Plenty Of Fish

As the Mizukage and member of the Imperial House Hana had a lot of responsibility to uphold, and there was no doubt that her lack of long term relationship was an issue. Given her outstanding attractiveness there were bound to be rumors of Hana being a floozy instead of settling down and having a significant other. Normally Hana never cared for any rumors or backtalk she received, but the loneliness did naturally take its toll on her. She never cared for the status or anything more than having another living person to come home to. The internet was a supplement to real life interaction but nothing genuine. So what was the best course of action to take?

Hana designed an application process and advertised it throughout the city. That's right. If there is anything Hana learned from her time in office is that the administration was perhaps the most useful tool one could ever dream of. The Administration liked their job, and would rather go above and beyond by expending whatever resource they had available than putting minimal effort. Those in charge of creating this application process sought out relationship counselors, sociologist, anthropologist, Hana's behavior and habits, interests, and all that good stuff. Hana had several days of interview appointments, but she put in the time and effort in order to help find a suitor.

In the end the applications would be taken today. Several agents worked behind long tables taking in, what would turn out to be, a rather large crowd. Each agent had a long line of applicants which passed out the room's door and bled into the hallway. There were young adults doing it for the meme, grown men in their thirties, and some wealthy individuals as well. All applications would be accepted, though the team responsible for finding a suitor would find the best applicants for Hana.

Code:


[b]Full Name:[/b]
[b]Gender:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Hobbies:[/b]
[b]What Do You Bring In a Relationship?:[/b]


Applicants are given a lollipop for their time.

Chigetsu had already been on her way to come see the Mizukage on that day, but it seemed as though she wan’t the only one. There was a significant crowd of people who seemed to be surrounding the Mizukage Complex building, enough so that it was immediately noticeable to someone who wasn’t the best with crowds like Chigetsu. The congestion of people, all of who seemed intent on reaching the Mizukage Complex as well, would halt the young girl in her tracks. From a small distance she would watch with big eyes, confused as to what exactly was going on. The sheer number of people caused her stomach to do a little dance, squirming around and immediately making her uncomfortable. She wasn’t really used to these sorts of situations yet, even if she was slowly coming out of her shell as a hikikomori. There were too many people to count now, but from what she could see there must be hundreds of them all densely packed around the area. Besides the immediate instinctual nervousness it caused the small pinkette, Chigetsu couldn’t help but be curious. She knew it was Chunin Exams season, but… Did that really mean that Hana would be this busy? It sort of made sense, with all the foreigners and foreign Genin in the village that there would be a lot of work, but at the same time this felt a bit excessive maybe. She felt a little bad for Hana after seeing it though. Chigetsu never really had a strong comprehension of what exactly her title as the Mizukage really meant in terms of day to day life, but this wasn’t really what she imagined. The fact that Hana took the time out of her day to go on mundane little missions with someone as unimportant as Chigetsu, and even take her out to the waterparks that one time, felt incredibly special after that. Even though it made Chigetsu feel a bit guilty that she wasted the time of someone so important, the fact that Hana would do something like that for her brought a small smile to her face.

Still, there was something important Chigetsu had to talk to her about now. That letter she had gotten… The one that Calis delivered. It felt like it came right out of the blue. After the sort of reaction that Chigetsu witnessed Kitsuki have after receiving the same letter… It made her twist and turn, and her skin itch and sweat. She hadn’t been able to sleep the last few days. It was too much, especially with the Chunin Exams ongoing right now. This came right after Hana had convinced her to sign up as well. It felt weird to think about, how much Chigetsu’s life was changing. If she hadn’t met all these people and hadn’t joined up for the exams, where would she be right now? It was both a depressing and somewhat inspiring thing to think about. Chigetsu had the letter tucked tightly into the pocket of her coat right now, and even though it was just paper it felt as though it had an unreasonable amount of weight. Just the thought of it being there made her palms sweaty. It had been why Chigetsu needed to speak to her so badly. The survival portion of the Chunin Exams would be coming soon. Chigetsu had to make a decision on whether to accept or not, but… How could she decide something like that without speaking to Hana in person? Her head was spinning right now. She needed some guidance, and it seemed like whenever she was with Hana everything felt steadier. That was the only real option Chigetsu had now for support as well. With how Kitsuki had responded to her own letter Chigetsu felt like coming to her might not be the best idea, and as Calis delivered it in his ‘professional’ mode he was equally unapproachable. Something told Chigetsu that if she asked Calis about it she would just get lectured by him anyway. The thought of it made her sigh. He would make a great teacher at the academy, if he was ever interested in doing that after retiring from being a shinobi.

