Meeting the Jounin Commander
[ Republic of the Water Country | Kirigakure ]
[ Takeshi Shun and Jirou Kanbe ]
A collab between Chromehound and Nim
Jirou continues his council member meetings, with the next on the list being the Jounin-Commander, Takeshi.
The former Senate building felt like the most suitable place to begin his new dictatorship. On the ruins of the old, the new shall rise. As he looked around, Jirou had already made arrangements for a cleaning crew to come and take care of the mess that had taken place in the Senate building. He wanted to turn the entire structure into his own, well secure mansion. While arranging for the security was simple enough for him, he figured he would wait until the place was a bit cleaner before thinking of arranging more things. That didn't stop him from arranging some of his meetings to take place in the building. If anything, he figured the blood and mess around would help determine who is more easily shaken and who is not. As much as he wanted loyalty, he wanted bravery too. Having an army of scaredy cats would do him no good, after all.
Knowing he sent out orders to instruct several personnel to come and meet him, Jirou thought about one of the first people that he instructed to arrive. Takeshi Shun. He didn't know much about the man. But seeing his position as the Jounin-Commander in the council, Jirou wanted to meet him and see where his allegiance stood. After the meeting with Kimi, he knew he would need to try and take things a bit more carefully if he wanted to try and keep things less bloody.
Takeshi entered the building with three armed guards as his escort. The Jounin-Commander had not been certain at first that he even wanted to accept the invitation to meet with the man who had seen fit to murder the majority of the senators. While he agreed things had grown stagnant and Kiri was falling behind in the race of the great nations, senseless murder was not something he supported. Nevertheless, his presence had been requested and so Takeshi found himself here.
As they walked through the halls, the first thing he noticed was the smell. They had clearly not been able to fully clean up after the mess that had been made during the massacre and Takeshi wondered how long they were going to leave it. When they arrived at the door to the room that served as Jirou's temporary office, one of the three guards that was escorting him stepped forward and opened the door. Waiting to be granted access, Takeshi simply stood outside, a bored expression on his face. The soldier returned and gestured towards the door. Nodding, Takeshi entered the room.
Looking at Takeshi as the man entered, Jirou nodded towards him
"Welcome, Jounin-Commander Takeshi Shun. I was pleased to hear you chose to arrive without any resistance. I am sure you heard by now about me and what had occurred, so let me first reassure you. Those who had died were the ones who held back the country. The senators who wanted to see things stay because it was beneficial for them. All others had been alerted beforehand, and their lives had been spared. With that said, the Senate will not exist anymore. The same, however, may not be the same towards the council. I know all council members held important roles, and even if I am going to put myself at the head of the country, I know one man cannot do all alone, let alone only by force."
Jirou briefly glanced in the direction of the list of names that laid on the desk before looking back at Takeshi, his expression unchanging. His stance slightly changed, allowed Takeshi to see that Jirou had his kusarigama in his right hand, with the chain wrapped around his arm
"I am putting forward an offer for every council member to work under me. While the positions will remain the same as before, the conditions can be different. New arrangements can be made, and none of the council members will need to hear the sounds of many people. Only answer to me. But as I said, I am open to allowing new terms in order to ensure you and your colleagues work under me willingly, and minimize any further bloodshed." He said.
Listening as the man tried to explain his deeds, Takeshi's expression never changed. When the man shifted his stance, however, Takeshi raised a single eyebrow.
"Am I really that threatening that you felt the need to bring a weapon to an introductory meeting?" His tone held a hint of amusement and the Jounin-Commander folded his arms across his chest.
"You say you're open to new terms and that conditions will be different, but all I've seen so far is the same attempt to rule by fear and display of power that every other so called leader of Kirigakure has before you. So tell me, what exactly makes you different?"
As Takeshi made his first remark, Jirou looked at his weapon
"This is more due to my nature than anyone in particular feeling threatening." He explained as he unraveled the weapon from around his arm and then put it aside
"As for the display of fear and power. You are right in that front. But all those that came before me always had further, hidden agendas. I intend to be clear about everything I desire. Furthermore, the last few leaders and leadership had seen little to no progress for the country, allowing our rivals to advance and become much more prosperous. I despise the thought and will work to change it, instead of pretending to try and work alongside them. With the current war in the east, I understand some measures need to be taken. But that will be as far as I am willing to go in working together with those from Akino.
