Starring:
Date: October 24, 2015
Summary:
Hayai returns with news of the runaway Shinji and a request that more than likely will be denied
"Whispering Shadows: An impossible request"
Uchiha Clan Head Office
It hadn't been too long since Hayai had been here last, within the Uchiha village and gracing the halls of the Uchiha Clan Heads office. Just a couple days before he had been in this same position claiming to need no help and promising that he would return what rightfully belonged to the Uchiha Clan. His return to see Kurome was to not only inform the Clan Head on the matters of the runaway, Shinji, but also to discuss a situation that while he'd rather avoid, had no choice but to simply get it over with. "Kurome-san" A pleasantry Hayai wouldn't use normally and would not be heard doing so again. "I've returned." The ANBU would step into the womans office, rabbit mask covering his face. He assumed as the door was open he was free to enter and that it would be unoccupied save for the Clan Head herself.
Kurome is there, yes, and the door is open, too. The problem might be that it has more than just the Uchiha Clan head. Passing the doorway would reveal Kurome and another random NPC scientist speaking together. Or examining something together. It is when Eremi speaks that the scientist jumps. "I'll get back to you on this, Kurome-sama. Good day!" then he flees, as ANBU are all creepy! … Ahem. Kurome nods lightly in greeting to Hayai. "Hayai-san… I trust you dealt with Shinji-kun, then? Given that he's not in the village… You either let him go or killed him… Which means that you most likely have the eyes?" Assuming the latter.
Hayai would remain silent upon spotting the other individual, doing little more than peering at the man through the slits in his mask until the room is empty and it is just the two of them. "I hope you don't mind." Hayai would offer as he closed the door before turning to look back at Kurome. "Yes, I dealt with Shinji. He wasn't capable physically, but he was quite skilled in the Sharingan. He had almost got away with a genjutsu he had cast upon me. I guess though…" Reaching into his pack and retrieving a glass jar that he would drop onto the table, a single eye floating within the liquid. "He did get away…"
Kurome raises a brow at the glass jar. "Only one?" she asks, hand moving out to take the jar. Hopefully she isn't stopped. The woman would pick it up and examine it thoroughly to make sure it was the real deal, of course, before tucking it away somewhere safe. "It sounds like he put up quite the fight…. Was he able to escape with his other eye, then?" she asks.
Hayai would watch as the woman grabbed the jar and tucked it away. He dd nothing to stop her and showed no sign of objecting. It was hers to do as she wished. "No." He paused, hesitating. Despite how he went through this in his mind, it wasn't going to be easy to sell. "I was able to get both. The jar you took is one…" Reaching into his pouch again, "And in this one is the other." A brief glimpse of the other eye before tucking it away. "I gave you that eye willingly, as I said I would, but after fighting with Shinji and previous Uchiha I've encountered as well as other skilled shinobi with similar abilities, I simply can't justify giving you this other one back. It might be selfish, but I would like it for myself. It would help me in the one area I have completely no skill in…Genjutsu. I have no right to ask this of you, but without this eye I am limited. WIth it I can better serve not only Konoha and its people but you as well. Having this eye would not make me an Uchiha, but it would make me yours. Yours to command."
Kurome's brow raises when she hears Hayai's reply, but she does not speak yet. The only thing she offers would be a slight nod in acknowledgement. Then she hears his request, and … well, she honestly has no idea what to make of it. "Hayai-san… You have made a rather difficult request," she states, thinking the obvious is best presented first. Especially in this case. Maybe she could walk through her thoughts a bit. "These eyes are an Uchiha's, and it is… a bit difficult to justify why we would give one of our clan's gifts up."
Kurome releases a faint sigh as she considers this proposition. "You're right… That you have no right to ask this. But you did return one eye back. And you didn't take the other and flee, which shows some promising signs…" Kurome raises a hand, two fingers displayed to Hayai. "Two weeks," she would proceed to say. "I want to get to know you a bit better within these two weeks. At the end of the two weeks, I will tell you my decision. Does that sound reasonable?"
