[Ryuujin Shiina]

In the city of fools, I was careful and cool but they tore me apart like a hurricane.

TAG - @akira

NOTES - 

It would be quite a shame that the man before her indeed confused the profession of a geisha with that of an oiran. Of course, this irked her, as it did warrant some misunderstandings especially if they didn't frequent the districts or requested the performances of a geisha. "I suppose I shall ask to come to your room, if that's alright." Her expression didn't reveal that she felt annoyed, but Shiina decided to wave the question Souzin asked her as a simple question, with no disrespect "Sales in the means of performances, certainly. Geisha only sell their art and talents, unlike oiran who have the potential of selling much more..." She made a point to call out the difference straight out, with no room for confusion. "I suppose it's more of using this time to perfect our skills through practice."

She owed it to her okiya, the geisha house she had been taken into a few months after becoming a neukenin. Although she had started this 'profession' as a means to conceal her actual identity of being a shinobi being chased by Kumogakure. She would motion for the man to lead the way, unsure of what was going to happen once they got there. Of course, they would naturally experience the hot springs, one of the selling points of the ryokan. But what about after? There was still a lot of questions she wanted to ask Sozin, namely about his person and even though they had a good conversation thus far, she realized that she had gotten no information from the man himself. Shiina signalled for one of the hostesses to let the owner to bring one bottle of reishu and one bottle of atsukan to Sozin's room and two cups.

Her instincts told her that they were going to be having conversations well into the night, at this rate.

For the moment, she simply went with the flow. Many of the patrons in the ryokan would turn their heads as they passed, their eyes traveled up and down as to admire her body and beauty. Shiina paid them no mind, ascending to the second floor where both of their rooms were. Before they went in, she spoke again, this time more out of formality. "I suppose you would like some time to enjoy the hot springs on your own? I can wait downstairs until you are finished if you wish." The woman wanted to make it clear that she was not after his money or his person, if that was what he had been thinking.

MADE BY MIZO

[Deleted]

It was like she'd seen into his mind. "I meant for Tea?" Why had she instantly went to Oiran? Had his voice been so telling? What skills did she practise? Sex? Tea? WHICH ONE DID SHE MEAN? The little perceptible squint of his eyes one of the few micro-expressions that showed the confusion. Being a Shinobi meant that a lot of the time you had seen stuff - and hiding one's expression came naturally to many.

Taking a breath out. "Of course. Let's go, then." He would smile politely: would stand up, off they were to his room that would be bare of most things, except for a rucksack that had been left at the end of the bed. Strangely, if she'd looked in it: there would be no documents there. That was because the recent paranoia that he'd dealt with had come off as him hiding that sort of stuff. Even if it was... simple.

So - he would move first, she would be behind him. But eyes weren't on him. Up the stairs on to the second floor, they would make mild conversation as they changed locations. Wait. This was very confusing - what was she suggesting? As they'd reached the room and the door had opened she had wondered if not to join him. "I can't converse with you if you're not in the same room as me." Sozin would reclaim some humour in that moment rather than the confusion. "The hot springs water isn't very good if you're not in it. Please, be my guest."

Provided that was satisfactory, both into his room they would go. He would have to start getting hot water through: some water poured. It was good form to be ready for heat, it was all too easy to become dehydrated quickly from the heat.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}Add any jutsu, relevant information here

[Ryuujin Shiina]

In the city of fools, I was careful and cool but they tore me apart like a hurricane.

TAG - @akira

NOTES - 

His micro-expressions were very hard to catch, even for an observant person like her. She wanted to know more about the man, and yet a part of her irked her but she couldn't quite put a finger on what it was. As he agreed and would lead them both into his room, she wondered if he was thinking of something more than just the exchange of conversation, or the constitutions of the word conversation, but that could only be determined once they were in the room. She followed him quietly up the stairs, and when he opened the door, she was almost amazed at the lack of possessions he had. But then again, she was the same way.

The woman was not exactly taken aback by his invitation to join him in the hot springs. Of course, there would be a need for both parties to be present if conversation was to be had, and naturally that would mean sharing it at the same time. Shiina nodded her head, gesturing for the man to go rinse off first, as hot spring etiquette dictates, and she would sit on the chair waiting patiently for him to finish. A knock on the door and a sliding sound of it opening indicated that the sake she had ordered for them had arrived. Seeing the hostess, she would ask the atsukan be kept on a warm stove, an apparatus the ryokan could easily provide for their patrons, and some ice to keep the reishu chilled.

