Kougyoku Hizashi's Dance With Power

[Nafan~]

Chapter 1: Call to Action

Chips of ice chimed softly in the glass as Kougyoku sipped from her glass of water. The cool drink was a blessing in the oasis city of Sunagakure, which stands proud in the middle of the Great Desert of Wind Country. She touched the glass briefly to her forehead when she was done, hoping it would relieve some of the heat from her overworked brain.

The page crinkled softly as she turned it with her free hand. She was delving deep into a tome on historical military battles from the second Great Ninja War. The material was interesting, and it helped her to better those combat capabilities she’d always worried about. The heat was starting to get distracting however, as the sun reached its great zenith atop the sandstone tower she sat in. She was quietly wondering how the general populace could possibly live without the luxury of ice when there was a knock on the servant’s entrance door.

“Come in, Yuzu,” she called out. The door slid open quietly to reveal a young woman, more a girl really, kneeling as was the custom. Her back was stiff, and her eyes lowered so as to not look up at the noble person she served.

“A report for you, Hizashi-sama.” Yuzu announced in a polite yet clipped tone as she slid a folio across the threshold with both hands.

Kougyoku stood and turned from her desk with a sigh. “Come on, Yuzu, don’t be like that. You know I can’t do without you on that day. I have to look my best for the ceremony, and I’ll need you for that,” The woman shifted across the distance quickly despite her floor length dress and bent to lift the envelope from the ground. “If it was any other occasion you know I’d be more than happy to let you have the day, you take so few of them despite everything you do for me, but this project was very important to me and I really need your help to be ready to receive the prize.”

The girl appeared to remain somewhat unmoved by Kougyoku’s overtures for peace, simply giving a perfectly polite, “Of course, Hizashi-sama.” Her eyes still did not move from the ground, and she remained the very image of formality. Kougyoku however, threw her hands up in defeat and rolled her eyes as she turned around.

“If you’re going to be like that then that will be all, Yuzu.” She grumbled as she sat back down at her desk. Putting the book to one side for the moment, Kougyoku began to unwind the string on the folder as she heard the door click shut quietly behind her. That girl could be so frustrating sometimes, and the way she threw the difference in their station in Kougyoku’s face like that only made it all the more irritating when they were disagreeing. It’s not like she was being unreasonable to her friend and employee, she really did need her for the ceremony. Besides, Yuzu was chasing some new boy every second week, she was at that age. She’d get over this perceived slight soon enough and they’d be back to being friendly again in no time.

With the string removed Kougyoku slipped the sheaf of papers from the folio and sat them on the desk. The weekly reports of the Hizashi clan were circled to all important members of the head family, and as heir assumptive Kougyoku was most certainly that. She took another sip and were she of lesser stock she would have spat it back out again. In bold typeface across the first page was the word ‘war’ in huge characters. Instead, she swallowed hard, and carefully placed her glass back on the table.

After generations of uneasy peace born from the stalemate of the last Great Ninja War, there was word of an invasion. Water Country had been spotted moving forces into position around an island nation known as Soul Country, and there were credible rumours that Earth Country was sending reinforcements. Shinobi forces, and shinobi reinforcements. An invasion by shinobi combat was all but inevitable.

Kougyoku stared in shock at the page, holding her face with unease. This would mean the end of what scholars had been calling the ‘Cold War Era’, where shinobi villages were too cautious of the great power balance between the Five Great Nations to make moves so bold as to wage war. What could possibly have given Kirigakure and Iwagakure the confidence that this move was advantageous? That they would not open themselves to attack with their forces away? The only possibility was that they either had a kind of weapon, or some other reason to believe their military power was much stronger than the remaining three Great Nations. There was only one thing that could be done about this. The only way to counter an attack by shinobi forces effectively was with shinobi. Kougyoku called, loud and urgent, “Yuzu!”, thoughts of their little spat thrust from her mind by a much greater threat.

To her credit, the younger girl could be heard rushing to the door in response to her lady’s urgent calling, and the door opened with her standing, concerned, in the doorway. “Yes? What’s happened?” She asked, clearly having heard something in her friend’s voice.

“Yuzu, I need you to go to the clan library and get me whatever’s left on Soul Country. I’m sure the other elder’s have cleared most of the books out, so get me what you can and make sure you bring back the list of names of who has what checked out so we can get those later.” Kougyoku instructed, gesturing in the direction of the library. Yuzu simply nodded and shut the door, her footfalls audible as she rushed off.

