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Marked for Death: A Rational Naruto Quest

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RandomOTP said:
True, hence my point that we should wait until Hazou's strong enough to be taken seriously. And hopefully a Master Sealmaster Hazou, driven by Uplift, can start a Confederation/Alliance of Sealmasters working towards this goal, which would make his unique mentality indispensable towards keeping them united. Orochimaru wouldn't be able to do that through fear, not without the potential for sealmaster retaliation.

Besides, it might be that Orochimaru doesn't have any applicable skills in this way.



But he's our Amoral Uncle with a non-existent respect for human life. Joking, but that's why my initial premise was to wait until we're S-rank to bring it up. The fabric of reality has held together, more or less, for over a thousand years. It can hold for the decade or two it takes for Hazou to become S-rank.



I genuinely must have missed that sidestory while reading through... huh. Welp, not going to lie, my interest in poking questionably-human S-rankers has been diminished. Still want to learn more about him from Tsunade and Jiraiya's journal entries, but... With this new knowledge in mind, I'm even more reluctant to interact with Orochimaru until Hazou's either an S-ranker or an ascendant God of Lists.
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The other alternative, of course, is having an S ranker to back us up. Like, say, Tsunade.
 
RandomOTP said:
I genuinely must have missed that sidestory while reading through... huh. Welp, not going to lie, my interest in poking questionably-human S-rankers has been diminished. Still want to learn more about him from Tsunade and Jiraiya's journal entries, but... With this new knowledge in mind, I'm even more reluctant to interact with Orochimaru until Hazou's either an S-ranker or an ascendant God of Lists.
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It was this chapter, main series of threadmarks, right after we got whammied by Orochimaru's KI and passed out.
Velorien said:
Chapter 297: Refracted Darkness

"Good morning, Akane. The weather's nice today. I know I should be underground in the lab, but Orochimaru-sensei is out, and Dr Yakushi tells me it's important to avoid burnout. I can't help thinking that every day I take off from research, somewhere out there people are dying. But Kagome-sensei did always say that forcing yourself to do sealing work past your limits was a great way to get yourself and everyone around you eaten from the inside out by artery crawlers.

"Now I think of it, today's a good day to take a walk to the Uplift Mausoleum. It's been a while since I refreshed the Kagome memorial trap arrays. I don't think people ever understood what a special man he was, you know—not just as a sealmaster, but as a loyal friend and cousin. Until the very end, he was convinced we'd been taken over by lupchanzen. I like to think that if we'd able to hold him down just a little longer, we could have calmed him down enough to explain. Though, then again, I don't know if Orochimaru-sensei would have spared a potential threat. You remember what happened to Naruto.

"I think we all assumed, before that day, that it was going to be a coin flip. But I realise now, there was never a chance of Orochimaru-sensei losing. He'd been an elite jōnin back when Naruto's father was in his nappies, and above all, he'd known well in advance that it was coming. There's a Mori saying in Mist, about sufficient preparation trumping any number of S-rank ninjutsu. I do wonder sometimes if, as the team planner and surviving sealmaster, I could have found a way to leverage Naruto's skills enough to close the gap. But by then, of course, I'd picked my side. Naruto was a great guy, but he was never going to save the world.

"We got another letter from Noburi, by the way. He sounds so bored. Apparently, now that the Cats have surrendered, sweeping up the lesser clans just feels like cleanup work. I guess we could send him after another bloodline clan to switch things up—we haven't got anyone from the pirate lords yet. Part of me wishes Orochimaru-sensei had given me the modifications too so we could go on Akatsuki hunts together, but I know full well my work down here is more important. Besides, the casualty figures are already racking up, and killing people is just going to lead to more work further down the line.

"Still nothing from Keiko, though, not since Mist went dark. She was always the smartest of us—she disbanded the KEI before the harvesting began, which avoided so much unnecessary conflict, and she never tried to argue Orochimaru-sensei out of his ethics. I wish she'd reply to my messages. We could work so well together.

"Team Uplift is never coming together again, is it? Even if we bring everyone back to life. That thought's really taken the wind out of my sails. I was going to go see if Mari's having one of her good days, but I guess I'll save it for another time. Maybe once I'm done inspecting the bodies in the mausoleum, I'll check in on Mori, make sure she's eating properly. I think Keiko would like that.

"Thanks for listening, Akane. Also, I know I've said it before, but thank you for being my first. After you, everything else was easy."

-o-

Orochimaru calmly pulled out a plain red cloth, wiped his hands off, then stored it away. His hands briefly flashed with green light.

Hazō stayed kneeling on the floor. He didn't have the strength to move, and even if he could, it was far, far too late.

"Why?" he demanded hoarsely. "I know you're stronger than this! Why did you have to make it lethal?!"

"As I told you previously," Orochimaru said, stepping disdainfully away from the pool of blood, "your life has no intrinsic value, positive or negative. However, I cannot allow interference with my work."

That was all their rebellion was to him. Interference with his work. Interference which now lay dead or dying on the cold laboratory floor.

They'd almost had him. Hazō wanted to believe that, if only because there was nothing else left to believe. Naruto's surprise attack had been flawless. It would have killed the Sage of Six Paths himself. But, even as it connected, even as the Rasengan destroyed everything that could be destroyed, Orochimaru was briefly something else. In the part of his brain dripping with hatred, Hazō asked how something so inhuman could be qualified to save humanity.

A glimpse of that had been all it took. At his full strength, Naruto would probably have shrugged off ten times the horror. But after torment at the hands of the ultimate genjutsu user, followed by months of psychic trauma, followed by the Basement… Naruto had turned out to be a lot more fragile than he let on.

Orochimaru followed his line of sight. "I will return him to the boy in the tower once I have taken steps to make him more obedient. The unique opportunity more than compensates for your waste of my time."

Hazō felt tears he couldn't shed burning the corners of his eyes. Orochimaru's waste of time had been the greatest, most desperate battle of their lives. After Naruto, their one hope of victory, went down without a fight, Keiko ascended. Where Orochimaru was an abomination, she was perfection. Her words flowed without pause, transforming a game of all snakes and no ladders into frantic speed chess. She knew every seal in their inventories. She knew all the applications of their ninjutsu, and combinations of both that they'd never considered. She was the reason Mari had been able to keep fighting after Orochimaru took her eyes. She was the reason Kagome-sensei had been able to rain down explosive after explosive without ever catching any of them in the crossfire. She was the reason that the three Bloodline Limit ninja were constantly in positions where Orochimaru couldn't attack without destroying their value as specimens. She was the reason…

…the reason they took a little longer to die.

That was Mari's blood he was kneeling in, so much from such a tiny body. He wanted to pick her up and hold her close while she was still warm, but he didn't have the strength to lift his arms.

Kagome-sensei was gone, simply gone. Some part of Hazō would be forever proud that the sealmaster's final technique had briefly staggered a physical god.

Noburi was slumped not far from him, unconscious, his barrel broken and oozing with a tar-like black goo that hissed where it touched Mari's blood. The exposed parts of his skin were slowly turning dark.

Keiko was in a corner, still breathing, but staring at the ceiling with unseeing eyes. Hazō didn't have to guess at the price she'd paid for her brief reversal of the Mori curse.

