[Plotboard] Check In

[TyDie]

Of course, the first thing Kiyori had done once she arrived at the village entrance was inform the guards of Arata's condition, telling them that they would need to arrange an emergency spirit sealing as soon as possible given the coyote spirit that had tagged along for the ride. Once that was taken care of and they lead the hardly conscious Arata to wherever he would be sealed, Kiyori had a second message passed along; a council meeting would have to be arranged immediately. Kiyori sent the message ahead of her of course, and through the use of Link Augment fuuin, the council was alerted mere moments after her arrival in the village.

By the time she arrived at the administration building only a half hour later, she would be given the go ahead to head upstairs and wait outside the council's chambers. She took a seat, her mind still reeling on all that had transpired the past month... on Arata, and his condition, on the power that now dwelled within her... And how Konoha might react to her newfound abilities. There was much to tell the council of Suna, and a decision would have to be reached post haste. She sat patiently in a chair outside of the council chambers, waiting for someone to wave her in.

[Tsedas]

The message was received by all the Council Members, however only two did anything at the time. The first was Mikado Akihito, the words 'emergency sealing' stirring him from his desk as he made his way to the sealing site for spirit hosts to oversee things, he also put out the word to his Tenkujutsu experts to assemble. The second Council member to do something was Shinzo Abe, the man in charge of assigning missions and overseeing deployments. Sifting through various requests, letters, and personal notes he eventually came across one that went with the summons that a shinobi was trying to issue for the Council.

Sure enough, he found what he was looking for and shut the drawer he pulled the information from, locking it before calling to an aide to assemble the Council for a meeting. Ensuring the massive work bench in his office was locked and all his puppetry projects were secure, Abe left his office and headed to the Council Chambers. As he approached one of the side doors used by Council Members to enter the room without going through the waiting area, Abe was bowed to by an aide. "Shinzo-sama, Mikado-sama was called away by an emergency summoning and will not be present for this meeting."

Abe nodded and the aide righted themselves as the Puppeteer entered the room and saw the elderly Uchida Mio sipping from a tea cup, almost like she had been enjoying tea in here. Turning her head, the elderly woman beamed at her fellow Council Member, "Why if it isn't little Shinzo, care to join me for some tea?"

"Later, I've summoned an emergency meeting based on some pertinent information."

"You mean, you're summoning the Council since this Henrin girl doesn't possess the authority to do so. A Henrin, that if I am recalling correctly, sent word back to the village she was going to be in Konoha for a few weeks longer." Mio stopped talking to sip at her tea as Abe took this chance to finish the train of thought. "The same Henrin that is also a month and a half past due to return. I was at the same meetings as you Uchida-san, I know Fujiwara was ready to start casting blame for the disappearance."

"So long as this keeps from doubling my work load, I'm ready to believe she got lost on some nice beach resort." Sentouki Manza said as he entered the room, catching the tail end of the other two members conversation. Taking his seat, he folded his hands in front of himself as he looked at Abe then Mio, "I'm more concerned about the month and a half over due part, I'll have to double up the patrols and change the routes they take just to ensure security remains in place. Right, Kaifu?"

"Busted, eh? Well don't worry yourself Manza, I'll be sure to order a full battery of evaluations to ensure she hasn't come back a threat to security... that and she was gonna be due for one when she came back anyway." Hizashi Kaifu said as he took his seat, having been previously been standing at the door eavesdropping when Manza called to him. Taking his seat, he made several notes within a ledger in his hands as Abe took his seat, setting down scrolls and files.

Coming in the door, a man in very formal wear was helping a woman in scrubs and a white coat into the room as her black hair was pulled back in a pair of buns at the base of her skull. "Sorry for my tardiness, Nakayama-san was practically passed out in her office and needed help getting here, too many shifts at the hospital again." Goriyama Jamba said as he helped Yoshiko into a chair and she promptly let her head thud on the desk. Mio quietly stood up and filled a tea cup before walking over and setting it near Yoshiko. Returning to her seat, she watched Jamba straighten his robes so he looked official for the meeting before flourishing his way down into a seat so he didn't wrinkle his clothes. Hobbling in last was a balding short man with a frown on his features as he tapped his cane across the floor before taking a seat.

Adjusting his formal blue and white attire, Fujiwara Naoto looked around the table before settling his gaze on Shinzo Abe and glaring, "What in the Sun's Name is the big damn emergency?"

"Let us find out exactly. Show her in." Abe said to an aid as everyone watched the aide move to the doors and open them, saying a few words before gesturing into the room. Shortly after, Henrin Kiyori would walk in and face almost all the Council. Standing, Abe took charge as this was his meeting after all, "Henrin Kiyori, you have some explaining to do. Tell us why you attempted to call an emergency Council meeting despite the fact you possess no such authority."

"And spare no details, leaving things out or lying would only draw this meeting out unnecessarily." Kaifu said, his tone implying that it wasn't a suggestion or some kind of helpful bit of advice.

[TyDie]

Kiyori knew full well that what she was asking was clearly not something within her power to do, but given the circumstances and the severity of the situation she figured that an exception could be made. At worst, she would accept her punishment for wasting the council's time, and at best they would understand the situation required an immediate resolution and she would be allowed off the hook. She sat patiently outside the council's chambers, awaiting her queue to enter the room, and when it was given she would take a deep breath before walking past the aide into the room.

