Addressing the Outcome

"You know you cannot put it off forever."

"I know."

"And the constant tapping of your pen isn't a proper writing form."

Yuuma would release a long sigh as he dropped the pen from his hand, letting it spin across the page a short distance as he leaned back against the wall, hands reaching up to lace fingers behind his head and tug his hair out of his face. It had been some time since the exams, and still, Yuuma felt like he was no closer to finding the words to address his performance. Not because he was not proud of himself, and not because he believed he did poorly. No, the failure that he felt was more so one of character than it was the results. He had done well for himself and placed in third. A respectable spot for a man with the mark of a traitor on his forehead.

"I gave a lot of encouraging words to a lot of people. Even Tsuna fought his hardest." The sentence wasn't so much spoke to the owl that was perched not far from him on a standing post. Really, Yuuma found comfort in speaking aloud to himself. "I wonder if he resents me for surrendering. I just...couldn't get out of my mind the fight with Gonk." A feeling that had been following around the shinobi for the last months. The image of the rag-dolling body of his opponent tumbling to the ground after the final strikes. His first real taste of a fight. It had certainly affected the pacifist.

The day was young, but the hour for Yuuma was late. Sleepless as his nights had been in the more recent days- likely something to do with the season, though it was a rare event. Yuuma was slumped on his floor in front of the single short table he kept for study, the lone piece of furniture among a rather sparse living quarters. On top were stacked scrolls and books, medical equipment, and a stack of paper that had been crumpled up with failed versions of the letter he was still trying to write. A long, slow exhale would leave the young man as he calmed his mind.

"Really Yuuma, I never thought I'd tell you this but you are putting too much thought into this. As soon as you begin, you'll find the words coming to you in no time. You've already considered them, now stop chewing your food and swallow." Archimedes coached from his perch. The blue eyes of the shinobi would find their way to him for a moment before he pushed himself upright and grabbed the pen again.

"You're right. This must happen this morning. I've waited long enough."

"Dear Hogokage Hyuuga,


Some time has passed since you have seen me, and I hope things have found you well. I write you this letter in apology for my actions in the Chuunin Exam. It seemed that I was not as prepared as I would have liked, and in my lack of preparation, I allowed myself to be overcome in the moment. I have spent the last months strengthing my willpower and honing my techniques with the intention of continuing to contribute in some meaningful way to the city. My next priority will be to continue to undertake more difficult missions and make up for my shortcomings I put on display during the exam. 


Hoshigakure has given me a lot, and my time in the exam helped me greatly in coming to a more clear picture of what exactly that means. The appreciation I have for this village is beyond my words and must instead be shown with action. That is why, someday, I will join the NOVA Corps. I will don the white shield and cloak as I undertake my duties to protect the village. It is my fondest desire that your attention will lay upon me in part and you will see my accomplishments as an effort to this goal. Although I may not have taken home the pride of first place, I intend to find my pride, instead, in the service to my village. May this letter be my declaration of my intentions to be counted among those who would call themselves the guardian of Hoshigakure.


Also if you would like an owl plushie, do let me know.


-Yuuma Fujiwara"

Picking up the paper, he'd read it over and again to make sure it was exactly what he wanted. Running the back of his friend across his forehead, he would scroll the letter into a manageable parcel, tieing it off with twine and securing it. Looking up towards Archimedes, he would offer out the scroll to the bird with a manner of expectation. An expectation that the avian seemed disinclined to follow. For a long moment, Yuuma simply held the scroll out until, in a violent burst, Archimedes opened his wings to buffet against the wall behind him, screeching with indignity. Yuuma physically jumped at the response.

"What do I look like?! A Courier pigeon?! I'll have you know my manifesto is longer than your life span!" Similar beratement was to follow the initiate torrent of insulting outbursts, continuing to weather the verbal assault long enough to make his way to his feet and out the door.

The letter would arrive at the office of the Hogokage some hour later via a young courier- likely a student who had been bribed with a bit of ryo.

WC- 912

“When did you last see him?” Ayato asked Dusk, the blue-haired Nova, sitting across from him. 
“I think it was before the exams. At The Clumsies, or the Bloody Unicorn. Probably the Unicorn.” 

“Was he drinking with anyone?” The Kage asked, his Grey white eyes examining the contents of an unsealed letter in front of him. 

