EMPIRE 01: Cat Calls

[Shu]

To say that the Daimyō was in a sour mood was an over dramatic simplification and would, quite frankly, be insulting. It had been less than twelve hours since her perfect evening was crashed by the Bijūtsukai that called himself Gunsenkai Shōgo. He came flaunting his control over the lost tailed beast and essentially ordering her to stay out of the way. That was an inexcusable offense, and the Bijūtsukai would know her wrath.

When her attendants were finished preparing her for this video call she sat down in front of her desk and looked at the camera. Her demeanor appeared calm and collected, but there was a fire in her eyes. The same fire that lead her to being Kaze no Kuni's symbol of strength; the Suna no Tetsuseki or the Iron Gate of the Wind.

"Going live in three," the cameraman said as he raised his hand to display the countdown. "Two." The Daimyō's brow furrowed as she recalled the previous nights events. To her credence, after getting smacked across a room by a tailed beast, she only suffered a few broken ribs. "One." The lights picked up in the room and she cast aside her pain. "And we are streaming."

"Kazekage," she said simply as greetings.

[Yagami Iori]

Cat Calls With preparations for his personal affairs currently within the works, Matamune had been actually completely busy with work for once. There were many things he had in mind, so many ideas he sought to pursue, yet he felt more and more restricted with each day. Those were the struggles of a person in his position though; and with everything going on in the world currently, the scrutiny he was undergoing both inside and outside of the village was becoming more and more tedious with each passing day. In the instance that he heard a voice call towards him, and the huge flat screen was filled with the silhouette of the Daimyō, the catkage's attention was immediately grasped. With his pipe lite due to his smoking session he had prior, he took a moment to completely put it out as he fixed his poise. "Daimyō-dono," he responded respectfully, "This is quite unexpected. I wasn't told that any video meetings were scheduled with you today."

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[Shu]

"Then it seems we both will have had to entertain unexpected guests," she said rather curtly. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, lacing her fingers together on her desk. Perhaps she should have waited a little longer before making this call, but time was not something that she could afford to waste at this moment. Allowing herself to temper her anger her eyes returned to the pipe smoking feline. "Last night a member of those Beast Tamers or whatever they are calling themselves infiltrated my palace, leaving a number of my guards in critical condition," her mind went to Nū and his companions. They would survive, thank the gods.

"He came for two reasons. The first of which was to warn me, and subsequently everyone else, that they are planning to make a move soon. Their desire is for the world to sit back and allow them to go about uninhibited," the Daimyō explained. Her grip tightened as she recalled the second part of the Bijūtsukai's message. "More than that, he had the Ichibi. Commanding it as if it were his pet." Her ribs radiated with pain as she recalled the beast's tail sending her careening into a pillar. "He was also keen to point out that he was willing to turn it on anyone that opposed the Bijūtsukai." She then glanced at a file folder that was on her desk and looked through it. "There is already an envoy to Kaminari no Kuni to inform the Daimyō of this information. If only to prevent any further accusations of my country's treachery."

With the majority of the facts, if not all of them laid on the table Aizu decided it was time to get to business.

"But that is not why I have contacted you this morning, Tottori-dono," her tone grew steadily more critical. "It is disheartening to know after all these months an attack at my home was how this information was obtained." It had been around three months since the Bijūtsukai made their appearance known. However, her disappointment extended beyond just Sunagakure. From what she could gather none of the village had sought to do much in regards to the group. "So it has occurred to me that I have been too lax in regards to your village. Perhaps all of the previous Daimyō have been."

She leaned back a little in her chair for a moment, allowing the infamous Catkage to try and interpret her meaning.

"Sunagakure no Sato's performance since its conception has been woefully underwhelming, despite its standing as one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. More so in recent history than ever. For instance, Orochimaru manipulating the village into a failed war against Konohagakure. On top of that, the Shukaku was lost to the Akatsuki. Which leads me to further question the village's ability in containing that monster." The haunting voice in the wind chanting for death replayed in her mind. It chilled her to her very core. "Even the war against the Uchiha's ilk was won largely due to Konohagakure's contributions, namely the late Uzumaki Naruto."

She paused for a slight moment.

"However, this is not a history lesson. More so it is a call to action. While Sunagakure has been allowed some sovereignty you are all still citizens of Kaze no Kuni, and as such you answer to me," she stated sternly. "The budget allocated to funding the village has already been cut in half, effective as of three hours ago. My accountants have informed me that this will keep the village's inhabitants from starving at the very least." This was not a matter in which she was willing to negotiate. "Missions will also be severely cut back, and if necessary they will be outsourced."

Closing her eyes the Daimyō paused and looked at the Kazekage, not with disdain but expectation.

This was a challenge. One she hoped would place a fire under the Kazekage's feet, spurring the village to transcend the shortcomings of the past.

"Your one and only priority shall be to track down and eliminate the Bijūtsukai. Renew the principles that Sunagakure was founded upon: that failure is not an option. Prove yourselves capable and I will resume funding the village to the full extent."

Were they to fail, however, the village would find its greatest pillar of support cut off.

[Yagami Iori]

Cat Calls His gaze was a sinister one. There wasn't much he could say in response, this was the Daimyō after all. Nodding his noggin, he laced his fingers together as he leaned forward. "As you wish," he replied simply. In that instant, he plotted a dozen counter maneuvers to make up for the part of the budge which had just been cut. There wasn't much he could do in the end though, so he was forced to concede without much refuting. "Is there anything else?" he asked, picking up his pipe in one hand.

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