And she heard the waters run.

She thought about all of the connections she had made so far, most of which ironically were in ryokans. It wasn't surprising hat she was a frequent visitor of these establishments, but the idea that she could make possible acquaintances, if not friends, under her identity as Ran, was quite intriguing. Once she heard the water cease, the young woman would make her way to the hot spring, excusing herself rather politely as she removed her clothing. Even removing clothes was an art for Shiina, an art perfected only through careful consideration of grace, which not many people would really care for. Placing her kimono and obi on the back of a chair, she would open the sliding door, the steam from the hot water hugged her body.

MADE BY MIZO

[Deleted]

Sozin nodded, and would get himself started. Right in - cleaning his body, much in a similar way to the temples. It was an act of sanctity: though cleaned, the sauna and the springs were not for dirty guests. The baths next to the bath were for the cleaning, where they could scrub away. On the little bucket, even as far as to scrub himself down, and pouring the bucket of lukewarm water over his head: wetting his hair, he would run a hand through it and slick it back, and wiped the excess water from his eyes and face, taking a breath as he finished.

In he went as well: without much need for clothing at this point, he'd dropped the towel with some slight disregard, perhaps a purview of his personality - by the personal tub itself. He had placed in a bag of salts, and so the smell of lavender permeated most strongly: salt and the purple flower milling around the surface of the hot water. Ran on the other hand would be doing something.

Ran would have seen the back of his head, as she came in - she had been all too aware of the possibility of a perverseness and had reacted accordingly - and Sozin didn't blame her.

Ran might've been able to appreciate that Sozin kept his eyes shut until a few seconds after the water had stopped sloshing and making noise, he remained quiet: letting his nose fill with the warmness and right through into his lungs. It was permeating right through his body, sapping out the kinks of his muscles.

Rather than stare at her, he move his body outward, so he could lean the nape of his neck against the back of the darker wood material, to look up at the ceiling. He did breath, too: it was a sound of relief. She may or may not have known or be able to tell that he had not been in one of these in a long time.

It was such a... mortal thing. "Is tea what you really do?" Sozin asked. His voice was a bit shy of usual - on account of his head being wrung back and it made him sound a bit more nasally. "I spent a lot of my life liking it before I did not. I do know that it's common enough that you need field upon field... and you do not strike me as the wholesale type." If she was a bit naughty... well, he did not mind a bit naughty.

Sozin's dark whispered creeped in - While she would find her existing emotions, whether distrust, hate or lust - amplified. Only a little. But in the back of her mind, too, there would be the critters of deception feeding her little lies in her own voice: not real words, of course: but those fed by her emotions. He could be as polite as he liked in the meanwhile.

SPOILER: Click to show

A boon granted to all of the Followers of Akui is their ability to subtly manipulate individuals; to emit a dark of feeling of dread and coldness (when they wish) and also exists to heighten the target's existing feelings so that they can be slowly proselytize them. [If a Follower of Jihi is present, Jihi's Calm and Dark Whispers will cancel one another out as if the SAs were not present.]

[Ryuujin Shiina]

In the city of fools, I was careful and cool but they tore me apart like a hurricane.

TAG - @akira

NOTES - 

Shiina would in fact acknowledge and appreciate the fact that Sozin had closed his eyes when she came into the room, not opening them until she was safely submerged in the hot waters. Every muscle and bone in her body sang praises of joy, as the warmth wrapped around her like a tight blanket. She could smell the bath salts that she knew was Sozin's doing. appreciating the pleasant smell that filled her nostrils. For a moment, she would be slightly immersed in all of this, closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath, reopening them only when she heard Sozin speak again, asking her if tea was really what she did, as a profession. "I suppose I should have been more specific." She leaned her back against the bath, so that she would be facing the man with quite a bit of distance between them. "As a geisha, tea is only a part of the profession. We are performers, or more specifically, we choose a musical instrument during our training years to excel in and learn all of the traditional dances." She hoped her explanation was sufficient.

