In the Name of the Moon [Requesting Katsuo]

[Shiruko Makoto]

It appeared their enemy was not going to be fooled by his peripheral vision after all. Damn. Well, Makoto still had the two shields he could use as some sort of distraction, guard, or attack, so that was fine. It had been a free action anyway, so he didn't lose anything for the attempt.

He wasn't about to move closer yet unless he had to, either. He was perfectly happy being employed as human artillery if it came down to it and their side lacked possibly-necessary ninjutsu support. For good measure, he stopped suppressing his Pressure aura and targeted it solely at Wrath, perhaps belatedly, but he hadn't bothered earlier because there were more enemies than he could target and he ought to now there was only one.

The human-demon chimera he'd fought back in that rather exhausting and lengthy complete clusterfuck of a mission had gone down relatively quickly despite its apparent danger level, but there had been four of them with an array of talents including a genjutsu user, and right now they seemed largely slanted toward melee taijutsu. Usually good for avoiding collateral damage--mostly--but in a team you typically wanted multiple types of fighting styles. Plus if this being here had made a deal with a demon instead of being the probably-involuntary recipient of some sort of experiment, that could alter the results significantly.

Makoto was again reminded that he was not explicitly trained to fight demons.

"Well, I was never trained to fight demons; I was in the wrong branch. So I certainly hope he fights like a person." He didn't take his eyes off the target, but kept his peripheral senses open and shields primed, just in case the other one had retreated to a sniping position instead of actually leaving. Some weapons could be effective from quite the distance and it might not be easy to sense someone at that range, even for him.

Had he ever told Katsuo explicitly where he was from? Not that he recalled, he realized belatedly. During their mission together he had pretended to be a mercenary.

He did blink when the words showed up in his head, though that was the only indication he gave he'd heard them. They were...fuzzy, distorted. It sounded like someone speaking to him when his head was underwater, almost.

I believe that would sound clearer to others. Whether or no that is some cursed talent he uses for that, since you are currently leaning on my power and he is drenched in his, it is being filtered. Well, it was good to know his defenses were working then. Or, equally possible, you have some strange natural immunity. Normally I would bank on the first being more likely, but I would have to know more about both sides of this.

His power is weird and mine is possibly also weird, got it. Precision could wait. Though it might not even be something peculiar to him; his clan as a whole had a lot of weird powers that, while nothing that would qualify as a bloodline, showed up frequently. One of them might overlap or be involved here.

There were more distorted words, which he could understand if he tried, but given the gist of them was already apparent, he didn't feel like he was missing much in the lack of clarity for now. He braced himself for an attack of some kind. The wind shifted, there was a tingling over his skin and the sensation of something sliding off him, and then...nothing.

"...That was anticlimactic," he said after a second. "Was that supposed to do something...?"

I think you were simply immune to it, actually.

Handy.

After a moment, he picked at the chakra in the air and realized what at least one of those was. A fear aura. That was...unsurprising, but he'd never actually been affected by those. It probably had something to do with his own natural aura, or maybe whatever quirk muffled that strange speech.

His gaze only flickered to Shizune for a split second to check her plight when he realized what had happened there; Katsuo seemed mostly all right, but Shizune most assuredly did not. While he was completely unaffected himself, and Katsuo resistant, Shizune had no natural protection.

That won't do. Do I have anything that has a high chance of disrupting that aura...?

There were a few things that would require him sheathing one of his knives at least, which was a slight problem as they weren't exactly made to be used individually; their whole strength was in being dual wielded. Wasn't that a pain. Anything he could use without doing that was a gamble.

...Well, almost anything. It would take a few seconds to properly disrupt the aura, but it would work presuming Wrath didn't break out before that.

He focused on their enemy and stared at him for a moment. Since this technique never required handseals, it wasn't much of a giveaway if he could do it like he was. It also meant that, well, people didn't realize what it was til it hit them. Especially since it wasn't readily available to most; some never even heard of Body Bind until it hit them.

Only if it took would he turn to check on the others. Disrupting the attack affecting his allies came first; it wouldn't do anyone any good if he didn't do that.

"Working on a way to shut that off," he said off-handedly to Katsuo and Shizune. "It should take, hopefully. I've got a few other things that could if this doesn't. I'm not affected at all, so my attempts won't be impacted."

Not that this was going to make him any less cautious in the ensuing combat against Wrath, but, well. It was good to know that the full answer to his earlier question was, 'not as dangerous against you as he probably thinks he is.'

"By the way, was he attempting to talk in some way in there?" His gaze flickered to Katsuo briefly though he didn't let their enemy out of his peripheral vision. "It was a little...garbled."

Actually, it might be because he already had a voice in his head and there was only so much of that his chakra system would put up with. He'd heard stranger explanations before.

 

[Mikaboshi]

Without contact with Tatsumasa, I will not be able to sustain you my king. You must bring this to a close quickly.

As he released Tatsumasa into Shizune's possession, he felt Caliburn's words rattle around in his head and immediately he felt a flare of the pain which had almost brought him low before he'd taken the Kazekage position. Perhaps his best kept secret, Katsuo was not a healed man the way he appeared. His body was still physically destroyed by the damage that he'd wrought on it by saving Suna's life after he'd so recklessly taken it but with Caliburn re-awakened she was able to effectively hold him together with her own chakra. If separated from Tatsumasa under normal circumstances, Katsuo's body would hold together well enough but in a battle situation like this... his condition would deteriorate quickly if they didn't beat Wrath quickly.

Makoto's burst of sealing chakra slammed into the unaware Wrath who's arms snapped to his sides as though he were caught in the grip of an invisible hand. His binding technique would eventually stop Wrath's ability to wage psychological war against them using his demonic fear aura for a short period of time but the question was whether or not he could hold him long enough for that to happen.

"Wrath... doesn't talk. Really he just kind of sends his angry thoughts at you. When he figures out he can't overpower the both of us, he'll probably start targeting Shizune." Katsuo said quietly to Makoto as their opponent raged against his bonds with a roar of frustration. "If that happens and you're forced to choose between looking out for me or her, you pick her. Promise me Makoto."

Shizune's eyes went wide at Katsuo's instruction to Makoto. Had he really just given his ally an instruction to preserve her life over his when he was the Kazekage and she was just a secretary? Was he stupid? She wasn't important to the village the way he was... if he died here, people would lose hope and that was to say nothing of what would happen to the war effort with the daimyo. Why did he think she was important enough to risk that? Given her situation and the crushing oppression of Wrath's fearsome spiritual aura still weighing her down, she could not give voice to any of those concerns. She could only sit in impotent protest of his protective nature as finally Wrath broke free of Makoto's binding with a rush of dark chakra that once more crashed into the three of them. It had seemed for a moment or two that it would hold him long enough to disrupt his concentration for good but just at that last moment there was a burst of air and power and suddenly Wrath was free, his shoulders heaving in barely restrained rage.

Sparks of golden lightning playing across his shoulders and coursing down his upper arms and into his forearms and then across his fingertips, Katsuo raised his hands and prepared for the incoming assault. The Wrath he knew was like a raging beast-- a fighter nearly incapable of subtlety or cunning but with a pretty considerable amount of brute force for what had once just been a big dumb jerk with an oversized knife. Becoming a half-demon had amplified the part of him that felt aggression and that was apparently all he felt now. Even if "Wrath" was a stupid and cliche name, Katsuo had to concede that it was at least fitting.

