KNOCK KNOCK (Kazekage)

[Juzo]

Plans were tucked neatly under his right arm, a printout of the expenses padding the space between them and his body. Juzo moved with a confident stride through the masses of people going through the area. As usual he did his best to blend into the crowd while he moved towards the entry way. Once he was past the threshold he stopped to re-examine himself. Papers were still in hand, his basic Medic outfit was still clean and freshly pressed and he hadn't been put into one of his moods. After he was sure he was still in tip-top shape he continued his confident stride towards the receptionist desk and he spoke to her directly and in a authoritative tone. "I am here to see the Kazekage. My name is Juzo and I am from the Medical Branch."

He found himself cut short as the woman explained the Kazekage was busy at that moment. Hmm, he hadn't anticipated that and he had to chide himself mentally for that. How could he not have expected that?!

With great care he made sure his annoyance was well hideen before continuing. "I will wait as long as necessary. When he can see me, let me know." And with that he turned and found a chair in this small 'waiting area' that was nearby. Though, for some reason, he assumed it was not meant to be a waiting room. But the Kazekage had an obligation to meet with his Shinobi, especially those on important business. So he knew he would be seen soon enough. For now he would wait and meditate. It was the best way for him to fiddle with his theories away from a controlled laboratory setting.



MFT
WC: 285

 

[Takahashi Aki]

The Steward entered the Kazekage tower wearing a fresh new lab coat. His earnings from the case of the missing ruby earned him a salary he was not used to. Most of it went into his bank account for his savings. The Steward worked hard trying to get his yen locked into a good savings account. He even argued with the financial advisor about the breakdown and how their system made no sense. Still though the lab coat was not fitted to him. It was baggy and Sousuke had to roll up the sleeves accordingly. "Do I have any messages?"<i></i> he asked as he inquired his receptionist. She pointed to Juzo. While Sousuke did not show a facial expression of pleasure, he was pleased that his old friend Juzo had come to see him.

Sousuke turned around and made his way over to the older medic nin. "Mr. Juzo. Good to see you sir. I trust you have been successful in your undertakings?"<i></i> Sousuke's strange greeting came. "Many apologies if I had kept you waiting for long. I had just gotten back from solving a crime ... theft to be exact. My usual lab coat made an end of sorts involving a trip of going through a fan and activating my mark one armour in time so I wasn't sliced up. I then proceeded to crash into an illegal cache of weapons, which are now under lock and key in the Obsidian Palace. I was paid well ... and thought it was best to acquire a new lab coat. A little big, but I think I may grow into it yet."<i></i> Sousuke spoke as he continued to fuss about with the rolling of the sleeves. "How can I be of assistance to your next undertaking?"<i></i>

 

[Juzo]

The Kazekage's greeting was as it usually was. That is to say, Juzo wasn't sure how to classify it.

Innocent greeting? Doubtful.

The playful jab of a rival? Not at all.

Or perhaps it was the condescending tone of a Kage? Hardly.

So, with much hidden effort, he nodded his head and spoke directly. "As always, luck pads my every step." Then he paused to let the man elaborate on his aforementioned crime fighting antics. As interesting as they were he had to wonder why he was out doing this kind of work himself. He should have assigned his ANBU to the job. But at the same time, he could sympathize, it did get stale if you had to work in a lab all the time. So for now he would appear interested and nod his head. When an opportunity to speak presented itself he took it. "Not at all, I have only been here a short time. And it sounds as if you have been working around the clock. Burning the candle at both ends, they say."

