Crone's Wisdom (Takeo)

An age seem to pass between her question and Takeo's reply as the male shifted positions on the haystack she'd been sat on previously, an age long enough for Akihana to consider if she'd made a grave mistake in asking for help in the first place. After all, nothing bound this white haired youth to Hoshi, nothing in him would compell to want to protect these people and no one would be able to blame him should his answer be a no just as flat as hers had been. And when he did reply, it seemed as though breath returned to her narrow frame, the kunoichi not even realizing she had been holding her breath in the first place awaiting his responses. At least she hadn't revealed her worries over their weak shinobi forces to a stranger who couldn't care less. Whether Takeo truly care for the country he was planning to stay in for a while or if he was simply agreeing to help them out of boredom was hard to say, though Akihana was always inclined to believe the best in people and would automatically assume he was doing out of the goodness of his heart unless she saw evidence to the contrary. The blonde knew good did good things begrudgingly and though she didn’t know why, she knew they always meant to.

“Well, we have a handful of genin and a chunin,” she began, automatically not counting herself and Den as that was a given. “Our genin mostly consist of children of refugees who found a home in Haven and decided to get integrated into our ninja system or children of the city. The local children’s number have been growing I hear since the stigma related to shinobi has gone down a bit.” It was a small victory but one Akihana was proud of it nonetheless. A year ago, a starving citizen wouldn’t have accepted food and drink from a ninja. Today, there were civilian and ninja children playing in yards allocated for training. Things were not perfect by any means but if they were to be, the medic imagined this was the path they would take to perfection.

“We also have some decent village defenses now thanks to one of our late shinobi. He’s incidentally the one who organized the library I mentioned earlier. But I’m afraid our policy on defense is more internal than external as we simply do not have the numbers most major villages due. We’ve been in communication with some of the other elemental nations but we couldn’t be compared to their level for a long time yet.” It was the truth and Akihana had no qualms admitting that. Hiding their weaknesses from Takeo at this point out of pride or a sense of loyalty would be very detrimental to her original request for aid. He was supposed to have an idea of what and how he would be expected to help and the blonde had to fill him in as best she could.

Assuming Takeo simply listened as she spoke, Akihana would look u to gauge his expression. The silence didn’t bother her, nor did it make her feel awkward. One couldn’t extend feelings of comfort and warmth to others if one felt out of place herself. As Akihana spoke with Pig’s sound snores in the background, the golden eyed medic realized she hadn’t been listened to this long for… a while now. Of course her requests were very dutifully carried out in and around the city but no one had “listened” to her lately, just sat atop something without interruption and with their attention focused on her. Never comfortable as the center of attention, the blonde looked away, golden eyes instead landing on the sleeping pig.

And then widening in horror at what they saw.

The beam Akihana sat on was hardly a singular feature of the barn, dozens like it ran through the whole structure, used as dividers, support and as seats by her and Takeo. They ran up to the attic where the apples were stored as well, or at least where the innkeeper claimed apples were stored. No one had ever checked or ever been inclined to either given the discreet nature of the owner. It was the beam that had been slowly giving away as the two shnobi spoke. Due to the fact that light travelled faster than sound, Akihana saw it a split second before any sound would be made from the splintering wood, her hand raised automatically in Pig’s defense before the rest of her senses could catch up to. A bolt of lightning would shoot from her hand, a small but sharp one regardless, colliding with the part of the beam threatening to break off and fall on Pig, turning the rotting organic material to sawdust which landed harmlessly on the still sleeping animal.

“Oh my, this building really is held together by a prayer,” she commented lightly, brushing some of the sawdust from her own hands as it was now thick in the air and covering everything it could reach.

He listened to the information provided to him and smiled. Hoshigakure seemed to be in quite the predicament. It didn't seem like one that could be changed overnight either. That was good. Something that would keep him occupied for awhile was for the best. It was when Takeo grew bored that bad things usually happened. Hearing the state of the shinobi hear wasn't surprising. He had figured as much from what Akihana had said before. "More than likely it'll improve with time." Takeo mumbled to himself. Long term the city would likely be fine. As the citizens grew used to a shinobi presence it would make things easier for them. The current generation would improve, and the general situation would resolve itself. However it would need to get to that stage. Which means short term plans were needed. Naturally the first thing would be to ensure the defence of the village. The strongest members would need a show of force in order to situate itself as a power to the nearby regions. "An assault on the Shadow Land will most likely be required." Takeo said to Akihana after she had finished speaking for the time being.

