OOC Comments To All:

The winds were blowing behind her now as she prepared to step up to the edge and present her speech to the masses. A lot had changed since she had first taken office, yet somehow the village managed to stay the same. One of the few things in her life she could count the village on being a firm foundation for which other parts could shift and bend upon. Suzume, the current Kazekage of the Hidden Sand, had already quite the reputation among her people. A reputation she was not proud of nor willing to let it continue. Today, she would try to set things right, starting with a heart-to-heart with the entire village.

“The people have gathered below, Lady Kazekage.” Kaede, the ever loyal and every worrying secretary stood by the Kazekage’s side. “Whenever you’re ready.”

Suzume took a deep breath. She had gone over what she was going to say, but just how could she even begin to speak to these people who would only see what they had experienced. A Kage that hadn’t been publicly present, a Kage that had been so briefly working domestically that all was seen was an empty chair in the office. Yet there had been so much she had done in her time being absent from the face of the public. If she decided to start with explanations, the speech might go on forever.

First, she had made adjustments with the distribution of the military’s forces. Although such divisions seemed to go unnoticed by the populace, nor did the divisions seem to gather very good response. ‘Messing with a good system,’ some had said. ‘Destroying our tradition,’ said still others. In her eyes, modern times called for modern adjustments. However that was the least of any complaints, whereas most people were welcome to the change she brought. Some were just grateful to have a Kage working within the village again. Yet she had disappeared behind the desk work shortly after and people began to wonder, to doubt if their initial hopes and trust in the new Kage were justified. However, when she did get a chance to appear again, they understood how great change had created administrative work that had filled her to the brim. Never had a Kage spent more time locked up in the office than she had.

Now, she had been absent from public eye for a second time. The people would be obviously upset for such another long disappearance after such a brief spotlight of known activity. There was nothing of administrative work that she could say she had committed. Instead, she had disappeared for safety reasons. This is what she would have to explain today before her people. How she had left her job and her own name to root out a personal evil that was plaguing her and her family, and by extension of her title, the Hidden Sand.

A plague by the name of Seitaro Kumonosu had hit the Koga clan hard. An emissary mission gone wrong, only to report the missing person's report to Suzume days after the group’s initial attack. Suzume had spent her time of ‘absence’ working on finding the leads to her father’s whereabouts personally. Such was the state of the Hidden Sand’s feebleness that she had to hide her own identity while working the case, lest outsiders realize the village had become so weak their own Kazekage had to do menial tasks herself. It had been only her and another trusted compatriot, a fellow shinobi that had served her well in the past. Kazuhiko, the shinobi that had been comprised in his work while in Kirigakure no Sato and been rescued by Suzume and Misako, had become a stronger shinobi since then. More clever to was his actions when the two of them had fallen to an ambush by Seitaro’s men. Her standing here today was because of the man’s actions. She had been able to escape, yet he had not. Instead of turning back for reinforcements, Suzume plunged further to find her father and to honor Kazuhiko’s sacrificial tactics.

However, it had been a gruesome battle of intel to find where Seitaro was hiding, and in the search she had discovered some truths among a minefield of falsehoods.  The man had taken her father alive as a captive and bargaining chip to use against her, as a way for Suna to become a mere vassal to the Hidden Rock. Such was the plan stated at first. Yet during her intel gathering, Suzume learned there was a much bigger plot behind it all. The Hidden Rock had nothing to do with Seitaro’s movements. Instead, the real perpetrator was a hushed organization called the Black ANBU. Some secretive division underneath the Hidden Leaf’s own ANBU forces. The real goal of Seitaro’s plan was for the Hidden Sand to instigate a war on the Hidden Rock, which Suzume had nearly done in a moment of rashful and emotional rage at first knowledge that Seitaro was operating as a Hidden Rock ninja. Thankfully, she waited to obtain more information before sending off a fiery pigeon letter back to her village’s council.

Armed with the knowledge of Seitaro’s true allegiances, Suzume had first began to ignite a new plan to save her father. Staking out an area within Iwagakure no Sato that she had suspected Seitaro’s hideout to be, she knocked out any messages that were either flown, delivered, or dropped into the area. After just a couple days of checking random mail as discreetly as possible, Suzume managed to get her hands on a message from the Black ANBU to Seitaro. In this happenstance, the location was narrowed down to a fifty-fifty scenario. By some deductive reasoning and a bit of luck, she decided on the correct location and came to observe not only her father at the hands of Seitaro, but also Kazuhiko locked in a cage as well. Within the bowels of the Hidden Rock, Suzume had to duel it out with Seitaro and his consorts in order to free her father and the tortured Kazuhiko. In the process of this fight, Suzume learned her skills had yet to be tested by such a lopsided fight with Seitaro and his fledglings. It boiled down to another sacrifice, this time by her own father. Through such sacrifice, her and Kazuhiko had managed to break free while Seitaro perished by her father’s dying breath.

Standing at the precipice to speak to her fellow countrymen, a tear would well up in her right eye. The funeral for her father had gone off very quietly, as the clan had wanted it to be. She wouldn’t be able to go into full detail on this subject yet either, as even the last visit to Konoha had opened her eyes further about the organization of the Black ANBU, and that even the Hokage himself was struggling against them. No, she thought, batting the welled up tear away before it had a chance to fall. I know what I must say.

And so Suzume Koga, Kazekage of the Hidden Sand, took a step forward to unfurl her speech, hopefully into the welcoming and forgiving arms of her people.

In Aria’s youth, her parents had always told her stories and tales, some true and some false, about the hidden villages, five in total that the lands recognised as the true military might of the continent, not to be tussled with under any circumstances lest you were seeking a quick but painful death. As the small family of three traveled in their caravan along with the rest of the travelling Otsuka troupe, Aria would always ask questions and prod her parents about the magnificence of hidden villages, especially those of Konoha and Kumo, for she thought that fire and lightning were the coolest jutsu for their destructive nature.

How innocent she had been then.

She could clearly recall the day she threw it all away. The day she had snuck away from the troupe while they had been congregating, feigning sickness. She could clearly recall how she had packed up her belongings and run away, the only object of prize to her being the Otsuka book that she had swiped from her parents’ small desk in the caravan they shared. It was theft, but they had all but bequeathed it to her anyway, considering she was the only one in the entire family, or possibly even the entire circus troupe, that took interest in the traditional, demolishing methods that the Otsuka used, rather than the poor entertainment that her troupe had transformed it into.

When she had first arrived at Sunagakure, she had been filled with a mix of emotions. One was the regret that she had left her family, and possibly never meet them again. What kind of a daughter would willingly run away from her family, especially with parents as loving as those? She had given in to peer pressure, given in to the social standards that she herself would never live up to, and given in to the social understanding that those who played with explosive Otsuka fire were not tolerated in the place. She had given in, and ran, like the coward that she was, and the coward that she believed and knew herself to be.

She had also been filled with fear. She had been scared. It was her first, actual visit to a Hidden Village, and her parents were not here to protect her. The only thing she had was her guardian, assigned by the government itself, Orino Shirane, who was also the ANBU agent who had discovered her dying out in the deserts of the Land of Wind from thirst and heat, and nursed her back to health. She was scared that she was so quickly replacing the figure of her parents with Orino herself. And she was scared what Orino would say when she discovered what Aria had done, and even more frightful of what Orino would do.

The last major component of the negative emotions that made up the mix was shock. It wasn’t so much a negative one as much as it wasn’t a positive one. Her shock had come from understanding of how the village itself actually worked, and her understanding had only grown better in recent years. Orino, being ANBU, was unable to spend as much time with her as either would have liked, but being ANBU also had its perks of seeing underneath the underneath and pinpointing certain oddities to Aria.

The most commonly pointed out oddity was the absence of the Kazekage, which struck Aria as truly odd. From the stories her parents had told her, Kage were the last line of defence in the village, the ones who rained terror down upon invading armies and repelled them back to the borders of the country if anyone ever dared set foot close to their home. How could the Kazekage do this if she was never at home? Orino had several insights into this, helping Aria understand the diverse tasks that Kage themselves had, and painfully sticking by the Kazekage’s side even when the latter had been absent. It had been a painful conversation for Aria, and time and time again she had lost the debate to Orino on why Suzume Koga was absent, or what she was doing, even if she suspected Orino only knew as much as she did.

