OPEN!: Kisame's whirlwind diplomatic tour

[noboatbigenough]

Who: Hoshigaki Kisame, and whoever wants to meet him/work with him on his mission
When: Late March-mid April ..ish? I'm flexible!
Where: Kirigakure -> Sunagakure -> Konagakure -> ??? -> profit!
Notes: Kisame has been named Kiri's official ambassador to Suna and Konoha and possibly other places. The latter is because he and his clan have been pushing for it, and the former is because Yagura is a dick and likes sending Hoshigaki to the desert.


In Kiri, before leaving

Kisame almost hadn't expected it to happen, even with the pushing Great Grandmother had been doing, and the hints he'd dropped, and the more outright pointed statements that had been calmly delivered. When it did, he was as unprepared as he could be, having been eyeing an assassination that had looked fun. Having a mission scroll shoved into his hands like that had almost pushed Kisame into being visibly off-guard. The papers were first, declaring him an official ambassador, and Kisame had to smile.

He didn't know why Mizukage-sama had suddenly decided to do it (and give it to him of all people) but he was going to have a chance to get in those spars he'd promised--

Suna. Well! Now Kisame wasn't so surprised. It would be like Mizukage-sama to give him what he was asking for but not what he wanted, though it wouldn't hurt to get some more desert training in. Kisame wasn't going to let this disrupt him.

It didn't take long for Kisame to prepare. A debriefing or two, a notice of his absence, and a little packing was all. It would be interesting, he thought, as he headed towards the travel seal.

In Suna
The desert burned, as usual, and Kisame had work to do this time. There was an escort to meet, first, and then maybe he could wrangle a tour. He'd probably already seen most of it, but seeing a native's reaction to the place could be telling.

Then there were meetings and paperwork. Kisame actually had an idea of a program that might foster closer ties and make them both stronger. He wasn't a stranger to how hard the desert was on Kiri-nin, even non-Hoshigaki ones, and he'd noticed more than one Suna-nin having trouble in return. A brief exchange for training purposes, probably of genin, would help both sides adapt better to the opposite environment. He had a Suna-nin to thank for giving him the idea, if he saw her.

And, of course, he couldn't be in Suna without hoping for another spar. The one with Sephiroth had been invigorating, and so many of the locals seemed strong. Kisame wanted to test it.

In Konoha
Konoha was as interesting as last time, and this time Kisame was himself, Samehada and all. If they didn't respect his weapon, he'd be a poor ambassador, so he'd brought the sword. That, and he hadn't wanted to leave it behind and find out one of his cousins had gotten drained close to unconsciousness after getting too close.

The official business was much the same here, though Kisame had fewer ideas on ways to improve relations. Well! Official ones, anyway. He had more than one "gift" of treats for the Hokage, and sparring was always an act of at least a minimum of trust when it happened between shinobi of different villages, so that might work in his favor.

He wondered who his escort would be this time, and if he might get to spend more time looking around, this time without the burden of reporting every little detail back.

((ooc: The top post is a general glossing of what Kisame will be doing! Put up a starter, or for something more focused, ping me and I'll write up something in post.))

Comments

[disgruntledmountain]

Naoki was just as polite as Fugaku remembered him being. He still wanted to know if their meeting before had simply been coincidence, but as he has two children who were rarely in their home village, he couldn't be too suspicious of that.

Fugaku frowned--not that his expression really changed at all. "I would hope that you expected and have already met with our most esteemed Hokage-sama." Also an Uchiha, and one who outsiders should put ahead of a simple clan head in importance. Fugaku didn't know if that was a test to see how the old clan head felt about his jumped up cousin, but Uchiha were nothing if not exceptional at showing a united front to outsiders.

If it had been someone from Konoha called him "Fugaku-sama," then Fugaku wouldn't have thought much of it. With so many Uchiha crawling around Konoha, referring to someone as Uchiha became impractical. Still, a foreigner taking such liberties, especially with a clan head, either implied a familiarity that certainly wasn't there, or a casualness for a politically charged situation. It could be an attempt to relax the situation, ease everyone's nerves a bit with the use of a less formal address.