It was at this point Akihana mentioned the village defences. She seemed more focus on simply enduring. Which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, Takeo just preferred a more direct approach. The mention of the defences being improved by a dead shinobi intrigued him somewhat. Takeo wasn't quite sure how someone who was dead could help. A fuinjutsu specialist perhaps? That would explain why they were dead anyway. Takeo found that fuinjutsu users weren't exactly all that good at surviving for long in his experience. Then again, neither was any type when they lived in Tengakure. Akihana explained how the same shinobi had set up the library. Interesting. "Sounds like they were quite valuable then. Shame." Takeo sounded disappointed, with good reason. Someone like that could have been useful. Then again anyone who wasn't complete trash would be as well. Unfortunately it didn't seem like there were many here like that.

Hearing about their defence policy he would frown. While it was probably the smart thing, Takeo once again didn't agree with it. "You don't need numbers." He pointed out, taking a moment to flatten out his hair. It was starting to dry out finally which meant that it was becoming a pain to keep in check. Takeo really needed to get a haircut at some point. But now was not that time to be thinking about that. Serious discussion and all. The young man needed to remain focused. His mind kept wandering off these days. Maybe there was something wrong with him? Well, that was obvious. He couldn't be described as entirely sound of mind. And if he was it'd be from someone like Xyxer who was completely insane. What was he talking about? Oh right, yes Akihana was still there. This conversation was still ongoing. He needed to Takeo. Blinking a few times, he squinted his eyes to focus on Akihana some more. "Okay right. So basically, all ya would need is two or three strong members. You wipe out a decent number of their forces. They'll think twice about attacking again. It either works or they continue to attack anyway. All you stand to lose is some time." It sounded so simple in his head, and also in the way he explained it. However Takeo wasn't naive enough to believe it was like that. He didn't need to believe it though. This wasn't his village, it wasn't even his problem really.

More information was provided to him. This was proving to be quite a fruitful meeting. Communication with the other villages, Takeo wasn't sure if that was valuable. He couldn't gauge if it was harmful or good for the city. It seemed Akihana was done explaining everything for now. Which allowed Takeo to go into detail instead of simply making small comments in order to not interrupt her during her explanation. There was a slight pause before he actually spoke though. Just in case she had not finished. After a moment or two, he replied. "That could be good or bad depending on what you're communicating about." His tone shifted slightly. Politics was something he was not a fan of, thus there was a slight sense of disappointment in his voice. "Asking for help right now can show weakness. It'll allow for other villages to take advantage of it. Or if a message is intercepted it would allow for rogues to target this place again." While it was an unlikely scenario Takeo thought he might as well explain it anyway. If not simply to ease his mind so that the subject doesn't nag at the back of it forever.

Akihana looked away, which was quite rude. But Takeo continued anyway. "While it would have been fine to do so when this place was occupied. It isn't right now. The people need to get faith back in their own shinobi. Getting help for what should be an easy task would be bad for publi-." He was interrupted. First by movement from Akihana. Her hand shot up something firing from it within a moment. Next the cracking sound would reach his ears. Takeo blinked, and turned his eyes in the direction of the sound. Coincidently the sound came from the direction of the snores of Pig. And also the direction in which Aki had fired whatever it was. Except it was no coincidence. Takeo's attention turned to the sleeping Pig. Sawdust filled the room. Takeo took a moment to register what happened. It was a simple deduction, though it took him a second or two to figure out exactly the events. that took place. While he hadn't seen the bolt hit it's target, he took note of where the sawdust was falling from. A beam it seemed formerly located above where Pig was sleeping. His eyes widened a fraction. "-city." He finished blankly. The events had taken place over a couple of seconds. His senses had become dulled. This confirmed it. Most likely a lack of training and the pills he had taken. Takeo had offset this by having his Byakugan on at almost all times. Keeping a constant eye on his surroundings allowed him the luxury of knowing all ongoings. Obviously this was flawed. If he couldn't keep up with what was happening, it wouldn't matter.

Naturally he also possessed the solution to that. Takeo was reluctant to use it however. He knew the power that his right eye could come to possess, having seen Xyxer use his own a few times. It wasn't something he had felt the need to rely on ever. Perhaps that would have to change. The Sharingan implanted in his right eye, maybe it was time to start using it. Takeo was reluctant. The last time he had activated it was when he had maimed Youta in Tengakure. To his own memory anyway. Takeo covered his right eye with his hand slowly. The eye of the boy he had killed. His descent into what he had become started there. It was why he had kept the eye instead of discarding it. The thought of eventually having to use, if not come to depend on it like his Byakugan, it was too much for him. Lost in his own thoughts it took him a moment to register that Akihana had said something. Takeo gave a small nod. He felt sick. His eyes had been opened to reality. And it had taken the simplest thing to do it. "Yes..yes it is." Takeo finally replied. If he couldn't follow such a simple movement, how would he perform in combat now? The idea made him feel ill. Death was a certainty. The reality was that being a shinobi lowered your lifespan considerably. Allowing your skills to rust was a cardinal sin.