The council seemed... grumpy. To say the least. No doubt they had all been engaged in something else before she had essentially demanded their attention. Hell, one of them looked like they had passed out already, likely overworking themselves to the extreme... That was no doubt Yoshiko Nakayama. The woman always worked herself to death at the hospital, Kiyori had had the opportunity to talk with her on a few different occasions during security detail of the hospital where Shigekuni was resting at. She wasn't really on a personal level with her though, nor was Kiyori on a personal level with any of the council. She had spoken to each of them at least once in the past, mostly due to her affiliation with Lord Hito-sama, but she had never faced all of them before like this...

Clearing her throat a moment, Kiyori began to recount the situation, and why she felt it was of the utmost importance that she call the meeting. "I apologize deeply for exceeding my authority Shinzo-sama, but I felt this was a matter of utmost importance given the letter I sent back with my squad. I don't truly know how long it has been since I left Konoha, but since Fujitsuna, Arata found me and helped me escape I can only assume it was well over the deadline I had mentioned in my letter. I called the meeting to inform you all of the reason for my tardiness, and also... well, my new appearance."

Kiyori took a moment to show off the various tattoos that now lined her body; something that, seeing as they had no doubt seen Kiyori at least once or twice as she trailed behind Kazekage Hito, they would likely realize was a dramatic change. "As I was returning through Wind Country, passing by one of the outlying desert oasis villages, I was blown drastically off course by a raging sand storm. When I was able to see again I was helplessly lost, and did all I could to get back on track. However, during that time, I found some sort of architectural abnormality that jut out from the sands, likely revealed by the storm that had passed me by. I went to inspect it, and the sands beneath my feet gave way into a huge cave in that sucked me deep underneath the sands into a lightless cavern. It was... terrifying, To say the least."

It was clear that it was still rather difficult for Kiyori, one so devoted to Her Light, to remember the palpable darkness of that dank cave and the skittering ominous creatures that lurked within it. She took yet another deep breath to steady herself before continuing. "After navigating that darkness for a while, I ended up finding my way into some sort of temple. Upon close inspection of the hieroglyphs and murals that I could find, I believe it was an ancient temple dedicated to the belief and worship of Yuumagure. I managed to make my way inside and find a suitable space to camp out for a few weeks while I trained myself to use Katon so that I might be able to see, and it was shortly after I set out again that Arata fell through the sands as well. Of course, the path behind him closed up, leaving us both stranded, so we worked together to find our way out. And that's when the voices started..."

She immediately paused and realized just how crazy that sounded, so she chuckled nervously a moment before correcting herself. "Voices connected to a spirit of some kind, sorry. I'm still very tired from all of this... I felt it was so urgent that I literally made a B line for the administration building the moment I walked back in to Suna. And Arata... Sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself. We navigated various trials and hardships clearly set out by this spirit, which revealed itself to be a Coyote of some kind that was once the pet of the high priest of this Yuumagure temple. It informed me that their practice was to use the darkness itself, an animal spirit that we would consider an omen today, to fend off other darkness from their Light... which was some kind of altar. The spirit instructed me to touch the altar, and when I did so, it felt like I was staring into the Sun itself. It seared these tattoos into my skin and, well... It changed my chakra."

As a small demonstration of what she could do now, she put her hands together and channeled a bit of chakra through her body into her hands. The council would watch as golden chakra emanated from her body before it gathered in between the palms fo her hands, and a moment later a small orb of light formed in her hand. It was bright enough that staring at it would cause a bit of strain, and warm enough that the temperature of the room raised a couple degrees, but nothing that would cause any sort of harm to anyone. "I...Believe that Konoha calls this 'Hiton' Release. And I have been blessed by the sun, so I can now use it. At least, that's what the spirit that now inhabits Arata's body told me. I think that's everything, sorry to ramble..." The orb would quickly dissipate as Kiyori's hands fell to her side, and she waited for the council's take on all that had transpired the past month and a half or so.

[Tsedas]

The Council listened in silence, most of them attentively taking in her story, save for Yoshiko who didn't move except when she gave a weak cough from her face down position. As Kiyori started to mention the spirit and how her chakra changed, she started to glow and Manza, having his hands folded in front of him, rapidly performed hand seals before throwing his arms out and a large barrier divided the room in half. Manza stood up as he lowered his hands, "Henrin Kiyori, if you are to demonstrate chakra related abilities to the Council, you must first ask permission. If you do-"

A sharp thud form Naoto's cane hitting the ground made all look at the balding man as he pointed an accusing finger at the Henrin, "See?! Hiton! Konoha's element to be used to destroy us, this girl should have been screened before being brought before us. How do we know she isn't under the effects of some brainwashing Genjutsu right now?!" Naoto accused as Manza rolled his eyes. Abe was about to say something but was caught off as his mouth opened.

"Her chakra patterns aren't fluctuating like they would when under the influence of a Genjutsu, she's also not lying so far." Raising herself up in a seemingly strained fashion, Yoshiko raised a hand with a single finger extended as if to say 'one moment please' as she brought the glass of tea Mio gave her to her lips and drank before seeming to gag before pulling the cup away and making a disgusted face, "Ugh! Tea?! Really Uchida?" Setting the cup down and pushing it away, Yoshiko looked over at Kiyori as she continued speaking, "Although why you waited in the hole and trained Katon for weeks instead of trying to get out is beyond me."

