He'd left his charge back at the Temple; sneaking out after he was sure she was asleep. He'd even been smart enough in his weakened state to lock the door. And bolt it from the outside. And reinforce the protective seals on the door and walls. She wasn't going anywhere until he got back; and that was a good thing. She was supremely safe inside the temple; she really was; even if that was a counter-intuitive thought given the electrical conductive nature of the area. But this needed to be done; and the longer he waited, the more likely he was to either never do it, or cause shit if something happened. Not a good outcome, either way.

He had to turn over the Kiba blades. He had absolutely no urge to keep them; nor did he like the idea of his cousin's appearing at random to beg to see them. A prize like that made him a target; even in his own family; and he wasn't about to risk Himitsu's safety just over some kind of vain pride over getting such legendary blades. Nope; he preferred his own customized babies to some flashy shits that made him a bounty hunter's wet dream. And on that note; Himitsu. He was going to have to figure out what was being done with her. From the sounds of what she'd told him over the weeks; she'd basically fallen through the cracks from the moment she got here, no thanks to that Akako mutant. He sensed... issues arising there. If not from the language he was gunna be spewing about said Samurai; then over him basically taking her along for the ride and treating her like she was an official Kumo member. Which he saw her as; and would always defend his opinion there. She was Kumo now; no matter what anyone else said. And if he had to... abuse, his status as a Sage to make sure it stayed that way; he would, without hesitation.

He liked having her around too much to do anything else.

And he wasn;t even sure why that idea bothered him; beyond the mere thought that he liked having ANYONE around. Huh. He really was tired; his brain was being weirder then normal.

Focus, idiot. Focus on meeting the Kage. Focus on the matters at hand; and work out the weird later. Yeah. Later... after some food and sleep. That worked.

Oh... oh wow; Midnight must really be back, there was an actual living, breathing person behind the check in desk. Holy. Mother. Of. What.

"Can I help you?"

OHGODWHYWASIT(she?)SCREAMING!?

No... wait. His mind and body where all fucked up. The lack of energy in his body; that's it. He'd pumped the last of his reserves into the wall. He wasn't hearing correctly. "Uh, need to talk to Midnight. I have a prize for him; and it's high damn time he spoke to the Sages. We've been... displeased with his absence."

Not that his words about the clan being displeased would mean much to anyone anymore; seemed like the Kages where starting to forget just while the Sage clans where held in high regards and held high places in village governing. Bleh. He wasn't up to that; he'd set a date for a proper meeting; if he even remembered.

"The Raikage has a meeting in a fe-"

"Do NOT care. Going in now."

"But sir! You can-."

"DON'T CARE!~"

And he was off down the hall in a stumbling mass of color and stupid tiredness. No time for waste, no energy to wait. He was going to see the Kage if it killed him. And if it did end up killing him; well, no Kiba blades for anyone else again; given he'd sealed them away so well he was pretty sure his own family would have problems with the release. He hit the door to the office and just shoved it open; big entrance, yap.

"Raikaaaaage!~ I have something for you!~"

As per usual, Midnight had finished his paperwork early today... but he didn't really feel like training today. He'd just finished a hardcore training session the other day, so he wasn't feeling to into the spirit of it at the moment. Well, not as much as he was enjoying this pen at the moment. It was a rather fine pen after all, only the best for the Raikage. He didn't understand that bit, though. It would only need to be the best in one aspect, durability. Being the leader of the village did mean that he had plenty of paperwork to do, so of course the pen would need to last. He looked at the pen closer. It looked rather ornate for a simple pen. He already knew that it wasn't special in any way, he'd had it for a while, so he would know, but the artistic points on it were done a bit too well for his liking. It was excessive. Why put effort into such a thing when it was merely a tool for him to finish his work. It wasn't like he didn't appreciate the work put into it, though. Someone had to have put hard work into it so that they could get paid, and that in itself was work worth doing to Midnight. He didn't mind art on its own, either. So wait, how did he feel about the pen again? He didn't know, it seems he just kind of forgot. Ah well, it wasn't important anyway. Fiddling with it still between his fingers he used his thumb and index finger to fling it at the door, where he could hear something outside.

