let me tell you something that you already know [ingrid]

For the first time since he moved to England, Ryuu felt at ease. Britain was a strange place and the culture was so different than the one he grown up in and Ryuu often felt like he was completely at loss of how to act. Somehow the lack of rules and propriety required in western culture made him feel uneasy and adrift. How he longed for the strict austerity of Kurosaki Shrine and the quiet, seriousness of the Japanese Ministry and his coworkers. The British Ministry was too loud, too chaotic. It all seemed very… not secure. Danger hid within noise, not silence. It was often a struggle getting through the day, especially because there were so may dialects that his ears had to grow accustomed to.

But today Ryuu was feeling more confident than he had in the three weeks since he had started here. Today, not three hours ago, he had received word from one of his ministry official contacts that the Japanese Minister of Magic was considering a trip to Britain and was coordinating with the British Ministry. Ryuu had been the obvious choice to put on the assignment. Ryuu had been on Minister Fuzukawa’s security detail for two and half years back in Japan. They had a rapport, as the Fuzukawas and the Kurosakis had long since been connected by tradition. Fuzukawa-dono was an older man in his late sixties who had visited the shrine a twice since Ryuu was born to pay respects to Ryuu’s mother, and the Kurosaki’s had made the trip down the mountains to the Japanese Ministry when Fuzukawa-dono had taken the seat as minister.

Ryuu felt like his heart was beating twice as fast as usual and he was reinvigorated with a new sense of purpose. This was something he was very familiar with and, as he also currently held the position of Japan’s official cultural delegate, Ryuu knew there were many preparations to be made before Fuzukawa-dono and his delegation arrived in town in a month. Fuzukawa-dono, despite being overall polite and friendly, was very critical and would be disappointed if Ryuu did not meet his standards. The older man had been disappointed to hear of Ryuu’s decision to transfer to the British Ministry and Ryuu did not want to disappoint the old man any more than he already had.

Ryuu leaned back in his chair and examined the list of preparations the head of his department had given him, and then he looked at the second list he himself had written that saw to some of the more nuanced details of Fuzukawa-dono’s visit. He tapped his kiseru slightly on the ash bowl and a small pile of fine, black grain dusted the white porcelain. He placed the thin metal mouthpiece back between his lips and inhaled smoothly, a feeling of calm washing over him as he leaned his head back and exhaled through his nose. The smoke evaporated almost immediately, leaving the room smelling lightly like incense. 

Pipe balanced delicately on three slender fingers, Ryuu pulled his pocket watch from his breast pocket. It was a few minutes before 4pm. Taking another short breath on his pipe, Ryuu stood away from his desk, gathered his papers into a black folder, and left his office, closing the door behind him with a flick of his wand. In his hand he held a small piece of paper with a name and an office number on it. Ingrid Trickett was the ministry's resident ambassador and was usually in charge of events such as this, but the two of them were to work jointly on his assignment. Ryuu was unsure of how to feel about working so closely with another person.

He arrived at the office number written on the piece of paper just a little before four. He knocked firmly, and when he was told to enter, he pushed it open. “Ms. Trickett,” he said politely, if not stiffly. “We have a meeting. I am here to speak to you about Minister Fuzukawa’s upcoming visit.”

The Japanese Minister was coming, and Matthew still wasn’t back with her file. This wasn’t the first time this had happened, though, and she was starting to think her intern had something against Japan. That, or he was just extremely slow, and she far preferred the former option. It was easier for her to just accept and deal with that than it would be to get a whole new intern. No, Michael was a decent intern, and decent interns were in short supply these days. Although, apparently he’s not quite as good as he used to be. He’s getting soft on me. A sigh escaped her at the thought; the last thing she needed was a soft intern. Not when they were still dealing with the repercussions of the Second Wizarding War and their relationships with other countries. It seemed obvious, but the whole ”Hey, a megalomaniac almost took over the country” thing was bad PR, even a year later. The whole mess was a political nightmare. It was also her ticket to a better job; doing well meant she could get a promotion, maybe even become head of the department. The only other person she considered a threat was Leah, but she doubted the other woman would take it… perfect.

Thirty minutes passed before Mason bolted into the room, dropping off a file and her coffee before rushing back out, muttering something about more work to do. Ingrid frowned as she read over the file, her mood souring very quickly. The department was sending over someone to meet with her, that much she’d known in advance. The new papers still didn’t tell her who they were sending, though, and that didn’t help at all. She knew quite a few people on Minister Fuzukawa’s payroll, any of whom could have been her contact. Mentally, Ingrid started preparing for any of them. In her mind, she was already trying to account for their tastes, their personal preferences, anything that could put them on slightly better terms to start. This is ridiculous. They just expect me to go in blind… stupid – Her thoughts were cut off by the sight of Machiavelli rushing past, waving her down. She nodded, getting her papers together and giving them one last glance.

The Prime Minister was in town to assess things, apparently. Her meeting would be in about ten minutes, then they’d start preparations for Fuzukawa’s arrival. From there, they’d go over agendas for when the Minister was here (and she prayed he’d actually remain on agenda, although she wasn’t going to be the one to attempt to get him back on agenda if he felt the need to stray). They’d have some more down time to prepare as needed, and then she had to make sure their Minister of Magic was prepared for his discussion with Fuzukawa (which mostly just entailed of letting him know the basic topics that would be broached according the agenda and hoping that the two didn’t end up clashing on anything). Simple enough… If no one decides to act idiotic. Before long, she heard a knock on the door. It was time to get the ball rolling, apparently.

“It’s open. Come in.” Ingrid gave the man a polite smile as he entered, standing to greet him. Although she had met Ryuu before, they’d never actually worked jointly before. This would prove interesting. She bowed her head slightly. “Kurosaki-san. Indeed we do. Please, have a seat.” Internally, she cursed her intern; he was supposed to make sure she had something offer to guests, and right now she was lacking in… well, anything. “If you’d like something, I have some water. I’m not sure how long this will take, so I’m happy to send my assistant to fetch anything should you require it.” Her smile was just slightly tense, if only because she was less than pleased with the lack of preparedness. “So, what shall we go over first?”