A Meeting of the Minds

''Its not a rumor. I beat her up. We were both in the training facility and at first I took her for a lost old lady, since it was odd to see her there. She began insulting me and be all jumpy, and said she was a ninja, so I treated her like any other ninja who would insult me. I treated her like we should in the bloody Mist. The only thing that bring dishonor about it is that there is a rumor about it. People need to learn to shut up. So if you want to set it straight lets get out of here. Try to straight me out.''

Kouji's eyes widened at the girl's words, in no universe had he expected the rumours to be true. They then widened even further when she low-key challenged him. Flashbacks of their last encounter flashed through his mind. "I-I had no idea. I thought I was just going to have to bash a couple of academy student's heads together. Of course I didn't mean I'd fight you."

He was flustered and began to sweat. He could remember all too well how it felt to be immobilized by her, his face in the dirt. But regardless he couldn't help the next words that came out of his mouth. "Y-you really beat up an old lady though? Ninja or not doesn't that seem... disrespectful?"

He stared out in horror, as if he could see the words and could will them back into his mouth. He'd spoken them softly, as if to himself, but he was sure Izu had heard them. Nothing got past her. He tensed and began to squint, anticipating some sort of retaliation. He was no coward, but he knew the vast difference in their skills. He also saw no point in fighting with a fellow mist ninja, outside of a spar. As he waited for her reaction he heard a sigh from the most senior ninja there.

“One of these days Izu you're going to challenge someone who you won’t be able to fight head on, and they just might kill you for that.”

It seems Kouji wasn't the only one alarmed by Izu's aggressive streak. He just hoped it was enough to de-escalate the situation. It seemed the man wasn't going to wait for her to respond, and moved on, as if expecting Izu to just follow suit. That was surprising, especially if Shiro knew her as much as he seemed to.

“Shinobi usually are debriefed on Missions or assignments if they are of great importance, you three should already know that by now.”

He then paused, as if for effect, and then said, “Thanks, and here’s for the trouble.” While he tossed a bag of ryo at Mako. As they moved and settled into their new table Kouji kept his eyes on Izu, still waiting for a reaction and hoping he hadn't offended her. But just like earlier, Shiro kept speaking as if oblivious to the tension stirred up by the blonde kunoichi.

“Alright, now for what I’ve come here to discuss with all of you, do you all remember the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist?”

Of course Kouji knew of the Seven Swordsmen of Mist. He was a diligent student, not just of his studies in the academy, but also of his private studies with his father. He simply nodded though, not wanting to draw attention to himself. He couldn't help his brow furrowing though, what was Shiro's point? They were nothing but genin, only Izu presumably having seen any real combat. Discussing such an obscure topic with them seemed bizarre, at best.

WC: 607
TWC: 1,696

Nothing about today seemed to be going well or even slightly as planned. It was suppose to be a day of shadowing Kouji to learn what it was like to be a Genin of the village and given the appearance of the former Mizukage it was like things were purposely going awry. Mako was just ready for the day to end, no amount of secrecy or urgency would make him happy to have his meal interrupted and forced into a cramped space even with them moving into a room that was big enough to fit an Odachi in he still took up a large portion of the room. It seemed that everyone was on eggshells and by everyone he meant the little exchange between Kouji and Izu and then with Shiro giving a warning to the blonde shinobi. Mako was unimpressed by the state of things being shown.
 
From this short interaction he could tell that Kouji was simply someone who wished to do the best he could with the effort he put in, Izu was stuck in the past of the village back when it was known as the Village hidden in the Bloody Mist which hasn’t been a moniker that has been relevant in some time, and Shiro who as a higher was simply use to people do what he said when he said it and thought throwing money around would smooth things over. It disheartened the Hoshigaki to say the least. Now they were getting to the big discussion that they had to move inside for and it was simply about the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, or at least if we remembered them which if a Kirigakure shinobi ever said they didn’t know who they were they either were the most sheltered person in the world or a spy and even then the world at large knew of the old legends. It was like asking do you remember how to breathe.
 
