Despite Makoto's earlier assertion to himself that life would not simply go back to normal for him, it seemed determined to do so. He went back to working with the Wardens, dodging his cousin and the irritatingly cheerful girl who appeared to be said cousin's fiancé, and slowly thawed toward Saito after the latter apologized five or six times.
Well. Apologized five or six times, and proved that he got the point. As well as ceasing to bother him about what had happened on his 'vacation.' Really, that had been months ago now.
He also worked on tamping down his empathy, and slowly learned to function with it in the presence of people with strong emotions. Although, well, there were more than one or two people with those to practice on and around. Just because his family was generally given toward polite diplomacy on the surface did not mean that was more than a pretense.
His cousin though...there was just no filtering for that level of sheer unnaturalness in an emotional pattern. Something was wrong with the man. Very, very wrong.
(There was also something unusual pinging off one of the Warden squad leaders, but he'd have been more surprised, in her case, if there hadn't been. Kiyomizu was just...Kiyomizu; it didn't surprise him that there was either more intensity or conflicting emotions emanating from her at all times.)
It was barely a couple of weeks since he had sent in his mission report--and somehow not received a reprimand for how long it took him to do so--when he ended up once more in a corner of the Wardens' training area, seated at a small table with his brother. In the distance, toward the practice targets, Kiyomizu was yelling at a group of recruits who seemed to have some kind of difficulty functioning around a slim brunette walking swathe of destruction for some reason.
"Another mission?" he asked Kanashimi, ignoring both the auditory and emotional loudness from across the field. "Let me guess. They really are sending me to Sand for this...event."
"Yes," Kanashimi said. His expression was inscrutable, but he seemed to be holding something back. He pushed over a file folder, and leaned back in his chair, tenting his fingers. All that was missing was a cup of tea for him to sip on. "What's more...our family wants in on this one too."
Makoto lifted an eyebrow. "Mother?"
"Her, and our cousin's mother." There was a definite tinge of worry, there. "So...we have a couple of...complications."
Oh, that did not sound good. "...Of what kind?"
His brother blew out a breath, something he only did when frustrated or amused; the tinge of his emotions indicated an odd combination. "Well, our family is sending our cousin with you since we apparently can't spare Saito. The Wardens provisionally agreed to this, since he is traveled, and as he is from Water Country can manage with water."
Makoto scowled. "...He's...there's something about him that's just wrong."
"I expect getting him the hell off our island is a reason for them to accept that request, for multiple reasons." Now that was definitely sympathy. "Their counterbalance, however, is sending a Warden of roughly equivalent power with you."
"You?" That would be...a relief, honestly.
Now he was grimacing, although he was definitely actually amused. "...No, not me. Hm."
"Sorry I'm late for the briefing," a female voice said. "These new recruits are shit, can't hit a target to save their lives."
Makoto started and turned to look at their new guest as she slid into one of the unoccupied chairs.
Kiyomizu Sheimi was one of the bigger names in the Wardens, if only because she was on the short list of 'people to not piss off.' Furthermore, it was not hard to piss her off. Only slightly taller than Makoto, with long wavy dark brown hair and startlingly green eyes, Kiyomizu's predominant emotional state appeared to be 'smoldering.' Her main aggravations were incompetence, dishonesty, and arrogance.
Admittedly, she was prideful herself--but it wasn't as if it was unearned.
"No matter," Kanashimi said dismissively. "We were just getting started. You've never been to Wind Country, have you Kiyomizu-san?"
There was a sort of forced politeness there, as if there were some sort of history between them--not that he was aware of there being one at all. Moreover, Kiyomizu's emotions had dialed down the anger scale multiple degrees, more than standard respect for a colleague would account for. What the hell?
"Never." She glanced at the folder, then Makoto, and tilted her head to him. He returned the gesture lightly; he wasn't one of the Wardens who had issues with her exacting standards. "Is there a reason given why we're going to this exam, rather than laughing it off as one of the multiple attempts people have made to claim we're a ninja village?"