Kougyoku turned her full attention back to the report, drinking in every little detail she could find. Konohagakure and Kumogakure were preparing a joint defence. It appeared that the Mizukage was expected to appear in person, and the Hokage and Raikage would do so as well in response. To think that three of the five kage would gather to fight in the same battle! This was something unheard of for generations. The island itself may very well not survive this scale of combat.

Continuing down the page, she stopped dead. “Sunagakure will not be providing combat troops. By order of the Kazekage, Henrin Kiyori, herself, shinobi of Sunagakure may volunteer to provide medical and logistical support. Sunagakure shinobi will not be committed to open combat.” Kougyoku was confused more than shocked. How could that be right? Konohagakure and Sunagakure were supposed to be allies, and extremely good friends. It didn’t make sense that Konohagakure wouldn’t request aid from them, even if Kumogakure were already committed. If Kiyori was rejecting that request, and leaving open the possibility that Konoha and Kumo could be defeated by whatever was making the aggressors so confident, it would mean disaster.

Sunagakure would be seen as less than unreliable, they’d nearly be pact-breakers. For the second time in history. Their credibility would be completely shot through. The alliance would likely fall apart. Sunagakure would be isolated. The two defeated shinobi villages would be weakened, but their bonds would be closer tied. Kiyori had made a huge misstep, and it made Kougyoku furious. How dare that woman subject Sunagakure to such humiliation for a second time in its history, after all it’s suffered for the first time it failed to abide by an alliance?

Kougyoku stood from her chair and moved to the window. She looked out at the courtyard below, and saw Yuzu bustling toward the grand Hizashi library. Her clansmen gathered below, discussing scholarly pursuits and comparing approaches to shinobi training. Her clan had been one of the greatest expanding influences in this city, one of the loudest and most erudite voices for opening up to the world and learning what we could from it. Kiyori was jeopardising everything the last few generations of her family had worked for. If this business with Soul went sour, Sunagakure would be blamed for not committing to assist their allies and combat the aggressive villages of Iwagakure and Kirigakure. It wouldn’t just be some childish fight between a young girl and her boss, this would be a real betrayal. They’d become a hermit kingdom once more, a pariah, an untrustworthy and unwanted ally. The stream of people, knowledge, and wealth that the Hizashi had worked so hard to open would slow to a trickle, if it didn’t stop completely. They’d be ruined.

When Yuzu returned, Kougyoku was waiting in front of the servant’s entrance. Yuzu was a little startled, but recovered quickly and handed over a single book. The Hizashi heiress interrupted her servant when she started to make apologies for having only brought the one, “That doesn’t matter anymore. I need you to take this message to my father asking him to call a meeting of the elders in two days time.” She said, handing Yuzu the sealed letter. “I also need you to organise a private meeting with him as soon as he is available. Also, extend invitations to my old teammates for tomorrow afternoon, and the students I keep in touch with as well. We have work to do.”

Kougyoku turned around and stood in her office as her assistant stepped back through the servant’s entrance and disappeared into the corridors. Kougyoku wasn’t going to just lay down and let her family’s legacy be trampled, and her village’s honour be torn to pieces. No. She had sat for a long time, unambitious, unassuming, happy with her scholarship and her books. She knew that she would one day have to prove herself and demonstrate that she would not bring shame on her clan as she had in her younger days in order to cement her succession to head of the family, but she had thought that day a long way off yet. She’d had no real drive, but now, with this threat looming over her head, she knew she would have to move. And move fast.

[Nafan~]

Kougyoku sat patiently reading in the receiving room of her Father’s apartments. She was considering reports from Soul Country, and the people that Sunagakure had sent to observe and provide medical assistance to those fighting. It still moved her to outrage that Sunagakure hadn’t supported their allies more wholeheartedly, and it burned her that she could not go herself without disobeying orders. This half-hearted attempt at maintaining the sand and leaf friendship is what had driven Kougyoku to call this meeting with her father. What had driven her to finally commit to surrendering her career and life as a teacher and scholar to take on the mantle of her family name. If fate would have it, she would take on much more than that.
With those thoughts of her cause in her mind, she read the report again and attempted to commit to memory the names of each shinobi that went on the medical support mission. She would be certain to thank each of them personally on their return, as the only ones who were capable of representing the village. Her resolve bolstered by the reminder of her reason for being here, she folded the report sheets and handed them to her assistant who had brought them but moments earlier. “Thank you, Yuzu.”

Yuzu merely nodded, and sat beside her mistress. The young woman knew that even though her face was as calm and composed as always, Kougyoku was feeling the pressure. Before Kougyoku could start to move her plans forward, before she could even test whether they could stand to start with, she would have to get her father’s backing. She would have to convince him in this meeting. Without his support, she would not be heir apparent. If she was not heir apparent, she could not become leader of the Hizashi clan. Without the full force of her clan behind her, she had no chance at out-manoeuvring a sitting Kazekage on the council.

