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Post by Ðr. Tran on Sept 18, 2013 17:05:12 GMT -5
  The drops of rain plinked and plonked through out the village, many were accustomed to the noise. The grey clouds overhead threatening more rain to come, as this gloomy dark day dragged on. From here it is easy to see why someone would go to this small dive. With its awning that had the traditional banners draped down one would have to duck under or move to come in and seat themselves at the stools about two to three feet inside, right at the bar top. At the bar was a man, wearing his regalia, headband, armor, shinobi things. In front of him were two cups, one with a tea kettle next to it, the other with a bottle of hot sake.
Sachiro.
He would pour himself a small saucer of the sake and raise it up each time.
"Kanpai!"
He would say then drink the sake down. Once he set the cup back down, he would take a swig of the Ame cha, a special tea made here by purifying rainwater and distilling it with honey and mint as well as tea leaves. It was clear he wasn't here for anything special, just enjoying something to drink on this day... But there were many open spots at the bar, leaving it for other patrons to enter and get something to drink as well.
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Post by Wani Ryuze on Sept 21, 2013 19:15:18 GMT -5
It was saying a lot that this particular bar had been one of the places left unscathed during the battles that would scar and misshape her home over the past sixty years. The one place that needed absolutely no repairs whatsoever. A sad, sobering fact. r
Ryuze didn't come here often. It was probably best, with the state that she was in, that she not dabble in alcohol. Growing up, it was a luxury that very few could afford aside from the ruffians and those in their favor. And by the time she was old enough to drink, war was a full-time career for her.
As a result, she had never even so much as tasted the stuff.
But this place sure served a heck of a tea.
And so Ryuze parted the curtains as she stepped in. Just one, she thought it would be funny if the music stopped upon her arrival, all eyes turning to her, kind of like those old western movies that take place in saloons. But everyone in the village knew her in some capacity, and Lady or not, she was a familiar face out and about. Whether they remembered her as a fresh-faced youngster out scrounging the battle-marred lands for her clan, as a comrade that they fought alongside for their village's freedom, or as the leader who worked with them to restore their village to it's former glory. Nobody paid her any particular mind.
Just the way she liked it.
She took a seat to Sachiro's right, one stool between them. She never liked people to be on her blind side...too hard to see what they were doing.
"Ame-ocha." she said simply to the bartender with a nod, who smiled and obliged, sliding a piping hot cup over to her.
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Post by Ðr. Tran on Sept 23, 2013 18:27:02 GMT -5
His eyes trailed over Ryuze, he recognized her, but said nothing as it was. Just like him she was probably trying to relax and drink some tea, as it was seeming when she ordered. Sachiro looked over to the tender behind the bar then raised his cup of tea and took a sip.
"The weathers nice today"
He said in a soft tone, the plinking and plonking of rain on the rooftop and other buildings telling a different story. But this was Amegakure, this was good weather for them.
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Post by Wani Ryuze on Sept 23, 2013 22:40:02 GMT -5
Ryuze sipped at her tea, letting her mind wander to noplace in particular. She was so tired. She hadn't even really done all that much today, but she was tired. Sio had even wanted to train, but Ryuze promised the next day, they would. Her heart just wasn't in it. She just stayed holed up in her office, buried in paperwork. Staying busy.
Staying busy.
It was good that Amegakure was getting the help it so desperately needed. She was happy, really. But at the same time, she felt like she needed a new reason to hang on. The reason she had given herself was beginning to disappear. That little platform of hope that she had built on feeling like she needed to be there for her village was shrinking as, by the day, they were becoming closer to becoming completely self-sufficient. They were getting that much closer to not needing her, anymore.
And she wasn't quite sure she was ready to go yet.
She looked up when Sachiro spoke, surprised at first but quickly recovering. She smiled a bit, looking down into her drink before looking back up at him.
"Yeah, I agree. I know a lot of people liked it yesterday, when it was pretty clear and didn't rain at all. But for some reason, days like that make me feel a little....down."
It was true. Ryuze liked the rain. She liked the water. Perhaps it had to do with being a croc. Perhaps it reminded her of washing away everything that was old. On days there was less rain, though, she just felt less...Ryuze-y.
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Post by Ðr. Tran on Sept 25, 2013 17:26:44 GMT -5
Odd thing to hear from your village leader, but then again it didn't matter much to Sachiro. Ryuze seemed like a grown up woman, and could handle herself, so all he could really do was keep drinking and keep talking.