"Cavern denotes walls and a ceiling, standard shinobi training includes the art of tree walking would have allowed you to easily scale the walls back up. You also possess Doton and training a technique to open up the ceiling or maybe forcing the cavern walls to form a surfacing tunnel would have been more ideal than training a whole new element just to look around some ruins. Your priority should have been returning to the village, ruins weren't about to go anywhere. Instead you brought about the necessity of search parties and dragged another shinobi into the caves with you. Not only that but, you also dragged them back with a spirit we know nothing about. We could be sealing something into them right now that might be hazardous to the safety of the Village." Kaifu explained as Manza lowered the barrier now that the chakra display was long done and everyone was taking turn chewing her out apparently.

"So, she's willfully wasting village resources and time. What if she was probing Suna's Search and Rescue response times to try and see how we'd respond in a crisis? What have you told Konoha or whoever you might be collaborating with?" Naoto harrumphed at Kiyori as an audible sigh drew the ire from the old man to someone else. "What? You saying she's not been out there probably colluding with some foreign agents?"

"Actually she has been. It was called a relief mission to Konoha. I'm sure it was full of all manner of foreign agents, wouldn't you Fujiwara-san? But you are all digressing from what we've heard and the kind of things that go with it. Firstly, both Henrin-chan and Fujitsuna-kun are back alive and relatively safe. Second, Arata may have brought back a potential asset within himself that might be of benefit to Suna in the long run. Third, Henrin-chan has found a temple of a bygone day that may provide Lord Hito's Scribes with some well deserved new material for their library. Fourth, we can recall our search and rescue parties and return shinobi back to their posts and put others onto missions, freeing up resources at our disposal. Fifth, Henrin-chan has demonstrated some new ability gained from this ancient temple, luckily it is something that is shared by an ally and might be of use at helping our two villages become closer. Sixt-"

"Goriyama, how long is this list?" Abe asked as everyone stared at the Council's Diplomat. Jamba sat there with his mouth open as he made a thoughtful noise and his fingers started counting off things that must have started getting too high for anyone at the table as Mio took a sip form her cup. "Your laundry list of points aside Goriyama," Kaifu turned to look at Naoto as he narrowed his eyes, "My department will be in charge evaluations and assessments as normal, if we discover any possible links to corruption or sedition then your department can take over the investigation. Until then, keep your wild, unproven accusations to yourself Fujiwara."

Turning his gaze back to Kiyori, Shinzo Abe rested his hands upon the table as he looked back at the young woman. "Henrin Kiyori, you may not have been lying about your story but you could have handled your situation in vastly different ways and prevent this village from starting to fan a fire because of your disappearance. From now on if you are to extend a mission or deployment, you will wait for approval. If you are given approval to extend, you will give regular updates at intervals and inform the village of when you are close to departing so the village knows your whereabouts. Disappearing brought about the possibility that Konoha might have taken you, you could have been the spark of an incident and considering you bear one of Sunagakure's Bloodlines, it becomes all the more troubling that you vanished while visiting a foreign village."

"What about this altar of yours? Can you provide any more information other than it's an altar? You have perfect memory of everything you see, so describe what happened with it? Cause I'm sure we'd all like to know more. And these trials you speak of, what were they? These were things we said we wished to know. We're not gonna settle for the redacted version either. What did you do for rations and water? How long did these trials take? Details my girl, it'll be nice to them for the record." Mio asked as she gingerly lifted her tea pot and poured some more into her glass.

[TyDie]

Kiyori had hoped that there might be some happiness or even pride in response to her display of the Sun's power, but her eyes fell to the floor as her methods were criticized. There were many things she wanted to say; Using doton to alter the cavern in any way could have resulted in an even bigger cave in, one that could have trapped her or proven lethal given her lack of a mastery of Doton. The only other option was being able to see, and with hardly any wood down there, Katon was the next best bet for navigating the darkness and finding her way out. However, she'd be lying if she didn't admit to some curiosity related to those ruins.

"I... I never intended for things to get as out of hand as they did. I stayed in Konoha for diplomatic reasons I assure you, and it seemed counter productive to come all the way back to Suna just to set out to return a few days later. I see now that that was wrong, and for that I am sorry. But you must believe that I had no way of knowing the fate that awaited me in the desert. I had no way of knowing how long I would be gone... I expected to remain in Konoha for another week or two, then return to Suna about 2 weeks after my squad returned. Her Light had other plans for me it seemed... And for Arata..."

Arata... She could only hope that Akihito was handling his sealing well. The poor man had been through so much, and maybe this spirit could give him the purpose he needed to start his healing process, and one day return to the grace of Her Light. Maybe this would help him to shed his faithless ways... but those were thoughts for another time. Her thoughts returned to the council meeting at large, and she would begin to address the questions that were not already covered by other council members.

"As I fell into the ruins, the tunnel caved in behind me, returning the same way I came was impossible. As for using Doton, the entire place seemed heavily unstable. Any alterations to the rock structure could have resulted in more cave ins. The temple had been buried for at least a millennium according to the coyote spirit. As for food and water, we managed to find a small creek that attracted nocturnal Jerboas... It pained me to eat such cute animals, but such is the case with survival. I... I believe I'll be adhering to the vegetarian lifestyle lead by so many of Yuumagure's followers from now on as a sort of reparation to the life I had to take to survive."