That was why the call today had been a surprise. She had never met the Kazekage before. Period. It wasn’t even ‘I have never met the Kazekage in person before’, but she had literally never met the Kazekage before. She had not been important enough to summon to any of the previous announcements, if there even were any, or if she were even present, but it seemed that today was a difference. She knew Orino was already discharged from ANBU and active ninja duty, so she wouldn’t be here, but a part of her hoped to see her mother-slash-sister-figure pop up from out of the blue, even as she stood in the crowd of ninja all gathered in front of the Kazekage tower. The Kazekage herself was at the top of the tower, standing near the edge where there seemed to be metal railings of some sort.

Aria merely waited in anticipation, either for Orino to pop up, or for the speech to start. This would be her first Kazekage hearing.

Words: 884 out of 884

Slash. Swipe. Slash.

Fiore enjoyed the feeling of her father’s sword in her hand. She herself had yet to purchase her own sword, simply because of the steep prices of good quality weapons that could actually harm their enemy and not break in combat. Right now, her bank account wasn’t enough to cover both the expenses of her ninja career and the price of the sword, though one could argue that the sword could also be assimilated into whatever she needed for her ninja career, since she did dream of becoming a good swordsman, or swordswoman if people wanted to get technical. She had been training her whole life with her father’s sword, and she knew that she had the capabilities to be just as good as one of the revered Seven Swordsmen of the Mist.

She did another slash at the straw dummy she set up in their backyard several hours ago. It was seldom that she used straw dummies. Instead, most of the time, she just flowed through the movements that she had seen both her parents do so effortlessly so many times, swiping, slashing, stabbing, and blocking an invisible and intangible enemy. Today, however, she had been advised by her father to go through the movements and try them out on a straw dummy, and she listened intently to his advice, given she had just recently been completely outmatched by him in a duel. It wasn’t surprising - he did have decades of experience on her, and she was using an unfamiliar sword - but he knew what mistakes to point out and she was determined to listen to it.

As she stabbed the straw dummy in the chest, her mother called out to her. She drew the sword back and looked at the straw dummy, feeling a slight sense of discomfort at the motion that she had done. The sword had felt so unnatural in her hand when she had done the all so natural motion of stabbing that she had familiarised with her mother’s rapier. She didn’t even know why she had stabbed. This sword was meant for cutting, not stabbing, and the two were distinct in how they were used and when they were used. She had instinctively gone for the stab, when a slash across the head would have done just as well.

“Fiore!” her mother called again.

This time, the girl answered, and jogged up to her mother, resting the sword against the wall beside the door.

“We’ve been summoned to hear the Kazekage’s announcement.”

Fiore was surprised by this. It wasn’t always that the Kazekage herself wanted to make an appearance. It wasn’t always that they even knew if the Kazekage herself was still in the village. For her to ask to see all Suna ninja was a surprise indeed, and Fiore could only guess what she was going to say to them. Retirement? Return? An explanation as to where she had been the past few months? Only time would tell, and Fiore felt relieved that her entire family, with both her parents still ninja, were going to be present, so she wouldn’t feel all too lost in the parade of people she barely knew.

They took about an hour to get ready, showering, dressing up, the works, before they set off as a family. Her parents were talkative, and much more relaxed than she was used to during her childhood. The silence they had given her then had been something that had shaped how she acted, now preferring silence and quietness to loud outbursts or conversations. It was probably one of the things that they found disturbing, but as she had never shown any antisocial behaviour despite her preference, they didn’t have a problem with it.

The family of three arrived at the Kazekage tower, where a huge crowd of ninja had already gathered beneath the sun, which today didn’t seem to be glaring down on them as hard as it used to, as if also worshipping the Kazekage’s return to duty. She looked around to, doubtfully, find anyone she knew, and surprisingly, her eyes caught onto a certain purple-haired beauty that she had her eyes on. She knew she had a crush on this girl. It was all but certain after they met in the bookstore, and after they went on that one mission together.

She shifted away from her parents, bidding them goodbye to look for a friend, before sliding up behind the girl and tapping her on the shoulder. Maybe she could get a small greeting in before the Kazekage’s speech went underway.

780 out of 780 words

Daraku's morning was fairly mundane, as he woke early to get in some training. Following that was a large breakfast with his family and they talked about the Kazekage, someone whom Daraku hadn't heard much about since her disappearance. Naturally, he took an interest in their conversation and he leaned in, resting his elbows on the table as he looked to his aunt. "What's this about the Kazekage?" Suzume...her name pulsed through his mind and he remembered his first time meeting her, just outside the village gates, in the aftermath of saving Syekren, in the turbulent tides of his life as a criminal, in his moments of desperation and his declaration of allegiance to Sunagakure. And here he was, over a year later, back in his home leading his clan to a brighter future as he always wanted to. He could thank her for all of it, for she had given him a second chance at getting his life back even after everything he'd done, even after abandoning the village and taking his own path. He wondered if she remembered him the way he remembered her. So much had changed in her absence and he himself had been making a mad political dash to try and inherit the Kazekage position; he supposed this changed things, and his search for a new Ishido leader to replace him would likely be unnecessary, now. And what did she have to say about it? Where had she gone and why? At the very least, she was alive and well, and Daraku was relieved to hear that much.

His aunt said that Suzume had a speech later that afternoon, atop the Kazekage's Peak which apparently overlooked the village. Daraku didn't want to be stuck in the middle of a bustling crowd as the entirety of the village listened to her words of return, but he didn't want to miss the occasion, either, so he assumed the best course of action would be to find an elevated position nearby the peak that he could listen from. Surely there would be plenty of apologies in the speech; the village had been in practical chaos since Suzume left, and she was to blame, but the real substance that prompted Daraku to go was the hope of an explanation. He had a couple of hours of downtime before the speech was to begin, so he dressed in a black and red sleeveless silk shirt with the Ishido symbol on the back, baggy white cotton pants, black sandals, and his Sunagakure headband around his waist like a belt. His signature sword, Namaenashi, was strapped to his back and easily accessible using his left hand. His hair had started to grow long enough to fall over his eyes in messy bangs, with his blond roots showing, and his strong arms pulsed and flexed with every little movement. Staring at himself in the mirror, he chuckled under his breath, seeing how strange he looked now and imagining what he had looked like years prior and how much he'd changed, physically. What did Suzume look like? He would see, in time.

The Sannin finished his coffee and left the Ishido stronghold in a hurry. He climbed to the apex of one of the taller buildings after he'd made his way out of the slums and into the bustling bazaar, then he hopped from rooftop to rooftop, following the currents of the crowds in the sands below. The sun overhead blazed down on everything, sizzling against his skin and causing him to sweat. He wiped a bead of sweat from his brow as he reached a rooftop that was just behind the largest gathering of people, a crowd that was surely comprised of thousands of Sunagakure villagers, from various clans and creeds, shinobi or not. He lifted his head and found his eyes level with the "Kazekage Peak" that his family had spoken of, and he could see a figure standing there, whom he assumed was Suzume herself. His lips bent into a smile. "Would you look at that!...there she is, in the flesh. Can't say I expected her to come back at all, honestly..." his voice trailed off into silence and he waited for her to start her speech.

Yui had done many travels and had been gone for ages but she had finally returned she had managed to forge three alliances and all that while not being a kage. She had also learned Kiri absolutely was not one they should trust of all the nations they were the least friendly and wanting to be a ally. Konoha was more of a non aggression pact but she had a solid alliance with Kumo and Iwa forged. She sure hoped the long lost Kage would be happy, unlike her she had done much over the last year of time, in fact she did more as a non kage then she had ever done in office. She would step into the gates as the guards would easily let her in recognizing their ex kage as she made her way into town it appeared like a lot was going on. The village was super active as she heard mention the kage was going to speak making her wonder just what was going on as she began to follow the masses she would see Shuzume preparing to speak, she was always bad at this sort of thing she wondered just what she had to say. She also needed to talk to her after this with the various alliances and non aggression pacts she had gotten signed. She recognized another man close by as she grinned it was another lazy bum like herself even if she had not been lazy lately she had not seen him around in a long while as she made her way over to the man placing her hand on his shoulder and grinning at him.