Akane? Akane had been Keiko's sacrificial pawn, flinging herself at Orochimaru without a second's hesitation as he came out of his other form. The surprise, perhaps that they were still fighting, bought the rest of them a second to get in formation. Then, casually, without changing expression, Orochimaru had placed his hand on the crown of her head, and the only mercy was that the screams were brief.

"My servant pool has been depleted," Orochimaru said, breaking into his thoughts. "If you still wish to be my assistant, I will accept your application."

Hazō stared at him in incomprehension. "You're inviting me to serve you because you just murdered my family?"

"I would say that my chosen field of study has just become very relevant to you," Orochimaru said sardonically.

Hazō looked again around the room, his mind spinning. Everything about this monster of a man was inside out. Everything was jarringly, skin-crawlingly wrong. Orochimaru spoke to someone who'd just tried to kill him, someone he'd nearly killed in turn, and offered them a job. The warped, roiling impossibility that they called Orochimaru's body was pureblood human compared to his mind.

"Keiko and Noburi," Hazō said. "Spare them. Please. I'll do anything you want, willingly and enthusiastically. Just please…"

"They are rare Bloodline Limit holders," Orochimaru said, "and worth more than your cooperation."

Hazō cast around, desperately. He hated himself for the next words to come out of his mouth, immersed himself in guilt that he would never allow to fade away, but ultimately did not hesitate. "You've met Keiko's sister, Ami. She loves Keiko more than anything in the world. She's got a much stronger Frozen Skein, and she'll gladly turn herself in if it means you sending Keiko back to the Mori for treatment."

There was a second's silence.

"Acceptable."

Hazō's desperation eased just a little. He was halfway there, halfway to saving what was left of his family.

But Noburi's sisters weren't available for equivalent exchange. The Wakahisa, who continued to look down in him behind their acknowledgement of his status, would not intervene against Orochimaru on his behalf. With Jiraiya's death and the demise of what used to be the Gōketsu, Noburi had no political value that didn't stem from Orochimaru himself. He was a decent medic, but an unremarkable one at best, while Orochimaru had Kabuto and free access to Leaf's recruitment pool.

"He's the Toad Summoner," Hazō said, if only to buy time. "The previous summoner's chosen heir."

Orochimaru raised his eyebrows. "Has he been accepted by the clan?"

"No, he's still in training," Hazō admitted through gritted teeth. "But his chakra system is perfect for summoning, with his naturally vast reserves."

"Kabuto will receive the Toad Scroll," Orochimaru said. "Procure ice and use it to refrigerate the corpses in Cold Storage on the second floor. After that, clean yourself and report to Specimen Storage A, same floor, for further instructions."

"But don't you want the ideal summoner working for you?" Hazō pleaded one final time.

"Additional firepower is not my priority," Orochimaru said. "The corpses are deteriorating even as we speak."

Orochimaru said nothing more. Hazō watched him approach Noburi's body, stepping daintily so as to avoid stepping on the black ooze. The movement struck Hazō as grimly ironic.

Wild thoughts flickered through his mind. He could use his unnatural position as Orochimaru's assistant to get them out of there. He could free Naruto at least, or just get him to wake up before it was too late. He could get Dr Yakushi, who cared about political implications, to invoke the Nara. At the very worst, if he couldn't save anyone, he could at least be with Noburi. Hazō would do what it took to stop his brother from becoming another eternally-tortured skin farm man. Yes, however feeble his odds, Hazō's rebellion wasn't done.

But that was just a delusion, wasn't it? No matter what he did, Mari, Kagome-sensei and Akane would stay dead. Noburi wouldn't survive the ooze unless Orochimaru saved him for use in his experiments. Keiko might or might not survive, but they didn't call them sacrificial techniques because they were easy to come back from. Even if Orochimaru was permanently killed this very second, it would be too late.

No, all of Hazō's ways were cut off except for one. He'd failed to save his family. With Naruto soon to be turned, he'd probably failed to save all of Leaf. But he could still save humanity, and in the process he might manage to turn back time for those he'd lost. He couldn't save both humanity and himself—looking at Orochimaru, it was clear that the price of trying would be his heart and soul—but, after everything he'd just lost, what was the point of those things anyway?

Slowly, painfully, Hazō levered himself to his feet and, still covered in Mari's blood, staggered away to do his master's bidding.

-o-

One more...

-o-

The angles of space sliced through his flesh as if it was molten steel. He was an infinity of soap bubbles, so compressed they glowed like a sun. He was 5555555555555555555.3 unbounded. He was fractured, and every piece was its own cruel song. He was self, and self meant nothing. Matter was a single name exactly as long as the universe. Somewhere out there, something laughed.

"Hazō! Hazō, can you hear me?"

His eyes opened. They were physical eyes, capable of seeing light and physical matter and nothing else. He could hear words. They expressed conceptual meaning, individually or in combination, and were made by flesh or material interacting with air. He could hear them with human ears.

He was in bed, in a familiar bedroom. People he knew clustered all around him. People who couldn't be there.

"He's awake again! Hazō, you're awake. How are you feeling?"

"…Akane?"

Akane couldn't be here. Akane died. Akane always died. Creatively murdered by Orochimaru. Reduced to a hollow shell by the prototype cure. Shredded by the first "victim" she rescued from the biosealing failure. Torn apart by the hunter-seekers discovering the last rebel hideout. Sacrificed by his own hand, in a thousand ways, for a thousand reasons.

Which one was he?

"You don't look well. Don't worry, you should have a little more time to rest before Orochimaru decides he cares enough to kick us out."

They were all here. Mari. Kagome-sensei. Noburi. Keiko. Akane.

Which one was he? Was this the past? Was there a divergence point that he had just unpassed? Did someone send him here? Did one of him send him here? Was it a sealing failure? A sealing success? Which one was he?

"Hazō?" Akane said carefully. "Could you say something, just so we know you're OK? You just staring at me without saying anything is making me uncomfortable."

Akane wasn't dead.

"Sorry," he said vaguely. "Could you give me a little time alone?"

"Sure," Mari said. "We'll be nearby. Call us if you need us."

Wait. He was so stupid. The research! Forget everything else, he had to write down the results of the research!

But even as he opened his mouth to ask for something to write with, he could feel the hard-earned knowledge slipping from his mind, fading from a brain unready to contain it like tiny fish darting through gaps in a net. The memories went with it, detail after detail, leaving only a single Hazō behind.

Hazō stared at his family's retreating backs, at Akane bringing up the rear. In that moment, seeing her alive in front of him after so long, he felt a sudden, powerful impulse to embrace her/cut her throat/beg her for help/scream at her/make love to her/vivisect her.

Alone again, Hazō asked the empty room a question to which he would never, ever, get an answer.

"Which one am I?"

-o-

You have received ? XP and ? FP.

-o-

What do you(?) do?

Voting closes Saturday 2nd of November, 9 a.m. New York Time.
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RandomOTP said:
Because, to paraphrase Starlord, the world is where he keeps his stuff. Sure, he'd probably also look out for his own ends and be largely disinterested in cooperation, but I think Orochimaru --whose MfD depiction is more benevolent than his canon iteration --would still work towards the same vague goal of "strengthening the fabric of reality." We'd certainly have to keep an eye on him, but Uplift is rendered moot if humanity is eaten by a particularly hungry Grue or by a bored Jashin four generations down the line. So we might be faced with the familiar literary trap of having to work with people we don't like and who might backstab us once it's convenient.