No longer distracted by a silly pen, Midnight strained his ears to hear the commotion going on. It seems someone had arrived. He quickly looked around. His desk was clean other than a large stack of complete paperwork that he needed to hand in. Wait. He never kept much stuff in here other than typical office supplies. He would've gotten easily distracted otherwise. Like right now. It was lucky he was quick in finishing paperwork, otherwise he might have become engrossed in it and whoever was here could have caught him off guard. By the sounds of it, the person was arguing with his receptionist. He didn't know about what, but considering his recent absence it was likely something about it. Or maybe she brought some personal problems to work. How unsightly. Midnight hoped that she would resolve whatever was going on. It wouldn't be good for the work environment if someone was making a scene. However, by the sounds of it, it was a losing battle. The voice of his receptionist seemed to just be drowned out by the yelling of the other party... hm, that didn't make sense.

If it were a personal issue, they probably would have taken it outside to deal with it so as to not make a scene inside. Well, unless there was some huge deal going on like betrayal or wanting a divorce all of the sudden. One can never be too careful in relationships these days. But something told Midnight that it had nothing to do with those things. The person that had arrived certainly sounded exasperated and in a hurry, but not as if he was taking it out on her. Maybe it really was something to do with him. Ah well, nothing left to do now but wait fo-- BOOM! The person that had arrived at his door, hit it and shoved it open.

Still rather lost in thought, Midnight was surprised. Simply by reflex he grabbed a dagger and threw it at the intruder, aiming for a fatal hit to end the battle quickly. Luckily, Midnight's reflexes were fast enough to recognize that the person wasn't a hostile, so he redirected his throw just enough to that of the side of his cheek, the original aim going for the eye. Whoops. At least he didn't actually kill anyone. Now it seemed that at most he would have just grazed the cheek if at all harming the person. But what, who was this person again?

Calming himself down, Midnight eased back into his chair, no longer ready to take a battle stance should he need to. He looked the person over. Tall...colorful. Very colorful. Interesting. Wait, he was saying something. He apparently had something for Midnight. Exciting! Unless it was one of those stupid gifts like getting homework from teachers near the holidays. Or when enemies say the same thing before trying to attack him. Considering the situation he doubted that either of those were the case, but maybe he was just being hopeful. Then it occurred to him that he should probably say something at this point, especially since he'd just thrown a dagger at someone at around a hundred and ninety miles per hour.

"Er... Sorry about that. It was just a reflex. Um, what was it that you needed again?" Midnight asked, slightly confused. For some reason he felt like he missed something in what the man had told him. The receptionist was no help, obviously. Heck, Midnight could very well have hit her with the dagger since it missed the person that came in and went on behind him. Ehh, he was sure anyone in the office would be fine. They're not all imbeciles, after all. Or were they? Midnight couldn't remember if he prioritized fun or work efficacy when picking the staff. He was willing to bet that there was a 50/50 chance for every worker there. He looked at the colorful fellow before him again and gave him his full attention. It was like Midnight was about to receive a gift. Who wouldn't be excited for such a thing?

Well, that was less unexpected then it should have been. Or else he was just still cynical from meeting that bitch of a Hokage that he was projecting it onto his Raikage.

Wait. What?

Okay; no thinking; too hard to think right now. At least his body was still reacting right; sure, he'd loose a bit of hair, but better that then skin and blood. He needed a hair cut anyway. The sage wasn't even concerned that he'd only avoided the hit by millimeters; the man throwing the dagger was a Kage, and powerful at that. Raijin was just a Special Jounin with a knack for dodging, from his Kenjutsu training. And a tad of extra speed for his rank, from his elemental abilities. And even that was somewhat canceled out, because he was running on empty. Fuuuun.

"Riiiiight. No harm, no foul. Or something like that. Moving along..."

