[Sora Minami]

In all her years as a Kunoichi of the Hidden Mist Village, Sora had seen the inside of the Mizukage’s twice. The first time had been during her tenure as a Hunter-Nin, when she had gone off mission to kill that Kaguya fuck who had killed her team. She’d gotten off with a slap on the wrist, some docked pay, and a few weeks of D-ranks, but the meeting had left no real impression of the woman who had worn the hat. Her second visit had been less than a month ago, when she’d received her Jouin promotion, and had consisted of a grunt, paperwork, and a cup of freshly brewed tea. At least it was good tea.

She’d gotten the impression that the boy (and she could never not think of him as a boy half her age, no matter how capable he was) was distracted and decidedly not interested in talking, not with a fresh Jounin. So when the message had reached her that the Mizukage wanted to speak with her, specifically, "surprised” didn’t quite cover what she felt. Terrified, perhaps, but even that didn’t have the right tenor, the right depth. Because,in her mind, there were only a handful of reasons why the Mizukage would ask for her to visit his office… and none of them were good.

Sora stepped in through the front door of the Mizukage’s tower without a word, left hand resting on Samidare’s hilt as she approached the front desk. The lobby was unusually empty today, but she supposed that made sense; the Mizukage wouldn’t have called her in if he was busy with more important things. When she reached the front desk, a Chuunin took her name down on the visitor’s log, then led her up to the stairs where, among other things, a half-dozen Hunter-Nin sat under a Genjutsu, waiting. Just in case. Because the Mizukage wasn’t just guarded by a trio of Chuunin barely past their exams.

It took her a few minutes to climb the stairs to the Mizukage’s office, but eventually she arrived on the right floor, opened the door, and strolled down the hall to where the adopted Kaguya worked. She hesitated for a moment, unsure what to do, but protocol and discipline took over, and before she could think it over Sora knocked on the door, announcing her presence loud enough to be heard inside, but not enough to give away anything more.

"You called for me, Mizukage-sama?"
Kaguya Toru

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Sora Minami

The door opened on rather old hinges that squeaked a bit before shutting with a heft behind Sora once she was allowed inside of the Mizukage's office. Toru, as he often found himself to be was standing off to the side near a tea station that he had brought in, not sitting at his desk. There were times, for more serious meetings where he found himself already seated and with a stare that could strike fear into a million individuals. It was that dead stare that lacked any feeling at all, as if he had woken up from a very deadly sleep, groggy and disinterested. Today was not such a day, so he was mulling over his tea, looking at fresh leaves bloom in the glass pot as the liquid turned a light amber color and the opened up from its tightly closed tendrils.

"Mm, yes, I did." He responded simply, though the only thing that Sora could really see of Toru was his back facing to her. He was not wearing his Mizukage robes either, he often did not. The pompous robes made him feel not only out of place, but constrained. Toru preferred to appear as a soldier, one amongst his own ranks. He was a jounin after all, and that made him a soldier first even if he was the general and emperor of the entire nation.

The hat however with its white background and blue trimmings sat upon his desk, it was a reminder of his status though he did not wear it for almost any reason unless he was told to do so by someone in the council. Politics did not go under his nose, he understood them well enough into his now almost two year tenure. He understood the power that such an outfit, and the hat itself could carry for those that needed to see it. But his soldiers? They didn't need that, they already knew. They knew who he was and what he could do. It was better to be an equal.

"Tea?" He inquired suddenly, perking up slightly to turn towards Sora about three-fourths of the way to the woman, just so that she could see the shadows of his face. The lines of a teenager, but a rather grim one who had the burdens of over a million people on his shoulders. Not his own, but other peoples. He carried them with him at all times. He always had even before he had gotten this position. He had sworn to protect the nation in his heart before he took this official oath of a Mizukage and Daimyo and it was evident on his features even now.

OWL

[Sora Minami]

Sora didn’t enter the room until the Mizukage spoke, the door squeaking on old, rusted hinges that should have been oiled but weren’t. A sign of the times, she supposed. Even with the reconstruction efforts going well, certain things were simply lacking- and, given the Mizukage’s sense of practicality, he had likely ordered the hinges go untouched until they truly needed it. Which they wouldn’t, of course. A set of squeaky hinges could be the difference between life and death, should an assassin make an attempt. If they make it this far, anyway.

The silence in the room was pregnant but not tense, like the stillness of a calm day rather than the calm before the storm. She had gotten good at reading such things- not chakra, like a Sensor, but moods- and, even though the Mizukage was as hard to read as any Jounin, there were a few tells that gave away his mood. The tea brewing before him, filling the room with its subtle aroma. The fact that he was standing, rather than sitting. That he had spoken at all. A good mood, or at least as good as a boy his age could be in given the circumstances.

