"And let this be a lesson to the two of you . . . Tasori . . . Metaru . . . This rivalry of yours, no matter how severe and how much work is put into out doing the other, should not span into affecting civilians of the village . . . No disciplinary actions have occurred for the once and final time, do not let me have this talk with you two again . . . You are dismissed . . ."
Both elbows rested on the big cherry wood desk that belonged to none other than the Juudaime Mizukage, his index and middle fingers rubbing at his temples as he contemplated how he would pay for the destruction to the fine china shop and medical injuries to its owner. All of which caused by a simple rivalry between two of the village's brightest young Genin. Although he came off quite hard toward the boys, he was not made at their rivalry, more so the that it went beyond their control. Knowing too well what that brought about from his days of better youth, Ōsharu attempted to fix what he couldn't by instilling a method of controlling ones power rather than having the power control them within the next generation of Kirigakure no Sato shinobi.
Soon after he spoke the boys had exited his office, as they opened the doors to exit Ōsharu's receptionist, Aria, voice chatting away toward some helpless soul. Chatty but loyal, as were most of those working within his administration. Yet, they pushed their loyalty too far when it came to refreshing and refining his skills, none could quite keep up with his pace and often quit before their true end when asked to help. Rivals were something he was face with from the moment of joining his first squad as a Genin, but between the three now men this was nothing more than brotherly love. Tenshin had settled down, starting a family with three kids. All of which regarded Ōsharu as uncle Ōshu. As for Hibiki, he and his loyal pet tiger chestnut had been laid to rest a little over three years now, thus the trio had been subjected to one active shinobi. True rivalry had been lost in time.
Pushing off from his desk, his right hand slid across his desk catching the world newspaper in his grasp before opening it to the front page where the symbols of the respective Kumogakure no Sato and Otogakure no Sato stood tall with a question mark running between them. The headlines read "Oto carves out its heart and serves it to Kumo on a silver platter? Find out inside on pg. 3". The man raised an eyebrow at the tabloids current "revelation, as normal it was filled with nothing more than wives tales and speculations, but the image on the front also had a picture of Kumogakure's current Raikage too which sparked Ōsharu's interest. Traveling to page three, Ōsharu found exactly what he had hoped to see. Underneath a better quality picture he found the name and title, "Raionhato Gambaldi - Raikage of Kumogakure no Sato".
A light hearted chuckle escaped the pale skinned man as he sat back in his chair, the newspaper laid across his chest. "Wow . . . It would seem a lot has changed . . . Old friend . . ." Removing the newspaper from his body and laying it flat on his desk, Ōsharu walked to the giant window overlooking the village. His mind opening and closing the many doors of his memories searching for when the event that marked the very second war that he participated in, Konoha vs Kumo. Seeing as Oto had been called upon to aid Leaf Village shinobi during the event, the eighth Mizukage insisted that available Kirigakure shinobi lend aid to available Kumogakure troops.
[ F L A S H B A C K ]
All but two shinobi stood left defending one of three last strongholds before enemy troops would be in range to invade The Village Hidden in the Clouds. The pale-skinned ANBU Captain from Kirigakure, Ōsharu Kōkkai and another man bearing a set of clouds on his forehead protector, Raionhat Gambaldi, were the last two remaining from the 1st division of Kumo and the 3rd division of Kiri. The two jumped from tree to tree in search of a suitable place to post for the night, after about an hour of continuous trekking they came across a three (3) mile stretch of flatlands. By Ōsharu's calculations, their method of travel should have allotted them several hours before the enemy troops would reach the beginning of the mile stretch, being across the flats would provide them a clear vision of their oncoming opponents, but for the moment rest and preparation would need to be achieved if either men expected to make it through the next day alive, let alone turn the course of the war.Since posting up camp for the night, the two fortified their defenses amongst the tree line and even established a fire whose properties of giving off light were masked by the cover of black liquid stretched between four trees, effectively keeping them hidden from sight. Despite the duration of this time traveling together only a handful of words had been exchanged between the two. For Ōsharu, he necessarily did not trust the Kumogakure shinobi despite aiding him. Kirigakure had been raided a few weeks prior, the culprits remained unknown, thus anyone was at fault. Why further communication had not been established by the Kumogakure shinobi was unknown, but as the night wore on Ōsharu contemplated trusting his gut or his mind.
"Damn it . . . Fight your pride . . . You've been given an assignment by the Mizukage, act like the shinobi and Twenty-First head of your clan that you are! . . . Then again, what do I need with conversing with this other shinobi, if he can't hold his own at his own frontlines then that's a problem in itself . . . He's proven himself thus far though, and with the onslaught that occurred do to that blasted Yamanaka member . . . Ugh! Filthy Konoha scum . . . He, like myself, are the only two remaining from our platoons . . . I choose . . . Mind . . ."
Pushing off from the floor, Ōsharu assumed his full height before walking to the other end of the fire where the Kumogakure shinobi had posted up. Stopping about a meter away, Osharu cleared his throat before sparking the conversation to a new chapter in the Tales of the Sea Beast. "Hey, we haven't really been formally introduced . . . My name is Ōsharu Kokkai, ANBU Captain under the Eighth Mizukage . . . Mind telling me exactly who it is that I've been tasked with aiding?" The deep velvety texture of Ōsharu's voice called out, certain aspects of the sound in his voice were stern, but seemingly inviting enough to hold a conversation.
Chakra Pool: 300
Word Count: 1161