"I won't lie and say I don't have my own, personal agendas. I certainly do. But I won't pretend that this won't be a dictatorship either. The last three Mizukages tried to pretend, to a degree, that they were 'there for the people' when they just kept trying to make sure they stay in power. That was, at the end, what began the chain of stagnation that has been hurting our country. The lies and deceit. That is my take on things, and what eventually pushed me to act. The Senate, while not all were like this, contained more than enough individuals that were essentially the same as the Mizukages. Only wanting to ensure their own wealth and prosperity continued and not about others. That is why I acted." Jirou finished speaking, looking dead in the eyes of Takeshi, and waited to see what kind of response the man would have.
"You can see the problem here though, can't you?" Takeshi asked.
"You come in claiming to be different, that your goals and desires are purely noble. Yet that is also exactly what the last few leaders proclaimed and you saw how that ended." The amusement had faded from his tone and Takeshi tilted his head slightly.
"This country has a bloody and brutal history. We seem to believe the only way to move forward is by murdering everyone and everything that we perceive to be in our way. Strangely enough, this hasn't led to the same success that each of our glorious leaders assumed it would." Shrugging, the Jounin continued,
"Take a look at the ones you call our enemies. Sure, the Lightning has had some struggles with leadership changes as well, but the thing that they and Akino both share is that the periods in which they have had the most success and growth are ones in which they established stability and unity within their clans and people. The way we're heading, all I see is further internal bloodshed until we are eventually overrun by our rivals."
Shifting slightly, Takeshi scratched his chin with one hand.
"So sure, you're in charge now. That's great. But now what?" Posing the question, the Jounin locked eyes with Jirou.
"If we really want to set the country up for long-term success, how do you propose we begin? Because I certainly don't think it starts with just murdering everyone who disagrees with you or has another opinion."
"You are right about that. Those that came before me did say the same. And I have taken the advice of your colleague Kimi. I am trying to find ways to proceed other than just kill all those who oppose me. The beginning was certainly bloody, but she had mentioned that if I just kill everyone who opposes me, I'll eventually run out of competent people. And that is not something I can say I desire." Jirou's expression turned more grim
"I am aware of my own shortcomings. I am a military man through and through. Pride is what defines me. That is why I am willing to listen and try to work on things. I do not believe I know everything. I may have experience in certain fields, but I won't lie and pretend to be all knowing. And stepping forward and admitting it feels like a hard blow to my pride already."
Once more, he glanced towards the list of names on the desk
"I desire to work on improving this country for myself, my family. That is why, first thing, I will work on fixing what is currently wrong. The illness that struck the country, as one prime example. I have an extended list of things I believe are wrong, but going at them with just pure brute strength and expecting it to work is not the way to go. That is why it is also a priority for me to approach all the council members and see if they would be willing to work under me and not just sit while a group of fat and rich people talk among them, but actually start to see change, and be able to help formulate the plans too. I may be the one who will end up approving the plans, but I doubt any country has a single person that decides on everything on their own." Jirou turned his gaze back to Takeshi
"I am willing to inform you even further of my thoughts and plans if it will help you decide if you want to follow me or not."
Though his facial expression did not change, Takeshi smirked inwardly when he heard Kimi's name. That certainly explained a few things. For a moment, the Jounin-Commander pondered whether or not Jirou knew who he had gotten himself involved with.
"You're going to need to forget your pride if you're to lead successfully." Takeshi said after a few moments.
"Pride has been the downfall of many prior leaders and, quite frankly, is the last thing this Country needs right now."
Shrugging again, the Jounin-Commander locked eyes with Jirou.
"You say you're a soldier. That's all well and good, but it doesn't exactly inspire confidence in your ability to lead this country during a time where it needs to focus on rebuilding rather than fighting. Yes we're currently involved in a conflict in the East, and yes we need to strengthen our borders to prevent our rivals from taking advantage of us. But we've just gone through a revolution and a reformation and the country is in shambles. It doesn't help that you've decided to make the first step in establishing a new leadership to eviscerate what people believed to be a more unified system. You're right, it wasn't working. But was going in and slaughtering everyone that you felt wouldn't play along really necessary? Or was it just a way of flexing your muscles?"
His tone gained a slight edge and Takeshi's eyes narrowed.
"For too damned long the leaders of this country have tried to rule by fear. For whatever reason, you all seem to think it's the best possible way to lead. I don't know if you've read a history book recently, but it doesn't fucking work. You might be able to get people in line momentarily, but it's not a long term solution. All it does is cause people to eventually grow enough resentment that they lash out and sure enough, the cycle repeats itself."
"If you really want to be different than all those before you, if you really want to make a change in this country that will set it up for prosperity and success, then be that change first. Don't run around dumping bodies in the streets and making threats to the citizens. Don't have your lackeys chant your fucking name from a stage like you're some sort of god." Shaking his head, Takeshi sighed.
