[hirana kizumi]

A HEART'S A HEAVY BURDEN

The pirates were getting ever more bold, which made a certain degree of sense: as Lightning Country recovered, its wealth grew, which meant more trading ships with better gains to plunder and raid. Sensible, but unacceptable. But not all things had to end in bloodshed. If they could strike some type of treatise, reach an understanding with the largest of the pirate factions, then they could be solving the country’s pirating problem and gaining a valuable new ally all in one fell swoop. If they succeeded, it would be worth the effort. But that meant the stakes were high, and the cost of failure bloody. She needed someone trustworthy by her side, someone who knew the sea and its denizens just as well as she did. Minori Gin was an obvious choice. One of the favored pupils of her brother-in-law, Gin and Kizumi had worked together on team two for some time before he was given command of his own operations team, and while his faith was far beyond her ken, he was something of a kindred spirit, and she liked working with him. They were on board a small, quick, practical vessel, with the Kumogakure standard flying proudly in the wind, and the universal flag for we come in peace primed and ready to go. The ship was lightly manned, only the barest number of people on board for what was going to be—if all went well—a peaceful negotiation. A saltwater breeze tangling the length of her hair, Kizumi looked to where Gin stood at her side. "Chance of success?” she asked dryly. "I’ve killed too many pirates in my time, maybe you should’ve done this solo.”

Minori Gin -- 278

LAIKA OF THQ

[Minori Gin]

the sun rises

The open ocean was Gin's favorite place to be. On such a small, light vessel, the smell of ocean spray was close. Gin could almost close his eyes and imagine he was on vacation, even knowing he was on a mission. He tilted his head up towards the sun and let himself feel that relaxation for a moment.

He had been invited on this mission by the Raikage herself. Perhaps that should have been troubling to him considering his ongoing relationship with pirates in these waters, but his confidence was unflappable. There was this common saying that discretion was the better part of valor, but Gin had never minded a dangerous situation. Navigating the complex politics of avoiding Kizumi discovering his illicit activities bothered him as little as the idea of navigating choppy waters.

Speaking of Kizumi, she spoke up, suggesting he should've taken this mission alone. Gin laughed, the sound light and genuine. He beamed at her.

"Maybe, but where would the challenge be in that? If we can get on their good side even with your reputation, we'll really be in a good spot," he joked, striding forward on the deck and leaning on the side of the vessel so he could look out at the water. If only he had the incredibly keen eyes of some other shinobi, to be able to see across vaster distances on the water.

"Have you given thought to how we're going to earn their agreement instead of their sword?" Gin knew what he would've offered if he was alone, but participating in future crimes wasn't really on the table here!

tagged: hirana kizumi || word count: 269 || notes: x

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[hirana kizumi]

A HEART'S A HEAVY BURDEN

"Ugh, you’re not wrong,” she said, following Gin’s gaze out over the water. "It’s gonna be an uphill battle, that’s for sure.” Kizumi considered his question, pushing herself up to perch on the railing beside him, her back to the sea. They had a ways to travel yet before they reached pirating territory proper, and nothing but time on their hands until then. She had given it thought, and come up with absolutely nothing satisfactory. Her instincts were at odds with her station—if she were still just operating on her own, without the responsibility that now rested on her shoulders, she knew exactly what she would’ve done. Or tried to do, anyway. Was that still acceptable with the mantle she now carried? Could she make decisions like this, and trust her shinobi to follow? Well, here was a chance to hedge her bets. Gin was only one of thousands, but he had a good head on his shoulders. "Long shot, but hear me out,” she said, her feet dangling in place. "Pirates are gonna pirate no matter what we do—I’ve been going on missions to cut ‘em down for twenty years, and we’ve still got the same old problem. Why not just—bring them into the fold? It’s not ideal, but I’m thinkin’ everyone involved would prefer a little mutual back-scratching to the endless bloodbath we’ve been working with. Thoughts?” What she was proposing, she knew, was tantamount to endorsing crime within Lightning Country borders. Treasonous, even! But what was the alternative? More violence, more death, another generation of genin sent out to sea to commit wanton murder to… stop a little thieving? Perform some security theater to make the nobility feel a little safer? It all felt so pointless, in the end.

