Putting Together the Pieces (Kei)

After the events at the border, Tomoe invites the Raikage back to her office to discuss what they learned and continue to try and puzzle together the information they already have to determine the next course of action. En route to the office she catches up on reports from the front lines as to how battles are going and has the news of Zaru's death. The death of Kusagakure's leader ought to boost the morale of the ninja forces.

Back in her office, Tomoe sends for drinks to accompany their discussion. There is sake for Kei and wine for either of them, which Tomoe pours a glass of for herself. "So then, Zaru the puppet is dead, which means that things do not bode well for Kusa's continued involvement in this war. But if their intentions were to start a war, what do they have to gain by removing the person who was pushing hardest for that war and leading it? I wonder what this 'something' they were looking for is… is it something that can only be found when people are dying?" She muses over this and looks over at the Raikage for his thoughts on the matter. "And the man you fought was your sensei? How did he come to leave the village and take up acquaintance with shady sorts?"

@Logic

Kei doesn't bother grabbing a cup, instead he begins to drink from the bottle. Sake runs down the side of his cheeks and burns the inside of his throat, yet still he drinks. He lets the bottle hit the table and he sinks down into the chair opposite of Tomoe. His eyes are burning and water, from the sake or from the current situation, no one can quite tell. His voice comes out in a rasp when begins to speak.

"Shunsuke... Shun was the greatest shinobi Kumo has produced in over 100 years... shit... maybe ever." Kei's eyes dart up and down the walls and the ceiling above him. He is trying to sift through memories and conscious thought. He can feel his fists balling under the table. He grabs the sake and takes another long swig. "He used to say... he used to say 'Kei, one day you're going to surpass me. Your thunder is going to shake the world..."

Kei places the bottle on the table, his fingers fiddling with the spout. His clothes are still dirty from the previous fight. His mind racing a million miles per hour. "He was my leader, my friend... He was the person I wanted to be. He should of been the Raikage... We were at the border, Oto had invaded Shimo and pushed through to the south west. Shun an I arrived as Kumo forces were being driven back. It was routine, secure the area and report back. Except Oto had a thing for human mortars. Oto shinobi began to break through the line, taking all sorts of damage, yet they would break through, and detonate the bombtags encasing their bodies. Who the hell expects that? Shun was hit by a blast... I held him in my arms. Half of his face blown off. I was going to bring him back to Kumo, but Oto had taken advantage of our surprise. We had to retreat... I left him there."

Tomoe had a feeling that Kei could use a drink after that, and it looks like the man was indeed in sore need of one. She can hardly blame him, especially as she listens to his story with interest. "I'm sorry to hear that," she says quietly. The loss of Kei's mentor weighs heavily on him still and having to fight the man who mentored him and was left for dead on a battlefield could not have been an easy thing today.

"This may have roots in Shimo. But it is more likely Oto's forces were the ones to recover him." Tomoe continues to ponder out loud, trying to fit these details into something that can give them an idea of where to investigate next. "Zaru was from Otogakure as well. Hm. With so many things pointing to Oto, I think it may be worth a thorough investigation when this is over."

Kei nods again and takes a long sip. The bottle of sake is near empty. He sets it back down on the table and starts to fidget. "Whomever he's with... they are dangerous. I did some research on Urimono. Nothing came up. But Senna was Iwa's strongest. Hana and her were both heavily considered for the post... We need to collaborate with the other villages. See if they've had any missing nin in the last decade. If so, we need as much info as we can get."

"Indeed we do. We also need to be considering the events of the past decade, things that may tie back to Otogakure, to missing-nin, or even Kusagakure, especially if these events are unusual in nature." Tomoe meanwhile tries to think of who has defected in the past decade from Konoha that had promising ninja talents. She has not been the Hokage long and knows of none who defected under her leadership, but she thinks there might have been an incident that occurred some years ago which resulted in a ninja defecting from Konoha. "Any idea what Shunsuke might have been looking for?" After all, Kei knew the man best.

"Not a clue... I'm going to return to his home and start digging through his library. The man is a genius, he read every single day. He has a library in his home that hasn't been touched in a decade. I'll start there..." Kei couldn't help but wonder if he secretly didn't want to know.