Those who didn't know about the geisha world and never hired geisha to do performances would have no idea what it was they did. And then he would make a comment that caused her to feel mixed emotions. She knew that he had chosen the word specifically, and that if he had chosen any other word, it would have been derogatory, and so she appreciated his caution. "We do not sell our bodies out for money, a common misconception to the outside world. In fact, because of the fact that we are performers to the high and mighty, our identity as geisha must be kept secret from commoners. It is written in our code, as we could possibly risk taking the conversations overheard during performances out and cause more danger than harm of varying degrees." The fact that she had admitted that she was a geisha to him had been surprising.

"I knew from the moment I laid eyes upon you downstairs that you were not a man of the usual stature. If you don't mind me asking, what is it that you specifically do. Also, judging from your way of speech and how you move, you don't strike me as being from here." Of course she knew that he wasn't from around here, although she was intrigued at who exactly he was. There were so many compelling personality traits he had exhibited throughout their brief exchange that raised some questions about his identity. Despite his seemingly pleasant composure, she felt something that was perhaps more serene and dark behind all the niceness and she wanted to know all about it.

MADE BY MIZO

[Deleted]

"I see." A Geisha.

Not an Oiran, as he had previously suggested in his own mind.

Close enough, so he thought. It was a reason to give himself benefit of the doubt and that he was a bit sharper than the rest of the tools from the shed. "I think it's a difficult thing to do... maintain tradition." Sozin would stare down at the water. Maintaining tradition had always been so difficult for him... he respected it, but tended not to follow them himself. Perhaps it had been for his lack of clan birth: no Dojutsu, kekkai genkai or otherwise exemplary genealogy to set him apart?

He himself had always been... operating outside the box. "Unless one was an Oiran," Sozin would let his intrusive thought win almost to combat her point. They did exist or there would not have been a name for them, but he was not suggesting that she was one of them, even if he had thought as such to begin with from the confines of his own mind.

"Being like a Geisha, from your description seems little different from a Kunoichi's: embedded in culture, but they teach at academies across the world, I'm sure, the talent in tradition, in charm, in conversation. Drunk minds, sober words. My work is pious and political in nature. The gospel of Kusagakure no Sato," If she had been a travelling Geisha, if she knew her culture - she would have known that Nohara no Kuni was a secular land and to put religion and Nohara no Kuni together, you would have known they were mismatched. "I talk, I make friends, I sign papers, write letters: albeit not very secret ones. I maintain boundaries, write and argue trade agreements... one of the many councillors whose job is the same." Sozin smiled. He was better than the other councillors. "But, having the support of other councillors helps matters." Like his own, when he needed it. What they lacked which he didn't - was determination. Desire to succeed, and it helped him leverage other matters. Sure - he couldn't stage a coup de tat, but could definitely help sway information through his desk.

It had been slow, it had been difficult: but it was now what it was. And he had deserved it all. His eyesight for the most part was respectful, remained off her: but he could tell from his peripheral her figure: the water was steaming and it was causing him to sweat, opening the pores on his face. In the light of the water reflecting back on him, he noticed he needed a shave. Hairs were growing, patchy: lightly unkempt.

It would be shown some of his thought by the way that he would use his hand to rub at the affected areas. But - it was fair to have questions of the stranger she'd just met. "And do you, write letters?" It was a strange conversation, he supposed. But what else? Had his well of imagination and well versed wit come to an end in the heated water? Sozin would finally look up at her though - and he would keep his arm up on the side of the wood, using it to lean the back of his head into his own palm: interest in her glistening through his eyes while his own dark whispers played their tricks.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}Add any jutsu, relevant information here

[Ryuujin Shiina]

In the city of fools, I was careful and cool but they tore me apart like a hurricane.

TAG - @akira

NOTES - 

Shiina listened intently at what Sozin was saying, more so about his job than anything. The young woman understood that the role of a council member representing a village was not an easy one, which was half the reason why it called for the most elite of people to sit on the council. She tried to recall her own village and how their council was made up, her mind indirectly remembering the one she killed. Underneath the waters, one of her hands clenched in a tight fist, so tight that her hand trembled. While she had nothing against council members except for that of Kumo, she wondered if all were structured the same way. With an exasperated sigh, she would give a wane smile in his direction, trying to not sound half as jaded as she felt inside. "I suppose council members have it hard..." she would begin, choosing her words extremely carefully. "I've performed for some, and high diplomats. Although as performers we have a code of conduct which prevents us from speaking of who and what they speak of while in the room, I've seen some tensions and pains that they have had to go through."

