Raikage's office

OOC: I'm going to use this post to set the stage and tone for the village, as well as give a history lesson.

Akiza Raijin sighed in boredom as she lifted a cup of greenish tea to her lips and took a sip. A teetering stack of forms and paperwork sat in a tray on her desk labeled "Out" while the tray beside it labeled "In" was quite empty. She had tackled her responsibilities as vigorously as she had the first six months of her term as Raikage, and doing so she went through them so fast she was left with far too much idle time. And that wasn't to say she was lacking work; indeed that was anything but the case. As all Raikages before her, she was tasked with rebuilding the Hidden Cloud village after the last Trial of Succession. Akiza lowered her cup as she reflected on that grizzly time.

For three years their village had been at war with itself, in order to select the new leader. For their people didn't not believe in appointment by a fat and lazy daimyos or by elections that could be rigged and cheated. No, in this village were survival of the fittest and rule of the strongest was tradition and law, only the tempest of war could allow one to rule with legitimacy. Thus, the Trial of Succession, a fancy and decorous title for what amount to ritualized civil war. Neighbors turned and neighbors and brother against brothers as the village's shinobi threw their lots behind various champions. Over half the village perished in that hell. She herself had fought in it, as an assassin at her brother's side...

Akiza's grandfather, the Godaime Raikage, had chosen to step down voluntarily. Which in itself was a are occurrence. Most Raikages were assassinated in office, an in their fifties at that. her grandfather however retired in his 80s, the longest reign of all the Raikages. And with him aside, a dozen different candidates rose, each with their supporters. Akiza joined her father and the rest of the Raijin clan, her experience in ANBU proving priceless during the war. But if took it's toll on her as she was forced to slay people she had grown up without hesitation.

Eventually, as it always did, the maelstrom of factions whittled down to only two; that lead by her father, and another lead by a powerful rival. The last years of the war were more bloody than ever as the two ninja armies clashed again and again with no clear winner in sight. But it reached a turning point the fateful day her father fell in battle, leaving her and and brother as the only heirs to their clan.

When it seemed as if the Raijins would fall aprt from lack of leadership, Akiza stepped up in her father's stead. Leading her side in one last battle, she manged to avenger her father and secure her place as the strongest of the village. But the battle had raged on around her, something she couldn't tolerate. With the purpose of the war ended, it was no more that pointless slaughter now...

She could still hear the clash of blades and the cries of dying men through the fog of war, even as she stood before her defeated, final foe. Sickened, she had to make it end. Forming the seal of the Shadow Clone jutsu, she replicated herself twice. Then all three executed a string of handsigns and raised their hands to the murky heavens, shouting "Susanoo's Call!"

At once the sky responded to her command, dark clouds rapidly forming overhead. Those within sight of her stop fighting and stared in disbelief at the spectacle of a teenaged girl commanding the heavens, even as the rain began to fall. But Akiza knew a mere storm wasn't enough, she would have to make a show of force great enough that no one would challenge her...

With another handsign she performed her Fenghuang jutsu, teleporting in a whirlwind to a cliff overlooking the battlefield. Then with another seal, she rose her hand once more, for her most devastating technique. High above, lightning began to gather in one place, and as she used her own chakra to guide it, she brought down her Kirin on the no-mans land of the battlefield, the power of it renting great fissures in the earth.

"I am your new Raikage!" she declared to to the many ninja gawking up up her. And although she hadn't planned it that like that, the use of Kirin caused her storm to break up, and the first beam of bright sunlight illuminated her like a deity. "I declare this war over!" she added with growing authority. "Unless someone desires to challenge me..." she said, letting the last part hang as a threat.

"Lord Raikage!" came a shout, more voices echoing in a chorus as the battleground became bathed in sunlight. The Cloud ninjas all sank to a knee as they acknowledged her power, hailing her as their new leader...

Akiza sighed again at the memory. She knew she hadn't been anywhere near the strongest at the beginning of the war. But by the end, everyone greater than her had perished... Realizing this made her question the system in the first place. Was it not flawed to have the greatest ninjas of a generation be killed by their own kin? How many cycles like this could her village sustain before falling apart? It was such thoughts that had harried her every day in the last six months of her reign.

As it was, she had no choice but to reign as long as her grandfather did if she had any hopes of keeping the village stable enough to regain it's former glory. Right now they were at their most vulnerable, as another Great Village could just sweep in and rout them. She knew little of the current world stage outside of ANBU reports, so the state of the other villages was largely a mystery to her. "No choice but to remain diligent," she thought glumly as she took a gulp of tea, "And hope that more misfortune doesn't befall us..."

Having finished up doing a several laps around the village Suki arrives at her superior's office and stops before the door. Not at all winded by her work out she frowns lightly as she feels the eyes of several lesser CF ninja; no doubt they were either captivated by her unnatural beauty or well scorning her for the demon that laid sealed within her very soul. As much as she hated the looks she received from people Suki tried her best to ignore them and with a sigh she raises up a fist and taps lightly against the door to Akiza's Office.

"Mi'Lady its me, may I come in?" She softly and politely addresses her leader just before opening up the door and stepping into the office.

Shutting the door behind her the raven haired ninja bows to her friend turned superior. "I am here for duty Lady Akiza." She mutters in an soft voice. "Has all your work been finished?" She then asks just before slipping into a free chair and folding her hands in her lap and awaiting her Raikage's orders.

It didn't take much for Suki to be able to notice the distant look gracing her friend's face and though she couldn't dismiss it(she did after all dislike seeing her Raikage bothered in even the most minute of ways) she wasn't the kind to pry without permission. So resting her hands against her lap she properly waits for Akiza to speak, the locking her silver eyes onto her friend's face as she hopes that Akiza would reveal what ailed her.

