Old allies made new again | PRIVATE

[Zaigou]

KIRIGAKURE NO SATO
Mizukage's Office

It had been two generations prior since a Yuki shinobi stood where Zaigou stood now. His eyes took in every aspect of the Mizukage's office, from the entrance to the fortress to the antechamber in which he now stood. The Mei Kiri that had escorted him had gone ahead to inform the Mizukage of his presence, and as such Zaigou had only to wait. He was still covered entirely in the black robe lined with white fur, so that his armor beneath was unseen.

He busied himself by studying the layout of the room he was in now, waiting to be summoned.

[Ðr. Tran]

His studying time would be cut short. As the door would open, and similar masked men would motion for him to come in. Four men, including the one at the door, stood in this room. Standing opposite a desk, her red hair swaying as she turned to pierce into the man with eyes as cold as ice. She would motion to the chair in front of her desk, as the door was closed behind him, the four guardsmen, Mei Kiri, loyalists to the village stood at the ready. It wasn't like she needed the protection, just an added precaution against certain undesirables that had been lingering as of late.

"The land of Iron is a long way from our shores, and is also not among the nations whom we do many dealings with, how came you to be here and why should we allow you to stay?"

A direct approach, she had another appointment in twenty minutes, and was not in the mood for games. Then again, she hardly ever was.

[Zaigou]

As Zaigou entered the room, he offered a bow - his smile unaffected by the gaze put to him by the Mizukage. "Mizukage-sama." He said respectfully while performing the bow. Once straightened back up, he gladly took the offered chair. Once seated, he listened to the Mizukage's question and once she was done, his smile was less broad and more serious.

"Before I can answer this question, Mizukage-sama, I have one of my own. Are you the type of person to put women and children to death for the crime of being born different from you? Or, because the masses demand it because they are born different from them?"

His eyes were not smiling now, and they returned her icy gaze with a chill still deeper. His mouth was crooked in a grin, but nobody in the room would mistake it for mirth. He would wait for her answer before speaking any further.

For the answer to that question could well spell the fate of his people.

[Ðr. Tran]

Their glaring was all the more cold and heartless as he spoke. But she was not in the mood to pander, nor answer questions, since they still had the reputation of the Bloody Mist.

"People live, and people die... how they do it is what matters, not who they are or what family they were born to."

She would say and look over to some of the pictures on the wall, former Mizukage's, one of them most prominently her grandmother. Mei Terumi, her family was much different then other shinobi. They knew it, had been through the same thing way back in yonder years, but they were still here.

"But if your thinking that just because things happened to your great grandparents or grandparents, that you need to fear or mistrust this village, or myself... then your mistaken... We do not distrust based on lineage, we do it based on loyalty...

Loyalty is the currency of the village, it is the weapon that protects us and the shield that covers us... All we have is each other, and the lives we connect to... So the question is not what is your lineage, but what is your loyalty?"

She said, her words rolling like a well versed speech. Fact of the matter was, it kind of is. She had to say the same things to other people seeking the village under similar ideas from the past. Though her plan was simple, assess what she could of this men and his family, and see if they would prove a valuable asset to the village and their people... If not... well they would get to that if needed.

[Zaigou]

That answer was good enough for Zaigou.

The shinobi smiled, his previously serious demeanor vanished in an instant. "That's all I wanted to hear, Mizukage-sama." He stated. The shinobi stood. "Allow me to re-introduce myself. You may call me Zaigou, but my true name is Yuki Gin - Leader of the Yuki clan." He bowed his head again, placing fist to palm as he did so. As he straightened back up, he explained.

"My clan fled Kirigakure generations ago, to escape the genocide brought to us by the Bloody Mist. Unfortunately, in our isolation, our clan is dying. There are less of us every generation." His smile faded as he spoke, saddened by the loss of his people.

"I am here to ask, Mizukage-sama, if my people can return to their ancestral home."

[Ðr. Tran]

Looking to the man, she understood what he was wishing and why. She was okay with it, but it was not as simple as "Your approved, move in" there was levels of trust that had to be earned.

"I see no problem with you and your family coming home, but unfortunately, its not as easy as all that"

She would say and look at Zaigou.

"You will need to fill out some forms, and for the first few months or longer, you will need to undergo some security sealing, standard stuff to ensure loyalty to the village, and to make sure you not some kind of spy or enemy out to harm our land... Its not as bad as you think, as long as you are nto any of the aforementioned things, the time will pass and the seal will be removed... Though if you are, I would warn you now, it would be a better idea to take you and your kin and leave, as betrayal will make you and your line end"

She said coldly, considering she was telling the truth. Spies where everywhere, what with the civil war, and a clan from olden days might have some kind of grudge, so it was a security measure to cover the village's back, so to speak.

[Zaigou]

"I could hardly begrudge you your safety measures. I will have my companions go for my people, and I will stay here - so you can keep an eye on me, of course." Zaigou continued to smile, unaffected by the not-so-subtle thread in her statements. He was not easily shaken, nor easily intimidated. Still, it was best to let the Mizukage have her way - it was her village, after all. 

Still, for the first time in a long time, he felt a light on the horizon for his people. They would not die alone in some barren wilderness of snow and isolation. Not now. "If you'll excuse me, Mizukage-sama, I've preparations to make." He bowed one more time and moved to leave the room, the message he would write already penning itself in his mind.

[Ðr. Tran]

She nodded then motioned to the masked members of Mei Kiri. The man was allowed to leave, and two men would be escorting him. For now, life would begin to settle to normal.