari up. He had no idea whether she was qualified for it, after all he knew nothing of her abilities other than being a medic nin. But she was the only one he trusted. Bias much? Ah well.

Mitako forced the conversation onto the other kunoichi who decided to now take the time for a drink. A bit arrogant in her mannerisms, but pberhaps Kiri could use some of that now. Once done with the drink, and hopefully more chatty, Kotsuzui retrieved the flask. He took another sip of his own before putting it away. Unless anyone else decided they wanted. Her suggestion was cause for a single eyebrow to raise as Kotsuzui pondered the idea of a council. It was a good way to keep the village in order without downright crowning a new Mizukage. It also provided some more time for Xyxer's return. She however, switched to another thought as she wagered a simple bet with Hikari to see who would take the title. That did not sit well with the Kaguya. The next Mizukage wasn't something that could be determined over a coin flip. He refrained from saying anything. For one, who was he to interrupt them in their game. Also, Hayate was coming to the door.

Kotsuzui recognized him as the Kiri shinobi who won the Chuunin exams, surprised that someone had been even later than himself. It seemed as though the cat had his tongue. He merely walked over to Mitako, placed a note in front of him, and opted for a standing position against the wall rather than sitting comfortably on a chair like the rest. Leaning forward against the table crossing his arm, Kotsuzui simply watched Mitako. Waiting to see what he was going to do with the letter while completely forgetting Hikari had yet to mention her opinion on the subject at hat.

When asked what her own opinions were, the quiet woman proceeded to suggest a council before asking Hikari to coin flip for the position. "That's not exactly what I had in mind," Mitako said towards the wager. Being able to lead shouldn't just come down to a coin flip, and so he spoke with some certainty. "Nor is it how we're going to choose a temporary leader."

As he finished speaking another participant arrived to the scene, leaving a trail of water behind him as he strode across the room and delivered a note to Mitako. Wondering what was so secret that it couldn't be uttered aloud, his hands reached to unfold the letter. Thankfully it wasn't a long read.
Seeing as all view points were valid he wished to share this with the rest. Clearly the stranger felt some form of social anxiety, or at least that's what Mitako assumed between the mask and the wish to not speak aloud. Looking to the male, he would say "I have no doubts he'll return to us when he wishes, but until then we need something to answer to until his return."

If no one else would pipe up, he would continue. "It seems to me that she had the right idea when she mentioned some sort of council," he said as he looked to Yasha. "Electing one person may seem as if we're replacing Xyxer, which is not the intention with this meeting."

The unnamed woman announced what the Hyuuga could only assume was on everyone's mind; that what was going on currently with Xyxer was abnormal, something he wouldn’t do. It seemed that part of his personality was well known, and for a moment she wondered what else was known about the man that she didn’t. But that moment of thought was fleeting as she reached into her weapons pouch and pulled out a coin, mentioning how she wanted the title yet wasn’t opposed to the idea of a council instead. Her mostly void-black eyes met Hikari’s almost white ones, the coin shining with the light between her fingers, as she gave the Hyuuga a wager. A simple game of flip the coin. Whoever won would be crowned kage and the loser their deputy.

Hikari felt her proposition was ridiculous, placing the role of kage in the hands of luck rather than skill, and she was about to voice her opinion on the matter when Mitako beat her to the punch. She was glad that others felt the game was too informal to decide the next kage, even if the position was only temporary. The Hyuuga hated to admit it but she couldn’t deny the feeling gnawing at the back of her mind, telling her that Xyxer was not coming back and that whatever they chose to enact on this day would be final.

Soon after the raven haired man spoke, the door to the room opened and a familiar face waltzed in, although for whatever reason he was acting quite out of character. Hayate Seiteki was normally out-going, bubbly, and talkative, yet he didn’t utter a single word as he crossed through the room and set a letter down for Mitako to read before electing to lean against the wall rather than sit amongst the rest of them. As their host’s eyes scanned the contents of the paper, her own lilac-tinted orbs glanced over at the blonde, curiosity gleaming as she pondered what could’ve forced the sudden change in the young male. The only thing she could think of that could cause such a flip in personality was the Suna war. Perhaps he was one of the few to see combat when we went. Maybe he killed someone or watched someone he knew get killed. War is likely the only thing that could’ve caused this, I know that for a fact… While she thought this she averted her gaze, having lingered longer than necessary on him.