In a nervous sort of way, he looked around at the public area they were in before speaking again. "I am here about the reconstruction of the Medical Center. Could we speak in your office, perhaps?" Under his arm remained the proposed plans that Juzo had brought along. He thought that they would be a good way to jump into the conversation with Sousuke. He knew the man had a keen interest in the scientific and this new Medical Center would have a great focus on it. For now he would wait until they were in his office to go into more depth on the subject.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Sousuke nodded his head at Juzo's request. He would make one slight amendment to it though. The two attended the elevator. Once the door was closed, Sousuke hit the down button. The two were on the ground level, but the elevator started going down. The elevator indicated they were going to a zone entitle -S. Sousuke removed from his pocket a paperclip and proceeded to pick the lock on the elevator control. Once he had done it, the doors opened revealing a developing area underneath the tower. "Since I was the victim of theft, I decided to take extra precautions... with some of my more important items. I was wondering when we would be having this discussion. We are left in this metaphorical darkness of sorts. It is my full intention to have the medical building rebuilt, but what I lack is vision. I do not know what the new medical centers needs. I know it needs a strong foundation, I know it needs reinforced high zen-steel. I know that it needs a power source."<i></i>

The Steward would motion for Juzo to walk with him forward. They would walk forward and eventually come across a table. Upon the table was the power source of the former hospital. It was a green chakra crystal that was consistently glowing. "We are very lucky... that the Djinn did not hit the power source underground during his first strike. Unfortunately no one has advised me what to do with the power source, therefore I moved it somewhere safe... and secure. I would greatly appreciate it if you were to proceed with your intentions. You are here with the plans, or survey of the new medical instruction. That is why you are here to see me, you have them tucked under your arm... because you trust yourself out of everyone else to see me with the plans. You wouldn't dare hand them off to an apprentice out of fear he may misplace them. There is something so particular about these plans you want me to see and no one else."<i></i> Sousuke turned his head. "Am I right or wrong?"<i></i>

 

[Juzo]

Juzo thought about the inquiry. "You could say that, I suppose."

In truth, the apprentices were not who Juzo had problems with. But either way, Sousuke was right in the fact that Juzo wanted to deliver this personally. Aside from the obvious pitfall that was inherently present if the plans were lost. There was also the security issue of those plans getting into the wrong hands. They contained detailed information about the proposed structure and its many weak points. It was all information that could be used if one wanted to take down the potential building. Foreign operatives would be overjoyed to have something fall into their laps.

"Yes, here, take a look." The man spoke plainly as he handed off the plans. Under his arm remained the expense report and projections. "As you can see, the space available is being utilized to its fullest. At floor level, we have the receptionist desk, wide extra tall doorways and plenty of room for minor injuries to be treated. The three levels above that are identical and will function as an ordinary hospital."

"We will devote a significant portion of the underground real estate to anything more volatile than injured patients. The first underground level is split in half. One side for infectious patients, the other side for research into related illness's. We hope to have a small portion specialize into diseases that target those who can harness chakra."

"The level below that is for more volatile research. It will contain everything from examination rooms to fully stocked biology and chemistry labs."

Juzo stopped to take a breath and take a closer look at the power source. While still examining the device, he continued. "The two levels below that will be designed much the same but with increasing density to the walls and increased safety precautions. The Sennin will have considerable private space on the bottom floor. With both sleeping quarters and fully stocked laboratories as well as a small private kitchen." And at that he paused. He had arrived at another subject he wanted to broach. And he knew, that if he did not then his subsequent failure to promote would be his own fault.

"There is another matter to attend to. It is about how the Medical Branch is being handled and I wonder if you would grant me permission to speak freely?" Juzo tried to choose his words carefully. He had worked for the village as a medic for the better part of 20 years and in that time he had done much to prove his worth. And aside from surviving to the age of 31, a rarity in the shinobi world, he still had much to offer the village. Grudgingly he pulled his eyes away from the power source and looked to the Kazekage.