As an outsider looking in, if she had only been a mere performer, perhaps she could and would appreciate the work of these men. But being on the receiving end of corruption and falsehood had forever changed her perceptions of a village council, and for a moment there would be silence, as she thought about how this would strain her relationship with this man in front of her. Shiina reminded herself that he was not like them, or at least he didn't see to be, and that it was all a matter of not taking personal feelings in a rather objective situation. "It sounds like it's a lot of work, and sometimes seem to amount to no good outcomes, at least from a perspective of someone who hasn't been on a council before." She would finally say, releasing the firm grip she had in her clenched fists as she breathed more normally.

"Write letters, yes, sometimes." She thought it was rather strange for him to start a conversation specifically about writing letters, but supposed that it was the only natural thing to talk about given the circumstances. "As a geisha, we have to write a lot of letters, especially ones to clients that we have. It's important to keep in contact." Shiina then remembered he had mentioned he wrote some not-so-secretive ones. "It's funny that you speak of secrecy, Sozin-san. For geisha, it is absolutely imperative that all letters we write are somehow encrypted for the sake of not having who we write to and what we write about exposed." She would take another sip of her sake, the liquid now making its way into her bloodstream.

MADE BY MIZO

[Deleted]

"Like confidentiality." Sozin would finish for her. It made sense, but what was correct and what were true were not always congruent with one another. A good geisha, he supposed, would have the mix of both: or none.

"Sometimes. I appreciate the attempt to see inside." Sozin was being honest: sure, it was hard work. Was he being buttered up? Sure. It was working - so Shiina was doing well in her own right to get his ideas flowing, as the training had come so naturally to her. There were other subjects that would have made him more tight lipped: and for that purpose, he wasn't much more different from any other person she might've seen.

While he had not known it, he was not particularly surprised. The Geisha tended to the elite in society: and the elite were as such for particular reasons. Those meetings - frequent or not would usually come with alcohol, or things to loosen the tongue. Geisha could also be Kunoichi - they were one and alike, although the Geisha in principal were likely not trained in a military setting.

"Really? And how is it that Geisha do it?" Sozin would ask from a position of curiosity, it was evident in his voice. "The best I've ever had was a small operation to make sure that people weren't able to read it, was if I handed it into the hands of people who made it their objective to keep it hidden," Sozin's methods back in Iwagakure were difficult to achieve, but knowing what the ANBU were capable of: he would only dare send stuff through a third party outside the village.

Otherwise, he had never encrypted it himself - and he was interested in learning. "I'd pay well for tools or knowledge like that," Sozin would flex his fingernails under the water as if looking down at them, for no reason in particular. He would turn up the heat with his religious abilities: just a bit more. It would become evident quickly if she wanted to tell him or not. "To weed out the traitors - of course." Sozin smiled. Trying to keep the conversation light. Plausible deniability - he was just having a nice conversation now, and not a transaction.

"The water is good." Sozin would also comment: languidly. This was... so peaceful.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}Add any jutsu, relevant information here

[Ryuujin Shiina]

In the city of fools, I was careful and cool but they tore me apart like a hurricane.

TAG - @akira



NOTES - 

The woman nodded her head in agreement at his comment of confidentiality. It was true that geisha had the world of knowledge at their fingertips, being performers to the mighty and wealthy when they chose to talk about political things or things within their own village. Shiina had sworn under an oath when she became a geisha that she would never disclose information about what was discussed by these important people. "We have strict rules and I am a person who strives and seeks out knowledge. In order to retain said knowledge, I have traveled the world to find a way to encrypt what I write." she began nodding her head again when Sozin mentioned the ways a shinobi would go about doing so. Not oblivious to the shinobi ways, she had once gone down the same path too, which had led to her ultimate demise.