Thankfully Mitako chimed in around that time and gave her an excuse to focus on something else, such as the notion that they look into forming a council instead. A new kage would potentially elicit the rage of Xyxer if he returned, but a council would be less likely to do so. She didn’t know if she could trust such a system to work, skeptical of how they could pull it off. The people in question for the roles contrasted drastically, and most didn’t seem to have the experience or even want to partake in it. Kotsuzui would’ve been one of her picks for a council member, but if he didn’t want anything to do with leading the village as a kage, would being part of a group make any difference to the Kaguya?

Despite having her doubts about a council, she felt it would be best to find out more about it before making a decision, wanting to be more educated on the matter first. So she finally spoke up again, having remained silent since her initial greeting and inquiry, and her voice was a rather neutral tone, “How many people would we assign to be part of this council?” She took a moment for people to think about that question, since it wasn’t quite that simple even if they picked a random number. They would need willing participants, and enough of them at that. Personally she felt that five would be a good number, since having an even amount of people would result in a higher chance of ties happening, whereas an odd number would make sure that couldn’t happen, and three seemed to be too little of an amount for a council since the one person would feel far more stressed as the tiebreaker. Five decreased the likelihood of a tie happening, which would ultimately put less stress on those that did end up having to break a tie in the first place.

She wanted to ask another question, one that was more challenging than any they had mentioned yet, but even just the idea of it felt like treason, so she bit her tongue and waited for the others to discuss their own concerns on the idea. If Xyxer never returns would we still keep the council or name a kage? If the latter, how long would we wait? Six months? A year? Two? How long was finally enough to determine he was never coming back, that he had abandoned us for death or a fresh start in life?

(WC: 3,272)

While waiting for Hikari's response it was almost as if he words had summoned the blond boy who would glance at everyone in the room before finding Mitako. Striding straight toward him the boy gave their host a note, could this be the news from their kage they had ever so patiently been waiting for? Regardless Yashakure wouldn't look to acknowledge his presence, he hadn't burst in because he was eavesdropping. The idea of a council seemed to pique the interest of her drinking partner, his eyebrow raising at the suggestion. The raven haired male felt so uncomfortable that he voiced his dislike and tried to deter the Terumi from continuing on but as promised all others were ignored. Additionally, he went on to reassure the boy after reading his note while the Hyuuga wore a look of confusion and fear. This got Yasha a bit fired up, would the woman break her refined demeanor to put her in her place/as a temporary lack of control or would she back out as the possibility of her becoming a kage became more real? Luckily for her though the appearance of the late boy gave her a chance to focus on something else. Staring at him longer than she needed allowed Mitako to continue on after the silence, she could feel his eyes on her as he spoke.

When the snowy haired one spoke about the council Yasha closed her eyes and with a slight shake of her head but the coin back into its pouch. "It obviously needs to be an odd number." Yasha would start as she went back to looking at the Kaguya in front of her, though still speaking to the whole room. "If it were five we wouldn't need to put it to a vote since no one else had the decency to show up." A slight pause, it would definitely make the boy feel lucky he came instead of mailing that note. "I personally believe that's far too many opinions and since two of us have already declined the sole title, three seems perfect." She would finish hoping that they'd imagine how that many people would put a delay on decisions that needed to be made urgently. And also take note that the person who could claim the last spot was not only tardy but refused to speak. Of course, she'd been quiet at first but that was simply, so she could hear the thoughts and concerns of the others before imposing her own. And though the Hyuuga was friendly with the pinkette two foreign shinobi leading their village wouldn't sit well with the citizens so the one who took it upon himself to call them there should have a seat at the table.

As Hayate had a chance to listen to this meeting, he almost imperceptibly shook his head.  He felt strongly enough about this that despite his lack of public speaking skills he had taken time to carefully pen and rework a note.  He had held out faint and unrealistic hope that his actions would be unnecessary, that he'd march in and immediately be proven wrong either by Xyxers admittedly unlikely sudden reappearance, or by a strong leader taking charge of the meeting, burning off the fog the village of the mist seemed to be under with their fiery passion and singular vision.

