[Sesshoku, Hizou]

A small envoy trek through the wilderness, following along the main road leading into Arashi no Kuni from the north-west. Their journey had taken them several weeks, from the docks of Shouninnomura, through the land of stone toward their destination of Amegakure. They had so far managed to avoid  bandits; attempting to keep a low profile and only travelling by day in  the famailar territories of allied nations. Their diplomatic status meant they avoided harassment from Iwagakure shinobi; aside from the usual questions and verification of their intentions; surely though, their movements were watched until they reached Arashi. The group in total numbered seven; two shinobi of Yukigakure's diplomatic corps, two of their Anbu and last three providing the civilian support of cook, cart driver and treasurer.

From the moment they arrived in the land of storms, the group of snow shinobi were escorted by their rain counterparts. With the protections their diplomatic status afforded them, they had very little to worry about from there onwards. Over the course of the day as they walked across the country's damp terrain, the two parties remained stoically silent toward each other. When night fell the groups set up individual camps, ready to finish their journey in the early hours of the morning. Before they left however, the amegakure shinobi required their visitors to be blindfolded in order to keep the hidden village's location secret. Early in the morning, they finally arrived to the main gates of Amegakure.

Hizou sighed softly as the black piece of fabric was removed from his eyes. He took a moment to gather his bearings, letting his eyes clear and focus on the surrounding area. The dark greys of a metal hallway came into view as his Amegakure escort led him forward. They walked slowly further down the hallway until gesturing him and his peers toward a doorway with a large spindle wheel lock. "Here are the lodgings you will be staying at during your visit. Your cart has been taken care of, and your belongings will be brought to the room shortly after we process everything. If you want to go anywhere, knock on the door and request to leave. You will be required to have an escort with you at all times outside of this building. After dark, please remain here." The amegakure shinobi said.

"Any questions?" He added.

Hizou remained quiet, looking toward his superior, Yoi Akai. After she shook her head, the group of Yukigakure representives entered the room and unpacked what belongings they had on themselves. The young genin sat on a chair, thinking quietly to himself. It was his first time leaving the village, and being on this diplomatic mission as a trainee bore heavily on his subconscious. "I'm going to find something to eat. If that's okay?" Hizou asked.

His superior gave him a nod, trusting the boy to behave correctly. Hizou walked up to the metal door, giving it three knocks; awaiting for the door to be opened.

---

Notes:

-498-

[takeda sadako]

KILLING YOUR IDOLS IS A CHORE

This was the dumbest fucking assignment she’d ever been cursed with. It wasn’t even a mission, no training, no anything—just her job for the day, apparently. Walking some dipshit kid from Yukigakure around because the Diplomatic Corps needed their hands held at every waking hour in case they shat themselves and died, or something like that. Sadako, she’d been told, you have to be polite to these people. They’re shinobi from an allied village and they are diplomats. They’re protected by law and your conduct during this assignment will reflect extremely positively on you if you do well—and extremely negatively if you do poorly. So just… keep your head, alright? Be nice. Sadako exhaled, a sharp gust of breath that blew her bangs out of her face. Fine, whatever. She could be nice. She could be so goddamn nice. Three knocks sounded on the metal door. Sadako sighed, gathering her willpower, and opened the spindle wheel lock on the door precisely the way she’d been shown. She stood ramrod straight, her expression flat and unmoving. Her hair was pulled back into a neat ponytail, her bangs swept to the side. She wore the modern style of athleisure common to Amegakure, black trimmed with vibrant yellow. Her shinobi headband was secured in its technically correct position for once in her life: upon her brow. For all intents and purposes, she looked like a young professional who actually worked there. And if you can’t be nice, her sensei had said, just keep your mouth shut, yeah? Sadako was silent for a long moment after she opened the door, and a skinny, nerdy-looking boy stood on the other side. The corner of her mouth twitched, something mean bubbling up to her lips, but she swallowed it back alongside her pride and nodded sharply. She stepped aside to let him out, and then closed the door behind him. There were more Amegakure shinobi on standby; one more person slid in to take her place. Extremely careful to keep her tone neutral, Sadako asked: "Where do you want to go?” It still came out a little snide despite her best efforts, the latent annoyance at the position she’d been placed in leaking through, but all in all it wasn’t a bad attempt. For her, anyway. She could only hope that this kid wouldn’t annoy the shit out of her.

Sesshoku, Hizou -- 394

LAIKA OF THQ

[Sesshoku, Hizou]

Hizou watched as the metal door's spindle wheel turned, implying his knocks had been acknowledged from whoever was on the other side. He took a swift stepped back, cautious to keep out of the way when it swung open. To his surprise, a young dark-haired Kunoichi revealed herself. A mousy, timid Hizou tried to greet her stotic expression with a half-crooked smile, however it instantly retreated as the two shared an awkward silence.

Luckily for the boy, the Amegakure shinobi interrupted the quietness of the moment with a straight forward question. Hizou's head lowered, gazing at the girl's feet as a short stutter left his lips "I... I was.... wondering if I could go to a restaurant to try some local cuisine." Hizou uttered quietly after gaining enough confidence to speak coherently.

Hizou raised a gloved hand to his face, readjusting the glasses perched against the bridge of his nose. He await the girl to allow him to leave before stepping through the door. "I'm.."

Hizou paused for a moment, trying to remember the name his superiors designated to him for diplomatic missions outside the village. It was his first time speaking the name out loud, along with his first international mission.

"Kiringo, Hizou. It's a pleasure to meet you" Hizou said as he slightly bowed.

