A mutually beneficial arrangement [Private/Requesting Kenshin]

[Myakashi Migoya]

The Hokages Mansion...

The normally pale albino wore a simple Leaf flak-vest, covering the standard blue uniform of the rank and file shinobi. Gone was the shock of white hair though, replaced by a simple dye job of black. His tell-tale crimson eyes were now covered by dull brown contact lenses, simple disguise techniques but effective at hiding who he was, or at least those attributes that were so easily recognisable, even if everyone seemed to have white hair nowadays. To don a chakra induced disguise would have been rude, and more importantly detectable.

He carried no weapons, nor did he need to. Even Mikki, his erstwhile companion was nowhere to be seen this day as he methodically walked through the Hokage’s mansion, seeking the office of the Main Branch Sennin, one Yuu Kenshin.

Migoya had seen several Sennin and Hokage come and go, but never had personally had anything to do with them. They were always the distant figure rising above everyone else, whilst he lingered in the shadows below. The simple fact that he was willing to climb out of those shadows and approach a Sennin directly was telling.

It is time to protect that which I care for. Konohagakure’s people – from themselves if needs be.

Migoya went over the information his informants had provided about the Sennin. There was precious little which was incredibly frustrating.

Originally from the land of Stone, came here after the war… silver hair, muscular – is it pride, or a quest to excel? A taijutsu expert perhaps? He is also very serious… good. Serious people usually have suffered loss, or have resentment… I must find out which…

Kenshin’s door drew closer as Migoya adopted a more casual stride, as if he was supposed to be there in an attempt to blend into the surroundings. He approached the receptionist, an indescribable individual, and politely coughed to gain its attention.

“Apologies… I was wondering if I could have a quick word with Kenshin-sama? My name is Myakashi Migoya, err Chuunin. Its about, er, possible career paths”, he said, acting somewhat nervously.

With a small, uncomfortable bow, Migoya would turn and sit on one of the uncomfortable benches that lined the wall. He knew that these administrative types would keep him waiting, even up to a month, to respond to his requests but hopefully it would be worth it.

A benefit to both parties.

 

[Kishiko Nagisa]

The receptionist would let Migoya appraoch the door and knock. THey were there mostly for other Sennin. Kenshin did most of his work himself.

Today Kenshin was dressed down in his simple black workout gear as he was working on paperwork. Student exams were the worst to grade at times and time consuming but it was worth it in the end. HE heard the knock and allowed entrance. Kenshin would look at the person standing before him maybe a little nervously.

Migoya please come and sit." Kenshin would motion towards one of the seats in front of his desk.

Kenshin would grab an extra mug from under his desk and fill it with tea from a pot on his desk. The tea steamed a little. Kenshin refilled his own mug and took a sip.

"Right. So as you may already know I am Yuu Kenshin Main Brnach Sennin, Academy Instructor, and Head Hokage Guard. Let me just." Kenshin soot and went over to a filling cabinet. He thumbed around and pulled a file. "Yes Chuunin. I see. Well from what I overheard you are looking for a job or career path? Since I Have reorganized the main branch there are three opportunities for you. We have Hokage Guard, Security, and Journeyman. The Hokage Guard's duty is evident. Should the Hokage need a guard for a situation, they are to protect the Hokage with their life. Keep in mind this position typically is merit based and only Takeshi and i can put someone on that detail. Security s keeping the peace around the village. Usually this means your focus is inter village missions and keeping the gates secured. Jouneyman is for the Leaf shinobi who wants to travel and includes teachers. Your teaching may be specialized tutors or teaching classes like I do. Or maybe you like to run missions outside the village. Some jouneymen might even be asked to go on a diplomatic mission to other nations. What do you think? I apologize for talking so much. There is a lot to talk about." Kenshin would take another sip of his tea and sigh after the sip.

 

[Myakashi Migoya]

“Migoya, please come and sit”.

Migoya gave a shy smile and a deep bow as he entered the room and sat awkwardly at the proffered seat. His gaze looked around the room, feigning a measure of nervousness as he took in all the various nooks and crannies, as well as a casual glance at the exam papers on the desk. He couldn’t help himself afterall.

“My thanks Kenshin-sama for seeing me so quickly. I can only imagine the amount of work you are required to do for the benefit of the village.”