It said a lot that he feared about his own mortality now than that of Pig's. It was after he had spent a good two minutes worrying about himself that he remembered. The beam would have likely landed on the sleeping animal. No, not likely. It would have. It snapped Takeo out of his stupor. Jolting upwards he glanced over towards the pig quickly. He still slept. Even while slowly being buried by sawdust. "You know he'll probably try to eat the sawdust now." Takeo couldn't help but comment. Even with all that had just happened in his head, he couldn't resist making a joke. Maybe it was a way of hiding his true thoughts. Naturally he didn't thank Akihana for saving the animal. It was not the way he worked. Though if one looked at his face they could probably see the relief on his face. Which also meant they might have been able to deduce something about what he had thought about earlier. Takeo doubted it though. He had a great poker face. Except when it counted.


"I'll see about repairing this place in my spare time." Takeo said finally. "But I fear it'll be a waste of time if you keep planning on destroying it." The worst of his own thoughts seemed to be over with for now. He had pushed them out of his mind currently, distracting himself with the present conversation. But they would be back soon enough. It was Takeo's major problem. His mind couldn't keep focused on things, and it allowed for the bad stuff to slip right back on into the forefront of his thoughts. It was unlikely to change. No matter how much he wanted it to.

The kunoichi grinned at his optimism when Takeo declared that things would work out in time. The blonde didn't know if he said those words just to reassure her or if he meant it but reassuring the words were. Her smile didn't live long though, as he postulated an assault on the shadow lands, her expression turned to that of concern once more. "The shadow lands has children just like we do," she added softly, not going against his plan but reminding him what happened when when shinobi gave into to base, destructive urges. "It has mothers who mourn them as well, just like we do. I would permit a lot for the sake of Hoshi's safety but murder of children will not be among them. I'd like to request that whenever you do carry out this assault, children and those who drop their weapons to surrender be spared."

At his condolences over the death of Kozai Yuki, the kunoichi simply lowered her head in respect for a moment, the former librarian deserved as much. "He was," she admitted. Despite how the man had showed up in their village, he had learned to be fond of it, and the village had certainly been fond of him. When he'd died, it wasn't just him. Her hope for ever finding that mythical miracle cure had taken a hit too. Still the golden eyed medic found herself wondering the deserts on days when hope struck anew. She wondered if, for some odd reason, the man she'd ran into a few days ago out in the desert had joined her search. She'd heard nothing from him but Akihana found comfort in the thought that when she couldn't, someone else was out searching for their best chance to save the Queen. "We can only hope he's in a better place now."

Talk turned to strategy once more and the young woman couldn't help but feel that this was Takeo's defense mechanism when it came to discussing something even remotely personal. She'd seen it in veteran shinobi before, even made a case in a medical journal about how it was an ailment of sort, suppressing emotional responses in favor of "talking shop", but right now she would be the biggest hypocrite in the world for calling anyone out on it. There were thousands of trails of thought crowding her mind and all easily ignored when she "talked shop". Of course, her go to topics of conversation were not the same but the underlying principal was. Akihana had often wondered if in a fish tank of predators she too had become a predator by association and these days, Makona only needed a moment to latch on to such stray thoughts. So talk shop it was. "Sounds about right," she agreed, dropping her gaze once more until the bean from above nerly fell on the sleeping pig.

Akihana wasn't expecting a thank you, she hadn't done anything worthy of one in her mind so when the white haired ninja simply agreed with her as she brushed the sawdust off her hands, the blonde didn't react either way. She knew Pig would never have gotten hurt, not as long as she or Takeo were around. Messy and sarcastic as the familiar was, he was also very well cared for, if the animal ever learned to understand that concept. "That would be very nice of you," she smiled, getting to her feet. "I believe I've monopolized on your and Pig's time quite enough for one day. You both need your rest, though I'm afraid Pig's already started," she let out a small peal of laughter as the pig emitted an extra loud snort snore.

"Should you require any more information, feel free to visit our Hogokage at his office. Denkiteki Hayato-sama is quite an experienced tactician himself so I'm sure you and he could develop a sound strategy to keep our village safe." moving towards pig, Akihana knelt down to pet the animal fondly on the head. "Good bye sweetie, I'll be back to see you soon." If uninterrupted, she would make her way to the stable door but right before leaving, turn around once more with a genuine smile lighting up her pale, heart shaped face.