---

Notes:

-214-

[takeda sadako]

KILLING YOUR IDOLS IS A CHORE

This was so hard. This twig of a nerd, just barely taller than her—and she would bet actual money that she had twice his weight on him in muscle alone—was stuttering. He got it together after a second, but kami on a fucking crisp, it was taking every ounce of willpower in her body to not mock him mercilessly for literally everything about him. He even hesitated, stuttering on giving his own name like he couldn’t think of what it was. Ugh. This was a diplomat? She had to be nice to him? "Fine,” Sadako said, more sharply than she’d intended to. Her lips thinned, and she tried again, as gently as she could manage: "We can go to Ichiba. Lots of options.” There was a little shioyaki stand that she liked there, actually, and sometimes the guy would give her an extra one for free when she showed up drenched in sweat from training. Maybe he’d give her two extra if she said she was on duty. She led Hizou out of the building, checking her corners just like she’d been taught—it wasn’t super necessary, there was lots of security here, but good for building habits. At the building’s entrance she pulled up the hood of her jacket reflexively, the ever-present protection from the ever-present downpour. She glanced both ways, checked for traffic, and jogged across the street to where a long set of metal stairs led to the layer of the city below, gesturing for her charge to follow along behind her. "Gotta go down to catch the train,” she said to him. "Ten, fifteen minutes maybe. Should be quick.” It occurred to her, extremely belatedly, that she hadn’t given her name in return. Normally she didn’t bother—people didn’t need to know her business—but her sensei’s words were echoing in her ears like a persistent genjutsu. "Takeda Sadako,” she said as she led the way down the stairs, her hand resting lightly on the railing. It wasn’t a pleasure to meet Hizou, so she kept her mouth shut.

Sesshoku, Hizou -- 340

LAIKA OF THQ

[Sesshoku, Hizou]

Hizou followed the young Amegakure shinobi's lead, trying his best to ignore the distractions along the way. Rusted and worn metal hallways lined the beginnings of their journey - the young Sesshoku could tell they were saturated with much hidden knowledge and every fibre in his body called out to him to touch them in ordered to reveal it. If it weren't for his gloves suppressing his supernatural tactile sense he may have, however instead continued to pace forward.

He noticed an odd quirk of the girl's when she seemingly approached each turn with caution; was that usual of Amegakure shinobi he thought. Another observation he made was the sheer amount of security patrolling the building, nothing like the relaxed nature within Yukigakure. As the two approached the exit, Hizou could hear the sounds of rain pitter patter against iron infrastructure. He quickly noticed his chaperone didn't have a umbrella on them, so he raised his jacket over his head. "Lucky this is water-proof" he thought to himself.

Exiting the building, the two ran out into the relentless weather; apparently going to the lower levels to catch a train. Each step made a thud against the stairs as he heard the kunoichi say her name. "Sadako.. that's a lovely name. Were you named after the story of a thousand cranes. My mother once told me that story, such a sad tale." Hizou replied.

---

Notes:

-232-

[takeda sadako]

KILLING YOUR IDOLS IS A CHORE

At least the dumbass diplomat had come prepared—he had a waterproof jacket, with a deep hood he could raise over his head. She had nothing to offer him if that hadn’t been the case, and honestly it would’ve been funny to watch the guy get soaked, so maybe it was a net loss. Better that than getting chewed out for not looking after him properly, though. Such a weird guy, though. Why the hell was he making conversation about her name? She didn’t say anything at first, instead leading him all the way down to the subway station, paid both their fares—faster than watching him fumble trying to do it himself, and failing miserably—and quickly wove through the crowds with a familiar deftness and ease until she reached the right platform that would take them to Ichiba. There was a five minute wait until the next train, though, which meant her options were to either stand in silence, or do the nice thing and actually engage with his awkward, fumbling conversation attempts. "No,” she said, with no apparent regard to the significant delay between Hizou’s question and her flat, unaffected answer. The truth was that she had no idea why her name was what it was. She had never asked, and she would never know. BE NICE, howled the sensei in the back of her brain. "I don’t know that story.” She was gruff, half-heartedly tacking on a half-assed attempt at continuing the topic without actually asking a question, or offering more information. If she was lucky, and he knew what was good for him, it’d drop there.

Sesshoku, Hizou -- 268

LAIKA OF THQ

[Sesshoku, Hizou]

Hizou's lips stretched wide, flashing a kind smile to Sadako as he watch her buy his ticket for the train trip. As the pair found some cover under a metal roof, the boy removed his hood and let out a gentle sigh. Under the pretense of the shelter, Hizou's left hand reached for the seam of his right glove. It slowly played with the leather, teasing its removal as he carefully watched Sadako's reaction. He wasn't quite sure if she had been given any information on his Genkai Kekkai, even depsite his fake surname. Once he was sure there was no suspicion in her eyes, the Sesshoku boy removed them both completely and placed them in a pocket. 

The crowd of people dressed in aged fabric, the metal fittings and infrastructure; it was all too much for Hizou's curious mind. With a subtle graze here and there, Hizou managed to lift fleeting memories off everything around him. He tried to remain present in mind, continuing the conversation as the two arrived at the platform. "It's about a sickly girl from Kaminari no Kuni during the plague there. She tried to fold a thousand cranes in hopes she'd get a wish, her hope to live to become a shinobi... unfortunately she died in her sleep, having only reached six hundred forty-four"  he paused for a moment in reflection.

"However after her death, friends completed the last of her paper cranes and buried them with her. It suppose to be a story of determination and friendship" he glanced sullenly at the ground as he finished.

---

Notes: 

-263-