"Yes, that is also possible but there is room for human error." The woman would stress the words 'human error', her eyes looking squarely into his. "Can one really trust humans? Of course, we have a certain degree of trust in those who are close to us, or that we have chosen to allow into our circle. But with important documents or even personal thoughts that one may not want the world to see, trust in another human to safeguard it or to deliver it has always been skeptical to me." Shiina would close her eyes, exhaling slightly. "I've traveled far and wide, Sozin-san, and I've realized that there are accidents that happen where people are involved. For instance, some may be attacked during the delivery of important documents, some may be driven by greed and the thirst to know what is written to sneak a peak while on the road. Although I don't intentionally think that all people function this way, I'd rather eliminate any said possibilities if I could."

"The geisha write with a special ink, one of which could only be seen under a certain candlelight. Each geisha house has their own variant of the ink, and will have a different property to allow the ink to be seen." She would say then, opening her eyes again to look at Sozin. "My geisha house has a golden ink that we use for encryptions. But I, I have my own variant." The woman gave a small smile. "Would you like to see? I think it would be much more effective and efficient for you as a council member to invest in something like this. I don't mind sharing it with you too."

MADE BY MIZO

[Deleted]

He nodded. Human error - like he had done before. His own human error. "Agreed." He would breathe out.

When the opportunity came that he could learn it, he was enthralled at the opportunity.

"Why yes, please!" He was estatic to learn from her the opportunity. Sure, did it mean leaning into money he didn't have? That was fine. He could establish a line of credit from somewhere in Nohara no Kuni, he thought. "After we're done here. I didn't get a room just to sit here for five minutes," Sozin would laugh.

But - to obtain that kind of information would be invaluable. "With Shinobi being your natural subterfuge enemies, are you not worried about being susceptible to counter-agents? I take your papers, and know your skills, allowing me to decode them? How'd you do deal with that? Granted, I'm not asking you reveal your own trade secrets." Sozin would lean forward as he put his elbows to his knees, letting the steam waft into his mouth and down his throat. He had to respect her boundaries and given where they were, wouldn't be surprised if and when she chose to exert them.

Gods, she looked a lot like Arashi's mother.

Arashi?

He would lean back, perplexed at why the name meant to much to him, and yet nothing at all. He knew who she was, and it was a click in his mind - at one of the most inopportune times. He would wipe at his face, turning quarter-clockwise to pull a water from a jug, into a glass, and to drink. Sure, it meant he'd be a bit naked but he didn't mind and she would likely respect his privacy... not that he was unafraid.

"It's... admirable," he cleared his throat, as he tried to do the same with his memories. "To uphold virtue like that. Rare, too, it seems." Sozin was commenting on a complex geography of philosophy and politics. It was not without virtue that they were here having this conversation.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}Add any jutsu, relevant information here

[Ryuujin Shiina]

In the city of fools, I was careful and cool but they tore me apart like a hurricane.

TAG - @akira



NOTES - 

For a moment, she wondered if he had figured out that she was a nukenin, from the way he spoke to her.

She neither panicked nor changed her stance, merely taking in what the other man was saying. Having been a nukenin for years, she was always ready for confrontation and conflict, despite her not enjoying either. The woman then realized that when he spoke of shinobi as the enemy, he was likely referring to her geisha profession. Indeed, shinobi wanted to protect their village secrets, and it was not abnormal for a geisha to be the key to those secrets. "I don't trust easy, Sozin-san..." another squared look into his pupils. "And I am not one to exploit what I have for said trust to be built." Of course, she was referring to her body, as it wouldn't put it past her that he thought like most men did -- that she would seal any deal with her body, in order to acquire knowledge. "I am also an incredibly secretive person. Many years in this profession has taught me that. While you would be looking at some of my private documents for the sake of a demonstration, I would never allow you to see what would turn countries against one another..." she gave him a small smile "for I simply don't want to be the starter of a war."

How interesting it was that as Ryuujin Shiina, she would have contradicted this statement.

At the moment, she would give anything to make Kaminari no Kuni and by connection Kumogakure no Sato pay for all that they had and hadn't done. But she reminded herself that she wasn't the ex-jounin right now. In the eyes of Sozin, she was but a very skilled geisha, Ran. And she would try to keep it that way. "And if you were to really worry about having my secrets and what I know exposed to you, I guarantee you that just as I had created this ink, I know a couple of others to encrypt my writing." She would give one last small sigh before she hoisted her body off of the stone, stepping out of the bath. With her back to him, she would tell him to give her a few minutes to prepare, going about to find a towel to cover her body.

