New Day [P]

Age : 32 Posts : 1912

Yoroi Kaguya

It's a New Day

You have loved yourself and no one else

It's a broken life / what's left inside

Going with what the girl had asked of him, he had actually spent the night in a suite next to her's. Had she not stopped him, he would have spent the night out in the small woodland outside of Yugakure, having gotten used to it just as much as he had gotten used to sleeping in a normal bed. The night itself had been full of terrors however, visions of war crawling up to him in his sleep. Watching as the villages burned, great battles took place in forests, mountains and grasslands alike, seeing the blood flow out of the dead and the dying, sinking into the ground and coloring the earth itself in crimson. In it, he could see Kimiko fighting against hordes of faceless men, eventually being overwhelmed and disappearing into the black void. The same happened to Viera, who was running for her life for as long as she could, only to be swallowed up in that same darkness. In the end, everything faded into the blackness as he heard a loud scream from every direction.

Waking up in sweat and a panic attack, his heart raced in his chest as every sound he heard seemed like a possible attacker. Jumping up out of bed in a moment of panic, he collapsed on the floor, panting heavily as if he had just received a severe beating. For a solid ten minutes, his heart and mind raced whenever he heard the slightest sound, though this attack eventually died down like the others. Yoroi had been having panic attacks ever since he heard about the war coming, his fear of losing his family being so great that the one that feared nothing often cried like a child in the night. It was not his fault though, for he just woke up in the moment while his eyes were already running with water. In moments such as that, there was no way for him to get back to sleep, so he just went back down to soak in the pool. Washing the sweat and tears off of his body, he could already feel that his wounds were starting to close up rather well, meaning Ophelia's methods had worked out rather well.

Letting himself soak in the water for just a bit longer, he eventually got out and dressed himself back up. There had been a reason as to why he had come here, things that needed to be taken care of. Early in the morning, he had made sure to do the things he had come for, collecting some herbs for the owner of the bath-house and securing the package for which he had come to Yu no Kuni to collect. It had only taken him about two hours, returning back to his own suite at about nine in the morning. Waiting around for the girl to get some hours of sleep before he would bother her, he went to her room around eleven, hoping she would have woken up by then. Knocking on the door, he waited for her to get there and let him in. If she was not going to come on out or respond to it, she'd probably still be asleep. "Ophelia, are you up yet?" he asked from the other side of the door. Even though he was a Shinobi that could just break in through the window, he respected her privacy and would not just crash in.

Age : 29 Posts : 488

Our remedies oft in ourselves do lie,
Which we ascribe to heaven: the fated sky
Gives us free scope, only doth backward pull
Our slow designs when we ourselves are dull.
(All's Well that Ends Well, 1.1.209), Helena

The warm morning sun gently entered Ophelia’s hotel room, illuminating the furniture which made it all the more beautiful. The female’s red hair shone like furiously dancing fire in the sun, giving off a sweet scent of honey. She had spent the night on the floor, where she had fallen asleep after crying her heart out. She barely remembered the reason she cried, for all the darkness and emptiness of the room that reminded her so much of her self, was gone now with the bright daylight. She slowly opened her eyes which had sparks of golden inside them along with the red, making them glow like the sun, in a sense. Her hands rubbed them awake as she yawned and stretched on the floor to achieve a sense of reality. For a moment she looked at the ceiling trying to recall the happenings of the last day. She stood up and all her memories were gradually coming back, first the hot spring and then Yoroi, whose last name she still didn’t know. She had noticed only now that he hadn’t mentioned it though she remembered that she didn’t tell him her surname for the very same reason; being that he hadn’t told her his either. Walking over to the kitchen, she threw on the coffee machine which started giving off an extremely pleasing smell. She liked coffee.

Ophelia looked down on her body and saw that she had slept in her swimsuit. Aw man, she thought and walked over to her suitcase, and pulled out a white summer dress along with a hat. She quickly changed underwear and slipped into her clothes. Walking over to the kitchen, she poured some coffee and milk, more milk than coffee though, into a cup along with about three teaspoons of sugar and walked out onto the veranda. Ophelia adored sweet things; chocolate, bonbons, anything with sugar in it was subject to be devoured by the young Uzumaki. The weird thing was that her teeth showed now signs of this habit and every time she went to the dentist, he praised her that she had the best teeth he had ever seen. He often asked her if she ever ate anything, because no stains were left behind on her teeth. Ophelia of course had a secret as to how her teeth remained so white and shiny. Instead of brushing them with regular toothpaste, she infused her toothpaste with medical chakra which she found had a whitening and cleansing effect on her teeth. The Uzumaki was experiment-happy like that and always found new things that were improving her difficult life.