Straight-faced, but with a definite undercurrent of amusement. What's more, Kanashimi had to smother a smile at it, and had apparently found that quite funny.
Seriously, what the hell?
"There's more than just the exam," his brother said after a brief recovery. "There's also a wedding. And upper management senses something fishy, so they of course do not want to send in trainees. Makoto is not plausibly a Chuunin-equivalent, as they have seen him fight before."
She glanced over at him for confirmation. "Two Sand natives, not sure what rank," he confirmed. "I upheld myself too well against a difficult foe to be mistaken for any kind of unpromoted equivalent."
"And you think I can fake a lower rank?" Kiyomizu asked skeptically. "The first chakra-sensitive person we run across will call that bluff, to say nothing of if they have trained lie-detectors around. At a large-scale event, they'd be crazy not to."
"Just so," Kanashimi agreed. "We're not sending the three of you as any kind of exam team. We don't have any ready recruits for that anyway. Rather, consider yourselves to be mostly on a diplomatic mission."
She snorted. "I'm sorry, I had something crazy in my ear. Did you just say they were sending me and," she jerked her thumb at Makoto, "Chuckles over here, on a diplomatic mission?"
"I did not explode anything or cause any diplomatic incidents last time I was there," he felt the need to insert. "As a matter of fact, I did quite well in garnering good will, I think."
She raised a skeptical eyebrow at him, her emotions matching her expression perfectly.
"Well, I almost got into a bar fight," he allowed. "But that was genuinely not my fault."
Kanashimi coughed, as if badly covering the amusement radiating off him. Come to think, he'd significantly loosened up from his usual stoic demeanour since Kiyomizu had taken a seat.
"Either way," he said, "that's the stated mission. Unofficially, they also want you to throw down on Sand's side if there's a fight."
They both absorbed this, it being roughly what Makoto had expected. "All right," Kiyomizu said, drumming her fingers on the table. "Who's the third?"
"...My new cousin," Kanashimi said, with a distinct tint of displeasure to his emotional undercurrent that Makoto soundly empathized with. Perhaps more, since he would have to put up with the man for the duration of the event.
She scrunched up her nose, a flash of irritation skidding across her emotions. "Isn't he the guy you're always complaining about?"
Wait, what? Did this mean they actually knew each other socially, or did they just sit around talking when off-shift? They had been in the same training group, but...
"Yes." A note of sympathy. "He will hit on you, incidentally. Possibly incessantly."
"Then I'll hit him back," she declared. "Until he takes the hint. Is he at least going to know why we're going?"
"Yes. He'll not be a hindrance there, at least." Kanashimi's expression twisted, as if the thought of attributing compliments to Tatsuya physically pained him. He did radiate displeasure about it, at least.
"And his glib, superficial charm may actually be of assistance in diplomacy," Makoto said, starting to feel a bit left out in this conversation. Well, he was the most junior member there.
"I'm told he's quite good at diplomacy, actually. It's supposed to be one of his skills." His brother glanced down at the folder again, then pushed it over to Kiyomizu. She took it. "Topographic and geographic details of Wind Country; Makoto already knows the relevant parts. As for the political...unlike us, Wind has a separate government structure from its shinobi. Wind Country and Sand are considered distinct entities from each other. It would be best not to forget that."
"Mm." She looked up from the folder briefly. "Do we know who the current Kazekage is?"
"Steward Kazekage," Kanashimi half-corrected. "According to our limited information, anyway. No, although he's apparently part of one of the great clans of Sand."
"Didn't meet him, I don't think," Makoto contributed. "The main Sand natives I actually met were both rather tall men in armor, one of them in very heavy armor who apparently made it himself."
He wasn't entirely comfortable with the more low-key emotions that seemed to be passing between the two more senior Wardens, but he couldn't seem to do anything to derail them. It was unnerving; he wasn't sure what they meant.