"Thank you for agreeing to help our village. I couldn't possibly explain how delighted I am. After being turned down from almost everywhere, it's... almost dizzying to finally have someone understand the importance of looking after a village. I don't know what happened in your country but you must have been an inspiring and dedicated leader." With that, she would drop into a full curtsy like she was required to at royal events and then take her leave. Takeo may not have known it, but he had strengthened her faith in humanity a bit more that day.

(Exit)

Giving Takeo 20k Ryo for his wares (1 NOMCRAP, 2 Vibroblades, 2 Chakra cannons and 2 sets of DERP)
Claims coming shortly

TWC: 6575

2625 towards Hell Stab
3000 towards Chidori Senbon
750 towards Dynamic Entry
200 towards Charity

Akihana pointed out how the Shadow lands had children. Takeo felt as if she had insulted his intelligence. This was evident by the harsh look he gave her in response. When she made her request immediately after, he felt somewhat hurt. Naturally Takeo played how much it hurt him up. It was his nature. Pressing the palm of his hand against his chest he looked shocked. "Akihana. You wound me, truly. Do you think I'm some sort of butcher?" For a brief moment he considered letting some tears flow. But he thought better of it. Who knows how she would have reacted otherwise. He dropped the façade as he dropped his hand. His eyes narrowed slightly. "I will do what is needed to be done." The vagueness of his statement was intentional of course. If children needed to die, they would die. Mercy gets people nowhere, he had learned that.

Takeo's own thoughts soon turned to the assault itself. In the back of his mind he had registered Akihana's response about the deceased shinobi. Respect for the dead and all, Takeo refrained from giving his views on what happens after death. Hoshigakure was a place of religion. Thus it was not surprising to find people who believed in the afterlife. Takeo was not a believer. The fear of death had been what kept him sharp during the beginning. With time the fear had disappeared. The natural instincts of fight or flight gone with them. Now he was like a domesticated beast. Perhaps this place would allow him to rekindle what had long been second nature to him. Or maybe, due to Akihana's presence, it would serve to domesticate him further. It was unlikely given that he wouldn't be here for very long.

His mind came back to the present when Akihana's movement caught his attention. It seemed that this meeting was coming to a close. It was odd. Takeo had met someone twice in a row and both meetings had gone well? Apart from the whole threatening the guards thing of course. But that was water under the bridge now. At the mention of rest Takeo was inclined to agree. It had been some time since he had last rested properly. Takeo nodded. Glancing across to Pig he smirked slightly. Right now Pig's appearance was quite comical. Still covered in sawdust, the pig looked ridiculous. "Yeah will do." He commented off-handedly in response to Akihana suggesting he meet the Kage. Having assumed Akihana led the village it was quite surprising. Naturally, the name of the Kage surprised him even more.

The smile dropped from his face. Denkiteki, the last name he expected to hear. Takeo had thought he was dead. Considering Xyxer was the one to return to Tengakure and not Denkiteki. His brother had failed him it seemed. Entrusted to end the life of the traitor who abandoned the village, he couldn't even perform such a simple task. It was Takeo's fault of course. Xyxer was psychotic. Relying on him to do anything correctly was a foolish era. One that Takeo promised himself he wouldn't make again. The colour had drained from his face. Takeo wasn't entirely sure how he was supposed to react. Instead he just remain frozen in place as Akihana said goodbye to Pig, seemingly oblivious.

He barely registered her parting words. Giving nothing more than a stiff nod in response to the frankly far too kind words. It was two minutes after Akihana had left that Takeo finally moved. Sluggishly he slid from the hay bale to his feet. With a sigh, he slicked his hair backwards. Things had been looking up. Maybe this was a sign that forces beyond his control were conspiring against him. It was a bad omen that Denkiteki was here in this village. The confrontation he had not wanted to have in his lifetime was approaching. Takeo glanced over towards Pig who lay sleeping, blissfully unaware of his master's distress. It was better that way. Takeo gathered his equipment, and went through the process of checking it all. It may have been awhile, but this ritual had been drilled into his mind. Unfortunately he would have to break the rule's Akihana had already mentioned. "Sorry about this." He said sadly to the empty room. All of his promises had been thrown out the window.

Takeo exited the barn after several long strides. Rest would have to wait. "There just isn't any rest for the wicked."

[Topic Closed]

TWC: 8204

+20000 ryo
+10 chakra
+62 AP
6500/6500 Lightning Halberd Learned
1704+3746 (refund wc)/5450 Chidori Current Learned

4807 banked wc left.

3250/3250 False Darkness Learned

1557 left, going towards Water Release 1557/4000

41 stats to Pig I guess

Yeah approved.