Sipping on her sweet coffee, she watched the sun rising higher and higher as every second flew by. Her red eyes looked at the vastness of the green spreading out before her, taking everything in with the most delight. Landscapes like these didn’t exist in Kirigakure; there were forests and such, but there were no meadows as green and lively as the ones in the Hot Springs country. It was a truly beautiful sight to behold and Ophelia’s soul felt at peace. She was at peace with herself, with the world as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the rays of the sun on her fair skin.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door, disrupting the peaceful moment. Ophelia jumped slightly up as she violently opened her eyes. She was rather surprised that someone would be knocking at this hour, or anyone knocking at all for that matter. However she quickly discerned Yoroi’s voice and opened the door with a smile. “Good morning, Yoroi! How did you sleep? I hope the room was most comfortable.” She said as she continued to smile. The boy looked like he had been up for a longer time, and not like he had just woken up. They were both Shinobi, she thought, so it was only natural for them to be accustomed to little sleep and waking up early. “Do you want to grab breakfast?” she asked, sure that he would answer positively and grabbed her summer hat, putting it on. The contrast was intense; the fabric was of a very, very light blue colour along with some darker blue on some places as well as the hat was of a light blue also, with dark blue striped bows. Her red hair was even more intense now, in contrast to the serene blue, reflecting perfectly her personality, without the girl however knowing that. She grabbed her keys and a shoulder bag and exited the room, locking the door. “Shall we?”

Age : 32 Posts : 1912

Yoroi Kaguya

Again, Yoroi was astounded at how pretty the girl looked now that she had changed into more comfortable clothes. From the looks of her clothing, he could see just how beautiful her red hair was, something one would not see very often. Blond and brown hair was the most common thing to see, though he still liked Kimiko's raven black hair, Viera's bright blond and Ophelia's red hair a lot. Her hair was a bit of a rarity, though his hair was not entirely common either, for it was a strain that belonged to the Kaguya clan. Most of the people from his clan had the same strands of silvery white hair, at least the ones he had met. The older Kaguya from Konoha, the woman from Kirigakure, the kid from Kumogakure, they all had the same features, though none of them looked truly the same. Still, of all the clans out there, the Kaguya resembled one another the most, even though Yoroi stood out just a little. He lacked the marking of the clan, something he had always refused to receive from the village's Kaguya. Just because he was from the same clan did not mean that he was going to be maiming his face by having them place their tattoo's on it.

Over his fascination with Ophelia's looks, he could just barely hear her ask whether he had been sleeping well. Waking up from his day dreaming, he thought it over for a bit before answering her in a way that would most likely not make much of a hassle. "More or less, I guess I am just a little bit troubled by recent events, nothing for you to worry about" Yoroi said with a slight smile, hoping that his honesty would not cause her to feel bad for him. He did not need pity, it had never helped him before and it would most certainly not be of any help to him right now. Yoroi did not lie about the way he felt, at least not if one could say that an upcoming war counted as a recent event. Even now, he was debating about telling her of the war and gauging her feelings on the matter or just keeping it to himself, having more or less ignored her question the other day. Whether she would like the things he had to say was an entirely different matter though, so if it were to come up again, he couldn't ignore it a second time, he owed her that much for all the things she had already done for him.

Then came the question as to whether he wanted to have some breakfast, which sounded like an angle singing right into his ear. The morning had been filled with running around, chasing after herbs for the local medical center, taking care of a package for the hidden leaf and even fighting and killing a threat to the safety of Yugakure's medical facilities. If he had any other choice, he would not have made the kill, though he could not let someone steal the data the people of the facility had worked so hard on, just to destroy the facility once he had what he needed, No, Yoroi was not the kind of person that would let someone get in the way when these people were so close to finding out new ways to cure illness and physical mutations. So, all in all, Yoroi was pretty hungry. "I sure do. It's been a rather busy morning for me already. You know, I feel like having some Ramen for breakfast, maybe some bread too" he said, thinking about what he could be having for dinner. From his earlier experience, he figured out that he should not be eating any fish around her, though he did not feel like having any either.

