Standing In For The Mizukage: A new defector? [Private][Kamina]

With a cup of warm black tea close at hand Erwin poured over a clipboard held in his right hand, which detailed the days agenda, from behind the Mizukage's desk. He was at least dressed the part, even if he wasn’t required to be and his predecessor didn’t do the same, garbed in his black officer’s uniform with white trimming and his metal plated eye patch that bore the city’s symbol. It was still an odd feeling for him, to be back behind a seat of power pushing papers instead of out on the front lines, he had begun to miss it. Not too long ago the current Mizukage, Ōsharu Kōkkai, had decided to take a planned leave of absence to pursue an unknown personal goal, entrusting Erwin with the care of his city until the time of his return. It was an opportunity the middle aged samurai would not squander, he was already in the process of going over the “less known” laws of the land in the hope of improving them and perhaps one day change them to his liking, but that was for another time.

The most prevalent task on today’s agenda was the interviewing and assignment of the defector he had recently escorted into Kirigakure at Ōsharu’s request, Sunagakure’s Shiro Redfox, whom he had set a meeting with that was due to start in thirty minutes. He was curious to see whether or not Shiro would arrive early, punctuality usually spoke well of an individual, nevertheless it would only be a small hint towards Shiro’s character. If Erwin were to truly assess Shiro’s worth as an individual and his honesty towards joining Kirigakure’s military force he would need to question him first hand. If things went well he would place the Ex-Sunagakure shinobi in a probationary position and put him to work, then if he proved himself capable Erwin would fully instate the defector into Kirigakure’s ranks. Sure there was always the chance that this Shiro was a double agent or working of his own accord, and if he was anywhere near as skilled as Ōsharu implied then it would likely be near impossible to tell truth from lie, but Erwin himself was in the same situation roughly seven years back. He knew that earnest defectors did exist, the trouble was sorting them from those that would bring poison into their ranks.

[Word Count: 396]

After spending the first bit of his time in Kiri relaxing and taking in the sites the time was nearing for his appointment with the Mizukage or somebody of high stature anyway. He had heard rumors that the Mizukage was out of town for the time being so he wasn't all too sure just who he would meet today. With another fifteen minutes till his appointment he made his way towards the administrative building. Like most offices for the leaders of villages the building itself wasn't all that ornate in comparison to the rest of the town but it was certainly in much better condition and much much larger than every building in The Land of Water.... That may have been an exaggeration.

With exactly eight minutes to spare Shiro was escorted from his seat in the main office and through a door that led into the Mizukage's office. From there stood in front of a desk that had a man sitting behind it. Wanting to introduce to a man of power in a rather polite way Shiro reached his arm out towards the man with his hand open, waiting to shake this mans hand and introduce themselves to each other before taking his seat.

”Mr. Redfox has arrived early for your appointment.” Spoke a lean man from behind a mostly featureless chameleon inspired mask as he entered through the main door of the Mizukage’s office, an ANBU operative sent with word from the building's main entrance. ”Thank you, give me a few moments then show him in.” Erwin responded in a polite tone as he opened the top drawer to his right and set his clipboard inside, to which the ANBU operative bowed and disappeared through the door as quickly as he came. Taking a sip of his tea the samurai mulled over something he had been considering for a while. One of his students, Chikara Shurajo to be precise, had shown considerable dedication in the line of duty for a little while now. Perhaps it was time to reward her for the hard work she had been doing.

With a simple motion from his left hand a second ANBU operative, this time a petite woman with a mask inspired by the parrot, appeared from the doorway that lead to the balcony where the Kage delivered his speeches to the city and kneeled before the Kage’s desk. ”There’s really no need to kneel.” Erwin said in a kind tone, a light smile on his face. ”Of course Sir, what do you wish of me?” She inquired as she rose to her feet. ”I’d like you to seek out a student of mine, Chikara Shurajo, and bring her to me. I wish to speak with her after my meeting with Mr. Redfox.” ”Yes Sir.” The ANBU replied with a slight bow before disappearing in a blur to accomplish the task at hand.

Shortly after addressing the second ANBU Shiro Redfox was escorted into Erwin’s temporary office through the main door by the same chameleon masked ANBU as before, who bowed once again towards Erwin before taking his leave while sliding the door shut behind him, although he would still be close at hand. ”I do hope our city has been treating you well Mr. Redfox…” Erwin reached out to shake the defector’s hand as he spoke before motioning to the chair on Shiro’s side of the desk. ”... Please, have a seat. My name is Erwin Ekkehard, we didn’t get the chance to speak much when I first escorted you into the city and I would like to ask you a few questions.” He paused for a moment to allow Shiro a chance to respond before continuing with his first question. ”To start off I would like to know why you chose to come to us? There are many countries between us and the Land of Wind, or is that exactly what you wanted?”

[Word Count: 448]
[Total: 844]

To Shiro's surprise it was same man that had come to escort him to village. While this was indeed a surprising turn of events it also confirmed the fact that he current Mizukage was busy or simply away on business. If this, Erwin, had been in this position before he brought him to the great city it would be extremely unlikely and even ill advised for him to go out himself and retrieve a possibly hostile ninja. But with all that in the past Shiro simply wanted to move forward and start his citizenship or rather the word employment was more appropriate for this situation. With a brief handshake and a slight smile he would then proceed to sit in the chair. Like any job interview there no doubt some questions to be had. The first being a simple question as to why he came to Kiri specifically.

"Well first off you can call me Shiro if you like. And to answer your question... When I left Suna I said to myself 'You know, I want to live some wheres thats not always 100 degrees and dry and windy and sandy all the time. In fact I want the exact opposite of that, I want rain, humidity, lakes, solid ground.' So I came here. Although on a more serious note I would say its because I respect this land and its people more than any other, my distant relatives were nomads in The Land of Water so in a way it's almost as if im returning home. I hope that answer is satisfactory."

"Well first off you can call me Shiro if you like. And to answer your question... When I left Suna I said to myself 'You know, I want to live somewhere that's not always 100 degrees and dry and windy and sandy all the time. In fact I want the exact opposite of that, I want rain, humidity, lakes, solid ground.' So I came here. Although on a more serious note I would say its because I respect this land and its people more than any other, my distant relatives were nomads in The Land of Water so in a way it's almost as if I'm returning home. I hope that answer is satisfactory." Erwin noded politely in response to whether or not the answer was satisfactory, he doubted it was the real reason but it would likely be impossible to pry it from the ex-Sunagakure Shinobi without risking his life and the life of his men. So long as Shiro didn't overstep his bounds or do something suspicious then Erwin wouldn't need to try and force it out of him, until then he'd simply have him watched for the time being.

"A fair answer. Leaving the Land of Wind must have been risky, should we be expecting members of their hunter division or did you leave on good terms?" Erwin responded with his second question, if there was a risk of Sunagkure sending hunter shinobi after their defector then he would need to beef up security. If this were the case then Shiro would also need to provide something in fair exchange for keeping him safe from his previous employers, which could be as simple as working for them or providing them with intelligence. There was also the chance that Shiro had left his country in a similar manner to himself, exiled and thought to be dead, or that he was simply allowed to retire and live out his life as he saw fit, although the latter was highly unlikely in the Shinobi world.

[Word Count: 221]
[Total: 617]