Sero now sat alone in the office. The elders had gone back to theyre old people ways and now he was sitting in the seat. He felt like he was too young for this. He had barely needed to begin shaving recently and the peach fuzz around his jaw showed he had forgotten yet again. Though it did make him seem slightly older.

His mind began to drift a little. What kind of Ninja was he really? He had never really taken a serious hit that he could remember. A bruise in the chunnin exams and two small burns he had purposefully stood there for. How could he measure up to Kage who had barely managed to survive at times? Even as a genin Sero had been marked as too extreme. And now he had been shocked to find the people stood behind him because he followed orders and got shit done.

He began to review over the names in the folders he had gotten and the recent activity. Almost all the recent activity was out dated...How could it be that an entire village was so lazy? He had around 30 folders on his desk and like 5 of them where of any use recently.

Sero sighs and takes a deep breath. It was fine. He could fix this even if he had to do it alone. First he needed to build the strength of his people. Then once that was done he needed to begin hunting down the traitors. Too many people where renegade and his intel showed the mass murderer of old Kiri was yet to be brought to justice.

He lets his mind drift to his old squad leader Hikou. A burning corpse. Sero wasn't sure if he had ever really caught up to the guy in power. But Hikou had been powerless against the enemy. Otto was back in town but seemed interested in laying low for a time...What kind of training had he been off doing all this time anyways?

Tsuneko had received the notification that Jurou’s absence had gone on too long and that he had been replaced. Though not one to say it out loud, she was pleased at the action the council had taken. Despite his rank of Mizukage, she held little respect for a man whom would run off to Suna with some woman while his own village was still a smoking heap of ruins. What kind of Kage would disappear after a tragedy, especially when he had only just been promoted to the rank? She didn’t know his replacement well, but on their journey here, Sero had shown signs of being a good leader and was certainly formidable in combat, both of which were positive traits for a village that had been razed by an enemy ninja.

When she received the word of his promotion, she figured that she would run into him at some point, there were still not that many people in the village, and would glean some more information from him then. Today she was on her way to his office on just standard business. Tsuneko had resolved to rebuild the Kaguya Temple and would be importing a large amount of marble to do so. This was a personal project, and she had been busy planning it with an architect, taking up her time that she might have been going on missions or working around the village. As a private residence, it had had to wait until most of the public structures had been completed, but that time was approaching and soon she’d be able to hire some of the freed up workers for her project. This building was being paid for out of the Kaguya’s coffers, but it was still considered proper procedure to notify the kage whenever large purchases or shipments of material was about to be made.

Always maintaining a neat appearance, Tsuneko didn’t need to put any more effort into it than normal. The slim girl wore her normal ‘work’ uniform of a sleeveless crimson shirt and black shorts under a gray skirt; her Kirigakure forehead protector was tied around its namesake, as she habitually covered up her Kaguya marks. Entering the rebuilt Administration Building, she was directed up to the Mizukage’s office. The door had been left half-open by some previous visitor. Standing in the door way, she knocked on it, waiting for some sort of invitation or acceptance of her presence by the Kage before entering.

Sero had been dealing with several issues of payment for hours worked for the workers of other villages in comparison to the workers from the village. The workers from other villages had wanted more for time spent away from home. Honestly had it been handled better when presenting it to him he might have considered it. But the head worker had treated him like a kid and it had Made Sero into a very dark individual indeed.

He had let loose his temper and the old construction manager had literally pissed himself. Sero had gotten in his face about taking advantage of a country in need to line his own pockets. He had reminded the man the substantial amount of money he was making it to begin with before offering To give him a reason to need more money. Some nonsense about an incinerated left nut. Where his hands had been on the wooden desk was now to blackened hand prints from where his hands had reached a very high heat. Now he was back to filling out more paper work. The piss smell cleaned off and the chair replaced.

He looked up with his dull grey eyes at the noise. Someone had left the door ajar. Dammit. The staff wanted him dead. He just knew it. The kept leaving him vulnerable to attack and he was too distracted lately to notice it. This was of course not the truth but his overly paranoid mind had been racing. He needed to go to the Kage summit soon. But he had a lot to do.

"Enter." was all he said.

Tsuneko had just enough time outside his door to start to question what she, of all people, was doing here. She had spent much of her life under the safe cover of anonymity; keeping her head down had kept her out of trouble. However, the fire killed the bold and the timid alike and the violent world would devour her unless she got stronger. “Enter.” ‘He’ll kill me himself, if I’m not careful… Although he’d probably roast me first,’ she considered as she heard his voice, remembering how impassive he had sounded been after killing a man that stood in his way. Taking a breath, Tsuneko pushed the door the rest of the way open and stepped into his office, appearing more at ease than she felt.

Something seemed off. While considering it, the girl approached his desk. Putting a smile on her face, she greeted Sero politely, “Congratulations on your appointment, Mizukage.” She hadn’t realized until that moment how odd the situation was. The first time she had run into Sero had been in the drenched office of the Hokage before the Chuunin exams; now he was a Kage himself and the office….smelled burnt? That was what had seemed so strange about the room. All of the new buildings smelled of wood and fresh paint. Why would his office be the exception?

