[hirana kizumi]

A HEART'S A HEAVY BURDEN

The Wolf Sage and his apprentices were a mystery Kizumi was dying to untangle. Eclectic, isolated, and reportedly powerful beyond measure, the power of the Wolf Sage was rumored to rival even that of a Jinchuuriki—and having seen Kiho’s impressive handiwork for herself, Kizumi was eager to believe the tale. That said, the extent of her personal exposure to the trio of lupine mountain dwellers began and ended with the womanizing, self-satisfied chuunin she had encountered at a communal hot pot table. Daisuke was just a kid, really, with a glaringly obvious chip on his shoulder… and while Kizumi suspected that he would be difficult to manage, she also had a good feeling that he would be the easiest of the three to bring closer into the fold. According to the reports that she was still desperately getting caught up on, Sages were traditionally not closely aligned with the Hidden Villages or even the nations in which they resided; they were guardians of nature, sacred animals, secrets of the divine earthly chakra, stuff like that. It seemed reasonable, at least to Kizumi’s quite rational mind, that it would be a huge boon if she could entice someone with a Sage’s power to become markedly more invested in the village. The kid was still technically a shinobi and therefore under her command, but that didn’t mean that she—or the village—commanded his loyalty. With a bit of effort, she could have the Nanabi Jinchuuriki as her right hand, a burgeoning Sage as her left. Worth it at least to try, no? In her appointment book, her awful script read: 1530: Daisuke. Be firm. If all went well, hopefully this wouldn’t be an issue for much longer. The clock read 1515. While she waited, Kizumi picked up a file folder—data on a young ops team chuunin from the Omori clan—leaned back in her chair, folding her legs beneath her in a criss-cross, and fervently continued the longest reading binge she’d embarked on in years.

Kojima Daisuke -- 335

LAIKA OF THQ

[Kojima Daisuke]

IF YOU ALWAYS WORRY ABOUT CRUSHING ANTS BENEATH YOUR FEET

Things seemed to be changing in Kumogakure as of late, and all hopefully for the better. Kyuumu Riku had recently stepped down from his position as Raikage, with Hirana Kizumi being promoted to replace him. Daisuke had met Kizumi once or twice before, but never in those meetings had he expected that she would have been the next to become Raikage. Admittedly, there was a sliver in his mind of jealousy that she had been given the position. Not so much that he had thought her unworthy of the title, or that it would have been better filled by someone else, more so because there was a deeper will inside him to someday become the Raikage himself. It was a childish dream to have, he thought, and something he very well might never come to attain, especially with his sage training, but it was still something that the young apprentice had hope for.

Today, though, it seemed that Auntie wanted to meet with him. She had a proposition for him, apparently. For what specifically, the invitiation did not explicitly state, but needless to say, the chunin was happy to attend. Meeting with the Raikage was not an everyday event, after all, never formally meeting the previous leader face to face on a single occassion.

It was 1532 by the time Daisuke had arrived at the tower, two minutes later than their scheduled meeting for better or worse. He was let inside without any trouble, and lead to the Raikage's office.

"Good to see ya, Obaa-chan.” Daisuke said with a small smirk on his face before the Kage's assistant would take their leave. "How you like the gig so far? Wanna grab another drink after your shift? Or do you even have shifts with this job?”

^{THEN YOU'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO WALK}

---

^{hirana kizumi}

Temp By: Akira

[hirana kizumi]

A HEART'S A HEAVY BURDEN

Kizumi glanced up when she heard the door to the Raikage’s—her, this was her office now—open. 15:32. Interesting. Even more interesting was the casual way Daisuke strolled right in. Kizumi had a mental flashback to her meeting with Kiho, who had immediately opted for a show of respect that was way unnecessary but still appreciated; something something work-personal boundaries, et cetera. Daisuke didn’t care at all for those kinds of things, apparently. Something to work on. At least she knew Auntie was a fond thing, coming from him. "I think it’s less shifts and more that sometimes I work here, and the rest of the time I work everywhere else,” Kizumi said wryly, and gestured to the chair on the other side of her desk. "Take a seat, Daisuke. We can talk drinks after we talk business.” Again she thought back to her meeting with Kiho, and internally cringed; where do you see yourself in five years? What an entry-level question. Such a bad look, and definitely not one Daisuke would respond well to. Well, at least she was already learning. Silver linings. "Since you’re apprenticed to Himemura-san,” she said, closing her file and putting it back down on her desk, "you don’t hold an official position on any teams within the village, correct?” Kizumi adjusted in her seat, unfolding her legs from underneath her and crossing one knee in front of the other, leaning back in her chair. "I wanted to make you an offer for a position within the Raikage Tower, if you’re interested.” She purposefully paused, waiting to gauge his reaction before she said which position, exactly, she was going to extend an offer for.

Kojima Daisuke -- 293

LAIKA OF THQ

[Kojima Daisuke]

IF YOU ALWAYS WORRY ABOUT CRUSHING ANTS BENEATH YOUR FEET

The brow of the young chunin would shift slightly, a smirk crossing his face as his head knocked back with a small hum.

