Springstone (Shouhei)

Stepping into Princess Tehniyat’s duties was neither easy nor fun. Which, Akihana supposed was best. The difficult portion of her new tasks would ensure she learned on her feet. Despite having done almost the same thing in Kumo and then in Hoshi before that, there was always something new. Haven was no longer the same as she’d left it last Summer and neither was she, which meant another quick on the job course on dealing with the new sociopolitical climate of the country. From her looks through the relevant files, it seemed the royalty had become something of a tug of war object between ninja and civilian and that was indeed worrying.

It also worried the blonde that given the banishment of the council and the replacement of the Queensguard with Ninja, the masses had close to no say in matters of government. A few privileged families who could get to the Queen’s ears could be heard and that was a system of government Akihana had seen fail many times before. Haven and Hoshi belonged to the civilians as much as they did to the ninja, and it was about time both parties realized that.  Looking over all the ignored meeting requests Princess Tehniyat had stored away in a drawer, one particular letter caught her attention as she waited for today’s appointment.

This appointment was her first attempt to bridge the gap between civilian and shinobi, a highly respected craftsmen family who had been in service of the crown for hundreds of years, and their current heir training to be a ninja. A request for an audience with the princess had been filed weeks ago regarding a curious new invention the young Genin had patented but it had gone unseen due to what the young woman could only assume was Princess Tehniyat having more urgent matters to deal with. Thankfully Akihana had enough time in her schedule to send an official invitation to the boy’s family. True she was a poor replacement for what he would expect – a proper princess – but he was a ninja so perhaps the young man would realize that more important than aesthetics was getting the job done.

The young man’s details lay in front of her, compiled in a simple folder. His name, rank, progression as a Genin and associates he was seen with. It seemed Ser Kyousuke had taken the boy under his wing too. At the bottom of the file, her golden eyes found the hastily scribbled note in Den’s writing. It simply read “bloodline potential” without providing any additional information on which bloodline or even if it related to the candidate in question. It might be very possible Den had ran out of notepaper for his own research into various bloodlines and simply scrawled the words on the nearest available surface, this poor Genin's file. Akihana contemplated the folder silently, waiting for Shouhei Sato to arrive.

Today was a bit awkward to Shouhei. He was getting of that age where his parents would start to suspiciously invite over other families for tea who had daughters of similar age and class to him (so he knew a few girls before he was old enough when arranged marriages became relevant). Similar to that day when he helped resolve the conflict between some academy students and an elder priest. The less said about that day the better, but at least he was able to give the students a lesson or two after wards that would have made…well not Shina proud as she would likely had made them do 100 push-ups or run around the academy till they turned blue. Yes, Shouhei did have fun imagining how she would try to punish small snotty kids like him and get away with it. Well okay, he wasn’t short anymore as he had short up several inches over just a half a year.

In any event, when he had gotten his summon to come to the palace concerning his patent, he was in the middle of drinking tea with his parents and this month’s visitor. Shouhei’s mother almost chocked on her tea when a servant told them that Shouhei was summoned to the palace alone, and what it was about. She had seen what he had been working on – which is not surprisingly as you do not easily hide a two and a half block of stone filled with sealing signs – but the time it had taken to get the response, she had thought it would never arrive. Same with Shouhei really, but he had been too busy to think about it. Not one to let this summon go unanswered, Shouhei grabbed whatever he needed and arrived max ten minutes later.

That short warning was why Shouhei now stood in Akihana’s office wearing a kimono normally only reserved for formal occasions (that fortunately hadn’t gotten any dirt on it, nor had the silk been ruined), an armful of scrolls and drawings, a headband on his head not completely straight, and no other ninja gear. He was glad his wooden sandals hadn’t had any accident when he bolted up towards the palace.

“I came as quickly as you told me to-“ The slightly winded Shouhei who hadn’t stopped for anything but the occasional guard so he wouldn’t have any problem entering the palace, blinked once and saw the woman that definitely wasn’t Princess Tehniyat. A small thought came to his mind that he didn’t verbalize and that was: “Well at least I did not make the mistake of not bowing when I entered.”