[The First of the Black Knights: Wrath]

Wrath's first step was slow and deliberate but with his second he crossed the distance between where he'd been standing previously and where his two opponents were facing him down in the blink of an eye. The musculature of his fleshy armor stretched and coiled as he appeared in between them, his first attack being a two-palm strike that was directed at both Katsuo and Makoto intended to drive them apart and separate them.

 

[Shiruko Makoto]

It worked; he just had to hold it. Unfortunately, that was mostly reliant on luck. Makoto certainly didn't have a reliable way to instantly disrupt an enemy attack. The only way he could even think of that he knew was not something he was capable of.

I am absolutely not letting Tatsuya know he would have been useful today.

He was skilled with the technique, but that didn't always mean anything when trying to shut someone down. Sometimes they were better at resisting; sometimes they got lucky and hit the right point in their struggles and broke out. He ought to have some advantage here, over the dark energy, but that was still no guarantee. It wasn't like he was specifically a containment expert anyway.

"Well, whatever he does to send out words, I can't really hear it properly," Makoto said evenly. "Not sure if it's the same reason for the immunity or...a different one. I can know he's trying to communicate, but most of the specifics aren't there. Like listening through a wall, or when your head is underwater. So if he does say anything important...I would like to know."

Unlikely, really, by the sound of it, but still possible and tactically valuable.

Makoto kept his expression entirely neutral, not even visibly twitching in response to the request at first. His mind was whirling a mile a minute though, so fast it seemed to be making the phoenix dizzy enough to stay out of it.

Is he crazy, why would he

Some advantage? Clearly resistant

Can fight better on his own

(So can I)

Might suspect I am defensively stronger than him; in this case could be correct

Shizune is vulnerable, he is less so

Prioritizing defending the less defensible

Assumes I will think the same

Or assumes I would guard previous acquaintance? Hence the request?

Or assumes that since he is higher ranking I would guard him or is used to people doing that

(He thinks he knows I am a mercenary unless he got word of my arrival this time around, why would he think that would matter)

(Is it that obvious I'm a soldier--irrelevant, focus)

Obviously however the real solution is simple: do not allow there to be room for a choice. Do not let it come to that.

"My choice is always going to be to try and shield whoever is in more need of it," he said after a few seconds. "Right now, that is Shizune. I have seen you fight and can trust that you can handle yourself, especially since you are not as affected by this attack; Shizune is vulnerable to it. So I can only make the promise that I won't deliberately let her be hurt."

That was his job, after all.

Of course, that was when the luck ran out. Makoto winced slightly; there was no actual backlash from the bind being disrupted like that, but he could still feel a slight twinge in his chakra on its forcible breaking.

Look out!

The phoenix's warning came just in time for him to spin to face Wrath, who had put on a sudden burst of speed. Putting him into melee range with both him and Katsuo.

While Makoto still had his corrosion aura up.

Kismet, really.

He couldn't interrupt that strike, not easily, but he didn't have to. He just had to partially block it, to maximize the chance of infection. By making contact through both his hand and Makoto's knives, Wrath would almost assuredly be infected by the corrosive chakra.

So he twirled his knives and made to block with one, feinting a block with the other but going in for a cut. Just a scrape was all he needed; the contact was more important than trying to inflict any kind of force.

At the same time he silently conjured another set of chakra shields. His previous set had dissipated by now, and he wanted those on Shizune, now. The hexagons would give him both the ability to know she was being targeted and to block any damage long enough for him to get there.

He would get pushed back if Wrath made contact, but that wasn't as dangerous as it might seem. As long as Katsuo wasn't directly on the other side of their enemy from him, it affected his 'human artillery' capabilities not one jot. Nor, for that matter, did it much disrupt his ability to shield Katsuo if it became necessary. Not skills he'd really much displayed yet there, mind, but. Well. It wasn't as if he'd lost his touch.

It was a pity that Wrath wasn't aware of that. For him, anyway.

 

[Mikaboshi]

The force of Wrath's blow was significantly greater than otherwise the size of his body would have otherwise implied as his palms jutted out from either side of him at the two fighters which were standing in front of the disabled Shizune. Both Katsuo and Makoto defended themselves in their own way, Katsuo bringing both of his forearms up in a cross-block and Makoto partially deflecting the strike with one of his blades while attempting to get a strike in retaliation in the process and the resulting air burst from the sudden and powerful strikes expanded outwards toppling Shizune over from the sitting position she'd been in where she'd fallen from standing and blasting both Katsuo and Makoto back a few paces away from where they'd been standing otherwise no worse for the wear. As far as opening moves went, it would have been fair for any casual observer to describe the exchange as a mutually neutral movement but for two factors. The first was the way the edge of Makoto's blade had dragged ever so lightly across the armored surface of Wrath's second skin leaving behind an angry gash with the color of Makoto's chakra that bubbled and popped like boiling water as it leaked a translucent and sickly turquoise light.

The second was that Wrath was now closer to the immobile and helpless Shizune than either Katsuo or Makoto were.

Stalling for a moment, Wrath stopped and looked at the wound on his arm curiously like he'd just found a strange bug crawling on the surface of his skin. For any other human being the very act of being infected with the dangerous corrosive effects of this brand of attack would have been agony but Wrath seemed to take to it with no more interest than perhaps a child's curiosity. There was no doubt that the corrosive chakra had settled in but what effect it was having on the demonic suit of armor that Wrath wore was impossible to immediately tell.

Katsuo and Makoto came to a skidding stop just as Wrath's attention left the wound that Makoto had given him on his forearm and fixated back on the now prone Shizune who clung to the sword that Katsuo had given her in an attempt to stave off the deluge of rancid chakra that was falling upon her from proximity with the malign entity that was Wrath. Katsuo's eyes went wide as Wrath's attention went from the curious wound that he'd been given to his next target-- to Shizune. Wrath was a creature subsumed in his hate but he was cognizant enough to know that he could hurt Katsuo far more by hurting his subordinate than he could by attacking him physically. Chakra shields sprang out in front of Wrath as he charged, his clawed fingertips flailing as he tore through them like a cannonball through tissue-paper and arrived at a position standing directly over the ailing chuunin and raised his hand in the air to bring it down on Shizune only to find the Kazekage standing in the way of the strike as he dropped his fist.

Earth cracked beneath Katsuo's feet as he received the attack with his forearms and endured it, going to a knee under the weight of Wrath's strength as he fought to prevent Wrath from breaking through. From this position and robbed of the power granted to him by his sword, there was only so much that Katsuo could do as he fought the two-sided battle of wrestling Wrath's physical power and also fighting off the sickening demonic presence that the knight brought with him-- he'd have to depend on Makoto to make a decision quickly and act upon it before Wrath continued his onslaught.

 

[Shiruko Makoto]

Gotcha.

Every motion Wrath made would now mess him up. If he was conservative with his movement, then that drain would go slowly. If, as seemed more likely, he was not? Even better.

Not that it was fast acting, but it was a start. And Makoto could already keep easy track of him from the ripple of dark energy. It was blatant to his senses, something he could pick up and pinpoint even not looking in that direction. Even when Wrath pushed them both back, he stayed oriented.

Which means I don't need the knives now.

Even before he'd finished the thought they were sheathed. And now--

Makoto...

I know.

Assessment of the situation: Shizune was still vulnerable, unable to defend herself due to paralysis from Wrath's abilities. Methods to disrupt those effect had failed, and further attempts were unlikely to succeed quickly enough. Discard as option.

