Starring:
Shikoge (emitter), Itami
Date: July 19, 2014
Summary:
This village couldn't go forward without approval from the Daimyo. Itami knew this well and it is why she placed her best foot forward in attempting to have him approve of her idea. …Not that she wouldn't have still went forward with it without his approval. She was bound and determined to make this happen. She would only hope that he shared her same ambition.
"Breaking New Ground - The Daimyo's Approval"
Daimyo's Palace
Events like these required a certain approach. Gaining an audience with the Daimyo was no easy task, even for her position, but Itami managed to do so and now she has to place her best foot forward in order to speak with the man. She wasn't quite used to it, but she donned some formal wear, opting for a cream pants suit with a sand colored undershirt beneath. She fiddled with the sleeves and pants often since they were a bit too form fitting than what she was used to. She liked her clothing to be loose and flowing, but this is a bit much. All that aside, she took the time to gather herself and consider how she wished to speak to him. Properly, of course, but engaging in something as big as what she had planned was another matter entirely. She shook her head and decided against placing too much thought into it. She had to make decisions like this daily, so this should be no different.
She looked to either side of her and observed the guards leading her to the Daimyo's palace doors, but most of her attention was placed on the blooming trees and flowers decorating the area. She'd have gone to admire them if it wasn't raining today. At least it felt nice and cool and she was mostly dry with the exception of a few drops here and there. Upon stopping at the large doors, she looked up at them and waited for the guards to signal one another for opening.
The doors boomed and creaked as the locks came loose and freed them to be pushed open, exposing the inner palace and further, the throne room which the talk would take place in.
Within the throne room several guards were stationed about; two near the front entrance, two on either side of the room and two situated just at the bottom steps that lead up to the throne itself where the current Daimyo sits confortably while speaking to his attendant. His garb consists of brightly colored lavish robes with the look matching similariy to the room decor itself. Bright white covering much of the trim of the outfit, while red cascades in different hues between the different robes that cover the mans form. Atop the Daimyo's head is an extravagantly large and wide brimmed head piece that matches the rest of his attire in color save for a symbol for Wind Daimyo in yellow plastered on the front.
When the door creaks open, the Daimyo glances up from the papers held before him to spot a woman entering the throne room. Unsure whom it be, he'd glance to his attendant for an answer and once quickly given a response return his focus back to the entrance, yet remain silently seated. The attendant on the otherhand, a petite and short statured woman, seeing new business coming withdraws the forms from in front of the Daimyo hiding them behind her back while taking a rigid stance to face the entrance as well. With a surprisingly booming voice, the attendant greets Itami, "Please step forward."
Booming indeed. Itami didn't expect such a voice to come from her. Still, she followed directions and stepped forward to the Daimyo and bowed deeply before him. She waited until she was told to rise so that she wouldn't show too much disrespect. Admittedly, it was a bit tough bowing in this suit and she thinks she'd have to speak to the tailor about that later. For now, she just keeps this up.
"Your Excellency," Itami begins. "It is an honor to be in your presence. I am Watanabe Itami of the Jounin Council in Sunagakure. I have come to speak to you regarding matters that I think will be beneficial to the Land of Wind," she offered to him.
The Daimyo shifts upon his seat, straightening up some as the woman introduces herself as some possibly important rank within Sunagakure, that of which he disregards, but the name Watanabe is that of a clan of several individuals that can either be quite civilized or hostile. The latter of which being shown to him in reports of Lizard-like creatures attacking caravans and travelers throughout the Land of Wind. Swimming through the sands similiar to a shark within water before popping out and attacking civilians. Quite a nuisance.
The thought however quickly comes and goes at the mention of something beneficial to his land. "Well," Extending a hand to gesture for the woman to continue on such matters, "do go on." Anything beneficial is obviously something the Daimyo would be interested in as it would be a huge boon to him remaining in his current seat of power. Though were it to take power away from him and give it to his people, the news would be snuffed out and so too might this Watanabe before him. An easy task he imagines.
"Thank you," Itami started. "The plan sounds simple, but I can assure it is complex. It is the objective of building a self-sustaining village in the Land of Wind. One with its own water, food, and businesses. It seems like it can't function, but I know it can because I have the abilities to make it happen," she explained. She demonstrated by taking a small pouch of sand and casting it to the ground, but, when she performed handseals, it all drew together into a small glass dome.
She walked forward to pick up the glass and tapped on it before tossing it in the air and allowing it to drop to the ground. Instead of shattering, the glass maintained it's shape and form without taking the slightest hint of a scratch or crack. "I work with glass and I can make it unbreakable," she stated simply enough. "I believe this along with other technologies I have in mind, can help this village to thrive. This glass can help control conditions that could go into managing crop ouput and enabling the village to work by controlling the elements. With this village, the Land of Wind can produce on its own. Additionally, it will gain more than San-Sara Durata ever could and provide more benefit to the people that will tend to it."
The Daimyo remained rather expressionless up until the point the woman retrieved a small pouch which easily grasped his attention, but it was when the woman poured the sand onto the ground that he quickly became irritated by the mess upon his marbled floors, showing this with furrowed brows and was only moments away from exclaiming his frustrations when he caught himself as the Watanabe started flashing through handseals.
This was more than enough to get the guards closest to the Daimyo to become on edge and position themselves in front of the steps that led up to the Daiymo as they feared an attack. Though as the sand around them shifted together and formed into what they could only assume harmless glass, the guards eased up and returned to their positions.
The Daimyo as well was cautious of an attack, considering his title, but had surrounded himself with what he believed to be more than capable enough deterrents should such an attack arise. So the Daimyo simply held his orientation on the throne, shifting forward only as the sand turned into a form of unbreakable glass.
