Starring:
Date: July 17, 2014
Summary:
Laid out in the Watanabe's office are the floor plans for what will be a self sustaining village in the Land of Wind. A necessary piece of this puzzle is one who can aid in the structure of the village. She was not one sensitive to these things and so she needed the kind of help only an Iga could provide. More so, this village required more than just the physical integrity to manage and a great deal of sacrifice to attain.
"Breaking New Ground - Structural Integrity"
Administration Dome
It's been a while since Itami has been in the administration building. So long, that it almost feels foreign to her, but it's nice to be able to sit down and relax in her office. With a view of the desert available, she looks out over to the place she intends to transform into something amazing. She turns her attention to her desk and the model set atop it that's in progress. She fiddles with it a bit before she tasks the secretary with sending in Ayumu. She had him called in to talk with him.
From the moment the message was delivered to the final step that left only a door in between him and his destination, Ayumu confronted every memory on the matter of what possible trouble could he have gotten into recently that would have resulted in his ending before Itami's office in the first place. More specifically, end up there not because of his own mechanications or that of the clan, but because of the councilwoman herself! After the incident at her apartment and, well, everything else after, Ayumu figured — 'Mah-ee! Enough brain. Let's just.. get this over with' He thought and sighed heavily before finally knocking. As soon as word is given to enter, he does so cautiously and bows deeply at the waist; silent and frozen in that position until bade to do otherwise.
Itami observed Ayumu as he stepped in and froze in place. She lofted a brow in response, partly confused by it, but otherwise shrugged it off. "So, I called you in to speak with you, obviously," she smirked. "I have plans that I'm intending to put together and I need your help and the assistance of few others that I've come to work with in time. I need to get that Nameless Village out there to be cleared so I can start plans on it," she gestured to the model before her. "This is what I'm intending to do with that place out there. Turn it into another village, something that is sustainable and can operate on its own, but owe its allegiance to Sunagakure. We have a lot of refugees left over here from the desctruction and some have fallen on difficult times for numerous reasons…" She leaned back in her seat. "I think having this village rebuilt will foster new hope in them and help them to reclaim a sense of independence."
The model displayed a village that was mostly glass structures with arable land within and blended with buildings that would cater to the type of life present there. Homes, businesses, government. It was unfinished, but the idea came together regardless.
Ayumu tensed up when Itami initially spoke, but gradually calmed down. And while she didn't outright say that he should relax or anything, the Iga took her speaking on as a good enough signal to do so anyways for the most part. He listens attentively, makes no interruptions, and calmly digest it all as it is delivered. He couldn't see the model as Itami did, but there were enough vibrations passing through the place for the Iga to read them and create a mental map of how the model was structured. He even caught a 'taste' of its components, though that little tidbit was quickly shuffled aside in mind in favor of the more obvious and more pressing.
"Your-… *clears throat*.. Uhm.. While that sounds on nice and good, I'm not exactly sure where I come in to all that exactly." He states, then folds his hands behind himself and cants his head. "Clones and my prior Jack-of-all-trades aside.. I'm not exactly sure how I'll come into play… Well, aside from monitor duty for our usual assortment of the dirty desert dozens." He adds, bemused but curious and wary still.
"Ah, but you'll be perfect. You're an Iga. You are sensitive to your senses. You don't need to see something in order to determine something is wrong or has defects," Itami explains. "What I need for you to do is utilize your abilities so that we might know how to build properly and safely. Your clones will help us to scour the land and ensure that buildings are up to the task of holding up against the storms and problems that come with the desert. For example, you can help me determine the proper blends of metals that will protect against rusting and sun damage and how to treat wood so it won't dry rot. I think that is well within reason of your abilities, is it not?" She wondered.
"Well…" Ayumu looks away and scratches at the old burns surrounding and marring his left eye in thought with a frown of mild disappointment. "More or less.." He admits, turning back and grin weakly. "I'd need to brush up on a few things first. Sensitive as we Iga are, it still takes training to understand just what we sense for what they are.. Their flaws.. their strengths.. and, well, so on. Kinding like that whole Watanabe nature thing your clan has going for it.. er, or so I've heard." 'And maybe witnessed a few times..' He says and adds on in thought. Then, looks towards the model general direction. "And.. so long as it is alright for me to ask Ita-… Mam. How are the other councilors or the head honcho himself take this plan?"
Itami clasped her hands together and rested them on her desk. "I haven't told them about it," she pointed out simply enough. "This is something of a personal project and I want to see it come to fruition. I'm certain it can. It's not impossible, but it appears that way," she smirked. "This will be a village that can work on its own, but be a satellite to Sunagakure. Both of them can work together. A controlled environment where we can grow our own food and reduce our dependence upon other villages. I want that for Sunagakure. For us to have some form of independence. At least some form," she sighed and shook her head.
"It's frustrating allowing others to dictate what you can receive. 100 gallons of water each month? Can you believe that? 100 gallons is nothing compared to what we need and this is what we're receiving in shipments. 100 gallons can disappear within a day, possibly even less! Hours!" She clenched her fist as she thought about it, huffing softly before she resettled herself. "That's what we're receiving from Konoha. I'm not saying that it isn't generous, but…100 gallons is…an insult. We do better on our own reserves than what we're receiving. This is why this project is important to me, among other things."
