Silence is key

Silence is key:

Sitting in his office, the Mizukage was doing the usual of signing his life away. Giving an audible sigh, he continued to sign his signature on sheets of paper that demand his approval or denial. Occasionally, he'd have to sign and stamp some documents signalling that they were of utmost importance. A few moments of signing documents and he was quite fed up with it already. Reaching for the next one, he took a look at it and felt a sense of concern. This particular document wasn't exactly a document but a denouncement of the previous Mizukage, Xyxer Gyojin. Although Kizmaru can admit the previous Mizukage was a bit of a tyrant, he could not abide by public slander. If the other villages and minor nations found out about the potential uprising, they would surely use this as a clause to win over some supporters in the village hidden in the mist. He didn't like this and he doubts the official would keep quiet about this, even if he personally went and asked them to cease their actions personally, he doubts he'd get any sort of feedback. He was a no named Kage after all, the coward who was afraid to show his face. Well, regardless of the matter this cannot stand and will not stand as this would greatly lower the morale of the village. He'll still try to talk to the official down but if he was unsuccessful, he'd have to have the person removed, permanently. Regardless, nobody can say he never tried to reason with the person.

Placing his pen down, he figured he'd go out and try to set up a meeting with this official in order to discuss why he feels the  need to suddenly slander the previous Mizukage and to have him cease this foolishness. On his desk near him, was a phone that he often used to contact his secretary. Picking it up, he dialed three numbers before waiting for a little while. After a few seconds, the call connected and he heard the voice of his secretary making a greeting. Kizmaru instructed them to schedule an appointment with that official and tell them it's urgent enough to where it has to be scheduled either tomorrow or the next day or he'd just travel to his abode unannounced. The secretary confirmed his request and hung up the phone on their end in order to get started on that request of his. Getting back to work, Kizmaru let out another sigh from under his veil. He already KNEW this wouldn't go well but at least nobody could say he didn't try reasoning with him. An hour or so later, the phone next to him had begun to ring and he picked up once more. Instead of hearing the voice of his secretary, he heard the voice of the official he had been planning to meet. "This is the Mizukage, speak," Kizmaru had said. The official began to reply in a haughty voice.

"So you're the Mizukage, eh? You sound like a child in comparison to previous Kages. Listen up boy, you may be the official leader of this nation now but don't forget who the real people in charge are. I've been in my position since you were discovering where your mom's nipples were. If I want to denounce an obvious tyrant that nobody, not even his own villagers, accepted, why can't I? I will not stop my campaign, I have the ears of the daimyo and other officials both above and below me. If I wanted, I could drive you out of office so I suggest you mind your business. If you want to discuss this any further, schedule a REAL appointment involving all the other officials. Guw haw haw haw." Without even getting a word in, the official had hung up. Blinking twice, Kizmaru still had the phone pressed to his ear for a few seconds before slowly putting it back onto the hook. Staring off into space for a few seconds more, Kizmaru couldn't believe the level of disrespect that he had witnessed publicly towards Mizukages. Did that man just think they were figureheads or something? Slowly seething with anger, Kizmaru smiled as both his eyes twitched, revealing the crimson red color of the Sharingan briefly before returning to its usual eye color. 

Once again, he reached for his phone to call his secretary once more. As soon as the phone was answered, Kizmaru cut off the usual greeting he'd get from them. "Get, me, Keita, Yosei, Hibana, right, fucking, now," before Kizmaru hung up the phone. At the moment, Kizmaru couldn't muster up the rationality to continue doing any work. Instead, he crossed his legs and brought his hands together, having on the tips of his fingers making contact bring them closer to his face, still smiling underneath the veil. This was about to be a fun experience, he thought to himself. Oh, he'll remember who's in charge alright. Both he and the official will remember. One of them won't live to retain the lesson unfortunately. Waiting there, he decided to make sure everything was in order with his apparel. Of course, if he was in his office, he was wearing his Mizukage hat with a veil to conceal his face and robe. Didn't want his identity to come out just yet. In his fit of rage, he forgot to ask the secretary to get all the information they could about this "official" and so he would call them again and 'politely' ask them to do so. With that, all he had to do was wait as the people he summoned gathered together in order for him to give them their top secret 'mission.' Heads would roll today, literally and figuratively after the day was done. Leaning back in his chair, he returned to the position he was in previously, turning his chair around to face the window, counting down every second until the team he assembled had arrived to receive the briefing.