Yuzu did her duty and placed a hand on her mistress’ thigh subtly in support. The sour thoughts of the days prior banished from the pair’s minds as they sat and waited. The appointment had been for five minutes ago, but as was often the way in politics moves were made to show who was in control. The fact that her father had pulled something like this made Kougyoku even more anxious, and Yuzu had sensed her worry. She whispered under her breath “It’s okay, Ko, you’ll get through this.”

Kougyoku was grateful to have her confidant’s support, and placed a reassuring hand on hers to say she was fine. Then looked out of the corner of her eyes to see whether one of her father’s many secretaries had noticed. Luckily, none seemed to have noticed. It could have been bad if she had shown any display of anything other than complete confidence and serenity. Admitting she was anxious of meeting her own father and clan leader would be tantamount to admitting she wasn’t on the same level as him. There would be no way she could aim higher if she couldn’t even meet this small step.

A few moments cleverly disguised as hundreds of years crawled past the pair as they sat waiting before a secretary finally approached. Then came the words that were simultaneously a blessing and a condemnation, “The Clan Chief will see you now, Hizashi-sama.” Kougyoku felt her heart skip a beat, and it took all of her effort not to swallow hard. She rose to her feet and used that opportunity to grip her dress hard, disguising the gesture as part of the movement. Each slow step down the hallway was another step closer to judgment, another step closer to determining whether her life would change forever.

They reached the gilded doors to the Clan Chief’s office, and they were opened by the pair of guards flanking them for the guests. The secretary announced Kougyoku as she entered the room, and Yuzu stopped on entry and stood beside the door in the background. The warm light from the smokeless ever-burning braziers set upon the walls in the room bounced off of the circlet and necklace she wore, sending a few motes of light spinning across the walls as she crossed the distance to her father’s desk and sitting when invited. “Hello daughter, terribly sorry about the wait, I was speaking with Hiboshi and you know how academics can be, especially the older ones. What did you need that was so important?” He began with both warmth for his daughter and curiosity as to why she seemed so intense.

“Father, I need to speak with you about confirming my status as heir and naming me heir apparent.” Kougyoku stated, going straight to the heart of the matter. She’d hope it would put him a little off balance, and evidently she wasn’t wrong.

The man sat back in his chair, his eyes widening slightly as he thought. “Well, that will be difficult to do at the moment, my daughter. You know the elders aren’t too keen on you after your little slip up.” He finally responded. The little ‘slip up’ to which he referred was clearly her loss in the Chuunin exams. It still bothered her that a simple mistake almost ten years ago had caused her so much hardship, but she knew she could recover from this.

“I’ve thought about that Father. I have a plan, and I think you’ll find it quite comprehensive.” She said, her voice firm and confident. Not at all like the knot in her stomach that threatened to burst when she twisted slightly to raise a hand for Yuzu. The assistant walked politely over, curtsied, and then handed her mistress the documents she was requesting. Kougyoku handed the dossier over to her father, and waited for him to read it.

At first the man’s bright red brows were furrowed as he read, and Kougyoku fretted as to whether it was from concentration or uncertainty. The waiting here, with the plan right in front of him and open to his scrutiny, was almost unbearable. It was on a whole other level to the waiting in the reception. She could feel a bead of sweat gathering above her hairline, and she prayed that it didn’t fall onto her face. Hizashi didn’t feel the heat of the desert, so to sweat would be a dead giveaway of her fear. Ironically, fearing the sweat’s discovery only made her more nervous.

In time her father’s expression broke into a smile. He let the dossier settle on his desk and extended a hand to his daughter. “I’m proud of you, Kougyoku. This plan is really inspired, and from the looks of it you’ll give the Shuudoushi a run for their money in how politically brilliant it is. I’ll have Kaifu propose you for the special envoy to Konohagakure. We should have enough capital to get you in. If you pull this off, when you get back I’ll call the meeting, and they’ll have no cause to reject you. But first, you square away that little debt, hm? It’s all pointless if you can’t put that to bed.”

It was some time later that Kougyoku threw open the door to her private chambers and raced to the pitcher on the table. She poured a glass of ice water and swiftly downed it, before pouring another to sip. Her heart was pounding with excitement, with relief, with euphoria! She’d done it. She’d managed to convince her plan was worth endorsing, and better yet she’d gotten his support for the whole thing. Now she just had to execute it. A grin grew on her face as she knelt over the table’s surface, looking at the drops of sweat dripping onto the dark wood. For that, she had an old score to settle.