Although, now that I type this out, I realize that Jiraiya was the one who was knowledgeable about the Out. He was able to carefully construct a purposeful sealing failure that was just violent enough to break his enemies but also safe enough to not do anything permanently horrid. Jiraiya was the teammate who was the "greatest sealmaster ever," so Orochimaru might not have more than a passing familiarity in the field --especially if his specialization is in fields like biology, chakra theory, anatomy, etc.

Huh. Orochimaru, scarily capable as he is, might actually be useless on this front. Not... not sure how I feel about that.
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All the more reason to collab with Orochimaru to rez Jiraiya

Not to mention the sweet sweet XP
 
Byzantine said:
Not a single one of those will give him even a second's pause and you know it.
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Every one of them would. He would not be in Leaf if he did not appreciate the resources being in Leaf provided. There are a number of ways we could set up deadman's switches that would turn out very unfortunately for him if something were to happen to us, and if you think that Tsunade would let a patient in her charge come to harm, then we have very different views of her as a person.
 
Byzantine said:
Not a single one of those will give him even a second's pause and you know it.
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Untrue, some of them may make him find us annoying enough to get rid of :V
Seriously though, I think that's a pretty presumptuous thing to say. I think when it comes to Oro we have more "carrots" than we do "sticks" but if we really set our minds to it, I'm pretty sure we could give Orochimaru "pause". If we're good at anything, it's getting the attention of S-rankers. Now, whether we should is debatable.
 
So is anyone else curious about what Hazou's join aura is going to be like? Back when we were still thinking about taking PotO, I mentioned that I think it'd be like a benevolent Outer Being staring down at you. But now Hazou's gone into the afterlife. Something that is almost as (if not more) influential on a metaphysical/magical perspective than nearly becoming a Nascent Outer Being.

Now, I think that Hazou's jonin aura would impress upon the victim the sheer amount of determination he has (a will to shape the world for the better), plus a glimpse into the Out through Hazou's eyes.
 
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If I had to guess, Hazou's jonin aura would necessarily contain elements of treason in it. Maybe the pure, distilled feeling of "If you stand in the way of my goals or oppose my ideals, I will stop at nothing to find some way to destroy you," as if reducing your being to an obstacle rather than an actual opponent. A piercing sensation, as his gaze isn't even focused on you, but the path ahead that you're blocking.
 
Well if Hazou is able to flip the jonin aura the same way he flipped TYS points, maybe something like:
You are infused with the feeling that you are giving up free money by not listening to Hazou
 
I like to think that a core component of Hazou's Jounin Aura will be something along the lines of 'Hazou sees past the facades you and the world put up, sees that the necessity of conflict is a farce and that cooperation is possible even if you don't believe it'. One part Outer perspective, from which all of these traps are painfully obvious, one part intellectual recognition of cycles of vengeance and a determination to end them, and one part sheer shonen gumption.

Fighting Hazou's Jounin Aura would feel like fighting to put blinders over your eyes, to convince yourself that peace was never an option when Hazou is literally radiating the truth that it always was and always will be. Accepting Hazou's Jounin Aura would feel like, at least here and now and in this small way, setting aside the petty grievances of the painted world in order to make something better, even if just incrementally.
 
When do you think a storage seal classifies a corpse as minimally "dead enough" to seal a body? Is it brain death, the cessation of a heartbeat, or when a body is diffused of chakra (I'm assuming a human corpse voids/vents its chakra much like it does bile)? Some combination thereof? If it's the first, then I'm not sure we can do anything, save for maybe getting a Yamanaka mindwalker involved. If it's the second, maybe we can create a minor lightning technique to jumpstart a heart. If it's the last one, then maybe a quickly stored body can be resuscitated through a donation of chakra via the Vampiric Dew and medical aid?
 
Can someone remind me if the FOOM spreadsheet is taking into account YTJ? I'm looking at the thing and it seems that it hasn't, but I have a recollection of someone saying that it was...
 
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OMAKE: Noburi’s Day Out
  • Apocrypha

    • OMAKE: Noburi's Day Out

    Noburi awoke from a fitful, yet lengthy sleep. Just yesterday, he had met with the Toad clan, his dreams running the meeting over and over in his mind. The scenery warped from Mt. Myoboku, to Leaf Village, to his old home in Mist. The Toads flowed together and spoke as one, questioning if he could ever match up to the greatness of Jiraiya, as did his dreamself, staring up at him from reflections in the water pooling along the ground. The water rose and rose, surrounding him despite his attempts to walk across its surface.

    Unfortunately, he didn't have much time to dwell on how he could match Jiraiya (or the implications of his own mind doubting his capabilities). As he was officially done with his Summoner training, he now had yet another role to fill as clan head. Mari covered for him the past three days while he prepared for his meeting with the Toads, but it was a responsibility that would now be upon him, too.

    He stood glacially from his bed, gazing around his room. Its current condition was somewhere between "large mess" and "apocalyptic-level junk waste". Clothes were cluttered along the ground, explosive seals were stuffed into random crevices about his room, and much of his ninja equipment remained unholstered. The only thing that maintained a pristine condition was his barrel, carefully placed upon a short table made specifically for it to rest upon. Mari often said that you could tell a lot about the mind of a ninja by the way they maintained their living spaces, and Noburi could surmise plenty about himself by the state of his room. The toll of his summoning training had affected even the simple things. The relief he'd felt for his training's completion had been like a staggering wave, even in the face of the dread of an upcoming meeting with titanic entities of untold age, wisdom, and power. It was time for his environment to reflect him again. He could've had a Goketsu civilian do it, but that wasn't the kind of thing he wanted to start his regime with, even if it was temporary.

    He re-holstered his gear, fixed up his bed, sealed up dirty clothes to be deposited at the laundry facilities outside, and cleaned up the trash piling up on the ground. Kagome would scream self-censored obscenities for hours if he saw the state of all the explosive tags in the room, so Noburi resigned himself to detonate them all later in the week and ask for replacements. He watered the broad, leafy palm plant Akane had given him to "spruce up the room" a few months ago. He'd been watering it with chakra water out of curiosity, but stopped doing it after the plant started producing blue-purple flowers, despite not being a flowering plant. No one had noticed thus far, and he wouldn't be the first to bring it up.

    Looking around his newly-cleaned quarters with satisfaction, he nodded to himself and dressed himself with an ocean green robe bearing the crest of the Goketsu in a muted orange, with black detailing. He had much to attend to, and had to look the part.

    Leaving his room and entering the Goketsu kitchen to unseal himself a meal, he found Mari cooking, startling him a bit.

    "Good morning, Lord Goketsu," she mewled, without turning around. There was a less than zero chance Mari wouldn't be teasing him for the entirety of his tenure. Best just to roll with it.

    "Good morning to you, Lady Goketsu. For what occasion are you cooking? Surely that is beneath those of us with such noble stature?" Noburi replied, striking his noblest pose as Mari turned to look at him.

    She gave him a mirthful smile, setting platters down on the kitchen island. Noburi's eyes glowed with hunger. Charred octopus, seaweed wrapped fig spears, spicy fish stew, among other delicacies from Mist. Noburi could tell that some of it was made with substitutes. The fish was definitely a freshwater variety, likely some form of trout. Nonetheless, he was deeply touched by the gesture.