Katsuo was on full defense. At the moment, that rendered him a secondary target for protection. Normally, there would be a frisson of annoyance that what was supposed to be a simple meeting had turned into this but in the frame of mind he'd shifted into, there was no room for that.

So far, he'd been holding back. Secrecy was a primary goal. But not the current foremost one. Secrecy could be sacrificed, if necessary. Piecemeal diversions here and there were useless, especially since the shields had done little.

Offense, then. Harsh offense. But quickly.

What is someone in the desert not used to?

One of his hands was already moving in seals as the other drew his parasol. He moved forward at all speed, coming in from an angle, timing the strike precisely. It would look as if he were darting in for a blow with his weapon. Most of what Wrath had seen him do had not been of a directly offensive nature.

No one ever suspected the single-handed seals, especially when the angle he was holding his parasol at ought to hide the hand he was using for them from Wrath's vision.

To form a gushing fountain of water right under Wrath's feet, sending him up. With the added force he was pushing into it, very far up. It was doubtful he'd expect an attack from below when all indications were it would come from the side.

And if Wrath tried to land within swinging range or had some sort of way to control his sudden flight, well, a giant chunk of very sharp earth would be waiting for him when he was close enough to the ground that he couldn't affect his trajectory. Or, for that matter, if Makoto had underestimated his weight and he didn't go far enough. Then too.

The expression on his face was perfectly, almost eerily neutral, but there was a vague haze of silver visible on him now.

No room for extraneous emotion right now, only goals and action.

 

[Mikaboshi]

Focused as he was with clashing against the object of his aggression directly, Wrath took no notice of what Makoto was doing as the Moon envoy planned his attack. Angry bolts of energy crackled across both Katsuo and Wrath's arms as the two struggled against each other with Wrath standing clearly above in terms of advantage as the ground around them crumbled beneath the weight of their power. Katsuo gasped for breath as he fought desperately to keep Wrath from toppling him to the ground from the stance he had taken. They both knew that if Wrath could manage in this moment to push through Katsuo's defenses and knock him off step, the clash between them would be over in moments afterwards. It was likely that Makoto was too far from them to make a difference and Shizune was taken out of the picture by Wrath's ferocious demonic presence.

Weakened as he was, there was no way that Katsuo would be able to mount an effective defense while pushed off-balance-- he'd put all of his faith in the ally that he'd fought alongside when they'd brought down the Diamond Maelstrom and as the ground beneath them shattered upwards with a violent gush of bright blue water, Katsuo knew that his faith in Makoto was being rewarded. Withdrawing from the contest of strength with Wrath just as the blast of water erupted in a vertical column, Katsuo managed to avoid the attack by a slim margin while the gout of liquid caught Wrath squarely in the chest and carried him upwards well over ten or fifteen feet into the air.

There wasn't a lot that Katsuo could do as he recovered from the draining exercise of pitting his waning physical strength against that of Wrath's but reaching out with his hands he placed his fingertips on the ground and reached out through the currents of magnetism that ran through the ground and through the air before fixing his gaze back on Wrath who had righted himself in the air by that time and was preparing to make a landing several paces away from where he knelt on the ground. From the ground in several places around where Wrath intended to land a series of metal chains burst upwards into the air, entangling Wrath's arms and legs as he fought against them. The demonic warrior ripped through the first wave of grasping chains with relative ease but found himself being quickly overwhelmed by them as he neared the ground... and found a tremendous spike of stone planted deep in his chest as the chains pulled him downwards and made him an easy target for Makoto's follow-up attack.

"Good... hit..." Panted Katsuo as he wobbled on one knee, his strength fading quickly as the tidal wave of demonic energy ceased at last and Wrath's movements came to a slow halt.

There was a loud gasp of air as Shizune gulped down her first breath which was unburdened by the floor of power from Wrath's body since the battle began and she rolled up from the place where she'd been planted on her backside by Wrath's assault and quickly made her way over to where the Kazekage knelt in the dust and dirt of the sandlot with a look which was equal parts extremely angry and concerned for his health. Katsuo looked to her and smiled broadly as she shoved Tatsumasa back into his hands a grumpy harumph.

"Yeah I'm glad you're okay too." He teased before looking over in Makoto's direction and giving him a thumbs up with the same goofy broad smile that he'd worn right before he'd jumped into a giant hole in the ground once upon a time.

 

[Shiruko Makoto]

Objective complete in six point five seconds.

Makoto sheathed his parasol quickly but methodically, tucking it away on the sheath on his back. He was having a bit of difficulty shifting back into a more personable version of himself; it had been a while since he had been in actual pitched battle of any length and it felt like the gears that made the change in his mind were rusty and in need of oiling.

I will do what I can, then. A short burst of phoenix song filled his mind, brief but warm and soothing like a good night's sleep under familiar sheets. He blinked and ran a hand through his hair.

Thanks.

"Well, that was exciting," he said dryly. "Everyone all right over there? I hope so; I'm a passable medic only if you're being generous. Extremely generous."

He was vaguely aware of the silver aura around him that was somewhat visible still, though not especially bright in the harsh sun, but not of the fact his normally pale blue eyes were the solid, warm gold of the core of a natural phoenix's flames.

He rolled his eyes lightly in response to Katsuo's expression. Yes, some things never changed about some people.

This was the difficult part for him, now. One of the reasons people often mistook him for an awkward teenager admittedly had nothing to do with his height, but rather the fact that outside of battle and missions he did become noticeably uncomfortable. A few people who knew him had commented on the shift before. However, while Shizune might briefly have glimpsed his awkwardness when they had met earlier, Katsuo had only ever seen him in mission mode.

"So. Erm." Smooth. World's best diplomat, here. "Not that it's not good to see you alive and relatively unharmed, but I'm afraid I didn't set out looking for you just on a social call."

He glanced around; the area was relatively deserted but he wasn't entirely comfortable talking about semi-important political affairs in the open.

"It might be better to discuss things in your office, or somewhere else we can be assured is secure." Presumably the Kazekage's office was secure, right? "Although if we need to stop by the hospital or anything, we can do that first."

Somehow, yet again in the aftermath of a fight in Sand, he was the one left unharmed and without a scratch or even really dust. Ah well.

 

[Mikaboshi]

The rosy resolution to the conflict that had been raging was cut short as quickly as it began as once more the demonic chakra began to flow from the place where Wrath was impaled on the tremendous earthen spike. Hatred and anger washed over Katsuo, Makoto and Shizune as slowly the armored form of Wrath began to move once more and with a flex of his body he shattered the ninjutsu construct which had pierced him and then with violent shake he rent apart the conjured chains that had bound him in a flurry of bent and melting molten metal as the heat coming off of his body seared each of the link an angry red-orange in the process of tearing them apart.

"You have got to be kidding me." Katsuo said out loud through a long exhale of exhaustion, straightening up and looking over to Shizune to see if she was alright. She seemed to be doing okay standing up to Wrath's presence this time but there was no telling how long that would last if the half-demon put more effort into his oppressive aura.

Hunched over at first, Wrath drew himself up to his full height and then arched his back as he threw his head back and the portion of the mask covering his face where his mouth would have been began to... split apart, revealing row after row of tremendous and misshapen fangs as he yawned wide and let loose a horrific shout that was equal parts cry of pain and furious roar. The roar that erupted forth from the physical body of Wrath was far worse than the bizarre projection-style speech that he traditionally utilized. The very sound of it was oppressive to the ears as it thundered through both Katsuo and Shizune's head and chests as Wrath listed forward once more. If the large gaping hole in Wrath's chest was slowing him down at all, he was making no sign of paying it any mind. Taking his first step forward, Wrath's foot immediately began to sink slightly into the sand beneath his feet as the tremendous amount of heat coming off of his body instantly began to melt the sand around where he'd planted the sole of his foot but as soon as he began to advance the image of Sloth flickered into sight before Wrath with his hand on Wrath's shoulder.