W.C: 1,003

All light in the room was blocked off save for the wooden platform end, illuminated by two spotlights and four paper lanterns. Everything else was utter blackness. On the platform, a man swirled around in heavy black robes, the Priest’s mask on his face. The bells wrapped around him sang harmoniously with only the precision of his footwork forming them into melody instead of cacophony. Behind him, in the shadows, the ominous striking of the drums punctuated the dance. The air was thick with incense, almost making it harder to breathe. The platform had a wooden post in each of it’s corners, and from behind the back left pillar emerged the Waki, garbed as the Samurai Woman. Circling behind the lead player, this one moved notably less smoothly than his counterpart. Though it might have been imperceptible to some, Yosei couldn’t ignore the lacking synchronicities of movement. Here, a footstep came half a second before the drumbeat; There, a gesture was made moments after the cue from the lead. 


Yosei was aware of it even as he kept his eyes closed, focused on the art of absolute stillness. The various sensory stimulations of the theatre were perfect for this exercise, as they aided him in getting into the right mindset while challenging him to maintain it under such distraction. He snapped out of it entirely after two sharp claps came from a few feet in front of him and the house lights came on. Two rows down from his seat, his father had stood up and stopped the rehearsal. Yosei’s father, a portly, balding man with a humourless air, was one of the last truly great directors in the Hidden Mist. Next to Yosei, his mother turned towards him. She had her graying hair tied in a bun and a trio of notebooks on her lap, the topmost of which was open with several observations scrawled in chicken scratch. Bright brown eyes cut sharply through the weary shadow of her brow as she gave her son a quizzical look. 


“So, what do you think? No need to sugarcoat it.”
“For the most part, delightful as ever.” Yosei answered truthfully. He always enjoyed his family’s productions. “But the Waki is amateurish. Where did you find him?”
She scowled in response. “Nephew to one of the Daimyo’s secretaries, I think. Always wanted to be a performer, so I’m told, though it doesn’t seem like he ever practiced much for one so dedicated. We could really use you back here, there’s no replacing you as an actor Yosei.”
While I could easily be replaced as a Shinobi. Isn’t that what you’re implying, mother? Yosei thought better of this comment and kept it on the inside. 
“Admittedly, I can’t say there’s much of a future in this kind of theatre. But why earn more money and live a short life when you could live a long one with no money?”
She let the question hang in the air for a moment before they both laughed at the preposterous choice. 
“I assure you, I haven’t forgotten any of my teachings. I haven’t lived one day as a shinobi where the arts of movement, atmosphere or balance that I learned here didn’t come in handy.”
She smiled warmly at that, albeit with a twinkle of melancholy in her eye. 
“Mother, I’m afraid that-”
“I know you have to go, you’ve spent too long keeping an old dramaturg company already. Take care of yourself today, Yosei.”
With that, Yosei strode out of the Theatre, squinting in the jarring light of day. Though visits to the family theatre were refreshing, he also felt unburdened of an invisible weight once he left. The same feeling he got when he traded one mask for another sometimes. 


“Yosei Hisori?” The voice was formal and unfamiliar. Casting his gaze towards its source, Yosei saw a messenger from the Mizukage’s office. 
What on Earth? Could this be about the recent mission?
“Your presence has been requested. You will accompany me immediately.”
It was clear that he didn’t have a choice in the matter. With haste, Yosei followed the messenger to the Mizukage’s office, somewhere he didn’t often visit. He was brought upstairs to a waiting room, and though the unsettling anxiety of the situation made Yosei’s fingers itch for the mask tied at his waist, Yosei thought better of the impulse. The Mizukage didn’t seem like the type to concern himself with etiquette too much, but it was certainly not wise to tempt fate with whoever it was that currently wore the garb of his country’s highest station. 
Before being called into the Mizukage’s office, Yosei walked over to a window to check his reflection. His makeup - blue and green eyeshadow with winged eyeliner - at the very least, looked decently presentable. Few other shinobi seemed as preoccupied with appearance as Yosei, and hopefully the Mizukage fell was no exception. A little bit more prep time to refine his look would have been preferable. 
Once summoned into the chambers, Yosei gave a respectful but non-egregious bow.

