Starring:
Date: June 25, 2013
Summary:
Summary goes here.
"Struggle With No Reward - Philosophy with Hashi"
Hokage Lookout
All is well with Konohagakure and peace is slowly beginning to return to the Land of Fire as well. Hashiramako couldn't be anymore satisfied with the turnout of the events, though she is still saddened by the amount of bloodshed. She places much of the blame on herself and believes she has to make a change. It's events like these that make her feel as if she has lost track of her goal. She didn't just want peace for the shinobi clans, but for the rest of the world, as well.
She mulled over all of this with a tray of tea and a few cups before her. The rest were extras. She poured herself a cup and proceeded to drink, already feeling calmed and refreshed by the taste. "That's good tea," she remarked quietly to herself.
There is a knock on the door. One of Hashiramako's aids opens it and calls out, "Sorry Hashiramako-sama, but there is a young boy her…" and then you hear Nori's voice pipe up from outside correcting the aid, "Genin." The aid clears her throat and continues, "Sorry, a young Genin here to see you. He said his name was Yamanaka," and she trails off trying to remember the name. Again, Nori interjects, "Nori!" "Nori," she echos and then asks, "Shall I send him in?"
"Yamanaka Nori?" She questioned. "Yes, yes, send him in," she gestured to the aid to let him enter. "I needed to see him and this is as good a time as any to do so," she grins. "So, lt's see to it that I see him. Else, I may not have another chance. I have to take these while they come, you know?"
The aide shuffles Nori through the door before closing it behind him, leaving the two of them to speak. Nori walks into the room with his head slightly bowed and his eyes downcast. He is equal parts afraid and equal parts reverent. As he enters, he makes a formal bow and says, "Hashiramako-sama, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am sorry to come un-announced, but I had a free moment now that the villagers have left to go back to their own homes." He unfurrows from the bow. "I wanted to talk to you about that letter I sent awhile back. I'm sure you didn't get a chance to read it, and I know I didn't have the whole picture, so I apologize." He's a sweet kid ain't he. He is refering to the letter about using lethal force against the villagers (can reforward if needed).
"Always nice to see a fellow shinobi," Hashiramako stated with a smile. She placed Nori right up there with her considering him a fellow to her. "You're less un-announced than you think you are. I've been meaning to see you and it's perfect that you came at this time. I'm wondering if your ears were itching, hm?" she chuckled.
"But first, let's have a seat. You're free to relax and enjoy some tea with me. I just poured a cup; would you like some?" She held her hand out over the tea tray in offering. She decided she'd pour him a cup anyway. "So, you wanted to talk to me about the letter. I can pull it up around here. All these things come to me and people never indicate who or what it's from," she rolled her eyes. "Aides, am I right?" She joked.
"So, I'll look it up quickly enough and see if I can't give it a look-see."
Nori looks up and makes momentary eye-contact as she says that his ears must be itching. He blinks. "Ano, really? Oh, well, I am glad to have lucky timing then so that your tasks are easier." He's being serious about that.
Nori does take the offered seat and his stomach rumbles at the mention of the tea. He blushes again as his stomach speaks for him first and nods, "Hai! Please!" He sips at the tea slowly, enjoying it. "This is much better than the pine-needle tea I usually drink. Thank you."
Nori laughs a measured laugh. He doesn't know what it is like to have aides, so he is sort of humoring her. "Ano, well, okay, if you have time. Thank you again."
Hashi tilted her head a few nothces at the mention of 'pine needle tea'. Say what? "I don't think I've tried that tea, but I do know what pine needles smell like. So, I'm guessing it tastes the way it smells," she stated that with an inflection as if wanting confirmation for her statement. It didn't require an answer, however. "I've got plenty of time," she started back on the subject at hand while searching for the letter. Eventually, she'd find it and whip it out to set it on the desk. "Okay! So, this letter here…" Her voice trailed off as she began reading it. Every so often her lips would move as she mouthed the words.
Before long, she'd read it and nod softly as she reached the end. "This letter isn't all that bad. It's a shame I didn't get it sooner, but I agree with you wholeheartedly. I didn't want this war to turn into an Us versus Them sort of thing, but it inevitably went in that direction," she shook her head.
Nori takes another sip and then nods, "Some of the bitterness is boiled off, but more or less yes." As she reads, he remains quiet and sips his tea as gently as possible. When she finally speaks, he listens until she is done. He nods solemnly and says, "I understand that rabid dogs must be put down or they will attack without provocation. The few pockets of resistance are most likely rabid…but even still, perhaps we should try to capture them and interrogate them instead of killing them. We all stand a chance at growing better that way." He nods and shuts up for a moment. "Ano, what did you think about the idea of adding a villager to your council? They would give you feedback to the ills of the people and you would give them confidence that we are here to help." He nods.
"I'm all for having them captured and taken in to be questioned. The threat may have been eliminated, but I doubt they'll be silent. The damage has been done and people will remember this for a long time," Hashi tapped her chin as she thought about the future. "As for addin a villager to the council, I'd have to say I can't quite meet you at that point. Some of the issues I have is that matters of the council involve highly sensitive information sometimes. It is not a matter of lack of trust, but lack of protection. A villager being added to the council means that, in events that may lead to endangerment, that villager would be the easiest target as he or she would not have any shinobi skills to work with. I know Konoha is strong enough to defend against threats. We've shown this in the past, however we can't be blind in our confidence. There are people out there who are powerful and can create problems for us. That villager would be a prime target."
Nori considers her words for a long time. He sort of stares into his tea. If Hashiramako could detect charka, she'd note that a large portion of it went off in his head…his mind so to speak. He's using it to process thoughts very quickly via the Yamanaka Clarity technique. After a bit, he comes to and states, "Well, if a villager themselves can't be added, then perhaps someone that the villagers elect, someone that they trust? A shinobi of course. Maybe Narusegawa-sama. I know she defected, but I think she had the best interests of the people and this village at heart. Perhaps it would be a way to bridge the gap; mend some wounds…"
"Unfortunately, I don't believe Naru will be or be able to fill the position. Yet, we could have someone as a representative. A shinobi. That, I can agree with. I don't know who to elect, though. There are many good candidates," she hums. "I'll have to think over who could possibly fill that position. Until then, I'm drawing a blank," she smiled apologetically. "But, I will keep what you said in consideration…" She's been observing Nori closely throughout this conversation, but she doesn't make a scene of it. All of the observations came from the conversation, anyhow.
Nori bows his head. "Thank you. Consideration is all I could ever ask for." He looks at Hashiramako once again and then smiles. "I won't take more of your time then. That is all I wanted to discuss with you, so unless you have more to discuss with me, I can get out of your hair."
"Bah, you were hardly in it," Hashiramako stated followed by waving a dismissive hand. "But I don't think there's much more that I know of. If there ever comes a time where I may need to speak to you, I'll do so personally," she offered to Nori. "For now, I'll let you go. I think I'm the one holding you up," she winked.