Instead he found a calm council, talking like politicians from... konoha or somewhere, he imagined.  And with the most recent comments, it seemed that just by walking in the door, a barely minted chuunin was being considered as part of this council?  The bottom of his stomach felt slightly sick.  He had heard all he needed.

Hayate stirred from the wall, a damp impression left behind, as he turned to walk back out.

Exit, unless interrupted

Shame. Kotsuzui was looking forward to a potential brawl between the two kunoichi to see who would temporarily, or permanently, take the place of Xyxer. Boredom had struck him hard as of late. There was nothing like a fight to break it. But Mitako had ended that possibility without hesitation ruining the fun. Council it was. As Mitako put it, the point of this meeting was not to replace the Mizukage while he was out, but rather to make sure the village didn't fall apart because it lack leadership. The real question is, was anyone currently in the room qualified enough to be apart of the council to run the whole village? Did they have the experience and knowledge required?

The conversation went in a different direction compared to the questions Kotsuzui had in mind. Hikari took the reigns, asking how many people would be apart of the council. The Kaguya's most immediate response was to look around at the four other shinobi currently in the conference room. These four and Kotsuzui were the only ones to show up to this meeting. Wouldn't the simple choice be to have everyone currently present form the Council of Kiri? The Gambling Kunoichi didn't think so. She believed it should only be 3 out of the 5 currently present since both Kotsuzui and Mitako declined the role of Mizukage. That did not necessarily mean he would also decline a position on the council. Being apart of a council was far different to being the sole ruler. She went on to suggest it should be 3 because any more would either be an even number or too many people.

Almost as soon as he arrived, Hayate left without adding a single word to the discussion. Maybe he actually didn't have a tongue? Kotsuzui couldn't help but chuckle a bit as he watched Blondy go. "Guess that makes our choice easier" he said aloud before turning back to the other three. He gave it a moments thought before continuing. He knew nothing of the other two in the room. But he knew Hikari. He knew she had come here in order to train under the Mizukage which meant she was seeking power. She wasn't about to turn down the opportunity at power when it presented itself. The Kaguya knew with the utmost certainty he did not want to be apart of this. "If she's in, I'm in" he blurted, nodding his head in the direction of Hikari as he spoke. Simply put, he wasn't going to let her do this alone despite how he felt. "Why not all of us?" he questioned before letting someone else speak. "Yea we'll probably reach road blocks. But we're kidding ourselves if we think we know what we're doing. The more minds we have, the more angles we'll get to come to the best conclusions." He ended with that, waiting to see what the other thought and if they'd decide to go with 3 or 4. In a way, this already felt like a council.

How many people should lead the village was certainly a good question. Too many and things become bloated, inefficient, slow. Too few and it's basically the same as showing they'd replace Xyxer in a heart beat. Mitako glanced at the letter, a triumvirate was what the damp boy had mentioned in his writing, and three seemed a good number. Yashakure's opinion seemed to fall in line with the same train of thought, an odd number would resolve the issues of any tie breakers and it seemed the magic number was three. While the rest spoke their thoughts, he was beginning to think of how they might rope those individuals into office, and she had mentioned a vote. Democracy worked for other villages, but Kirigakure was built on the blood and bones of three different villages. Not to mention, he knew these people by name only. He longed for Youta, Haru, even Hysterio to return and take the reigns. One could only hope for such though, as they were long gone if his knowledge served him.

He allowed the pink haired man to speak his piece before piping up. "Nothing in this village was decided on a vote. If we continue forward with this path, then we betray the foundation our Mizukage has built," he said. His eyes left the letter on the table and moved to Yashakure, "One's ability to lead is equal to one's strength and wisdom, and if you can't compete then you have no place in charge." Leadership wasn't something he yearned for but neither would he follow the weak. "In honor of tradition, if we don't decide based on rank or tenure then we fight for it." His ability to sense chakra allowed him to guess that he wasn't the strongest present. Yet, he needed to know that he was weaker, and where exactly the others stood on the totem to one another was important as well.

