Briefly resting.

[abileunaspada]

Where: Konohagakure, at the banks of Naka River in Training Ground D.

When: May 14th

Who: Adela Milani (abileunaspada) & OPEN

Notes: Training just isn't happening, so instead Adela's just dipping her feet in the river and getting lost in thought over life in general. There's been so much happening, and although she's been keeping a low profile, how much longer can that last?

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The river water was still cold, even with spring shifting more and more into summer-like temperatures. The sweaty kunoichi just sighed as she looked to the sky, using her towel to wipe off her forehead and setting her shoes beside her before she let her feet rest in the river. That'd help her cool off, but she didn't feel right. It was weird, that training wasn't really clearing her head, but...

There were too many rumors floating about between shinobi for her to ignore anymore. Sasuke was in hospital for a while or outright not around, and she didn't know why (though she was partially sure it was mission related, there was likely a lot more to it than that). There had been kidnapping attempts in the village -- thankfully, those were thwarted but it still happened. Again. And the whispers of increasing defenses for Konoha, and political unrest in other regions... Maybe there really was war on the way.

Adela just sighed, her eyes on the sky. A war. She was probably lucky to have a moment to breathe like this, even if she was in Konoha. Her thoughts were interrupted when she picked up on someone approaching - even if she couldn't tell how she knew at the moment. That was when she sat up, looking around and calling out (though at that point not bothering to get to her feet just yet), "Someone there?"

Comments

[thebestuchiha]

"Sorta kinda." He turned, settling beside her in a swirl of bright cloth and movement. "I was looking for you so I'm not sure if it counts, even if I did get to go outside."

[abileunaspada]

"Looking for me?" It made her more alert, and she sat up at attention while she just looked at him, "You could've sent a missive for me, Hokage-Sama. It's not like I was in the middle of a mission or anything that couldn't be interrupted."

[thebestuchiha]

"Yeah, but then I wouldn't have been able to go outside." He laughed and shook his head, hitching up a knee to lean forward on it, looking out over the water. "The office gets claustrophobic when you never leave it, no matter how big it is."

[abileunaspada]

She nodded with her understanding, letting the comment hang as she made herself more comfortable again. If she became Hokage, she'd probably feel that way sometimes too... And it'd be doubly stressful during a time like this. The thought made her stomach flip.

But, he had wanted something from her didn't he? After a moment she turned to face him more fully, pulling her feet out of the water and letting them rest on the grass for the time being, "So what do you need me for, Hokage-Sama?"

[thebestuchiha]

"So, I don't know what kind of terms you're on with that cousin of yours these days, and I need to." He turned his head, looking over at her. "He's kind of really politically relevant now.'

[abileunaspada]

Her cousin? Her body stiffened just slightly at the mention of him, but she didn't let anything more escape her as a reaction and was careful to keep her tone even, "Relevant how?"

[thebestuchiha]

"He has a close relationship to at least one of the three new leaders between Kiri and the Civilian capital. Not everything is clear but that's more than evident. Now really isn't a time we can afford any bad blood if it's avoidable."

[abileunaspada]

"... I don't know what you're asking me to do about it."

The words were spoken with a soft sigh as she looked back to the river. Just what she needed, even more on her mind... Still, she didn't leave her words hanging there, instead continuing to explain, "The reason why he won't 'forgive' or stop hating me is because I refuse to leave Konoha behind for him. I've already told him that he needs to get over it and that I'll talk to him if he wants to get in contact with me again, but it's up to him now. So I don't know what else you're expecting me to do about it, Hokage-Sama. I don't know what he thinks of me beyond meeting him at the lantern sending and having that conversation."

[thebestuchiha]

"So you told someone with a very loud reputation for being cold, which reached even my ears, that he has to be the one to make contact with you... when he didn't make contact with you for over a year after it was revealed he knew you were alive? Is that what you're telling me?" He looked sideways at her, incredulous.

[abileunaspada]

"With all due respect, I'm done begging for him to acknowledge me, Hokage-Sama. He's also someone who doesn't stop regardless of obstacles when he wants something, so if he wants to make positive relations with me again at any point? Even if I hadn't given him the option for contact again, he'd probably do it anyway."