Fish was the kind of food he could only enjoy when there were plenty of other flavors to go around, for fish left a bad taste in his mouth, something Yoroi did not enjoy one bit. "We shall", Yoroi said jokingly, allowing her to lead the way as he would just walk alongside her. For her sake, he would try to adapt as much as possible so she would feel welcome, which she was. If there were any other things she disliked, he would make sure that they were not forgotten, keeping him from doing such things in the future, like eating fish.

Age : 29 Posts : 488

Ophelia and Yoroi entered a different cafeteria than the one the day before, to take their breakfast. It was a large ball room themed in white and gold colours, with thick, heavy curtains hanging in front of the two stories tall windows that allowed a view at the pool. Ophelia served herself, as it was a bufe, and seated herself on a table right next to one of the large windows. She took off her hat and laid it on a chair next to her along with her shoulder bag and started eating. The day was really good; as it was with every day that passed by in the Hot Springs. The weather was so comfortable and clear; in Kirigakure was always a mist hanging around, clouding their sight, and probably their senses too. It was a tad depressing, and Ophelia always thought that Kirigakure would be much prettier if it had a little bit of sunshine. She didn’t realize though that she herself had proven to be its sunshine.

“So, Yoroi...what’s Konoha like? Is it as sunny as it is here?” she asked as she continued eating, looking at him only when she asked the question. Ophelia wanted to know how Konohagakure was, its people and customs and of course, its weather. She’d like to visit some time, though she didn’t really know if they’d let her in for she was a Kiri Shinobi. But Yoroi didn’t know that nor did anyone else rather than herself. She was sure that the people in Konoha wouldn’t know either, for she was merely a Genin and no high ranking Shinobi. The question, actually, about Konoha she had posed Yoroi, was nothing more than an underlying hint that she would like to visit it, just to see what it was like and to meet new people, perhaps. The Uzumaki liked learning about new cultures and ways of living, learning about new traditions and foods of course. She was sure that Konoha could provide her this much needed knowledge she thirsted for so long now. All she knew about other villages came from books of travelers or stories she was told by her parents. Seeing it from up close, would sure be something else.

“Hey, Yoroi? I want to know. What was it that you didn’t want to tell me? You ignored the question yesterday.” She continued once Yoroi had answered her question about Konoha. Now she stopped eating and looked at him with her sharp, red eyes piercing through him to see his reaction. Ophelia tried to understand the boy, having already gathered some information on his character from their previous conversation. She wasn’t sure still if she could trust him, but he had proven himself to be a gentleman, to say the least. At any rate, he didn’t seem to mean any harm to anyone, not even herself who was, at the bottom of the line, considered an enemy in political terms. It was true that the political affairs with Kumogakure and Konohagakure were rather tense lately. Ophelia didn’t really know why it was like this, but she had heard about a guy from Kiri killing someone from Konoha on a mission, while burning down a civilian village in the process. How violent his act had been, she thought when she had heard this; was it really necessary to kill so many innocent people? Ophelia was still oblivious to the responsibilities and things a Shinobi had sometimes to do in order to survive and to save something greater. Her mind was still too uneducated to grasp the complex and often cruel workings of the world, especially the one of the Shinobi.

However here, in the land of Hot Springs, political arguments seemed to have no place among the everyday people who seemed to carelessly go about their lives and vacations. Sipping on their coffees and teas they seemed to be ignorant of the difficult lives the two kids sitting near the window were leading, and rightly so for they didn’t know who they were. Ophelia smiled a sarcastic smile as she thought how Yoroi and she had to put their lives on the line to protect these people so they could lead a normal life. But then again, it was their choice; nobody forced them to become Shinobi.