"So we show up, saying we got an invitation, and say where we're from..." She chewed her lip briefly. Out of the corner of his eye, Makoto noted Kanashimi paying attention to either that or the way her hair hung partly over her face, a single lock having fallen down the middle right to the tip of her nose. He wasn't sure which made him more uncomfortable. "Who's nominally in charge of this one?"
"They didn't specify." He glanced between the two of them. "It'd be one of you obviously, but no one who spoke to me on this cited any preference. You're the senior operative, but Makoto has the field experience in this particular region." There was an edge of 'I don't really care, as long as it's not Tatsuya.'
She shrugged, clearly unconcerned. "We'll play it by ear then. I'm not as bothered as I would be if it were one of the idiot squad I was being sent with."
The average ninja village probably wouldn't allow for that, but having a flexible command structure in the field with no clear leader had its advantages, if you didn't bicker. And when it came down to it, Makoto was one of the few Wardens not likely to bicker with Kiyomizu. Furthermore, he could easily see him backing her, or vice versa, against Tatsuya. If necessary.
So he simply said, "Sounds fine to me," when they both looked at him. "When are we supposed to leave?"
"The next ferry to the mainland is in two days, and it'll be docking in Wind Country as one of its stops," Kanashimi answered, gaze sliding back toward Kiyomizu. "They want you on that one."
"Sure." He shrugged. "Gives me time to pack a lot of water, I suppose. Ah, I can also get a list of things it's good to have in the desert...?"
"Give it to Kana-kun, he can pass it to me tomorrow," she said as she stood and stretched. Makoto risked a glance at his brother, which meant he didn't quite miss the faint blush. "We are still grabbing drinks tomorrow night, yeah?"
"Of course," Kanashimi said almost automatically, and Makoto relaxed. A social outing, probably with some other of their training group. Nothing more. "See you then, if not sooner."
She nodded, then turned around in a brisk walk to head back to her trainees, who during their reprieve were laying around on the grass panting and in various states of dishevelment. A wave of despair rose up from them as she strode back toward them and began once more barking orders.
"So," he said, turning back to his brother. "They're sending myself, miss 'the best defense is overwhelming offense,' and the insincere flirt with a talking snake on a diplomatic mission. Do they want this to go badly?"
"Oh, the last one went fine," Kanashimi said idly, tucking the folder back into his vest. "It's really just that it looks better if we send more than one person. I don't know as if any trouble will actually crop up."
He groaned and leaned back in his chair. "Do the words 'international' and 'incident' mean anything at all to them?"
"Probably not." A faint current of amusement. "You'll probably be able to skate on our reputation as nonviolent, religious eccentrics. Which is good, since this event is being held outside Sand itself and in greater Wind Country."
Makoto sat up and jabbed his finger in the air at his brother. "Stop jinxing it! Now if something goes wrong, I'll blame you. And I'll haunt you. And...I'll order Wraith to tell you everything I say as a ghost."
This time he wasn't imagining the eyeroll, or the slight tinge of indulgence. "Of course you will."
-Two Days Later-
"Whoever causes problems on this mission is getting haunted if they're fatal to me," Makoto said blandly as his 'team' boarded the ferry. "Assuming they live through the problems."
Kiyomizu snorted, shouldering her bag.
"Certainly," Tatsuya said easily, idly stroking the snake with her head reared above his shoulder. Makoto suppressed a shudder at the typical blankness in his emotional aura. Maybe he'd get used to it on the trip over. "I don't intend to cause problems though, and I can handle myself. I was a Sennin in Water Country, after all."
That he hadn't known, but he didn't show it was new information to him. "Sure. All right. Just so long as we're all on the same page."
So he boarded the ferry with the Best Diplomacy Team Ever (he didn't think he could have made that sound any more sarcastic in his own head even if he tried), and settled in for a voyage back to the land of sand, heat, and more sand. And more heat.
Stupid orders.
At least he knew what to prepare for this time. And, probably, with the sandstorm gone, he could just deal with whatever was considered normal for Wind Country.