"I can understand that... "
He said, and took a sip of his own tea. He glanced over to Ryuze, and then did a slight smirk.
"But rain is our M..O.. so best we can do is smile about it"
He said and set his cup down.
"So, whats keeping you from smiling these days?"
He asked with a look of concern.
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Post by Wani Ryuze on Sept 26, 2013 16:44:52 GMT -5
She continued drinking her tea, looking down into the semi-clear liquid. True enough, her days had become a lot more worthwhile with more to do, but for some reason, things still felt....wrong. Empty, even. She felt as if she was doing a lot, but at the same time, as if none of it would amount to anything. Perhaps it was just a product of everything that had happened up until now.
Ryuze was a war machine who had lost all purpose.
Sachiro speaking brought her back to reality, shaking her loose from the trance that had gripped her to that point.
"That's right. If you don't like the rain, go live someplace else."
She said it with a half laugh. She had been partially worried that Sio would have trouble adjusting to the weather change here in Amegakure. Surely enough, for the first week or so, the poor girl was miserable with colds and cramps from the water, skin chafing and difficulty breathing in the humidity. Some nights, she sat up with her, letting her use one of the breathers she had stashed away, or comforting her from the panic attacks that came with not being able to feel yourself breathing because of the humidity.
His next question caught her a little bit off guard. Was it that obvious? Ryuze would have to practice her poker-face a little bit better. She smiled a bit at this thought. She was never good at being anything but transparent. Shinobi were supposed to be masters of deception, but Ryuze couldn't lie her way out of a wet, disintegrating paper bag.
"There's just a lot to do, is all. Things are moving pretty quickly...I like it...they're going in the right direction. I feel like we're finally getting back on our feet."
She sighed, rotating her cup in her hand.
"I don't know...it's all still a bit alien to me. I was born into conflict. Spent more of my life fighting than anything. I suppose I just feel a bit uneasy, is all. This is the first time in my life that things have gone right. That there's been anything but fighting. I know it's good, but it just feels weird to me. Does that make sense at all?"
Sometimes, Ryuze worried that she might actually be crazy. Like, legit crazy. Not that harmless crazy that you carried around inside you and didn't tell anyone about. But the kind of crazy that's as apparent as pink and green stripes covering you from head to toe, and just as absurd. Perhaps it was inappropriate for her to be having this conversation with a fellow shinobi. But she didn't often just get a chance to talk to people. So many people saw her as this insanely calm and collected warrior who didn't need anything or anyone and could handle everything that was thrown at her. They sometimes forgot that she was a young woman first, who had been stripped of everything some might consider normal, thrust into battle that she never wanted, but rather out of necessity, and was forever scarred from it, inside and out.
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Post by Taikichi Seishin on Sept 26, 2013 16:54:06 GMT -5
He understood her more then most. As a Kei, Sachiro was raised in secrecy, knowing should the secrets of his family ever get out the world would change. He understood the requirements of secrets, and knew war, a fact which showed as he continually wore that armor. As if he was ready for conflict at any moment. The soft metal plates chinking as he shifted in his seat a bit.
"More then you know..."
He said as he also went to a dark place for a moment, flashes of his grandfather Mune sending him and his mother into hiding as he fend off brutal ninja. He shook his head, shaking of the memories.
"But its better, that we have no need for those things anymore... peace and prosperity are better...for everyone"
He said, but you could tell the words sounded bitter. As if he didn't believe them, but his soft smile tried to hide this fact. |
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Post by Wani Ryuze on Sept 26, 2013 20:54:54 GMT -5
Of course he knew. He was out there, just like she was. Everyone was. Mothers, fathers, children, siblings, grandparents, friends...there were no ages, genders or familial relations out there. Only flesh and blood, protagonist and antagonist. And at the end of it all, that's all there was, too.
"I sure hope so..." Ryuze said. While she wasn't completely sold on peace and all that other shit, she felt deep down in her heart that this beat fighting for your life every single day. It would be too soon that she would go back to that. She would rather spend the rest of her miserable life adjusting to the deafening silence and the boring days and nightmares than to spend one more day robbing others of life and herself of sanity.
"It is, though. I know that deep down. Children shouldn't have to bury other children their age. I know we're shinobi, and I know it's part of our way of life...but it doesn't mean I have to accept it. I mean, that's what I fought for. So that no children born now will have to see what we saw. "
And it was true. She knew what it was like to dig a grave for your best friend, one or two days after they just lost a tooth. She knew what it was like to make a new friend, just to never see them again one day and be left to assume the worst. And probably the shittiest feeling of all: she knew what it was like to have to put down a comrade because they became so crazed by desperation that reason no longer applied to them, and to know everything about them, including how to defeat them.