Our wills and fates do so contrary run
That our devices still are overthrown;
Our thoughts are ours, their ends none of our own.
(Hamlet, 3.2.208), Player King

Age : 32 Posts : 1912

Yoroi Kaguya

Following Ophelia into a different place then they had been the other day. The entire place seemed different, having little to none of the same characteristics of the other place. It was quite often the case that buildings and interiors looked similar when in a smaller village such as Yugakure. As such, the way this place looked was rather different, not at all like he had expected. It did not really matter, he still thought that the place looked nice. When Ophelia asked him whether or not the village he came from was nice and sunny, he smiled a bit. "Konoha is a nice place really. It's surrounded by forests and a couple of mountains. It is mostly sunny back home, though there are times when it can rain pretty heavily too. There's a lot of greenery around, while the village itself has a lot of diners such as this place. I live in a large apartment building with my sister, though I would love to show it to you sometime. I am sure my sister will like you a lot too" he said with a smile on his face, picking some pieces of bread and putting them on his plate.

And just like that, the question as to why he had ignored her question the other day came up. Ophelia was certainly a bright one, that much was for certain, but to remember such a thing was rather astonishing. Taking some time to get settled into his seat, he took a deep breath and started talking. "You might have heard about it already, but there is a war coming soon. The great villages are all very... tense, to say the least. Even as we speak, people like my sister are spread out across the countries in order to strengthen their positions for the war. I don't really like things either, but people are also on edge with the re-emergence of Kirigakure, certain actions taken by Kumogakure and the way in which some of the townsfolk are behaving once they heard about it. By the time it hits, things will be getting pretty bad, that's what I know for certain" he explained. The war was a truly haunting thing, something that kept him from sleeping and from getting any real peace of mind.

"So that's why I kept things to myself a bit, I didn't want to ruin our time together, that's all". Quickly stuffing his face with a piece of bread, he felt like he had said something stupid. Chewing down slowly, he made sure that he could focus on eating, rather then feeling silly about what he had just said. "Every night I get these nightmares, like some sort of visions about the war. I see my family getting killed right in front of me and my village burn down to the ground. I truly wish things were different, but that is the harsh reality..". Even though he had made claims about how things like that happened in life, it did not mean that he was going to just sit by and let it happen. He would protect the people he loved by killing the enemy if he had to, that much was for certain. Hopefully, Ophelia would not mind coming with him, maybe together, they could find a way to end the war before too many people died.

Age : 29 Posts : 488

Hearing about Konoha brought a smile to Ophelia’s face. It sounded like a very beautiful place with nice scenery. Visiting would be an awesome opportunity to see everything from up close, especially the Hokage heads Ophelia had only read about. She had never seen them from up close, though, and would go crazy if she could. However, she didn’t really think she’d ever see them, for she was from Kirigakure, and asking Yoroi to take her with him wasn’t really an option, as that would sound really selfish; at least to her. “Aww, sounds awesome. I wish I could come visit.” She said, a tone of melancholia lying in her voice. She longed for a place she had never been to.

Ophelia had very well heard about the tense relationships between the great villages; the tension however was shared more between Konoha, Kumo and Kiri, Suna and Iwa being kind of neutral or practically non existent. A war however, was not within Ophelia’s imagination. She didn’t believe that she would ever be faced with a war situation, even if her life was that of a Shinobi. She had never experienced battle up until that time and killing was something completely unfamiliar to her. Nor did she know if she could ever kill someone if the situation called for it. She was a very gentle soul who didn’t want to harm anyone, but who wouldn’t stand by and watch people being killed without punishing the killer. At least so she thought that she would act when the moment would be there. She didn’t really know how she would react. “A war, you say? That’s terrible.” She said, images of chaos and destruction manifesting themselves in her brain. “Who against who do you think will it be?” she continued asking for fear that Kirigakure might be involved as well. Good thing she hadn’t brought her Kiri symbol necklace with her on vacations. Ophelia didn’t want a war to happen; she was scared. But she also hadn’t heard anything about a war rising in her own village. Sure, relationships were tense with a few killings here and there, but that had always existed and was no real cause for a war. But then again, the real causes were usually petty disagreements of the political parties of each country which then sent out their chess pieces to carry out the war. And Shinobi were these chess pieces. What a tragedy, really, to kill for another’s dream.