Hoshigaki--an important clan in their own right, and then being one of the seven swordsmen was an important position as well. It seemed like an odd choice for a diplomat, unless one was going for intimidation.

"It is a pleasure to meet someone who has traveled so far to visit our village, Kisame-san." Fugaku gave the man a very shallow bow, choosing given name after some deliberation. He would have gone with the clan name, as he felt someone in clan out on their own like this represented their clan and should be called by their clan name, but Kisame had chosen the tone already. Fugaku would oblige him. "I hope your stay is profitable."

[noboatbigenough]

Kisame was chuckling before Fugaku even finished. That was certainly an interesting reaction! And an interesting view, too. Perhaps to the clan, he was still an Uchiha, but why would Kisame treat that as a primary attribute in a leader? The man's blood gave him a baseline of skills to expect, but Kisame hadn't considered it very important in the scheme of things otherwise.

"Hokage-sama is the representation of your village. To count him as an Uchiha before his rank would be a disservice to Konohagakure."

But maybe things were different here. Kisame could imagine how easily war could break out over a leader remaining too closely tied to a clan, especially a bloodline, in Kiri. Of course, when considering the leader belonging to one of the notable clans in Kiri, Nidaime Mizukage-sama had gotten killed rather quickly, so who knew? Maybe that expectation was false. Kisame shrugged.

"But Kirigakure has always had very different ideals when it comes to clans. Maybe I'm mistaken, eh? But you, adapting so instantly, though, I'm impressed!"

But there were other things to consider, so Kisame only spared that and a nod of approval at the use of his name before continuing. Naoki would probably see an opportunity to jump in on the topic and explain it more diplomatically than Kisame could be bothered anyway, so the younger ninja got a nod and a grin as well.

"Such generous well-wishes! Kirigakure has too much ground to make up to profit just yet, but I'm sure this will put us into the right current for the future."

((ooc: Temp change in order, just for maximum failings at diplomacy and facepalming! Naoki will be commenting and then it'll return to original order!))

[withfocus]

Their diplomatic mission had been going so well in Suna. Naoki was impressed, not that he would ever admit out loud that he had questions about sending Kisame as their diplomat. It was better than the general lack of foreign relations, something he heard frequent grumbling about among his own clan.

The smile on his face almost took on a strained look when Kisame started laughing, and then when he basically said he didn't think of Obito as an Uchiha. Granted, strong bloodline clan affiliation would be a huge liability for a Mizukage. But Kisame did get Fugaku to refer to him by his given name rather than clan name. It made Naoki wonder if it was part of some verbal strategy rather than just imposing Kiri sensibilities on Fugaku.

"In Kirigakure, clan names are reserved for the clan, and only used for important members of the clan on formal occasions. The majority use and prefer given names," He explained, taking Kisame's cue to jump in.

[disgruntledmountain]

Fuagku had to resist the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. This wasn't even offensive, it was just embarrassing. "It seems your village does have much ground to cover and some very different customs." As her choice in diplomat illustrated. Why had he even started this conversation? Fugaku didn't like foreigners as a rule, and Kisame was basically everything Fugaku would expect from someone from Kirigakure. Why send him?

Unless he was supposed to be the expected, stirring things up and allowing his small shadow to trail along unnoticed. Fugaku switched his gaze to the younger of the two. It became harder to be offended at Kisame with Naoki covering for him so well.

"In Konoha it is said you belong to your village, then your clan, and then yourself. It seems we place more emphasis on clan ties than your home, it is true." The saying was an old one, but it got the point across. In Konoha, divorcing yourself from your clan was nigh impossible. At least for an Uchiha. Once you were in, then you would never escape. "I believe you would benefit from erring on the side of formality this visit.It would be unfortunate if an incident arose from such a simple misunderstanding of cultures with someone less 'adapting'."

[withfocus]

There were a lot of potential angles here, but Naoki was not one of the members of his clan who enjoyed spending his spare time contemplating political maneuvering. He simply held his tongue at Fugaku's statement about different customs. He offered a polite smile when the Uchiha looked at him instead.