The man just reached into his belt; retrieving a sealed scroll from a hidden pouch. "Anyway... I have a present for ya?" Easy enough to snap the seal keeping the scroll from opening, without actually releasing the blades. "So, I was in Konoha, right? Takin' our crowd in fer the Chuunin exams; Skye Nekito was promoted by the way; and I ran inta' some a' yer contemporaries. Yanno, the other Kages. So, after some diplomatic talks (read: bitching); the Mizukage and I came abou' a little deal. I lend him my sealing expertise, and I get ta keep a random sword from tha' sealed scroll he had."

With that, he unrolled the scroll; flipping it around so that Midnight could see the seal on the paper. Given the Kage used Fuuinjutsu as well; he figured the male would recognize a weapon containment seal.

"So yeah; took him up on tha' offer, an' grabbed me these beauties." And now he released the seal holding the blades; allowing them to rise from the containment and into his hands; dropping the used scroll to the floor and no longer even noticing it. The blades where unceremoniously flipped around so that the grips lined up; the Tsukino grabbing the electrified blades without so much as a hesitation and offering the blades to the Kage. "Legit blades; right from the Scroll of the Seven Swordsmen Blades. For you, dear Raikage. A gift from tha' Tsukino sages; or at tha' very least; this Tsukino sage. Raijin, tha' dog tha' made sure shit didn't fall apart when ya where gone."

Hell, there was only a touch of annoyance in what he said; he was annoyed at being the only frigging ranked ninja in the village for so long; what with the Akako bailing and there being practically no other (Special) Jounin level ninja around anymore it seemed. Thaaaat was fun. So much so. Ugh.

Oh good, Raijiin wasn't mad at him for almost hitting him with the dagger. He thought about actually worrying about where it had gone, but by now it was certainly entirely gone, so it didn't much matter anyway... as long as it didn't actually hit anyone. They'd probably be able to handle that anyway, they should be smart enough to handle that, no matter how idiotic they might have been for Midnight's pleasure. Midnight watched the man reach into his belt and reveal to him a scroll, speaking of 'diplomatic talks'.

Hm, I'm pretty sure that before I left there wasn't going to be anyone going to the Chuunin Exams... Guess I was wrong. And a person named Skye? Midnight pondered for a bit, he couldn't quite place a face to the name, or even much of the name at all. Perhaps it had been far too long since he'd looked at the village's shinobi roster. It probably wasn't that important anyway, Skye didn't need to be placed in squad since he successfully made it to Chuunin. It was interesting that the Mizukage had finally recovered the Seven Swordsmen blades, and even more so that he had to request help from Midnight's villager just to unseal them. What a tool.

Midnight looked at the inscriptions on the scroll. Though he wasn't an expert at sealing techniques thus far, he knew well enough to get that it had to be a powerful scroll to contain a sword of that caliber. Plus, it seemed that the seals denoted it to be sealing within it something lightning based. How fortunate for Raijin to have gotten his hands on such a blade, it being random and all, and scoring it from the Mizukage. Quite a stroke of luck, it seemed. Bad for the Mizukage, but Midnight could not care less. Considering the fact that the man said he had a present for Midnight, this was likely to be it. He eagerly listened to what Raijin had to say as he continued to explain his story.

Oh my my my. So it was indeed a gift for him. And after an uncalled for absence? Midnight felt undeserving of the blades. "I'd expect that the Sages would probably be mad at me for my absence, so it makes no sense for them to gift me such things... nor you since you had to take care of things while I was gone. Don't get me wrong, I'll accept them, but I'd like to know why you would rather give them to me than keep them to yourself, you're the one who did all the work, after all." Midnight felt like going on about how it would make him stronger as well, but it was apparent that Raijin knew full well what he could have done with the blades (anything), but chose not to.

Feeling a bit giddy at this point, he quickly looked the blades over before taking hold of them and testing their weight. Though he was the Raikage, he was rather severely lacking in many Raiton jutsu, so with the addition of these blades, he wouldn't have to worry too much about it. He still planned on amending this idiotic overlook on his part, but it helped that he had these to explain his deficiency. He would also need to get proper sheathes for the blades unless he was going to keep them sealed... but that was a tedious process that he didn't want to go through every time he wanted to use the blades, so he immediately decided against that. Now it was time for him to listen again, as he had just asked the man something. He hoped it was a good reason, otherwise he might have to give the blades back.

