Blood and Soil

[Buckteeth]

Chisaka Manor, Early Morning

Far to the north of Iwagakure's center, where the sprawl of humanity faded and old growth evergreens still huddled together in clusters, sat the imposing Chisaka Manor. The property encompassed the whole of a hill that was more wide than tall. Once it had been packed with trees digging into it's clay soil and drinking from the freshwater spring at it's top. But years and man had not been kind to it, clearing the woods from it's surface and flattening the earth into massive terraces. Channels had been gouged into it's side so the spring water could run down each tier, nurturing crops of rice to be sold to the hungry citizens of Iwa. It was not a particularly large farm, barely four and a half acres, but it's verdant green paddies could produce just as much as some larger farms, more even on a good year. The farmers responsible for tending and harvesting the crop lived in a parallel pair of long, two-story dormitories at the top of the hill, named the North and South Dormitory respectively. The farmers' children played in the courtyard between them during the day. To the northwest were the barn and stables, where pigs and draft cattle were kept respectively. To the southwest were the granaries, and to the east was the manor proper. A wide, elevated, four-story building with timbers painted red and tan tiled roof shining in the sun. But as impressive as the main building was, what it was built around was even more eye catching. In the open air courtyard at the manor's center, built to take advantage of the hill's elevation, sat a seven-story pagoda tower. White walls and black tiled eaves surveying all. From a bird's eye view, the buildings formed an arch with the manor at the top, and the one road up and down the hill in the empty space at the bottom. Despite not being of particular grand scale or stunning architecture besides maybe the tower, the property managed to be imposing in part from how isolated it was. The uneven ground and trees made building this far from the village center more trouble than it was worth to most, leaving the manor to be the largest structure for miles around.

Osada Jun was thankful for this fact. It was bad enough she'd overslept on her first assignment, getting lost on the way there would have been too much to bear. Laden with scrolls she'd borrowed from records storage in case anyone tried to argue ancestry or inheritance law, the squat young woman trudged up the road to Chisaka Manor. "Why did they have to build it at the top of the hill? It's already such a long walk! I guess every rookie gets backwoods first assignments like this." By the time she walked into the courtyard, she was huffing each breath and wiping the sweat from her forehead with the hand not currently struggling to keep a grip on her canvas bag of records. She'd wanted to be prepared, but perhaps bringing anything and everything she thought might be relevant was a mistake. Her wrist certainly seemed to think so. She changed hands on the bag, rolling her wrist and wincing at the cracking noises it made. "Hello, you must be-" She let out a yelp, cutting off the farmer that had approached while she was distracted with her possibly sprained wrist. "I'm sorry miss, I didn't mean to scare you. It's just you're the mediator right? The two families are already in the manor, but I think there's a shinobi in the courtyard who's been waiting for you." He motioned to a location further towards the manor. Jun's eyes widened. She was supposed to brief the shinobi! Due to the manor's remoteness and how volatile inheritance cases were, one had been dispatched to make sure things stayed peaceful. She pressed her hands against her sides and bowed forcefully, throwing her dark hair into her face. "Thank you, I'll meet with him immediately!" Standing just as suddenly, she marched of towards the spot pointed out to her, checking her hair with her free hand to make sure the orange ribbon tying it back was still in place. Luckily it was, the knot her mother had wrapped still tight from this morning. As she came upon Ura she bowed, but managed to not send her hair into her face this time. "I apologize for my lateness sir shinobi, and make no excuses for it. I was supposed to give you a briefing of the proceedings, but I'm afraid I'll have to summarize it so as not to keep the claimants waiting." She couldn't help a bit of nervousness from entering her voice. It was easy to assume it was from her obvious inexperience, but the truth was that ninja had always intimidated her. "This manor was owned by the late Chisaka Shigeo, who sadly threw himself from the tower some months ago. He was unmarried, and had no children, so the land was to be signed over to Chisaka Niko, his younger sister. However, a low class man by the name of Suzuki Makoto who recently married into the Genji household claims to be the bastard son of Shigeo. We are here to settle if his claim is legitimate, and if so who gets how much of the property. Do you want to know more about house Chisaka or house Genji? Or do you not care and just want to head in to the meeting?"

[hobnob]

The tower watched over the courtyard and the surrounding area. The young shinobi stood at the center of the courtyard admiring it as he waited for the mediator to arrive for the case they were to deal with. With very little information provided by the mission department of Iwagakure, all Kurai knew was that he was suppose to ensure the safety of all the parties, including the mediator. He knew very little of legal disputes, but he could see why families would want to acquire this tower by any means necessary. It was a sight, and a pretty good vantage point too. Anyone at the highest viable point of that tower would be able to see most of the village, and most, if not all, of their property.