She would then address Mio's questions about the altar itself... She seemed to go into a trance as her eyes recalled all that she saw. "The room was circular, 100 meter diameter at least, with various runes, murals and hieroglyphs lining the walls pertaining to the story that the spirit explained to us about how the darkness used to protect the light in ancient Yuumagure methods. The altar sat upon a 5 meter tall pedestal. The altar itself was adorned in gold and jewels of incredible size with with a large sconce in the center of the altar. The sconce was in the shape of the sun, and when I touched it, I was not burned by the flame. It was then that the power was imbued into me. I... I don't remember much else. I wandered back down the steps, concerned with what had just happened to me, and then I blacked out. The next thing I knew, I awoke in the desert with Arata in a catatonic trance. I lead him back to Suna and... well, you know the rest."

"As for the trials... the spirit seemed to be able to access our deepest memories and use them to test our resolve. We fought these creatures that seemed to be half female, half spider. We also fought various giant scorpions, but the spider morphs were the worst... the first one was able to alter our perception of it to match our worst fears. I... I saw my old girlfriend, Kouseki, Emi, in a zombified, corpselike state. Arata later was forced to relive his accidental murder of his sister, the event that lead him to become who he is now. It was very difficult, for both of us. It was difficult for me to remain true to Her Light in a land of such darkness and pain, it was difficult for me to understand why Her Light saw fit to put me through such a living hell... It wasn't until I received this blessing that it all made sense."

Kiyori's eyes dulled a bit finally, her trance complete as she looked back to the council. "If any of you would prefer seeing what transpired, I would be more then happy to implant my memories into your minds temporarily through the use of the Dousatsugan."

[Tsedas]

The Council listened as Kiyori regaled them with her tale, most of them returning to their seats if they had been standing. When the Henrin finished, she offered to let them see her memories if they wanted, but Shinzo Abe held up his hand, "Another time, right now, we're trying to understand the situation not sight see through another's eyes. From what I've gathered," Abe opened a file and pulled out a pen, making notes on the papers within, "You decided to remain behind in Konoha without even a partner of any kind, then attempted to return alone. Then, instead of trying to stabilize and reinforce the cavern you fell through, you decided to try and learn an all new element which probably took drastically more time than improving your skills in an existing one. Then you decided to indulge a random spirit you found underground and play it's games with you and another Suna shinobi that was caught within the ruins some time after you. Then you brought that spirit back to the village. Tell me Henrin Kiyori, why sho-"

Abe stopped talking as someone had grabbed the end of his pen as he was making notes, looking over, he saw Manza was holding the writing utensil in place. All eyes were on Manza as he looked at the Henrin, "Tell us about this Coyote Spirit of yours. What did it want? Why did it put you through trials? What kind of threat could it pose if it is to possess Arata before being sealed, or if it escaped?" Manza shifted his eyes to Abe as his head turned only slightly, "You can let Kaifu handle the assessment and evaluation later, right now, this is more of a fact gathering meeting. Personal opinions can wait."

"Well I'm sure Naoto has personal opinions enough to go around, but as for myself, I'm just glad our shinobi are back alive." Mio said as she stood up, bringing her glass with her as she walked around the table. Holding the glass out for Kiyori as she came close, Manza visibly tensed up as he seemed ready to do anything at the first sign of trouble. Then again, that was probably why the man was in charge of the village's defense, his guard was never down for a minute, especially in situations like this. Uchida Mio turned to the Council before she waved a hand at them, "Take a moment to talk among yourselves, let the girl compose herself for a minute. Also, I think it'd be best if we wait for Kazekage-sama before continuing any further, I'm sure he'll want to be here for the rest of the inquiry."

Many of the Council members all seemed to begrudgingly agree to that mention of the Kage needing to be present. Naoto harumphed on his seat and tried to ignore everyone. Yoshiko lay her head back down on the table as Abe made notes, Kaifu doing the same.

[CDF]

"I need the map of the village with potential sites, as well as my notes on the main building. And I need somebody to start collecting all of these seal ideas that I'm seeing and putting them together. Then make sure not to lose them because we'll have to go over them a couple of times before we consult with any experts. Oh, and since we're already getting the map of the potential sites, bring me the the Naegi maps. The ten I narrowed it down to.

Wait..." An inaudible sigh swept through the room. The assistants looked frantically at each other, taking the brief moment the Kazekage was offering to breathe. They knew they didn't have long, these moments of thought meant he was really focusing on something, which meant it would be figured out very soon.

The six of them kept moving, practically swimming around the room to find the right papers. The office was currently in one of its periods of chaos, which was often followed by periods of intense cleaning and then spotless orderliness. The idea of even a visible floor was currently unimaginable, much less total organization. Papers, maps, books and random scraps of things that can be written on were all full of ink and stacked around the room. flat surface space had long ago run out, and it had become more efficient to just think of the floor as one big table. It was still far from perfect. The six assistants were not mentally, physically or emotionally equipped for this. They were clever, but the six of them together couldn't keep up with the torrent of ideas, and demands. There were so many ideas, most of which required a great deal of work only to result in nothing. Rarely did an idea ever get followed through completely, but they always produced other tangential torrents of work, none of which could be lost in case it became relevant again.

Again, another inaudible sigh swept through as a loud and urgent knocking was heard at the door. The assistants didn't stop, and Hito was still in his trance. The knocking came again, and suddenly he bellowed. "WHAT?" His tone was icy, annoyed and frightening. It was a rare and terrifying tone that caused even the assistants to freeze. Composing himself suddenly, he followed up with a slightly less foreboding tone, "It better be good. Come in."