Mako had some interest in the Swordsmen of legend but mainly more the swords themselves, one of his ancestors from a time long gone had wielded one and another ancestor had wielded another. The Hoshigaki clan in general had a long history of being candidates to be apart of the Swordsmen, but beyond that Mako was only interested in seeing the swords in person to verify if they were as mythical as the legends said. He had heard that there were a couple being wielded in the world now but beyond mentions and rumors he hadn’t gleaned much else.
 
Mako took his spot in the room before replying to Shiro’s question, “No disrespect intended but of course we know of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist.” He would say keeping his tone neutral but his body language was one of someone annoyed. What possibly could Shiro be wanting to share with an Academy Student, a Genin and a Chuunin about the Swordsmen? It wasn’t like they were going to be chosen for the position especially when Kirigakure had lost the weapons ages ago, though a former Mizukage had held one before disappearing with it, but the village overall hasn’t held all seven of the swords in quite some time. Scanning each person, Mako couldn’t see anyone in this room worthy of even holding the hilt of one of the swords and that included himself. So the topic that they had to come inside for just seemed out of place both with its setting and the people discussing it.
 
WC: 583
TWC: 1805

As Kouji was gawking at the confession of Izu to beating the old lady, Izu only stared into his eyes longer. He said it was disrepectfull? After all, the old lady had a point on one thing: age doesnt make the ninja. It would've been disrepectfull to not treat her like one, and to not battle her. But as Shiro added his grain of salt, Izu frowned, before replying to both.

''Its not disrepectfull, she is as much of a ninja as us, so no preferential treatment.And yes Shiro i know, but this wasnt that situation...'' Answered Izu, rolling her eyes and sighing at the scolding of her sensei and older brother. As they talked, Mako seemed quite unimpressed by the others, Izu included. 

''Who does he think he is to judge easily?'' tought Izu to herself, thinking both about Shiro and Kouji, but also about Mako. It seems this situation wasnt getting better, but all of a sudden, Shiro talked about something interesting to Izu: the seven swordsman of the mist. As they were now inside, Izu ordered herself an iced tea, and answered her brother with stars in her eyes. 

''Oh of course I remember. Im aspiring to be one, one day. Im training with my needle sword and I hope I find the original, Nuibari to wield it in the name of the hidden mist. I even wear an antique jacket that used to belong to one of the last of the seven...What about 'em Shiro?''  answered Izu, now on the edge of her seat, intrigued to say the least. Indeed, it always was the most fascinating subject for her, as one of her ancestor, the one she bore his family name, used to be one of the most strong 7 swordsman of the hidden mist, Zabuza Momochi. Ever further than that, from her first time using weapons and dreaming of being a ninja, Izu dreamed of becoming one of the seven swordsman, wielding one or more than one of their legendary swords, and becoming a legend of the hidden Mist. When she was young, she even found on a remote island in a cemetary the lost burrial site of one of the last 7 swordsman of the mist, one of the last one before the group vanished or were disbanded. In the abandonned tombstone, was a stone replica of the legendary sword of her ancestor, the Giant sword Kubikiribocho. On the pummel of the sword was an old weathered jacket, oversized for Izu, but the stuff of legend nonetheless, with the logo of the seven swordsman embroidered on the arm. This vest meant the world to her, and she too great care of it, it was her most prized possession, both signifying her dream and goals, but also where she came from. 

Mako too answered, saying it was obvious they knowed who the seven swordsman were, as Kirigakure ninja. Of course the subtelty of the question passed over his head, as it was asked only in an affirmative context, to open up the subject with them. But he was right, eveyone of them knew who they were.