"We're done here." Sloth whispered to Wrath. For a moment it looked as though Wrath might turn on his theoretical ally until Sloth spoke once again causing Wrath to recoil lightly. "She's not happy you disobeyed orders."

Those words seemed to calm the raging beast that Wrath had begun to let show through the visage of an armored warrior as the split apart portion of his mouth began to seal itself once more, the fleshy exterior of his mask almost stitching itself together before a ripple went across the surface of the armor and it was smooth again as though nothing had ever changed. With that settled, Sloth turned to the three fighters that had been preparing to face down an extremely angry Wrath.

"You're off the hook for now, Wolf. Enjoy what time you have left looking over your shoulder..." Barked Sloth, his voice trailing off slightly as Wrath's form flickered and disappeared from where he'd been standing behind Sloth leaving behind only the destruction from the Ninjutsu attacks that had felled him the first time and a series of blackened, melted footprints. "... because next time you'll never see us coming."

And with that, Sloth too was gone. Whatever form or technique of travel they were using was unfamiliar to Katsuo but there was no guarantee that they weren't still lurking in the area.

"Can we... go back to the Tower... now?" Gasped Shizune, clearly overwhelmed from the day's events as she shook her head and blew a sigh of relief that the revived Wrath had been called to retreat rather than continue the battle.

 

[Shiruko Makoto]

The wash of dark power was strong enough this time that even Makoto could feel enough of it to wince; apparently he was merely highly resistant rather than outright immune to some of this class of attack, which might have worked on a similar wavelength to the thought-speech.

But highly resistant was still highly resistant, and all told he wasn't exactly afraid of demons or those related to them in a non-supernaturally-induced way and hadn't been for years, so his immediate emotional reaction to Wrath not being properly dead and reviving was rather more 'annoyance' than 'fear' or 'despair.'

He tensed slightly, in case the fight was going to resume--this time, there was much less worry of fallout, given that he wasn't coming in from a side, but rather they were all grouped together facing the enemy, and he could use larger blasting attacks if necessary. Including, potentially, his trump card.

"Usually, even demons have the courtesy to die at some point," he agreed, still slightly irritated. Though less so, now, the wash of ants-on-the-skin that had been going over him on Wrath's revival had subsided back into nothing he could actually feel. The roar was loud enough to make him wince, though.

When the other man appeared, his gaze flickered briefly to Katsuo, but since he wasn't attacking, Makoto didn't move to immediately drop meteors on their heads. Probably it would be unwise to start a large fight now anyway, against a serious opponent whose capabilities they weren't entirely versed on wherein one of the enemies could potentially fully disable one of their side.

He was covering it through his usually 'displaying emotions is not my best skill' routine, but he was a little disturbed that he might have been marked by what seemed like a set of assassins. They seemed to mostly be after Katsuo (which wasn't ideal either, mind) but that didn't mean the smarter one hadn't marked all the Kazekage's allies present. Fortunately, Moon nin identified themselves with ID cards and (for non-Wardens) passports, and his were tucked away in his jacket, so it wasn't as if he had visible insignia tying him back to his homeland. Unless they were versed enough in accents or dress styles that they could peg him from one outfit and/or a handful of words, he was probably fine there.

(But not necessarily personally. Not that he really thought he could have happily done anything but intervene, but, well...)

He eyed Sloth with some vague distaste until the pair vanished. He was going to get himself involved in inter-country politics anyway, but it was bothersome his hand had essentially been forced in the meantime. Though it wasn't really surprising, in retrospect, either that Sand had more serious criminals or that someone on Katsuo's level had had run-ins with some in the past.

"That was rather dim of them," he observed. "Making death threats against a Kage sounds like a great way to be permanently dealt with. No?"

It was probably a good story, too. But this was obviously not a good location for stories.

"Yes, the tower sounds good," he agreed as he turned back to face Katsuo and Shizune, finally letting his phoenix-borrowed power go. He'd been straining it for a few extra seconds, but it didn't seem necessary any longer. He couldn't feel the dark heaviness in the air that he'd forgotten about simply because it hadn't done much to him personally, but that was a mistake he oughtn't to be making.

As he dropped the power, the phoenix chirped sleepily in his mind, not even bothering with normal speech. At the same time, the silver aura around him dissipated, and between one blink and the next his eyes went from deep gold to their normal light blue.

"Does anyone need help walking?" he added as an afterthought. "I did get through that largely unscathed, and I'm stronger than I look."

He could even shrug aside his discomfort at being touched if it were really necessary to help someone.

 

[Mikaboshi]

Katsuo didn't respond to Makoto's remark about it being dumb to make death threats against the kage of a shinobi nation. He was right, of course. Making an enemy out of a powerful entity like Sunagakure was not a particularly smart decision for a mercenary company or a group of... whatever the Black Knights were calling themselves these days but something was different about them. Wrath had never been that powerful before. Before Katsuo had come to Sunagakure he'd been able to take them on two or three at a time and he was considerably weaker then than he was now. It seemed like they'd stumbled into another way of acquiring even further power and there was a part of Katsuo that had to wonder what it was that they'd sacrificed this time on their path of revenge against him for killing their leader.

Makoto offered to help either Shizune or Katsuo walk and both declined. Shizune's only substantial bruises were to her ego. She'd considered herself a fairly competent fighter but today had shown her exactly how much difference there was between her and shinobi like Makoto and the Tenth Kazekage. She'd rendered completely helpless by Wrath's very presence much less any attacks he'd targeted her with and forced the Kazekage to put himself in harm's way to protect her. In a way she thought that was very noble of him but at the same time she resented that he'd put himself on the line to look out for her safety. Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that she resented the fact that her weakness had necessitated him putting himself in harm's way to protect her? She wasn't sure but it was a lot to process none the less.

For his part Katsuo had declined the help with a reassuring grin and a shrug but he was in considerably more pain than he let on. He hadn't sustained any real injuries from Wrath but this battle had confirmed for him a fear that had been building in the back of his mind for a while now: the power of the spark was fading and it's ability to sustain him was growing more limited. He could feel the energizing effect of Tatsumasa and Caliburn's presence now that he had the holy sword back in his possession but surrendering it for even a short period of time had almost caused a total reversion in his recovered state. What would happen in the days to come? Would Caliburn's ability to keep his body from re-deteriorating fall through entirely?

Both the Tenth Kazekage and his adjutant had earned themselves plenty of questions from the battle with Wrath.

"So Makoto, I'm sure you didn't come all the way out here just to wrestle with my bad guys." Katsuo remarked as they began the trek back to the Kazekage Tower, hiding a wince with each step as pain flared through the nerves in his feet and legs with each foot fall.

 

[Shiruko Makoto]

Makoto glanced between both Shizune and Katsuo, slightly uncertain, but if neither wanted help he wasn't about to push it. Especially for Katsuo, if he did, it could be a matter of pride in front of a subordinate. He wasn't overly fond of that sort of politics, but he did at least understand it. Besides, he still wasn't used to working around competent leaders, so he wasn't about to begrudge one the affectation as long as it wasn't fatal.

Senior Wardens could be a bit...lacking...in the competence department.