“Lord Mizukage,” he said with a steely calm. “I am pleased to see you again so soon. Your summons were unexpected, but I am eager to know how I may be of service.”

[WC: 874]

Keita was doing his normal house work, which included making sure that everything he had was clean of any dust and grime that existed, as well as making sure that everything was in the proper place and organized as such. He had been doing this for quite some time now, as he was very particular as to where he wanted everything, and where things were place din relation to the other things in his house. He was in the middle of this when he suddenly heard the very soft foot steps noted to belong to the anbu of the Mist Village suddenly pattering behind him. He sighed internally, as he was in the middle of something that he considered important, so he was going to chastise this anbu member if it was not something greatly urgent. Usually it was, but there were always rare times when the anbu came and asked them if they wanted to do something for the village, and usually Keita said yes, although he would have to reschedule to do it after he was done with the tasks that he wanted to do. The anbu suddenly spoke up, and told Keita that he was needed for an urgent mission from the kage. This sounded serious, so Keita put down his mask and walked towards the door with the anbu member leading the way. The cleaning supplies were also put down as well, and Keita was in his normal casual clothing, so he made sure to grab his ninja belt that had his items on it, and slapped on his jounin vest in short order, and immediately ran after the anbu. 

He wondered what the kage could possible want from him at this moment, as the village was relatively peaceful at the moment, as the ones that kept attempting to invade the village had kept dying, Keita assumed that the people form the outside had given up by now, but maybe they did not. Keita rushed over with the anbu to the Mizukage building. The anbu rushed to the second floor window, and Keita followed, and soon they were in the Kage's office directly. Keita noticed that there was a young genin, he believed he had seen them before, in the opffice as well. It seemed that the Kage was going to groom a couple of these people so that the village would prosper. Keita wondered if he should get someone to mentor as well, although he noticed that the art of fuuinjutsu was fairly scarce in this village,he quickly gave up on this idea. Plus, the kage was well know, but he would not be, so there probably was not a lot of people that were willing to follow him even if he could find people interested, because he did not have a lot of fame in the village for being a fuuinjutsu expert, he had fame in the village for being a nice, helpful person that would protect their friends to the death. Keita simply bowed to the Mizuklage and then stood off to their side like a second in command.
====
WC: 517

Sweat wicked off his forehead as his body rose and fell. His hands were firmly planted on the ground and supported the full weight of his body as he performed an arduous series of handstand pushups. His back strained as he pushed himself further, grunting in tune with each repetition of the act. He could feel his muscles screaming at him as the different groups worked in tandem to keep his body steady, the sheer effort behind that alone was almost a work out on its own, but then throwing in strength training on top of it seemed to take the exercise to the next level. He would complete a couple dozen more repetitions on top of this, each one more tiring than the previous before finally flexing his forearms before pushing off of the ground and reorienting himself in mid air before landing in a crouch.

Breathing heavily, he’d ease himself back into a stable standing stance before slipping into a low fighting stance. His legs were spread far apart in a straddling horse stance to give himself maximum balance before he finally bent his knees. Extending his arms outwards in opposition directions, he would enter into the famed eight trigrams stance, which ironically enough was just an earth based bird stance for those who were familiar with chinese martial arts. Being this low to the ground gave Teiho comfort as his body vibrated with energy. It was one of the many things about training that brought him joy as his body exploded into action, his body surging forward to unleash a devastating flurry of jabs and swipes. His body swept through the mist like a furious tornado, his movements unleashing small eddies that would disrupt and swirl about the mist.

Eventually his body would come to a stop, his left hand extended out in a stabbing position. His breathing came out even and steady as his body held the position for a bit longer. This would be how the ANBU would find him, still in this position after his ghastly bout with the mists around him. The elder shinobi would clear his throat to get Teiho’s attention, an action that wouldn’t be needed as Teiho always trained with his byakugan active, especially after that night. The ANBU would be quick about it, letting the young man know that the Mizukage had requested his appearance immediately, something that he was certain was non-negotiable. It was interesting to think that he was essentially on a first name, by request basis with his Kage at this point, and all it took was saving a couple of villagers and being present for was arguably a pretty serious issue. Now more than ever he felt as if his stock in the village was rising. He felt that soon he would hopefully be able to call on the resources his village commanded to avenge the loss of his parents.

