sunshineverse | OPEN!: Kisame's whirlwind diplomatic tour

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OPEN!: Kisame's whirlwind diplomatic tour

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.))

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Kisame had seen some of this before on previous visits, but he still pays close attention, and notes the turns as they pass. What a native chooses to pay attention to is something to investigate further after all.

“Understandable. I’ll try not to get off track and worry my guards.” Kisame is sure he’ll be assigned some, if he hasn’t already, and doesn’t begrudge them. It will be a game to find them as they shadow him.

After a thoughtful hum, he continues. “It will be a privilege to see a different side of your home.”

Well she wasn't paying much attention to the buildings as they went. She knew where they were going having walked the same path many times before.

"They'll appreciate that. Nothing worse than an eventful guard assignment." Oh they'd been assigned already. They were likely following them the moment they exited the pass.

"It'll be a pleasure to host you and your companion." Typical diplomatic answer, but it would be a pleasure of sorts, her initial impressions of Kisame had been fairly positive back in December.

"There are some in Kiri that would argue that! But I will do my best to make sure it is uneventful."

Kisame glanced around, nodding when he spotted one of the guards. Good, but he'd had decades of experience learning how to spot discrete tails, and being one himself. Kisame nodded at the diplomatic answer. He might not have made a response, but she seemed genuine about it.

"Then you'll be welcome to observe, or even join, my morning training!"

"I wouldn't mind if it were me, it helps break up the monotony." And yes there is a certain amount of pride to that statement. If only because she was a downright terror on her guards when she went to foreign villages. Always taking off and making them find her.

She doesn't look for the tails, she knows they're there as a matter of course. She turns her head, eyebrow raised at the offer though. "I might take you up on that while you're here. The lake has since turned into little more than a puddle."

She leads them another block and into the guest quarters. She nods vaguely at the attendant stationed at the entrance way and leads them up to their quarters. "You're companion has this room and you're just a little further down."

"You'd have fun in Kiri, then, if you're not the one doing the guarding. Maybe next time you visit." Guarding a kage didn't allow for much fun, which Kisame knew all too well, but if she did visit again, that probably wouldn't be the case.

He follows along, laughing at the comment. "Well, chakra made lakes rarely last very long!"

Kisame doesn't mention that his lakes last longer than most. She probably knows, and it's not like he's in the mood for showing off right now. Perhaps during training. The rooms, when he peeks into his, are more than acceptable, and Kisame deposits the little luggage that he doesn't keep sealed, and then nods back at her while he uncaps a small jar. It's almost scentless, and the color is a very pale blue-green. It takes him only a second or two to reapply to the gill slits, and the hardest part is always opening them a little to get the inner edge. It forms a seal to better keep sand and dry air out.

"There, now if you're still interested in dealing with us, I'm sure we'd like to see more of the village. You can point out the good places to eat, and what dishes to avoid. Or not! But expect retribution in kind if you pull a prank, eh?"

"I just might, we'll have to wait and see." And he was completely right about guarding a kage being incredibly boring. It didn't make for much fun at all to guard her father. Actually, guarding her father was largely an exercise in not showing more emotion than strictly necessary at any given time. This was especially true when you didn't want him to get it into his head how he could use something to his advantage.

"No I imagine they don't. But it was useful while it did." There's a touch of amusement in her tone. That lake had been very very useful until it had gotten too small. And the village had taken great advantage of it.

Out of respect for the privacy of their guests, Temari waits int he hallway. Close enough to hear movement and track where they were in their rooms (she was very familiar with the layout of both). It helped in case one of them thought they were going to take a quick flight out a window.

An eyebrow quirks at his continued interest in seeing more of Suna. "You're a persistent one." The sentence followed by a feigned pout. "Too bad I was just thinking how much fun it would be to have you try our famous cactus curry." Which was both spicy and awkwardly textured if you weren't used to cactus.

"It's not a prank if you tell me what I'm in for first! So tell me about this cactus curry; I might decide to be adventurous and try it."

Generally, Kisame is willing to try most foods once, as long as they don't have anything in them that he absolutely refuses to eat. If she's recommending it, it's either something she finds personally awful, or something she knows visitors rarely like. Whichever is the case, Kisame is sure he'll find out one way or another, even as he's laughing at the persistent comment. If only she knew. He's seen Suna before, though other eyes of his spies, but seeing it for yourself is always different.

"Maybe I'll make you another one, if it was so useful."

"That's not quite something I'm willing to describe. It's more entertaining to let you figure it out yourself."

Well it didn't hurt to occasionally take a page out of her brother's book and suggest horrible food items to visitors. Though she figured he had enough sense to realize she wasn't serious in the slightest and he wouldn't order it. Or he would and find out he really didn't like it. She certainly didn't. But if he did try it she might actually feel inclined to show him more of her village.

"It was excellent for teaching the academy students how to swim."

It was a little strange to hear about Academy students learning to swim--few in Kiri came to academy without the skill already. It made sense, though, given the land.

"And I'm sure, better preparing them for missions out of Wind!"

Kisame spent a moment more thinking about it and then shrugged. "I'll try the curry. Nothing gained if nothing risked, and now I'm curious just how awful it really is. At worst, I'll have to order something else to eat after trying it, eh?"

"Always a double purpose." When resources were scarce you stretched their use as far as you could. And that was doubly true of water. Granted they didn't drink the water from the lake, but swim lessons, clothes washing, even just practicing chakra control were just a few of the things that it had been used for.

She grins up at him impishly. "If you insist I won't stop you."

"Of course you won't. It'll be entertaining to you, eh?"

Kisame doesn't mind being entertainment, but it's become a challenge now, and he's never been very good at turning down a challenge.

"Where can this dish be found?"

"You have no idea."

She can't help the chuckle as she turns and leads back out onto the streets. Since he's so intent on trying the dish she trusts he'll follow without prompting.

"Not far," she says over her shoulder.

"I look forward to your reactions to mine."

He is tempted to try to poker face it, just to frustrate her, but it would be more interesting for them both if he allows his true reactions to have the floor.

"So do I."

She's looking forward to it immensely as she lead him down the street a block or so before turning into a small restaurant.

"Pick a seat."

Kisame sits down and makes his order, laughing at the reaction of the person taking it. Well, it must be an acquired taste for sure. He'll probably hate it, but sometimes new things can be a pleasant surprise.

"Now to wait, eh?"

It's just a tad bit more interesting to watch the face of the locals as he orders. The way those in hearing distance shake their heads or chuckle about it. She'd almost feel bad about recommending it even in fun if Kisame hand been so quick to realize it was probably terrible.

She placed her own order fo tea and soup and watched the server disappear into the kitchen.

"Shouldnt' be too long. They have good service."

Kisame watched the reactions as well, smirking at the bolder ones that looked in their direction for more than a glance. When drinks came out a moment or two later, he raised his glass to Temari.

“I see that they do! A reason to return here and sample their other dishes.”

"The other dishes are much better." she raises her own cup in a small toast and takes a sip of her tea. Perfect as always when she comes to this particular restaurant. "I can suggest one of those two if you'd like."

Kisame does the same with his own cup, nodding in approval at the temperature and taste. It’s a good sign that backs up her statement. “I’ll be sure to sample what you suggest.”

His grin is crooked. He’s playing along with this little prank, but if she has the guts to try another, he’ll just have to play one of his own as revenge.

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OPEN!: Kisame's whirlwind diplomatic tour

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