Her thoughts translated into a slight pause before she began to explain her presence here. After all, what he did in his own office was no business of hers. Producing a sheet of paper, she offered Sero the specific details of the order. Normally there was a committee or some other bureaucratic middleman that this would pass through before being presented to the Mizukage, but with the fire, that system had yet to be reestablished. “My name’s Tsuneko of the Kaguya clan,” she courteously reintroduced herself before continuing. “The old temple that one of your predecessors had gifted to my clan was destroyed during the fire. I’ve made plans to rebuild a residence for the family in its place.” Here she gestured to the paper, had he taken it when she offered, or simply held it up, if he did not. “With your consent, I’ll begin ordering the necessary materials out of the Earth Country. The work and supplies will be paid for by the Kaguya, of course.”

She spoke as though she was not as alone as she was, as though she had several cousins around her to help with this task. Tsuneko was aware that many had died in the fire, but she was also took hope from the knowledge that the Kaguya were survivors and hopefully those that had escaped would make their way back home soon. If she had her way, they would have a beautiful home to come back to when they arrived. It was impossible to build it identically to the old Kaguya Temple. That building had been ancient and had been created for a purpose that no one living even remembered with methods that were also lost to time. However, she had met with an architect and a stone mason and believed that she could have something worthy of her clan constructed.

Sero observed the girl as she came in remembering her effectiveness and her clan immediately upon seeing her features. She was the third member of the squad he was setting up based on the results of that little adventure. He remembered how She had taken a man down and then studied how she killed him like it as an obsession. His mind working fervently even before she spoke and handed him a folder.

The air in the room was warmer but there was no heater anywhere. However upon getting closer to Sero it was obvious the heat was passively coming from him. Some had begun to wonder if he was even still human. Or a monster bred from the Osada clan. However he gives off no killing intent as long pale fingers take the folder and flips it open. He knew of the Kaguya. They where more famous and just as powerful as his own clan. But unlike the fortunate Osada the Kaguya had faced prejudice. He frowned as he recalls his history lessons. It was a shame the strange temple of her people had been destroyed.

Still he sets the folder down and reaches for his pen. The dark cursive of his name staining the page like a mark of blood. Still he hands it back to her before contemplating something. Another folder involving her clan had come across his desk earlier that day. And he needed to learn and listen to what type of person Tsuneko was. So he lets one long hand indicate a leather seat across from him.

"Sit a moment. I need you input on a matter."

Sero waits quietly. It sounded like an invitation but any movement towards the door would be met by the temperature in the room spiking dramatically and his eyes narrowing. Other then that the smile he had been practicing seemed soft and kind. If she remained he would pull out a purple folder marked as Top Secret. Before handing her the file. Inside was all the documents they had on the Genin Hayato Kaguya that had gone rogue. He would let her look over it a moment before he spoke.

"Your construction purposes are your own. And of course your clan is a valuable part of Kiri. But it seems one of you has found himself better off abandoning us in our time of need. Now your clan is known from being from here is it not? If he causes any trouble then I have to make a choice. Admit I cant control the actions of a Genin. Or take responsibility for it."

He taps his fingers on the desk then. He was far more mature then the average teenage male. A Kage at the age of 17 kind of forced him to mature quickly. Still the war of politics was a whole new battle field. So he was going to try to make the Kaguya problem an in house decision with his own clan. Still those cold grey eyes watch her observing her reactions.

"Now as it is I cant spare any forces to capture him. In my heart I would hope alive but if he intended to kill someone they might react. However if he where to suddenly return after someone took a vacation to say...Kumo where he was supposedly spotted heading in the direction of. Then perhaps it was an error in the information system still being set up. Wouldn't you agree?"

Tsuneko accepts the folder back from him. ‘See? That wasn’t so bad.’ She waited a moment after receiving it; from the intentness with which he looked at her, it seemed like there was something on his mind besides the mundane matter of some building supplies. Her thoughts proved correct as he gestured towards a chair. “Sit a moment. I need your input on a matter.” A little uncertain, she glanced at the indicated chair and then back at Sero. ‘Why would the Mizukage want my opinion? I’m a Genin, a nobody. My thoughts don’t count for much of anything… unless I’ve gotten myself into trouble somehow.’ The thought of ignoring his request did not cross her mind, and she did as she was asked.

Her hesitation brief, the girl took a seat in the chair. Seat is perhaps the wrong word to describe how she sat. Perched is a bit more accurate. Her straight-backed posture, rather than slouching against the comfortable back of the richly made chair, could be a sign of being well-bred or nervous, or in her case, a mix of both. Accepting the distinctly colored folder from Sero, her violet eyes took in the ‘Top Secret’ marking on it before flicking up to the Mizukage, again. ‘What’s going on? Why’s he handing me something like this?’ Feeling that the young man before her would not be patient with stupid questions, she focused back on the object in her hand.