MFT
WC: 466

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Sousuke looked over the blue prints. It was well thought out. Juzo was always a practical man. "You may want to have the basements reinforced with a double tri-weave structure. Especially with the lowest level for the volatile research."<i></i> Sousuke observed. There was a long pause as he pulled out a pencil and made a few additions of his own to the design. "Tri-weaving here, here, and here. That ought to keep most volatile things under control. If necessary I could smelt some Takahashi fire forged steel and apply that to the outside of the tri-weave."<i></i> There was a pause. "For the base apply a tri-weave fixture here and here again. It'll keep the building standing in the event that an earthquake occurs."<i></i> Sousuke then added. The Steward began to add a few extra items of interest to the top. He added a broadcast high wave satalite to make sure that communication with the hospital would never be endangered. "Practical in the extreme, I like it."<i></i>

What Juzo next caused Sousuke to twirl the pencil around and place it back in his pocket. "Granted, but I expect this to be something of a critique really. I know very well that I lack vision in the medical department. I had great expectations of Tia and Oba, but both seem to have fallen short. "<i></i> Sousuke folded his arms behind his back, and expected very much to be told off by Juzo. The Steward knew it was coming, since his senior had asked to speak freely, and usually when one does that it usually meant that they were going to say something quite personable.

 

[Juzo]

Juzo nodded in agreement. "That should support even the most dangerous of experiments. The third floor up from floor level will be for long term patients that do not require quarantine." He stopped to look at the pages as the man before him shuffled through them further. "Though I dare say, I cannot see anything else to tweak on this design."

Then he coughed. It was slightly uncomfortable to approach this subject and he had chose to, instead, continue talking about the building for at least a minute longer. But now it was time to move onto the more pressing matter at hand. Juzo's deep voice began. "All people make mistakes, even leaders. But I want to nominate myself for the position of Medical Sennin. There are few with as much Medical experience as myself and even fewer with the same level of proficiency in combat." The Med-nin took a moment for his words to settle before continuing. "Look at how our Medic district has been stricken by ruin without any obvious attempt to repair it. It is time for our Medical Branch to go in a new direction and I believe I can deliver just that."

"I will make the Medic's of Suna a force to be reckoned with, as they were in the past."

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Sousuke understood Juzo's well meaning. There was a single matter that came up from his past. "You did have a freeze back from many years ago. There's a saying... ah yes. It is water under the bridge now, but I am under the impression that is in the past, and that you have conquered whatever ills you had from such a time."</B><i></i> There was a pause. "If you mind me asking, because I too sometimes suffer from such a pause ... what did you do to overcome such a thing? I freeze when dealing with some people, especially former peers of mine, but not during combat."<i></i> Sousuke inquired. What may work for the goose may work for the gander the saying went. Why such a saying existed, Sousuke was unsure. In the worst case scenario it took Sousuke a talking to by the Shade of Mikaboshi which resided in his sword.

"I do not doubt you being able to take the medical field to new heights... considering these plans." Sousuke turned back to them. <B>"I had to argue with the insurance company that a Force Majeur was not what the Djinn was. I referred to the Djinn as a natural disaster. Eventually they gave in... mainly due to the fact I was persistent with them on the telephone. The funding for the building will not be a problem, and nor should be supplies. My query to you is should it be built by Suna nin or contractors? In the greater system of morality, people who build things have a greater connection to it. I am not exception to this issue... as I am greatly tied to my pet Kitchenzilla. You recollect her yes?"<i></i>

 

[Juzo]

Juzo considered what the man had said. There was only so many ways one could deal with such issues and almost all of them came from within. "For my own issues, I found something greater than myself. A virtue to live my life by. And ever since then I have been free of such .... performance issues." Normally this is where one would include light jovial laughter but the Med-nin remained silent. In the shinobi world, such issues carried much more threat to life and limb.

"As for the building, I say it should be built by our own shinobi. As you say, it would build a sense of attachment among those who would be working there." Juzo spoke softer than normal. This was to be his greatest project to date and he couldn't help but feel slightly anxious. "And yes, I remember your Kitchenzilla project, remarkable craftsmanship, no doubt." Then he coughed slightly, it was not in his nature to give praise to others. But at the same time, this man had managed quite the feat of engineering and chakra manipulation. "And if we are going to collaborate on this project, then what will we call this new structure?"