It is not altogether surprising that larger, more official villages would end up with higher quality people--if only because they could afford to discard those who are not, or allow them weeded out. The phoenix paused, then seemed to qualify its unusually callous statement. Just by the odds, of course. They have a wider pool to work from.

I'd rather not believe that, all the same, he sniped back. Because I don't want my cousin to actually be better than the rest of us, and the idea that the big villages have better people means they have better trainers, and...

And on and on. Within generations, the advantage would be massive.

He'd rather not dwell on the math.

"No, well." The words popped out of his mouth a split second before he even realized consciously he'd been asked a question. "I didn't, no. Technically speaking, I'm here this time for diplomatic reasons."

Some of this he'd already explained to Shizune--who did know where he was from--but Katsuo probably didn't unless he kept a close eye on gate entry.

"I realize last time we met I didn't correct the assumption I was a mercenary," and that seemed to be what people just straight out assumed, or something similar, "but that's...really not the case. Although I'd prefer to discuss it in a secure location if at all possible, since some of what I have to say is what my country considers sensitive information."

Not yet naming the country not because he didn't trust Katsuo, but because the walls had ears, and they were still out in the open. Makoto couldn't imagine the Kazekage's office was anything but secure from prying, so he could relax somewhat when they got there. But until then, unless asked or Shizune said something, he wasn't about to name his homeland.

"Last time I wasn't supposed to mention it if I could avoid it," he added, suddenly thinking that bit sounded somewhat shady. "Not to...outright lie, but not to draw any attention."

Cloak and dagger and the idiot politics of Moon Country. Forced secrecy aside, it was sort of nice to be half a continent and a sea away from it right now.

 

[Mikaboshi]

As they walked, Makoto explained that he wasn't just a mercenary as had been the assumption before. Katsuo hadn't given it much thought before as he'd met a wide array of different people in the past outside of Sunagakure that possessed supernatural and fantastic powers-- especially given that he was from a clan of demon hunters that lived outside of the purview of Sunagakure --but as Makoto gave voice to it, Katsuo stiffened a little bit as he realized... that he didn't really know Makoto all that well. Given the troubles that they'd had with the daimyo and his strange connections to the enigmatic group belonging to the Sound Village or Otogakure, Makoto's confession that he was not in fact just a wandering mercenary struck Katsuo as a little disconcerting. He did his best to hide his surprise but given the effort that he was putting into also hiding the pain that he was in, he wasn't terribly successful.

"I won't ask anything else until we're back at my offices." Katsuo assured him before turning his head to Shizune and giving her a look before mouthing the word "Sound" at her.

She shook her head and like that Katsuo felt relief wash over him before a scolding sting of pain hit him-- a sensation not unlike being physically flicked in the temple --that had been sent by Caliburn.

It is possible that he is lying about where he is from. Given that we know this Sound Village has expressed an interest in us, we should be cautious with how we handle Makoto.

Katsuo's brow furrowed unintentionally at Caliburn's suspicious words.

We also shouldn't assume that he's a threat to us just because he isn't entirely who we thought he was. He didn't lie to us, we made an assumption and he chose not to correct us. Don't be so suspicious Caliburn.

Shizune noticed the change in Katsuo's expression but didn't draw attention to it. It wasn't entirely an uncommon thing for him. He had become somewhat known for occasionally addressing the spirit of his sword while in conversations with other people as if forgetting that other people could not hear the words that were being projected at him by Caliburn. There were no recorded histories of the sword Tatsumasa being possessed by a tsukumogami spirit but then again there had never really been a Sunahoshi Kazekage like Katsuo. He was good humored by nature and tended towards being too trusting by taking people at their word and ultimately had little to none of the courtly training that nobles expected from someone descended from a family line like his. He defied expectation simply by being him in comparison to the past members of his royal pedigree.

"I'm glad that you feel like you can trust me with that secret. It shouldn't take us too long to get back to the tower if we pick up the pace a little bit."

[If you want we can skip right back to the Tower.]

 

[Shiruko Makoto]

Makoto was still cursing himself for sounding so suspicious. If he'd known the direction Katsuo's thoughts or internal conversation were trending, he wouldn't have even been bothered. This was on him for not working out how to sound more like a diplomat and less like a spy. Or, indeed, an assassin.

I might actually end up starting that international incident myself. I knew Sheimi was right when she didn't think I was cut out for diplomacy, but honestly, this was not the circumstances I expected that to happen under.

You are exaggerating. The phoenix trilled lightly in his head, making some of his tensed muscles loosen. You are being given the room to explain. And the circumstances are not ones you had control over. You made do as best you could.

It was tempting to agree, but. No. No excuses. I should have thought about this, if not ahead of time, then while looking for Katsuo. When it was the thing I set out to do, I should have had a plan in place to compensate for the fact I'm not a great talker.

...I'm possibly thinking that I may have been mistaken earlier when I said you were not any kind of control freak.

The blunt admission stung. By your logic, you were right. I don't expect to control all circumstances. I do expect to comport myself properly in all circumstances when I am not in some way impaired. I was not this time and had no excuse for not working something out.

This may be an argument to continue later. You should pay attention to your surroundings. A pause, and then. I am not mad at you.

I...what?

It seemed to need saying.

All right. Whatever. Sometimes, he really didn't know what the phoenix thought of his emotional state. It seemed almost like it thought he was fragile, or something. Or that he didn't understand the difference between irritation and anger. Which...well, the latter might well be true, admittedly, but it felt like the former.

Still, he really should be paying attention to the outside world.

He blinked when he realized they were almost there and that he'd zoned out for a while while they were moving, not to mention that he'd probably been addressed in there at some point. He really had to work on how to talk to the phoenix without checking out from reality.

Well, to be fair: he had to work out how to argue with anyone without checking out from reality. That seemed to be a general problem for him.

There was a slight flush of embarrassment in his cheeks. Maybe they hadn't been talking to him and hadn't noticed?

"Right, well..." he gestured vaguely while they entered the tower, and fiddled around in his pockets for ID while they headed for Katsuo's office. Hopefully that wouldn't be taken as going for weapons, so he made sure they could see he wasn't doing that; his identification was all on the front inner right pocket of his longcoat, while his smaller projectiles sat on the inner right.

Moon Country ninja did not wear any particular or overt specialized clothing, nor did they have headbands. Some of the main branch and healers dressed up like priests and priestesses (and some of both were such; not all the main branch was and not all the healers weren't, even though those were the official ranks for the main branch only), but Wardens maintained no such even loose guidelines. They did, however, carry ID cards. Ones that were difficult to fake, and his family had certainly tried in the past. It was unlikely anyone outside Moon would much recognize them--he didn't know how much about foreign documentation Sand kept records of--but it certainly looked official. And anyway, he had a passport too, and that would surely be recognizable.

It wouldn't be until they got to Katsuo's office that he'd pull his passport and Warden ID out of his pocket and drop them on the desk.

"Just so you can see I am on the level," he said with a shrug. "My name is what you know it to be, I'm a Warden of Moon Country--somewhat akin to ANBU--and I am here for diplomatic reasons, separately on behalf of my government and my family. Oh, right."

He had almost forgotten, but that particular letter was in there too. He pulled it out and tossed it next to his other papers almost casually.

"I'm also investigating this. Semi-unoffically, naturally." He shrugged. "I apologize for the lack of information to now, but Moon Country's politics...calling them 'touchy' and 'complicated' would be an understatement."

Probably the best he could do, without any specific questions to answer.