    Noburi could sense Mari was about to say something sarcastic and was determined to one-up her in a social duel for once. Catching her off guard, he stepped forward and pulled her into a hug.

    "Thanks Mari. Really. Training's been pretty tough on me, and… I don't know if I'd have finished it without your support. Thanks for looking out for all of us." Being genuine and straightforward. She'd never see it coming!

    She returned the hug, but after they separated her words rebuked his statement, frowning slightly. "Noburi, you're overestimating my value again-"

    "Can't hear you too busy eating!" he chirped, rapidly slurping stew into his mouth.

    She rolled her eyes, but gave a small smile. "At least eat at the table, m'Lord."

    "As my Lady wills it," he responded, gravitating toward the dense stone construction they really ought to have replaced with a real table by now.

    After eating his fill and nearly overdosing on nostalgia, Noburi helped store the food so that Hazou could enjoy some later. Mari would also have some delivered to the Nara compound for Keiko as well. No matter where they all were now, their origins would always be intertwined.

    "So, uh, where's everyone else?" Noburi asked curiously. He knew that a few of them would be out, but it seemed like it was just him and Mari, and the emptiness of the house was already getting to him. He wondered if Hazou ever got lonely doing all his Clan Head work while everyone else was out doing missions or training, and felt bad that he hadn't really thought about it before. He'd been too preoccupied with his own stresses.

    "Tsunade's having Hazou get up at the buttcrack of dawn to prove his dedication to summoning, so he left hours ago. Akane and Kagome are off in a sealing lab gods know where, decrypting notes from Jiraiya." Her voice was perfectly controlled as she said "Jiraiya" which is exactly what caught Noburi's attention. He didn't press it, though. "Haru's likely off training somewhere. He tends not to check in if it isn't expected of him, and when I "unknowingly accompany" him he usually goes off to the training fields."

    Noburi scratched his chin. "Maybe he just needs something to do."

    Mari shrugged. "Sure, maybe. Frankly, I've never seen someone so determined to prove themselves to people they don't want to associate with whenever possible. That just reeks of all kinds of complexes. I'm getting giddy just thinking about it," she spoke, chittering like a kid excited about solving a new puzzle.

    "Don't be weird," Noburi said diplomatically.

    With equal fervor, she stuck her tongue out at him.

    Noburi stood from the table. "Let's get started, I guess. I've got a few errands I wanted to run today."

    "Prompt and punctual, as expected of m'Lord. Your utter regality continues to awe me," Mari said, curtsying as ostentatiously as humanly possible.

    "The Clan of Goketsu deserves nothing less," Noburi agreed, wearing a smug smile as he and Mari left the house.

    ---------------

    "What the heck is a skyslider?!" Noburi asked, reading over the vast list of Goketsu resources requiring his direct oversight.

    "Some pet project of Hazou's, something about domesticating wind spirits so they can carry you around," Mari answered, poring over old data, not because they needed it, but because she liked looking at the results of her own schemes.

    "Huh," Noburi answered. Honestly, not even the weirdest thing Hazou had proposed. Probably in the top ten, though.

    A few minutes passed. He spoke up again. "Okay, why's Hazou looking for glassmakers?"

    "Oh, don't worry about that. He said we can table that 'til he gets back," Mari answered.

    "That didn't answer my question."

    Mari threw her hands up in exasperation. "There isn't enough time in a human lifespan to question the intricacies of Hazou's madness. Our best bet is to support him and hope we don't get caught up in it."

    A few more minutes passed.

    "What the heck is a sewer?!"

    -------------------

    Hours of poring over notes, calculations, and budgets from the secretaries passed. Noburi's hand was cramping from writing so many signatures, and if he had to look at one more spreadsheet he was going to use his water whip to spear himself right through the gut. It didn't help that every so often Mari would randomly start talking to him about what fucking his cousin was like just to make him squirm.

    He put in a few requests of his own, namely beginning the process of acquiring the goods the Toads demanded of him. The Goketsu inbox had letters of inquiry from other clans, but Noburi had been informed none were urgent, so he would deal with them tomorrow.

    He asked Mari to...well, she knew what to do better than him, and bid her farewell.

    He made his way to the market streets, finding his way to a small, homely restaurant, specializing in soups, lentil dishes, and exotic salads. Hopefully yet more food for the soul, as he badly needed it.

    Three minutes after sitting down at a table, Yuno entered the store. Though he was expecting her, his heart still jumped a beat upon seeing her. Her axe was still strapped to her back, but she was wearing much finer clothing than usual. It looked like she was borrowing one of Akane's blue dresses, a simple sleeveless one with a lacy collar. Noburi wracked his brain trying to remember whether that was legal under Isan's dress code, but then she was there and it was too late.

    "Noburi," she said calmly, sitting down across from him and carefully not looking at him for too long.

    "Yuno," he replied, letting his happiness to see her creep into his voice. Not that he didn't see her somewhat regularly, but… it wasn't the same. Not when it was just in passing on his way to or from training. Not when she was off doing diplomatic business for Isan, and could only give a quick hello.

    He reached for a storage scroll he'd brought, unsealing a bouquet of flowers. The colors weren't quite suited for her outfit, but her eyes glowed all the same, and a smile reached every corner of her face as he handed her the gift.

    "It's really nice to see you, Yuno. Uh, not that I haven't seen you recently, but, er-"

    She laughed. "I get it. I've missed you too." Her smile faded some, and Noburi had a sinking feeling he knew why.

    "I'm sorry," he said, looking at his hands. "Summoning training took so much of me, and… I haven't been my best self. I haven't been what you deserve."

    If the apology had mollified her at all, her face didn't show it. "I understand that you've been busy. As have I," she said neutrally.

    "I don't want to use that as an excuse. Everyone makes time for the things that matter most to them. And...you matter a lot to me." Her cheeks were tinged red and Noburi was sure his were the same. "But… I haven't been acting like it, and I'm sorry."

    She tugged absently on her hair. "Noburi...your words are kind, and I know that your heart is, too. I still worry that the both of us have priorities greater than each other, but… perhaps it is inevitable with any potential, er…" Her face became a deeper shade of red.

    Mercifully, the waiter arrived to take their orders. Noburi ordered a grape leaf house salad with flax and vinegar, and Yuno ordered a creamy potato soup. While she made her order, Noburi wondered about what she said. Did they both really have priorities that would always come between their relationship? Every ninja had a greater duty to their village than they do to their loved ones, that much was true. But even outside of that... Yuno may not be so keen on the idea of Uplift. He couldn't guess where her stance would be right now, and that uncertainty made him nervous. Could he choose between her or his family? It was possible they could bring her around, but that was no guarantee…

    The waiter left, and the conversation turned more casual, as they spoke of the state of things in Leaf and Isan, plays they had watched, and the training Noburi had been doing, but the concern still lurked in the back of his mind. He had just finished describing his meeting with the Toads when their food arrived.

    "I can't imagine speaking to beings of such immense power," Yuno said (wistfully?). "To have to present and defend the value of your own life before ones so powerful… The stress truly must have weighed on you to an extraordinary degree."

    "Yeah…" Noburi replied, scratching the back of his head abashedly.