Yeah. This should definitely be easier than last time.
[Country Left; S-Rank/30 Min to next country]
Well. Apologized five or six times, and proved that he got the point. As well as ceasing to bother him about what had happened on his 'vacation.' Really, that had been months ago now.
He also worked on tamping down his empathy, and slowly learned to function with it in the presence of people with strong emotions. Although, well, there were more than one or two people with those to practice on and around. Just because his family was generally given toward polite diplomacy on the surface did not mean that was more than a pretense.
His cousin though...there was just no filtering for that level of sheer unnaturalness in an emotional pattern. Something was wrong with the man. Very, very wrong.
(There was also something unusual pinging off one of the Warden squad leaders, but he'd have been more surprised, in her case, if there hadn't been. Kiyomizu was just...Kiyomizu; it didn't surprise him that there was either more intensity or conflicting emotions emanating from her at all times.)
It was barely a couple of weeks since he had sent in his mission report--and somehow not received a reprimand for how long it took him to do so--when he ended up once more in a corner of the Wardens' training area, seated at a small table with his brother. In the distance, toward the practice targets, Kiyomizu was yelling at a group of recruits who seemed to have some kind of difficulty functioning around a slim brunette walking swathe of destruction for some reason.
"Another mission?" he asked Kanashimi, ignoring both the auditory and emotional loudness from across the field. "Let me guess. They really are sending me to Sand for this...event."
"Yes," Kanashimi said. His expression was inscrutable, but he seemed to be holding something back. He pushed over a file folder, and leaned back in his chair, tenting his fingers. All that was missing was a cup of tea for him to sip on. "What's more...our family wants in on this one too."
Makoto lifted an eyebrow. "Mother?"
"Her, and our cousin's mother." There was a definite tinge of worry, there. "So...we have a couple of...complications."
Oh, that did not sound good. "...Of what kind?"
His brother blew out a breath, something he only did when frustrated or amused; the tinge of his emotions indicated an odd combination. "Well, our family is sending our cousin with you since we apparently can't spare Saito. The Wardens provisionally agreed to this, since he is traveled, and as he is from Water Country can manage with water."
Makoto scowled. "...He's...there's something about him that's just wrong."
"I expect getting him the hell off our island is a reason for them to accept that request, for multiple reasons." Now that was definitely sympathy. "Their counterbalance, however, is sending a Warden of roughly equivalent power with you."
"You?" That would be...a relief, honestly.
Now he was grimacing, although he was definitely actually amused. "...No, not me. Hm."
"Sorry I'm late for the briefing," a female voice said. "These new recruits are shit, can't hit a target to save their lives."
Makoto started and turned to look at their new guest as she slid into one of the unoccupied chairs.
Kiyomizu Sheimi was one of the bigger names in the Wardens, if only because she was on the short list of 'people to not piss off.' Furthermore, it was not hard to piss her off. Only slightly taller than Makoto, with long wavy dark brown hair and startlingly green eyes, Kiyomizu's predominant emotional state appeared to be 'smoldering.' Her main aggravations were incompetence, dishonesty, and arrogance.
Admittedly, she was prideful herself--but it wasn't as if it was unearned.
"No matter," Kanashimi said dismissively. "We were just getting started. You've never been to Wind Country, have you Kiyomizu-san?"
There was a sort of forced politeness there, as if there were some sort of history between them--not that he was aware of there being one at all. Moreover, Kiyomizu's emotions had dialed down the anger scale multiple degrees, more than standard respect for a colleague would account for. What the hell?
"Never." She glanced at the folder, then Makoto, and tilted her head to him. He returned the gesture lightly; he wasn't one of the Wardens who had issues with her exacting standards. "Is there a reason given why we're going to this exam, rather than laughing it off as one of the multiple attempts people have made to claim we're a ninja village?"
Straight-faced, but with a definite undercurrent of amusement. What's more, Kanashimi had to smother a smile at it, and had apparently found that quite funny.