"Eh?" Oh, questioning why? Okay, he could... give some kind of decent answer for that. His mind was swimming in exhaustion; even the mild thrill of the adrenaline from the dodging of the dagger was fading extremely fast, and with it his intelligence. Maybe he should have waited for morning... Eeeh. Lazy he was; but not stupid. There was no way; even sealed; that he could hide the presence of those blades within his home. The elder sages would have sensed the storage seal alone; and once they noticed that, they would feel the extreme power of the blades leaking through the barely adequate seal. It would not end well. Best scenario: he kept the blades, after they where passed around the entire clan and he beat some heads in to get it back. Worst scenario: confiscated and hung on the wall of the High Sage sanctuary. Where he'd never see them again. And lose his bargaining chip. Hell no.

"We are... displeased; yes. But the complaints of the sages can wait for another day. This is a gift more from me then my clan; and I am not above admitting it is a bit of a... placation gift. I believe I mentioned before that we are fresh in from Konoha; and if I had not then I apologize. Three days of near non-stop running is... draining; when carrying another person." Aaaand lead into the matter that was pressing hardest on his mind. "And I will offer another redemptive apology for trash talking my superior while I present my complaints."

See; he could play the political games. And speak like a normal person. Sometimes. There was the unmistakable tired slur to his words; but it was light, not enough to blur and destroy the flow of his speech. "A bit of a refresher, or else an introduction. Tell me, sir. Where you aware of what Daisuke Akako's actions where while he was off wandering the other nations?" Hell; Raijin had no idea of most of the mutant's high jinks, but there one he DID know about; that was the one that bothered him the most. Personal attachments and a bit of a racial/clan hatred of the other male weren't helping his objectivity. "He seems to deem kidnapping the daughter of a noble Kiri family as acceptable behavior for his visits. If anything, Kiri's destruction at the hands of a rouge Uchiha a few weeks after he returned with the woman is the only thing that has saved us from some form of retaliation; if not outright war." Guessing; he wasn't sure of any of it; but damn if he couldn't project that he was. "Himitsu Haruto. He brought her to our village and abandoned her; no one has seen that weird beast of a Samurai in weeks. The best part? His (prize, hostage, what had she been to him, anyway?) charge is blind. Completely so. He basically left her to die here, sir. To the point that once she did escape the place he left her; a random apartment according to her; she wandered directly into the Lightning Grounds; where I found her leaning against a lightning rod. I know you are a highly intelligent person, Raikage. You can see where problems are here. If anything; that Himitsu has not caused more problems is a gift from the heavens."

Uuugh; he hated speaking that way of her. She was his... his what, exactly? Friend? Hell; he didn't normally use the word in relation to people. His only friend was his blade, his baby: Brotherhood. That was his friend. Maybe she would be too, eventually. Who knew. "But at the same time; she has outright stated many times that she doesn't want to go back; so maybe I'm just being a jackass towards Daisuke." And again, tired. Rambling. Hahaha. "She's safe enough for the moment;at the least. I have her stashed away in my clan's temple; where she can't get lost again. Nor injured. Nor fall off a cliff." Or thrown off a cliff; which he was sort of guilty of, but a likely problem if someone else was watching her. With him watching her; beyond his penchant for stupid stunts; she was safe. "It will need to be discussed; eventually; what we do with her. I've spent... on near three months now watching her; closely, I might add; as I seem to be the only person in the village she trusts; and therefore spends all of her time with me as willingly as she can; given that without me she is a blind and lost foreigner in a land that isn't all that friendly towards either." Not even attempting to sweet talk over that; just bare truth, as the young sage saw it. Blind and unfamiliar with the village meant you where dead without some kind of assistance. Outsider and blind? Death sentence without a chance for pardon.