[Split the difference?]

 

[Mikaboshi]

As Makoto explained where he was from and what his duties were, Katsuo listened intently and quietly. While he was knowledgeable in many topics where the Wind Country was concerned due to his time spend abroad in the large territory, he was lacked for education on the worldly scale. Truth be told he wasn't even aware there was a Moon Country until Makoto had told him that there was one much less that they had a military force akin to a shinobi corps. While Makoto was clear that Moon Country wasn't a "shinobi" organization, the distinction was next to irrelevant given the amount of power that Makoto possessed. Shinobi or no shinobi, they were strong and potentially dangerous and as that thought crossed Katsuo's mind Makoto revealed the letter that was part and parcel of his reason in seeking an audience with the Kazekage today.

"Naturally." Katsuo affirmed, reaching forward to take the letter off of the desk and read it.

He already knew about the engagement between the Otokage and the daimyo's daughter Sango which had since been post-poned due to the war. Was war really the right word?
The regime that ruled Wind Country didn't really do so officially and it wouldn't be totally accurate to say that Sunagakure was at war with Wind Country. They were at war with Ishii Shiro's private military organization. Still, skirmishes were being fought and innocent people were being put in the crossfire. What other word could possibly be more applicable than war?

It was disconcerting but not entirely surprising to learn that Ishii Shiro was courting the loyalty of other foreign powers. The daimyo had to know that he was, to some level, playing with fire. He had orchestrated a campaign against Sunagakure which was one of neutralization for the most part. The Cabal attack had proved that the Sovereign forces would have been fully capable of destroying Sunagakure for good if they had been a bit more proactive. Instead the daimyo had sent an expeditionary force who's sole objective was to gauge Sand's strength before moving in. His hesitancy to pull the trigger on an all-out offensive had proven to be Sand's advantage when Katsuo had turned the Cabal agents against Shiro's regime and they spilled what they knew about what was going on.

"Well, as you may or may not know Sunagakure is in a state of open conflict with the organization led by the man calling himself daimyo Ishii Shiro. His regime is currently the de-facto government of Wind Country given that so far we are the only city-state to openly contest his dominion of the territory." Katsuo explained. Makoto had trusted them with some level of information and it was time for some quid pro quo on that matter. Makoto said that he was here on diplomatic reasons and that was both troubling and comforting at the same time. Moon Country represented a potential ally in the war effort but it... also represented a potential enemy. "I guess my first question is this: is Moon Country our enemy?"

Katsuo stared at Makoto as he asked his question, his expression as plain as the words he'd chosen. The letter was clear. Ishii Shiro had an interest in courting the affections of the governing body of Moon Country and there could only be one reason for that: to bring them into the war against Sunagakure. They'd killed or disabled a number of his powerful Sovereign agents and it was likely that unless the enigmatic Otokage and his Sound Village got involved directly in the war that he was going to lose in the long run unless the status quo changed somehow and bringing into the equation an organization like Moon Country which possessed an unknown factor of military strength could be that tipping point that Ishii Shiro was looking for.

Plain and simple, the question asked was clear. Are you here to tell me that you are declaring war on us?

 

[Shiruko Makoto]

If he had been aware of the trend of Katsuo's thoughts, Makoto would have said with no false modesty that he wasn't exactly an average representation of a Moon ninja, and that in fact he considered many of the people he had worked with in the past sub-par. As it was, he simply internally fidgeted a bit. The phrase 'delicate situation' kept playing in his head, often accompanied again by 'international incident.' He had to be careful here; trusting Katsuo might be, but that didn't make him any kind of idiot.

Again, he thought that he might perhaps have not been the best choice for this--past affiliation or no. Maybe someone a little more diplomatic and better at talking things out and phrasing things would have been better. As it was, he felt as he always did during social situations not involving combat--awkward and out of place, like he was an impostor who wasn't supposed to be there. Any second he could expect someone else to walk in and say, 'just kidding, sorry you had to deal with him, I'll take it from here.'

Breathe, Makoto. The phoenix advised. You had this feeling when we aided the Mother of Birds as well, and it was likewise misplaced then. You will be fine.

Easy for you to say, he retorted, but half-heartedly. He had done fine with that, after all. His breathing eased a touch.

"So I heard," he murmured. He had, after all, been spurred to this meeting now in large part due to Katsuo's speech.

He also knew the civilians in most places were split, not knowing what to think--some believing in one faction, others in another, still others in neither. The news was distorted the further out you went from Sand itself. It was not an ideal situation, but it was clearly not impossible to get the correct information--he'd done so, after all, and had run into others who had. Still, those who believed things like those papers that had cried out headlines about some noblewoman being kidnapped also existed. On the ground, it could get ugly.

He stilled at the question, blinking up (significantly so, due to their height disparity) at Katsuo. It wasn't one he had expected, though perhaps he should have. His actions so far had not been hostile--but that didn't necessarily mean his government's weren't going to be. Personal feelings of foot soldiers mattered little, after all, and just because he considered Katsuo a friend didn't mean that held any sway in the Shrine's decisions.

"No," he said after a second. "Most assuredly not. The reverse, actually. When I was briefed, I was instructed to make contact with Sand, not with Wind Country. Additionally, if it came down to any sort of large-scale conflict, I was unofficially advised to side with Sand in it. Correspondence I've recently received from my clan backs that; our intelligence indicates that our government, while officially seeking to keep our formal neutrality stance, would choose Sand above the other governments in the region to...provide support to, as it were. I believe this is partially because they think you have the advantage, and partly because due to a number of factors, they can state that you were not the aggressors--which would in that case, not damage our neutrality."

He couldn't keep the sarcasm entirely out of his voice when he spoke of the Shrine's neutrality policy. Which, writ large, was 'make people think we are not a threat in any way we can by declaring sparse shinobi numbers and neutrality.' In practice, well...Makoto sincerely doubted this time, if it happened, would be the first time Moon had quietly pitched into another country's affairs. It was possible, but seemed unlikely at best.

"Though it should be noted," he added after a minute, "our military strength is...dubious. The idea that we are not a power capable of effectively or frontally holding up against hostile intention from any established shinobi village is largely accurate. Our population is a lot lower, and our training less effective; my clan holds us to a higher standard than the government does. Over the years I have been active, I've only worked with a handful of people who met my standards. Support is not much of a euphemism; we really are best for our healers."

By and large, Moon probably had more chakra-trained people per-capita than most if not all other countries. However, most of those people were only trained in a very limited way, often in healing or sensory capabilities. Few were actual ninja, and fewer still of those were liable to be able to match up to anyone trained by an official ninja village.

Then there were the numbers who were more concerned with holding their own fractured territories--although even the strongest of those couldn't match up to a Warden, and most Wardens likely couldn't match up to a Sand ninja, so even if they were inclined to pitch in the likes of most third factions wouldn't be more than cheap cannon fodder.

"Myself and my traveling companions are capable, of course, and basically enlisted to your assistance now that the conflict is openly declared." A thought occurred. "One of the two is a former Sennin of Mist, or so he claims, though I don't know anyone who could confirm that. For whatever it's worth, at any rate."

He lapsed into silence then, somewhat nervous about whether he'd be believed. There were probably bits about Moon Country's politics Katsuo would be able to pick out, perhaps in how his clan had intelligence agents in their own government, or in his dry tone when he described official policy. That might or might not help; he wasn't good enough at reading people to tell.

Yeah, I really think they should have sent an actual diplomat with me.

