I got ninja'd and I'm choosing to doublepost so that pings go out.

To my knowledge, while most relevant historical examples of polygamy took the 'one man marrying two or more women' pattern, the definition of polygamy is broad enough to encapsulate any situation of one person having more than one spouse (more precisely, sometimes it's defined as per the historical pattern and is sometimes defined more broadly, and imo that means you can read it as both, or as the specific definition as a sub-definition of the broader definition). It is inherently about marriage, though, so your point still holds.
Polygamy is 1 man and 2+ women. Polyandry is 1 woman and 2+ men.

Just making sure I understand this correctly. The votes we make now will decide the winning plan after your scene (so the plan that will be written next Thursday), right?
I'm saying that I'm not going to close it, since it wouldn't be fair to ask y'all to come up with a plan given no information aside from the fact that you're going to have little or no time to prepare for an unknown event. I think it would make sense for @Velorien to run the tally starting from his latest chapter (344) so that the desires that have already been expressed are included in the tally, but it's up to him if he wants to do that or run it from the end of the latest threadmark as usual. (The latest threadmark would be ch345, the one I'm going to post by/on Sunday.)
 
To my understanding of the word, Polygamy simply means having multiple spouses, man or woman. Polygyny is multiple wives, Polyandry is multiple husbands.
 
Another option is that Ami actually fucked up with the Condor summoner, Shikaku speculate that there might be a connection with Mist. Maybe they were allied? Ami doesn't know everything and if she killed off said Jonin ally and then went full public with it instead of keeping it secret and helped Leaf aquiring the condor scroll, that's a pretty good reason for Mist to question her.

But that's just pure speculation, could be a number of reasons.

But I do suspect she is in trouble, if those two were her own men, why would she leave such an ambiguous message?

Urgent summons from the Mizukage. No time to say goodbye.

I will always love you.

Ami

She would have said: "Love you Kei!" instead of that. She doesn't fuck with Keiko's emotion unless it's about protecting her or fun, but that doesn't look like fun.

Somewhat certain that she want's us to come to Mist, even if she is in no danger, at minimum she wants to pull us into a plot.
 
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Polyamory is the name of a modern (as in ~20 years) social practice/movement. So both words are relevant here because trying for a polygamous marriage under the reader's morality would be trying to practice at least something like polyamory and quite possibly directly using ideas from the movement.
 
@eaglejarl @Velorien @OliWhail Could we get Shroom's Omake threadmarked please?

(Incidentally, Sharingains is a phrase I won't be able to get out of my head now.)

OMAKE: Sasuke's Legacy
Hazou despised having to turn Keiko away. He was in no real position to help Ami, if she even needed help, and he had no explanation with which to console Keiko. He promised to dedicate resources to finding out what Mist had brewing, but until Hazou's situation cooled down, he was unfortunately still on thin ice with Asuma, and couldn't afford a slip up. Keiko had left him shortly thereafter, utterly calm, which was of course panic inducing to Hazou. He knew that she knew that he would try his best, nonetheless, which let him breathe just a bit easier.

Still, no matter how hard he thought, it was a problem he couldn't solve today. By this point in the evening, Hazou had become resolved not to solve any problems. It was the first day he hadn't performed much work in... well, maybe ever? There was something awfully foreboding about that…

Late that night, Hazou rolled about in his bed, unknowable questions haunting his mind. Warm, wet air wafted through his room. Hazou generally had his window open if the heat wasn't too unbearable. He could always put some of his sealed ice in the buckets he had throughout his room if he got too hot. Akane was more than happy to provide him with the ice when he asked. Speaking of Akane… No, he refused to solve any problems at this moment. He'd come too far today. He tried counting chakra sheep, and just as he'd dozed off…

A silhouette shrouded in moonlight sat ninja-like on his windowsill, making no attempt to mask his presence. Hazou didn't dare move as he ascertained his current scenario. He hadn't been killed immediately, which was a good start… Was it really that easy for anyone to approach the Goketsu compound whenever they felt like it? Kagome would be kicking himself for weeks to come.