Minori Gin -- 292

LAIKA OF THQ

[Minori Gin]

the sun rises

Kizumi perched on the railing beside him, her legs dangling. She had such a strong presence that it was often easy to forget that she was quite a bit shorter than him. Though, in the end, her height was pretty average, at least among civilians. Shinobi could be another story - they tended to be quite tall. Even Minori himself was slightly above average.

Watching her sit with her back to the water, it struck him for a second that he could quite easily push her over the edge and into the sea. He surprised himself with the thought - he wouldn't do something like that to the nation that kindly took him in, nor would he do something so dishonorable. And she could water walk regardless, so it was a stupid thought. Maybe it was just inevitable when looking at the edge of something, to imagine a person or oneself falling off of it.

He was distracted from his own troubled thoughts when Kizumi made a suggestion he never could've imagined, and all prior concerns were wiped away with a new intrigue. The leader of Kumogakure was herself suggesting working with the pirates?

An excitement must've crossed his eyes for just a second.

"Bring the pirates on in an official capacity?" He asked, intrigued, cocking his head to one side. This wasn't how he expected this to go at all. "I think it's a fine idea. I get tired of carving them up, too, after a while. And in the end, most of the people they hurt comes directly from conflicts with them. If left to their own devices, they would hurt fewer people." With an opening for his own ideals, it seemed he easily agreed.

"It raises some logistical issues, though... I don't think the good nobles or merchant class of Kaminari no Kuni would be very happy to learn about sacrificing some of their revenue stream. Though I guess we don't have to make that public knowledge..." But hiding secrets from the Daimyo was a good way to get deposed.

tagged: hirana kizumi || word count: 341 || notes: x

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[hirana kizumi]

A HEART'S A HEAVY BURDEN

If she could read Gin’s troubled thoughts, she’d surely be unsettled—but she carried on in blissful ignorance, back to the wide open sea, absolutely secure. It wasn’t that she thought herself invulnerable, but it quite simply had never crossed her mind that a countryman might betray her. Tension visibly bled from her shoulders as Gin readily agreed with her proposal. "That’s what I was thinking,” she said, breathing out a soft sigh of relief. "I know the genin need combat practice, but… I don’t know. Feels like we have bigger fish to fry these days.” He brought up the major flaw in her plan, however. She scowled. "The good nobles of the merchant class can eat it,” Kizumi grumbled. Super productive. "It’s not like we’re catching every raid every time anyway, right? As long as no one externally is looking too deeply into it, then we just… bring them on as civilian contractors on the naval end of things, communicate when village services are hired for protection detail, and just don’t intervene when a high-yield raid is happening. Honestly, it’ll be a net positive for the nobility, since they’ll probably be losing less on a grand scale.” She’d be absolutely fucked if anyone from the Daimyo’s court found out, but… need to know basis, right? She could make sure that never happened. Couldn’t she? "Is it viable, do you think?” Again, maybe not the best sample size—Gin was an oddity amongst his peers—but she trusted his judgment, especially now that she knew he largely agreed with her outlook on the matter. "How would you handle it?”

Minori Gin -- 266

LAIKA OF THQ

[Minori Gin]

the sun rises

Hearing the Raikage curse the nobles and merchants made Gin's expression light up, very bemused. He agreed completely, of course, but it was really funny to see those beliefs reflected in the leader of the village. It would be a major boon to the pirates and to the lower class if he could really drag her into this whole affair, though getting her involved was also exponentially increasing the risk. What to do, what to do?

"I think it's viable, though certainly risky. Need-to-know is hard - if one of the pirates gets picked up in combat and sees a path to mercy through spilling their guts, they'll probably do it. If it gets to a shinobi who is more loyal to the Daimyo than to you, then it gets to him... I guess the best way to prevent that is to reduce the incidence of arrests, or formalize processes that get pirates through the arrest process with fewer interrogations," he suggested.

"But how do you do that without being suspicious...? Ah, I'm no politician," he sighed, putting his arms behind his head. "The one thing I do know is that pirates like gold, so if we can promise them good enough perks, they'll probably be good at keeping their mouths shut."

Gin didn't have a hell of a lot of gold on him - it'd be stupid to go out to deal with pirates carrying a bag of your most recent mission earnings. Maybe they'd be able to scrounge something up, though?

"Maybe if we provide them information on some mercantile routes, that will appease them for today."

tagged: hirana kizumi || word count: 267 || notes: x

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