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Post by Taikichi Seishin on Sept 26, 2013 21:06:23 GMT -5
Dredging up that bad memories were not going to help anyone. Hell, those bad memories were one of the reasons why he had the bottle of sake here with him. But he wasn't gonna go down that path, it was a lonely one. There wasn't any need for it anymore.
"Yeah, well... It was our job, and we did it...lets not dwell on that"
He said, as he picked up the bottle of sake and took a swill of it. Not using the cup, it showed irritation or avoidance, as if he didn't want to talk to much on their bad past. Or about the bodies he had to leave in his wake, the friends he had to let die for the village.
"Onto greener pastures...have you heard anything from other lands?"
He said, trying to steer the conversation away form the village and their pain, and onto something that meant their future. |
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Post by Wani Ryuze on Sept 27, 2013 15:12:30 GMT -5
Ryuze downed the rest of her tea and raised the cup to get the bartender's attention. She then wiggled the cup to signal that she wanted another. Setting it down and sighing as she waited, she nodded in response to Sachiro, noting his scent changing as he reached for the sake and took a swig directly from the bottle. Irritation, that particular cocktail of hormones pretty much spelled out for her in glowing neon. She felt the same. But that was all behind them now. There was no point in torturing oneself about it.
Another tea was dropped in front of her, and she watched the steam rise from it, twisting until it dissipated.
"You're right." she said finally, pushing it away from her in order to give it time to cool.
"I haven't heard much...I've only really been in contact with Konohagakure, recently. I have an invitation to the Grass in about a week...will meet with their leader for...whatever reason..."
She shivered as she remembered that creepy bird. She hoped it wouldn't be there. That was something she could have gone the rest of her life without seeing.
"Umm...let's see...oh...Lord Hokage Naruto Uzumaki passed away. The Leaf is under new leadership now."
That was all she would offer for now. As the Rain was not in possession of their own biju, she would leave out the part about Ojin for now...if his intentions were what he said they were, then he would be of least to no concern to them. "I didn't know when I arrived, but I got in the day of the funeral, and was invited to attend. It really was a beautiful service."
She took a sip of her tea, flinching and shaking her head reactively. Still too hot.
"I don't anticipate too much communication with the other Hidden Villages. At least, not the major ones. At the very least, they don't seem to be concerned with us. At the very most, they've already written us off from the last sixty years. No bother to me, though. I intend for us to eventually be completely self-sustaining, with no real need to lean on alliances as a crutch for our survival. At least, that's my mindset at this time."
A controversial stance, perhaps. But it was the way she was raised to think. In sixty years, not one of them appeared to have come to investigate or offer help. And in that instance, all of them can go kick rocks at this point, with the exception of Konohagakure, for the time being. Amegakure would remain concerned only with Amegakure.
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Post by Ðr. Tran on Sept 27, 2013 18:31:27 GMT -5
He nodded as she spoke. So, Naruto was dead. That was kind of a big deal, he was a lot of things to a lot of people. He listened as she spoke of the other villages and of their village, setting the bottle back down he glanced at his own tea cup, it was only half full.
"Yeah... Naruto's passing... thats kind of a big deal, he was a huge investment during the war...
Did some to help Amegakure...
Just cant believe he would die, he was what---sixty? ---seventy?"
He asked in comment, since it did seem odd that Naruto would die at such an age, one would expect him to live to be a hundred at least.
"Makes me wonder just where everything is headed, feels like something is coming...like a storm you just cant get out of the way from...
Naruto dead...
Other villages now seemingly interested in us...
Stories of some mystery group doing illegal things"
He said, as villagers talk. People would talk of the things they seen and in the month since the events in Konoha, it made sense there would be rumors to an allied village, especially since Ame was so closely related to Konoha. |
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Post by Wani Ryuze on Sept 28, 2013 8:57:47 GMT -5
Ryuze watched as the steam from her tea seemed to wane in life. Where it had started off thick, bold and seemed to reach as high as it possibly could, it was now thin, wispy and barely leaving the lip of the cup. The perfect temperature where it still left a tingling reminder on the inside of your cheeks and down the length of your throat, but without doing it painfully and permanently. She picked up the cup, testing her tried and true theory by bringing it to her lips.