"Of course, sir." She said when Toru offered her tea, bowing her head respectfully as she crossed the room to his desk, careful not to let her gaze drift too far from the Kaguya’s face. Or the shadows of it, anyway. It was a terrible weight to bear, the dual roles of Daimyo and Mizukage, made all the harsher for it being placed upon him at such a young age. She had seen Hunter-Nin with softer faces than his- Hunter-Nin who had slaughtered children by the dozens in the Civil War just to make a point. Those had been dark days for the Mist, and for her too. She tried not to remember them too often.

Sora watched Toru as he poured her a cup, three-quarters full, before placing the leaves into the cup and steeping them once, twice, three times. The clear, steaming water darkened with amber, but he let it sit for a moment, allowing the flavor to seep into the liquid before he picked it up and blew on the surface, gently, to let the water cool. She did not take it, not yet. That would come when the Mizukage offered, not before. They were across from each other now, as close as she had ever come to the boy. Not touching, not even within arms reach, but close. Might as well ask.

"If I may, Mizukage-sama. Why am I here?”

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Sora Minami

Toru nodded in response when Sora agreed to his offering of tea, it was not polite to deny but some did regardless. And Toru had no ill will towards those that denied him and his offers. After all, there was no point in harboring resentment towards those that did not have a particular love for tea as some others did. Toru was in some regards an old soul and where those his age might prefer a more effervescent and sweet mango drink - as was popular - he preferred a subtle, more bitter drink that had the complex nature of life.

Well ground and brewed matcha was unmatched in this subtle delivery of life, it was as delightful and Toru loved to linger in its steam quietly. The meditative state it put him in was not unlike any other and it was best when he was focusing over the second voice that lived inside of him and the connection that the two of them possessed.

The young man pulled some fine ceramic china setting it all up in an exacting arrangement. There was almost no sound as he arranged everything, every noise carefully dampened by the delicate and precise placing of his pinky down against the tray. Then he picked it all up and wandered back to his desk setting everything at the center so that he might pour the bloomed flower into the two ceramic cups of a deep emerald color. Then he carefully put the glass pot down, reddish gaze watching the bobbing flower inside.

It was a long pause between them then, Toru simply sitting there watching the flower though the tea was well in their cups and ready to drink. He did not yet, until the woman spoke it was then his gaze moved from the flower towards the woman, inspecting her features. Then and only then did Toru take a short sip of his tea, quiet but with the distinct sound that he was drinking.

"I heard you desired to visit Bonchi no Kuni," He stated simply. He had people everywhere, no words, no thoughts seemed to be made or said without him knowing - usually for the better. Toru was simple and straightforward, never beat around the bush, and for the most part he was honest - except that he was a politician at times and had to play the right role.

"Why?" It was a genuine question, he had been a few times. The two nations, were allied. There was in theory no real reason why Sora could not go there, but it was also a horribly humid swampland that was fettered with flies, mosquitoes and other horrible things that no adequately sane person would want to live in or visit.

OWL

[Sora Minami]

Sora watched Toru work without a sound. His movements were crisp, clean, efficient- not robotic, as hers would be, but smooth, graceful even. The kind of motion one might expect of a master of the craft, not a teenager. She had never seen the boy make a cup, though she had tasted some of it once, but that had been in a rush of emotion and surprise and the impossible dread at being promoted to Jounin and being given a Genin Team to manage. She hadn’t had a chance to appreciate it, then. But now…

"You are… very skilled at this, Mizukage-sama." She said once he picked up his cup, the subtle, slightly bitter aroma wafting around her as she spoke. Matcha tea, if she guessed right. Of high quality, to bear the smell so firmly past the rim of the cup. A rarity indeed, even in the growing economy. But of course. Nothing less than the best will do for our esteemed leader. She sipped along with the boy, content to allow the silence to stretch on as he enjoyed his drink, and she hers. There was wisdom in patience, after all.

"Ah." Sora said once Toru had at last spoken, the mystery of her summons clearing up as she looked down into her tea. So he had heard of that. She shouldn’t have been surprised; there wasn’t much that went on in Kirigakure that went unnoticed by the Mizukage’s office, though how much of it he actually saw and how much was filtered through his agents was, of course, a mystery. This, it seemed, had caught his attention enough to warrant a visit. An innocuous one, true, but still. Paranoia.

"I have- I had family who came from there, sir." The words came easily, now. She had looked into her family history years ago- the parts that she could find out, anyway. Her father’s lineage had been a mystery, the Minami family bearing insignia or records anywhere in Mizu no Kuni’s archives (not the ones she had access to, anyway), but her mother…. Her mother had been from Bonchi no Kuni. An immigrant, come to make a better life in the land of Water.

"I was hoping to find some of my mother’s relatives. And.. perhaps simply see Takigakure, if I could." A childhood dream of hers, to visit another Hidden Village. To mingle with allied Shinobi, to see how they did things. To see what could be learned, what could be adapted from their system into this one, given time. "It isn’t an issue, is it? I know my duties as a Sensei must come first, but…"

She understood, with Team 1, that there were expectations. Of time. Resources. She wouldn’t be able to bring them, especially not Enyo, but still. She hadn’t even thought to put the request in, and yet here she was. In the Mizukage’s office. Discussing it. That had to be a sign. Right?