"It has been a very long time Daraku so what have you been up to in your lazy days, between you and her I had to deal with more stuff now then when I was Kage. I have good news however I managed to get three alliances set up for the village with only Kiri holding out, I believe they may dislike me a great deal because of the genocide of one of their clans here. They seem to be quite the stickler about that small detail, anyways what do you think she will say, she has not been doing her job and in fact I did her job for her making us finally have safer borders after years of work."

She would continue to wait to hear what the princess would say, this was her nickname for the woman she seemed so delicate compared to Yui or Gin her previous kages before her in office. She likely had a lot to say and explain why she had not been around, she felt as if she was hiding from the boogy man, in all honesty she was not sure what had been going on even her own informants had not been able to gain all the details. She had to talk to her after this event a lot of things were to be discussed plus she had to yell at her for being such a lazy bum, only Yui was allowed to be called the lazy kage of Suna, even if she was a lot less lazy then people assumed.


WC:536
TWC:536

A speech by the kazekage? To be honest I thought that the kazekage was on leave or possibly captured and the village was trying to hush things done. However it seems that this wasn’t the case. Well at least something horrible didn’t happen to the kazekage, well on second thought maybe. For the Kazekage to be calling the entire village it must be quite important. Being a new ninja and all wasn’t really exciting nothing interesting going on, other than the corpse I still have to burn… A good an opportunity as ever to get caught up. Drifting between the thin veil between thought and reality I forced myself out of my room and onto the streets, hopefully heading toward the KazeKage’s Palace. He remembered his role as a cat rescuer, how bad he was at such a simple mission. “Honestly.” The young ninja sighed. He turned around the right corner.
   Hm? There was quite a bit of people here already, it would seem the whole village did come. The streets weren’t completely filled up - nope - It seems that even decided to move at the same time and was filled with a bit of traffic. Now, Tkamaru didn’t hear too many things about the Kazekage at all really. What he did know, excluding the trivial and unimportant information, was that she was on leave for a really long time. And that information was by simple observation, it didn’t take much to notice that the kage of your village wasn’t active. Feeling a bit worried he moved out of the way to the side, Will I make it on time? Not that it really matters. I doubt the kazekage would start this early after the announcement to head to the KazeKage’s Peak, so I wasn’t in too much of a hurry; then an idea struck me. By transforming into a cat I could by-pass all this traffic by climbing the fences and walls. Without hesitation I formed Hitsuji. Imagine something, small, quick, unnoticeable.
   Tkamaru’s opinion of being a cat, amazing. He didn’t have to wait on any one, he could just go wherever he wanted. He did feel a little bad for skipping the line, but there wasn’t a rule that said I had to be human to attend the speech. Proudly the desert cat tread onward to the growing cluster of, (possibly angry) people awaiting their KazeKage. Tkamaru could begin to feel the heat of the blazing sun pouring down it’s radiance on the populace, and the people were well dressed for it. Clothed in light cloth wrapped around their bodies, covering their faces. Luckily a spot was ‘reserved’ for the cat near the buildings, just close enough to clearly hear all the action. Now there was nothing to do but wait and watch.


WC: 480

The Kage of Sunagakure had been lost for a very long time. That had been the rumour passing through the streets for the past few months, and Joan couldn’t blame them. When she had first become a Suna ninja, emigrating here from the capital of the Land of Wind, Suzume Koga had been present in the village, and was a Kage that the entire village looked up to. The future of Sungakure looked bright, and maybe that filled her with hope that, as a ninja of Sunagakure, she would be able to do more good than if she travelled on her own, which may have been one reason she had signed up as a ninja of this village in the first place.

However, just mere months after she had signed up, the Kazekage had disappeared without a trace. People were worried, but with the administration hiding up everything pertaining to her disappearance and absence from her post, there was really nothing anyone could do. The fact that even the administration covered it up meant that the village was probably doing something from the highest levels of discretion, so there was nothing the other ninja of the village could do, and worrying about it was unlikely to change much. Ninja were probably searching for her and following every clue and lead they had, but the rest of the village just had to continue going about their business pretending like everything was okay, and to a certain degree, they managed to do just that.

Missions still kept coming in even despite the absence of the Kage, people still took these missions that were assigned to them by the mission desk, and there had been absolutely no uproar about the Kage’s absence, even if the Kagew as supposed to be the sole figure that remained in the village as not only a beacon of hope and light for the future to her own shinobi, but also as the final form of defence in case something went wrong and war brewed or the village had a target painted onto its back. While life progressed as normal in the village, however, that didn’t mean that there were no rumours circulating the village about the Kazekage’s whereabouts, even if there was a small period of tiem that she had dropped back in to ensure that the village was assured of her being alive.

Many people believed that the Kazekage had become a puppet to the village elders, and she was currently being ‘taught’ the proper ways to run a village. Others believed that the Kazekage had been killed in action, and the village simply didn’t want to reelect another Kazekage in such short notice to avoid the people panicking about the death of their Kazekage so soon after she was handpicked, or for other villages to capitalise on their weakness, even though any village would be suicidal to do so in such times of peace. Some people even believed that the Kazekage was selling off secrets of the nation to other villages, though these more extreme rumours, which were quickly put down, only came up in the recent months, following months of her absence from the village.

Now, however, she was back and in the flesh, and she had called for a mass speech, so everyone would be able to hear her explain herself. Joan almost cursed the timing, too. She had been preparing to leave the village to check on her parents in the Land of Wind. While it was not something she was looking forward to, since she was sure her mother would be throwing more than a simple fit at her running away from home, she knew that as a child she had a responsibility to at least put their fears to rest and assure them she was alive, just like how Suzume was now assuring her village she too was alive. Unfortunately, because this was a summons from the Kazekage herself, so Joan had no choice but to once more delay her leave.

Currently, she stood in the crowd of people, wondering why she had been called, and hearing echoes of her thoughts all around her. Everyone was confused, and Joan’s only regret was that there were no other ninja she knew that she could talk to to pass the time; this was, after all, a Suna ninja only summons, and half of the people she knew were either too high-ranked to be in the masses like she was, or were ninja from other villages.

WC: 760
TWC: 760

OOC Comments To All:

With the wind stilling, she took a few steps forward to the edge of the Peak. The plaza opened up beneath her, revealing the large crowd awaiting her speech. It was a nice warm day, not too hot in this arid environment, at least to her. Even so, she had dressed down for the speech, even though it was a grand event, she had expected the weather to be more striking especially as she knew she’d be completely open to the sun at the high point of the village. Instead of her formal attire, she wore her training outfit composed of a white bandeau for a top, and light fabric pants and boots. In her best attempt to be formal in appearances, she wore her cloak tightly to hide the more informal dress. With the wind blowing from behind her, she was safe in keeping appearances from becoming a distracting focus. To aid this, she even donned the Kazekage cap that her predecessors had worn before her, although wearing it now seemed to only weigh her shoulders with more guilt for having been away from the village so long.

”People of the Hidden Sand,” she called out loudly, her voice reverberating in an echo from her location, although those below her wouldn’t be affected by the sound waves bouncing as she would from her height. Sound was always rather an interesting mechanic of life. ”I have called you today to best end all rumors and set things straight.”

A briefest of synopsis would do at this time. If any required more information, such would be delivered to them upon request. She had told her secretary as much, who seemed to only be watching attentively in the background, out of sight from those below. She was someone Suzume prided in having as part of her staff. Naoki Yuhi, a woman of great worrying and much discipline. As a kunoichi, she had served rather blandly. There was nothing really noteworthy about her skills, yet there wasn’t anything drastically sloppy either. Yet her preparedness was the one thing Suzume had seen to be of highest caliber. Certainly the woman’s future was bright in such a position as secretarial assistant to the Kazekage.

”I, indeed, was away from the village these past months. A terrible threat arose from within shadows, of which I took on personally as it held my own father as hostage. In an effort to keep our village’s name with honor, I felt I had to keep my activity and my vulnerability a secret. However, I had no intentions of being away so long.”

She spoke only in truths. There was nothing to hide from her people now. Upon her return to the village she had already witnessed a rejuvenation within the people. An odd sight to see after so much time had passed without her. These people were strong to carry on without a leader. She had known this as she herself had grown up in a time of a missing Kazekage. To her regret, she had let the new generation also experience a similar situation. Maybe her return would bring about a better result than she had witnessed in her recent years.