    "I know Neji has experienced much the same as you have," Yuno said, the concern audible in her voice.

    "Oh. Yeah, I guess he would," Noburi replied dejectedly, losing his appetite.

    Yuno pursed her lips and shook her head. "Don't fret. It's unbecoming of you."

    Noburi knew he had no right to be upset. They weren't in any formal relationship, and even if they were, he didn't really have the right to tell her who she could socialize with. But Neji? Come on!

    "There's more to him than you're allowing yourself to see, Noburi."

    "Yeah, you just have to overlook the heritage of bigotry, the haughty air of superiority, and the grating personality."

    Yuno sighed with slight irritation. "The moment you two see each other, you're both immediately on the offensive. I suppose it's no wonder you'd see a much smaller side of him."

    "Hey, it's self defense. He's been trashing my family since the day we encountered him, as he does with everyone. What else am I supposed to do with his high-and-mighty act?"

    Yuno gave him a quick look, one that an academy teacher might give to a child that started counting their alphabet. "I thought that you were supposed to be the charismatic and understanding member of your group. Don't you see that those are not the symptoms of one with high confidence, but rather that of low confidence? Ask your Mari, I'm sure she'd tell you much the same."

    "Neji, doubting his own worth? That's just…" Noburi trailed off while he considered it, and felt an awful sense of parallelism as he noticed that he himself took on a similar personality when Neji tried to undermine his worth with scathing remarks.

    "...I'll think about it," he mumbled grumpily.

    Yuno smiled at him. "I know you will. That's why I like you," she said, and give him an uncharacteristic wink, retreating hastily from the restaurant afterward, the back of her neck a familiar crimson.

    Noburi sighed, raising his arm and speaking out, "Check, please."

    --------------------

    As scheduled, Noburi made his way to the Hyuga compound afterward, for a meeting with Hinata. The ground surrounding the estate had essentially been filled in by now, but even now there was still widespread damage and many of the buildings were still torn asunder. Dozens of Hyuga civilians and several ninja were hard at work fixing the place up. As Noburi approached, a guard blocked his path and asked what his business was. He held out the letter from Hinata the Goketsu had received a few days ago, and he was guided directly to their meeting grounds. Hinata waited for him in an illustrious garden, filled with carefully trimmed bushes, flowers, and artfully crafted sculptures and structures. Vines creeped up corrugated iron. Short, leafy branches shielded the path from the sun. Sakura blossoms littered the ground, as their parent trees swayed calmly in the wind. The path splintered off and opened up in various places, showcasing different displays of flowers, or sequestering vegetable gardens. Hinata was in a more open area, beneath a great tunnel of ivy, sitting cross-legged in the shade upon a picnic blanket. There was another cushion across from her, and as Noburi approached and greeted her, she gestured to it, before pouring both of them tea.

    "Welcome to my home, Noburi," she said, with a controlled smile.

    "It's gorgeous," Noburi replied truthfully.

    "It was," she replied shortly.

    There was an awkward silence after that.

    "So, shall we get straight to business?" Noburi tried.

    "No, it can wait," Hinata replied, staring absently at her tea.

    Noburi sipped his own tea cautiously and his eyes went wide. There was a strong citrus zest, but darker undertones, not exactly sweet, but an approximately equal pleasantness. He could feel hints of other flavors lurking; hibiscus, grape, and ginger all called attention to themselves. The last thing that he noticed was that the tea was cold, but it actually improved it.

    "This is...frankly, amazing."

    Hinata smiled. "It's my mom's recipe. She was fascinated with gardening and all the little things you could do with it. She made many recipes, but this one's my favorite."

    Nobui followed the logical thread. "Is this her garden?"

    Hinata nodded. "It is the garden my father had built for her when they were first wed."

    "I've never seen a garden more grand in all my life."

    "I'm sure one exists, but I have yet to hear of it." Hinata sipped her own tea.

    Hinata clearly wanted to talk about something before they discussed the elephant in the room, but was either unable or unwilling to bring it up herself.

    "How are you holding up, Hinata? I haven't seen you much since the exams… and I know a lot has happened for you personally in recent months."

    "Is this Noburi asking or Lord Goketsu?"

    "It's your friend asking."

    She gave another small smile and a nod. "It's been trying, if I'm honest. I've had to start preparing to be clan head full time. I had already been taking lessons, even before the Collapse, but it is even more pressing that I marry and take command of the Hyuga. We have regents in my stead, but to demonstrate that the Hyuga survived and thrived in spite of the collapse...we must prove we have moved on."

    So, Hinata had to start evaluating potential suitors. And she invited him to meet in a garden. That was built by her father for her mother, for their wedding. Noburi's mind started running rapid calculations. Was he overthinking it? They still hadn't even addressed the letter.

    "Perhaps the worst part about it all is how detached I've felt, lately. I've always been reserved, but I feel as though I haven't socialized in aeons. Kurenai is far too busy running missions for Leaf to meet with her students much. I don't speak with Kiba or Shino very often, either, as both of their families are scrambling just as the Hyuga are, and need all hands on deck. Naruto's preoccupied with his KEI obligations, and companions." Hinata's tone was ever so slightly bitter at the end. Noburi wasn't actually sure it was possible for Naruto to be "preoccupied" given that he could be everywhere at once, but she may have meant something else when referring to Ami.

    "And, of course, much of my family…" She didn't finish the thought, moving on instead. "I'm not nearly as social of a person as people like you, Noburi. I would figure that there are many ninja of the Leaf who are the same as I. And yet...we share this void in our hearts. A disconnect not just between each other, but between the time before tragedy and after. How do you handle it? What do you put where there was once something irreplaceable?"

    Noburi set his cup down and reclined slightly backwards, placing his arms behind him, thinking over her words. "I don't think you can put anything there. It's as you said, they're irreplaceable. That void in your heart is just that, the remnants of the people who belong there. But when you can't get rid of it, your only other choice is to...to let your heart become bigger. Make more room for new people who mean the world to you." She stared intently, hanging on to his every word, so he continued. "I love my mom and dad, but I don't think I was ever as close to them as you were with yours. I have my two sisters that I care for deeply, and I had my brother too, but he, uh, died." Noburi cleared his throat. "Me, Hazou, and Keiko were betrayed by the people we trusted to protect us, and we had to leave it all behind. I never thought I'd see any of my family again. It was agony. It was agony to know that if I died, they would see it as a good thing, that their treasonous son or brother was wiped from the earth, so I wouldn't bring shame to them anymore. They still don't see me quite the same as they used to, and it's something I can never go back to. Ever. The scars of the past don't ever heal fully."

    Hinata's eyes were watery, but she was not yet crying. "I'm sorry you lost your home, Noburi. Do you still miss it?"

    "It was a ruthless, brutal hellscape, and I had very little support, even from my fellow ninja...but yeah, I miss it every day. Talk about stockholm syndrome."

    Hinata laughed, and Noburi joined her.

    "It wasn't all bad, though. I've become an heir to freakin' Jiraiya's legacy as the Toad Sage, I got a new chance to make a life with Leaf, and best of all, I got to meet my new family. Hazou, Keiko, Mari, Kagome, and Akane. People I never thought I'd ever know or grow to care so much about have become the center of my world. But even with them in my life, it doesn't quite patch over what I've lost. All of it becomes a part of you. It makes us who we are."