"Beyond the standing issue with Himitsu; we have the exams. There is little to report there; the few Genin and Chuunin that attended behaved well enough. No fighting, no bad behaviors. Skye Nekito performed admirably, and was promoted for his effort. However; two of the members of the travel group decided, while in Konoha, to make other arrangements before returning home. Luca Iki is... I believe he left for Iwa to find a weapon that he has been tracking down? I honestly have no idea what that freak's deal is. Karoshi Zetsumei was able to secure personal training from the new Kazekage; so she will not be returning for some time; I would believe. If there are any issues with the allowance of them to go off on their own; then please punish me; as I was the one that cleared them to go off and have fun. I figured; Karoshi at least was going to come back stronger, and even if she didn't; as a Genin we don't lose much. No real secrets to worry about there; and her clan's eye isn't all that useful to anyone but a medic. As for the Iki; well, if any clan can be trusted to be loyal; it's his. He'll be back; and if he finds those blades he seeks, then we've gained a powerful fighter. Good defender. However you wish to look at it."

Aaaand now the light swaying began. He was seriously about to drop; but he could hold out enough to finish this meeting. He had to; his pride as a ninja and as a sage wouldn't allow otherwise.

Midnight listened intently to everything Raijin told him. His anger spiked once Daisuke's name was mentioned at all, but then it rose further once it was explained that someone was essentially kidnapped. He wondered what the whole story for that was, considering he had told the Jounin to have fun, but not cause a war. It would've made more sense if he'd done such a thing without implicating the cloud village. Even so, it seemed that Raijin knew enough about it to be worried about it, so apparently he wasn't that careful about it. Especially since she was blind and he carelessly left her in his apartment. Well, an apartment. It might not have actually been his. Still, he was a traitorous bastard all the same.

So it seemed a new villager has come along. Himitsu Haruto, eh? Midnight was curious about this person. He was glad that she had wanted to stay at his village, which spoke bounds if only for the fact that she would rather stay here than go back to her home. If she was from a noble family, then certainly they would want her back, right? Or maybe not. Midnight didn't know much about nobles. He could only infer from the title of the family that they had money. Or maybe it was religion. He didn't know, or much care, really. He figured that nobles were stuffy and not much fun. Though maybe this girl was an exception since she obviously didn't want to be grouped with them. At the very least she would contribute to the village's power, as well.

Then there as the thing about the exams. He'd heard it before, but getting into further detail was always alright. More swords, eh? Certainly fine with Midnight. With power came safety, though at the same time it invited danger. Safety for the people, but fun for the fighters. Such a harsh life shinobi lived. He wondered if Karoshi would ever return to his village after being trained. He knew that it wouldn't be much of a loss, but still, it was a person turning their back on him. He wouldn't stand for it, should the case ever appear. It had already happened with Daisuke, and Midnight was fully prepared to take his revenge when necessary.

It was about time for a proper reply from him. "Well, thank you for the gift then, as far as that is concerned," he began, completely sincere. It seemed he'd need to get some sheathes for his new blades. Not only that, but some practice time to see just what they could do. He didn't much care for the sages, especially if these blades weren't a gift from them. "Himitsu Haruto... While I'm perfectly fine with an addition to the village, I do worry about her. Especially considering her condition." He paused for a moment, trying to think. "I'm not sure what to do with her in particular at this time, so for now she'll be just another member in your squad." With that decision he could get Himitsu properly trained as well as keep Raijin busy, as if he hasn't been busy enough.

"As far as the others," Midnight made a passive wave. "I wouldn't worry about them. If they don't come back at all though, be prepared to call them enemies send them to their deaths. I won't stand for a rouge ninja that turned their back on me." Midnight could feel his anger seep into his voice. His teeth were clenched and his hands became gripped. "...and Daisuke is no exception." He thought for a moment. Raijin may not know of his leaving. "In case you weren't told, it seems Daisuke has made a hasty and violent leave of this village. He is at the top of my personal hit list and I want all trace of information about his whereabouts to be sent to me," he explained. Certainly that would clear up any confusion over the matter.