The figure did not move, but it spoke in a low, male voice. "I know you're awake, Goketsu Hazou. You have information that interests me. I heard you met my brother, Uchiha Itachi." Sasuke's eyes flared red in the dark. Was he seriously using his Sharingan to make himself look cooler? The worst part was, it was working.

Hazou didn't move a muscle, but he asked gently, "Uchiha Sasuke? I'll gladly answer any questions you might have. If-"

Sasuke interrupted him. "Excellent. You will be at the Uchiha compound tomorrow, at the crack of dawn. Do not make me wait."

Hazou debated whether he should validate this power dynamic Sasuke was already trying to create, and he opted not to fight it for the time being.

"Understood."

Sasuke blinked away.


o-o-o-o​




Not feeling quite rested, Hazou made his way to the clan house Sasuke resided within early in the morning. He left a note before he headed out, just so his family would know where to look for him if something happened.

He ran over the potential conversations in his mind, attempting to fabricate a mental flowchart. Would Sasuke be furious about Hazou's encounter with Sasuke's fateful rival? Would he be pleased that he told Itachi off? Sasuke didn't exactly sound pleased last night, but Hazou had heard he rarely ever did. He was kicking himself over never asking Naruto what Sasuke was really like. That information could potentially save his life right now.

He arrived at dawn, as Sasuke requested. Hazou knocked once, and the door swung open for him immediately. Sasuke sat at a table, with a chair across from him. Hazou was surprised to see how bare much of the walls of Sasuke's household were. Perhaps the old decor held painful memories for him. Sasuke's servants flitted about, preparing breakfast and tea.

"Sit," Sasuke said, not very politely. His Sharingan were active.

Hazou cleared his throat. "Lord Uchiha, I would be grateful to be treated as more than another of your servants. I am willing to cooperate with your interests, but I have my own pride."

Sasuke nodded. "Sit," he repeated, in exactly the same tone.

Hazou sighed and took the seat across from Sasuke.

After the teapot was placed on the table, Sasuke poured a cup for him without even looking at the teapot or the teacup, placing the drink before Hazou.

"So. I hear you met Itachi of the Sharingan. You sent a message to the man single handedly responsible for the genocide of the most powerful clan in Konoha, asking for his help in defending Konoha, and he sought you out."

Hazou steeled his body with the Iron Nerve, before realizing Sasuke could probably see him doing it. Not wanting to hesitate, Hazou answered, "That's what I was led to believe, yes. In my mind, that's exactly what happened, but I've been informed that-"

Sasuke held up a hand. "You don't have to worry about pretenses with me. I know Itachi didn't genjutsu you. I will not break the facade the village is maintaining, but I would prefer if we ignored it for now." He gestured for Hazou to continue.

Hazou sipped his tea. It was surprisingly good. (Though the mint in it was giving him inconvenient memories at the moment.) He didn't sense a trap with Sasuke.
"Yes. I sent a letter to Uchiha Itachi, believing that if his ideals truly aligned with the Will of Fire, he would be a useful asset in defending Leaf during its most difficult time." Hazou wasn't sure whether to use the detached Uchiha name, or to separate the renegade entirely from the clan with just 'Itachi', so he opted to use the full name.

Sasuke asked, "Why did you think your letter would change his mind on that front? He's from Konoha. He already knows exactly what our ideals are. If he wanted to defend Leaf, surely he would do it anyway."

Hazou nodded. "Yes, that was another possibility. I still felt like I had to try. If the letter was all it took to get him to remember those ideals, and I didn't send it, well, it would be even stupider, wouldn't it?"

Sasuke made a "hmph" sound but didn't immediately answer, sipping at his own tea. "Why do you believe a clan murderer and sworn enemy of Leaf would want to protect it?"

"To be honest, I didn't know much about Uchiha Itachi when I wrote the letter. I had a nebulous idea about what Akatsuki was trying to accomplish, and could only assume he would share the same goal, if he ever truly believed in it."

