[Graded][closed] Always use protection!

[TyDie]

Kiyori strode through the streets of Konoha, marveling at the way the village had grown in the wake of the invasion years ago. There was so much destruction, so much rubble when she arrived that day. But today, walking around the village, everything seemed so peaceful and carefree... She was happy to see it. After all, the sorrow on the faces of the people was heartbreaking for the young special jounin. Now a Jounin, Kiyori made her way to the Mamorinuku headquarters, to meet with the leader of the Sekkoutai; Gerudo, Zakuro.

She had caught the name from her friend Aina, who herself had once managed the same branch of the organization. The Sekkoutai were known for patrolling, going as far out as the borders of Fire country in some cases to ensure border security. With the discussion of a Jikukan based transportation system in the works between Konoha and Suna's kage, those in charge of village defenses should be adequately prepared and acquainted with one another. In an effort to kickstart that, Kiyori was making an unprompted visit with Zakuro, walking through the front door of the Mamorinuku building and introducing herself to the front desk secretary. Once done, the secretary would seek out Zakuro, while Kiyori waited patiently in the front office for Zakuro to greet her.

[Rain21199]

Paperwork... Day after day the papers came. It was a non-stop workload and frankly Zakuro hated it. He had begun to keep his hair shorter just to save the time it took to fix his bed head in the morning. Zakuro had shaved in the bathroom closest to his office when he got there at 0430, but it seems as though the hair on his face decided to speed up its growth in recent months. Even though it was only 1300, he already had a five o'clock shadow.

Zakuro's black leather jacket hung on a hook behind the door of his office. It was too damn hot in his office to wear that. He was currently wearing a sleeveless black skin tight turtleneck shirt. The fabric around his neck was loose and baggy, designed so it could be pulled up around his face just in case. Sitting in front of Zakuro was the file of a shinobi that had recently been injured during a training exercise. He had to approve the woman's medical treatment and file out some documents so that Konoha would pay for it.

It wasn't all bad though. Zakuro recently recruit some new members into the ranks of Mamorinuku. One of which was shinobi named Inken, Nikuya, otherwise known as Niku. Zakuro needed an assistant, and out of all of his options, he chose her. She seemed to be a hard worker, and Zakuro knew by watching her fight that he'd be able to take her under his wing. For the past few days, they've been working together. Currently he had her organizing a stack of documents, separating things from the pile that was his jurisdiction from things that were Fanho's. It was common place for things to get mixed up here.

Suddenly, Zakuro heard a sound. It was a light knock. It was a sound that Zakuro hated. It meant either more paperwork was coming or someone was there to see him. Either way it was just more on his plate. "Come in" Zakuro beaconed. The door slowly opened, and the pretty face of their office secretary smiled at him. "Sir, a girl named Kiyori from Sunagakure is here to see you. Should I bring her in?" After hearing this, Zakuro stood. "No need. I'll meet her out there. Niku, leave that for now. We're going." Zakuro walked towards his coat. The secretary gave a small bow and walked back to her desk. Zakuro shortly followed, wearing his jacket. He made eye direct eye contact with the Suna girl. His piercing blue eyes scanned her face. He gave a genuine smile as he reached out his right hand for a hand shake. "I'm Gerudo, Zakuro. It's a pleasure to meet you"

[Servant]

While it had only been a couple days, Niku had learned that a knock at Zakuro's door was often times nothing more than more things to organize or someone wishing to see Zakuro. She was so low on the totem pole and inconsequential, none of the secretary's light knocks were ever for her. But, that just made it easier for Niku to ignore those knocks, as she did on this occasion. With just a glance, Niku could tell that the papers in front of her were clearly not Sekkoutai business and she quickly relocated them to the Katameru pile. The next group of papers were filed into the Sekkoutai pile, before Niku heard Zakuro tell her to leave her work. When she joined the Mamorinuku, Niku had no way of knowing that 'this' was the kind of work she'd be doing. She even joined the exciting group, Sekkoutai, and yet, here she was, rearranging papers for a giant. The idea of getting out of the office forced some adrenaline through her body and Niku jumped from her seat, nearly screaming "Yes sir." Her chair fell backwards, toppling over to the floor due to the force of Niku's abrupt actions. "Sorry..."

Moments later, a slightly more together genin walked a couple steps behind Zakuro as the two Konoha shinobi made their way to see the visiting Suna shinobi. Niku was still rather new to this and didn't have any idea who this girl was. A girlfriend? No, Zak wouldn't bring me for that, would he? Business related...? But, what does she have to do with our defenses? Hmm... She also wasn't sure on the protocol in this situation; Am I supposed to introduce myself? Wait for Zakuro to introduce me? Or just stay silent and watch this unfold? Urg! Niku gave a slight, awkward wave... just in case it was rude to just stand there awkwardly.

[TyDie]

Kiyori was pleased to see the young man she could only assume was Zakuro walk out from around a corner, approaching her with a small and offering a hand for a shake. She politely took his hand, smiling right back but making sure the grip was firm. "Pleased to meet you Zakuro. My name is Henrin, Kiyori, and while my visit to Konoha is on personal business, I figured I would take the time to seek you out. And hello to you as well young lady!" Kiyori gave a very large, warm smile to Nikuya, who's shy wave she knew all too well. She was still quite young, and likely felt very out of place in such a large organization as Mamorinuku. She reminded her of herself 10 years ago, a fresh recruit among the Scribes of the Sand, which she now lead herself as the Lead Archivist. She would extend a hand shake to the young genin Nikuya as well, a show of faith and a means of making her more comfortable.

