irrefutable (Hikari)

They said Arata was gone, they told the story.

The princess, Tsuji, even Arashi was starting to believe the tale and Akihana knew her eldest loved his brother with all his heart. Arashi may not have been her biological son but blood was not the only thing that determined family. The Queensguard had taken on many of the qualities she herself was renowned for. The young prince was kind, he was compassionate, he believed in others and he always chose the path of nonviolence. Akihana wished she could pull him aside and tell him how proud she was of him.

But every time she saw him, she only saw the look of dead acceptance in his eyes. As aggrieved as the Tekiatsu was at what his little brother had done, he was not unbelieving. Deep down, he knew Arata was capable what they said he was capable of.

Not Akihana though, she was a mother after all. And despite knowing the truth, despite knowing that she was recounted the truth, she still clung to some hidden, additional information that could shed light on Arata’s senseless act of violence. She had spoken to the guards present that night, she had spoken to a terrified Tsuji, she had spoken to Princess Tehniyat and to Denkiteki, and now her last hope was the medic who had treated Tsuji that night. A kunoichi by the name of Hikari Namikaze.

And it was for Hikari that the blonde medic now waited, currently borrowing Princess Tehniyat’s library office as the royal prepared for her journey to Bird. The young princess had preferred the library to the formal throne room and Akihana intended to keep that tradition going until Kanzaki came of age and could decide where she wanted to conduct business. The palace would never feel as if it belonged to Akihana but the library, the library offered some comfort.

Dressed in a simple pale blue gown decorated with silver embroidery, Akihana waited, reorganizing the already organized files on her tables in order to keep her hands busy. Despite the warmth outside, the kunoichi always felt cold these days resulting in closed windows and her golden hair cascading down her shoulder in a waterfall braid, providing some warmth to the pale columns of her throat. Logically she knew there was no reason to feel cold but as a mother, she knew with even more certainty that she would only truly feel warm once her baby was back in her embrace.

(So, for this thread, I don’t know how much Infomration Hikari has about the uppers in Hoshi, so for the sake of this, I’m going to presume that Hikari knows nothing about Akihana except the name, so Hikari doesn’t know the fact that she is a Kunochi. If any of this isn’t true, let me know. Also, sorry it took so long to respond, I misread this the first time and thought it was in the Yuki archives, and I was thinking how cool would it be if I just entered from here form my exam. However, I learned that was not the case and I made a mistake, I apologize, I don’t plan to make you wait this long again.)
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The young girl rushed over to palace which she was told that she was supposed to meet with her grace, the queen of Hoshi. Hikari hurried over the entrance of the palace where there were a few queen’s men were waiting outside in the royal gardens, guarding the place.

Hikari would run up to them, she wasn’t in her usual combat attire, but a simple white dress with a blue cover-up, her hair up in a bun unlike usual when it would be down and in a braid. Once she arrived at the gates, she would talk to the guards, would inform her that the queen was waiting for her in Princess Tehniyat’s library office. The chestnut haired girl would gulp, still nervous and not knowing what this was about. She would be escorted by a guard into the library. As she walked through, Hikari remembered the only time she was ever in here before was when she had to save the life of the injured princess Tsuji. She didn’t know much of what had been going on there, but she had gone out of her way to save the woman. That was something Hikari needed to take note of for the future, she needed to go out of her way in order to learn more medical ninjutsu one of these days, that way, if something like this happened again, she would be able to save those who needed help.

Perhaps that was why she was being called in here today? Maybe high grade missions like that required some sort of follow up, but being debriefed by the queen herself? It is hard to imagine.

The guard would leave Hikari by the entrance to the palace Library, and the young girl would look around it, it was magnificent, there were statues and fine pieces of art, The Kozaki Yuuki Archives were beautiful, but in the end, for the most part they were open to the public, and this place was open to only royalty. The book worm would start to drift towards the nearest book shelf, wanting to explore the vast lore that was hidden on its shelves… but caught herself. She was here to speak with the queen, and she had made her wait long enough and shouldn’t make her wait any longer.

Hikari would make her way to the furthest end of the Library, and see an office door, on it, their was embroidered on the door the words “Princess Tehniyat” on it. Well, either this was the place, Or Hikari was dead lost.

Namikaze would go up to the door and knock on it, loud enough that whoever was inside would hear it, but to the point it wouldn’t bother those who were reading in the library. She didn’t see anyone, but her natural instinct was to stay quite in a place of literature.

“Your Grace?” Hikari would ask, once again in a hushed voice, but loud enough that could be heard through the door. “My name is Hikari Namikaze, I was asked to come see you…..”

Her rearranging of the files were interrupted by a knock and the sensation of chakra travelling down the hall outside her office door. Well, not her office, a childlike voice chided from her subconscious. Nothing here is yours, nothing anywhere is yours. Ignoring Makona, the medic simply called out "Please enter."