---

Papers flew behind him, almost divine in the way they splashed about in his wake only to be desperately picked up by another and returned to its original location. "Send those letters out to the shinobi listed. Those letters there will be need to be categorized and set aside, they'll be going out of the village and require special transport. Take these maps to the Naegi and get their input, send those sites to the city counselors and call in five each, doesn't matter who, of the fuuinjutsu and Jikukan experts, to meet with us tomorrow. For now, that's all, finish your tasks, organize the office and meet again tomorrow. Thank you for your hard work.."

With perfect timing, his instructions ended just as he reached the door. His movements slowed, his expression and posture changed, and with slightly more caution than usual, he entered from the side. They were all there waiting somewhat patiently. Their body language reflected the usual, not-so-content deference and respect, and always this urgency. He always had to be careful with them, they could be sensitive and they were certainly important. They had his respect, it was just annoying to have to make sure they knew that at all times.

So he started with his custom, overly-humble bow. He spoke only after finishing the bow, and did so while making eye contact casually with each. "Thank you all for waiting for me, and thank you for already being here. It brings me confidence knowing you're all here to work this through together, whatever it may be." Turning over to Kiyori, he paused for just a split-second, taking in her drastically changed appearance. Everything about her was different, not just her aesthetic. He could see in her posture the confidence of somebody who had purpose, who wasn't actually scared despite being grilled by the highest ranked people in the village. She wasn't comfortable, but the young girl that had left not long ago seemed to have reached a new stage in her development. What perfect timing... maybe.

Speaking and walking, he moved towards her. His focus on subtlety and deference to the council were temporarily suspended, his curiosity and sense of care for the young woman rising over his interest in their sensibilities, however understandable they may be. "It seems I have missed a lot. I'm assuming you've already explained some of what's happened, nobody here seems entirely confused. Clue me in," He spoke casually now to the Henrin he had now known for years. His finger tapped his forehead while approaching her, indicating she transfer the memory. "Only the meeting so far, I'll see the events later. I'm mostly here to observe and chime in if I can be of any help to the council." His hand reached out to rest on her shoulder, meant to be reassuring if obvious. The council likely wouldn't have liked it, but spirits were somehow in play. The council was always jumpy with spirits, and it was good to remind them who's camp Kiyori was in.

Her fingers touched his forehead, and the memories flooded. His mind raced trying to keep up with the near instantaneous transfer, hoping to process it as it arrived. He just barely lagged behind, forcing him to take a half second before spreading a wide, proud smile and looking at her tattoos with what seemed to be amusement and curiousity. "Wow, you've had quite the mysterious journey. I'm sure the council has a lot of questions, but I immediately want to ask what else you saw. Was there an actual deity involved? Did you speak to or hear something that was orchestrating this blessing? " At this, he gently squeezed her shoulder before turning and walking back, continuing to speak as he did so.

"This could have been many things, and one of them is that you've actually uncovered a truth in the history of our religion, and I genuinely believe that trumps all-else for now. The likelihood Kiyori is a spy or harbinger of some threat is not impossible, but nor is it highly likely. Immediately I'm interested in what truth she may have inadvertently scratched at. In the mean-time, I think it's best we take extra precautions." Sitting down among the council, his face and tone changed completely to a more formal one. He was playing his part now, on their end of the table. "Call any off-duty Tenkujutsu practitioners to assist Akihito-sama as well as to guard this room. I want escorts on the genma doubled until I give the all-clear. Somebody get a message to the scribes to assemble all known information on the histories of our village, nation and religion. I also want all information on gods, spirits and demons as well as other dimensions and worlds. I'll be needing to read up on all of this afterwards.

Inconvenient time to not be able to use the Scribes' living encyclopedia, 'eh?" He said it with a half-casual tone, but also to emphasize that he wasn't blindly going to support or trust Kiyori. There was another element at play here, and there was the slight chance that Kiyori wasn't the one in control of her thoughts and actions at this moment.

The commands seemed to fall to no one in particular, but the bustling sound of rushing clothing betrayed at least two shinobi darting out of the room.

Sitting back and smiling, he motioned to the council. "Please, continue."

[TyDie]

Abe continued to grill her, and Kiyori was admittedly only getting more and more uneasy about this whole thing... were they going to punish her? kick her off the shinobi forces? The thought terrified her, but it seemed at least Mio was happy for her. Kiyori graciously accepted the cup of tea, taking a small sip to help stabilize herself so that she could answer the questions. However, before she could answer, the man himself showed up:

"Lord Kazekage Hito-sama. I apologize for disturbing you lord, I'm sure there are much more important things for you to do..." Kiyori trailed off as Hito approached her, his warm touch resting on her shoulder, an affirmation that he was happy to be here and not only learn what had happened to her, but to see she was okay. She smiled at him and did as requested, performing a short series of seals before placing her palm on his forehead and transferring the information requested to his mind. It would fade after a few minutes, which she knew was the one thing Hito hated about the technique; this was not the first time she had done this for him, and each time the inability to precisely recall the information later ate at him, but for the time being it would assist with this conversation.

"I'm sorry, I've made you all wait for the answers to your questions. I'll answer them now." Kiyori took one more sip of tea as Hito moved to take a seat with the council, then began to speak on the questions asked. "Bear in mind that I am but a novice in terms of spirits and their workings, only knowing what little I know about them through the various texts I have memorized as part of my duties to the Scribes. However, in my opinion, the spirit bears humanity no ill will. It has but one function; to protect the light that I have inherited. It is for that reason that it put us through those trials, to deem us worthy. It is for that reason that it bound itself to Arata, so that it could follow along and continue in it's duties to protect the light, even though the light had left it's temple. The worst case scenario is Arata's death at the hands of the creature due to being husked, but other then that, I believe it to be mostly harmless. In fact, I don't even know if it's capable of husking Arata; as an animal spirit, it's power doesn't appear to be great enough to overpower Arata's will unless he lets it."