And still, Ophelia couldn’t really understand why it was such a bad thing that Kirigakure was re-emerging. Wasn’t it a good thing that it had risen from the ashes it once was and developed into a mighty strength, capable of defending itself? Kirigakure was indeed prospering and thriving; it had grown to rival even Konohagakure, the village that had been for long on top, while Kumo was crumbling. Technological advance and new methods in medical care had allowed for it to flourish and grow in numbers and weapons, of course. This didn’t mean it would wage a war on the other villages. It just meant that it was protecting itself, so Ophelia thought. But she wasn’t oblivious to the fact that wherever laid great power, the hunger for it grew even greater. Hate was sown and would soon be harvested while thousands would have to die on the battle field. Power had always been and would always be the greatest corruptor of humanity, so much Ophelia knew. However, it couldn’t fit into her head that her beloved village would cause harm to someone for no reason at all. Of course she knew that it was called the “Bloody Mist” because of its cruel ways, but the people she had met till now weren’t malicious at all. They were all kind, maybe a bit odd, but who wasn’t odd anyway.

Yoroi kept talking about his nightmares he would get because of the upcoming war. Ophelia felt sorry for him; she didn’t pity him, she was just feeling sad that he was going through such hardships. Losing one’s sleep can be really hard. The Uzumaki, however, put on a reprimanding face and looked at the youth in front of her. "Worrying about things that have not yet come, will do you, obviously, no good. So stop it.” She said keeping the same face, which however slowly turned to a softer gaze. She understood his anxiety and pain, for losing the loved ones was no easy thing. Ophelia’s thoughts drifted to a person she had lost very recently and her face fell into a state of sadness and emptiness if only for a moment as she remembered the times she had spent with him before the violent end of his life. She quickly pulled herself together and smiled and encouraging smile at Yoroi, so as to say ‘everything will be alright’. “What you can do, however, is prepare for the situation instead of worrying sick. Come up with a plan, get stronger, protect the ones you love. That’s all you can really do. And whatever is meant to happen, will happen.”

Age : 32 Posts : 1912

Yoroi Kaguya

"Truth be told, I am not sure at all as to what is going on, though I have heard about several incidents with other villages from our side already. I don't exactly know the reason as to why all of this happened, but I do know this. The former Raikage and the Hokage fought one another, realizing that if they wanted to achieve true peace, they both had to atone for their mistakes and paid the ultimate price for it. Because of their sacrifice, there was peace between the two villages, one that lasted quite long. In my seventeen years, I have never seen any hint at war, until now that is" Yoroi explained to Ophelia while breaking his bread into pieces. Slowly, the young man opened up more and more, telling her about his exact age and even telling her what his thoughts were on the war. Not a lot of people actually knew that story about the Kage, especially since he too just learned about it about a month ago. It did leave a lasting impression on him though, showing the amount of dedication those people had for their villages and the well being of it's people. Taking a bite from his bread, he paused for a moment, swallowing it and continuing with his beliefs.

"Not much later, Kirigakure started rising up to power, even blocking our people from getting to certain meetings with the Daimyou of different countries. Like I said, I am not entirely sure as to what is the cause of all this, though to me, it seems like Kirigakure's leaders are hungry for power, which is why they are blocking us out to keep us from reaching our allies. Personally, I feel that past events will push Kumogakure to making an Alliance with Konohagakure, though that is just speculation" Yoroi told Ophelia, still not truly believing that she was not from Kirigakure. She told him that she was from the Nagi Islands, though she had not truly denied his claims either. As such, he did not want to make her believe that he was hostile towards her, simple because there was not a single cell in his brain that wanted to hurt her. It did not matter where she came from, it mattered to him what kind of person she was, and she was the kind of person that was worth protecting. If she had the kind of power to make him come out of his shell so easily, then there was barely anything she couldn't do, just like Kimiko and Viera. Yoroi himself was just a weapon, he was disposable once he had served his purpose, though people like Kimiko and Ophelia had the kind of power that could make people change their minds, and that was the kind of power needed at times like these.

"I know that and I really do try not to let it get to me so much, but there is something I always keep in the back of my head. He who neglects the small things can never achieve great things in turn, which is why i'd rather worry and prepare while I still have the chance to do such a thing. I don't want a war at all, I don't want my family to get hurt, nor do I want to lose my home. Despite the fact that I still don't like it, I have killed several bad people already, people who wanted to further the war so they could reap the spoils by the time everyone is dead". By the time he listened as she told him about how things that were meant to happen should just happen, his mood changed a bit. Being somewhat irritated at first, he could see the sad expression on her face that was there for a second or two. She quickly changed her expression, probably because she did not want Yoroi to read her like a book, though what was seen could not be unseen. Looking at her with a determined look in his eyes, he was set on changing the way she saw things. Changing the way someone thought was never easy, though Yoroi was not going to let someone who possessed the same kind of power as Kimiko believe that there was nothing she could do.