Sasuke considered this, as servants delivered breakfast to the two of them. Scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes. Hazou stared.

"Is there something wrong with your food?" Sasuke asked neutrally.

"No, no…" Hazou replied, unable to hide his uneasiness. There was something bizarre about watching Sasuke eating pancakes.

"I try to stock up on protein and carbs in the morning," Sasuke said, as if that explained everything.

He reluctantly dug in, and the food was, of course, delicious. Hazo flinched upon seeing Sasuke slather his eggs with ketchup. Was this some kind of mind game?

"Tell me about your conversation with Itachi," Sasuke said, between bites. This was terrible for his cool-guy image. What was Sasuke trying to convey here? Did Sasuke think so lowly of Hazou that it didn't even bother him to degrade himself in front of Hazou?

Hazou repeated the conversation as completely as he could, recreating some of it with the Iron Nerve.

Sasuke did not smile, but he gave a look of what Hazou thought was satisfaction by the end. "Yeah. That sounds about right. That man was a fanatic, even when I knew him. Back then, it was devotion to his people, and to the village. I don't think he'd even have an identity if he didn't have blind admiration."

The servants brought forth the last straw. They placed a tall glass of milk before both Hazou and Sasuke before bowing back into the kitchen.

Sasuke drained his entire glass in one go, milk stache hanging on his lips.

"Are you going to drink that?" Sasuke asked calmly. Was this a test? What could he possibly be hoping to demonstrate here? What in-

When Hazou didn't answer, Sasuke lazily flicked out ninja wire and pulled the glass into his hand near-instantly, without spilling a single drop. He gulped the entire thing down. Did Hazou pass the test?

"Do you know why I called you here today, Kurosawa? I'll give you a hint, it wasn't just about Itachi." Hazou blinked. Sasuke using his old family name was likely a clue. Hazou was still far too dumbfounded by the situation to make any kind of rational assessment.

"I can honestly say I have no idea."

"The Kurosawa are descendants of the Uchiha, are they not? I've heard snippets about your Iron Nerve, and they sound an awful lot like the powers of the Sharingan."

"They are descendants, yes." Oh gods, he wasn't going to bring up that impregnation deal again was he? Hazou really wasn't ready to have that conversation with Uchiha Sasuke.

If a poker face could look sentimental, that would be how Hazou described Sasuke's face at the moment. "I guess that makes you kind of like my cousin, right? I'm a guy who values family, Hazou. That's why Itachi is the ultimate disgrace to my heritage. He turned his back on who should matter most."

Hazou didn't entirely agree with that, but knew better than to say otherwise.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that my quest to destroy Itachi may not end in my favor. I have to accept that defeat is a possibility, even if I do my damndest to prevent it. Denying myself isn't going to help me. If I fail, I want my family techniques to survive without me."

Hazou blinked. Sasuke wanted to share the secrets of the Uchiha with him?!

Sasuke rose from the table slowly. "It would be my honor for you to train beside me, and to carry the proud traditions of the Uchiha, to teach my clan should I fall. Can you promise me you will do this?"

Hazou gulped. "I mean, we should probably hammer out the details on paper, but… If this is your wish, Lord Uchiha… Sasuke… then I, uh, don't see why not."

Sasuke gave him his first smile of the day. "Excellent. With what I've heard of your Iron Nerve, you should be able to memorize proper form in no time."

"Well, possibly… what kind of form are we talking here?"

"The essential exercises any good ninja should run through before learning their techniques," Sasuke replied, vigor brimming in his voice.

Oh, so stuff like breathing exercises and whatnot? Hazou supposed that would be useful for the famed Uchiha fire techniques.

Sasuke began undoing his robes.

"Um, what are you doing?" Hazou asked.

"Hazou, any good ninja must also have a living legacy, a narrative that evolves with them. Even today, Itachi is known as Itachi of the Sharingan. A master of the copy wheel eye, the destroyer of the Uchiha. I must craft a narrative of my own, a narrative stronger than his, so that Fate sides with me."