    "Hmm. The wisdom of a Sage…" Hinata said offhandedly, giving him a funny look.

    "Are you teasing me?" Noburi asked.

    "Of course not," Hinata replied innocently, looking out into the garden. When she looked back at him, her gaze was much more serious. "It's been good to see you, Noburi. I nearly forgot why I called you here to begin with. But I would like to discuss it."

    "The seals we submitted for the contest."

    "Yes, the anti-Hyuga seals. It would be one thing to deliver them to Asuma or another clan to garner favor, but to make them publicly available for all of Leaf? Potentially increasing their vulnerability to foreign espionage? What if we had submitted a jutsu that disabled your bloodline for all of Leaf to use?"

    "It wasn't personal," Noburi said quietly.

    "No, it wasn't, it was strictly business, wasn't it? Your clan wanted to increase its prominence while reducing the prominence of others, just as every clan does. I am not going to attempt to claim moral high ground regarding this. However, the Goketsu had to have known this would displease us, and proceeded with it anyways. It is very hard not to interpret that as a direct attack."

    "We simply wanted to share Jiraiya's work with the rest of Leaf, as his legacy. It's what he would've wanted. If it were something that weakened us, we would've submitted it."

    "Oh, really? So you submitted all of his notes?"

    Noburi paled. "Uh, well, it wasn't all decoded yet…"

    "Hmph, right. I trust that you will make all of it publicly available when that's done, then?"

    "Well, I can't speak for the others, but even if we wanted to, it would need to go through Asuma…"

    It seemed like Hinata just rolled her eyes. It was kind of hard to tell with those pale pupils of hers.

    "This is exactly what I meant. It's fine if you decided that you wanted to hurt the Hyuga. Every clan clashes with the others. My question for you is if this conflict is really the future your clan wants with ours. Are the Goketsu and the Hyuga fated to contest each other forever?"

    Noburi puffed out a quick breath. "I don't think any of us among the Goketsu want that."

    "You say that, but had yet to reach out to us, and instead directly attacked our interests. What kind of message did you think that was sending?"

    "Probably a hostile one," Noburi relented.

    Hinata nodded firmly and closed her eyes, taking a few deep breaths. She opened her eyes again and said, "The Hyuga are not expecting a public apology or anything of the sort. And it isn't like you can unsubmit your seals to the contest. But know that if you hope to forge any kind of positive relationship with us, we will expect recompense and then some."

    "If it is reasonable and within our capabilities, the Goketsu should have no issue with what you propose. So, uh, what do you want?"

    Hinata gave an airy smile and stared off into the sky. "Haven't decided yet."

    Well that was Foreboding.

    "Perhaps we can meet again and discuss terms, if a positive relationship with the Hyuga is truly something you want," Hinata said noncommittally. So, she wanted to meet up with him again? Seriously, was he reading too far into it?

    "Perhaps, indeed. I think I would enjoy your company again, Lady Hyuga," Noburi said with ironic grandiosity, rising from the picnic blanket. Hinata smirked at his speech. He continued, "By the way, where can I speak to Neji? I have some things I need to discuss with him."

    "Oh? He's not here, he's-"

    --------------------------------------

    "-my brothers and sisters in Youth, as we return to our homes and our lives today, let us bring forth our greatest passion yet, as we carry both a torch of our own, and one for those lost to us. Thank you, and enjoy your evenings." Neji stepped down from the podium to thunderous applause. Noburi looked around in confusion from the back pew, surprised by how many people actually attended these sermons. He spotted Tenten in the crowd, as well as, amazingly, Kakashi's squad, all three of them listening intently. Rock Lee was waiting by the door to wish people well on the way out and hand out pamphlets. This must've been some kind of church of Youth memorial service for Kakashi and Gai...that, or Noburi's fundamental understanding of the world was deeply flawed.

    Not wanting to be caught by the outflowing crowd, Noburi exited the building early, carefully avoiding Rock Lee, and snuck around back, hoping to catch Neji as he left.

    After the sound of scattered conversations on the other side of the building grew and faded, Noburi heard a voice from behind him.

    "You're a fool to attempt challenging me without bringing your barrel. Then again, wisdom was never one of your strong suits."

    "Hmm... Your family tells me otherwise," Noburi said, turning around slowly and dramatically.

    Neji's momentary confusion was priceless, but he ignored the statement. "I saw you waiting for me outside."

    "I'll bet you did, eyeball boy."

    His titular eyes narrowed. "What are you really doing here?"

    "Wasting my time, probably," Noburi muttered.

    "What did you say?"

    "I said, I have something to share with you, so why don't you and I take a walk?"

    Neji huffed, and said sarcastically, "After you, Lord Goketsu."

    --------------------------

    They walked along an empty path not too far from the church. After getting a few more of their early jabs in, Noburi attempted to bring the conversation back into focus.

    "I wanted to speak with you on behalf of my clan. Since we just gained another Summoner, we've been looking into ways to turn that to our advantage. For OPSEC reasons, I can't tell you exactly what we're planning, but Hazou said it would be fine if I approached you with an invitation for cooperation."

    "Why would you want to cooperate with an enemy?"

    "Don't oversell yourself. You aren't fit to be my enemy."

    Neji gave a wicked grin. "Bold words for a defenseless child."

    Noburi replied with a loud drawl. "Oh yeah, I'm sure Yuno would be very impressed to hear you took advantage of me approaching you while I was disarmed as a show of peace. I bet that would bring great honor to your clan."

    "...you spoke to Yuno about me? What did she say?"

    "She said-" Noburi bit back another snarky retort. "She asked me to give you a chance."

    "You've done an excellent job thus far," Neji muttered.

    Noburi tried to clear his mind of the sudden compulsion to strangle Neji. He could do this. He's faced down harder opponents than this chump.

    "Maybe I haven't, Hyuga, but can you blame me? From the minute we met, you've done nothing but condescend the existence of me and my family, completely undermining our journey and experiences. We've gone through shit you'll never have to experience a day in your life, and you think you've got the room to talk about how I haven't been nice enough to you? Imagine waking up every day, knowing the people who raised you are hunting you down to stick a kunai in your throat. Imagine knowing that you'd never be safe, no matter where you went. Imagine finally finding an escape from that hell only for some prick with purple eyes to tell you that what you went through makes you worth less than dirt."

    Neji sucked in an angry breath. "I-!"

    "No, shut up and let me finish. You'll get your turn in a second. All of that to say that if my attitude towards you has been less than stellar, that's why. You fundamentally rejected our existence, and that's something I could only answer with my own hostilities. For better or worse, all those trials made me who I am. All these identities you reject are me. You can't question my existence and expect me to tolerate yours. But, if you're willing to man up and move past your preconceived notions, I think I can do it too."

    Neji didn't say anything for a while, still fuming. Finally, he spoke quietly. "You think I can't grasp what it's like to be hated and scorned by those who raise you? You know nothing of what it's like being a branch member of the Hyuga." He glared at Noburi, likely expecting a retort.

    Noburi shrugged. "You're right."

    "...what?"

    "I have no idea what it's like being a branch member of the Hyuga. So tell me."