"I do not agree with you there Ophelia. We are human, we do not have to let the things that are supposed to happen just happen like that, it's not that simple. Because the enemy is human like us, we can stop all of this from happening. I may not look like much, but I am Konohagakure's youngest Jounin, trained by Konoha's Sannin, Katsumi Kimiko. The reason as to why I hold on to all the power I can get is because I intend to stop this, to stop innocent people from dying and bringing the heat to those responsible for all of this. By doing nothing, this shitstorm will never pass, that much I can promise you" he said, placing a hand on her shoulder as if telling her that she was not the only one that might have lost someone. Yoroi had lost his parents, people he had never known, but could still see in his dreams. He had lost the one that raised him and the one that picked him up after he was left to fend for himself a second time. Now, Yoroi had Viera and Kimiko, two people that meant the world to him, people he would protect at all costs, even if it had to come at the price of his own life. Now that she knew that she was in the presence of a trained Jounin, maybe she would understand just how strongly he felt about it if he told a foreigner about it.

"I can tell that you are the kind of gentle soul that would rather spend her time helping someone over having to kill. As for myself, I can't help anyone, I can't heal anyone, though I can use my abilities to protect myself and those around me quite well. If it comes down to protecting my family, they can strip the flesh from my bones and I will still keep fighting. That's the kind of resolve that keeps the wrong people from dying. So, what do you say, would you like to come with me to Konoha? I promise that nothing will happen to you, I won't allow anyone to. Besides, my sister is the Sannin of Konoha, she won't let anyone hurt us". Trying one last time to see whether he could make her change her mind about coming with him, he truly hoped that she would go for it. He wanted her to meet Kimiko, to speak to her and see just how much the two had in common. Maybe if he managed to get those two to meet, they could make a real change in the war effort, maybe even stopping it entirely.

Age : 29 Posts : 488

The boy started revealing things that were unknown to the Uzumaki. Never before had she heard about a fight between the Hokage and the Raikage which had lead to their deaths, only to end a war so everyone could live in peace. She didn’t even know their names, that’s how low a rank she was. Information classified and old such as this, which was important in political affairs, never reached the ears of the Genin, or even Chuunin, except for those maybe who were old enough when the happenings occurred. But Ophelia was nothing more than a baby most likely when all this had happened, for she was just like Yoroi, seventeen years old. And that was what disturbed her. He was the same age as she was, and yet he knew all these things. Ophelia reached the conclusion that he at least had to be Jounin ranked in order to know such things and that surprised Ophelia greatly. It wasn’t easy to move through the ranks in Kirigakure; even acquiring the rank of Chuunin was practically a miracle. People didn’t rank up so easily because the bar was much higher than in other villages. Ophelia seemed to slightly underestimate the other villages’ Shinobi training system. She felt that compared to the other great nations, Kirigakure was the most difficult, the cruelest and harshest there was. Its training system was unique and even getting the rank of Genin was a great deal, for you had to kill all your classmates. The young Uzumaki had erased the memories of this cold-blooded event, for she would’ve turned insane if she hadn’t, and that’s why she felt that she hadn’t killed anyone when in reality she had. She just couldn’t remember it. So the female concluded that Yoroi was either a very exceptional Shinobi with unique skills for his age, or that Konoha was giving out ranks freely to create a false state of security among them.