”It is with great pride that I can return to you all today and say proudly that the plague has been erased. It is also with great sadness, I must announce to you all that it came at a price. My father, while he had been freed briefly, was killed in battle while protecting the future of this village. Because of his diligence the threat was brought to a timely end.”

Suzume would take a breath. The first part of her speech was over, the explanation spoken. Next she would speak of the village’s present state and what she intended for protecting and extending these people’s futures beyond what her father had allotted for them. She took this brief pause, a mere moment in time, to see the reaction of her people to her speech so far. What are they thinking?

The wait was almost painful.

It was lonely here. Aria knew no one. Everywhere she turned, she could see Suna individuals, proudly wearing their headbands somewhere on their attire. Some chose to, as the name suggested, wear it on their foreheads, while others hung it around their neck, tied it tightly around one of their biceps, or around their waist, over their belt. Everyone had their own style, and Aria could appreciate that; fashion was something that she dabbled in slightly. Though she wouldn’t consider herself an expert even in the slightest, she would have to say that one would be hard-pressed not to look at her and understand that she was an amateur fashionista. Even her glasses were decorative.

It was also very hot out here. The sun was blaring down on her, and dressed in her full uniform outfit, she could feel perspiration beginning to gather on her neck and chest, and whatever sweat was on her body was beginning to seep into her outfit. She didn’t really give two cents about the things that other people would try; rather she was very worried about needing to go home and change immediately. She still wasn’t used to the hot Suna climates, even if she had already been here for almost a decade. She was actually more familiar with the windy plains of the Land of Earth or the shady forests in the Land of Fire. Growing up in these two places tended to prepare one’s body for their climates, instead of a hot, dry, desert.

Aria wished that Suzume would just get on with her speech.

Or, maybe if a certain ex-ninja who went by the name of Orino Shirane would show up unexpectedly, like she tended to at the least expected moments to make Aria’s life miserable, then maybe this wait wouldn’t be so bad. Aria didn’t even care that most of the times Orino showed up without Aria knowing normally went with Orino making a fool out of Aria and the latter comically retorting in response; she just wanted someone to talk to, to distract her from this blazing heat, or the notion she was currently located in the midst of a group of people who she didn’t even know a single damned thing about, aside from their allegiance to Suna.

All of a sudden, however, she felt a small tap on her left shoulder. She was confused. One did not often end up interrupting the Kazekage’s speech, so it was unusual for people to start making conversation just like that unless they already knew each other, and Aria was really sure, last time she checked, she knew no one around her-

The sight that met her eyes almost caused her eyes to widen. Scratch that, her eyes did widen. Standing there, in an attire that almost resembled that of the Kazekage’s, dressed in a white tank top and black short shorts with her hair tied up into a ponytail and tucked above the cute little white visor that she wore everywhere, was Fiore herself.

Aria didn’t think she’d meet Fiore again so soon. There was a saying that once was chance, twice was a coincidence, and thrice was a pattern, and she was definitely seeing a pattern with her always unexpectedly bumping into Fiore. The first time, they had met at a bookshop, with both of them needing a new book, though for very different reasons. The second time, they had met while they were busy guarding the crossroads, and it had been really awkward between the two of them, but in a very heartwarming way. This was the third time they had met, and once again it had been completely unexpected.

Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Aria returned Fiore’s short greeting, albeit stammering a little. “N-Nice to see you here too,” she said.

Before they were able to continue, though, it seemed as if the speech finally begun, for the Kazekage’s voice reverberated through the crowd, which promptly fell silent with respect. Aria turned back to face Suzume, not wishing to show any disrespect to the woman, even if it would be nigh impossible to spot her of all people in the crowd.

“People of the Hidden Sand,” her voice boomed. “I have called you today to bes tend all rumors and set things straight. I, indeed, was away from the village these past months. A terrible threat arose from within shadows, of which I took on personally as it held my own father as hostage. In an effort to keep our village’s name with honor, I felt I had to keep my activity and my vulnerability a secret. However, I had no intentions of being away so long. It is with great pride that I can return to you all today and say proudly that the plague has been erased. It is also with great sadness, I must announce to you all that it came at a price. My father, while he had been freed briefly, was killed in battle while protecting the future of this village. Because of his diligence the threat was brought to a timely end.”

It had been short and sweet, but it had carried the weight of a woman who had seen far too much, far too soon. This always seemed the case with ninja; no one should have to see their parent captured, much less die, and Suzume had been through even more, having to see the one person she aimed to rescue, sacrifice himself in exchange for her. The fact that it was her father only made the entire thing so much more romantic, and not in the lovey-dovey way. Aria could pick out several words in her speech that were specifically tailored to reach out to her audience, in a respectable attempt to reconnect with the shinobi that she had been distanced from for so long, packed in a voice that conveyed both sadness and hope at the same time.

Truly, the Kazekage was someone deserving of her position. Ninja skills aside, her abilities as a politician, so natural with words that otherwise seemed impossible to craft on the spot, was undoubtedly what had secured her position as the leader of a hidden village from her competitors, Aria decided. This was someone who had an art well-practiced, and was able to walk in the shoes of a public figure with no shame as she reached out to those she aimed to.

Perhaps one day, Aria could say the same about herself, not of a Kazekage, but of someone standing not two feet from her.

Words: 1124 out of 2008

“N-Nice to see you here too,” Aria had responded.

So cute. Fiore practically beamed when she heard the purple-haired girl respond to her in such a fashion. She seemed slightly shocked that Fiore was there, even though it should have made sense, considering Fiore herself was also a ninja, and this small little detail was put out of the way the last time they had met. Or, was Aria simply not expecting to meet Fiore here? It would make sense. Fiore had expected to spend the day with her parents, listening to Suzume’s speech and then returning home and back to her swordplay. Meeting Aria was most definitely a surprise in and of itself, but one that Fiore welcomed greatly. It seemed that maybe there was someone up there who smiled upon her.

Fiore wanted to ask Aria how she had been since they had last met. It was only the logical thing to do between two people, especially when one of them wanted to start something more. Or, at least, Fiore hoped she wanted to start something more with Aria. Romance between ninja, while not completely discouraged, wasn’t really encouraged either. Yeah, there was the need to keep the village population going, but many professional ninja saw such petty things as romance being hindrances rather than motivations for ninja, and so while it was a tempting aspect, it was one that was not highly publicised between ninja, even if the more naive tended to go after them very often.

Being a girl entering adulthood, Fiore wasn’t one who was as naive as the others pegged as her peers. This didn’t have as much to do with her age as much as it had to do with her upbringing and her maturity, however. Her parents had always tried to mold her into what they considered the epitome of a ninja, though one that did not have to stoop below the codes of morality and honour. While the latter two were often laughable completely unfounded. There were codes that ninja followed to keep them in line, though they were far below those of the only other military profession around, that of samurai. Besides, ninja needed something to keep them sane, and in most cases, appealing to their human nature through the values inculcated within them since their youth was the best way to go.

Fiore had been brought up taught the values of being a ninja, as well as the values of being human. Her parents had been the rare few that had stepped the tightrope between monster and human, bringing her up to what many believed was someone who could execute her duties well enough, without having to sacrifice any of her humanity to get the job effectively done. She wouldn’t hesitate on missions even if it required her to kill innocent children not even past the age of five, but doing so didn’t entail her to constantly be burdened by such actions, and her lack of a conscience was also remedied by said conscience constantly popping up whenever she was at home, though the focus was of course not on what she had done during the mission. She was a complicated individual, more so than most her age, who was both a human and a monster, and also at the same time neither.

The Kazekage’s speech, though, interrupted her from continuing her conversation with Aria. Fiore turned to look at the Kazekage, who wore an outfit curiously similar to hers (or maybe Fiore just dressed like the Kazekage, since that would be much more believable to the masses).

“People of the Hidden Sand,” Suzume’s voice sounded. “I have called you here today to best end all rumors and set things straight. I, indeed, was away from the village these past months. A terrible threat arose from within the shadows, of which I took on personally as it held my own father hostage. In an effort to keep our village’s name with honour, I felt I had to keep my activity and my vulnerability a secret. However, I had no intentions of being away so long. It is with great pride that I can return to you all today and say proudly that the plague has been erased. It is also with great sadness, I must announce to you all that it came at a price. My father, while he had been freed briefly, was killed in battle while protecting the future of this village. Because of his diligence the threat was brought to a timely end.”