Her attention then turned to Hito and his various statements and questions. "It's... fuzzy, lord Kazekage. Yuumagure teaches that the sun itself is god, that you are our god made physical, and that the light that comes from the sun is holiness itself. When I touched the alter, I felt as though I was in another world for a moment. In that moment, I was overcome by blinding light, and as my eyes adjusted it was as though I was looking at the sun itself; an orb of pure light that bathed me in it's holy radiance. I... I'm not sure if that was simply my interpretation of the situation itself, or if it was truly Her Light. It's up for interpretation, but I do believe you are right about the ancient practices of our religious ancestors. I believe they had a different means of going about things, as is evident by the existence of that coyote spirit."

She had to be very careful with what she said; speaking about the religion in ways that went against what was currently believed could be seen as heretical. She had a feeling Hito would be open to what was learned by her, but the rest of the council... they had a way of closing themselves to newer practices. For now, she would refrain from speaking her mind on the subject. As Manza had stated, this was a time for gathering information; personal opinions could wait.

JutsuShow

~Dosatsugan - Recall - Implantation
D-Ranked Ninjutsu
While the Dosatsugan is active, the Henrin will perform a series of hand seals before laying both their hands upon a persons head. They will then proceed to lock eyes with them as they implant a memory of their choosing into the target from their own mind. This memory implantation is temporary but it allows the Henrin to share information with another person more easily. While the person won't recall all the exact details like the Henrin would(unless they are a Henrin), they can interpret the majority of the information transmitted into their brain. This implanted memory will only last for 2 posts before it fades from the recipients mind.

[Tsedas]

As Hito entered the room and started talking, the Council rose to their feet and bowed briefly before taking their seats. Mio remained by Kiyori but backed away as Hito approached in order to give him room. As he approached and offered his forehead to her, indicating he wanted her to implant the memories into him, some members of the Council looked like they were about to jump out of their seats. Mio could sense this as she smiled softly at them, gingerly raising her hand to indicate they should stop before lowering it. Manza looked about ready to pop out of his skin with how tightly wound he became, his hands moving beneath the table, slipping a kunai into his hand. Abe's hands did something before resting on the table, a scroll in his hands that he rolled back and forth between his index fingers and thumbs. Yoshiko was sitting upright and still like a statue as she just watched the Kage, like her gaze was piercing through him.

From the looks of things, the three shinobi on the Council weren't too please with Hito's decision but let it happen as they remained vigilant for any signs of foul play in this particular situation. After all, they had warned her to ask permission and Hito had requested this particular display much to their dislike. After it was finished, Hito seemed curious about her encounter and even ordered additional Tenkujutsu users to aid Akihito. Abe seemed to set his scroll down but Yoshiko was eyeballing Hito intently as if she was looking through him at something else. Manza on the other hand was on edge like usual, waiting for a bomb to drop or someone to suddenly burst in the door with a knife and get stab happy. So pretty much, the shinobi Council members went back to their usual behavior.

As Hito finished up, Kiyori took this time to talk and most of the Council listened intently as Mio walked over to her tray and poured another cup of tea before walking to Hito, the elderly woman offering it to him with her usual warm smile. Naoto huffed as the Henrin finished up, "I think we should treat this Spirit as hostile and rip it out of the boy before it does any harm. Put the thing in a sealing object and let it sit in some vault until we can decide what to do with it."

"That decision falls more to Mikado than you Fujiwara. But I have a question; Where were these ruins located? You and Fujitsuna escaped from there, and given your heritage I'm sure you can remember exactly where it was. Even if it's buried under sand, a team can be assembled to excavate it later." Abe said as he made some more notes, just like Kaifu was doing. "I'm sure Kazekage-sama's scribes could be assigned a mission to dig up and detail their findings for their Library, plus historical records that old are hard to come across."

"I'm sure we could petition the Daimyo for some additional help in digging up the site as well." Jamba added as Abe finished speaking, all eyes shifting to the Diplomat as he folded his hands on the desk and looked over Kiyori's tattoos. "However, I have a question. What went through your head when you discovered this ability after waking up? I don't mean something like 'I've been blessed', I'm talking emotions. What did you feel?"

Some of the Council members were a bit confused by the question. Yoshiko even looked Jamba a bit confused, but he just gave them all a smile, seeming to linger on Yoshiko for a minute before looking back at Kiyori. All eyes turned to Kiyori as Naoto huffed quietly again, not at all pleased at the 'fact finding' that was taking place, but that's also because he was peeved about something else.

[TyDie]

Kiyori quirked an eyebrow as Naoto mentioned his distrust of the spirit, though she also couldn't necessarily blame him for his fear. Spirits, as far as she knew, were not known to be honest or care about the livelihood of humans. This coyote, Kogasha it called itself, was a rare breed... If it was genuine in it's desires of course. For all she knew there was some deeper, nefarious plot at work. Still, as Abe said, that decision was up to Mikado, and not something she had been directly asked about, so she would stay quiet on the matter.