Juzo grinned, did he basically just get told he would be getting the position? "YES!" He exclaimed in the quiet of his mind, fairly certain he had just heard what he had heard. It was his time to prove himself. And he knew the Village needed it.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Virtue. That was his answer? Sousuke furrowed a brow. It couldn't have been that simple. Maybe it was. The Steward wondered for a moment. Was he a man of virtue? He certainly had some strong moral coding ingrained into him at childhood which was mainly due to his parents. Given the Steward's predicament with expression of the self, it was perhaps difficult to see him being a moral man due to the cold words he often spoke with, and his constant calculating. Still thought he was highly capable of determining right from wrong. What surprised the Steward though were those with a questionable moral code such as Kitanai. She certainly wasn't a vitreous woman, she even admitted to it to his face. Would a lack of virtue stop her from conquering future problems? Perhaps. Time would tell.

"We have an accord then. In the future I will put together a mission for others to come together and put this plan from simple thought into the realm of the psychical."<i></i> The Steward wondered though who he could inquire to aid him and Juzo in such a mission. Hiku came to mind, he was a genjutsu user, but surely some physical labour would do him some manner of good in his training. The mind had few limits, but the body certainly had numerable ones. As such one had to train not only their mind, but their body as well. Sousuke's mind snapped back as Juzo had asked him what would they name this new medical clinic. Sousuke thought for a time. A word came to mind: -OMNI - which meant all. This medical center had it all. "Omni Prime Medical Center?"<i></i> Sousuke would answer. It rolled off the tongue, for Sousuke, but was it enough?

 

[Juzo]

Juzo found himself in an agreeable mood. "That sounds like an appropriate title. Though I will only need a small handful of shinobi. As an adept user of metal jutsu, I can lay down most of the foundation and structure myself. We will just need people for the remaining task; installing flooring, walls, windows, tiling as well as relocating advanced instruments into the new Omni Prime Medical Center."

Then something dawned on him. His eyes took on a new deeper glow and he looked back to the plans on the table. "What if...." He took a small pencil from his pocket and made a few additions to the blueprint. At first it seemed like arbitrary lines along the outside of the structure. Then it became obvious as to what it was. He planned on building the new Medical center into the bedrock. It would be protected on three sides by several kilometer thick bedrock. The perfect defense. When Juzo finished he peered to the Kazekage, assuming he would be able to decipher his work. "What do you think?"

Already, though, his mind was planning and scheming. What would be his first order of business once the structure was complete? A meeting of all the current Med-nin, undoubtedly. But not all of them, just the best and brightest. Or at the very least, those with the potential to be the best and the brightest. Sometimes it was hard to tell which his peers were or if they even deserved such an honor. But he liked actions over words so he would refrain from making judgments for the time being.

"Also, if you really have agreed to make me the new Medical Sennin, then I would request something of you, my lord." Juzo said carefully. "I need more information on foreign policy. I find myself out of touch with the outside world and am unsure who is and isn't our allies anymore."

 

[Takahashi Aki]

"The riddle of steel... the more difficult our tasks are, the stronger we will become..."<i></i> The Steward spoke lowly to himself more over than Juzo when he heard Juzo speak of the fact that he too was a metal user. "Yes, do gather up a few individuals, I'll be putting a request to assemble those of skill to assist you in this undertaking."<i></i> The Steward offered, knowing full well that he and Juzo would need some assistance to form the new medical center. The Steward watched as he added some more defensive items to the blueprint. The symbols he used were ones that the Steward rarely saw being bedrock. The Steward's eyebrows rose as he came to a full understanding. "Bedrock? Truly? Not difficult to come by, but something I would have not thought about using initially... but it does... it could work yes."<i></i>

Juzo spoke of the position of medical sennin now directly. "Let us complete this undertaking of the new medical facility first. I would indeed gladly give you the position, but first let us give rise and proper tribute to your coming as medical sennin with this new structure. A great task comes with it a monumental title. I would see your name inscribed upon the opening plaque as inventor and engineer to this new grand structure."<i></i> The Steward paused for a moment. "As for foreign policy... yes ... I assume then you were the one to have met the so called merchant in the Maw? The one wrapped in bandages with the red eyes? ... Or perhaps am I missing something?"<i></i>

(Did you want to do a self modded mission, or have several groupings of self modded missions to put this together?)

