Tea over Death (Kuniko, Kiryu) (IK)(NK)

It had been a couple of months after the death of Takeshi. The seasons had changed, the winter nights became the warm spring evenings. All the trees and plants were starting to give off their pollen so that the next generation of the species could go on. It was a time that Tsubaki felt more alive, almost as if she was also regrowing from the harsh winter. This spring inspired her to move on emotionally from the incident, in which she largely blamed herself. She now understood that people were fragile and that they needed to be protected. Whether that Is from defending the nation from oncoming dangers like Jaws of Grim or the dangers of their diluted mortals. 

Two of the fragile flowers were also at the mission that killed Takeshi, Kuniko Hyuuga and Kiryu Akari. She hadn't spoken or seen them since the night of the death. She couldn't even go to the funeral to see them. But the season was one of the new beginnings. 

Earlier that day, Tsubaki had sent letters to their homes to invite them both over for some tea and discussion about the future. Tsubaki placed the kettle of water on the stove, awaiting their arrival. On the letter, she gave them until noon to come over and discuss with her. 

WC: 218

Kuniko stared up at his ceiling from his bed in the dark, snugly secure under his silk blankets. The stone walls and floor of his chamber in the Hyuuga compound were too cold and uninviting for him to interact with at this early hour. For the past couple months he had become content with sleeping in. The young genin couldn't kind understand why. His daily routine had been interrupted; his hours to rise creeping ever later in the morning. He had begun to wake up after some of the other castle dwellers. However, on this particular morning he heard something scratch across the stone floor as it was pushed beneath his door. 

Kuniko didn't feel like getting up to turn on the lights so he simply activated his Byakugan to peer through the dark of his room at his door. It seems one of the servants had pushed a letter into the room. "Unusual", Kuniko thought, "I haven't received any letters lately." This presented a new and welcome change of pace. The young man needed a reason to get out of bed this morning, for some reason he couldn't figure. He deactivated his Byakugan as he flipped the lights on. Thinking on it, perhaps he shouldn't use such a precious gift for such selfish reasons. The letter he opened up was a summons from his mentor. Excitement! He had waited for this summons for some time. The last time he had seen his mentor was... 

Shaking his head, Kuniko dressed himself in a gray hakama with black hand wraps and dark boots. It was time to head out and meet his mentor. There was a brief moment of hesitation for the shinobi as he went to open his door. Kuniko couldn't come up with an excuse not to go though; after all he wanted to see his mentor again, so he shook off his hesitation and went through the door. It was still a couple hours before noon when Kuniko had finally arrived at Tsubaki's place. 

Without any hesitation, Kuniko knocked on the door and awaited a response. His reaction would be to bow to anyone who answered, or to enter and pay respects should he instead be invited in. 

WC: 370

Kiryu’s eyes widened in surprise as he glanced over the letter again. When it had arrived, he was certain it was going to be another mission assignment. From the look of it, however, it was actually an invitation for tea by the Chuunin who had shown up to call off the mission to recover the stolen supplies from that rogue shinobi group. The mission where…
 
He clenched his fist as the emotion surged through him again. He had come to terms with Takeshi’s death, and he no longer felt the desperation that he had felt immediately following it. Training and missions had taken up most of his time since then and he was significantly stronger than he had been during that first mission. Still, the loss of his fellow Genin had hit him hard. He couldn’t help but wonder what Tsubaki wanted to discuss with him after a few months of no contact.
 
The letter had said any time before noon and Kiryu didn’t currently have any missions, so he figured he would head on over with a few hours to spare. That way, he could spend the entirety of the afternoon training again. Remembering Takeshi reignited his desire to grow stronger and prevent another incident like that from happening.  As he made his way to the address listed on the letter, he began to wonder if perhaps there was a new mission that he would be assigned after all. Maybe he would be working with Tsubaki again and she wanted to evaluate him beforehand.
 
At any rate, when he finally made it to her place, he noticed another figure standing outside her door. It took a few moments before his mind connected the person to the name. ”Kuniko? Is that you?” He grinned as he saw the more experienced Genin. Kuniko had been his other teammate on the mission that had cost Takeshi his life and he had felt a similar sense of companionship with him as he had with Takeshi. It was a shame that they hadn’t gotten together since then, but maybe this would be a good time to change that for the future.