[thebestuchiha]

"I think you've got a confused crosshair here. What, exactly, are you expecting this man to do for you?"

[abileunaspada]

"... Nothing. If you're worried about him being openly hostile, don't -- if he was going to do anything to me, he would have done it a long time ago."

A beat, and she shook her head, "It'd be nice to talk to him and be friendly with my cousin again, don't get me wrong. But I'm not letting him manipulate me anymore. So I guess we're at a neutral state, if that's what you really want to know."

[thebestuchiha]

"No you're not. If you were neutral, you wouldn't have issued the guy an ultimatum. At least, that's how it sounded to me." He raised his eyebrows. "Unless I misheard you anyway?"

[abileunaspada]

"Then I have to wait for an answer to said ultimatum, if you want to put it like that," At that point she was getting more than a little irritable, between the heat and the conversation topic. She still didn't understand what the hell he wanted from her, and as the conversation went on she felt herself getting less and less compliant.

[thebestuchiha]

He studied her for a moment, then shrugged. "Alright. Talk to the guy or not, as long as there isn't a conflict, fine. But you have to get over your Kiri issue, we can't afford it with things spinning out of control like they are, so who are you going to talk to instead?"

[abileunaspada]

"What do you mean?" At that he got a raised eyebrow, skeptical regarding the question. This was starting to feel more and more like a mind game that he was expecting her to be smart enough to figure out in an instant, and that was just getting her into an even worse mood than before.

[thebestuchiha]

"I mean, I want you to contact someone in Kiri and make a friend one way or another. If you know someone and are on good terms, that would do fine, let me know and I can arrange a meeting so that you can work on combat or something, but so far as I know, only the cousin is a thing unless I've missed something."

[abileunaspada]

... Damn it.

Sighing heavily, she flushed and looked to the river - how in the hell Obito didn't know about that, she didn't know. Even if she hadn't told anyone, it wasn't something she was intentionally trying to keep super secret...

"... Hoshigake Kisame."

The name hung for a few seconds, and she thought over how to proceed from there - but, she knew there was no reason to distrust Obito with this information. Being honest would be better, especially with her earlier statements about being loyal to Konoha, "I met him before on mission, and again at the lantern festival. We've been in contact, and even sparred earlier this year when he visited Konoha. So far as I can tell, we're on good terms."

[thebestuchiha]

He stared at her for a moment, then started to laugh, leaning back on his hands. "Really. Well, I definitely can't drag him here without some serious hoops, but that means you will be writing to the man as soon as possible and letting him know he could have told me he'd met the girl who wants to succeed me."

[abileunaspada]

Wait what? She stared hard at him, stunned at his laughter and his relaxed pose and just knowing that she was missing something, "Wait, why?"

[thebestuchiha]

"Because if you're on good terms with the Mizukage, well, half of the Mizukage, I'm not going to let you slack about and let it fade." He turned his head, grinning at her. "Got it?"

[abileunaspada]

"He's what!?" Her jaw dropped, and she stared - apparently someone hadn't been kept in the loop regarding Kirigakure intelligence, at least not entirely. Sure, she had been aware of the unrest in the region, but to think a new Mizukage had been named... What happened to the old one? And why did Kisame step up to the plate? And who was up there with him??

[thebestuchiha]

"He's not the one of the group that I was pestering about Sephiroth for by the way. But hey, this works out pretty well, don't you think?" He didn't once glance away. This was priceless.

[abileunaspada]

"He's not?" Again she showed her surprise - probably a bad thing, considering that she hadn't told Obito about her little 'arrangement' with Kisame. Still, the point was valid and she needed to know, finding herself more and more invested in the conversation with every word, "Then... Who? Someone I should know about...?"

[thebestuchiha]

"I understand that before she mostly vanished off the radar she was often seen in war with him when he gained his reputation. That's all I know of the connection really, give or take a few bits a few years ago when Sasuke was a new Chunin. Shishito Nanako is her name. Kisame mentioned it. I'm not even sure on the civilian side, but there's a rumor a shinobi stepped up over there and I'm mostly just hunting for any solid information on if that part is true or not."