"Suki," Akiza acknowledged absently, nodding her head in the other girl's vague direction. She was still lost in thought over the enormity of her current task. When her assistant's words finally reached her, she sat up with a jerk and replied "Nothing, I am just thinking back... Just thinking of how far the village has come and how far we have yet to go. We have come along way in just six months," she remarked as she spun her chair to glance out the bay windows behind her, at the mostly rebuilt bulbous structures that made out the mountainous village. "And yet, something still feels amiss... But for the life of me I cannot pin down why," she finished, turning back to her desk and Suki and ignoring her banter.

Taking in the sound of her superior's voice, the generally silent girl notes the minute waves of stress and worry in her friend's voice and gently stands up from her seat and walks over towards her Mistress. Coming to a halt several steps passed the desk she cocks her head to the side as she tries her best to think about what to say. "Perhaps Lady Akiza some exercise would help clear your mind?" She suggests in her standard quiet tone of voice, the Kage Assistant just wanting to help her friend and superior out in any way possible. "Thinking to much... is a bad thing after all." She softly adds just before turning to Akiza's desk and snatching her Mistress' tea cup which she offers to her friend in a subservient fashion.

The ghost of a smile crossed Akiza's face at Suki's verbal jab, even as she swiped at the girl's finger. "Tsukiyomi..." she growled, "If it were anyone else, I'd punch you through the window for your insolence," she remarked only half jokingly. "But despite the truth in your words, I cannot afford to ignore the past," she went on. "I have my goals, but if I plow ahead without using past events as a guide, I am doomed to repeat old mistakes..."

She sighed, and shook her head to clear it of suck thoughts. "I am already on a tea break," she pointed out, lifting up her half full cup, "So that would be rather redundant, would it not?" she asked with a hint of amusement. "What would help me now is to help the village by doing something. Something other than paperwork..." she muttered. "Please tell me you came with something for me to handle, Akatsuki, a missing nin, a coup- Anything," she half pleaded.

Grinning lightly at her friend's growl Suki closes her silver eyes and shrugs her shoulders gently. "Yet I know you won't touch me, so I think I'm safe to tease another day." She softly murmurs. "And what I am here for Aki? I am your Assistant am I not? Let me do my job and help you." She adds just as she cracks open a eye and focuses onto her dark friend. "Worrying about the past will just kill you and if you die... I'm out of a job. So perhaps you should let me do the thinking for you Lady Raikage." She states her usually quiet voice teasing the Raikage regardless of the difference in their rank and power.

When Akiza pointed out the tea cup she was holding Suki would merely regard it and smirk at the girl. "Walk then perhaps?" She suggests to her friend, her silver eyes closing once more as she tries to think of something important for Akiza to handle. "We could think of something on it I bet, or maybe perhaps lure some threats out." The ebony haired girl states, her smile widening. Going on a walk was potentially dangerous however Suki knew they wouldn't be in any true danger, Akiza was powerful and she was there too and Suki was by no means a pushover when it came to combat considering the demon that lurked within her very soul.

ooc: Totally retconning the above. <_< Hope you don't mind Aki.

Having been up even before the sun rose from behind the nearby mountains Mai Shikiouji started the day as she usually did, making her rounds throughout the Village under the veil of dark. An experienced warrior and the very Raikage's personal assistant the black haired woman seen herself as the Kage's body guard despite knowing very intimately just how powerful Akiza was despite her age and looks. Yes, despite the matter that she was 17 years old and a beautiful girl at that the older woman heard the rumors surrounding the girl who became their leader, namely that she very well could be the strongest Raikage the Cloud has seen in centuries.

It was then a cool weak smile came to the very corner of her lips as Mai's mind wandered to the very day she met Akiza. She was a mercenary back then and a very dangerous one at that and through it be fate or by mere chance she was assigned to lead an army that wound up facing Akiza's forces and through a fierce battle, a friendship was formed. The 20 year old knew first hand just how much power and skill the young Raikage was and yet again she still took it upon herself as acting as the girl's guardian; following her in the shadows, always watching her, and always being ready to attack an enemy at a half second's notice that was how she lived and even her efforts were for naught the former Merc had a very good reason for protecting Akiza.

Gray eyes half lidded and her mind still wandering she finds herself drawn by instinct and habit to the end of her rounds, which was the very door to the Raikage's office. It was morning now as evident by the sleepy sun poking out behind the cloudy sky and Mai knew very well that Akiza would be in her office, she always was after all a hard worker once again despite what her age may suggest otherwise. So standing in front of Akiza's door Mai looks over her shoulder to see if the coast was clear and upon finding that she was indeed alone she would focus her chakra and undergo a rather impressive transformation, which was that her body began to break apart into thin pieces of seemingly mundane paper.

Despite possessing what they called "dynamite looks" and dressing rather suggestively at that Mai was not the kind of person to draw attention to herself; even when it came to simple things such as knocking or opening a door. She enjoyed the silence and she enjoyed being rather undetectable and thus in her paper form she slipped underneath the very door that stood in her way and reformed herself quietly inside Akiza's office. Once completely reformed she would make her way slowly to a couch that sat against a wall of the Raikage's office and very quietly take a seat atop it, folding her hands on her lap and focusing her gray eyes onto Akiza.

It didn't matter how long it took for the young woman to notice her presence, Mai was content just sitting in the silence like now and basking in the girl's presence as well as knowing that Aki was indeed safe and she herself was besides the girl. It was simple but that was how Mai preferred it and that was the sum of their relationship.