Yoroi continued about Kirigakure, saying that it rose to power while it prevented them from meeting with their allies. Ophelia’s eyes opened in disbelief as her hands wrapped around her coffee. Her red eyes were staring into Yoroi’s green ones, trying to see if he was telling the truth. Ophelia, no matter what she may was, she still was a Kirigakure Shinobi and getting accusations thrown in front of her against her own village was something that angered her and made her dislike the other person. Of course not to a point where she would show it, or even act on that particular feeling, but enough to be careful of what she would say around that person. This was the case with Yoroi, too, now. He was openly accusing Kirigakure’s leaders of being power hungry individuals, and that’s something no one liked hearing about their leaders. After all, the Mizukage was supposedly the strongest Ninja in the village, existing to protect the village and only the village, without longing for any personal gain. Same went for the council. But what Yoroi was saying, came against these very core beliefs of any Shinobi Village’s system and Ophelia felt slightly upset, because when he accused the leaders, it was like he was accusing all of the Shinobi. She knew that this wasn’t true, that Yoroi meant no harm or to judge her or anything like that, but her patriotic feelings were getting in the way. She wasn’t even a blind follower of the Mizukage, no; she hadn’t even met the man. She was a follower of Kirigakure, having in mind only the village’s wellbeing and hearing that the ones leading it weren’t made of the same wood, pained her deeply. For everyone trusted them with their lives; she trusted them without even knowing them and they just betrayed the village for personal achievements? Ophelia couldn’t believe that. However, the more she thought about it the more it made sense to her. Great power corrupts, after all she thought as Yoroi continued saying that Kumogakure would ally with Konohagakure. Her heart hurt for a second. “But, Yoroi.” She said, “An alliance between Kumo and Konoha would definitely lead to a war, because Kirigakure would feel vulnerable. It wouldn’t feel frightened enough of that alliance to step back; no. Kirigakure would feel threatened.” She glanced over at her cup of coffee. It was half full. “And when Kirigakure feels threatened, it starts a war.” She finished her thought having an unwell feeling in her stomach. She knew Kirigakure’s ways. She was one of them. An alliance that great, even now that Kumo was crumbling, was still considered a threat for they’d be two and Kiri would stand alone. Not that that would be a problem really for Kirigakure, for it had capable Shinobi. It would just feel exposed and whenever it felt that way it started preparations for a war. Or any other activities that were undermining the other nations’ affairs. And then it clicked. According to Yoroi’s sayings, Kiri wasn’t allowing Konoha any contact with its allies. That was a form of undermining activity. Maybe Kiri really was preparing for a war right before her eyes and she hadn’t even noticed it. Maybe Kiri new about the treaty. She looked at Yoroi with big eyes. “You, you mean that...Kirigakure could be the one starting the war?”

Yoroi kept on talking about how he didn’t want his family being hurt and that he had killed people so it would stay that way. Ophelia wasn’t really surprised that he had killed; she had thought that he would have, since he was perhaps a Jounin. Ophelia understood Yoroi, she felt the same way about her family. She had never met her real parents but the fishers were her family now. They had raised her and taken care of her the best way they could, never hiding anything from her. Of course not even they knew about the beast inside her and Ophelia wasn’t holding that against them. Nor had she told them; she didn’t want to burden them. She didn’t want to burden anyone with her problems, fears, dreams or anything really about her. That’s why she didn’t talk to Yoroi about herself much, she disliked that. She felt she was imposing herself and her moods on others and that was something she couldn’t stand one bit. It was okay for others to tell her their problems, but whenever they were urging her to do the same with her own problems, she would just say that everything was perfectly fine. And she would succeed. Everyone thought that she was a happy girl with no troubles at all. O, if they only knew.

Suddenly Ophelia’s eyes darted towards Yoroi when he said that he wasn’t agreeing with her. It was quite a thing to say and Ophelia received it as odd, because she believed firmly in what she had told him. But as the seconds flew by, Ophelia understood one thing. Yoroi didn’t get her point. Still she didn’t interrupt him as an eager child to prove him wrong would have done, but she let him finish what he had to say. And then, she spoke. “Oh, but my dear Yoroi,” she said as she glanced over at his hand on her shoulder, “you don’t understand my point. So how to put this correctly...” she trailed off, trying to find the words that would make him see what the purpose of her previous ones were. “I didn’t say ‘do nothing’. I didn’t say ‘accept everything’. I didn’t say ‘don’t try’. I said prepare yourself, get a plan to save the ones you love, even to save the world if you can. But worrying about it to the point you’re having nightmares will only rob you of your sleep, which you’re going to need in case of a war. It makes you sick, Yoroi; it doesn’t drive you forward, it only pulls you back. And whatever happens, happens. That means that, should the war be stopped, then it will be stopped by individuals like you, Kimiko, or me. It doesn’t mean ‘sit around and let everything happen as it should.’ It means, that at the very end of the day, when you’ve given all you have, all of your efforts as well as the efforts of the opposite side, will lead to a result, whatever that result may be. For heaven’s sake, don’t ever stop trying! He who never tries has already lost, my friend, he has already lost...” she said, her voice drowning in her coffee. Ophelia mentally high-fived herself for the fact that she was right about Yoroi. He was a Jounin.