After that, there existed a small pause. It seemed like it was the end to the first part of Suzume’s speech, and it did answer many questions. Fiore, and the few Koga children she knew, had been wondering what had happened to their Kazekage, who was also a part of their clan. There were many rumours that had circled the village, and the safest ones revolved around there simply being so much work to get Sunagakure back to prominence on the international stage that the Kazekage had locked herself up in her office, literally, trying to get all the paperwork in order. It appears though, that this idealistic fantasy had been debunked as false, since the Kazekage herself had admitted that she had been away from the village for a long time.

To hear that her father had been the cause though was a shock. While Fiore didn’t know the Kazekage’s family personally, being from the same clan meant that she at least knew of them, and she knew that Suzume, and her father, were no slouches. To understand that there were people out there who could take on not only the Kazekage, but to take her father down with him to enable her escape, struck a cord within Fiore. Maybe it was because she too was a Koga that it highlighted the gap between her and actually making a difference in the world. Maybe it was because she had been always at the top of the class that to understand that even at the highest levels of her village, her ninja could still be outclassed that it made her fear.

Or maybe it was just the knowledge that her still having a long way to go as a ninja clashed heavily with who she wanted to spend time with.

1071 out of 1851 words

Someone approached Daraku, and he turned as he felt their presence growing near. A woman with dark, violet hair and strong look in her eyes. He hadn't seen her around since, well, before Gin was Kazekage even. He couldn't remember exactly how old he had been, but he knew that Yui had been Kazekage at one point, and it was nice to see her. She asked him how his "lazy days" were going, and the thought made him chortle a bit. As if his days had been so lazy...he wished they had, he really did, but the hospital was exhausting and so were the recent affairs within his clan. It was a lot of stress, though he knew how to both manage it and how to maintain his sarcasm and cynicism just the same regardless. He gave her a grin. "My lazy days are nonexistent, lately. Despite that, work is work, and I don't particularly mind." Yui went on to address the fact that she had established alliances with other villages, aside from Kiri due to some sort of tragic genocide that occurred in Suna. Daraku just sort of stared at her, blinking a few times. He hadn't heard about a genocide as of late, and maybe he was out of the loop. Nonetheless, he was surprised. She brushed off the subject and asked what he thought about what Suzume would say, but he wasn't readily dropping the mention of genocide so quickly."Damn, sounds serious. So long as we have other alliances going, I suppose we can't complain, although an entire clan dying is a big deal."

As for what he thought Suzume would say, well, his prediction was as good as any other. He had no idea where she had been or what she'd been doing but it was fair to assume that there would be plenty of apologies and plenty of justifications for her absence. "I don't know, really. We'll find out soon. She's about to start now." Daraku's mind prepared to condense and interpret whatever formalized information he was about to receive. Suzume started with a reason why she had gathered so many villagers there; she wanted to set things straight. A fairly obvious and necessary task. Daraku raised his eyebrows a bit. She went on to say that her father had been taken hostage, and she had gone into hiding to protect herself while she opposed this threat against the village that no one had known about. A frightening thought, but Daraku was (over)confident enough in his abilities that he assured himself there was never any threat to the village at all so long as he (and maybe some other shinobi) were there to protect it. Suzume couldn't take on the world by herself, and yet she certainly had tried, and apparently succeeded. She claimed her father was freed and then promptly killed in battle while trying to act as a guardian for Sunagakure.

Daraku didn't know anything about Suzume's father. For all intents and purposes, the man didn't exist prior to this speech. Suddenly this man held a great importance to some, surely, since becoming a martyr for a village is a big deal. Daraku personally wasn't affected by the news of Suzume's father's death, although he was glad to see Suzume survived the ordeal. His only acknowledgement was a quick thought of, I'm not the only one who has dealt with recent loss, then. How reassuring. Even when thinking to himself, his sarcasm was sharp and stinging in his imagined tone. Anyway, the threat that they'd been facing was still completely unidentified, and Suzume hadn't gone into much detail, but it was supposedly "erased" now and no one had anything to worry about. What did this mean for the future of Sunagakure? And how had all of this changed Suzume? She lacked the same spark in her eye; as she spoke, she seemed detached and jaded. Or maybe that was just how Daraku saw it. He hadn't talked to her personally, and his perception and interpretation of her speech thus far could've been incorrect. He looked on silently and waited for her to continue, his hands slipping quietly into his pockets and resting there.

She listened to Daraku as she simply smiled at him as the kage began to speak and mention her life was in danger Yui began to grit her teeth, so she had left and hid like a coward instead of fighting or asking for help. Yui was enraged at her, so this entire time she was gone and Yui had worked so hard was because her Kage was afraid for her life, she was scared and ran after everything Yui had been through before her. After nearly dying to the former Kage that had assassins try to kill her Yui never ran she stood her ground and survived to the best of her ability.

"SUZUME ARE YOU TELLING ME THIS ENTIRE TIME WAS BECAUSE YOU WERE PISSING YOUR PANTS AND HIDING IN FEAR.... I went and got our village safely from almost every village while you hid in the shadows like a child scared of the dark... AFTER EVERYTHING I WENT THROUGH YOU ARE TELLING ME ITS BECAUSE YOU WERE SCARED OF A FUCKING ASSASSIN... We need to talk after this Suzume... we need a serious talk because the fact you wouldn't trust the god dam former Kage with this information with my resources I could have made sure all those that wanted to harm you faced quick death..."

It was a slap in her face as her nails dug into her hand how could she tell her something like this, she hid like a coward all her respect she had for her was gone. This village sickened her to think no one told her in all this time that information she was a outcast, her violent way of taking care of things had been replaced by hiding in the shadows afraid of ones shadow. Yui was literally disgusted to have this person as her Kage, she stepped down because she knew she could not handle the job p[properly with all the red tape. This girl however hung on and did not tell anyone anything, only leaving the village basically leaderless, and forcing Yui to have to do massive work getting all those treaties signed.

WC:357
TWC:893

That seems like a good spot. Looking up at the tall building Tkamaru quickly ascended the climb, clinging to the building with his chakra filled paws. The clay was surprising much cooler than he thought it would be. But that was of little concern. It didn’t take too long to complete, the top of this building wasn’t too crowed by people, maybe a few families but there was more than enough room for a few dozen people. Settling near the edge he looked toward down on the crowd. When are they going to start? He wondered. He was unsure of any expected time, the message was to just head over here, and it was kind of sudden... The heated atmosphere was beginning to affect even Tkamaru. He was causally laid back on-top one of the taller buildings near where the it was supposed to take place along with a few others who were caught up in the excitement as well. As for Tkamaru, it wasn’t excitement as much as it was mere curiosity, and it wasn’t that bad to be among normal people like this. Then the children near him began barking excitedly. Getting into a sitting position close to the edge he noticed the lightly cloaked figure, he couldn’t see too well but there was no mistaking their identity when they began to speak.
"People of the Hidden Sand, I have called you today to best end all rumors and set things straight." The way the people reacted, was mostly silence, there were a few loud gasps Tkamaru could pick out. Otherwise the crowd was staring down the KazeKage, it was as if they were fixed to that position. This didn't seem like it was out of a lot of respect, instead out of the fact that the Kazekage was actually here. The KazeKage continued on with the speech.
”I, indeed, was away from the village these past months. A terrible threat arose from within shadows, of which I took on personally as it held my own father as hostage. In an effort to keep our village’s name with honor, I felt I had to keep my activity and my vulnerability a secret. However, I had no intentions of being away so long.” I would certainly hope that the KazeKage wasn't planning on leaving the village. As for the rest, he wasn't expecting to hear her to be gone for months, one or even two months would- should've been all that our KazeKage needed. Whatever she was doing must have been something very interesting.
”It is with great pride that I can return to you all today and say proudly that the plague has been erased. It is also with great sadness, I must announce to you all that it came at a price. My father, while he had been freed briefly, was killed in battle while protecting the future of this village. Because of his diligence the threat was brought to a timely end.” Her father? My sympathies immediately went to the KazeKage, when his own parents were discovered dead he couldn't believe what he was hearing, and he was going to be alone... And he still was. I hope that the person who had done this the KazeKage, would be suffering horribly, if they weren't already dead. The death of his parents left some pretty big problems for him, until Kana came along. It felt as if those wounds had finally healed and I could move on, then I fried her into ashes… He could be the Kazekage had felt the same way when it happened. Getting back to the main issue now that the Kazekage had returned what was she planning? Or was this all some attempt at an apology? It that was the case it didn’t seem to go well with some people. Although the crowd had been attentive for the most part, there was semi-audible screaming down below. This ‘ought to be interesting, Suddenly deciding to joining the bulk of the crowd, the cat named Tkamaru ran back down, his paws almost moving on their own as gravity started to pull him toward the earth. He was half-way to the ground before he slipped. Oh no. Was all he thought of before his cat form plummeted to the sandy crowded streets. The shock of possible dying made him cling back to the wall, though he was still sliding rapidly until he focused his chakra back into his paws. Now his front paws were all that held him to the wall, though still horrified of what might have happened he wan’t to get back to the ground as soon as possible. This time he took his time walking to the bottom and didn’t fall. When the cat finally reached the ground he gave a mental sigh of relief. The area in front of the building wasn’t packed to the brim just the exit which let to the main crowd. This was close enough to were he could hear the KazeKage and the replies of the crowd. That was close, better just stick to the ground next time, the tired cat then trudged toward the maze of people. I just hope everyone doesn’t start running all at once now.