"Is that all?" He asked Raijin, containing his anger a bit more now that he had explained the situation. He was not ignorant of the Special Jounin's tiredness. Anyone would be tired after such a journey. Being the Raikage that he was, he certainly wanted Raijin in the best condition he could be in, so to see him in such a state was dreadful. He wanted nothing more than for Raijin to get some rest, since he needed it so badly. All that was left was for Raijin to say that he was done. Then Raijin would leave and finally get some rest. At least, Midnight hoped so.

Well; he was thankful enough for the to the point questions and lack of BS questioning. Save it for later; that worked for him, boy how it did. The Tsukino would stay only as long as he was absolutely needed; because that was about all he could handle right then and there. "I will... bring her to meet you; but another day. After I've had time to make sure she is resettled." Or finally settled, given he was basically doing what the Akako should have done in the first place.

"As for Luca and Karoshi... well; you know the Iki. He'll return, eventually. Karo... seemed to be the type that would; but who knows. If she doesn't; well, I agree. She will be hunted down. Same for any traitor. "He wasn't going to admit outright that he was pleased with the branding of the Akako as a traitor and the permission for kill on sight. It was biased, it was stupid for someone of his rank; and he should be above such petty things. Buuuuut; he wasn't. And if he ever met the samurai... well; he might not be the better swordsman; but he did have his advantages.

Hnnng. A last minute thought; but he should bring it up before he forgot. His tone was purely inquisitive in his questioning; a look of concern for the village's sake, not his own appearing on his face. "So, with the Akako officially banished; who will take the position of the village Jounin, then? Or shall we test out how running a village with only Special Jounin?" Hell; he didn't care. The male could promote the Iki; or bring up one of the few Chuunin they had. Or leave it as is. Whatever he felt worked best. Far as Raijin cared; he'd forget the question after he'd slept; unless the answer was something important enough to keep his attention.

To be honest Midnight didn't really know the Iki, but given the description that Raijin had given him, it was plenty reason enough to expect him back. And as a stronger person. He hardly knew Karoshi at all either, so she was just kind of on her own. He certainly hoped that she would return, being that it was be such a shame for his village to have to hunt down a lowly Genin and potentially incite a war. Plus it hurt his ego for someone to be traitorous, and he couldn't have that.

Then there was the issue of Jounin. Wait, it was an issue? Why did he have to have Jounin? Position open? Midnight didn't understand the logic behind what was being said. Ninja were promoted based on their abilities, not on "openings" of ninja rank. Since it made little sense to just promote someone just for lack of presence, Midnight decided to say as much. "By your words, I'll say we'll 'run this village with only Special Jounin' until such a time someone proves worthy enough of the rank." Midnight had no considerations as to who would be worthy of the rank either, so there was no point in just giving out a rank blindly to some name he was told about.

There were other considerations to be had, however. The was also the possibility that something dangerous could happen to his villagers. That being said, the only ones that were in any real danger were those outside his village. He liked to think that his village was a safe haven. Except maybe for Himitsu, but Raijin was dealing with that. Besides, it wasn't as if he just named a person Jounin they would instantaneously gain power. That's just not how ranks worked. Ah well, what was he worried about anyway, there was no need at the moment for a person to be named such a rank. It seemed that Raijin was pretty much done now, so Midnight felt obligated to tell him so. "If that's all, you can leave now."

Good enough for him; yeah. Answered his question; and a good one at that. "Figured as much. Better to have the ninja fit the rank then sending out an army of half-qualified-to-be-Chuunin-but-called-Jounin anyway. Might not look as good on 'paper'; but when we kick asses left and right because we know what we're doing; then we prove the folly of the green Kage."

The start of a yawn locked his jaw in place; giving him a strange expression until it faded enough for him to control it one more. "I thank you for your time, Lord Raikage. I shall be available in the morning; if needed; and I shall leave a request for a meeting time so that you may meet Himitsu when you feel ready; as well as the final debriefing reports in the morning."

With that; he offered a bow of his head; not trusting his balance in his sleep deprived state, and walked out; making it outside before stumbling some; and finally vanishing into the shadows of an alleyway.

-exit-