Nodding in acknowledgement of the ANBU’s orders, he would stand up out of his stance and walk over to the remainder of his possessions. Leaning down to snag his bottle of water, he would tilt the container up towards his mouth and take a deep swig before grabbing his hoodie jacket and slinging it over his shoulder and jumping away from the clearing. It would take him about five minutes to get to the office, from the training grounds, but by time he had arrived, a new layer of sweat lightly covered his body from the exertion to arrive on time for his summons. He would greet his leader with a salute as usual and awaited further instructions, ignoring the others that may or may not be in the Kage’s chambers already.

WC: 617

Together the three of them came, as he had expected them too. He's come to rely on them a lot in recent days after the whole wendigo fiasco. He knew most of them were decent in an all out game of survival but how would they handle something that required discretion like killing an official? Nonetheless, whether they had done it discretely or not, he should be able to cover it up as a burglary gone wrong or something. Still, he'd prefer if they did it as discreetly as possible so it didn't give him too much of a headache in the end. As soon as all three of them were present in the room, Kizmaru had cleared his throat before he began to address them; "Thank you all for coming, lately you've all been very reliable and once again, I need to borrow your skills and services. I'll get right down to the point, there's a minor problem that has surfaced which could turn into a big problem for me later down the line. There is an official that I need you guys to make 'disappear' for the sake of quelling a future uprising. The details aren't important but if you must know, having an official denouncing one of our previous Kage is not something that should be taken lightly, even if the man was a tyrant."

"That aside, if I let it continue to slide, it will only be a matter of time before they bare their fangs at me with the obvious questions before throwing the village into utter chaos. Now then, I hope you guys know where I am getting at without having to spell it out. Here." Kizmaru had taken out a piece of paper with information of the official he wanted to get rid of’s location and schedule. "Use this to your advantage, be as discreet as possible. I'm hoping to not have to clean up after a mess and cause a scandal. Keita you're in charge of this operation as you're the one with the most experience. Report to me when you've completed your task. I await your return."  With that, Kizmaru had dismissed them but before they had left he had one more thing to say to Keita. "Oh and Keita, you've proven yourself time and time again so I thought I'd give a present to help you out with your fights. Like me, you're adept in Water Nature chakra so I'll give you permission to learn this." Kizmaru then tossed a small, one time scroll at Keita that would burn itself up after revealing itself. "That is the Great Water shark Bullet technique, a more powerful version of the standard shark jutsu. I want you to learn it because it should serve you well. Be careful though, if you don't have good memory and open it prematurely, you won't get a second chance. Well, I suppose I could just teach it to you myself another time." With that, he continued to wave them away as he turned his chair around to face the window behind him.

W.C: 516
T.W.C: 1,519 [x2 Event = 3,039]

[Exit.]

[Giving permission to to Keita to learn Great Water Shark Bullet]


Loot Claims
Claiming 10 AP and 4,000(2x Event = 8,000) Ryo

Ability Claims
Claiming 60 AP.
Using 2,500 words into learning Earth Wall
Using 500 words into learning Tank

Yosei’s eyes widened as he learned of the mission they were due to take on. Assassinating some big-mouthed official? It was such a severe punishment for so petty a crime. Yet, some part of him found it utterly delicious as a concept. Kiri had always been a cutthroat, unforgiving place and since Yosei was a child he had only found himself on the receiving end of the brutal atmosphere. Now, at last, he would be taking part in it, exacting vengeance on some ruthless bastard who had risen above his station. His mind flashed to times when his family received death threats over his mother’s writings, times she was assaulted or harassed for merely speaking subversively.

Well, Yosei thought. One must mind what they say in the Mist, I learned that as a boy. Today, the blade will cut the other way too. 