“Sorry I do not believe we have meet, madam.” He replied not knowing her marital status but going on her age and the fact he would think he would have seen a royal member if she was one. Had she been a noble he was sure she would forgive him once for the incorrect addressing of her. “My name Shouhei of the Sato clan in the artisan district.” The clarification he added as to not to be confused with the two other Sato clans.

Notes wrote:Word Count: 524.

As the tall redhead rushed in without preamble, Akihana barely had time to put down her file. She supposed he must have gotten past all the guards easily enough to be allowed such quick access to the royal library. His confusion stopped the ninja more than the formal kimono he had on. But had the kunoichi assumed he dressed for the occasion, she would have been forced to discard it as he clearly did not know who he was meeting.

It also put her in the awkward position of introducing herself as the new Regent, which the blonde would almost never do unless strictly required for royal proceedings. So instead, the medic simply gave him a smile. "Good day, I'm Akihana and I've sort of taken over Her Grace Princess Tehniyat's duties for the foreseeable future." Let the boy make of it what he would. News would soon reach his ears of the coronation ceremony anyway.

"Please take a seat," she added kindly, trying to put the young man at ease. Gesturing to a large jar on the desk, she continued. "Would you like a cookie? This is my first batch in a while so I'm not sure if they're very good so I'm afraid it will be a risk." The natural warmth and amusement in her eyes shone through she prepared to tackle the meeting's subject matter.

"The Princess speaks highly of you. unfortunately she was busy with other matters concerning Haven to see you about your patent herself but I find it should be given priority since it has the potential to save lives. I'd like to hear more about how you decided to develop this curious springstone."

By the time Akihana had introduced herself – which was a minute or so – Shouhei had caught his break and was a bit calmer than when he had first entered the royal library. Shouhei wondered a bit why they were meeting at a place like that, but it didn’t show on his face as he did not give it that much thought again.

“Took the Princess place? The princess is going somewhere else on Hoshi business?” Shouhei were pokerfaced as those questions went to his head. It was an official setting so he couldn’t let people see that his mind was working. “Very well, Lady Akihana.” Shouhei gave her a small head bow and followed up with: “I hope the princess will be successful in her task and have a swift return.”

He took a seat as ordered – but first he places his blueprints on the table – but raised his hand as he was offered a cookie. “My apologies my lady. But I have just come from a family gathering and is filled beyond dreams. I appreciate your offer however, and I would have accepted had the circumstances been different.” He replied with a gentle smile. As for the full part, that was kind of true – and unfortunate with how it was her first batch and all – but he had eaten so many sour dishes he probably couldn’t even be able to taste the cookies properly.

“Well I didn’t do it for money that’s for sure since our country doesn’t have a water problem.” Shouhei looked out of a window towards the water gardens in the distance. However, it all started when I travelled to the southern parts near the border and I saw former farmland that’s currently dustier than Suna.”

Shouhei started to fold out one of the blue prints that showed some of the internal layout of the seals inside the spring stone. “And while some water can’t remedy the soil that here and now, I believe with this device we can work our way down there with cattle and some good old irrigation now we have this cheap source of water.” He looked back up at Aki. “Which I would have brought with me down into the courtyard, but I didn’t have time to arrange for a two ton block of stone to get moved up here, so you will have to forgive me for that, Lady Akihana.”

Notes wrote:Word Count: 400.

"Indeed," the blonde confirmed when Shouhei asked if Princess Tehniyat was away. There would be no details however. Either the young man would have to find out the royal's whereabouts through his elders or chatter throughout the city. "We must pray for her well being," was all Akihana offered on the matter. After that, she busied herself with the springstone designs as Shouhei explained them to her. Not an engineer by any any stretch of the imagination, the kunoichi simply had to keep up as the young weaver's son went over the machinery as well as the requirements for transportation.