893 words / 1373 total

”People of the Hidden Sand,” the Kazekage’s voice boomed.

Even from her point so far below the Kazekage tower, Joan could hear the woman loud and clear. Joan tensed. The speech was finally beginning. Perhaps the Suna-nin, and herself, would get all their questions answered now. Where had the Kazekage been up till now? What had Suzume been up to? Why had no one been informed of anything of this sort? Why had she not informed the village of her extended leave of absence? Joan didn’t have enough fingers to count the number of questions regarding Suzume that were currently running through her head.

“I have called you today to best end all rumours and set things straight.”

That was straight to the point, and Joan’s ears perked up even more, if that was even possible. Politics had long bored her, considering she had grown up in the very midst of the politics that formed traditional societal norms like castes and gender discrimination. However, her Kazekage was a different story. For someone of that status to go missing without prior notification (to most of her ninja, at least) was something that would stir up great cause for concern. And indeed, it had stirred up concern all around the village, which was probably why Suzume herself wanted to personally debunk those rumours before they got out of hand, with dissidents twisting the words of her spokesperson.

“I, indeed, was away from the village these past months. A terrible threat arose from within the shadows, of which I took on personally as it held my own father hostage. In an effort to keep our village’s name with honour, I felt I had to keep my activity and my vulnerability a secret. However, I had no intentions of being away so long.”

A terrible threat? It seemed unforgivingly vague, and the fact that the Kazekage herself had to execute a solo rescue mission spoke volumes about her and the village. It wasn’t so much that her father had been kidnapped; the Kazekage’s relatives were of course highly targeted by people wishing to make a quick buck, though it often didn’t end well for them. The main thing that stuck with Joan was how the Kazekage had taken the matter into her own hands, seemingly acting out of impulse and emotion rather than logic. Was this really the woman who had been expected to lead the Sand back to an age of prosperity and flourish? Would her impulsive actions really reach out to her ninja? Or was it instead the strength of her emotions, regardless of her profession, that had elevated her to Kazekage in the first place?

“It is with great pride that I can return to you all today and say proudly that the plague has been erased. It is also with great sadness, I must announce to you all that it came at a price. My father, while he had been freed briefly, was killed in battle while protecting the future of this village. Because of his diligence the threat was brought to a timely end.”

Joan breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that a threat as bad as that had been put to rest. There were many dangerous individuals in this world, and to know that they were one member less was relieving to a small-time ninja like her, who would probably be unable to stand up against a pack of wild animals, much less someone who could give the Kazekage a run for her money. The more humane side of Joan felt sorry for Suzume; it was never easy seeing one’s loved ones die. To know that you were the reason they passed on was so much more crippling.

However, that humane side was suppressed by the more, hypocritically, emotive side that was beginning to arise. Suzume’s father had sacrificed himself to save her, just as any father would. Her own father had put everything on the line when he had allowed her to leave, and she had never even bothered checking in before, for pitiful excuses of ‘still learning the ways of the world’.

She would need to return home soon. Her parents were her greatest concern.

WC: 710
TWC: 1470

Almost immediately, she got her answer. There was an outcry by one individual. The words were spoken in volume, yet at her height the words were unclear. However, the tone behind the words reached Suzume clearly. Whoever it was, they were not so happy with what she had said. Of course, she had expected some resistance as she had basically jumped ship just as the previous Kazekage before her had disappeared, leaving the village in a vulnerable state. At the very least, Suzume could say it was for her to personally root out the threat while the village was too weak to face such a threat.

Being vague about her latest activities might not be the best in gaining back the trust of her people, but such a public area, Suzume knew she could never speak such delicate matters for any and all ears to hear. The mini-campaign she enacted by herself would forever be secretive operation.  Very few ears would learn the full details behind her vague truths. If that made Suzume look weak and unstable as a leader to the masses, then so be it. Such burdens would have to be carried by someone in these moments of crises, who better than her? Still, understanding how this would affect how the public viewed her worried her. She remembered the words of the Hokage after she confronted him about the matters of his own shinobi. Such a calm man even when knowing that public viewpoints on him would be radically different than what he should be remembered for. Was such a fate to be hers as well?

”And so after these several months of my secretive actions now over,” she began again upon her clearing of her throat. There was no point in trying to quell the outcry. Overthinking led to more mistakes. Pressing forward was the only option, as always. ”I’ve come back with renewed determination to see our village rise beyond its current state. When last I saw Suna, I was worried for her. Coming back from beating down a threat to her, there is only way for her to go: forward.”

The transition was set. Now to see if her public speaking lessons would work or not. Going against clan culture, she exhibited emotion profusely to all of the village. Nothing but pure passion would be felt as she raised her voice in confidence. These words needed to pack a punch.

”It is true that this village has seen better days. It has also seen worse. Still we stand here today. While even threats rise against us today, another one falls beneath us like the sand we trod. In my latest movements, I witnessed the state of other nations and their growth. All I saw was quantity. But what I see here, now, standing before my eyes is quality.  The other villages live through times of plenty, but we have been fighting for what we have since day one. None can compare to our training regiment as we have grown to thrive in a desert. Nature itself works against us out in this harsh, dry land. That is what separates us from all the rest. We our bred into a finer quality of men and women than any other village in the world could hope to reach. And it’s of such high quality that I expect us to constantly prove ourselves worthy whatever future trials come our way.”

”Outsiders look at us and think us insane to live in such a wilderness. They think it worthless and futile to live here, and beyond this they think the land a boring wasteland. Yet they’ll never know what marvelous sunsets exist here, nor the starry skies, nor the vast horizon that lies before us. Limited by the comfort of their own environment, they will never understand the true struggle and the true beauty we witness every day.”

”I’ve returned with renewed strength from facing this latest threat, and I encourage you all to hone yourselves in a way that no one else can. We are the Hidden Sand, shinobi and kunoichi of a much higher grit because we toil through the harshest of environments. So grow, and train so when the next threat rises against this village, the world will know the Hidden Sand are the highest caliber ninja that ever did live!”

She finished strongly with her right arm out in front of her, a clenched fist of passion displayed for all to see.  Her eyes would scan the crowd below her to estimate the response. There were things that outsiders always used in its conniving ways to garner support from within the Hidden Sand, promises of living in worlds of paradise and comfort as compared to the Village Hidden in the Sand. This was more-so the biggest point she wanted to drive home and influence people with, to best root in loyalty which seemed to be so dangerously rare after her escapade with the shinobi who had killed her father, a man pretending to have loyalty to the Hidden Rock while serving for an organization under the Hidden Leaf which had gone rogue against its own Hokage. If these were such times, she needed to at least have her people loyal to the village, even if they decided not to support her following such a long disappearance from their home and public eye.

If anything, believe in Suna.

Suzume hoped the message would get through and reach the hearts of her people. Or even learn that such sentiment was already there. That would be the ideal.  However her absence was sure to bring dissenters, if not at least protestors against her own leadership.