His hands were gently tucked into his charcoal shinobi pants; the golden brown back pouch that spanned his hip width was neatly attached to his belt and held numerous tools and projectiles; his right leg was a host to a small, kunai dispenser which hosted three of the knives which he carries with him; the pants were tucked into bandages which were tightly wrapped around his ankles for support and reached all the way to the bottom of his foot; black ninja sandals that reached just above his ankles. His upper body was clothed in his usual dark attire, fitting for one of the Fukusha clan; the Iwagakure headband was tied neatly around his forehead.

The sound of footsteps reached the youth, and with a patient and gentle movement he turned to see who was approaching. It was a girl who was headed directly for him. She apologised for her lateness, for which Kurai was not fussed at all, if it was not this, he would most likely be helping old ladies carry their shopping, which he also did not mind, but this was a nice change. Kurai, although usually cold and collected could not help but smile as the girl verbally vomited the details of his assignment and the current status quo which they would have to mediate and reach a conclusion to kept the two families from killing each other. But before he would ask mosre questions about the affair, he would mediate the formalities by addressing them head on. And hopefully put the girl at ease in the mean time.

His right hand moved out of his pocket and moved towards with the girl, his gentle and smooth movement were the opposite of hostile. 'I'm Kurai. Call me Ura, Ur, or anything else that will help you relax.' He waited a moment to allow the girl time to shake his hand, or not, and to give her own name. If they were to be working together for the day, or for the next few days it was probably good that they got to know one another, at least a little. Once this was settled, Kurai would follow the girls lead. He was not there to deal with the politics of it, just to make sure everyone was safe, and that is exactly what he would do. But he could not help his own inquisitve side which took great interest in the case.

There were many stories he heard of where the rich, owner of some osrt of business, or proprietor of land was revealed to have a bastard child after their death. He was never in that interested in these situation as he never knew the exact details of the events, and because he was never directly affected by them. But now, when presented with the situation directly, it seemed a little too convenient for the bastard child which the man named Suzuki Makoto claimed to be. And so, he decided to delve more into it and hopefully learn about the people he was sworn to protect. 'I know I won't be the one dealing with the the issue, but I find it interesting, can you tell me more about both the families?'

[Buckteeth]

As the young ninja extended his hand in greeting, the tension that had gripped Jun seemingly since arriving seemed to subside. She even managed to keep a calm front when she realized she had forgot to introduce herself. "I'm Osada Jun, but you can call me Jun if you like. Pleasure to meet you Ura." She took his hand to shake it, and was struck by how young he was as she spared a glance to look him over. In her anxiety, she hadn't really processed that the ninja who she might have to trust her life to was still a boy. When she'd first been told a shinobi was going to accompany her, she had envisioned some standoffish and scarred character beyond her paltry nineteen years. Nothing like the kid she now gently shook hands with. But as her eyes passed over the pouches on him, no doubt filled with ninja weapons, she reminded herself not to underestimate him. This mission would be far beneath a veteran, even a young ninja would be enough to handle whatever brigands or bodyguards these low-tier families could produce. In any case, she much preferred this friendly child soldier than the intimidating hardened killer she'd anticipated.

As she pulled her hand back, she wondered what he thought of her. She was a plain girl by her estimate, her only distinct facial features being two close together birth marks on her right cheek. Dark brown hair and matching eyes completed her 'every other girl in Iwa' look as she called it when she was more insecure. But she'd begun to find herself elegant in a simple sort of way, and had chosen a tang suit to compliment this elegance. A scarlet shirt with kimono sleeves and black pants, with black leather sandals. No adornment besides her orange ribbon. It was meant to make her look official, and she hoped her earlier babbling hadn't diminished her capacity in Ura's eyes. At least she was taller than him, being five feet tall she'd gotten used to having to project authority to people she literally looked up to, and having one less hurdle in the way of asserting herself was much appreciated.

"That is true, but knowing where everyone stands might help with assessing who's the biggest threat. Or it might not, I don't know much about that sorta thing." She let out a small chuckle. Her own amusement left a small smile on her face, and that smile widened as she was given a chance to talk about something she did know much about. "Of course. I'll start with the ones that built this place. The Chisaka family were trappers hundreds of years ago who came upon this hill looking for new game trails. Upon discovering the spring at the top, Chisaka Shigeo, not the recently deceased but an ancestor, negotiated ownership of the supposedly worthless land in exchange for most of the lumber on it. Originally the Chisaka family worked the land themselves, but as profits from each harvest came in they were able to invest more into the constructions we see today, accumulating a staff of farmers and servants outside the family to do the grunt work. In the past century, they have decided to expand their holdings, opening up a series of bathhouses and restaurants in the village proper to middling success. The latest Chisaka Shigeo was the eldest son of the family, Chisaka tradition mandating that control of the farm be passed from eldest son to eldest son. His younger sister, Chisaka Niko, was given control of the more recent ventures. She's who would have inherited the farm upon Shigeo's death, and she's who we'll be meeting with as well as her immediate family, her husband and three children. Needless to say, losing the farm would be a major blow to the stability of the house." This stream of information paused only briefly as she transitioned to the other claimants in the case.