Kouji listened to the two others respond first. He gave Mako a mild eyebrow raise at his response, if he was looking. He hoped he took it as a small, but kind, warning. He liked that he was matter of fact and spoke his mind, but it was an easy line to cross into impolite territory. He didn't want the Hoshigaki to start off on the wrong foot with these two on his watch. He could already tell the boy had promise and he looked forward to seeing his continued growth. Getting along with your fellow ninja was important, at least to him. Which is why he didn't quite agree with Izu's perspective on the elderly ninja. In his opinion, we shouldn't be fighting amongst ourselves unless absolutely necessary, or for training's sake. Especially if the ninja involved was of advanced age. There are simple respects you should pay to anyone contributing to the village, and beating old ladies was not respectful, regardless of how they interacted with you or their shinobi status. He let out a soft chuckle to himself. No old lady could be as bad as the menace he had met on multiple missions. If he could hold his temper around that old hag he was sure Izu was capable of holding hers against someone else. Although, while they've worked together a lot, he still didn't know that much about her, aside from her fantastic skills as a ninja. Maybe she had her own reasons for acting this way, and he knew he shouldn't hold it against her. He was just grateful there was no rumour to shut down, and now only hoped to save face with the blonde kunoichi.

He was interested to hear her response. He didn't realize her goal was to become a swordsman, let alone have such a lofty dream as claiming the legendary Nuibari and bringing it back into the Mist's hands. Such an accomplishment would forever set her name in the annals of village history. Her name... It was then he pieced together a connection to her sir name, Momochi, to a legendary figure in the past who had also laid claim to one of the seven blades. He was rumoured to be an expert assassin and wielded the Executioner's Blade, famed for decapitating its foes. Maybe that was why the girl was so obsessed with the old adage of the Bloody Mist. He was sure that family history was steeped in bloodshed. He hoped to help lead her out of that path one day. To shed blood was synonymous with being a ninja, but there was no need to take pleasure in it. Sometimes sparing a life can have more power than taking one. Of course, such thoughts were not to be spoken. He knew it wasn't a popular belief within the village, and he also knew he would work his hands red with blood for the sake of the village. But it was with Shiro's next words that Kouji's mind split open.

“I like talking to those that are below me in rank about ideas, it’s so that way you guys have some input. I wish to expand the organization to more than just Seven Swordsmen, we have powerful people who can’t wield those swords as effectively as those who have a knack for weaponry. As such, I was thinking of reimagining the idea as the Seven Waves of the Mist, Seven of our strongest individuals that exclude the Kage, and would act as our vanguards of the village from both internal and external threats. We are more than just swordsmen, as is the case with our current Kage, and those that had come before me. People who can manipulate ninjutsu without needing to use Weapons for attacking or defending. To have people that are actually ready to help protect the village. What do you all think?”

The Seven Swordsmen were staples of the village's tradition and custom. Even if the positions hadn't been filled for a while. To change the title was a bold move, but one Kouji supported. It opened up the option for ninja proficient in other means to become a known face within the village. There was a time and place for tradition, but this was not one of them. This could help revolutionize the village's hierarchy and motivate the next generation to rise further than their predecessors. He had no lofty aspirations for a title like that himself. He merely wanted to be an accomplished sensei. But any move to make their village greater and impact the next generation was something he would get behind.

"I vastly approve, a change like this could be a revolution for our village and even..." He lowered his voice, "Put us on even footing with the likes of Hoshigakure."

He returned to a normal speaking level, "I think it will be a difficult idea to execute, our village is steeped with traditions and history revolving around the Seven Swordsmen, but if you were to change it, I think Kirigakure would benefit. I know I'm just a simple genin, with no clout behind my name, but if you wish to see this pushed forward I will support you. I'll rally my father as well so you have the full Masaki clan behind you, however small we are."

