[hirana kizumi]

A HEART'S A HEAVY BURDEN

Kizumi had no earthly idea of what, exactly, she was walking into. Undoubtedly she’d be chewed out by her council upon her return—she was sure Hayato would have some choice words regarding her decision-making—but against all common sense, she took the Ame Lord’s words at face value, and was engaging in earnest. She kept her word: her entourage was slim. One iryō-nin, a jounin who was more than comfortable with handling a horrid autopsy. Her two guards were her assistant Daisuke, and an ANBU operation who was a dab hand at fuinjutsu, brought along thanks to the Lord Sixth’s recommendation. The journey to Forest Country was long and tense, though Kizumi did her best to keep the mood light, mollifying her anxious companions with jokes and stories and wild speculation as to what kind of monstrous corpse awaited them at the end of their travel. Kizumi really had no idea what she was in for. When she arrived at the inn she checked in, went through all the proper procedures of inventorying her and her companions’ equipment, et cetera. At the scheduled time was shown not to the meeting room she had anticipated but directly to the attached medical wing, to a chilly room with an autopsy table and no windows for peering eyes to snoop through. A shiver went up her spine. The Ame Lord would be there soon. She only hoped she hadn’t made the wrong choice.

TAKEDA SANOSUKE™ -- 239

LAIKA OF THQ

[TAKEDA SANOSUKE™]

Given the many years of success Amegakure had under his predecessors the last thing Sanosuke expected was that someone would have the guts to walk in their lands and attempt something as bold as destroying an outpost. Kumogakure of all places was definitely not the village he thought might come after them. Even Konoha committing such a crime would be unwarranted despite what took place between the two of them because of other economical implications.

However, on the flip side there was no denying that Sanosuke looked forward to having a session with a village he assumed he'd never have the chance to do so with. Everyone understood how strategic Kumo was with staying out of trouble, so it was nice to kind of catch them slipping. Many of his own peers would not agree, but Sanosuke was young and because of that he tried to find a silver lining in anything that would provide him with more experience.

Nonetheless, given the nature of what kind of specimen this man was a number of sealing Shinobi were brought along with Sanosuke's entourage to ensure that nothing would happen to either side. Other than that he only brought with him one Shinobi capable of being a formidable foe in combat in the event something went south. That way things remained fair on both ends as this was a meeting about investigating and getting the facts rather than fighting like children.

Sanosuke wished he could have brought Ren, but opted not to in favor of hopes that Kumogakure would be cleared of any wrong doing and could be visited a second for other oppurtunities. Sanosukes Byakugan remained active for most of their travel, especially upon their arrival to their meeting destination in Forest country. His optics were sharp and thorough, and after further examination could confirm that there were no potential ambushes waiting to happen.

Once Sanosuke checked into the inn his personel, including himself went through a number of procedures and check points to ensure that no funny business would go down while they were here. Soon afterward they were to be directed to the medical room where both sides would have the chance to see the body for themselves and to determine the cause of why his country was attacked for seemingly no reason.

"I hope I'm not too late?" Sanosuke asked politely with his hands up. "Fear not, the people standing with me are here only for the sealing process. I know this feels unnecessary, but you'll see once we uhm... Unseal this person." Sanosuke's Byakugan remained active as he intended to get a much thorough look of the body himself. "As unfortunate as it is for us to be meeting under these circumstances, it is good to formally meet you Lady Raikage."

"If there any concerns you wish to speak on you are free to ask as I wish for this to be as non hostile as possible.. If not, I would politely ask you stand a bit clear from the table because man.... This thing is freaky."