She thought long and hard about the encryption method. The ink she used was laced with a special chemical within the ink itself that was not easy to obtain. Shiina wondered if Sozin would be able to obtain all the materials necessary to make the ink since her geisha house had a supplier for ink, paper and brushes. While she wrapped a towel around her body tightly, the woman thought of other ways she could show him that would perhaps be more helpful to him in the long run. After a couple of minutes thought, she would proceed to gather where her belongings were kept in the main room, looking for a scroll, a brush and some ink.

MADE BY MIZO

[Deleted]

Did Sozin fully believe that? Not entirely. Everybody had secrets. But - maybe that was just projection on his part? He himself didn't trust those clan folk or people who couldn't accept new information. "We all are, Ran-san." The world seemed to be built on secrets. But - her words. Did she have information that could start a war? No. He didn't believe it. She was just using a turn of phrase... right?

Sozin would snort - of course. "I wouldn't expect any less." He had his own methods... but they were no more advanced than a child's attempts - just what they had learned at the academy. Straight forward things. She asked to give her a few minutes and Sozin was happy to oblige.

This time, he did watch her walk away. Then he turned - closed his eyes and would spend a few minutes resting his eyes and letting the heat run through his body. It was so good. He was getting all shrivelled from the time spent in the water, but he did eventually bite the dust and get up and out. He would get changed - back into the robes that would help dry him out. His skin felt spectacular, and he pulled his hair back: and went to find Ran.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}Add any jutsu, relevant information here

[Ryuujin Shiina]

In the city of fools, I was careful and cool but they tore me apart like a hurricane.

TAG - @akira



NOTES - 

As she waited for the man to step out of the hot springs, Shiina quickly prepared the ink, a brush, a scroll and walked to the other side of the room to grab a candle. She sat down on a chair behind a writing desk, drumming her fingers as she waited. She wasn't really giving away a trade secret, although it could be seen that way in the geisha world. And yet, there was something that sit well with her about this whole matter -- perhaps the mere thought that at the core, she was still Ryuujin Shiina, a Kumogakure Jounin and not Mitake Ran, the geisha, and teaching another shinobi as a shinobi felt strange.

No, she was Ran now, she reminded herself hastily.

As Sozin would appear once more, she motioned for the man to stand close beside or behind her, whichever he was more comfortable with. She began to pour out the ink onto a palette, using a stone palette and a utensil to smooth it for writing purposes. He would be able to see that despite the color of the ink on the palette, the second she dipped her brush into it, the black color wouldn't transfer. She began to write some words on the scroll, and despite the way her hand moved down the scroll and up again while writing vertically, there was nothing actually on the paper. After a minute or two, Shiina would put down the brush. "As you can see, there is nothing that the naked eye can see on this parchment," she would begin to say, before she brought it close to the candlelight. As the light hovered under the paper, the heat of the flame brought the otherwise invisible ink to light, and the black ink would turn into a bloody red.

On the parchment it read: "My name is Mitake Ran, pleased to meet you." The woman would then glance at Sozin, smiling.

"Of course, there are other ways to achieve the same result. I've thought about it and perhaps it may be more practical if you could use this skill through the simple logic of science and chemicals. Although I'm not entirely dissuaded to give you my ink palette, I would assume you would want a faster and easier way to achieve the same result."

MADE BY MIZO

[Deleted]

While Sozin was preparing, so was she. He felt rejuvinated: his skin tighter, although wrinkled at current and in need of a massage. But, mortal desires were below him and he needed to focus on his mission more than he needed a message. But on the other hand, he hadn't been struck down by godly powers for enjoying some water - but he knew not to push his luck.

Sozin would come by her, standing closer: grateful that she was showing him it at all. "I did want to ask, why show me?" Sozin wasn't ungrateful and was aware that it was kind of her, but did wonder if there was a reason to it: to curry favour with a councillor? It wasn't uncommon to be lubricated with good will. Sozin would look down at the parchment. That was correct. It was empty: but the way it was phrased, he was able to infer that was not the case from the obvious contextual clue that was their conversation.