It was no surprise to the Hyuuga who stepped up to the plate to answer her question first. The black sclera woman seemed to have become alive after her beginning silence as power unlike anything she had seen before was within her grasp. Hikari couldn’t blame her for wanting a position on the council, especially after her attempt at being named the kage through sheer luck failed. Fortunately, it appeared that they were on the same page, believing an odd number was the only way to have a well formed council, even if the unnamed woman thought three would be more suited than five.

Much to her displeasure the recently promoted Chuunin, and late arrival to the meeting, didn’t want to stay and help, only wanting to deliver the letter and leave. It was a shame he had changed so much since they last saw each other, for she knew the old him would’ve jumped at the idea of helping lead his village while Xyxer was away. But now he was a sad, broken shell of the person he used to be, and her eyes reflected pity in them as he left, a part of her relating to his situation despite not knowing what demons he was battling.

Her eyes trailed from where Hayate had previously been before closing the door to the pinkette as he took this opportunity to speak up. He broached the small elephant in the room first by commenting on how their choice was easier now that there was one less person to decide upon, although in her opinion it made things even more challenging. A four person council could easily lead to many ties and nothing getting decided due to them; however, by choosing a three person council that meant they would have to figure out a fair way of picking who would be left out. Sure someone could give up their position if they wanted, but what if they were a more fitting choice than someone who had wanted the position? Just because one doesn’t believe themselves fit for a role doesn’t mean they wouldn’t be good at it, it just means they aren’t as confident as someone who could be the exact opposite but act as if they were the best choice.

However what she had not expected her only friend to say was that he would only join if she did, a true show of solidarity with her. His statement drew a smile from her emotionless face, and for the first time in a while she was touched. Kotsuzui truly was someone she could trust to always be there for her even when he could gain far more by leaving her, such as his freedom. He could easily sneak back to Konoha if he weren’t tied down to a council since she could help him escape, even lending him one of her summons to fly him home if he wanted, yet he chose to stay fully knowing she wouldn’t say no to this opportunity for power. He knew her enough to know this was something that could help her achieve her goal in life, especially now that their teacher vanished and there was hardly anyone strong enough still in the village to replace him.

As he moved on from his statement she found it difficult to focus on what he said with her thoughts buzzing around in her head, most of which wondered why he would do such a thing for her. Surely it wasn’t because she had saved his life during the war, although that was the only reason she could come up with as he spoke about all of them being on the council despite the obvious challenges it would cause. His explanation as to why he felt they all should be a part of it did make sense to her, and if he could come up with an effective measure on how to prevent or solve their roadblocks then she was all ears.

As he ended his speech on the matter she wondered if Mitako would expect her to give her take on it, but was thankful when he took the reigns again. She was still rather unsure of how to approach the ideas given since they both made sense in their own ways, and whichever route they chose to go down would affect the entire village from this point onward.

The man behind their meeting took a new avenue, wanting to stay true to Kiri’s roots, even when they were straying from the typical kage leadership. Then he turned his attention to the betting woman, almost as if challenging her or perhaps reprimanding her in a sense, his words describing how he felt they should decide the members based on strength. Now that was an idea she could get behind for it made sense to have the strongest people lead a village instead of opting to choose only out of convenience. Perhaps if they all seemed to be on roughly the same level they might prefer to elect all four to the council, but if not then whoever was ranked as the highest would make it.

Based on her chakra sensing she could tell that the others weren’t as predominant as she, with Kotsuzui and the other kunoichi being very close as next in terms of chakra, unless of course anyone in the room had decided to suppress their chakra for some reason she couldn’t think of. Thus with this in mind, she didn’t feel worried or nervous at all, a confident gleam in her eyes as she remained calm and collected. Even if she was a medic first and foremost, she would prove herself to be an excellent fighter just like her teachers, and she would stomp anyone who got in her way.

“I agree.” Her voice chimed in after Mitako as she finally gave her own thoughts on the matter, “It’s only logical for the strongest to be leading a village, and Kiri isn’t known as the Bloody Mist for nothing after all. Of course we don’t need to kill each other to prove our strength for this, especially given how low our numbers appear to be in the upper ranks as is.” Hikari decided it was best to leave her rank unknown for the time being unless they were all asked to say theirs, since it would give her a good reputation if she could prove that she wasn’t a Jounin in name only and had earned it for a reason.

(WC: 4,358)