"The other family is the Genji household. They're new money, made a modest fortune during the Great War from an iron mine founded by the family patriarch, Genji Tsuyoshi. Supposedly, Tsuyoshi scraped together enough money to buy the land for prospecting after winning a bet with a nobleman who was too embarrassed of the loss to give his name. In any case, the sum was lawful, and despite the mine being deep in tribal territory it was a surprisingly safe and reliable worksite. The mine has unfortunately floundered since then, yields dropping and miners quitting for years now. This drop in productivity coincides with the death of Tsuyoshi's first wife, Genji Akira. His firstborn Genji Ren recently married Suzuki Makoto, a servant who claims to have been fathered by Shigeo out of wedlock. The other party we'll be meeting with is Genji Tsuyoshi and his newly expanded family, second wife, four children, and son-in-law." Her eyes seemed to focus, as if she'd been off somewhere in her head while reciting her two quick local history lessons. "That about sums up the two at a glance. Any other questions before we head in?"

[hobnob]

'Pleasure to meet you too, Jun. Said the youth after the two had shaken each others hands. A gentle smile appeared on his face briefly in an attempt to put the girl at ease. He was aware of his normal fairly unsocial self, but for the good of the mission he understood he would have to go beyond his nature and nurture it to adapt to the situation. As the gentle smile remained on his face for the brief moment, Kurai took that moment to also get a good understanding of who the girl before him was. Two birthmarks made her face very distinctive and easy to remember among all the other girls in Iwa who donned dark brown hair and eyes. It was a possibility that this girl could even be descendant from the very clan he was from, after all dark complexity was a feature the Fukusha were very proud of. The tang suit showed no creases and went well with the scarlet shirt and the rest of her attire. She looked, and spoke in a very professional way. It was obvious she took her job very seriously and wanted to do well. It appeared that the government had picked the right person to deal with the issue.

The brief smile was followed with an accepting nod. Kurai deducted all he needed to know from the way the the girl carried herself, and wanted to acknowledge it. The girl then delved into the history of the families they would be dealing with, giving him a very detailed breakdown of how they came to be. The Chisaka appeared to be the old school type who earned their wealth through hard work and capitalized when they could, eventually employing land workers and servants who would do the work they once did themselves, offering employment to those who were not so successful or did not want to pursue that kind of life. One could assume that this family was proud of what they have built and would do whatever it takes to ensure the capital remain in their family. And so, one could not exclude that fact that the apparent bastard child, Suzuki Makoto, could potentially be telling the truth and in fact be a bastard child of Chisaka Shigeo.

In comparison, the other family, the Genji, were as Jun called them 'new money,' who seemed to have began accumulating their wealth during the Great War with an acquisition of land that was a host to an iron mine. With the mention of tribal territory, it seemed that there might have some sort of political issue with the Genji in the past, and to Kurai this suggested that this family was prepared to do whatever it takes to be among the great families of Iwagakure. This was reinforced by the fact that the wealth of this family began with a gamble, and there was nothing to stop someone from trying to acquire more via a simple opportunity, especially one that would allow them be one of wealthiest in the village, maybe even the country.

A sigh of relief escaped Kurai as he listened to Jun talk about the families. She not only looked professional, and spoke so. She also had the knowledge to back it all up. And he always found it a pleasure to work with people who took pride in what they did and tried to be the best they can be at that very thing. Which is also the reason why he felt a little inclined to lean in favor of the Chisaka, as there are and will always be people who try to steal wealth from other families, and one could not be surprised when that family would then respond with violence and aggression. Knowing this, Kurai would have to distance himself a little from his personal self in order to remain objective.

Now that he knew the types of characters they may be meeting, Kurai was ready to proceed. He had one more question for Jun, to ensure that she remained confident and did not feel intimidated in anyway, so that she, just like Kurai, could perform the job that they have been asked to do. 'You really know your stuff. I look forward to working with you.' Kurai said before taking a brief pause to catch his breath. 'One more thing that I want to know is, where do you want me to stand?' He eventually finished.