 

[Mikaboshi]

Katsuo was not a subtle man. The sigh of relief that blew past his lips as Makoto confirmed that he was not on an assignment to officially announce a state of aggression towards Sunagakure on behalf of Moon Country was apparent and obvious. The last thing that they needed was another unknown enemy from parts unknown in the world. They still weren't sure what part the Sound Village was actually playing in any of this and the prospect of having to fight three united states was daunting to say the least even with their recent strides of good fortune factored in. Even if Moon Country were deciding to stay entirely neutral in the Wind Country conflict that worked out to Sand's benefit in the end given the way that the tide of the war had been slowly shifting.

"War is never an easy sell to the people that you're going to have to send to fight and die." Katsuo reflected, nodding along with Makoto's words. What the Ishii Regime was doing in Wind Country would eventually come to affect the rest of the world if Sand failed to stop him but for now he could understand the perspective that it wasn't their fight and they wanted to stay out of it. It wasn't the right decision but perhaps for them it was the correct one. If Moon's military forces were sparse as Makoto had indicated then entering into a conflict like Wind's escalating civil war would only endanger their people and that was something that Katsuo could more than empathize with. "I understand your position. I can respect your government's desire to officially stay out of the conflict but still I'm grateful for any assistance you and your associates are willing to offer."

Even if Moon wasn't a potential ally in an official capacity there was a sincere silver lining in that Makoto was willing to throw his lot in with Sunagakure against Ishii Shiro. Makoto himself was a more than competent fighter and an equal to most of Sand's veteran forces. He didn't know the other two but if one of them was truly a former sennin from the now destroyed Village of Mist they would almost certainly be a boon to Sand's cause.

"If I may, Lord Tenth?"

Katsuo inclined his head towards Shizune to hear her thoughts as she spoke for the first time since the meeting began.

"From here forward I think it would be wise if we considered Makoto's connection to Moon Country a state secret limited to this room only. Our enemy has proven it's intelligence gathering abilities to be extremely formidable and I do not doubt that if Ishii Shiro were to hear that forces belonging to Moon Country were aiding our cause they would become a target of his." Shizune looked from Katsuo to Makoto and then back to the Kazekage as she presented her case for keeping Makoto's country of origin a secret.

"I agree." Katsuo said, nodding his head once more. "While the tide of the war seems to be turning we still don't know what else our enemy could be planning and I would not want to endanger anyone from your homeland in exchange for your aid. What do you think, Makoto?"

 

[Shiruko Makoto]

When Katsuo visibly relaxed, Makoto let himself do so as well--just slightly, enough to lose the tension in his shoulders. He likely wouldn't have picked up a more subtle signal from Katsuo, and it was nice to know he was not in fact blundering into a massive diplomatic incident.

"Ah, strictly speaking, it isn't just in this case," he said, suppressing the impulse to shrug. That was not a form of body language he was supposed to use, at all. "Moon prides itself on maintaining neutrality in all situations. Officially, it is because we are peaceful and don't have any organized ninja--unofficially, it is so we don't harm our tourism, being a tropical island."

That and other, more cynical reasons--such as any major military involvement likely causing some level of intrigue in Moon's tangled internal politics, and the fact that you couldn't really back out of breaking your neutrality once you'd done so officially and noisily enough.

On the other hand, you could occasionally send out agents, assess pockets of conflict, and determine which side it would be best to have those or other agents side with subtly--possibly not even always identifying their place of origin. Or, more likely, never revealing such. It was only because his clan had gotten involved in this one that'd he'd been allowed to say anything at all on the subject.

Skilled enough agents could make up for the lack of quantity, even. Of course, if all the agents you sent were skilled, then your reputation as not very powerful or organized would start to fall apart; Makoto wasn't sure how they were going to handle that one but it wasn't really his concern anyway. Sometimes he just got tired of pretending he wasn't a real village ninja as much as anyone serving in Sand was.

"That would certainly be preferable," he said after a second, surprise briefly evident on his face before he smoothed his expression out again. "Truthfully, I wasn't sure how to ask that. Neither my nor one one my associate's powers are anything particularly rare or renowned, so we won't be detected," mostly true, he still wasn't telling anyone outside his family about the phoenix until it became completely necessary, "however, ah, it's possible that my other companion--my distant cousin, that is, the one from Mist--might be remarked on. His skills are...distinctive, and being a former Sennin it's possible someone in the enemy ranks would have information on him and other foreigners of note. Perhaps unlikely, with Mist being long defunct, but I prefer to be cautious and will be advising him to keep those particular abilities concealed."

Not that he thought it was necessary; Tatsuya was even more cautious than him to the point of near-paranoia. Which was saying something, really. Now that he'd gotten control of his aura, the void powers never made an active debut. But it was possible the aura had been remarked on prior to that, or any distinctive attribute of his appearance--an aura like that combined with the heterochromia would be a dead giveaway to anyone who did have a file on him.

If anyone did.

Actually, it was possible these people had a file on him, based on the storm mission and the sandworm attack. It wouldn't include his country of origin, but it might include other things he wasn't necessarily happy for anyone to know.

"You mention they are good at intelligence-gathering--what are the odds they already have a file on me, due to the Maelstrom and the sandworm attack at the gates?" His normally expressionless face had shifted into a slight frown. "I don't know how publicized the members of the former mission were, since I had to return home not long after, but neither was exactly a small event, and I'm assuming they were involved in the creation of both disasters to begin with--possibly indirectly--and as such would pay attention to them."

Or it could be his paranoia talking. The phoenix wasn't saying anything either way, apparently not wanting to distract him during the meeting.

 

[Mikaboshi]

"The names and identities of the participants in the mission which brought about the end of the Diamond Maelstrom were heavily publicized. Much of the actual credit for ending the storm was given to Katsuo due to his lineage making it the better headline but each of your names were listed on the mission reports and press releases. To say that you're something of a minor celebrity would not be an overstatement. I recognized your name when you gave it to be earlier before we went looking for the Kazekage which is why you jumped to the top of his list of appointments."

Shizune's assessment of Makoto's status in Sand was precise to the point and completely accurate, as always. She could hold her own in a fight but where Shizune's talents truly lie were in her skills as an organizer and information broker. There was a clear reason why she had been given the position as executive adjutant to the Kazekage. Katsuo nodded in agreement as she talked. He hated that the local papers had given him so much credit for the end of the Diamond Maelstrom. They saw "Sunahoshi" and assumed that he had done all the work and the others had just been along for the ride when the opposite could not have been more true. He'd personally made a few stops to local papers to argue for retractions or at least updates to the stories they printed. Some listened, others didn't. It was how Katsuo had added the name "Stormbreaker" to his list of things that other people sometimes called him though he held that particular nickname in disdain for the fact that it undersold the blood that his friends and allies had spent to make that miracle happen.

"I'd like to tell you that they have no idea who you are." Katsuo responded slowly to Makoto's question about whether or not the daimyo's regime knew who he was. "But so far we've underestimated Ishii Shiro's forces at every turn. Every time we assume that they don't know something or that we're safe, we're wrong. They absolutely know your name and almost certainly have a description to accompany that name. Right now it's impossible to say if they know anything about your connection to Moon Country which is why I agree with keeping it a secret. There's no reason to offer them that information if they don't already have it."