"And would just one of these be enough to supply water to all the farmlands in the southern hemisphere? Or is this just a prototype and we will require more of these spaced out among out more dry farmlands?" Even with all her travels, the blonde hadn't managed to see every corner of the vast country that was Haven so she had no idea how severe this problem of farming in the more rural areas was. in devising the springstone, Shouhei had certainly brought a neglected aspect of the country to the forefront.

The kunoichi would wait patiently for his assessment before asking more questions or suggesting alternatives.

Seeing as he was told nothing, Shouhei just decided to nod at Akihana’s response concerning the princess and her tasks. He too let himself concentrate on the task on hand and started to answer her questions.

“With complete honesty this is a prototype and I can say it works. However, the only ninjas I was able to test it with were myself, and some academy students.” Shouhei messed with the folder and took out a table index. “I wasn’t able to get anyone else to test it, and jounins like Shina and Kyousuke Snow did not seem to be available.”

On the table index it had a note that showed Aki two bell curve of the performance under academy students. In short, they told her that the results of academy students a year or two before graduation had inconsistent results, and it seemed to mostly tied to whether the person was talented in chakra control or not. The people graduating on the other hand told her a good number and a calculation of how much one could generate enough for a village for a whole year with eight hours of work over 30 days. Back on the index table on the colum that told the amount Shouhei could generate it just said: ‘I flooded our courtyard and one of the warehouse basements. It was a mess cleaning up.’

“In any event.” Shouhei followed up. “I believe the seals inside can be calibrated for further performance without having an uncontrollable facet. However, I believe I either would need a partner of greater rank than me to aid me, or someone else have to take it over from here. In short, in its current stage it could be spread out, perhaps even fuel townships if people are careful, but it could certainly become better.”

Notes wrote:Word Count:302

Once again, it was Akihana's turn to listen as the redhead explained the more technical aspect of his invention, detailing how refined chakra control helped to further improve the prototype. He had also kept excellent records of all the testing he'd done. But most of all, it was his honesty and transparency that appealed to Akihana. Instead of claiming a unilateral victory, the boy was admitting that further testing would be best, and the blonde was very much inclined to support this venture.

"Very well, I believe there are some farmlands at the edge of Haven and Shadow which would benefit from this testing greatly. About a year or so ago the area was overrun with missing ninja but thanks to the efforts of Prince Arthur and some of our own shinobi, it has been cleaned and the land used for farming. I will be the first to admit agriculture is not my forte but we can arrange for you to meet with the map makers and stewards to help you with the geography aspect."

Withdrawing a ledger from one of her many desk drawers, the kunoichi ran down the list of available jounin who could help Shouhei in his mission. "Let's see, according to this roster, our jounin, Lady Shina, is available to accompany you on this mission. She and you can take a select team of civilians to transport the springstone to the farmlands on the border. How long do you think you'd need to fully test the springstone in a wide scale setting?"

Even as she spoke, a guard was dispatched to find the mapmakers and stewards she had spoken of. Once Shouhei would finish speaking, there would be a soft knock on eher door, signalling the arrival of their guests, the men and women who wound be able to help the tall ninja a lot more than Akihana would. Ushering the two men in, Akihana would make introductions.

"Ser Shouhei, may I introduce the royal map maker, Lady Alycent Hightower, Ser Duncan Beesbury, Palace Steward and Ser Wyman Manderly, the Head of our Farmer's Council."

As it would appear in front of him, it appeared that Akihana wanted Shouhei to test the Springstone and finetune it in the field. It there as anything Shouhei was glad about it was that he had fixed the thing up enough before the stone and calibrated the seals so that he wouldn’t have any embarrassing showings when he presented it. Taking it to the fields should be a piece of cake. Her interest also made him a bit jolly but he kept his voice in control as he added to her mentioning him to team up with Shira for this. “I’d be honored for Shina to join me on the mission, and I would like to add something to that.

“I project about a week.” Shouhei opined to Akihana. He needed about five days, but he took the week so he wouldn’t be put down to four. Then again it was a task that in theory wasn’t anything that needed to be rushed seeing as the areas had to be revitalized to be used anyhow, but you never know.