She was eventually asked a question by Abe, to which she cleared her throat a moment and replied. "I believe it would be possible to relocate yes, but it won't be as easy as you might think Abe-sama. See, the original reason I found the place at all was because I was blown off course on my way back to Suna by a vision obscuring sand storm. The last civilized place I remember was Ogosha, the small oasis village. And I have no memory of our escape either; I took on this power, and by the time I came to we were already long gone. However, by going to Ogosha first, I believe I might be able to retrace my steps via a Dousatsugan induced trance, which would lead us in the direction of the ruins. However, I've never done such a thing, or maintained a trance that long... I don't know how accurate it will be, or if it's even possible. Either way, I would be happy to lead the Scribes in a search for that temple at some point in the near future."

Truth be told, it was something she would absolutely love to do. Bringing back that altar, the relic of ancient Yuumagure traditions, would be an incredible artifact for the people of Suna to marvel at and worship. Not to mention the historical aspects of that temple could teach them so much about ancient Yuumagure traditions and the culture of the times. It would be incredible to be able to truly study those ruins instead of simply survive them. Jamba spoke up next, and his question was... odd. At first she didn't really understand what he was asking, or how to answer it, but as she closed her eyes and thought back to the moment when she first woke up, she took a deep breath to try and put it to words.

"Please forgive me, even for a Henrin this isn't easy to recall given the circumstances. Aside from the concern and fear that I felt in relation to Arata's condition, I felt... concern. Unease. A bit of fear even. But mostly? I felt empowered. Not so much the holy aspect of Yuumagure, but the power that surged through me made me feel like I could take on the world. Like no obstacle could stop me. Forgive me if that only creates more questions... Perhaps I should have taken a few days before this talk to better organize myself, it's all so recent I don't feel I've processed everything properly yet."

She drooped a bit as she realized perhaps her headstrong nature had been a mistake in this regard, taking a small sip off of the tea Mio had given her to try and lighten herself up. She was beginning to feel she had wasted everyone's time, including the ever valuable time of the Kazekage himself. Her eyes looked up to her lord as the thought crossed her mind, shooting him a rather meek and worried smile.

[CDF]

It had been a while since he last had to interact with the council, and he was beginning to remember how much they annoyed him. As a young(er) shinobi, he always despised authority. He despised being told what to do and he especially despised when it came from people that seemed to think their position of authority meant they were always right. So the council was a damn-near incarnation of all that he hated about institutions and authority figures, but he was older and more patient now. His face and body reflected nothing but attentiveness and consideration.

He remained quiet even when Kiyori answered his questions. Her confidence was increasing now that he was here, but she was clearly not at ease, nor should she be. The answers he really wanted to hear required comfort, it required that she not be afraid of saying the wrong thing and triggering an investigation or punishment. The council was so inherently aggressive and suspicious that it created its own bias, which was amusing as they likely thought they were being impartial.

And then he almost lost his composure. The rash, overly cautious nature of the council revealed itself in one of the three members he disliked the most. The bastard honestly suggested ripping the spirit out of Arata as a precaution, but his tone suggested he didn't give much consideration what it meant to the young shinobi's body. That was something Hito would not forget ever.

But still, he remained quiet, only speaking to say thanks for the tea that was brought to him by his favorite of the group. He made a mental note to meet with her at some point. He had no interest in dealing with the council, but if he wanted to enact lasting change and truly implement his grooming system as he intended to, it was probably best to begin improving relations with the council. Plus, she seemed like a lot of fun to talk to.

He nodded at the mention of the scribes, which had indeed been one of the first things on his mind when he received Kiyori's memory of the conversation. Not that he still had it, only the memory of what he thought about while receiving the memory was still there. It was the only way around the limitations of the jutsu, and he now made a mental note to work with Kiyori to develop a much better version of it. He had to see what she saw.

While he was being very attentive, more than half of his mind was processing the potential ramifications of this that the council was seemingly not even considering. There was a chance Kiyori had literally been touched by the god of their religion. It brought a whole new level to the already murky stance Hito had on the religion he was supposedly the god-on-earth of, a thought proccess he normally pushed away for another time but was now eager to consider. There were so many options, so many possibilities. He couldn't put it off any longer, there was now an ancient temple with an even more ancient power within it that spoke the words of Suna's religion and bestowed a power to one of its children. His religious views were no longer a philosophical concern, they were practical. That was a conversation he was not about to have, but it was one more reason he needed to speak privately to the Henrin.

The biggest reason, however, was that he was the only one that understood. The way the girl spoke of the experience was something familiar to him in his secret writings. It was a sense of familiarity yet utter confusion, of profound meaning and change but no way of articulating or understanding what that meaning and change was. It was a feeling he'd experienced using and manipulating hallucinogenic drugs, not that he was about to explain that to any living soul in his extremely conservative country. Experiences on that level of enlightenment and complexity required intense processing, the truth and understanding of what happened came in waves and only he would be able to truly guide Kiyori through it.

Unexpectedly, Hito found himself both amused and impressed. The one he had mostly not thought about and considered overly stuffy and formal, thus usually mad ehim uncomfortable, turned out to potentially be the smartest and forward thinking of them all. He was the only one to ask a good question and even suggested coordinating with the Daimyo. He could almost feel the eye-rolls coming from the other council members, and truly it wasn't the best idea, but Hito respected the nature of the suggestion. Looks like he had another council member to talk to.