Yoroi continued saying he would protect his family, while Ophelia kept sipping on her coffee. The aroma was dazzling. She made a note to herself to take some coffee with her when she’d leave the Hot Springs. The young boy offered her to take her to Konoha. For a moment, Ophelia looked at him with a grave serious expression, an expression she didn’t use much and was meant to cause an uneasiness in lying individuals. She wasn’t able to spot any uneasiness, mainly because there was none, and put down her coffee which had stayed put in front of her mouth for that moment of staring. She leaned over closer to Yoroi, her hands crossed on the table and looked at him. “I’d love that” she said and smiled. Leaning back she grabbed her hat and put it on while standing up. “Come on” she said, “we got to put on this crème” and waved the green mixture in front of his nose before walking happily away.

[Exit]

Age : 32 Posts : 1912

Yoroi Kaguya

"Indeed, it would lead to a war, though letting things happen as they are now won't stop a war either. Ever since the death of the Raikage, I have received no word of Kumogakure doing really well. As such, I believe that if a thing like war is to happen, they won't be the ones to instigate it, seeing as they would not survive a full on war. It is because of that reason that I don't believe in them trying to do something like starting any wars. Konohagakure has not made any hostile actions because of our past few Kage, members of the Senju clan, believing in the Will of Fire, rather then the waging of war." he said, pausing again to take a breather and get some food into his body. The bread in this place tasted really good as he took one large bite after the other. Despite the large bites he took, Yoroi still tried to remain as calm and follow etiquette just a little bit. He was trying hard not to come across as an animal in Ophelia's eyes, even though he was raised by animals in the forests of the fire country, making him almost more animal than man. While he ate, he took the things Ophelia said and let them soak into his brain.

"You sure know a lot about Kirigakure for someone who claims to be from the Nagi Islands. But yes, you are right about that, they will probably feel threatened, though I don't care about that. The way I see it, they are the only logical instigators of this war, the only ones who really have something to gain from this. Konohagakure has made no steps towards expanding for a very long time, while Kirigakure has been growing very rapidly. Once someone gets a taste of something like power, they will keep trying to get more unless stopped. Konoha and Kumogakure stopped one another, though Kirigakure just keeps growing. That said, my thoughts are with the citizens of Kirigakure, not it's leaders". Yoroi stated blatantly. If she was from Kirigakure, whatever information she had for him would be most welcome, even though she would probably not have any sensitive data if she was in fact a Kiri nin. He hoped that by making these kinds of claims, she would end up believing him, rather then getting upset over such things. She had asked him about it and he was just answering truthfully, that was all that was going on right now.

"Ah, I thought you meant something else at first. Even though I understand what you mean, there is simply nothing I can do to stop my nightmares from coming and going. As long as there are people that I love, dreams and nightmares will always stick with me. When there are people you love, the world has something it can target in order to hurt you. This world is a bitch, there is no way around that, though there are also a lot of good things scattered on this planet that are worth dying for. Family, friends, the kind of people you grow to love over time, the ones you would give your life for on a whim". It was true, Yoroi would not even need to hesitate in order for him to jump in front of a lethal attack if it meant saving his family. When he thought about it, he had the type of body that could actually be used as a human shield if need be, seeing as his bone structure was as dense as steel if not even more. "So if it means braving a couple of nightmares to hold on to those you love, then it's but a small price to pay".

To Yoroi, all of this was so damn important because it could help him preserve his home and his loved ones, not even mentioning all of the innocent lives he could save when the war reached his home. Getting over to the counter one last time, he took several large lumps of bread with him for on the road. Not wanting the people to think of them as some weird couple, he carefully ate some of it as he listened to Ophelia as she gave her final answer and spoke about the wounds that needed their final treatment. "I'd love to have you tag along, we could leave right now for all I care. But you are right, we should probably see to my wounds before leaving, even though they don't hurt anymore" he said, being rather happy about her coming along with him to see Kimiko. Figuring she would want to put on the creme back at either her or his room, he took the lumps of bread with him as he walked towards the hotel with Ophelia. Soon, they would be on their way to Konohagakure.

End of Thread

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