[hirana kizumi]

A HEART'S A HEAVY BURDEN

It wasn’t until Sanosuke made his entrance that Kizumi was able to completely rid herself of her own doubt: doubt that she had made the wrong decision, that she had walked willfully into a stupid trap, that she had too much faith in her fellow man. But the man was polite, his hands raised in the universal don’t shoot gesture, and while his entourage was larger than Kizumi had expected, he also spoke with a frank, straightforward honesty that immediately put all of her worries to rest. The thick, stark veins protruding around his eye sockets were somewhat jarring to see on the face of an Amegakure shinobi, but Kizumi had spent enough time around Leaf-nin to not be disconcerted by the sight of an activated Byakugan. Whatever drama lay in the origin of Sanosuke’s doujutsu was, frankly, absolutely none of her concern. "The pleasure is mine, Lord Sixth,” she said warmly. For once she bit back the urge to insist that he use her given name; if there were any situation it would be appropriate for people to use her formal title, it would be when treating with a foreign—formally hostile!—shinobi village. "I, uh… well, the forewarning is appreciated. I’ll be honest, I’m not really sure what to expect here, but trust me when I say that resolving this as efficiently and peacefully as possible is at the top of my priority list.” She stepped back as he requested, indicating for her little gaggle of shinobi to follow suit—save for the fuin specialist, who stood ready and prepared in case whatever freaky thing Sanosuke had to show them was unleashed in a hostile state.

TAKEDA SANOSUKE™ -- 275

LAIKA OF THQ

[TAKEDA SANOSUKE™]

With the first round of trouble out of the way, now it was time for them to deal with the second. A head nod was given to Lady Raikage, and then to his seal team before they'd ultimately do what they were brought here to do. "We won't have much time, so I suggest you get a good look at them while you can." Sanosuke added. He knew none of what he was saying would make sense now, but it was about to.

It wouldn't take long to unseal the remains, but once they did the Raikage would be faced with the many body parts of the man, including its head. Squeakers could be thanked for that using their quick thinking and experience. "Damn this stinks, but more importantly. Do you know this man?" Sanosuke asked politely while his eyes remained fixated on the temporarily motionless body.

Because the process was already underway upon unsealing the body in Amegakure, the body begin doing the same shortly after being unsealed again. The fibers of the body begin to start fixating toward one another in a fashion no eyes should ever lay eyes on. His eyes immediately shifted toward the Raikage before signaling his team to reseal the body altogether before it got further along the transformation process.

What two of them were seeing was a rather uncomfortable process, but one that needed to be had nonetheless. From what his eyes picked up his initial assessment was correct in the fact that he was somehow going to bring himself back to life. However; something else he noticed this time around was that the body was piecing itself back together differently than it had before. Stronger even.

"I hope you managed to get a look at him because this is probably the last time any of us should ever see him. In my opinion at least."

[hirana kizumi]

A HEART'S A HEAVY BURDEN

Kizumi was utterly baffled and intrigued in equal measure; she didn’t understand a lick of what Sanosuke was saying without context, though as context was helpfully provided, she found herself faintly wishing that she could return to her former state of ignorance. The body was… repulsive, to say the least. Viciously dismembered and utterly reeking, it was a grotesque display of wanton violence that turned the stomach even of a veteran shinobi; she had seen worse sights than this, but gods, not by much. Still, she kept her expression schooled and neutral, and though she kept her distance, she did her best to examine each piece of the body: limbs, torso, paying careful attention to the face. Horrifyingly, however, the time she was allotted to examine the corpse was limited; even as she stared at the head, trying to recall where she’d seen those features before, the body began stitching itself back together. Kizumi’s lone crimson eye widened—she glanced up to catch Sanosuke’s gaze, and stepped back to allow his team to re-seal the body. Kizumi swallowed back a wave of nausea. "I think your opinion is right,” she said, her voice dry. "What—I mean, what is that? I’ve never seen anything like it—” "Sozin,” Daisuke interrupted. His voice was flat, distant—like he couldn’t believe the words that were coming from his mouth. "That’s Junichi Sozin. Kusagakure councilman.” He didn’t look at Kizumi or at Sanosuke, only the space where the pieces of the man’s body had been. "I did a mission with him while he was in Kumo. He—” Daisuke paused, took a breath. "This doesn’t make any sense.” Kizumi frowned, folding her arms across her chest. "Sozin? But he was so—polite. Are you sure?” Daisuke nodded. "I can’t imagine how that’s possible.” Her fingers drummed against the meat of her bicep. "He went missing after he left Kumo, but I think K just assumed he was a deserter or something—this? This is insane.”