"Glass, unbreakable at that, formed into a dome could easily keep the harsh elements of the desert at bay. This is impressive indeed." He offered before shifting back, "But what of these other technologies you mentioned. How will they help with water and the businesses of this new village? Self-sustaining sounds great, but why start with a new village. Would not Rakuen benefit from this or Sunagakure and to a lesser extent, Toshi Sagan?"
Self-sustaining….It sounded great from a civilians perspective, but how would that actually benefit the Daimyo? Politically, it might help the Daimyo in the eyes of the public. A positive image is helpful indeed. However, living such a lavish life style is not cheap. Income most of course find its way to him.
Itami was aware of the responses that would be generated by such an act, but it was necessary to perform. She had to get her point across in the best way possible. "The other technologies are those that have come to man naturally over time. Digging channels and aqueducts, systems that can help port water to and from the villagage. San-Sara has these things in place aready, but if we intend to do any agricultural work, we'll need a bit more in that regard. I'll be working closely with engineers to formulate a system that can filter sand as it can sometimes be a fine substance and we'll need to have airflow within these glass structures," she explained.
"Starting with a new village allows us to work with a blank slate. It will be a process that everyone can be a part of and contribute to in their own unique way. Toshi Sagan is a place that is already well rooted and would likely be difficult to overhaul their structure to support this sort of system. Sunagakure is the same way. Besides, as we both know politics can be a hinderance as well as a help to these sorts of things. Politics, at this point, will only hinder the process. The success of this type of system being integrated into settled villages will have to come through seeing this new village work. I'm certain that this village can work. It will give new hope to the refugees of San-Sara who have been displaced twice over. Once as slaves and indentured servants and twice as the village finally collapsed under the own weight of its problems. This new village will give back what they lost and further, it can increase support for you. The monetary benefits will be using the San-Sara land for this. You'll reap benefits from production, exports, and sales within areas you control."
"I see." Pausing momentarily, "So the only thing you actually bring to the table along with this idea of yours, is that unique ability you possess." The Daiymo commented as he brought his hands together and steepled his fingers just beneath his nose while he took some time to think on the matter. The woman had made a lot of good points, but what stuck out the most were those that were beneficial to him and in the end, that was pretty much all he cared about. Still, despite the perks that could come from this endeavor, he wasn't sure if he could trust the Watanabe. Not because of her clan, he just didn't know the woman and this was something quite grand she was wanting to undertake. If it worked, he would reap the rewards, but if it failed…
"Alright." The Daimyo finally spoke after a possibly awkwardly long silence, bringing his hands back down to rest upon the arm rests of his throne. "I shall grant you what you want for this mission of yours. However, I will require a few things from you in order to continue to receive my support. For starters, I will require a complete list of all those you will be choosing to help you with this task; whether it be those that will assist in clean up of San Sara or those that will be a part of the engineering and agricultual team. If they plan to have a hand in this project, I want to know about it beforehand."
The Daimyo turned slightly as he gestured to his attendant, "Next, I require that during the entire process for you to report the daily activities to Juli so she can report back to me. I will send her ahead with a few guards so she can set up a base for herself within San Sara to make this possible." His focus shifted back to Itami, "Naturally I understand that with your position…on the council, you most likely won't be able to be on site twenty-four, seven. The people of Sunagakure still require your assistance within their village, but whomever you choose to take your place during your time away had better be an accomplished individual capable of the responsibilities you will be leaving them. Because if this project of yours fails, it will be on your shoulders."
"My abilities is what makes this all work. Trying to create a self sustaining village without my abilities will be as good as impossible. The village wouldn't thrive. It'd be useless and wouldn't be able to produce anything nor maintain a population simply because of the state of the desert. My glass is the most important part of making this all happen. So, even if it is the only thing that I bring forward, which isn't the only thing I'm capable of by the way, it is crucial to this all coming together," Itami explained to the Daimyo in the midst of the silence.
The continued quiet that came after her explanation was making her a little nervous as she wasn't sure what the answer would be. It all came down to this moment and if she didn't get the support she needed, well…she thought she'd go ahead with the project anyway. She saw these guards around here and was sure she could butcher them within a moment's notice, including the Daimyo, but she had sense enough to keep that part of her contained. She didn't want trouble, but if it meant her project going forward, she wasn't foreign to other options.
When he finally spoke up, she sighed a soft breath of relief. He dealt her a hard hand, but she thinks she could work with the odds that he had given her. Still, it was going to be rough having his attendant around. She considered this project her very own and having someone else around looking after it irked her, but she'd find a way to handle it. So….reports, names of those involved in the project, and some responsibilities given to Juli. This will all be on her shoulders should the project fail or succeed and she honestly couldn't have it any other way. It was all hers to begin with anyhow and he was only getting what she felt was necessary to keep him within reasonable limits. "I agree to these terms," she remarked. "I will have everything you need and delivered within the week. I thank you for this opportunity. You won't be disappointed."
The Daimyo nodded and for the first time during their interactions offered a smile. Whether it was genuine or not was unknown and probably didn't matter at this point as the conversation between the two was coming to an end. "No, I most certainly will not be." He added. There was a reason the man was the Daimyo of Sunagakure. He had been through a lot through his life, experienced serveral hardships that while probably not as deadly or dangerous as what many shinobi may face during missions, it had its own level of difficulties that for an average individual can shape the way that person grows up. It is for this reason the Daiymo was sending his attendant Juli to make sure things went off without a hitch. Despite not being an official 'shinobi' from a village…there were several individuals that were instrumental during the Clan Wars just 11 years ago. Hard to say what Juli's past was during that time…"If there's nothing else, I'll be hearing from you."