"It's great that you want others to help you, but honestly? I'm not going to stand behind another leader who tries to get everyone to bow before them while holding some self-righteous illusions that they're doing it all for the greater good. I'm too damned tired of watching this country fail time and again with leaders who are more concerned with obedience than progress. If you want monkeys who run around and do everything you say without any thought of their own, I'm not your guy."
"You got two things wrong in that little speech of yours. First one is the thought that I am doing it for the greater good. If I cared about that, I wouldn't have gone and murdered members of the previous government, and instead looked for a too peaceful solution that most likely would've led me nowhere. I care about making sure the country I live in is one I want to live in. I despised the way things were so I took it into my hands to make a change. The whole show I put out a show because I knew that was what, unfortunately, the people know nowadays in the country, as you stated yourself. I personally still believe it was the appropriate first step to making the country acknowledge me as their leader, but far be it from being the right way for the rest of the way. I know the farmers are suffering. My parents were farmers, and I saw how much of their hard work and basically equalled to nothing at the end because of how things were run. I know the economy in the country was suffering because of how the only goddamn reforms the senate cared about were ones that made their own pockets deeper. So to those I decided to say, loud and clear, no more. I showed the corruption to all to show I won't accept anything like that. Everyone who could be spared was spared."
Jirou kept going, his voice being stern but his expression unchanging
"The second thing is that I want monkeys who will just do whatever I say. Why do you think I am approaching the council members in the way I am? I am already trying to put my pride aside and openly show awareness of the things that could easily bring to someone else replacing me. This is why this is an offer, not an order. With all that said," He sighed
"You are right that it was far from being the right move or way to do things. I am a part of the cycle you mentioned, with the way things are. But that does not mean it has to remain this way, especially if there will be people like you who will come up and tell me at face level that this won't work. That is the sole reason I thought of a dictatorship being the right way. It will give me the power to give the right people power. Those who will help work things to bring the country back to its former glory, and they cannot be spineless monkeys who will just do my bidding. They need to be people who care about the country. I may desire obedience from all, but if that comes with a lack of change, I may as well just step down already and make things easier for the next person in the line."
Jirou shook his head
"You won't follow every dog that comes and bites and barks loudly. I can certainly respect that. Now, would you consider working with me?" He asked. He had some hope that Takeshi would notice his choice of wording in this instance. It was clear that to gain the respect of the man it would take a lot of work, but the first step was to see if he could convince him of his motives. His selfish motives to have a better country, while understanding it is impossible to go at it alone or by fear only.
"Absolute power corrupts absolutely," Takeshi said softly, shaking his head.
"My issue was not that you would be acting for the greater good, but rather that you'd be using that false belief as justification for your actions. If you're truly only acting out selfishness then I don't understand how you see yourself as being any different than the other leaders." Tilting his head, Takeshi's eyes narrowed slightly.
"You just told me your only interest is in making this a better country for you and your family. That means you're either going to give in to nepotism, or you're only going to work hard as long as you believe it benefits you and your family in the long run. What happens when one of your enemies decides they've had enough and goes after your family? What then? Will you simply give up on the country because they're gone, or will you take your anger out on everyone and use your newfound power to bring the country to its knees?"
"I'm not opposed to working with you, after all it isn't like I have much choice right now. My desire is to see this country prosper. Not for me, not for my family, but for everyone living here that deserves a safe and healthy place for once. For everyone who has had to suffer their entire damned lives because we've never had a leader that truly gives a shit about them." Locking eyes with Jirou, the Jounin-Commander continued,
"So, as long as you show me that you're making changes with the best interests of the country and its people in mind, and not just for you and your family, then you will have my support. And yes I mean show. I don't care for fancy words, especially when all you've shown me so far is that you're happy perpetuating the same cycle of murder and power grabbing as every other regime thus far. But if you cannot do that, or that is not your plan… then I'm out. I have no interest in supporting another tyrant."
As he listened to Takeshi, Jirou made sure to pay full attention. When the Jounin-Commander locked eyes with him, he returned the gaze without hesitation. When he finished, Jirou took a moment of silence before speaking
"Absolute power corrupts. That statement is very true. I suppose that my chosen way to this place, already had begun that process. He said, briefly looking around before returning his gaze onto Takeshi
"What will I do if I see my enemies go after my family? I will try to protect my family the best I can, while knowing the people I chose to work alongside with can take matters into their own hands and continue to run it in the best possible way. I will not step away from here unless I am confident that those who help me run the country are people who do care about the country. Those who would be willing to come and tell me 'No, this will harm them'. Those who would be willing to headbutt me if needed. Those are the people I respect. I am wanting to set things up so that I will stand as the head of the country, as the face of it, but to know that if anything were to happen, those that worked with me and those that followed me will be able to continue working for the country, for the people. I know my selfishness, that is why I am looking for people who will keep me from straying too far and forgetting about the country. About the people. Those that live in the farms and feel deserted, those that live in the slums and feel neglected."