Should Hikari do so, Akihana would give the Chunin a smile that may have seemed tired but what it lacked in exuberance, it more than made up for in warmth. "You don't have to call me "Your Grace", Akihana will do." The blonde waited a beat before gesturing for Hikari to take a seat, her golden eyes gazing softly at the young girl in front of her.

"I'm afraid we haven't really met. I'm..." The first words that would have come to mind was 'Arata's mother' but the words would ring hollow now. Many things rang hollow now. "I'm pleased to see you made it. I read you recently made Chunin, so congratulations are in order."

Reaching for a cookie jar on the far right of the desk, Akihana slid it towards the Chunin. "Would you like a cookie? I baked them a few days ago but they're fairly fresh still."

Hikari would enter in at her queen's command, as she did, she was a little bit shocked to find rather then an imposing woman, or a woman at who was probably wrinkly and old, Instead, Hikari looked at a women who was in her mid to early 20s. She was probably the most beutiful woman That the chestnut haired girl had ever seen.... however... somethingelse was a little bit off..... The queen... she had a powerful chakra in her....
That being said, The woman would introduce herself, and congulate her on becoming a chunin. Hikari sort of blinked, she hadn't actually recived word that she had passed yet.... so this was quite a surprise to her. She blinked, taken aback for a second, but was snapped out of it when Akihana offered her some cookies.

Cookies.... the food of the Gods....

The chestnut haired woman would smile and say, "Yes.. that would be wonderful, that would be wonderful." The girl would reach into the jar and grab a cookie, with all honesty, she wanted to grab the entire thing, but she had to watch her figure, and she didn't want to appear rude in front of the Queen.

Hikari would open her mouth and start to eat the cookie, it was still slightly soft and delicious, she needed to get the recipe from the queen when she had an oppritunity.

That being said, after Hikari ate her cookie, presuming the queen hadn't said anything else, Hikari would look back up to the queen and ask, "Um... My gr.... Akihana? I was told that you wanted to see me... what is this about?"

At the apparent surprise on the young teen's face of finding out her promotion, Akihana quickly realized she had given away a surprise. no doubt a messenger was on his or her way to find Hikari and inform her of her official rank change. The blonde gave Hikari a few moments to digest both the information and the cookie, her golden eyes twinkling softly at the girl. Once Hikari was seated and finished with her cookie, Akihana began.

"I was told of how helpful you were when we needed it most," the medic started cautiously, trying to not scare Hikari or allude to the fact that she was in any trouble. "You'll be glad to know Lady Tsuji has fully recovered thanks to your and the maester's quick actions. She's still... somewhat afraid though." It was understandable, Tsuji had trusted Arata. His kunai hadn't hurt her as much as the fact that he had knowingly wielded it on her.

"What I wanted to hear was.. well, your personal account of the night. If you don't mind of course. I'd like to know of the wounds inflicted on Lady Tsuji... i they were malicious or accidental." Her tone softened slightly at the admission, this was her final chance to redeem Arata in some way. Maybe the chunnin would tell her that the wound's were minor, that everyone was blowing things out of proportion.... Maybe her baby wasn't as much of a criminal as everyone said he was...

The Chestnut haired girl would sit and listen to the queen as she spoke, she was reffering to the one night that Hikari had come in and saved Lady Tsuji. She was glad to hear that the princess she saved was doing alright, she hadn't gotten any real official news about that, and it was only her hunch that she had made a full recovery. The queen would continue on and say...

"What I wanted to hear was.. well, your personal account of the night. If you don't mind of course. I'd like to know of the wounds inflicted on Lady Tsuji... i they were malicious or accidental."

As Hikari thought back to that day, the thought of Princess Tsuji lying on the ground, laying in a pool of her own blood..... it made Hikari shiver. At the time, she had only thoughts of saving the woman... but whenever she thought back on it.... the event scared her. She was... she had seen more blood before in her life.... but she never had been expected to operate while there was so much blood before.

Hikari would gulp as she thought about the answer to that, "Aikihana..." Hikari would nervously respond as she thought, "I..... I'm not a medical ninja... I barely know the basic medical jutsu, so I don't believe that my opinion would hold any water here."

Hikari would pause for a second, but then continue. "However.... I..... I come from a small town that is about 5 miles south of Hoshigakure proper... my family ran a tavern there where myself and everyone in the family worked. I had a little sister there that was to young to be given a real job, but would run around in the back trying to help the others. Her name was Anna. One day, my dad was in the back and couldn't find his cooking knife and asked Anna to find it for her. Anna looked around and found it, and tried to run back with it.... but tripped and the knife slashed across her face, leaving a nasty gash on it. Everyone droped what they were doing to help the little girl... she ended up getting stitches as well...."