Opening the folder, she was surprised to see a picture of one of her cousins staring back at her. ’Hayato?’ Tsuneko immediately recognized the boy. He was a few years older than herself and, having possessed Shikotsumyaku; of course all of the clan members would have known whom he was. She had watched him in particular while growing up, watching how he was shunned for his abilities. His mother had not trained him in secret as hers had, and he was the example of why she was so very lucky to have been able to be accepted, more or less, and why it was important to keep her mouth shut about her Kekkei Genkai while growing up. ‘A lot’s changed,’ she thought, as she no longer planned to try and hide it. She couldn’t afford to cut herself off from her greatest asset when she lived in such a violent world.

It seemed that a lot had changed for Hayato as well. Tsuneko scanned the documents inside, only having time to discover that he had gone rogue before Sero began to speak. Despite her pleasure that one of the kinsmen had survived, she was frustrated to learn that he had abandoned them, abandoned her. She understood from his words that this betrayal of Kiri would not go by without repercussions, and she didn’t expect anything less. What better way to proclaim their weakness to the world than to allow a Genin to go running off? Her loyalty to Kirigakure and to her family conflicted. The Kaguya were few enough as it was. The idea of her cousin being tracked down and, likely, executed, if her perception of the Mizukage was correct, was hard. However, all students were taught the punishment for going M.I.A., and he would have to lie in the bed he made. She bit her lip, a reaction to stress, and closed the folder; the action an acceptance of the steps she assumed would follow.

From his generally detached behavior, she didn’t expect anything to be gained by pleading for clemency, so she didn’t try to beg on his behalf. The Kaguya were already thought to still be treacherous and trying to defend one whom had gone rogue would cast doubt on the loyalty of any that remained. However, as he continued, she would have to reevaluate her opinion of him. Used to dealing in subtleties, she didn’t miss what he was offering her: a chance to bring Hayato back and cover up the whole incident without any blood loss; a chance to clean up after her wayward cousin before he was stained by his own actions. Eyes meeting his, and a hint of a smile coming to her face, she replied in a tone that maintained the game they were playing, “I agree, sir. There are always a few glitches, a few mistakes, to be worked out when implementing any new system; it would be a shame if my cousin fell victim to such misinformation.”

She reopened the folder, reading it more closely. She learned how he had been seen leaving the village without consent and how intelligence had gathered that he fought with his father before doing so and had declared that he was done with both him and the village as a whole. Apparently he had claimed to be heading to the Land of Earth, although it seemed that it was supposed to mislead any followers as it contradicted the direction that he had been seen leaving in. After a short pause while she gathered that information, Tsuneko removed a picture of Hayato from the file before handing the folder back to Sero and continuing the charade in a casual tone. “I almost forgot to mention, sir, that I was planning on taking a brief vacation after getting this project of mine underway. During our trip to Konoha, I found that I’d like to travel and see more of the land than our lovely islands. I’ve heard that Kumo is a nice place to visit this time of year, with your permission, of course.” With a brief pause to think about logistics, she continued. “I know there is still much to be done, but we’ve all been working hard. Do you have anyone in mind who you think could also use a bit of a break?” As Sero likely well knew, it was rare for a Genin would travel alone to another country.

Sero smiled and his eyes seemed to darken with the sly look of someone up to something. But in this particular case He was actually hopeful. No one was intended to die but instead he might have a chance to scoot this all under the rug. With the summit coming up so rapidly he didn't have any time to waste on it because if he lost face now. It would reflect on him in a bad way. This he could not allow.

Instead he places the purple folder back inside of his personal drawer and locks it with a tap of his finger. The lock now responding to his chakra. He smiles softly and instead hands her a different folder. Just a vanilla folder like the others this time. But it was marked diplomatic mission. He watches her before he speaks quietly. Leaning back in his chair.

"Take that to your squad leader and tell her I need her to run her squad to do that mission immediately. With the summit coming up We need allies. You will of course be doing this with your squad. Your squad mate Strafe is in Iwa. Meet up with him there and continue on your mission. Do not speak of your secondary objective to anyone...You may go."

Covering her travel with a mission allowing them to have a reason to enter Kumo was his plan at the moment. That and Kei was a formidable individual. If Negotiations went wrong he knew she could get her squad home. Then again if something happened to Kei...Sero would light the country responsible on fire.

Spoiler:

Tsuneko accepted the plain looking folder from Sero. Curiously, she flipped it open, scanning the pages within. She found, to her relief, that it was not detailing another cousin gone rogue but contained the more ordinary matter of a mission. However, this was her first mission for her home country, and she was both excited and nervous. Although she would get to travel as a part of it, and her desire to do so was genuine, she would also have to find time to slip away, and there was no telling what state of mind her cousin would be in when she finds him. She was hopeful for the success of both, however.

When he mentioned her squad, it took her a moment to summon up their names. She had received notification of her assignment, but they had not met as a team yet. ‘Strafe…that’s the one that I worked on the Training Center with. Then there’s Bonreu, from the trip here. And then there’s Kei...’ From what she’d seen of her new squad leader, she hadn’t been very impressed. Though rude and stubborn, she was Sero’s lover, and any complaint against her would likely fall on deaf ears, so Tsuneko didn’t make one. When he dismissed her, she rose to her feet. Nodding politely to him, she replied, “Thank you, sir.” Holding the two folders, one for her own project and one for her squad leader, she left his office, closing the door on her way out.