Chigetsu steeled her nerves. She had to. After what she said and did in that first test for the Chunin Exams… If she couldn’t walk through a crowd of people she’d be a real hypocrite, wouldn’t she? Talking about how she wanted to win, and being all dramatic… The thought of it was also something that kept her up at night. Just thinking about her behavior there made her cringe a bit. It felt like she was trying to copy something out of a movie or book. She couldn’t help but imagine how everyone else thought she was a loser afterwards. So Chigetsu would slowly push herself through the crowd, navigating through the sea of people until she was able to get closer, and closer to the building where she would find Hana Kaguya. Of course the actual difficulty of this action was much harder in Chigetsu’s head than in reality. Most of the people just moved away once they saw Chigetsu trying to come through. But the action of putting herself out there did make her nervous, so it wasn’t as if it was an incredibly easy thing to do. She would have to sort of squeeze herself in through the doors though, considering the amount of traffic that the building was currently receiving.

It occurred to her once she entered that she had never actually been in the Mizukage Complex before. It made Chigetsu feel sort of weird after that. Should she have visited Hana? Maybe she was a bad friend for not doing so. Not really knowing what she was doing, she would seek out the closest thing that looked like an administrator, which would be the long tables staffed by a variety of suited men. Fancy looking suited men. Each had a massive line behind them, which streamed out almost into the entrance of the building. Frowning slightly, Chigetsu would step into one of the lines. Apparently this wouldn’t be as easy to do as she thought. At no point did Chigetsu realize that she was somewhat out of place here. The lines were entirely men. She was the only girl in the building at the moment, from what it seemed. Her mere presence there would cause a few stares and whispers, but they were all beyond Chigetsu’s notice or understanding. It would only be when she actually got to the front of the line, after what felt like hours, that she would begin to understand what was going on.

The agent at the front of her line, a suited man in a pair of sunglasses, who’s hairline looked as though it had seen better days, would look up from the last applicant up to Chigetsu, and then blink. The stare that he was giving her through the sunglasses was thankfully something Chigetsu couldn’t see, and so the pinkette would greet him with something of a nervous smile. “I’m here to see the Mizukage. I need to talk to Hana…” She would announce to the man, as if it cleared things up. Chigetsu really wasn’t aware of procedure with these sorts of things, but… This would probably be good enough, right?

The man would stare at her. Finally he would press forward a form and pen to Chigetsu. “Fill this out. All the applicants will be reviewed, and you’ll be contacted if you’re selected for a meeting with the Mizukage.” He stated simply. Even though Chigetsu wasn’t exactly what he would have expected from an applicant she would be given the chance to fill out the form either way. All applicants would be accepted, after all.

Chigetsu would glance down at the piece of paper, blinking a bit confusedly. Well. This was fine. If this was standard procedure, Chigetsu would just have to do it. It wasn’t as if she should get any special privileges just because she was a shinobi, or because she knew Hana or anything. Though… Looking down at the paper form she had been given, the questions were a little… Strange? Chigetsu didn’t really know what to expect. Her eyes would glance up to the agent who had handed her the form, and then back down at the paper. Slowly she would reach for the pen, clicking it a few times to test if it worked. Of course it did, but clicking the pen like this eased out a little bit of her nerves.