Migoya nodded slowly as the Sennin patiently outlined the different roles within the village, reserved for those of the main branch, taking sips of the tea that then Sennin had provided for him. It seemed to give him strength, as the nervous shinobi would slowly seem to transform from awkward to confident.

“Those prospects sound most noble and important indeed, and please do not apologise for providing such information. However, my skills are somewhat… different to those of guard, although should the need arise I am sure something could be arranged”. Migoya responded, his voice loosing the stammer, and his strength of presence growing.

Migoya smirked, his ‘brown’ eyes staring into Kenshin’s blue, as if pulling information out of them. When he spoke, it was… chilling.

“Normally, I would be vague in my speech, trying to illicit information out of you, but out of respect for you, out of respect of what I have heard about you I will not. A man of action. Good. I am going to drop the pretence and get straight to the point.”

Migoya’s eyes looked left and right as he leant in towards the Sennin, very stereotypically.

“I am part of an organisation, so to speak, whose influence is growing, and the land of fire is - shall we say - limited. We seek international connections, and as such this provides an opportunity that I believe can benefit Konoha in the long term.”

“You see, we are, we trade in… information”, Migoya said, showing the palms of his hands. A sign of trust perhaps?

“You and I both know that Konoha is blind as to the actions of those who may conspire against us from the other nations. Hell, we had no idea that our own Daimyo was going to slaughter us – well, those of us from Konoha originally. I don’t know about you Kenshin-sama, but I would like to be prepared this time around. All it takes is a spark to flame the fires of war, and we have precious little resources to see that spark”, he said pointedly.

“As such I would like to make a mutually beneficial arrangement with you, and the Hokage of course. Admission into the Konoha Intelligence Division – or permission to instigate or revitalize such a program, under your division of ‘security’ or even ‘journeyman’.”

“In return, I would require an open passport to travel to the various lands, with chosen operatives – cleared by yourself or the Hokage.”

The offer was on the table now.Let us see if he knows the value of what I have just offered him…

Migoya lent back, one pale hand coming to rest on his chin as his crimson eyes never left the Sennin’s face, looking for any sign of aggression or duplicity.

“Think about this opportunity Kenshin-sama. You will get a network of intelligence operatives who will regularly provide relevant intelligence to you. Konoha need not be blind.”

The proverbial ball was in his court now.

 

[Kishiko Nagisa]

Kenshin would look at the man sitting before him. What he was offering was interesting to be sure. More information about the other villages would be beneficial. Goodness knows while we are allied with both Sand and Cloud, there may be factions within each government high and low to destabilize such methods. Kenshin knew that the Sand village was dealing with some internal strife at the moment. How would that translate for them if one power succeed over the other? Kenshin would steeple his fingers and wait until the man had finished talking. He would sit and sip his tea his eyes roaming the man to get a bead on him. He would also make sure his door was closed.

"As it stands we are at peace with both villages. To spy upon them would be disingenuous. If we cannot trust our allies, how can we ally with them?" Kenshin would ask and let the question hang for a moment before answering himself. "Of course that is the official government in charge. I am sure not everyone is happy with those arrangements. As someone who grew up in a military family, information and Intel was always stressed as the most important thing. 'Without information you delude yourself into a sense of safety' as my great aunt would say. I am inclined to agree with her in this and your offer is very generous. For a position, you will put your uses to work. The only question is will you then in turn sell our information to others? How trustworthy are your agents? Do our ANBU know of them? If you are compromised, how do we cope? There are many lose threads. I have no work in this other than my standard training. The Hokage would know about this. I can bring him your offer. That is of little concern but I would like to make a point. Forgive me."

Kenshin would allow a fraction of his power leak through. He would activate his Devastating Aura for a moment and three gates opened. The flow of chakra he made showy to make his point. It only lasted for a second before the atmosphere returned to normal.

"Enemies to Leaf will be eliminated and I will oversee that myself personally. I did not reach this position from hard work alone. I take loyalty very seriously and if asked to put someone down, I will." Kenshin would say plainly. There was no malice, just fact.

"I cannot give you an answer but I will consider it and approach the Hokage with this offer. It will be up to him what to do next. I will let you know. He is a fair man so I would not worry too much. Do you have any questions for me?"