Perfect, as usual.
She took another sip, nodding and setting the cup down.
"Yes. He was in his mid seventies."
Knowing what she had been informed by Masahige about the nature of Biju and their relationships with jinchuriki, she could deduce that Naruto's death was not of the natural sort. Still, who knows how much longer he might have lived. After all, the use of Kurama's chakra during his early years was noted to shorten his lifespan. That could have affected him in many ways, among other things.
His next words would interest her, though.
"A storm, you say?"
She raised her eyebrows, drawing her finger around the rim of her cup.
"What villages are interested in us? And what's this illegal group you speak of?"
She had a feeling she knew already of the latter thing, though how word would reach here, she had no idea. Ame villagers stayed in Ame. Shinobi business was very tight-lipped. But the former...all she could assume was that he was speaking of the leader of the Grass, and her assumption there had been that she was only in power for the last year and that she had recently been in Konoha, notifying the other villages that there had indeed been a shift in leadership in the Rain. She simply figured Subori wanted to meet since the village has been closed off for the last 60-plus years.
But any other villages were definitely a mystery to her. She wasn't as in tune with the underground as some of the other more mobile, low-key members of her village.
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Post by Ðr. Tran on Oct 1, 2013 0:18:29 GMT -5
He set the cup down, closing his eyes for a moment as he picked carefully his words. An old habit, of not knowing who could be trusted in the village, one Ryuze knew all too well.
"Well.. I heard--"
He started and then paused, looking down at the teacup and then over at Ryuze.
"Its nothing... just civilian rumors"
He said, and left it at that.
"Got any big plans later?"
He asked, and it was easy to tell he didn't mean actual plans. He was wanting to know things their "Lady" was planning. Thinks he could help with, or support her in. |
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Post by Wani Ryuze on Oct 8, 2013 19:45:19 GMT -5
Ryuze idly drew a finger around the lip of her cup, using a finger to gently stir the water within. Finger hovered above the hot tea, making a lazy circular motion as the tea swirled in response, almost as if magnetic. Though she did not look at Sachiro as he spoke, her ears were trained to his words. They were halting...hesitant.
She knew this all too well. And she wouldn't press the issue.
"I see." she said simply, ceasing her motion and picking up her cup. "Well, if you do hear anything of note, please do let me know."
And Ryuze would leave it at that. She needed as many ears as possible. There was only so much that she could do on her own, after all.
She took a sip of her tea and then just held the cup for a moment, letting the wheels in her head spin.
"Nothing really beyond the repairs." she said, finally setting it down. "Looking forward to the medical center finally being operational again. Next week is my trip to the Hidden Grass. But I don't have anything planned beyond that. Just trying to take things one step at a time, really. We're still fairly fragile, so I just want us to concentrate on getting back to one hundred-percent more than anything."
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Post by Ðr. Tran on Oct 9, 2013 4:01:59 GMT -5
He would take his cup of tea in hand and bing it up to his lips. His eyes became serious as he stared forward for his next words were heavy on his tongue.
"D'you think it wise to go out of country at the moment?"
He said, hinting back to the old Ame. The old paranoia and ways still held strong in some hearts, and if Ryuze was thought to be out of the village, something might happen. Not that he approved of either action, but he would rather see Ryuze safe then worry about the village. Call it being a chauvinist, but it was what he felt, like he was an older brother and needed to watch out for a younger sister.
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Post by Wani Ryuze on Oct 26, 2013 14:48:32 GMT -5
Ryuze's eye was closed. She was exhausted. Had been for a while now. While she slept every night, it wasn't good sleep. Ryuze didn't like to sleep, anyway. No...it just felt good to close her eye sometimes.
Sachiro's concerns were valid. She would not discount them, not for a moment. It even made her feel a bit valued, that he would say something like that. But all the same, she had her reasons for doing the things that she did. Ryuze was as smart as she was fierce, and had a very old-school mindset when it came to leadership. Too many times nowadays, leaders hid behind their people. When conflict broke out, they headed to the very rear of the pack, a plethora of meat shields between them and the danger. Cowardly, she felt. So much so that it made her blood boil and brought tears to her eyes.
"Better that I go than to bring danger home." she replied, taking a sip of her drink and opening her remaining eye. "If I go to another land, and something happens, I am easily replaced. But danger brought to the village, particularly in our state now, could be catastrophic. I won't allow any more harm to come to this place. I'll be Amegakures' lightning rod."