Hayai stood motionless while he waited in silence for Kurome's response to his request that he was sure to be a rejection. Instead he was met with a proposition. One that had caught the ANBU off guard. Tilting his head slightly, he'd smile from beneath his mask before nodding slowly, "If that is what you ask, two weeks, in return for an answer to whether I may or may not replace the sharingan eye with one of my own… I can not deny you this request. Two weeks is more than fair." Shifting slightly in his stance, uneasy with what this might entail. "How would you like to start…getting to know me?"
"Well, I suppose I can't ask too much of you while you're on-duty, Hayai-san… But knowing more about you in general would be good. For example," Kurome says, thinking over some of the team-building exercises she was forced to do way back when. The exercises she hated… But they certainly were useful. "Perhaps… Your favorite color. Or maybe some of your personal aspirations - goals, I should say… Perhaps a fear or a hobby… What you like or dislike…" A bit of a Kakashi-esque list going on, no?
Hayai shook his head, "No, but for something as important as this, I would make time for it." The next questions were surprising, but could only be a warmup for things to come. If not now then the next following days. "My favorite color is purple. My goals have changed over time, but have always had an underlying theme. To be useful. However that may come about. To die to protect others, save the village or become Hokage. I fear…" That wasn't one he wanted to share. It was one that could easily be used against him, especially in Genjutsu, but what choice did he have. "I fear having lived in entire life with nothing to show for it. Having left no mark on this world." A sigh would be given before going on. "My hobby is training. I like barbeque and I dislike Kiri."
"Oh? How have your goals changed? Is there a reason why they have?" Kurome would ask after all is said from Hayai. She settles back in her seat to listen. If Hayai had yet to sit, she would gesture for him to relax for at least the time being. Once that question was done, she would proceed to comment, "Your fear… That is a very interesting one. One that begs
Like a bandaid being quickly ripped away, "They changed as I've changed. I've been through a lot since joining the village. As I was younger, my goals were more attainable, but in that of a young, shy and timid child, just as difficult." Hayai would take the seat being offered if just to be kind. The personal questions being asked did little to help him find comfort. "That's a challenging question that I don't have an answer to. If I did, I'd have nothing left to fear."
Kurome nods lightly. "You know…" She says, tone rather thoughtful. "I do recall… My mother always told me there are two deaths a person has. The first is when you die physically. A kunai through the heart, a knife across the throat… For some reason, death has embraced you with open arms." Kurome pauses a moment, then says, "The second death… Is when you are forgotten. When the mark you left on this world is so faint that no one tells stories about you. The crazy uncle that lived next door. The strange aunt that believed the sun was made of dead Uchiha. The memories fade until the stories aren't told. That would be the second death, she said." Kurome sits up a bit straighter, then, and says, "I think… That being useful is something good. If you want to leave your mark on this world, though, then you need to find someone that will tell of your tales. Tales that continue to be spoken generations later and perhaps they are written down."
Hayai hummed quietly to himself after the story, thinking over the suggested meanings. "A story with a great lesson. Perhaps if I had heard it early in my life, I'd be that much closer to my goal. Though I'd like to believe it still isn't too late for me. Leaving a mark still remains to be the issue however and while finding someone that will tale of my tales wouldn't be too difficult, it would be finding something for them to write about."
Kurome chuckles a bit. "I'm sure there's a number of things that can be written. That being said, I know /I/ have a lot to write about, none of it being fantastic like the shinobi world." Kurome stands up, shifting her shoulders to work out a few kinks. "If I may have my office for myself?" she requests, moving towards the door and opening it for Hayai. She, notably, does not ask for the eye back.
"Possibly…" Leaving it at that as Kurome stood and approached the door. Not far behind Hayai would rise from his seat and head toward the exit, "Of course and thank you for giving my request consideration. I hope to hear from you within the two weeks if there's anything else you'd wish of me. Otherwise, I'll see you in 14 short days." A nod and gentle wave being offered before Hayai stepped out