"I got your name from my close friend Aina, who I assume you know as well since you now run the same branch of Mamorinuku she once managed. In fact, the subject of my visit pertains to village security, not just for Konoha but for us in Suna as well. Would you prefer a more secluded location for such a conversation? Or of course, we can meet up later if you prefer, since I sort of popped up unannounced and all. How would you prefer to proceed Zakuro?" She did her best to show utmost respect to the two shinobi; after all, she was the guest here, and she wanted them both to feel at ease with her.

[Rain21199]

Zakuro kept his composer when he heard the name Aina mentioned. They had a... rocky past, but all things aside they were still friends. Zakuro was just as much to blame for what happened as she was. "Yes, Aina and I go way back. She's been a bit of a mentor and a friend to me throughout the years." Zakuro gave a warm smile. While he did have things to do still that day, Zakuro was no stranger to staying there late. It was probably more important to improve village relations and discuss these defenses than the paperwork on his desk that even Niku could complete.

"Honestly I could go for a walk. I need to get my blood flowing. I'm pretty sure Niku would agree. I can show you around the village or I could take you to some of our defences and show you how they operate. It's up to you. As long as I get out of this office, I'm fine with it." Zakuro stretched his arms out and gave a heavy yawn. He proceeded to wipe a tear that had formed in his eye.

[Servant]

Niku could tell from the way the two shinobi had introduced themselves that Zakuro and Kiyori weren't romantically involved, they weren't even acquaintances. This certainly seems like their first meeting, Niku thought to herself before Kiyori said hello to her specifically. Niku was then met with the Suna kunoichi's hand undoubtedly for the same sort of handshake that she'd given Zakuro just a moment earlier. This is like an official, cross village handshake, so much pressure, I better do this right. She tried to take Kiyori's hand, like she was well versed in hand shakes, with a confident, if not too quick, approach. Unfortunately, due to her inexperience with handshakes, Niku ended up grabbing a hold of Kiyori's fingers, the crux of Niku's thumb never meeting the same point of Kiyori's. Niku shook the fingers and released them, pretending like everything had gone as planned.

If nothing else, Niku was glad to be in this position which had just gotten more and more awkward as time went on. It was cool meeting important people from other villages, possibly leading to Niku being important some day. She'd never really focused on becoming someone that others would look to for direction or admire, but the brief thought at this moment wasn't something she disliked. The young kunoichi turned her attention back to the not-quite-as-young kunoichi as she began revealing why she was there, specifically seeing Zakuro. The mention of Aina reminded Niku of Yozei, Hanako and Jin, mostly fond memories, though she wondered how the latter two were doing, she hadn't spoken or heard from either of them lately. Niku turned her attention back to the conversation at hand. Defending both villages...? Niku was clearly curious about how the discussion would proceed, turning her attention to Zakuro to see how he'd respond. She was a bit worried he'd tell Niku to take a hike, but that just came from not knowing him that well.

When Zakuro suggested a walk, indicating that she could join, Niku was clearly excited. Her face and smile was evident of that. "Oh yeah, a walk sounds great!" Niku exclaimed, her excitement probably a notch or two too high for the occasion.

[TyDie]

Kiyori gave a smile and a nod to Zakuro as he suggested getting out of the building and taking a walk. "I think that sounds like a wonderful idea! Guide me to some of your defenses if you're alright with that. We'll discuss Suna's plans to work with Konoha along the way." She would lead the way out of the building before letting Zakuro lead her and Niku wherever they were heading. "So before we get started... I find that addressing those lower down the totem pole as equals is important for building confidence. So Niku, I can tell you're probably new to all this; When did you join up with Mamorinuku? And do you like your time spent here so far? I don't want to speak too soon, but you remind me of myself when I first joined with the scribes... And now i'm their leader." She gave Niku a small wink, as she tried to push the girl towards achieving greatness. She saw great potential in her, and expected that she'd hear more of her as the years went on.

She'd then address Zakuro, not formally speaking on the matter of defenses of course; that could come later. No, instead she'd try and break the ice... while also bringing him down a few pegs for Niku's sake. He was a man of authority from the looks of it, an intimidating taskmaster. "So Zakuro, how many women fawn over those muscles of yours? I'll bet you could lift a house!" She'd aim a small, playful elbow at the man, a sort of jeer meant to get a small rise out of him. "Teeheehee, i'm sorry. I just find it so boring to be all business all the time, you know? Surely you can appreciate some playful banter, right?" She'd smile innocently at Zakuro as she apologized, hoping at least that she might've gotten the tough guy to loosen up a little, and maybe made Niku feel a bit more comfortable around her boss.

[Rain21199]

Zakuro was glad that Kiyori was bringing Niku into the conversation as well. Honestly, he didn't really have time to make a connection with her yet, so this would be a good chance to break the ice between them. When he heard Kiyori bring up his muscles, and gave him a jab in the ribs, Zakuro started to blush, but he covered it up with a hearty laugh. "Unfortunately the only person fawning over my muscles is me looking in the mirror in the mornings." He gave another chuckle. "I imagine if I went out every once in a while, that might change, but I really don't have any reason to. How about you? Tall, well built, with a cute face and playful personality. I imagine you must have an army of admirers."

Zakuro looked over his shoulder and saw Niku following closely behind, he motioned to his side, and said with a gentle tone "Come here. Don't be shy, walk with us." He gave her a warm smile. The group came into sight of the large gate of Konoha, but it was still a ways away. Zakuro turned his head to Niku, "Let me pick your brain for a second Niku. Do you know how Enma and Yaku actually made it through the front gates of our village? Yes they spent months planning the invasion, but to actually enter the village, do you know what they had to do?"