The speech over, she turned her head and gave a glance to her secretary. Immediately she weaved handsigns from behind the crevice, out of sight from the crowd below. Garnering a deep breath, the woman unleashed five basketball sized scorching hot fireballs, signature of her scorch release kekkei genkai. The fireballs shot overhead and into the sky, exploding in a dazzling and heated series of smaller explosions, raining slowly down like flickering sparks of flame that withered out just before reaching the crowd. While a marvelous show of explosive delight, the heat from these scorching explosions would be felt by the crowd, in a strong radiance which would last for a few seconds before the climate would return.

While the explosions were set off, Suzume would have already turned and begun heading away from the peak’s edge. It was time to get to work. There were people to see and a lot more questions to respond to now that she had made a grand return home. First, she would need to call these people to her...

“And so, after these several months of my secretive actions now over,” she began with an audible clearing of her throat, “I’ve come back with renewed determination to see our village rise beyond its current state. When I last saw Suna, I was worried for her .Coming back from beating down a threat to her, there is only one way for her to go: forward.”

“It is true that this village has seen better days. It has also seen worse. Still we stand here today. While even threats rise against us today, another one falls beneath us like the sand we trod. In my latest movements, I witnessed the state of other nations and their growth. All I saw was quantity. But what I see here, now, standing before my eyes is quality.  The other villages live through times of plenty, but we have been fighting for what we have since day one. None can compare to our training regiment as we have grown to thrive in a desert. Nature itself works against us out in this harsh, dry land. That is what separates us from all the rest. We our bred into a finer quality of men and women than any other village in the world could hope to reach. And it’s of such high quality that I expect us to constantly prove ourselves worthy whatever future trials come our way.”

Aria thought about her words. It was true that a threat had fallen to the Kazekage, but what of others? The Kazekage’s disappearance had left much to be desired from the general populace, and surely not everyone was willing to hand the reins back to a Kage who had been not only away from the public eye for months, but away from the village in all surety. Aria realised that, in essence, the Kazekage had left Sunagakure completely undefended by her most powerful and most respected ninja, instead opting to go after a criminal that took her on a journey far from Sunagakure itself. Knowing that their strongest ninja was absent, yet having no further defenses set up (at least to the public eye) would be enough to drive the entire population into a craze.

They had been left unprotected. They had been left alone. They had been left at the mercy of the world.

Truly, while Sunagakure itself was stronger than that, as exemplified by the Kazekage’s speech on how the desert had tempered them into machines capable of fighting even the hardest wars due to the harsh conditions of the desert that each Sunagakure ninja had to wake up to, that didn’t mean that a machine couldn’t break. A machine was but a tool, and while Aria was aware that they as ninja were never seen by her as tools, it didn’t change the fact that as machines of war, they could be broken, and the most convenient way of doing so was removing the head. In this case, Suzume had not been removed, but had willingly stepped off the controls. She had left the machine running on its own, and no one had been the wiser until now.

Perhaps even Suzume was aware of this, Aria thought. Perhaps she was aware of the possibility of a rebellion even as she claimed that they would be able to weather all future trials that came their way, or perhaps she was simply being optimistic that they would be able to live through anything, being one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages that had stood against, and with, the sands of time for centuries.

”Outsiders look at us and think us insane to live in such a wilderness. They think it worthless and futile to live here, and beyond this they think the land a boring wasteland. Yet they’ll never know what marvelous sunsets exist here, nor the starry skies, nor the vast horizon that lies before us. Limited by the comfort of their own environment, they will never understand the true struggle and the true beauty we witness every day. I’ve returned with renewed strength from facing this latest threat, and I encourage you all to hone yourselves in a way that no one else can. We are the Hidden Sand, shinobi and kunoichi of a much higher grit because we toil through the harshest of environments. So grow, and train so when the next threat rises against this village, the world will know the Hidden Sand are the highest caliber ninja that ever did live!”

Aria could attest to that. She had indeed believed that Suna ninja were crazy to make their living out in the harshness of the desert, where the only solace came from the very harsh nature of their living environment acting as a deterrent from any ninja brave enough to attack the village. Those had been her thoughts in the early days, when she was just recovering in the hospital and wondering it if was a blessing or a curse that she had been brought to the one village that her parents would never dare to venture to simply out of fear that they would die of dehydration. It had taken her awhile to adjust to the words of her guardian that Sunagakure, despite her many faults, was beautiful simply because she had them. To weather such harsh weathers were what had given Sunagakure her current beauty, as she stood proud amidst the constantly shifting dunes of sand around her.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and thought that it was Fiore. A quick turn of her head however, showed that it was instead her guardian, who despite being a retired ninja had decided to show up at the Kage assembly. On her face was a smile even as she looked up at Suzume, taking in the words of the Kage that she had for the last few years of her life as a ninja served loyally under.

“Do you believe what she says, Aria?” Orino asked.

“...Orino?” Aria stuttered, unsure what her guardian was asking.

“Suzume didn’t get to her position out of favouritism. She worked hard for it, and she is as fine a Kage as we will ever have,” Orino answered. “Even if she has been gone for a very long time, she’s ready to see this village through even harsher times, and I can promise you there are harsher times ahead.”

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it,” Orino replied. “Our Kazekage has just returned. It’s common knowledge she’s gone. There’s bound to be dissenters in the village. Other Kage won’t hold her in as high a regard as they should for seemingly abandoning her village. Wouldn’t you agree that Suna is, even if not to the naked eye, in one of her weakest moments?”

“I suppose…” Aria answered after a short pause.

It was at this point in time that Aria heard a loud explosion in the sky, and looked up to see what appeared to be fireworks dropping down. She had no clue where they had come from, having been pondering the words of her guardian, but then she felt Orino’s other hand rest on her remaining shoulder, before Orino pulled her close.

“But even if she’s in one of her weakest moments, don’t you think she’s still going to weather it like she always has?”

“... I suppose so…” Aria answered. “Orino… if you feel so strongly about the village, why did you quit being a ninja?”

“Hmm?” Orino asked without moving her attention away from the Kazekage’s tower, even if Suzume had already gone. “I suppose it’s because nurturing Sunagakure can come in many forms. I just decided to pull back from the frontlines and make sure you’re ready for it.”

“Ready for what, exactly?” Aria asked, apprehension in her voice. Was there going to be war? There seldom were ‘frontlines’ unless two parties were going to clash heavily against each other, and she was worried that she would be thrown into the midst of it. Orino had promised to prepare her for it, but would it really be enough?

“For everything,” Orino answered cryptically, and even despite the worry that occupied her heart, there was something that made it skip a beat at the word ‘everything’, and Aria was certain it the girl that her eyes had drifted to all of a sudden.

Yes, she would be ready for everything. Even her.

Especially her.

Words: 1424 out of 3432

Fiore continued listening to her Kage speak, ears ready to take in any wisdom that Suzume may impart on the ninja populace, whether directly or not. She had been heavily trained in the ways of the ninja and it almost came second nature to her to look at everything from the perspective of a ninja, not a twenty-year-old girl entering her young adult years.

“And so after these several months of my secretive actions now over, I’ve come back with renewed determination to see our village rise beyond its current state. When I last saw Suna, I was worried for her. Coming back from beating down a threat to her, there is only way for her to go: forward.”

And with renewed determination, did she convey all this. Fiore could practically see the strength radiating from their Kage, one who had just lost her father and been outclassed in a match of strength with another who wished to see Sunagakure burn. In the face of that, knowing that she wasn’t strong enough to carry out her oath to protect the village, knowing that she had to abandon it to save it, knowing that she had to abandon it to save someone personal against the security interests of her village, knowing that she had failed to do even that… and still standing in front of her people proud and ready to lead them once more if they would have her.

Fiore didn’t know what the rest of the populace thought, but she for one was definitely ready to embrace Suzume as their leader once again, not just of the village itself, but also of the clan. Now that her father had died, it was understandable that it would come to Suzume to inherit the position as clan head, even if she was likely already acting clan head since a long time ago. Fiore didn’t know; she didn’t keep up with the clan’s internal politics as much as she kept up with those of her village, and of others. Matters of the clan she preferred to leave to her parents, whom she idly noted were standing where they were, eyes trained on her yet also focused on the Kazekage herself as her speech touched every person before her, whether positively or negatively.