She closed her eye again, savoring the feeling of comfort that washed over her in the darkness. A bit of a smile played on the corners of her lips.
"Besides, I know you all too well. We've come too far in our time to let anyone take that away from us. If anything did go down while I was away on diplomacy, I know the enemy would be granted no quarter, and utterly obliterated from the face of the earth. You would make sure of that, wouldn't you, Sachiro?"
Ryuze was only slightly joking. They had all suffered losses. Loss made you cautious. And even more than that, it made you insane to protect what you had left. If any danger befell the village, it would be from its own citizens breaking themselves to save it. It would literally implode from the love its people had for it. Something else Ryuze would make sure never needed to happen.
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Post by Ðr. Tran on Oct 27, 2013 23:03:18 GMT -5
He listened, and more then that, he absorbed her words. She spoke of things he was anticipating, dangers on the edges of the mind and of their resolve for them. But what was even more, he understood why she felt this way, and much to her own chagrin, Sachiro didn't want to see Amegakure fall back into the leaderless state it had been if something happened to her.
"Yeah, but if something were to happen to you... everything we have done would be set back...
I'dunno, just seems a gamble...and not one you should make alone"
He said, alluding to his thoughts on letting her do this by herself. He assumed she wouldn't be going alone, but his confidence for some of the others in their village was lessened then he would have truly wished. Fact was, of the ninja in the village, Sachiro was one of the few Jounin who truly could stand out in protecting others if need be. |
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Post by Wani Ryuze on Oct 30, 2013 8:42:17 GMT -5
"Not at all true." Ryuze rebutted. "Actually, if anything were to happen to me, nothing at all would change."
This was not depression or a depleted sense of self worth that was talking. It was plain and simple truth. The way she had the village, the hierarchy set up, no single person was the key to success or failure. Really, the only real deciding variable here would be Masahige, though no one outside of Ryuze, Sio and the people in the Economics division would know that for sure. If he pulled the funding, Amegakure would be set back. Not devastated, but definitely hindered. Ryuze, though, was not needed for particularly anything.
"I am but a piece in a much larger puzzle. If I was to disappear, there is someone in line to take my place. And someone in line to take theirs. And so on. The village will never fall into the state it was in again. We Wani have pledged our lives and souls to that end."
Ryuze finished her tea, smiling once again as she gave Sachiro a side glance.
"That much said, though, I don't intend to ever go down easily. Whoever might be tasked with trying to end me will be given quite a bit of hell."
She laughed quietly, sliding her cup up to signify that she was done.
"I make no gambles, and I make no decisions alone. I have a more than capable guard, a capable and protective village. I have never spent a moment of my life alone, and likely never will."
At least physically and spiritually. Mentally, she was in a realm of her very own. Few would ever understand her. But as long as they supported her, that would be enough to keep the negative feelings at bay long enough for her to do her job.
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Post by Ðr. Tran on Oct 30, 2013 9:05:01 GMT -5
He nodded, as he listened. Her words reminded him of stories of their clans interactions long ago. The Kei had always been a supporter of Amegakure, and were few as well. But they were stronger then most, and were one of the few reasons Amegakure has gained ground the way it did. Fact was, she was right for the most part, there would be others. But not everyone had her mindset and Amegakure's interests in mind.
"I understand... even if I dont like it"
He said, as it was, he really didn't like the concept of their village leader going out and about in these times, but what could he do? Well, there was that option... But he doubted very much that Ryuze would condone such actions.
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Post by Wani Ryuze on Nov 3, 2013 20:32:48 GMT -5
Ryuze had complete trust in the Wani. They were more than her family..each Wani considered the others an extension of themselves. In essence, they were not a collective of many, but a collective of one. They shared a singular ideal of what was right and what was wrong. Of what was just. Ryuze was an evolution of that. And she would assure that there would be no single-minded Wani as long as she reigned.
Over the clan, as well as the village.
There were few who could understand the way this clan operated. And that was okay. No one was expected to or required to. In time, they would come to see, and come to trust.
Or else the misunderstanding and mistrust would die with them eventually.
"Thank you." she said humbly, placing her payment on the bar before pushing off her stool.
"It was a pleasure talking to you, Sachiro." she said with a nod of acknowledgement. "Trust me...everything will be okay in the end."
She placed a hand on his shoulder reassuringly before turning and leaving the bar. It was time for her to go home and not sleep, but rather stew in her thoughts and plans to come. After all, there were so many of each.
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