And - with eager eyes, watched the new words make their way onto the page. Yes: this was good. This was what he needed.

"Wouldn't most check to see if it was chakra activated, and then stick it over a candlelight?" Sozin was aware of some of the techniques: but only in theory, and not how it was actually done in practise. He had not been trained to perform those activites. But still - he was pleased to be shown it all the same. The question didn't catch Sozin off guard, since he'd had a chance to think about it.

"Yes. I'd be happy to send you a parchment for inks - but anything simpler. Did you know anything that's so simple that someone professional wouldn't check it because they'd think too highly of me?" Sozin was thinking critically there. What if, after all? Sure, he could have fancy inks, but what if there was something so simple that an ANBU wouldn't think to do their basic due diligence as a result?

That, and establishing more robust practices as he had done with Kuebiko present in order to prevent forgeries from taking place in the first place. He was creating many avenues of protection for himself: and his own village. ...

The language he was using himself though was worrying and gave way to a new thought. He felt like the village was his? The image in his mind sternly reminded him of Chisai. Not someone he wanted to cross.

Not yet, anyway. He needed -

No. Don't think about it.

White bear thought.

Shit.

"So, can I offer you a drink? I'm sure there's something here I can do for you for your kindness?" He wanted to coax out the desire from her. What was it 'she really desired' - and if it was money, he would make do. If it was intelligence... well. They could get to that bridge when it came to it: he would be more interested in why she wanted that kind of information as a Geisha. Or maybe she was just interested in the content of his verbiage?

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}Add any jutsu, relevant information here

[Ryuujin Shiina]

In the city of fools, I was careful and cool but they tore me apart like a hurricane.

TAG - @akira



NOTES - 

Shiina understood what Sozin meant, the idea of being able to fool even the simplest of minds relied heavily on their lack of common sense. It wasn't about the intricacies of how well she hid what she wrote, or how much effort it took to accomplish this. She nodded her head in silent agreement, the idea of ANBU or any shinobi faction not checking for chakra signatures and holding a piece of blank parchment under the candlelight seemed like a stupid idea. Perhaps it was because she hadn't had the chance to encounter smart people who would do their due diligence when intercepting a message that she hadn't thought of this. "You're right, Sozin-san. I do think that there are other ways..." she whispered, grabbing another scroll from her belongings. "I don't suppose people do their due diligence enough nowadays, and so I simply didn't think of the most common sensical of approaches."

She carefully opened this new scroll. The paper was of the same texture, and it seemed to be of the same thickness as the other scroll. Shiina wondered how many people would inspect a scroll that already had words on it. She began writing something on the scroll, with regular ink. It was a poem she had learned when she was a geisha, somewhat of a love poem, if one could call it that. The woman knew that many sent love letters to one another, shinobi or not, and it was the perfect camouflage. When she was finished, she carefully the thin layer of parchment to reveal yet another. It was on this page that she wrote with her special ink, the same words she had written before on the first scroll. Shiina placed the first parchment over the second, seamlessly placing one on top of the other. It looked like it hadn't been tampered with, on first glance, and would never seem to have been unless one held the scroll underneath the flames for more than just a moment, allowing the top parchment paper to dissolve due to the heat to reveal the messaging underneath.

"I am unfortunately not as skilled in this as I thought..." she whispered and glanced at Sozin. From her understanding, unless there was reasonable doubt that the scroll or parchment that was being sent out came from a suspicious person, or that the recipient was one, ANBU and all others would have no reason to inspect a scroll that was already written on. "I'd suggest not writing love poems though, as a camouflage, unless you were writing to a woman." The woman chuckled, closing the scroll slowly. At the offer of a drink, the young woman would nod. "Although I don't think I've showed you anything groundbreaking to deserve a drink, I'd gladly take one from an acquaintance to another."

As she stood up, her body tensed and she froze for just a second. The act of standing abruptly caused pain to pulsate through her veins and for a moment her eyes widened a fraction, her eyes glancing left and right on the table as she tried to control the sentiment and hide it from Sozin. Pain gripped her heart, and one of her hands fell to edge of the table, gripping it so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Her breathing was labored and strained, as she inhaled sharply at the suddenness of the sensation. Not now...she thought to herself warily.

MADE BY MIZO