Full Name:Chigetsu Hozuki
Gender: Several words have been written here, but it’s all been scribbled out messily with a pen. The final answer is illegible.
Age: 18
Hobbies: Reading, Swimming, Fashion(Casually!), I guess I like to make jewelry too… Does that count?

It was only when Chigetsu got to the last question that she stopped. Blinking a bit, she would read over it again just to make sure she understood what it said. What Do You Bring Into a Relationship? She had no idea how to answer a question like that. Was this normal questioning for wanting a meeting for Hana? Thinking about it made Chigetsu sweat a little bit. Was this some sort of trick? Like the first part of the exams had been… Nothing was straight forward. This must have been something like that. Maybe Hana wanted to see how people thought of themselves, and how they valued themselves? A test of people’s self worth? Unfortunately that would be a hard test for Chigetsu to pass. She hesitated uncomfortably when she got to this point, having no idea what to write down. It wasn’t something Chigetsu had ever thought of before. She had gotten minor crushes before, but a relationship…? That was… She had never done anything like that before. Even the idea of imagining herself in one was difficult.

What Do You Bring In a Relationship?: Several answers were written down and then scribbled out until they’re illegible. Below all that another sentence was written: I need to talk to you about the letter you sent.

The few days before the survival parts, Verd would give her trainers and companions a day off to relax. Dandi made sure to book the spa so she and her sisters could have a little get together. Nothing better than spending some time in the hot springs and maybe later get one of those deep tissue massages. While the girls were getting ready they joked about the imperial info that had been handed out by the administration office. About the kage looking for some handsome stud or studdette? Skuld and Urd urged Verd to go and push her vote into it but to be honest, Verdandi had never met the kage and didn't even know what she was like. She had seen a few images of her on propaganda and newspaper stuff but that was about it. The girls kept joking and eventually dropped the info paper on the breakfast table before they all went out together. Spa Time!

A few hours later, Avalanche was getting tightly groomed by one of Verdandi's handmaidens and led to the breakfast room to get him that nice thic steak he was already dreaming about all night. Ironically, once it was serviced, the huge polar bear swallowed the whole thing in one go and exhaled a rather satisfying burp into the castle. The handmaiden was not impressed and scolded him for behaving unroyal. The bear continued to sniff over the table and eventually his nose got stuck on the paper writing about the Kage. The handmaiden picked it up and read out loud what the context was about. Avalanche approved of such efficient ways of mate finding and growled away contently.

As the day progressed and the bear would find himself with a day off on his own. Verd and all the other princesses were out on spa day and the pets of the beastmaster had already left for the hunt. Avalanche returned to the breakfast room, stole some snacks and munched them, eventually sniffed up the paper again and proceeded to march headstrong off from the Yuki palace, past the district gates, onwards to the central administration office by the kage complex.

To this day, no one knows how the a bear, unable to read or write managed to actually fill out the application form. However it is said that on his way to the office he slapped a guard trying to stop him from entering, growled at multiple guests that ran away hysterically screaming, stole a nobleman's dinner while he was eating it and caused minor property damage that yet can't be fully comprehended but seems to have seemingly occured due to him trying to squeeze past doors that were not meant for bears to enter.

The final paper he had slapped on the suited man's table looked about like this:

Full Name: Neko-Sama, but you can call me whatever you want.
Gender: Shapeshifter
Age: Define age? I have eternal youth, and so can you.
Hobbies: Cooking, Expansionism, My Clowder, feasting upon the livers of my enemies.  
What Do You Bring In a Relationship?: As a Shapeshifter I can be whatever floats your boat at the time. Pretty boi, Macho man, hawt grrl, meek grrl, big dick, big tits, both? There is no "type" I couldn't be.

And I'm an S Rank Chef.

Have successfully kickstarted an Empire; Run a successful business, both of which mean I won't be mooching off of you for money.

