"Why does your clan have any interest in me?" Kei expanded. "As a Mori, I am a barely-competent genin. You must have Nara of superior abilities by the dozen. And your clan has proven beyond any doubt that you know how to forge unbreakable alliances without intermarriage. Why expend all this effort to obtain me?"
Nara studied her wordlessly for a while. They were alone in the park, Kei realised, beneath a slowly darkening sky. There was a peculiar sense in the air. Not of romance, however certain persons might delude themselves, but perhaps of intimacy.
"Because we are failing," Nara said.
"What do you mean?"
"The Senju after whom this park is named sought to save the world with their open hearts," Nara said distantly, meditatively, gazing into the koi pond as if sufficient contemplation of its depths would reveal the secrets of the universe. "They came further than any have before or since. But it was not enough, and now they're gone.
"The Uchiha, who first fought then supported the Senju, sought to save the world with their unyielding determination. We know, now, what happens when such determination points itself in the wrong direction even briefly.
"The Nara, who supported both, have sought to save the world with genius and patience. It is not enough."
"I don't understand," Kei admitted. What did any of this have to do with her?
"Patience is not enough," Nara said. "We have been exerting control, slowly and subtly, for as long as the clan has existed, and the world is still like this.
"Genius is not enough. A bright spark independently arrives at a vision for a peaceful utopia, and his first world-changing act is to create a weapon that heralds a new scale of destruction. This is not an anomaly, Gōketsu. Every genius ends up drunk on their own brilliance in one way or another."
"Then what are you saying?" Kei asked quietly. "That there is no hope? That the Nara have resigned themselves to waiting for the end?"
"No," Nara gave a wry smile. "The curse of apathy cuts both ways, you see. Those who aren't enthused by visions of victory also aren't depressed by the prospect of defeat.
"The Nara need to change, Gōketsu," he said in a voice that sounded like it wanted to be casual but wasn't. "That's your answer. And it seems our motivation doesn't stretch far enough for us to change ourselves. We need new ways of thinking. We need enrichment through intellectual exchange in order to escape our stagnation. It's why we've thrown ourselves behind Jiraiya. He is the right man in the right place at the right time, and with our help he might be able to break down the walls that isolate the villages. It will not be enough for eternal peace—we've run the calculations—but it will give us direct access to the others of our kind. A chance to unite instead of being pulled apart by political currents. And that will be something the world has never seen.
"To my father, your adoption is probably a microcosm of that. You're similar enough to fully integrate and different enough to offer something new. The fact that you also further various political goals doesn't hurt either."
"Me?" Kei asked dazedly. "You think I have something to offer? Something to teach?"
"I think nothing," Nara said. "I think it is unreasonable to place towering expectations on a random stranger—no offence—because they happen to have a convenient background. I think you are a decent person who deserves better than to be caught up in the troublesome machinations of three powerful clans.
"With that said, if you choose to treat this injustice as an opportunity to find out how far the full extent of your abilities can take you, that is your right. And I daresay there are more tedious diversions than taking an interest in a spouse's personal projects."
It was as close, Kei suspected, as he would come to an open pledge of support.
"Thank you for your thoughts, Nara," she said. "If you would kindly escort me home… I believe I have much to consider."
"Of course, milady. And if I should be struck with a sudden urge to trespass into your domicile and challenge your stepbrother to some game for the purposes of intellectual evisceration?"
"Nara," Kei attempted a wicked smile, "be my guest."