Right?

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Sora Minami

Toru inspected Sora quietly. She did not seem to give any indication that she was not telling the truth. For another individual who was far more paranoid, each twitch and movement might have set off alarms. Toru simply saw it as a touch of nerves, whether they were there or not.

Sora did speak for a place of ignorance though. Takigakure no Sato was a village truly hidden, and it was perhaps the last one in the world whose genuine location was unknown to the rest of the world. In this, Toru envied them, and their ability to have a silly fake village which had a secondary economy. In spite of this Takigakure also had a tremendously difficult economy, and that was where his envy vanished.

Toru was a leader who had been able to bring Kirigakure and Mizu no Kuni up after taking up his mantle, and though he would never say he had done it single-handedly they were his policies that made improvement remotely possible. He would see the village rise to the top if he had any say in any of this.

The young leader took another drink of his tea in thought of what Sora had presented to him. She wished to visit, and to trace her heritage. It was not a feeling he was unfamiliar with. Though he had been born here, and he recalled his mother, there was a sense of mystery of where he had come from. His father a phantom who did not even have a face. Familial ties were difficult for the young man, who had chosen purposefully to have no blood ties in his life again and instead to cultivate a family. The village, the nation.

"Hm, well I must inform you that you will never reach Takigakure no Sato. No one knows where it is. Though their stand-in village is nothing particularly exciting." It was a matter-of-fact tone that he took on, not one of judgment but as if it were plain fact. Which to some extent it was. It was humid, full of bugs and random creatures that were more willing to murder a bystander than to assist them in their pleasant travels. Sora was more than capable of handling herself it was more that she would not visiting any real version of Takigakure if that had been her sincerest hope. He was going to tell her now instead of having her shatter her dreams sometime later.

"Furthermore the people are not particularly pleasant," Not Kirigakure no Sato residents were peaches, but they certainly were less suspicious of outsiders and if they were not they were at least moderately polite to anyone who did not look like them or looked like an outsider. Takigakure individuals were molded by the hot weather making them intolerable to be around.

"I can equip you, if you would like, with a map, known safe places to stop and some notable files on individuals the village has information on." Not everyone, of course, but a few Toru had made sure to request files of.

OWL

[Sora Minami]

Sora listened to the Mizukage speak in a point of utter stillness, her mind zeroing in on the boy’s tone, mannerisms, twitches, everything. He was much younger than her, half her age in truth, but there was an… assuredness to him that she found fascinating. His words carried weight even in this simple conversation, as if the mantle he wore somehow conferred them with greater import, as if simply being what he was gave what he said an unshaking strength that would not, could not be changed. Not by him, not by her. Not by anyone.

"That is… certainly useful information, sir." The disappointment was hard to keep from her voice, but she thought she did a good job of it, all things considered. Though how no one knew the true whereabouts of Takigakure in a world full of spies and betrayals was beyond her- surely someone would have given away the secret by now. And yet, they hadn’t. Not according to Toru anyway.

"I’d appreciate that, Mizukage-sama." Sora said once the boy had finished, taking another sip of her tea. There wasn’t much else to say after that. Toru would get her the map (or perhaps one of his assistants), let her read the files, then send her off to prepare for a nice, long trip. On a boat. For days. Maybe she hadn’t thought this through very well.

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Sora Minami

Whether he was not particularly good at reading people's emotions or the woman was simply good at hiding her feelings as any shinobi might be, Toru could not tell that she was disappointed and instead swallowed a bit of tea that he had poured for them, the amber liquid slowly depleting itself in his ceramic glass, it was a beautiful thing, but soon it would be gone and he would be settled in for the rest of the afternoon doing paperwork. All of it would be take up his time, well into the evening. There were a few particularly busy weeks where he had left clones to work overnight while he himself slept to replenish for the next day. If Toru had nothing else, he was a hard working youth, far more hard working than any his age might be in reality.

"Then it shall be so." He responded with a nod, and with a short wave had an assistant bring up information that the village had on Bonchi no Kuni and Takigakure no Sato. They had a decent amount considering the two were allies, but not enough like they had with Yukigakure, Amegakure or even Iwagakure as they were much closer allies than Kiri and Taki. Takigakure was quite full of secrets and they didn't have all the information they wanted for visits such as these.

Within the rather small file that Sora would receive would be a file of interest in terms of notable faces, one of which was a long time 'rival' if one could call her that of Toru's, Kuni.

"Be sure not to let anyone else read these, and do take care. It is not an easily traversable place even for a skilled shinobi."

After they both finished their tea Sora would be sent off, and a ship prepared for her off one of the southern coasts of the nation to take her off and away into the great wild land of basins.

OWL