“It’s a shinobi bar,” Dusk said. “ He was drinking with everyone.” 

Months ago, Ayato learned that a Hoshi deserted had shown up at the gates. Yuuma Fujiwara was seeking redemption for abandoning his village at its most excellent hour of need. Ayato did not know much about Yuuma, and what he knew did not impress the Hyuuga scion. Shina, his second in command, handled Yuuma's case and decided that Genin was not guilty of the crimes of his old teacher. And this village believes in second chances. So they gave him one. 

Yuuma took part in missions, helped arrest a notorious bandit known as the Red Griffin, and participated in the Universal Chuunin Exams of Hoshigakure. The redeemed shinobi passed the written exam with flying colors and beat Masashi Uzumaki in a game of Shogi to secure the bells in the second part.

He made it to the final, pitted against a Kiri Genin whom he dismantled with ease. And then he unexpectedly pulled out of the contest. That decision led to a unified cry of disappointment from the crowd at the stands. That was Yuuma's last public appearance; he fell off the radar ever since, preferring to stay quiet. That's where the matters stood until today.

Ayato dipped his quill in ink and began crafting a response. The wax he sealed the letter with was purple, complex, and shiny, stamped with a seven-pointed star. 

Spoiler:

A parcel would be delivered after the letter, inside it and wrapped in a plastic case a brand new Chuunin Flak Jacket and a brand new Hoshi headband for Yuuma to wear on his scarred forehead. 

Akihana and Denkiteki had begun the village's history, and Ayato Hyuuga had continued it, but the rest, Yuuma, would need to write for himself. He could write whatever he chose, henceforth.

Whatever he chose.

The conversation between Archimedes had continued to evolve over the course of the next couple of hours ranging from topics of jutsu and medical practices to practical applications of different manners of ointments and serums. Hearing the bell to the shop ring, Yuuma would push himself to his seat and excuse his way from the conversation to see to the matter. Surprised adorned him as he was not greeted by a customer but a courier. A courier with a package. Accepting the parcel and the accompanying letter, he'd set them each down on the counter to his shop and take in their measure. He certainly hadn't expected a reply, much less what might very well be a gift.

Picking up the letter first, he'd carefully cut the seal and unfold the letter to be read. His heartbeat picked up in pace as he read over the wording, and then once again as he finished the letter. Something stirred deep in his core. A feeling he had allowed to lay dormant for such a long time. When he returned and learned the man he had looked up to had been a traitor, Yuuma told himself that he would no longer put stock in the approval of those sitting in a place of power. That he had no need for their words so long as he felt satisfaction in the work he had done. Still, despite this, he found himself lingering on a particular set of lines written by the Hogokage. "Sometimes we should learn to give ourselves a break, the same way that we do for others." His eyes would scan the line several times before move to the next. "You give your word to the people of the Village Hidden in the Stars."

Setting the letter aside, Yuuma would look down to the parcel on his desk. A single-handed pulling aside the wrapping to display a new Chuunin jacket back, the symbol of the Chuunin emblazoned in the center of the torso. There, resting just beneath the symbol was something else. A folded headband proudly displaying the symbol of the Star. It took Yuuma a long moment to bring himself to control, his hand shaking as he rested it upon the plastic wrapping of the jacket. It was one thing, to be told you were doing a good job and that your contributions matter. It was another to see that recognition manifest into something tangible. Of course, it was not this jacket that made him a Chuunin, nor was it a headband that made him a Hoshigakure shinobi. But to see both of those things resting on the countertop of his humble medicine clinic moved Yuuma deeply. Water formed in his eyes that he did not allow to fall as he took a few steadying breaths. 

"You have my word."

Within the following hour, a package would arrive at the office of the Kage addressed to Ayato. There would be no letter accompanying this one, and when opened, Ayato would be greeted with the sight of a plush Archimedes, though this one had been fit with a small Chuunin jacket replica that sat snuggly around the owl's torso with regards to its wings.


[Exit]

WC - 531
TWC - 1,443
Spending 250 Ryo to gift Ayato a Plush doll.

Claims:

Yuuma:

Archimedes:

Approved

[EXIT]

TWC: 560

Claiming 
Plush doll
560 wc to Vacuum Burst [560/2062]

Approved