"A library, how interesting. Please keep me informed on what you find there. I would also like to reach out to Hana again and see how Iwagakure is faring. Perhaps there may be clues as to Senna's motivations and new connections among her former friends in Iwagakure. And well, the stability of the village concerns me as well."

Kei nods before falling asleep in the Hokage's office. The sake and emotional stress from the day have taken its toll. Seiya will be taking care of the Kumo troops and ensuring everything is going accordingly. Having an assistant like Seiya makes Kei's job easy and on days like this, you need someone by your side.

"…"

Tomoe can't blame Kei for falling asleep after all of that. She can tell that running into his sensei like that took a heavy mental toll on him. She quietly pads out of her office, leaving instructions with one of her assistants to look after things and show the Raikage to guest quarters if he wakes up and to otherwise attend to him if needed.

She goes off to check up on her ninjas and troops and see what intelligence has brought in from the front lines and scouts.

[End?]

OOC: Nah we can continue with Kei returning from Kumo after his research.

Logic wrote:

OOC: Nah we can continue with Kei returning from Kumo after his research.

works for me

Kei returns to the Hokage's office a few days after passing out in the office. He brings with him a large stack of papers, books, notepads, and scrolls. His face looks sunken and dry as if he hasn't slept in a few days. His usually clean-shaven face is now growing a stubble. To sum it up, he looks like garbage. He sets the assortment of research on the Hokage's desk and sits in a chair next across from Tomoe.

Tomoe lifts an eyebrow, but that is as much commentary as Kei's appearance gets for now. She leans forward in her seat to look at what is on top of the stack that Kei brought to her office. "I take it you've found some articles of note? Or perhaps mere interest that you've brought to share?"

Tomoe nods at the mention of Naruto, one of the most famous of Konoha's Hokages. "Hm." She wonders if this Shunsuke had ties to people of dubious loyalty and intentions even before his supposed death in the Oto-Kumo war, but she's not sure now is the appropriate time to point this out to Kei, who is clearly suffering for learning so much about his former mentor. "Sealed, perhaps, but destroyed? The destruction of bijuu seems like a difficult task. But anyway, their return would be, well… transformative." That's putting it mildly.

"Until I see a Bijuu, i'm not too worried about it. What I am worried about is the list of names Shun had written in his writings. Doing some research of myself and contacting the other countries via courier pigeons, I've narrowed it down to 10 people, excluding Urimono, who may be involved. One is from Konoha."

OOC: You can assume Tomoe knows this person. Lemme switch computers really quick and I will have her name for you.

Once more, Tomoe wonders how far back these plans go prior to Shunsuke's 'death' and subsequent defection from Kumogakure. "Who might those 10 be?" she asks with some concern. The more they are able to learn about who their foes might be, the more prepared they can be to deal with the coming threats, especially if they involve something like the return of bijuu or other potential power sources.

Tomoe listens to the list of prospective group members with a flicker of recognition at the name of Ino Senju, although a handful of names ring a bell due to sheer notoriety. "If they are all involved… that is quite the list of suspects. Almost more troubling than their abilities is their motive for getting together, as well as who might be leading them and why."

Kei nods and sighs. "The only thing is, I couldn't find any information on Urimono. I don't know of anyone who utilize the Crystal element the way he does..."

"He may be from a small village and working under a different name. Or perhaps he's from one of those rare clans that lives in seclusion."

Tomoe turns to Kei, shifting the topic slightly. "And how are you doing through all of this?"

Kei leans his head on the desk, resting it on the mountain of information he brought from Kumo. "Aside from not sleeping in the last 72 hours, fine. Everyone made it back to Kumo. No casualties, some bumps and scrapes here and there but everyone seems to be fine. As for Shun... I'm not sure how I let this happen."

Tomoe nods her head. "I'm glad to hear they are alright. Take care that you don't become a 'casualty' as well." She means it in a joking sense, not that he would become a casualty, just that he's clearly wounded, albeit not in a physical manner. "I'm not sure it's your fault?" she points out, a sort of challenge for him to explain himself.

"You can't blame yourself. It's not your fault if he was slowly planning something," Tomoe points out gently. The rest she can agree with and she nods, "Yes, the missing-nin are threats we'll need to address. Lawless, dangerous, and willing to start a war… those qualities in a ninja are largely undesirable."