 

[Juzo]

Juzo nodded. "Yes but he was no merchant. As usual foreign shinobi cannot think of a better cover story than that they are wary traveling merchants." The thought of that whole situation annoyed him. The man had been impudent and thought Sunan shinobi were fools. "Do they think we are so dumb to fall for the most over-used excuse?"

Then he shook his head and pushed his hair up off of his forehead. Once he removed his hand the hair fell back to its normal position. "But I think you have a strong point here. My face is not the most common one to see and it would do best if it was at least a little clear why my hands were given such responsibility." As usual the Kage was a shrewd man. This was respectable and Juzo couldn't help but feel a glimmer of admiration. "At least it will not be hard to to build the structure inside of a tunnel. That way we don't have to move any bedrock, simply build the building in a place where bedrock would already serve as cover on three sides. My Earth manipulation will be enough to hollow out a wall for it."

"Should we begin soon?" Juzo was eager and his face showed it. Another uncharacteristic show of emotion on a man renowned for his stoicism. Though it made him wonder about a great deal of things. The first of which, who would he take on as his personal assistant? His last assistant had met the most unfortunate end, despite the kid being quite adept at predicting what tool Juzo needed next.



MFT
WC: 271



[OOC: I am ready to begin the thread as soon as possible. I know some of the newer medicals also want to begin rebuilding, so it is a good time to strike!]

 

[Takahashi Aki]

The Steward laughed. It was a short laugh. Perhaps the shortest laughs ever known. "Hah."<i></i> It was a sound that Sousuke rarely made. It was either his first laugh or his second laugh. Probably his first if you in fact considered the concept of the retcon. It is a vile thing, this thing we call the retcon. The Steward's eyes shifted skyward for a moment so as to stare are the roof, or perhaps something that was not clearly visible. "I've seen several merchants, but most of those have normal eyes, glowing red eyes are ... some monstrous features. Not that I'm discriminating here, just that I would be weary of such a man who calls himself a merchant."<i></i> Sousuke spoke quietly as he picturing this merchant. "I find that most people usually have low opinions of others... and oftentimes they are proven wrong in one way or another. The Djinn for instance, had an overly large ego... and look what happened to it. Well it was either seal it or face total annihilation."<i></i>

The Steward picked up a pad and pen from amongst his already ongoing projects. He began to jot down notes. "We've already begun my good Juzo. We already have. I'm just putting together a request for the materials to be ordered. We'll need to pick up some material from Soon's Sanctuary... and as usual they will come in caravan form. Those caravans will be attacked, as per usual and will thus need a shinobi escort."<i></i> Sousuke's eyes shifted from the pad of paper to Juzo's face. The eagerness was ever evident. "Alert your colleagues and begin preparation with your earth manipulation techniques. It is time to translate from paper to reality our dream of a better, far superior medical facility."<i></i>

 

[Juzo]

Juzo was ready and nodded his head once more. At least the Kazekage was an agreeable sort, he thought to himself. "I can do as much, sir."

He made three handseals and it summoned two clones into existence. Each one was a near perfect replica of Juzo and soon enough their use became apparent. Mostly because of what he proceeded to tell them. "Go to the area where we will be constructing and begin altering the land. We will begin construction as soon as possible. I will gather some of the Medical branch together to assist in construction."

From there the dopplegangers nodded in unison and ran off through the building towards their goal. The blue haired Med-nin stayed behind and turned back to Sousuke. "If you need anything else done, let me know now. I would like to see the construction finished in at least two days. From there a week is about all we should need to finish the interior of the Omni Prime Medical Center."

Already he found himself planning an upgraded lesson plan for the Medic's. Almost all of them were soft and unfit for battle, which meant their Medical skills couldn't be employed efficiently. That would change. And with that he would drop the expense ledger onto the mans desk, he would undoubtedly worry about it later, it was fairly generic after all. And if Sousuke didn't have any more need of Juzo, then Juzo would depart.


[Attempting to leave unless stopped]