    Neji still had anger in his gaze, but it was more muted, and he looked down at the ground. "It is not my place to say." He pointed a finger at Noburi, saying, "Nonetheless, I do not weep for your sob story about how hard it is betraying your home and having them despise you. Imagine how it is for someone like me to work diligently and proudly for my home, to devote my entire being for a cause that could care less about me as an individual, and suddenly a band of traitors waltzes in and is considered my equal. Do you understand how much that invalidates what the rest of us have worked tirelessly for?"

    He waited for Noburi to reply, as Noburi belatedly realized it wasn't a rhetorical question. Noburi said, "None of us wanted to diminish the efforts of the rest of Leaf. We only wanted to stand alongside the rest of you, to fight the same fight for the Will of Fire, and every minute that we've spent in Leaf, we've spent trying to improve it. We're painfully aware of the debt we owe Leaf, a debt that probably can't ever be repaid. As you said, at the end of the day, it isn't about any of us as individuals. The Goketsu are welcomed as equals, not to prove that we earned something that already belonged to the rest of you, but because we're expected to work just as hard as any other citizen of Leaf. And that's exactly what we intend to do."

    "Hmph. You couldn't even work diligently for your last home."

    Noburi smirked. "I'd like to see you try doing your due diligence for Mist. Bet you wouldn't last a year."

    "I would never answer to someone so corrupt as your Yagura. I'd sooner die."

    "Yeah, I guess you would die. We answered to him and he tried to kill us anyway. It sucked." Noburi shivered at the memory. Even if it was somewhat built upon false pretenses, it was entirely believable behavior for the leader of the Blood Mist.

    "Then you've demonstrated both your moral failings and your failure as a ninja. I just wonder if the taint of Mist's barbarism can truly ever be wiped from your character."

    Noburi folded his arms, attempting to maintain a cool and collected demeanor. "Well, considering that we hated it even while we were there, and utterly disavowed the 'barbarism' at the earliest opportunity, I'd say we're off to a pretty good start. As to failing as a ninja, I'd say surviving your village trying to murder you as a genin is actually pretty impressive. Maybe I'm biased, though, since I was one of the people who did all that impressive stuff."

    "Are you done congratulating yourself yet?"

    "Mmm, no. I survived in spite of all that, and I became the freakin' Toad Summoner. Summoner to Summoner, you've got to admit that takes some skill, no?"

    "Don't call me that," Neji said quietly.

    "Why not? Didn't you get the turtle scroll?"

    "I...haven't finished my training yet."

    "Didn't you start before I did?"

    Neji lost all composure, his frustration palpable in his body language. "Of course you had to bring it up, I knew-"

    Reluctantly, Noburi backpedalled from pressing Neji on it, holding up a hand. "No, no, I get it. It's probably the hardest training I've ever undergone. Truth be told, I got hung up on memorizing all the trigrams for a while-"

    "Right? I could not believe there were more than eight, much less two hundred twenty nine, I mean, there's just something fundamentally wrong about that-"

    "Yeah, I learned a song that helped me remember them all."

    "Huh. I should look into that."

    An awkward silence hung in the air. That was happening an awful lot today.

    Neji said, "So...about this summoning proposition...if I- I mean, when I complete my training, what would you need from me?"

    "Nothing too major. We were just thinking about how with strategically placed Summoners, Leaf could deliver any kind of cargo they needed through the 7th path and reverse summons, basically making cross-country near-instant trade not only feasible, but easy. Adding you to that just means having one more person in that network. It would also forge better relations between the summon clans, which is another long term goal of ours." Noburi held back the bit about setting up a farm for chakra water and having virtually unlimited jutsu at their disposal, especially since they weren't even sure it would work yet.

    "Hmm. Not a bad idea for a band of hooligans. I would of course need to consult the head of the Turtle clan first, but… At the moment, I have no reservations about joining such an endeavor. For the good of Leaf, anyways."

    "Great. We'll let you know if we have any updates on that. And...I trust that we'll hear about the completion of your training soon...Neji."

    Neji did not smile, but his face lightened a fraction. "Of course...Noburi."

    --------------------------

    After an awkward departure, Noburi walked by himself for a while. He could see the immediate parallels between himself, Neji, Jiraiya, and Hiashi. Disgustingly blatant parallels. Jiraiya and Hiashi never had the chance to overcome their differences...No, that wasn't true. They had plenty of opportunities, and chose to escalate their hostilities every time, probably even to the detriment of Leaf. They could work together when the situation called for it, but when it didn't, their friction winded up causing other issues. Could Noburi and Neji avoid that same fate? Would Noburi have even bothered trying if Yuno hadn't said anything? In honesty, he doubted he would have. Sometimes, it really did take an outsider's perspective to poke you in the arm and tell you you were being dumb.

    Hiashi may have been an irrational, xenophobic, power-hungry bigot, and maybe it was impossible for him and Jiraiya to ever become something approximating friends, but Noburi had been around Jiraiya long enough to know he probably hadn't tried very hard to fix that. Jiraiya was perfectly content to let Hiashi wallow in his hatred, choosing to scorn him both publicly and privately, rather than try to pull him out of it. Maybe it wouldn't have worked, but it was always worth attempting.

    Noburi felt a sinking sensation in his stomach as he extrapolated that thought outward. Nearly everyone was like Jiraiya, unwilling to reach out. It would be foolish to expect everyone to implicitly understand every other person they encountered, but so many people were unwilling to even try. Everyone existed within a safe and comfortable ring of comfort, violently rejecting anything that threatened it. And if everyone was like that...well, it wasn't hard to see how the world became what it is. Jiraiya was one of the noblest and most ethical ninjas that Noburi had encountered yet, but despite that, he lacked that critical piece of desiring to communicate, to bring in that group outside of your ring of comfort.

    Noburi can't be the only person to have noticed that, but no one seemed to have come up with a solution to it yet. He tried to think of anyone else who might exemplify what he was talking about, which was a struggle. Social specs were amazing at understanding other perspectives, but generally they only bother for their own goals. Yuno was willing to do so for Neji, but her mind was a minefield of Isan traditions, ultimately holding her back from being as empathic to the world at large as she might otherwise be. There were intelligent people like Shikamaru or Keiko who were more than capable but generally didn't care. And there were kindhearted people like Akane who sympathized without truly understanding, or even noticing the dissonance between themselves and others at all.

    Noburi smiled to himself upon thinking that their resident Mr. MEW might be the only person he knew who pursued clear understandings of everyone around him simply because he wanted to understand. Problem was, even if Hazou wanted to be that way, he sucked at it, and ended up misreading situations or failing to communicate his own ends as well as was necessary, Clear Communication no Jutsu or no. He could recognize that other people had preconceived thoughts and expectations, but stumbled when he actually tried to take them into account, putting him into yet another killbox.

    But Noburi could understand, he knew he could. It was only a matter of motivating himself to care. Whatever it took to find that desire, to manage to care even in the heat of the moment, he knew that that was the sort of person he wanted to be. Had to be. And once he could be that person, he could teach everyone else, and the last of the barriers that divided them all could finally fall.

    "What do you think, Jiraiya? How's that for a successor?" Noburi asked the wind.

    He smiled to himself and headed back to the Goketsu compound.

    -------------------------

    It was dark by the time he finally returned. Akane was in the living room, reading a book that she hid immediately after she noticed him.

    "Noburi! How was your first day as Clan Head?" Akane asked, waving at him as he entered.