[WC: 357]

A knock came to the door as she slipped on a white woollen cardigan. As she opened the door, she would hear Kiryu call out to Kuniko,  ”Kuniko? Is that you?” Tsubaki witnessed the grin on the young genin's face as he saw someone he recognized. Kuniko, polite as ever, was at the door. "Welcome, you two. Please, come inside." She would move out of the way for the two genins to enter. It was more refreshing to see her student's face than she realized. 


Tsubaki's home was small; had only four rooms. The first room was the bathroom and the last door was the bedroom. The kitchen was visible through a wide entryway from the front room. The front room had a long velvet couch with a floral pattern woven in. there was a matching chair in front of it in case of guests. There was also a fireplace along the wall of the front room that wasn't lit due to the coolness of the weather. 

The Senju gestured towards the couch for them both. "Go on and make yourself comfortable. I've got hot water going in the kitchen." An uncomfortable screeching came from the stove soon after. Tsu rushed to go take it off as soon as she could. The screeching would subside after a moment. "Would you boys like some tea? I've got all sorts back here." Since she grew her garden, Tsu had many assortments of teas. 

WC: 241
TWC: 459

As the door was being opened Kuniko heard a familiar voice call out to him. Looking over, he noticed Kiryu approaching with a smile. Kuniko slightly bowed and greeted him. "Good morning, Kiryu. It has been some time since we last met. I am pleased to see you again." He then turned towards Tsubaki as she appeared at the door and bowed more deeply to her. "Miss Tsubaki, I am pleased to see you again as well. Thank you for inviting us in." He would then wait for Kiryu to catch up so that the two of them could enter at the same time. Upon walking in, Kuniko began to glance over the home from his place near the door. This was the modest residence of his mentor after all. With her demeanor he was expecting something ...more. Perhaps there was more to this house that met the common eye though. It would be rude to use the Byakugan to investigate further though, so Kuniko took his place on Tsubaki's couch, right in the middle. 

"You have a lovely home Miss Tsubaki. Tea would be most appreciated, as I have not yet eaten this morning." Kuniko softly thanked his mentor with a slight bow as she rushed towards her kitchen. He then turned slightly to face Kiryu and said curiously, "how have you been these past few months? Forgive my lack of contact. I have not quite felt myself recently." 


WC:240
TWC:590

Kuniko’s response came at the same time that Tsubaki opened the door and greeted them both. He bowed quickly in response to Kuniko and then shuffled forward to greet the older Chuunin as well. ”Thank you,” he said, echoing Kuniko as he bowed in respect as well. As the three of them entered Tsubaki’s home, Kiryu’s curiosity got the better of him and he took in as much of the surroundings as he could. It was certainly a modest home, but it had a very elegant feel to it as well. From the little he had seen of Tsubaki, it seemed to fit her well.
 
Kiryu sat down on the couch to Kuniko’s left. ”I would be most grateful for some tea…” He paused for a second, not really sure what to call her. ”Miss Tsubaki.” He figured that going along with Kuniko’s example would be the safest way to ensure no disrespect. As Kuniko turned to face him, Kiryu looked back at him with understanding. ”No apology is necessary,” he said, glancing down at his feet for a few seconds. ”Things have been… different for me as well.” He hadn’t known Takeshi for long, but he had really come to like and admire the Genin. He couldn’t imagine how devastating his loss must have been for Kuniko, who clearly knew him for much longer than he had. ”I’ve been mostly well, though,” he added, turning back to the question. ”I’ve been training much harder than I ever have before and I’ve gotten much stronger. I…” His voice caught for a second, which embarrassed him slightly. ”I promise I won’t ever be a deadweight on a mission again.” The determination in his voice was unmistakable, although it was difficult to tell if it was a healthy determination or a determination that would lead to nothing but pain. ”How about yourself? How have you been?”