He wasn't an expert on how Konoha's clan politics interacted with the village level work, and doubted anyone in Kiri at the moment could claim to be. Kisame wasn't going to do anything incident-worthy, Naoki was sure of that. It was too important. "Thank you for the advice, Uchiha-sama."

Things were rarely ever simple and straightforward for shinobi, but where politics were concerned everything became layer upon layer of strategy and varying, competing interests.

[noboatbigenough]

Kisame listened, taking in the information. He’d already been able to guess the gist of that sentiment, and the advice wasn’t bad. Just less interesting! He could keep the information in mind, though. After all, the man had earned more than a little respect with his reaction to the barbs. Kisame decided that he liked the Hyuuga he’d met better than the Uchiha, though, with the exception of the Hokage, but then, that was a very unique man that rose far above others he’d met.

“I’ll try to remember your advice as well, Uchiha-sama, even if it goes against my nature! I’d rather cut to the heart and truth of something than deal with politics, but I will keep my eyes open for other traditions I can learn about.”

Though he was still smiling, it was prudent to hold back and be a little more serious. Kisame didn’t want to outright ruin the mission, even if it was hard not to play with the Konoha-nin a little. He added a another bow to it as well, deep enough for a clan head.

“I would still prefer it if you used my name. Only our Great Grandmother is truly worthy of Hoshigaki and I still have a long way to go before I reach her level; she wouldn’t mis-step quite so baldly.”

Not that she wouldn’t do the same, and just as intentionally, but she was so much better at making her mis-steps forgivable to even such stiff people as the Uchiha clan-head appeared to be. Of course, Kisame wasn’t here to make individuals like him, or like Kiri, but to show a little openness Kiri was lacking, and to be on good terms with the Hokage himself. Fostering like between individuals would be left to something similar to what he’d suggested in Suna, with exchange of their younger ones across borders to learn what had been before impossible. Though, Kisame didn’t see as much of a need here for the same thing, so he’d have to find a different tactic.

“To make up for it, I will happily answer any questions you have about Kirigakure. As long as it’s not classified, eh?”

[disgruntledmountain]

Fugaku would rather not be bludgeoned with any more of Kisame's particular brand of diplomacy right now, and he wasn't really that interested in Kiri--non-classified things anyway. Fugaku had his hands full of internal politics right now, and the last thing he needed or wanted was this kind of complication when he was already behind on meetings.

"I believe you have made your nature quite clear, Kisame-san. As such, I do not take your assumptions personally. Such things are bound to happen when two such different cultures collide," Fugaku said dryly. "I wouldn't want to impose on your do doubt busy schedule more than I already have." Fugaku felt severely out of practice when it came to national political dances. He was so used to his clan's stiff necked posturing, he was leery of trying to keep up with Kisame's ham-fisted dancing with Naoki watching so carefully.

But every word had meaning, whether intended or not. Everything was part of the dance.

[withfocus]

The brief moment he spent considering the idea of Fugaku and Kisame bonding over discussing battles, infrastructure, or persimmon trees was quickly put to an end by Fugaku declining. Naoki was quite fond of spending time with the blunt jounin but he, and the Hoshigaki in general, took some time to get used to, even for other Kiri shinobi.

Colliding was a good way to describe any interaction with Kisame, now that he thought about it. "That is very considerate of you, Uchiha-sama. Our schedule today is quite full, but I would be happy to find time for you during our stay if you like." There would inevitably be large amounts of 'unscheduled' time set aside for Kisame to engage in a friendly sparring match or ten with Konoha's shinobi.

[noboatbigenough]

"I'm glad that I have, Uchiha-sama. After all, truth is something I hold in high regard, even in this world we live in. But part of the enjoyment of living is in those collisions, eh?"

Kisame paused for a moment, letting Naoki speak up, and nodding in approval. Naoki got along so easily with many different personalities, in a way Kisame didn't even try to achieve. It would provide a little information Kisame would never get access to, and more valuable for it.

"I'm sure you're even more busy than I will be so I'll leave you to your day." With another slight bow, Kisame turned. Not quite leaving yet, but signaling that he was willing to end the encounter.