 

[Myakashi Migoya]

Migoya listened intently at the Sennin’s words, noting not only the words themselves, but the possible meaning behind them.

Hmm. He understands the importance of information, and acknowledges his lack of expertise in this area. Wise. A military background… that explains his strength of character, his loyalty. Family… seems important to him. A possible weakness?

One of Migoya’s eyebrows rose as the Sennin let forth a taste of his power – it was an effective demonstration to let Migoya know who he was dealing with, and perhaps the possible outcome of failure or desertion. Good. He is not an idiot. He nodded as Kenshin indicated that the Hokage was someone he would need to speak to.

Reaching down to take his own cup of tea and taking another sip, Migoya chose his next words carefully.

“My own mentor once taught me that ‘Peace is simply a time to prepare for War’. We only make alliances with those that threaten us, otherwise what would the point be?”

“I understand the potential diplomatic issues it may cause should we be… found out. However, that is why I propose that such asset gathering be done under the guise of my own organisation. I am… content to work with ANBU and the like – that way they can act as guards for myself, a simple merchant. And by keeping them in the dark, it should mitigate any… potential issues, and if you are concerned about my loyalty, you have someone to report back. I am willing to train agents of yours, and the Hokage’s, choosing should you want long-term agents – I personally do not have anyone in mind at the moment”.

Migoya lent forward, his own crimson eyes unblinking as he faced the powerful Sennin.

“As for myself, I assure you. I do not break”, he deadpanned, his voice strong. Suddenly, as if changing clothes, Migoya put his cheerful and friendly face back on. Putting down the cup of tea Migoya smiled.

“Its is smart that you question my motives – I would be disappointed if you didn’t. Indeed, it would make sense to sell this information to the highest bidder. I am glad you raised that point, Sama. The simple answer is this – if I wished for more money, I would simply sell information to the highest bidder which, my apologies for being blunt, is not Konohagakure. No, my motives are more personal”.

“I am loyal to this village, more specifically the people of this village. I have substantial investment here and it would be folly to work against my best interests. I also do not want to antagonise a village of shinobi”, he smirked, allowing amusement to reach his eyes.

“As for questions – I have only this one. When Sunagakure or Kumogakure are prepared for war and attack us, who will be to blame for our lack of preparation?”

Migoya let the question linger for a second, before continuing. “I would be honoured if you would present my humble suggestion to the Hokage. Do you have any further questions for me Sama? I understand you are busy and I have taken up much of your time. May I be dismissed?”

 

[Kishiko Nagisa]

Kenshin would just look at Migoya. He was smart and cunning. Those eyes showed an intelligence beyond what he expected of others. And change of voice was also noted. Still he seemed of one general mind. It was dangerous territory but no risk no reward.

"I have no questions for you. I see your point of view and I can see you can offer us something that is beneficial. Goodness knows I am always looking for more teachers. Officially you would be a jouneyman of Leaf so your coming and going would cause no concern. We expect your journeymen to be a little more worldly. I will bring this up to the Hokage after some other business is completed. You can see yourself out. Should you need me, you know where I am at. Have a good rest of your day. You will hear from me in the future." and with a motion Kenshin would signify the meeting was over.

He would watch him go, his eyes looking at his gait and how he held himself. If he was a liar he was a good one. If he was truthful well it opened the doors for some interesting conversations. He would contact Takeshi in a couple of days to forward this meeting's agenda. It would be up to him to decide.


[topic left]
[Nice RPing with you! I was not expecting this topic!]

 

[Myakashi Migoya]

Migoya listened... carefully at the Sennin's words. Good... he actually will do something about this.

He rose once the Sennin motioned for him to leave. "Thank you Kenshin-sama. It is... good to see the village in capable hands", he said with a respectful bow. "I look forward to our future meeting. Journeyman signing off."

He turned to leave, walking the distance to the closed door.

A great opportunity for the both of us. Let us hope that the Hokage is as far sighted as this man.

There was much to be done - perhaps a demonstration was in order. Migoya turned the doorknob and quietly left the office, shutting the door behind him. He gave a small smile and let out a sigh, for show of course, and started to whistle as he walked down the hall.

A great opportunity.

[Topic Left]
[OOC: You too Kenshin - thank you for taking the time out! I look forward to RPing with you in the future!]