[WC: 314]
[TWC: 671]

Tsubaki poured the hot water into three cups about the size of her palms. Then she grabbed some bags containing crushed up leaves and placed them into the hot water. As she let them sit and settle in, Tsu listened to the two boys talk. Kuniko started, "how have you been these past few months? Forgive my lack of contact. I have not quite felt myself recently." "No apology is necessary...Things have been… different for me as well." Tsubaki sighed in relief, realizing that the boys were going through similar emotions. She felt it was a perfect time for a talk and get together. 

The tea had placed on a small tray and taken out the table in the front room. ”I promise I won’t ever be a dead weight on a mission again.” Kiryu would state. "You think you're dead weight?" Tsu asked rhetorically. "You did as you were told. You aren't responsible for others actions." She sat down on the chair with her cup in her hand. She folded her legs in the chair and observed Kuniko and Kiryu. They both looked so young and fragile in her eyes. Their roots weren't planted deep enough yet.

Kuniko listened to Kiryu speak with a pleasant smile on his face. It felt good to speak with such friendly company. Tsubaki walked into the room with tea to add to the conversation. After Kiryu promised to never be dead weight on a mission again, Kuniko simply nodded with a smile and said "good," as Tsubaki went with what sounded like a more experience approach. When she sat down to look at them Kuniko felt a sense of kinship in the room. There were comrades with a shared righteous cause. Kuniko nodded to himself quietly at the thought, quiet please, before answering Kiryu's question. 

In an lilting tone, Kuniko said to Kiryu, "I suddenly feel quite well." He turned to look at the haze of morning light out of a nearby window. "Whatever lethargy that has been gently resting on my mind seems to be fading. Perhaps I will return to my usual duties soon. Thank you for asking," Kuniko said with a nod to Kiryu. Looking towards Tsubaki, the young Hyuuga then asked curiously, "and how have you been, Miss Tsubaki? Thank you for the tea. I will gladly partake." 


WC:191
TWC: 781

As Kiryu spoke to Kuniko, Tsubaki returned with the tea she had offered. He faintly registered Kuniko’s response to his promise not to be dead weight, but he was more preoccupied with Tsubaki’s. ”With all due respect, ma’am,” he began, ”surely it is the responsibility of a shinobi to contribute to the overall success of the team. At the time, I was a brand new Genin, fresh out of the academy, and my lack of skills and experience meant that I required more supervision. I know that I’m not responsible for the actions of others, but I refuse to allow myself to be a liability that requires attention to be taken away from the task at hand. I want to be able to pull my own weight, and I want to be able to prevent something like that from ever happening again.”
 
As for Kuniko’s response to Kiryu’s question, Kiryu was glad that he felt better just from coming to this meeting. It was clearly a good thing for him, and Kiryu wanted to be there for him if he ever needed anything. He would most likely be dead if it wasn’t for Kuniko, and he felt that he owed him for that. That indebtedness was only part of the reason he wanted to be around for him, though. He considered Kuniko a friend, and he always looked out for his friends.

[WC: 232]
[TWC: 903]

The boys seemed to be more content, especially Kuniko. He stated that he was going to return to his duties soon and that the weights of guilt seem to be lifting. Kiryu seemed to be motivated by the loss. He was motivated to be stronger and that he wouldn't be a hindrance on the missions to come. Tsubaki wondered if that was because of how frantically she ordered Kuniko to watch him. Perhaps she was a bit rude to assume that he couldn't follow orders. She took a sip of her steaming tea as she absorbed the information. 

"And how have you been, Miss Tsubaki? Thank you for the tea. I will gladly partake." Kuniko said curiously. Tsu placed down her cup on the table. "It's been... a ride," She smirked to herself. "To be honest, I was hit kind of hard. I felt responsible. I've never had to deal with the death of someone so young." She gave a heavy sigh. "I grew up kind of sheltered. I didn't spend time with people much due to my religious parents, so I didn't know the hardships. Even during my genin years, it was smooth sailing. I've always been able to save people with my medical ninjutsu. I thought I could handle something like this when it eventually came about but once it came, I wasn't prepared." Tsu looked up into the ceiling of her room. "However, over these couple weeks, I've come to realize something. People are fragile, like the sprouting of a tree. They haven't been able to firmly plant their roots." Tsu looked at the boys, smiling. "That why I called you two over. The sproutings of something great. We need to plant our roots so we can survive." 


WC: 291
TWC: 948