He dropped his robes, revealing a hulking form that couldn't possibly have been contained within those tiny clothes.

"I will become Sasuke of the Sharingains, and you will keep my legacy alive."

Hazou couldn't help but squeak out his answer. "So, uh, when do we start? Er, sensei?"

Sasuke gave a throaty, booming, horrifying laugh, and sat back down at the table. "Lesson one. Carb loading," Sasuke said, as his servants set another plate of pancakes before him, and before Hazou. Hazou sighed and picked up his fork.
 
Yes, all must hear the tale of how Hotsuke of the Uchihunk clan masters the arts of Sharingains and gymjutsu, and passes them on to his protege, Hotzo of the Swoleketsu clan, in order to upLIFT the elemental nations and bring about world peace.
 
She would have said: "Love you Kei!" instead of that. She doesn't fuck with Keiko's emotion unless it's about protecting her or fun, but that doesn't look like fun.

To make my point clearer, Ami wanted Keiko to worry. Worried Keiko would always seek out Shikamaru/Hazou and would always want to figure out whats going on, which basically means going to Mist.

Also if those two were going to check her letter then this is basically the simplest way to get a message to Shikamaru/Hazou, random Mist ninja don't know much about Keiko-psychology.

Also I doubt Asuma is really going to stop us, we aren't actually grounded and if we get Naruto + Shikamaru onboard, then we can simply go.
 
@faflec Could you please infodump at me about the known members of the Wakahisa clan? Especially the current head, heir, and Noburi's family.
Everyone I could think of off the top of my head. There's probably more somewhere.
  • Wakahisa Kenichi: Clan Head
  • Wakahisa Noboru: Noburi's grandfather
  • Wakahisa Daisuke: Noburi's father
  • Wakahisa Yuina: Noburi's mother
  • Wakahisa Daichi: Noburi's older brother (deceased)
  • Wakahisa Ayaka: Noburi's younger sister
  • Wakahisa Saya: Noburi's younger sister
  • Wakahisa Michi: Noburi's cousin
  • Wakahisa Shou: Noburi's cousin
  • Wakahisa Kiri: Noburi's cousin (and former crush)
 
@eaglejarl @Velorien @OliWhail Could we get Shroom's Omake threadmarked please?

(Incidentally, Sharingains is a phrase I won't be able to get out of my head now.)
Done!
Everyone I could think of off the top of my head. There's probably more somewhere.
  • Wakahisa Kenichi: Clan Head
  • Wakahisa Noboru: Noburi's grandfather
  • Wakahisa Daisuke: Noburi's father
  • Wakahisa Yuina: Noburi's mother
  • Wakahisa Daichi: Noburi's older brother (deceased)
  • Wakahisa Ayaka: Noburi's younger sister
  • Wakahisa Saya: Noburi's younger sister
  • Wakahisa Michi: Noburi's cousin
  • Wakahisa Shou: Noburi's cousin
  • Wakahisa Kiri: Noburi's cousin (and former crush)
I grateful you +5.
 
Akane has never once broached the subject of marriage with Hazō.
(Yes, @faflec, she raised the subject with Jiraiya. I said with Hazō. :p)

She actually did here:

"Is this about social barriers?" Hazō asked. "But you could still become part of the clan! If we… if we got…" He found the word inexplicably hard to say.

"We won't get married," Akane said softly. "This isn't a festival play. Your clan is too new and too isolated to waste opportunities for marriage alliances, and Jiraiya knows it better than anyone. You will marry someone valuable and secure a long-term advantage for the clan. For what it's worth, I put in a good word for Ino when I had the chance.

I hope you're having a nice day Birdduke.
 
IMPORTANT PSA: I have a marvelous scene that is too long to fit in this margin post. You're definitely going to want the chapter to stop at the end of this scene. The scene will be contiguous or near-contiguous with the end of ch344.