"As for actions," Jirou turned to the table and picked up a few notes, before taking a couple of steps towards Takeshi and offering him the notes
"These are the first steps I know I can already take. But in order to more efficiently execute them, I will require the aid of several council members. I have found stockpiles of medicine, robbed from the people, and will work to distribute them and combat the current illness that is ongoing in the city. But if I have the support of the council, I can deliver the medicine in a manner that is not purely militaristic. I can work further to ensure no lives are lost. And I was hoping one of the council members would helm the medicine distribution." He finished speaking, hoping Takeshi would better understand what he is trying to set up. A dictatorship to everyone outside, but a proper leadership from within.
Nodding slowly, Takeshi pondered something for a moment.
"Where did you find these stockpiles?" he asked finally,
"Have they been tested to ensure they were not tampered with?" Reaching up to scratch his chin again, the Jounin-Commander raised a single eyebrow.
"I'm assuming you'd like me to oversee the distribution?"
"I've located the stockpiles in a few abandoned buildings near the eastern edge of the city. Although there were no signs of who placed them there, the doors and buildings both had marks that the medicine was placed there recently, and from what I know, there were robberies of medicine not long ago. As for testing, not yet. I did not wish to simply grab a sick person off the street and test it, and it is why I wanted the support of more council members. I believe that a few would know the proper way to test the medicine and ensure it is safe for distribution. As for who I wanted to oversee, you were my first pick, but if you do not agree to take it, then I will look for the other council members to do it. But as someone who so clearly cares for the country and its people, you are the best man for the job." Jirou responded.
"As long as there is thorough testing done, then I have no problem assisting with the distribution. I simply have no wish to spread further harm distributing something that feels like it could be a trap." Folding his arms across his chest, Takeshi continued,
"Will that be all, or is there anything else?"
Jirou thought about it for a moment before speaking
"That was the most urgent topic in mind. There is also a thought I had regarding the Jinchuuriki which I would appreciate your opinion on. I was thinking it may be better to send them, for the time being, to a barracks outside of the city, along with their team leader. To protect them from the still ongoing illness, along with giving them further protection by having them be surrounded by military personnel, and protect the people from yet another potential risk of a beast becoming loose. If either Jinchuuriki catches this illness, then I can only imagine the risk would increase quite a bit, and the last thing we need right now is a repeat of what happened during Rika's reign. Keeping them with their team leader will be to keep a familiar face around."
As Jirou mentioned the Jinchuuriki, Takeshi felt his jaw clench. He could not help but think of Haruhi, the girl he'd let down. The one he was supposed to protect…
Looking away for a moment, the Jounin-Commander pondered Jirou's request.
"I had another thought here, something I had been pondering for awhile." Turning back to the man, Takeshi continued,
"I believe the Jinchuuriki should be split up. We should not have both on one team. The risk is too great to lose both of them should anything happen. Mika is capable of looking after them, but should an enemy target them specifically, there is not much she can do to stop it."
"If you're wanting to send them to a barracks, which I'm not certain I'd recommend, then I'd advise at least sending them to separate barracks. All it would take is a single barracks being hit and we'd be in a much worse position." Pondering something else, Takeshi continued,
"Rather than moving them out, we should check to see if this new medicine you've recovered can actually work to remove the illness. If it is successful, then we can ensure they are prepared in any case. The concern, however, would be that nobody really knows how a Jinchuuriki is affected by regular illnesses or cures."
Listening, Jirou nodded. Both points were very good points.
"Alright, for the time being, I will put the focus on ensuring the medicine is tested and once it was deemed good to go, I will inform you to begin the distribution. If you could try and look into potentially splitting the Jinchuuriki, as you know the teams best, it would be appreciated." Jirou said. He then whistled, and the door was opened from the other side
"That was everything I wished to cover with you for today. By the next time I contact you, I will have the test results for the medicine." He told the Jounin Commander with another nod of his head.
Nodding his head, Takeshi turned and took a step towards the door. Deciding something, he paused and looked back over his shoulder.
"Remember what I said. There is no need to repeat the same mistakes of the past. Move forward and the others are more likely to join." With that, the Jounin-Commander turned completely and left, already thinking on how he could split the teams. Mika likely wouldn't be happy, but then again… was she ever happy with him?