Shouhei backed a bit away from the table afterwards to note something else he found of importance. “But I think there is something else important to note, Lady Akihana. That is, that Shina is not only a jounin but also an adept specialist at sealing techniques, so.” He spread out his arms to their max length. “A scroll this large should be able to seal it so the engineering team doesn’t have to move it all those miles. Which I am sure they will appreciate.” He moved closer to the table and put his hands back on it.

It wasn’t long there after he had spoken that the lords of ladies of the court entered the room. Shouhei didn’t know they had already been summoned, so when the doors opened his ear peeked like he expected the meeting to be over as Akihana was summed to somewhere else. However, seeing as it was not that, Shouhei bowed to the new comers as they were introduced him.

“Greetings my lord and ladies. I’m Shouhei of the Sato clan.” He introduced himself and gave handshakes if he was given any. “I believe Ser Wyman is interested in how big cantons these mechanisms can support, if not having the knowledge to know how much water these constructs need to produce to be of use?” Shouhei asked with the intension of sounding humble.

Notes wrote:Word Count: 409

Once the introductions were made, everyone got to work, Shouhei wasting no time in addressing the head of the farmer's council who nodded before providing numbers that should make sense to the tall shinobi but were only numbers to Akihana. Making a pledge to study more on the agricultural side of Hoshi, Akihana mostly spent the time quietly observing as the young man spoke to each member of the committee.

With the mapmaker, he decided which area of the Haven border would be best to test his contraption, with the steward, he made arrangements for travel and with Ser Wyman he spoke of the invention directly and its capabilities of revitalizing farmlands and thus doubling or possibly even tripling produce.

If everything worked, the people of Haven would never go hungry again. They might even have enough to export overseas for a profit, though that was not in the immediate goals. If nothing else, Akihana was firm in her stance that the people of Haven would be looked after first before any profit was gleamed from future ventures that did not go directly towards the people.

When it was all over, teh council members left with bows and curtsies, leaving Akihana with the redheaded male once more.

"I hope you found the meeting productive. Everyone appears to be really excited about your invention. I wish you would allow us to reimburse you for the work and the cost you bore in the making of it."

In his mind, it was of great importance that he was polite and came off as negotiable. The only time during the discussion with the lords and ladies of the court that Shouhei pushed, was when it came to the placement of the test site, and what size the work force they would need to install it. However, thrust be told he wasn’t that interested in the latter, but used it so his push for the former didn’t come off as odd. The former you see, Shouhei wanted the spring stone to be tested in an area with more private landholders rather than a lord of Hoshi. He was part of the merchant and artisan class after all so he couldn’t help but feel a bit of loyalty to his social class. However, should someone ask him afterwards, he would just say it was so that the freeholders could recover some of the capital that had been wiped out by the bandits from the land of shadow. Fortunately, that excuse flew and a nod of agreement were exchanged between Shouhei and Lady Alycent. Shouhei wasn’t sure if that was because he was a ninja and they didn’t think on that angle, but he tried not to think too much about it.

And of course, Shouhei returned their bows and curtsies with a bow of his own, and a few words of gratitude. “Have a good day, sers and ladies. I appreciate the time you have allowed me.” However, when they left, Aki could notice – that is if she was being astute – that Shouhei seemed to be more relaxed after the court officials had left. Not in a laid-back fashion, but as if he wasn’t used to being surrounded by this many people who when you overthought things could destroy your life.

Turning his attention away from the people who had just left, and the blueprints on the table Shouhei replied. “Of course, Lady Akihana. However, I had expected the fact that they hadn’t seen it in person would be to my disadvantage. That reminds me. Perhaps you would want to see it, or send someone in your place, my lady?” He smiled and gave her a small bow. “I would be more than happy to receive such compensation. However, if the crown wishes to buy the design, I would wish it to be done in writing if such is an option?”

Notes wrote:Word Count: 401