“It is true that this village has seen better days. It has also seen worse. Still we stand here today. While even threats rise against us today, another one falls beneath us like the sand we trod. In my latest movements, I witnessed the state of other nations and their growth. All I saw was quantity. But what I see here, now, standing before my eyes is quality.  The other villages live through times of plenty, but we have been fighting for what we have since day one. None can compare to our training regiment as we have grown to thrive in a desert. Nature itself works against us out in this harsh, dry land. That is what separates us from all the rest. We our bred into a finer quality of men and women than any other village in the world could hope to reach. And it’s of such high quality that I expect us to constantly prove ourselves worthy whatever future trials come our way.”

And it was of that high quality that Fiore would ensure she displayed if the time ever came for it. She had been training all her life, and had been trained all her life, to be the perfect ninja. Not perfect in the sense that she could suppress all emotions and become nothing more than a tool to be used and discarded at the whims of her superiors, as she was aware that there were many who held that sentiment about ninja, but rather a perfect ninja in the sense that she knew what was right, and she was disciplined enough to see it through. At least, that was her parents’ definition of being the perfect ninja when they had begun teaching her how to fight at the young age of four, inadvertently in the process also killing off her disposition towards the more open nature of life.

”Outsiders look at us and think us insane to live in such a wilderness. They think it worthless and futile to live here, and beyond this they think the land a boring wasteland. Yet they’ll never know what marvelous sunsets exist here, nor the starry skies, nor the vast horizon that lies before us. Limited by the comfort of their own environment, they will never understand the true struggle and the true beauty we witness every day.”

Nor will the understand the true beauty that Fiore would come to witness everyday. All her life she had grown up with her parents, always being the one people counted on for her skills, yet never being the one to stand in the spotlight simply because she didn’t like to be the center of attention, opting instead to supplement whoever she was with with her skills from the sidelines or from behind the scenes. Many of her friends had liked her because of this, since it had allowed them to take advantage of her apparent shyness to steal some of the glory for themselves… but maybe they weren’t really friends in that regard.

Fiore didn’t let that thought linger too long. Everyone had their ups and downs, like how Suzume must have had an up when she had been appointed Kage of one of the five villages that still remained strong despite centuries of weathering the storms, and how she must have recently had a down with the entire fiasco of leaving her village which ended up with her father dead. She herself had ups and downs, though none could possibly compare to the levels of Suzume’s own, having been bumped up to one of the most important figures to live in the history of ninja by simply having her achievements acknowledged through the crowning of the Koga as the Sand’s very own Kazekage years ago.

”I’ve returned with renewed strength from facing this latest threat, and I encourage you all to hone yourselves in a way that no one else can. We are the Hidden Sand, shinobi and kunoichi of a much higher grit because we toil through the harshest of environments. So grow, and train so when the next threat rises against this village, the world will know the Hidden Sand are the highest caliber ninja that ever did live!”

Suzume finished her speech with her right arm held out in front of her, clenched hard. Fiore thought it odd that the person who represented their clan, being the clan head and everything, was showing such display of emotion that went strongly against their clan’s very teachings, but she supposed that it was a tradeoff that had to be made when one was in such a position. Here, Suzume wasn’t appearing to them as the Koga clan head, but rather the Kage of Sunagakure, and it was as such that the primary focus on her mind would be to appeal to the local populace, not to her fellow clan members. In any other setting where she were acting as clan head ahead of being Kazekage, she may have been the reserved woman that most Koga females found themselves to be, but this was no such moment and she was exhibiting no such behaviour.

Fiore continued staring forth, her very own stance the epitome of a Koga with the ease of stillness that years of training had brought her, and the lack of any actual emotion showing on her face, betraying the inner turmoil in her mind. She turned her head to regard her parents, who both looked at her expectantly. The assembly was over and Suzume herself had retreated amidst a show of spectacular fireworks that served to both illuminate the surroundings and give the village a small burst of heat. Whether that last one was necessary or not was probably dependant on whatever mood Suzume was attempting to achieve, but Fiore herself found it rather discomforting, what with Suna already being located in a blazing desert.

She let her eyes once more drift to Aria, who was standing just two feet to her right, and noticed that she was conversing with someone who had both hands on her shoulders. Believing that this was likely one of Aria’s family members, or at least someone whom Aria trusted as an adult, given the lack of resemblance between the pair, Fiore decided that whatever had transpired between them would be sufficient for the day, and opted to continue it some other time, just as they had always been forced to.

Without bidding her goodbye, Fiore took to walk to her parents, finding it for once just slightly difficult to remain composed.

1492 out of 3343 words

Suzume seemed to be intent on painting fantastic imagery of the village as a powerful force to be reckoned with. She entered into long, contrived rambling about how the village had survived harsher times and how everyone in it was essentially a survivor thought to be mad by outsiders because of the desert environment Sunagakure villagers called home. Daraku's interest was starting to drop, but he shouldn't have expected all that much in the first place. Her return speech wasn't going to be anything but trying to establish a sense of security, what the villagers had been hurting for so badly since her disappearance. The best way to regain the village's faith and well-being was to tell them, "Everything's alright now. We're strong. Be strong." Even with the emotion in Suzume's voice to back it up, the whole spiel seemed so manufactured and uninspired that Daraku started to tune out a bit. His eyes scanned the crowds below, and he noticed that a few of his clansmen had shown up, too. Despite looking down on them from a far distance, Daraku could see looks in their eyes were bright and hopeful, watching their Kazekage both in allegiance and in awe. The ever-so lighthearted Ishido's lips turned into a grin as he felt the warmth. Words are words and they serve whatever purpose they need to, but Daraku had always been full of raw emotion and that's what he saw in everyone around him. The air was full of optimism and the entirety of Sunagakure no Sato was facing its future, in that moment.

That final push, that "We are the Hidden Sand", really sent some people in the crowd into a frenzy of applause and cheering. Daraku didn't say anything, he just stared ahead, his eyes boring into the Kazekage's peak and Suzume's thin form. Her voice echoed throughout the sands as a rallying call. Did she really believe that? Sunagakure ninja were of the "highest caliber that ever lived"? The village was practically in shambles in her absence and Daraku was one of very few high ranking ninja in the village, compared to the other villages of the Five Great Nations where their shinobi forces were substantial, to say the least. He remembered his time in Konoha years ago and how many powerful shinobi were around when the Hokage was assassinated. Sunagakure was weak, whether or not anyone was willing to admit it, and her encouragement may have made the villagers feel better, but it was hollow. Actions speak louder than words. Daraku would have to see Suna-nin working their way towards equal standing with the other villages in terms of power before he would buy into this mindless nationalism, as much as he considered Sunagakure more than any other place as his true home. He let out a sigh and Suzume took another pause, letting the cries and the chanting and the shouting of the people fill the silence.

Yui continued to listen as her words appeared ignored by Suzume as she listened to her she could feel it this was nothing more then a political rally and show to please the mindless masses. For her however this was the worlds greatest slap in the face and insult, she did not even try to say anything important and the fire works were eye candy to those that would follow someone without fail. She turned her head away from this joke as she would begin to storm off, this was absurd anyone could fall for this, she was very angry it was clear Suzume needed to be replaced, this was the worst joke of all time and there was no way she would leave her in power for much longer.

"This was such a joke, guess it is time to make my moves, I cannot leave my village in the care of someone that meant nothing they just said. I really just wanted a quiet life but that simply wont happen, I will have to make the changes needed myself until a suitable and good replacement is chosen."

With those words said Yui would begin to walk away from this meeting, what a joke it truly was, she felt in suited and betrayed by this action. She had assumed Suzume was returning and the village would be good again, however it was shattered by the very words she had just heard. She needed to talk to some old friends as she would think of a way to talk to Bokuden if he was still alive, she had not heard from him in a very long time but maybe he still lived. Either way she would going to either have this handed to her willingly or take it by force she would become the Kage again in order to protect her village.


"I never thought I would have to do this but I have been left with no choice, this was the last straw and it seems her clan has gotten theirs heads full of themselves. I had hoped they were going to help change the village but it feels like the same family scandals and corruption I once purged with the Kaguya... I wont accept this ever again I will have a talk with her and with her clan, they need to hear my warning and I hope they listen well."

She would walk away from the crowd appearing to vanish among the others, this was not a revolution but a intervention to prevent past mistakes from repeating, she could not risk another Kaguya situation ever again, after she had to do what she did, she never wanted to do that again.

WC:458
TWC:1,351