Having Makoto back in town was a solid advantage for Sand. It was probably safe to say that Katsuo was being overcautious in his appraisal of how deeply the Sovereign Academy still had their facilities infiltrated given that the war effort had punished a great deal of the regime's forces and forced them to start giving the war a realistic consideration of how to combat the rising Sunagakure but at this point having been on the receiving end of a number of sneak attacks which could have easily been prevented if not for the rot that was complacency that had seeped into their military forces the relatively new Kazekage was not about to wager any more lives on the feeling of satisfaction that turning the war around was threatening to afford him.

"At some point I'd like to meet these traveling companions you have with you. By associating with us they're going to eventually get drawn into this war and before that happens I feel it's only the right thing to do to let them know the stakes." Katsuo remarked, asking Makoto in a round-about way to set up a meeting between them. "Personally, for preference."

Shizune shifted ever-so-slightly in discomfort at Katsuo's suggestion that he meet with these other shinobi that they didn't know but she kept her thoughts to herself. It wasn't enough to keep the Kazekage from noticing her disapproval but it wouldn't stop him and she knew that. Katsuo did what he thought was right no matter what others around him thought and even though it made him a stubborn fool at times, she couldn't help but admire that a little bit about their Kazekage.

 

[Shiruko Makoto]

Makoto winced at the thought that plenty of people did, in fact, know who he was--or at the very least his name and relative power level. That was the sort of information he would prefer not be public in a foreign country. Moreover, however, the Shrine did try to keep track of their people's movements out of country, and if he was that publicly known they probably had that information. Not that much of it was anything they hadn't already known, but...

First point of order: no doubt that is why they sent you back here in the first place, the phoenix pointed out. Which, okay, good point. He ought to have realized that sooner. Either they did have people who moved around collecting information other than him right now, or they had read his report (or the extremely truncated version that had no doubt been submitted by Kanashimi) and guessed. Accurately. Second, I think you ought to be more concerned with the enemies who are in the same country as you are.

That's true enough. The Shrine's reach wasn't that long outside their borders, when it came down to it. Plus in this situation, they weren't actually enemies--perhaps more like untrustworthy allies.

"That's...unfortunate," he said after a second. "There is also a non-zero chance that they could have guessed where I am from, depending on how versed they are in the tells of nationality--clothing style, accent, and so on. My hair colour is even relatively more common at home; on its own that means nothing, but added together with that and my lack of discomfort at the heat...well, I won't be telling anyone where I'm from, but I think I should also assume a reasonably well-travelled person could guess."

He absently fiddled with the hem of his coat, rubbing the soft fabric with the pad of his thumb.

Depending on other things...they may know.

"What are the odds that the daimyo hired those assassins from earlier?" he asked abruptly. "Directly or indirectly? I understand that they have a pre-existing grudge against you, but that certainly doesn't rule anything out. Especially since they seemed intended to be there as scouts more than combatants?"

Because that was an alarming possibility, and not one he could directly discard.

As for meeting the others...well. It wasn't the worst idea he'd ever heard. With a proven ally, you wanted all your cards on the table so you weren't working at cross-purposes unknowingly. Not to mention, in this case, potentially reining in two chaotic elements. Sheimi could typically play ball when it was important, but Tatsuya had shown the propensity to go haring off after whatever interested him.

The problem, of course, was what to do with Miki. He had nowhere safe to stash her, and if he brought both of them along he had no one to leav eher with either. Well, Hitomi maybe, but that sounded like such a terrible idea he didn't even consider it.

He was aware his expression had actually become a grimace, and smoothed it out.

"That might be a good idea," he said carefully. "Although, in the interest of being entirely open--there is a child involved too. Not mine, or anything--but she has latched onto me after I rescued her. And she isn't exactly human. At the moment we're looking after her until it's time to head home and get her a particular type of help that may or may not be available there."

As for the other two, well. Maybe if he reminded them that they oughtn't to be starting fights in the presence of the leader of the city they were staying in, they'd keep their tempers in check.

I notice you are not being open on the subject of me.

I...yeah. Maybe. He wasn't sure how Sand thought of jinchuuriki, honestly. Good? (Too good, like the Shrine?) Bad? Entirely neutral? No opinion whatsoever? (Doubtful on that last one.) I'll see how they react to any of the rest of this nonsense I've been dealing with, first.

At the very least, Katsuo would probably be okay with Makoto keeping that part from him if he heard the reasons. He was already aware of Makoto's level of caution towards anything and everything, after all. Right?

 

[Mikaboshi]

Katsuo leaned back in his chair and blew another long sigh as Makoto asked about the two members of the Black Knights they'd seen earlier. He hadn't seen any of them in years and honestly he'd sort of written them off as either dead, jailed or hopefully out and out retired but now they'd popped up with a vengeance. They'd overpowered Wrath easily enough but there'd been two of them and Katsuo got the sense in retrospect that Wrath hadn't been really flexing his new muscles. If Sloth had decided to join the fight and they got serious, or if all of them had been there at the same time, that fight could have easily gone the other way for them. Wrath hadn't been anywhere near Shouki's level but that didn't mean they weren't dangerous. Plus...

"It's a fair bet but... Sloth mentioned a "she". He said "she's not happy"." Katsuo played back the scene of Sloth arriving and extracting Wrath from the scene of the scuffle. It was impossible to draw on the facial expression or emotions of either of the mercenary assassins due to their armored suits, not that Katsuo was an expert about such things, but there was something about the way those words immediately chilled Wrath out that didn't give Katsuo warm and fuzzy feelings. "Could be some kind of vice-commander within the Sovereign?"

"We have two women documented as part of the Sovereign program that we are aware of. One is still at large, the other was killed in action by Senju Kazuki."

"Either way we can't rule out that they're working for the daimyo's regime."

"It would be our best case scenario if they were. Assuming that they are working as a part of an organization under a commander if they were not under the command of the daimyo that would mean we have another unseen enemy operating in the margins of our war with the de facto Wind Country government."

Shizune gave words to the thoughts that crossed Katsuo's mind as he thought of them causing him to jerk his thumb in her direction to give emphasis to her point. If the Black Knights weren't working for the daimyo that was real bad for a whole host of other reasons. They really didn't need another group of bad guys to deal with right now.

Katsuo didn't seem to react outwardly towards Makoto's revelation that one of his travelling companions was a child but just as it had been for most of their conversation Shizune's pen went to work on the pad that she was holding almost immediately. For Katsuo the sound of her writing was so commonplace that he didn't even hear it anymore. She didn't record his conversations like a stenographer but she took detailed notes on anyone that he had meetings with and built dossiers on them for the sake of information keeping. They'd gotten remarkably better at record keeping ever since the Sovereign Academy and the Cabal had taught them how woefully unprepared they were for infiltration and as a result any of the notes or files that Shizune recorded were kept in a highly secure location but it was important that she took notes during his meetings simply so that Katsuo could keep everyone he talked to straight.

"Exactly human?" Echoed Katsuo, his right eyebrow arching in surprise. "You'll have to give me a pass on my questions but I gotta know what I'm dealing with there. We've had some... we'll say cultural difficulties recently with non-human entities."

Could forcible possession, assault on the Kazekage and staff and a host of other civil and federal crimes be qualified as "cultural difficulties"? Shizune stopped writing for a moment to glance up over her pad at the Kazekage as he caught her glance and offered her a shrug in response. Given that he'd been the primary victim in a lot of those crimes, most of them were his to forgive and he had in the interest of an unlikely peace with the small list of remaining ancient-kin and so far it had worked out okay but Katsuo wasn't interested in suddenly reigniting those hostilities by accident. Mikaboshi and Suna could hold a grudge like nobody's business.