Yosei followed Keita’s cues on their mission. It was no surprise that the Mizukage trusted him so easily. Even in their limited time working together, the jounin had proved himself to be an experienced shinobi who prudently exercised his mysterious power. Teiho, on the other hand… Well, Teiho could hardly be called subtle and was certainly a far cry from elegant. One couldn’t argue with results however, and there was a grace to his movements that was admirable in it’s own way. His methods might not be Yosei’s style, but that didn’t change the fact that he didn’t like his own odds if they were to fight. 


Once Keita had led them to the official’s whereabouts, a stately (if ostentatious) manor, Yosei quickly appraised the situation. The target’s most likely location was upstairs in his study if the information was to be believed.

“Keita Sensei,” Yosei said as he pulled the Hannya mask over his face and fixed his waist-length hair behind it. “I will search and secure the ground floor as it is unlikely to contain our target but will most likely be where any guards are stationed. I shall clear the way, incapacitate any foes and ensure that the exit is blocked so you and Teiho can complete the mission undeterred.”

Yohei soared through the air, stealthily making his way over to a low-lying window he could reach from the garden and climbed in. Thus far, he was undetected. The window led into a bathroom, which was certainly less than ideal. He opened the door a crack to determine if anyone was in the hallway and stepped out once the coast was clear. As a precaution in case he was seen at any point, Yosei used the transformation jutsu to change his appearance to a more non-descript individual with short black hair, but kept the mask as part of the new look. This way, even if he was seen he wouldn’t necessarily be traced back to the Mizukage or even to Kiri shinobi at all. 

 He heard distant conversations to the left and light footsteps to the right. Standing in the hallway, he focused his chakra and rapidly formed hand seals. White feathers with golden outlines began to manifest in the air. Yosei continued to concentrate until the temple of nirvana jutsu dispersed itself around the corners and through every hallway. He pulled his fans from out of his belt, extended them, and began performing swift, precise dance movements with them, guiding the feathers with each gentle gust from the fans. This wasn’t a necessary component of course but it aided him in retaining focus for the high power jutsu. 

It was only moments before he heard thumping sounds coming from the room next to him as bodies fell limp and slid to the floor. He turned the corner to see what looked like a small break room with three unconscious individuals in it. Two men were slumped over the table, drooling over their playing cards. A woman who seemed to be a bureaucrat who worked for their target had been standing at the coffee pot, and was now on the floor leaning against the cupboards gently snoring. 

“Sweet dreams,” Yosei said, patting one of the hypnotized guard’s heads. 

He left the break room and went to locate the access to the upper level. There were two more guards standing in front of a doorway, half ajar, that led to the staircase. One was asleep on the floor, but the other had resisted somehow and was attempting to resuscitate his colleague unsuccessfully. These men were private contractors for the official no doubt, but may have been former shinobi as this one obviously had a grasp of the genjutsu release technique. 

The conscious guard looked up to see Yosei, masked in his demonic guise, slowly stepping toward him through a veil of mysterious shining feathers. Shocked, he jumped back, stumbling into the door, before getting a hold of himself and reaching for the katana at his waist. Yosei capitalized on his moment of advantage and wove the seals for the Hidden Mist Jutsu and pushed his chakra to his feet so he could dash towards the man. Blinded, the guard tried to cry out but Yosei was already there, clasping a hand around his mouth and swiftly bashing his head with the butt of a fan. Yosei wasn’t strong enough to knock someone unconscious with one blow, but his foe’s mediocre attempt at resisting the temple of nirvana left him groggy and susceptible, and he went out like a light.

With that, the mist jutsu was dispelled and Yosei secured the ground floor, ensuring that there wasn’t anyone left who could interfere with the mission. He awaited the completion of Keita and Teiho so they could report to the Mizukage together. 

[Exit.]