WC: 888
TWC: 2,584

Everyone gave their response to Shiro’s question, Kouji tried to give a subtle warning to Mako to keep himself in check due to the people he was around, but frankly Mako didn’t care about who he was in front of. One was a woman who was bloodthirsty enough to beat an old woman who apparently insulted her, and equally threatened to do the same to a fellow shinobi who had thought better of the woman and was trying to help her. The other was someone who lost to the current Mizukage and clearly didn’t care about those below him time, Shiro mentioned that the reason he was even speaking to them was to get their input on the prospect of changing the Seven Swordsmen into the Seven Waves citing that Kirigakrue was more then just swordsmen and that their were plenty of strong people who could be offensive and defensive with Ninjutsu without the need of weapons.
 
It was shocking to hear. It was a speech that diminished the Swordsmen to just mere weapon users. That they were only as good as the weapon they swung and not their full abilities. Kirigakure has been known as the village with the best assassins and water Ninjutsu users. The Swordsmen were an elite fighting force of those who were masters in their own right and had earned the position through at some points killing their own masters as that had been the tradition to make sure that each successive generation of Swordsmen were stronger than the prior. Maybe it was because Mako was apart of the Hoshigaki and they had kept long records of the village and Swordsmen but to hear this was sad. Kouji agreed with change happily even thinking that this could put Kirigakure on even footing with Hoshigakure the very village that their current Mizukage hailed from.
 
He was in the company of fools. A man who wished to get rid of a symbol of the village for superficial reasons, a bloodthirsty and aggressive woman who lashes out to those around her, and a guy who might just be a pushover. These were his leaders and comrades. Disgusting.
 
“I have no input to give.” Mako replied, he had grown tired of this gathering. He wished to leave and finish his shadowing of Kouji though if the current situation was what they would be dealing with he could just call it a day there.
 
WC: 404
TWC: 2209

The seven waves of the hidden mist? Izu was thrilled. Of course, all this talk was only this, talk, but still, having dreams and hopes for the future would clearly help. This alligned with her own goals of becoming one of the seven swordsman of the hidden mist. May the be called swordsman or waves, Izu didnt care. The principle was still the same, the role the same too. They were the top of the foodchain in terms of Kirigakure ninja, defenders, hunter-nin of renown. Thats what aspired Izu to be. 

To see that Shiro, her very own brother from the same Hyuuga father, had the same goal as her made her shed a small tear. Izu wasnt an emotionnal girl, but this made her emotionnal for sure. Without any precedent, she jumped on Shiro, hugging him, her children heart having been woken up, a extremely rare occurence for a girl who barely had any childhood at first. As she hugged him and cried, Izu was overwhelmed with love, respect and a warm feeling of understanding, of complicity, of acceptance. This was it. She finnaly found a real family, someone to care for her, to help her in life and to help her thrive in the hard road towards her goals. After a few minutes, Izu gathered herself back to being fine, and she wiped the tears away from her cheeks, her eyes back to normal.

''*sniff* I-I'm sorry. I'd be more than happy to be a part of this Shiro Sensei. Altought we shouldnt thrive for changing too much of the seven swordsman. Its a key element of our culture, and personnaly, I'll still want to be a swordsman, I want to be the best swordsman of kirigakure.'' Said a now back to normal Izu, holding herself back to public standing, her cold and stoic usual self. Kouji agreed too, a good lad always enthusiast about helping Kirigakure and seeing its interests first. But the other, the student didnt seem happy at all. As the whole group had a certain vibe of enthusiasm, the tall shark-like hoshigaki was seemingly disgusted, dsicouraged at them, for whatever reason. Izu looked at him with eyes of seriousness, her brow frowning, signaling she felt offended. He 'didnt have any imput' ? Did he not care about Kirigakure and its future? Did he think they were all crazy for speaking of such things? Trying to not ruin the moment by being agressive, Izu let it go, but she still found the man weird, and judgemental, more over for doing so while being only a mere student who could be beat even by Kouji, a recent Genin...

Shiro Hyuga wrote:

25% WC discount
Heavenly Body:1500/1500
Ninshu:1500/1500

memorizing Mako's Chakra Signature:2000/2000

Approved