Kiyori looked guilty and confused in a way that made him want to reach out, though he knew he shouldn't. But he wouldn't let this go on for much longer either. He'd allow the council to get in their last comments, but if they didn't agree to end this meeting as she recommended, he would stop being polite. Not expecting them to read his mind, he shifted his body slightly and made quick eye contact with Abe as Kiyori mentioned needing to process all of this, as he had expected she was having difficulty with. He wasn't a fan of the man, but he was clever and close enough to fair that he may consider it. Odds are, Hito would have to give some assurances and strong-arming by the end of this though.

[Tsedas]

Naoto seemed to roll his eyes at the talks that were taking place as they asked such inane things in his mind. Yoshiko shifted her gaze off of Hito at this point and seemed to give Kiyori the same treatment of visually piercing through her with her eyes, but the way she did it made it seem like she was just overly attentive about the attention she paid, both to Hito and Kiyori. As Kiyori spoke in regards to Abe's question, the Council members that were taking personal notes made them in reference to things about the ruins or Kiyori's story. After that, Kiyori seemed to change her posture a bit as she spoke, relating what she felt at the time.

"Well considering you rushed back to the village carrying someone with you, spent weeks in a cave, and then got zapped by an altar, I would say it's a miracle you could stand this long let alone answer questions coherently." Yoshiko said as she shifted from her staring to a more drooped posture herself, almost putting her head back on the table as she seemed to finish whatever she was doing to Hito and Kiyori. Abe heard someone shifting and glanced over to see Hito looking him in the eye quickly before shifting back to Kiyori.

Standing up, Abe set his pen down before looking around at the Council members that were gathered. "Barring the pending assessments, official debrief, and the future meeting about Fujitsuna Arata, is there anything else to be added to this inquiry?" Abe asked as most present shook their heads. "Very well, for the time being we'll forgo any official punishment given the circumstances. For now, you'll need to set aside time for an evaluation with Hizashi Kaifu."

"That's punishment enough if you ask me." Manza snorted as Kaifu just gave him an incredulous look, "Heeeey." Mio smiled as she shook her head, Naoto rose from his chair slowly, Yoshiko slumped on the table, Jamba stood up in such a way that he let his robes foof out before making them slide down and fall neatly into place. Abe on the other hand was lightly tapping his knuckles against the table. "In addition, before we leave. We will require proof of this story about the temple, if it's too be believed," Abe shifted his head and looked at Hito, "Then we'll need your scribes to track the location down. Once it's existence and some kind of relic can be retrieved, then I'm sure village resources could be put toward an official excavation. But I'm sure Jamba's idea might help in that regard."

Shifting his gaze back to Kiyori, Abe closed his notebook as he spoke. "Henrin Kiyori, I recommend you get checked out by a medic to make sure you're not injured in any way then get some rest. Anything to add Kage-sama?" Abe asked as he looked to Hito. The rest of the Council were standing, ready for the emergency session to end. Kaifu, Manza, and surely Abe were going to go back to someone's office after this to compare information and prepare for the Henrin's assessment. Uchida Mio on the other hand was picking up her own cup and taking a sip, giving the tattooed girl a brief bow as their parting was most likely imminent.

[CDF]

Hito allowed a grin at the playful banter, but he was still sore about the whole tone of this meeting. He was always a little moody after interacting with them, but they had been fair enough and were giving Kiyori a break with reasonable requests for afterward. Now the train of thought had ha been entertaining would be his new focus.

Standing and bowing again to the council, he spoke. "Thank you for your fair judgment, careful planning, and speed with which you all convened out of interest for our village. The scribes will be sent out as soon as I collect some more information and prepare them properly. I will inform you all of any progress." Turning to Kiyori, he smiled slightly, but still retained his official tone. "Get some rest, Kiyori. It's been a long journey, but we still have much to discuss. Meet me tomorrow in my office and be sure to be will rested. In the meantime, I have research to do. I'm so glad to see you home safe, by the way." And with that, he gave a genuinely warm smile and walked out the door he came in.

Immediately the paniced shuffling of feet and rustling of papers could be heard

[TyDie]

Kiyori happily bowed in response to Yoshiko's words, and gave a short response to them. "I'm exhausted, but this was urgent given the international state of things. My rest can wait a little longer." Kiyori nodded in understanding and confirmation of Abe's final say on things, stating an evaluation with Kaifu would be necessary. She would be happy to do so, she had never had any real issues with Kaifu in the past, as he had a rather logical outlook on things that she could relate to. Abe asked for proof of the existence of the temple, which made Kiyori want to roll her eyes.

"Aside from my physical appearance and newfound power being unlike anything anyone has ever seen before, I would be happy to transfer the memory of this place and all that transpired there to anyone you wish, including yourself Abe. Or I could enter a trance and draw a picture of the place, the murals, the altar room... However you would like me to prove it's existence. I will be more than happy to do anything necessary." Kiyori smiled as she spoke, though truthfully she found herself somewhat perturbed. Here she was, standing before them as one baptized by the purity of Her Light, and yet still they wanted more proof? Seeing wasn't always believing apparently ..

"Despite my self diagnosis of my health, I plan on stopping by the hospital on the way home for a quick Iijutsu based diagnosis. Provided nothing dangerous is discovered, I will be heading straight home to rest. And I will be here as early as I can Lord Kazekage, I look forward to our meeting tomorrow." Assuming there was nothing left to say and she was given the proper dismissal, Kiyori would then give a bow of respect before heading for the main chamber doors and out into the admin building, taking her leave of the council.