Good news is that since I already know what I'm writing I can probably get it out early, meaning you'll have extra time to vote in the next cycle. To this end, I'm not going to close voting this week.
To double check, does this constitute a request for a [] Let Eaglejarl write what he wants. vote?
Or does it not matter what we vote for since the scene will interrupt it anyway?

Maybe she is trying a more unconventional way of being a ninja where the first solution to a problem isn't always to commit treason?
Mind. Blown.

Yes, all must hear the tale of how Hotsuke of the Uchihunk clan masters the arts of Sharingains and gymjutsu, and passes them on to his protege, Hotzo of the Swoleketsu clan, in order to upLIFT the elemental nations and bring about world peace.
The entire time I was reading your omake, I kept expecting Sasuke to invite us to go bowling. :p
 
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Though, I think we shouldn't take a stance on Hazou's feelings. I mean, the hive mind has done stuff like set up dates, but I think Hazou as a character has autonomy for this. Also, dating simulator with minors is treating dangerous ground here. I'd say let it play out, unless the QMs say they want direct input?

I can see that point. And it'd also allow the QMs to write what they want, too. The more I think about this, the more I agree with it. That said, any relationship that Hazou ends up in will be a multi-party relationship. Lists will forever hold a place in his heart.


I am both excited for your update and terrified about what it might bring.

Great. Now there's two of them.

Brave of you to assume there's only two. We all know that the best, least-wrong, way to describe @faflec is as a memetic infohazard.
 
To double check, does this constitute a request for a [] Let Eaglejarl write what he wants. vote?
Or does it not matter what we vote for since the scene will interrupt it anyway?
It's an announcement that I'm going to write what I want and the information that you are planning what you want to do for Thursday, with the understanding that plans will likely need to be amended based on new information.
 
You say this, but all I am imagining is this:

HAZOU: Naruto, remember when I asked you to loom behind me while I wanted to blackm- talk to the Hokage?

NARUTO: How could I forget.

HAZOU: Great! I need you to come to Mist with me and do the same with their Kage.

NARUTO: ...

HAZOU: I swear, I usually learn from my mistakes. Give me my last twenty-sixth chance?

Jokes aside, what I meant was simply getting Naruto's help getting a letter sent or Asuma's permission for a trip to Mist. I don't actually want to take Leaf's Jinchuuriki with us, that would be much too aggressive of a move in a situation we don't understand.

For the most part, he has as much of a stake in helping Ami as we do, so there shouldn't be much of a problem there.


Hey, remember that one Omake that tried to depict in-universe what Hazou getting XP for Omake would look like. Where Hazou becomes incredibly powerful by writing bad fanfiction about himself and the team? I wonder how that would work for the XP gained by @faflec's eidetic memory.
 
I would like Hazo to have a serious talk with Akane before they start dating, with Ino mediating. I feel like it's inevitable that they will try dating again, but relationship counseling could make the relationship healthier/notice warning signs sooner.
 
I would like Hazo to have a serious talk with Akane before they start dating, with Ino mediating. I feel like it's inevitable that they will try dating again, but relationship counseling could make the relationship healthier/notice warning signs sooner.

I am very down for the open and honest discussion before dating. I disagree on Imo mediating, since she's not exactly unbiased or uninvolved in any of this. And also, because I don't think other people need to be there for that discussion. Other ones once they know what they want to do, sure.
 
I am very down for the open and honest discussion before dating. I disagree on Imo mediating, since she's not exactly unbiased or uninvolved in any of this. And also, because I don't think other people need to be there for that discussion. Other ones once they know what they want to do, sure.

I guess the question is whether they are self aware enough to spot the problems of their relationship while they're arising. On the one hand, Hazo reduces her agency more than she is comfortable with. On the other hand, Akane is so soft on him that she ends up enabling his troubling behaviors sometimes. An outsider would probably be better about spotting warning signs than two people in love, which can be blinding sometimes.
 
If we ask Mari to mediate it would also serve to further bond with Mari. I'm a bit uneasy of how she feels about Team Uplift after TLiTF wiped her emotions
 
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