And What better way to strengthen our alliance than in the sack? As long as you keep a large supply of lube, catnip, and booze ready you'll never have to worry about being bored. After all, I can show you things you've never dreamt of ... and I did promise our next meeting was for you to chain me up and have me at your mercy. Consider this an invitation to that date.

- Neko-Sama.
-------------

The delivery would be via Messenger Bird that, would have been given ninja brain surgery to sing one song upon delivering the message.

Calis had heard about the application process of course, rumor going around the Mizukage’s office as he came and went for deliveries could be overheard by staff who gossiped within the halls. It intrigued the Kazehana that the Mizukage herself had been unable thus far to find a mate and he wondered for a time of why that might be. Her attitude was a bit abrupt, but that was fine. It just meant one didn’t need to mince words with her. There must have been another reason, he himself had always felt he wasn’t strong enough for her to take an interest. For what Kage would become involved with a lowley genin? He’d always found her attractive, pale skin and white hair always seemed to attract him. Her piercing yellow eyes too were marvelous in his opinion. However he never figured he was powerful enough for her to even notice him, he was always little more than a blip on the radar, and so he never bothered.

He didn’t feel that way anymore.

As a newly appointed Chuunin, appointed not by some kind of examination process but by her herself. After she tested him and Arisu in combat and found them worthy, he felt he might potentially warrant a little more than a ‘blip on the radar’. So Calis found himself with a form and a pen in his hand on the morning of the application process and began to work his way down it. If she decided she wasn’t interested, then that was fine. He would’ve rather asked her out in private, but she had started this before he could. So he would work through what tools he had in order to do what he wanted. The men and women that was sifting through the applications for her best suitors would be his best bet. She trusted them to do their job, or they wouldn’t be there, and so it would be by their good grace that Hana would even see this.

Full Name: Calis Kazehana
Gender: Male
Age: 18
Hobbies: Piano, Violin, Watching movies with a fire going.
What Do You Bring In a Relationship?: I find this question difficult to answer, because honesty is by itself difficult. However I have no relationship experience, it’s foreign territory for me and so I’d be learning as things went. I understand the basics of ‘dates’ but not any of the intricacies involved. The best I can do to answer this is to tell you what I bring to the table as an individual.

Honesty and loyalty are the key factors, I won’t lie to you, and I won’t, metaphorically speaking of course, leave your side. However that’s all I can vouch for, I know I’m the type that would love to watch movies, curled up upon the couch with a fire going with my partner. I know I would love trying to impress her with my piano and violin abilities if she were interested in such music. I would enjoy the lazy sleepy day from time to time between work and training. That’s all I can really say on the matter I feel without going too off topic, I apologize if it’s not enough.

After he finished writing he would put the pen down and follow the directions for turning it in, handing it to the nearest agent who would take it without a word to be sorted by the rest. Then he would nod his head in understanding of what he’d just done. Things could change for him if Hana decided she liked him. Things could stay the same, and he was fine with both possibilities. It was done, and that was all there was to it. Fretting over it would do him no good whatsoever.

‘Will she like me though?’ Was his last thought as he left the area.

Daisuke would put a joke application through, wanting to get one over Hana. He already wrote the application, as it was short and sweet. He might get punished by her for doing it, but it's about high time someone pulled the joke on her, he was still bitter about her breaking into his apartment that one time.

Full Name: Dixie Normous
Gender: Male
Age: 27
Hobbies: Bowling let's go cousin, smoking a fat vape, being as high as the clouds, chicken schnitzel burgers are the best burgers
What Do You Bring In a Relationship?: I bring the ciggies, vapes and financial instability that's expected of a dysfunctional partner. I may not be the ideal man, but I'm the one that's never boring. If you take me on, I'll treat you like a queen, buy you all the hamburgers you want, I'll attend to your every need as you abuse me for my affection.

Once it reaches this point into the relationship, we think it can be fixed by going into marriage and having kids, to which will end in a divorce, I'll lose custody of the kids and I have to pay you a fraction of my salary for child support.

The best part is? I'm okay with the last part, so let's get it on.