Hikari would pause again, making sure what she said was what she belived. "But, when it comes to the diffrence between Lady Tsuji's and Anna's cuts.... Lady Tsuji's neck wound was much deeper and a cleaner cut compared to to Anna's cuts. As if someone put alot more force into cutting that then when my sister accidentally fell on her own knife. I... I don't see how it is possible that the Lady Tsuji's cut neck could of been on accident."

Akihana remained quiet, listening to the girl speak. her golden eyes remained warm though her expression grew more concerned as each part of the story unfolded. Hikari's opinion - unbeknownst to the young chunin - was as unbiased as it was possible seeing as she neither knew Arata nor the royals to any extent. She wasn't even a medical ninja as per her own confession and yet even she could see the wounds made on Arashi's suitor were.... caused with ill intent.

The last vestige of hope Akihana had been clinging to faded. Her son was not innocent, everyone else was right. And though Hikari would never know it, she had just broken the regent's heart anew. By no fault of her own of course, Hikari had simply told the truth.

"Thank you," the blonde finally managed, nodding her head slightly. "I really appreciate your honesty, my dear. And I feel I must return it in kind." Taking a deep breath and steeling herself for what was about to come, Akihana continued.

"I'm a mother, and the thing about us mothers, we tend to be a tad but on the protective side. We defend our children with unyielding loyalty, we believe in them regardless of what the world says... And we love them even if they don't necessarily feel the same way. I'm Prince Arata's mother... When I was told what he did to Lady Tsuji, my first instinct was to deny it. Since then I've spoken to a lot of people, yourself included. And I see that..." She paused, unable to continue.

"But it is what it is. He is a criminal and therefore he must be treated as one. I have been deliberating on registering him as a missing ninja but talking to you has made me decide. I must do what is right. Arata is my son but there are other sons and daughters out there he could be putting in danger."

If agony had a physical form, it would have been the blonde kunoichi right now. But as always, there was no time for that. She had to see Den... Maybe he would help her.

Hikari was a little bit shocked when she heard that it was Prince Arata that had been behind the attack. She wasn't given that information, and she had chosen to not enter into Lady Tsuji's mind and find out who her assailant was, (At the time, Hikari felt like that might of been high treason, however, but now looking back at it, it would of been a good idea.)

The now Chunin could tell that It had to be was hard for the queen to hear that her son had been the one done the attack, And rightfuly so. Hikari wasn't a mother but she couldn't imagine the child she raised to do such a thing. On top of that, The woman with the golden hair's child would probably be branded a criminal and hunted down as such. It wasn't something that Hikari would wish of her child.

"I..... I am sorry to hear that... but.. well.... as I said, I am ...." Hikari would stumble over her words as she spoke. She wanted to say 'I am no Medic, perhaps I am wrong,' but thought better of it. The maid girl was confident that she was right about this, and that she probably shouldn't give the queen any false hope.

At the same time though, being listed as a Missing Ninja was basically a death sentence, unless the person on the list was incredibly powerful. Hikari didn't know of any real war stories that the prince had been in, so it was unlikely he was that powerful.

Hikari would then have an idea and resopnd, "Akihana? If I may, I have an idea. Rather then putting him on the Missing ninja list yet, what if you sent someone out to find him? A sole Shinobi, prehaps one that is used to traveling alot and could track your son down and have him bring him back in by force if necessary. If you hold off putting him on the missing ninja list and just send a single person in, perhaps we can bring him back alive?"

At Hikari's awkward apology, Akihana reached out to sooth the girl, waving it off politely. "No, please don't apologize, its not your fault. All you did was report the truth and I commend you efforts in doing so." The blonde gazed at her warmly, pushing the cookie jar towards her once more. "Here, have another cookie, I find it helps to soothe the nerves."

Should the young chunin reach for another, Akihana would wait for her to finish her snack before continuing. She would listen to teh girl's idea of sending a single shinobi after Arata and nod her head. "The idea does have merit... but the Bingo Book has been avoided long enough. Trust is a two way street, dear child. The officials of this village waited a long time out of consideration for my feelings to process my son fairly, and now I must return their faith in kind instead of simply enjoying their trust in me."

The words were as honest as she'd been about the situation with anyone until now. Hoshi had done a lot for her, and now she had to do her part to ensure its safety and prosperity. "However, I do like your idea. And there's no reason we can't do both. If he's in the bingo books, our own shinobi would be within the law to try and retrieve him. Thank you for the kind suggestions.

Afterwords, if Hikari had nothing else to discuss, the blonde would get to he feet, moving from behind her desk to give the chestnut haired girl a hug should Hikari allow. Thankng the chunin once more, Akihana would call he meting to a close, dismissing Hikari Namikaze.

(Exit Akihana)

Aki exit aoproved