"Admittedly, aside from the recent missions I've been running, the wolves do seem to keep me a bit out of reach from most of the happenings in the Cloud. But, if you need an extra hand around here, I'd be happy to take the promotion and help you run things.”

Once again, the chunin's self inflated sense of self would shine through despite the constant words of Don'yokuna pounding into him about trying to embrace more humility. He had a tendency to heed the words of the wise wolf only when it seemed to benefit him, but it was at least a work in progress. He still pushed against authority, and even with Kizumi's promotion to Raikage he acted as if the two were equals. He respected her enough, considering she seemed fit for the position in the eyes of the village council, but there was still much about the woman he did not yet know. Her leadership was still a question in the eyes of the young sage, so it came to no surprise to him that she wanted to offer him a position of authority himself. Or so he thought.

"So what is it, then?” He started, all too sure of himself. "You want me to bump me up to Jonin and start running ops teams? I don't wanna shoot myself in the foot here, but if you are looking for a bodyguard, I haven't quite gotten a whole grip on the sage training so as much as I hate to admit it, you might be better off askin' Kaede.”

A little too nonchelant for most in terms of how he spoke, but that was simply who he was. His ego was fueled by his past and future accomplishments. He made damn well sure anyone allied with Kumogakure knew who he was and what he represented, despite the fact he had still yet to unlock what was known as Sennin Modo, the pinnacle of what it was to be a sage. He could balance Natural energy within himself, sure, but that seemed few and far between, even after his years of training. Only twice had he actually been able to use the amilifications that had come with natural energy, and if it weren't for the necklace he wore around his neck, he might not even be here to boast about it. Of course, he wasn't going to admit anything like that to the Raikage. Not yet, anyway.

^{THEN YOU'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO WALK}

---

^{hirana kizumi}

Temp By: Akira

[hirana kizumi]

A HEART'S A HEAVY BURDEN

Ah, the arrogance of youth. Kizumi had been too poor, unskilled, and semi-literate for any kind of an ego to ever inflate her head, but she’d definitely scraped together enough confidence by the time she herself was a twenty-something chuunin to be able to suppress a smile at Daisuke’s words now. He was a little too tall and a little too ginger, but something about his attitude reminded Kizumi of Toshizou—years ago, anyway. (Still a little bit now, if she were being honest with herself.) She cocked her head, listening as he threw ideas out to her. This was tricky, now—she didn’t want to totally cut him down, he was an accomplished chuunin, but feeding his ego was the last thing this kid needed. "Not a promotion,” she said mildly, her attention turning to one of the file-sorters on her desk—didn’t she just have Daisuke’s file in hand a little while ago? It was around here somewhere… "More of a… lateral shift, I guess. I’ll need to see more field experience and a bit more, uh, advanced understanding of the entire field of shinobi arts before we start talking about a promotion.” Ah, there it was. She pulled out Daisuke’s file and started flipping through it—sage training, of course, otherwise he was a ninjutsu specialist. Bit of taijutsu, not much else. "Progressing in your sage training will be helpful, obviously, and you’re already showing promising growth in other fields, but you’ve got a ways to go yet.” She snapped the file closed and smiled brightly at the boy, the laugh lines at the corner of her lone good eye crinkling. "I do need an extra hand around here, though, which is why I invited you here. How would you like to be my assistant?”

Kojima Daisuke -- 308

LAIKA OF THQ

[Kojima Daisuke]

IF YOU ALWAYS WORRY ABOUT CRUSHING ANTS BENEATH YOUR FEET

Daisuke's brow would begin to shift, slightly displeased when Kizumi claimed this wasn't a promotion for the chunin. Try as he might not to take it personally, it was always a tough pill to swallow to hear about where you had been lacking. But, the new Raikage was right. A sage apprentice he may be, but worthy of the Jonin title? Not quite yet. He'd get there though.

"You're kidding.” Daisuke said, his head tilting downward slightly, jaw nearly slack at the mention of becoming her assistant. "You don't have anything better for me to do than help you with paperwork? Come on, Obaa, what's this really about?”

Admittedly, he was in disbelief. Daisuke was a warrior, a soldier, and she was asking him to help the village not by growing stronger and proving himself on the battlefield, but by being her secretary? No, no, no. No. Absolutely not. The young apprentice let out something of a growl, his teeth gritting together despite doing his best to maintain composure. A deep breath in and out, thinking about his body language, a clear display of his dissatisfaction over the position being offered, would soon change as he managed to calm himself down. There had to be a reason she was asking this, right?

"So what, then? I become your assistant so you can just put me in your pocket? You wanna put me on a leash? Groom me to take over when you are ready to give up the title?”