"True enough. But with all things that have been happening recently, it is…" Ayumu pauses for a second, then sighs through his nose and shakes his head. "It is, what it is." He says, turning the hand he had idly scratching before towards working its way through the tangled folds of the Iga's bangs. "That aside, Even with approval on one end, it'll definitively be a tricky thing, especially if the Daimiyo misinterpets the intent behind…. Speaking of intent—" Ayumu zereos in on Itami herself, eyes uncannily locked on to her, regarding her through mere slits. "What are these 'other' things?"
"I can assure everything will be fine," Itami smiled. "The village will be of benefit to the Daimyo, so any misinterpretation can be smoothed over. I'm sure he doesn't take nicely to having to pay everyone else when he can benefit from something that he generates, hm?" She rose from her seat and came around her desk to look at the model. "It will be something that he can cherish and be proud of," she explains as she brushed her hand atop one of the buildings in passing. "And he may even want more of these places around the Land of Wind. I don't see a problem with that." She leaned against the model table. "Well beyond my personal reasons, I care for the village. I've done so since I first arrived here and helped to build it into what it is now. I am grateful to those that supported me and want to give back in the best way that I can. If it can be something that we all can benefit from, I think it's worth doing. Those are the other things. The other things are people. Perhaps not the best term to use, but I meant more so their matters and how they're a part of them."
Ayumu concedes to her point with a respectful nod given at some point (or perhaps even a few points) during her reply, and actually meant what he conveyed through them. Not a first, but a close third. Itami's still somewhat ambigious reply earns a frown at first, then a shake of his head before his attention seems to turn to the model again. A sigh escapes his lips. "You really are a troublesome woman.. ya know that?" He asks, regarding Itami from the corner of his eyes. "Even if what I say next may be a misconception, from all I've seen it seems close to the truth… You are far.. mm.. well, your pretty too self-sacrificing. Not a bad thing. Not a good thing necessarily either.. But still, and again, knowing that I may have.. misconstrued things, do you truly do any of this for your own happiness at all? Or, heck, anything for it besides having a good drink at the Sand Shark?"
"Troublesome? Well, troublesome has been part of my job for a while now," Itami laughed. "Self-sacrificing is all I've known. I had to sacrifice a lot to get here. I left my former life to walk into this one. I left behind family, my rank and a stable job, my problems and advantages. I didn't really start off well and admittedly, much of it was my own fault, but there were some things outside of my control that I couldn't handle. I didn't know how to communicate with people well in this village. I came from a place that had an entirely different language. So, I had to learn to communicate here. I fought for Sunagakure in a number of ways, nearly lost my life in some of them. I've seen plenty in my time in service here." She looked out the window of her office once more. "My happiness comes from seeing the villagers happy. That's all that has ever made me happy. That's what my job is and that's what I should strive towards. It's why I decided to be part of the leadership here. It's just a shame to see it dwindle down so much."
Ayumu chuckles softly as Itami laughed. But from then on, he cut the desire to levity for the sake of focusing purely on listening and absorbing all she had to say, the subtle nuances given off within the moment, and ultimately just finding himself a little engrossed in it all. "Well, here's hoping the same doesn't happen to me with all due respect." He says as he dug around in his hair and pulled out a gourd. Yes, a genuine though small gourd that he pops open and takes a swig from. There's no noteable alcohol smell wafting from it, and in truth, there's none of such within. Just water. "As much as I don't quite like my clan's current rep, figured head or not to some, I'll take the knowing that Ei and our kid being happy over everything else." He admits boldly, blissfully unaware of his own little slip of the tongue. "Hmph… But to each his own, neh?"
"Let's hope not. My issues were my own. I don't expect the exact same to happen to you," Itami hummed as she gave it some thought. She soon shook her head. "No, I think you'll be alright," she stated. She frowned softly at the gourd retrieved from his hair, but it disappeared as quickly as it came. "As long as you are…all happy," Itami caught the reference to the child, but didn't say much about it, unless a smile could say it all. "That is what matters to me. There are many that don't have decent reputations, but there are also others who don't have these reputations. I don't judge them based on these things and I don't judge you. I may find you unsual, but nothing that seems to merit the same…response as your clan might."
Ayumu remains oblivious for the most part, which may be for the best. "I'd say dig a bit deeper for your own sake, but I'd imagine being apart of the council requires a bit of unbias… Hmm… Kind of confusing that bit is." He says allowed, though murmurs the last bit while rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Ultimately, he concludes things with a snap of his fingers and a refocusing of his appearant attention back to Itami again. "Mah-ee.. Seems we deviated a bit. Not that it need be said with you being my superior n'all, annnnd the possibility of you just ordering this if ya want, if… if it makes you happy then you'll have me… Although, is there anything else you need of me regarding that or another matter?" He asked, cocking his head ot the side again.
"No one can truly be unbiased," Itami remarked as she finally removed herself from the model table and walked towards the window of her office. "But I have tried to practice in the best interests of the people. I can't say I've done that all the time, but I have at least attempted to. I would say that my record is decent, but could be better," she shrugged. "I can only please so many people, anyhow. I can't please everyone. That is an impossible task. Unless of course someone has utter control over people, but I don't think that's possible either. People are too resilient for that sort of thing." She sighed. "But yes, we have deviated a bit. I apologize. It would make me happy if you could participate. Shikoge and I already put work towards breaking down the rubble of what was left of that village, so now we need to work on moving it out. I figure employing some of the refugees for this task will help get some money in their pockets and perhaps restore their spirits when they see they're participating in something that doesn't rely on so many negative aspects…"