WC: 945

TWC: 1819 x2 (Event) = 3638 


[CLAIMS: 
4000 x 2 (Event) = 8000 Ryo
10 AP
1500 words to learn Water Wall
2000 Words to form a contract with Peafowl
36 stats:
+11 Chakra
+25 Speed]

Keita stood there while listening to the kage talk about what this mission currently was, and what they had to do. It seemed that the other two people were also going to go on this mission, and not as some sort of test, but rather as a normal mission. Keita was a bit questionable in this aspect, but his loyalty to the village and the kage was absolute, so he simply went along with it. Besides, even if they were not ready for the current mission, this was the bloody mist after all, and it did not matter if a few extra genin were killed, although Keita would hate to see that. Keita thought about what they had to do a little more, and simply nodded his head. There was a certain politician that was not playing by the rules, and was causing quite a bit of civil unrest at the moment, and he needed to be dealt with in a swift and quiet manner. This was fairly easy for most of the people here, or at least Keita assumed so. He would most likely be the one that would take out the politician himself, and these two looked somewhat competent, so he spared no idle chatter, and started to swiftly head to the building that housed this politician speaking out about the higher ups, and so they could easily take care of them. "Let's go, I'll give you a bit of freedom on this mission, use your skills the best you can to contain anyone that you see fleeing, or those that spot you. Remember that this is supposed to be a quiet operation, try to leave people the same way they were before." Keita wanted to stress that this mission was not a normal one, and that they should not simply wantonly kill people or cause a huge ruckus, as that would be bad if this was linked back to anyone there. Nothing that they could not handle, of course, but it was still going to be a large head ache if these people could not do this mission with stealth in mind.

Keita rushed along the roads with them until they were in the vicinity of the buildings that they needed toi infiltrate. It was fairly obvious where the leader would be based on the layout of the compound, so Keita started heading straight there. This was when Keita heard that the other genin, Yosei he thought his name was, speak up and say that they were going to go and secure the ground floor and prevent any one from leaving through the obvious exit. Keita simply nodded at them, and then molded his chakra to match the earth element. The building and the surrounding area was all stone, so it was fairly easy to use the hiding like a mole technique to get around. He simply traveled through the ground floor, noticing all of the guards on the way to the stairs that would lead him up to the top floor, where his target most likely was. As he was traveling through the earth, he noticed this structure was like a small fortress, and that the floors on the multiple levels were all made out of hewn stone, and so it was easy for him to get around. He simply kept flowing through the earth towards the top floor, and only had to step out and reactivate the technique a couple of times before he made it into the top floor. With his expanded senses due to the earth technique that he was using to traverse the area, he could very clearly see the man that he was looking for. This person was sitting in a large chair, in front of an impressive looking desk, as some sort of servant girl was feeding him grapes. It did not take long for the man to get up, and start heading to the restroom, where Keita was lying in wait for him. As he was doing his business, it seemed like he was still eating food, and so Keita thought of a plan. It was not the best plan, but something that could at least be believable if someone were to question it. 

Keita emerged from the floor, and immediately made a single chakra chain, which quickly wound around the man's neck. Sometimes if people wanted to kill you, they would strangle you, but the large amount of pressure that those people exerted on their victims was unnecessary, and only served as a way to vent anger, and cause a sense of crisis in their victim. You could easily prevent someone from breathing with a much lighter force put on their neck, and not leave many marks for later inspection. Keita held the man in place, the chain on his neck, and the soft gagging sounds that were barely audible were escaping his mouth, until his body fell limp in the chain. Keita held his neck for a little while longer, to make sure that there was no coming back from this if someone decided to try and resuscitate him, and then let thee chain have him fall on the floor, hitting his head on the toilet. This made a loud crash, which would cause the servant girl to rush in to see what was wrong, but by this time, Keita had already used the hiding like a mole technique again, and was out of there. After a preliminary sweep, he would temporarily pop out of the ground, just to tell the two genin that he was with that the job was done, and that they could exit. Keita simply then would head back to the kage and tell him the good news. On the way there, he would definitely ask the other small genin what they did while infiltrating the place, if they ran into any hiccups, and if they needed him to do anything for them before they left. This was a serious mission, and he would rather have the people that saw them killed than someone that knew it was them get away or simply be knocked out.
=======
Exit
WC: 1023 
====
Total word count: 1540 x 2 from event = 3080 words
Claiming 60 ap from max stats
Claiming 8000 ryo
Claiming 10 ap from A rank mission
Using 1000 towards water element 2000/2000
Using 2000 words towards Earth Wall learns D and C rank, 500 words towards B Rank 500/1500