^{THEN YOU'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO WALK}

---

^{hirana kizumi}

Temp By: Akira

[hirana kizumi]

A HEART'S A HEAVY BURDEN

Ooh, he was already pushing her buttons—maybe this wasn’t the best idea after all? Then again, Kizumi had known the boy had an inflated ego when he’d first come to mind for the position. It was just a matter of bringing him back down to earth. She waited patiently for him to calm himself, which she was sure he would; there was no way he was dumb enough to actually snap at her, or let his temper take over. "Are you running so wild that putting you on a leash is something I’d have to consider?” she asked mildly, apparently unaffected by his little temper tantrum. She’d borne the brunt of worse vitriol from far scarier men; and anyway, it wouldn’t do for the Raikage to be bothered by a twenty-year-old chuunin. "Use your brain, Daisuke, I know you’ve got one; it’s why I want you working directly for me. If I needed a pencil pusher, I could take on any semi-literate genin. What do you think a Kage’s assistant does, hm?” Daisuke’s pride would be the biggest hurdle to overcome; Kizumi knew that coming in. The question was whether or not he’d be able to manage it well enough to understand exactly what kind of opportunity she was laying at his feet.

Kojima Daisuke -- 221

LAIKA OF THQ

[Kojima Daisuke]

IF YOU ALWAYS WORRY ABOUT CRUSHING ANTS BENEATH YOUR FEET

Daisuke's brow tensed, arms crossed before his chest with a drawn out breath. He'd hum softly at the Raikage's words, the corners of his mouth twisted downward ever so slightly before the young sage would tilt his head and meet the woman's gaze.

There was a period of silence before Daisuke would speak. He'd calm himself down, the woman's statement plainly indicating he had overreacted. She was right, of course. He tended to do that when he heard things he didn't agree with, but more often than not it was a simple show of defiance than outward disobedience. The chuunin would allow his brow to ease, though it remained lightly furrowed as he'd gather his thoughts.

According to her, the job being offered was for much more than just signing paperwork as he might have assumed. In truth, though, Daisuke didn't have a full grasp on what being the Kage's assistant would entail. Koume, a friend of his from Kusagakure, served as the Lord's assistant, but they didn't really speak much about what she did exactly, other than essentially whatever the man asked her to do. Within reason, of course.

The question began to echo in his mind, though. Her words plastered over his thoughts before his eyes narrowed.

"Fine.”

Daisuke finally said, although somewhat reluctantly.

"I'll take the job. I'm sure Don'yokuna would ruin me if I told him I turned down the offer.”

His pouting face would soon turn once more to his familiar, prideful smirk as he plopped down into the seat across from the Raikage's desk. The more he thought about it, actually, the more he sort of liked the idea of working hands on with her. He and Oba-san got along fairly well for the most part, despite them only really interacting the once before this. She was, however, very purposeful. Her words and actions always seemed to speak on exactly what she meant, with no room for misinterpretation. She was smart, and she had to be a damn fine kunoichi to get the position she now held, and that in and of itself was nothing to laugh at. Not only that, but she was quite patient. Something anyone who would deal with the young sage on a regular basis would need. Plus, despite her age, she was at least easy on the eyes.

"So, I suppose it's Oba-kage now, hm?” Daisuke said with a small chuckle. "Honestly, I think this should be fun, eh? Maybe we can share a couple drinks on the long work nights. And maybe even... Now? Celebrate our new partnership?” The sage smirked, easing himself into the cushion of the chair he now sat in, arms still crossed over his chest, and that little smirk that made you know you either love him or hate him.

^{THEN YOU'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO WALK}

---

^{hirana kizumi}

Temp By: Akira

[hirana kizumi]

A HEART'S A HEAVY BURDEN

Kizumi just waited patiently as Daisuke sat there in silence, the picture-perfect image of a sulking child: arms crossed, brow furrowed, lips pursed into a cute little frown. He reminded Kizumi of her nephew; though her nephew was some fourteen years old now. Eventually, the sullen response came: Fine. Context clues and her prior reading meant that Kizumi could intuit well enough that Don’yokuna was a Sage mentor of some kind—one of the wolves, maybe?—but she decided not to ask questions, satisfied enough with her victory in this particular battle. Quick as lightning, Daisuke’s mood flipped, and he was turned back into that supersized, youthful, ginger Toshi. Time to think something over without pressure or judgement seemed good for him, at least; she filed that information away for later. No doubt she’d butt heads with him constantly over the coming months as they both settled into their roles. Oba-kage, though. Kizumi groaned, rubbing her forehead. "Not in front of the council, please,” she said, a tiny grin sneaking through despite her exasperation. "It’s gonna be hard enough to assert any kind of authority with them without that kinda nonsense flying around.” A drink, though… that was tempting. She had the new liquor cabinet, after all, with shiny dark bottles of very nice whisky that she would never have dreamed of buying herself—inaugural gifts, she supposed. She’d had the thought of paring back on her drinking, but… this was a special occasion, and surely one glass wouldn’t hurt? Her decision made, Kizumi plucked the bottle and two short, squat tumblers from the cabinet, pulling the cork with an easy twist of her pointer finger and thumb, and poured a shot into each of the two glasses. (Though her sense of a shot had long since been skewed, and in reality she poured something closer to three.) "To our new partnership,” she said, sliding one of the glasses over to Daisuke. "I’ve got high hopes for you, kid. Don’t let me down.” With any luck, she wouldn’t disappoint him, either.

Kojima Daisuke -- 338

LAIKA OF THQ