TAKEDA SANOSUKE™ -- 325

LAIKA OF THQ

[TAKEDA SANOSUKE™]

The last think Sanosuke expected was for someone else in the room other than the Raikage to recognize the person, but one of her subordinates did. "Sozin?" Sanosuke questioned quietly to himself as he eagerly waited for a response to justify his claims. It was made clear that this Sozin person was a councilmen of Kusagakure. His posture immediately dropped in annoyance as he thought about how unhinged and out of control his own counsel might upon hearing this.

Most of them already hated the place and now this was only going to fuel those flames. Nevertheless, upon hearing the name it was also made clear that Lady Raikage indeed knew of this man. Fortunately, her subordinates claims would help clear them of any wrong doing, but on the other end there were only more questions left than answers. She spoke of him as a decent man, or al least the kind that wouldn't go out of their way to destroy opposing territories.

Especially under the guise of a village they were not attached to. Thankfully, the behavior was too reckless for them to be certain Kumogakure would descend from the clouds after all these years just create more problems for themselves. Of course, there was always the chance that this was some elaborate play orchestrated by the Raikage herself to make him believe that this was from a village they ironically considered to be an enemy.

In the end it would be his call to decide and for a moment he'd glance between Kizumi and her subordinate. "The vets in my village would likely consider this some scheme to get eyes away from Kumo, and technically? They could justify it. Especially since we hold none of the keys." Sanosuke added in reference to their ignorance of who the attacker was. "But I'm choosing to believe differently.. I think its too random, and I'd much rather believe you guys wouldn't make such an idiotic decision."

"Sigh... Of course now there is the problem of having to establish some sort of accountability with Kusa.." An annoyed Sanosuke leaned his head backward with his right hand pressed against his forehead. His body language was clearly stressed as he thought of how he could handle this without cries for war. The destruction left a few Shinobi bystanders injured and some were killed altogether.

"What say you Lady Raikage?" The question was definitely random, but valid seeing as she and her people were also a victim to this assault. Someone from of her village had to offed to get a headband right? Plus some extra ears couldn't do him any harm. He had ambitions, and Kusa'c carelessness could get in the way of that. The only thing he could do now was think of how to reverse the problem to bend into his favor.

[hirana kizumi]

A HEART'S A HEAVY BURDEN

This was a pickle, no two ways about it. Half a step forward towards clearing Kumo’s name, half a step back towards throwing Kusa under the bus, and she wasn’t about to be the reason for flaring tensions in a time when she was working so fucking hard to maintain some semblance of peace. Kizumi laughed—exasperated, but not with Sanosuke. Her eye kept falling back towards the seals the pieces of the body were sealed away in, unable to push the sight of it out of her mind. "I appreciate the benefit of the doubt,” she said, rubbing her forehead. He looked about as stressed as she felt. "Was there any other evidence he had with him that led you to think it was us, aside from the headband?” The mystery of who he’d killed for the headband, or what supply closet he’d raided, would have to be solved when she got back home. "ID cards, paperwork, anything like that? I might be able to fill in some blanks there, if that helps at all.” Which left the problem of those in Amegakure who would be calling for Kusa blood. "K—Lord Kanoh—she’s supremely reasonable, and her only goal since taking office has been de-escalating conflict,” Kizumi said. "Last I heard, Sozin had been blacklisted as a rogue ninja for deserting, and she asked us to put his name down in our bingo book. I can vouch for her character and help arrange a meeting in neutral territory. I’m sure she’ll be as interested in what his goals were, and what the fuck is wrong with him, as you and I are. She might be able to offer some extra insight.” A little tickle in the back of her mind that this was all an elaborate scheme from Sanosuke to get in a room semi-alone with Kouga Kanoh, but Kizumi dismissed it out of hand; he’d been forthright with her so far when he didn’t need to be, and seemed genuine in his earnest desire to get to the bottom of a rancid mystery, get justice for his fallen shinobi. She couldn’t begrudge him that.

TAKEDA SANOSUKE™ -- 354

LAIKA OF THQ