    "I have added 'spreadsheets' to the list of Goketsu enemies that must be destroyed at all costs, right next to world hunger."

    Mari snorted from another room. "Don't let Hazou hear you say that."

    Noburi wiped his face. "I'm gonna grab some food real quick, we can talk after."

    "I haven't actually eaten dinner yet either, why don't I join you?"

    Noburi unsealed a simple fish fillet on a bed of rice for his dinner. The steam wafting off of the fish smelled delicious. He sat down at the stone table with Akane, filling her in on his day. She wasn't showing her face, but he knew Mari was listening, too. No doubt he would be teased for this for weeks to come.

    "I had no idea Hinata was hurting so much. I should've reached out sooner," Akane said glumly.

    "Yeah, well, better late than never."

    Akane smiled at him. "Yeah. I'll make the time."

    "How was decoding Jiraiya's notes?"

    "Mmm, well, I don't really understand much of it. It was a lot of theories on novel types of connective passageways on seals, something about variable infusion zones. Jiraiya never got around to trying any of them apparently. Kagome thinks most of it is useless, but there were a few ideas he wanted to try later."

    "Sounds boring. Want to trade jobs?"

    Akane laughed. "It's a little tedious, but it's important. For Goketsu, Uplift, everyone."

    "Yeah, yeah, I know. So's all this clan head stuff. Mostly just feels like it's important for Hazou, though."

    "Oh? How so?"

    "Half the stuff I was checking up on were random pet projects of his, and I didn't even make a dent in all the pies he's got fingers in."

    "He is certainly ambitious…" Akane said slowly. "I know that he pushes himself so hard because he couldn't live with himself, knowing he could've created something life-saving a day sooner. But, if it's taken a toll on him yet, I can't tell."

    Noburi reached over and patted her on the shoulder. "It's okay, if it does, we'll be there for him the moment he needs us." As he said this, they heard Hazou enter the house, announcing his entry with a tired hello.

    "Welcome home, dog boy! Care to show us your battle scars from Tsunade's teaching?" Noburi called out. When Hazou didn't answer, he and Akane looked at each other, and walked over to the front door. Hazou was curled up on the ground, asleep, the door still hanging open.

    "Well, I'd say we're off to a pretty good start, Akane."

    They carried him to his room, laying him down on the bed, and Noburi began undressing him. Akane blushed and left the room. Noburi just rolled his eyes. For a household of battle-hardened ninja, they could all be quite bashful. He didn't bother putting Hazou's pajamas on, just tossing the covers over him and heading to the door. Before he left, he glanced around Hazou's room to test Mari's living quarters theory, and lo and behold, there were notes, lists, and spreadsheets neatly compiled on a large desk, which was easily the centerpiece of the room, even more so than his bed. He shook his head and shut the door.

    As Noburi left the room, Akane was waiting for him outside. They walked to the back porch of their abode, staring at the stars. "So, did you and Hazou, uh, figure things out?" he asked her.

    "We're...working on it. The first time we dated, I was the reserved one, but...He's almost overcorrecting, doing everything he can to make sure everything is pristine before we move along."

    "Sounds pretty responsible to me," Noburi said.

    Akane just shrugged. "I don't know what to think."

    "I'm with you there."

    She raised an eyebrow, and spoke in a low voice. "Are you talking about Yuno?"

    "...maybe? I like her a lot. Maybe that's all that matters? I'm just afraid that we aren't what the other needs, or what I might have to change about myself to become what she needs. I don't even know what that might be."

    "Yeah. It's scary, almost," Akane agreed, nodding her head slowly.

    "But is the fact that I'm thinking about it at all proof that there's problems, or proof that we could overcome them?"

    "I don't think it means anything, really. I think it's just how you're choosing to approach something that matters a lot to you."

    Noburi exhaled slowly, trying to bring out that traitorous line of thought that was making him sick. It was sort of refreshing discussing this with someone who wasn't Mari. A peer who had about the same amount of experience as him. "Also, though...I've, uh, never dated anyone else before. And even when I was with her, it was sorta predicated on a lie. I just...wonder what else I might be missing. But I'm afraid that if I try to pursue that now I'll lose the chance to be with her forever. And if I choose to be with her, I might deny a part of myself forever, too. Is that what it means to love someone? Choosing to give up a part of yourself in exchange for them?"

    "That doesn't sound like love to me. It sounds like a conversation you might need to have with Yuno," Akane said, before laughing softly at his horrified grimace. "Besides, you can always try polyamory… or divorce," she added mirthfully.

    "Oh, shut up. I had almost forgotten that conversation…" he said, completely untruthfully. He ran that conversation over in his mind at least once a day.

    "I've never dated anyone else, either," Akane said. "Frankly, though, I'm not concerned about missing out."

    "Well yeah, you don't have a deadline looming over your head."

    Akane gave a conceding nod. "True. But I guess what I was trying to say is that I don't crave anything I couldn't get from a relationship with Hazou. There's no fear of missing out if you can get the same fulfillment from the partner you have already, that you would be getting otherwise from someone else- why are you giving me that look?"

    "Sorry, I was just diagnosing you with terminal Rock Lee disease."

    "I have no idea what you're talking about." She huffed. "Anyways, maybe you should think about your potential relationship with Yuno and what you want from it. Whether you think you'll get it or not, and who can provide it if she can't. There's nothing wrong with moving on, Noburi. Neither of you owe the other a thing."

    "The same goes for you, Akane."

    She grinned sheepishly. "I know that...and yet…"

    "And yet?"

    "I still care. I'll fight to make it work, if I have to."

    Noburi smiled at her.

    He stretched his arms casually and said, "Although, if I really want to be Jiraiya's successor, his arts with women is another aspect I can't neglect-"

    Akane was already back inside. "Good night, Noburi."

    He laughed. "Good night, Akane."

    He made his way to his own room carefully depositing his worn cloak in a storage seal. His plant seemed happy to see him, which both comforted and terrified him. He laid back in bed, mentally preparing himself for another round of duty as Clan Head. All in all, not a terrible day. The dreams of the night before had already faded from his mind. When he dreamed this night, he dreamed of a resplendent garden, filled with the laughter of his friends and family.
     
  • Apocrypha
    • Shrooms said:
    Mari threw her hands up in exasperation. "There isn't enough time in a human lifespan to question the intricacies of Hazou's madness. Our best bet is to support him and hope we don't get caught up in it."
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    This made me laugh ^.^

    Shrooms said:
    "Great. We'll let you know if we have any updates on that. And...I trust that we'll hear about the completion of your training soon...Neji."

    Neji did not smile, but his face lightened a fraction. "Of course...Noburi."
    Click to expand...
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    Well, Noburi's grown beyond the person who trashed Hiashi mere days after his death and openly wondered why Hinata would bother mourning her father. Still, kudos for not falling into the common trap of having two "rival" parties in a love triangle at each other's throats forever. Noburi and Neji, forming a semblance of respect and acknowledgement? Who would have thought?

    Shrooms said:
    "Well yeah, you don't have a deadline looming over your head."
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    In a kinder world, Noburi would have more time to date Yuno, to think about what he wants from a relationship with her and what type of relationship they'd have --if they'd have one at all. But this isn't a kinder world this is Marked for Death.

    -----
    A very good Omake!
     
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