Seriously, what the hell?
"There's more than just the exam," his brother said after a brief recovery. "There's also a wedding. And upper management senses something fishy, so they of course do not want to send in trainees. Makoto is not plausibly a Chuunin-equivalent, as they have seen him fight before."
She glanced over at him for confirmation. "Two Sand natives, not sure what rank," he confirmed. "I upheld myself too well against a difficult foe to be mistaken for any kind of unpromoted equivalent."
"And you think I can fake a lower rank?" Kiyomizu asked skeptically. "The first chakra-sensitive person we run across will call that bluff, to say nothing of if they have trained lie-detectors around. At a large-scale event, they'd be crazy not to."
"Just so," Kanashimi agreed. "We're not sending the three of you as any kind of exam team. We don't have any ready recruits for that anyway. Rather, consider yourselves to be mostly on a diplomatic mission."
She snorted. "I'm sorry, I had something crazy in my ear. Did you just say they were sending me and," she jerked her thumb at Makoto, "Chuckles over here, on a diplomatic mission?"
"I did not explode anything or cause any diplomatic incidents last time I was there," he felt the need to insert. "As a matter of fact, I did quite well in garnering good will, I think."
She raised a skeptical eyebrow at him, her emotions matching her expression perfectly.
"Well, I almost got into a bar fight," he allowed. "But that was genuinely not my fault."
Kanashimi coughed, as if badly covering the amusement radiating off him. Come to think, he'd significantly loosened up from his usual stoic demeanour since Kiyomizu had taken a seat.
"Either way," he said, "that's the stated mission. Unofficially, they also want you to throw down on Sand's side if there's a fight."
They both absorbed this, it being roughly what Makoto had expected. "All right," Kiyomizu said, drumming her fingers on the table. "Who's the third?"
"...My new cousin," Kanashimi said, with a distinct tint of displeasure to his emotional undercurrent that Makoto soundly empathized with. Perhaps more, since he would have to put up with the man for the duration of the event.
She scrunched up her nose, a flash of irritation skidding across her emotions. "Isn't he the guy you're always complaining about?"
Wait, what? Did this mean they actually knew each other socially, or did they just sit around talking when off-shift? They had been in the same training group, but...
"Yes." A note of sympathy. "He will hit on you, incidentally. Possibly incessantly."
"Then I'll hit him back," she declared. "Until he takes the hint. Is he at least going to know why we're going?"
"Yes. He'll not be a hindrance there, at least." Kanashimi's expression twisted, as if the thought of attributing compliments to Tatsuya physically pained him. He did radiate displeasure about it, at least.
"And his glib, superficial charm may actually be of assistance in diplomacy," Makoto said, starting to feel a bit left out in this conversation. Well, he was the most junior member there.
"I'm told he's quite good at diplomacy, actually. It's supposed to be one of his skills." His brother glanced down at the folder again, then pushed it over to Kiyomizu. She took it. "Topographic and geographic details of Wind Country; Makoto already knows the relevant parts. As for the political...unlike us, Wind has a separate government structure from its shinobi. Wind Country and Sand are considered distinct entities from each other. It would be best not to forget that."
"Mm." She looked up from the folder briefly. "Do we know who the current Kazekage is?"
"Steward Kazekage," Kanashimi half-corrected. "According to our limited information, anyway. No, although he's apparently part of one of the great clans of Sand."
"Didn't meet him, I don't think," Makoto contributed. "The main Sand natives I actually met were both rather tall men in armor, one of them in very heavy armor who apparently made it himself."
He wasn't entirely comfortable with the more low-key emotions that seemed to be passing between the two more senior Wardens, but he couldn't seem to do anything to derail them. It was unnerving; he wasn't sure what they meant.
"So we show up, saying we got an invitation, and say where we're from..." She chewed her lip briefly. Out of the corner of his eye, Makoto noted Kanashimi paying attention to either that or the way her hair hung partly over her face, a single lock having fallen down the middle right to the tip of her nose. He wasn't sure which made him more uncomfortable. "Who's nominally in charge of this one?"
"They didn't specify." He glanced between the two of them. "It'd be one of you obviously, but no one who spoke to me on this cited any preference. You're the senior operative, but Makoto has the field experience in this particular region." There was an edge of 'I don't really care, as long as it's not Tatsuya.'
She shrugged, clearly unconcerned. "We'll play it by ear then. I'm not as bothered as I would be if it were one of the idiot squad I was being sent with."
The average ninja village probably wouldn't allow for that, but having a flexible command structure in the field with no clear leader had its advantages, if you didn't bicker. And when it came down to it, Makoto was one of the few Wardens not likely to bicker with Kiyomizu. Furthermore, he could easily see him backing her, or vice versa, against Tatsuya. If necessary.
So he simply said, "Sounds fine to me," when they both looked at him. "When are we supposed to leave?"
"The next ferry to the mainland is in two days, and it'll be docking in Wind Country as one of its stops," Kanashimi answered, gaze sliding back toward Kiyomizu. "They want you on that one."
"Sure." He shrugged. "Gives me time to pack a lot of water, I suppose. Ah, I can also get a list of things it's good to have in the desert...?"
"Give it to Kana-kun, he can pass it to me tomorrow," she said as she stood and stretched. Makoto risked a glance at his brother, which meant he didn't quite miss the faint blush. "We are still grabbing drinks tomorrow night, yeah?"
"Of course," Kanashimi said almost automatically, and Makoto relaxed. A social outing, probably with some other of their training group. Nothing more. "See you then, if not sooner."
She nodded, then turned around in a brisk walk to head back to her trainees, who during their reprieve were laying around on the grass panting and in various states of dishevelment. A wave of despair rose up from them as she strode back toward them and began once more barking orders.
"So," he said, turning back to his brother. "They're sending myself, miss 'the best defense is overwhelming offense,' and the insincere flirt with a talking snake on a diplomatic mission. Do they want this to go badly?"
"Oh, the last one went fine," Kanashimi said idly, tucking the folder back into his vest. "It's really just that it looks better if we send more than one person. I don't know as if any trouble will actually crop up."
He groaned and leaned back in his chair. "Do the words 'international' and 'incident' mean anything at all to them?"
"Probably not." A faint current of amusement. "You'll probably be able to skate on our reputation as nonviolent, religious eccentrics. Which is good, since this event is being held outside Sand itself and in greater Wind Country."
Makoto sat up and jabbed his finger in the air at his brother. "Stop jinxing it! Now if something goes wrong, I'll blame you. And I'll haunt you. And...I'll order Wraith to tell you everything I say as a ghost."
This time he wasn't imagining the eyeroll, or the slight tinge of indulgence. "Of course you will."
-Two Days Later-
"Whoever causes problems on this mission is getting haunted if they're fatal to me," Makoto said blandly as his 'team' boarded the ferry. "Assuming they live through the problems."
Kiyomizu snorted, shouldering her bag.
"Certainly," Tatsuya said easily, idly stroking the snake with her head reared above his shoulder. Makoto suppressed a shudder at the typical blankness in his emotional aura. Maybe he'd get used to it on the trip over. "I don't intend to cause problems though, and I can handle myself. I was a Sennin in Water Country, after all."
That he hadn't known, but he didn't show it was new information to him. "Sure. All right. Just so long as we're all on the same page."
So he boarded the ferry with the Best Diplomacy Team Ever (he didn't think he could have made that sound any more sarcastic in his own head even if he tried), and settled in for a voyage back to the land of sand, heat, and more sand. And more heat.
Stupid orders.
At least he knew what to prepare for this time. And, probably, with the sandstorm gone, he could just deal with whatever was considered normal for Wind Country.
Yeah. This should definitely be easier than last time.
[Country Left; S-Rank/30 Min to next country]