"... For the Clear Path was Lost."
Jun 26, 2016 13:19:40 GMT -7
Post by Aimi Kaguya on Jun 26, 2016 13:19:40 GMT -7
Outside of the Kusakage's keep and into the village of Kusagakure Aimi Kaguya stepped with Amira, the Sunakage, and others in tow. This was strange for him, very strange. Everything in the village now looked eldritch to him now that he more or less owned it all. That wasn't right, of course, he didn't own the individual properties anymore than Amira did, but he was the leader of this village now, it's people, it's shinobi, and for the first time in his twenty two years of living he could walk through it's streets freely - truly without a care in the world. The blood in his hair? The bloody hand print on his chest? No more marks of shame or regret than the bones beneath his skin which he was growing more and more proud of. For the first time since he'd arrived in his early teens he could walk without fear of being mobbed because he was no longer an outsider who lived quietly away from the mob - he was the mob, he was the outside and the inside of the village. Walking barefoot, almost completely naked save for the white robe tied around his waist, as if he owned the place, because he DID own the place, was entirely weird to him.
Away from the keep he lead the small party, hands behind his back and head held up high, the Kusakage hat wore above his brow to signify his position and keep him somewhat cool in the jungle sun. People, who hours before, had looked at him and his bloodied clothing with fear and confusion as he tumbled through the streets like a zombie now looked at him not with fear but concern - perhaps not for him, no, but concern all the same. They saw the hat he wore and knew what it meant and they whispered to one another what tidings this might bring and the word spread like a pestilence among one ragged citizen to the next. Aimi ignored them all, looking instead at the state of the village itself; he knew of the people, after all.
Buildings - dilapidated. Roads - dirt and mud, weeds sprouting up here and there. This was less a village and more a ghetto with ghosts of people in it, or worse yet ghouls parading as men who hid in shadows and waited to pick the pockets of those who were fool enough to think them just another vagabond. This wasn't a village, it was just another extension of the jungle, a place in which humans congregated and could feel safe from the outside world only to eat each other from within. What few buildings weren't in disrepair belonged to the rich, those who hoarded money from the rest and had a monopoly of some kind to go on. His was a poor village in a poor nation inhabited by poor citizens. What more could be expected?
Much, much more.
"Look around you," Aimi said to Amira, holding his left arm up to his side. He spoke as they walked, not stopping and looking nowhere but forward as he spoke. "Look at the village I've inherited. Look at the state of it, of it's people. You saw the state of my genin, now look at the general populace. This village feels more like a den, Amira, and it's a den that I barely lived in for the longest time." He paused here, looking down at the dirt road in front of him a moment before looking back up and continuing. "You know, growing up, I actually spent most of my time just outside of the village walls. To the west there's a small grass plain just beyond grove of woods that's just beyond the village's site, and beyond that is a creek. That's where I spent most of my time growing up. When I was here in the village and not sleeping, I'd be on missions. I once ran a cheating gambler out of here by beating him in a game of strip poker! Another time I helped a father and daughter reunite with one another. I helped train a young and promising youth who taught me something in return... but he's gone now..."
Aimi trailed off into an eerie silence, keeping up the pace and letting Amira take in his words and the scenery. "I'm rambling, I know, but just... just look around you. This is a village that I barely know after living in years of isolation and now I'm supposed to be in charge of it. I'm supposed to make it better, but where do I begin? What do I do to clean up all of this... mess?" The concern in Aimi's voice was quite palpable. It was almost a shade of doubt. Here, Aimi's voice grew hard and cold as stone.
"Yet, here we are, starting in a way that has nothing to do with my village directly. An alliance, formed in the face of another alliance that neither of us know much of anything about - this, Alliance of Summer. So tell me, Amira, Lady Sunakage - what would you do to improve this village? Or if you prefer, how would you help me should this alliance stand firm?" he asked her, not necessarily calling in the validity of her want for a truce and alliance, but more asking just what she would do to help him with the monumental task before him without directly saying so.
Away from the keep he lead the small party, hands behind his back and head held up high, the Kusakage hat wore above his brow to signify his position and keep him somewhat cool in the jungle sun. People, who hours before, had looked at him and his bloodied clothing with fear and confusion as he tumbled through the streets like a zombie now looked at him not with fear but concern - perhaps not for him, no, but concern all the same. They saw the hat he wore and knew what it meant and they whispered to one another what tidings this might bring and the word spread like a pestilence among one ragged citizen to the next. Aimi ignored them all, looking instead at the state of the village itself; he knew of the people, after all.
Buildings - dilapidated. Roads - dirt and mud, weeds sprouting up here and there. This was less a village and more a ghetto with ghosts of people in it, or worse yet ghouls parading as men who hid in shadows and waited to pick the pockets of those who were fool enough to think them just another vagabond. This wasn't a village, it was just another extension of the jungle, a place in which humans congregated and could feel safe from the outside world only to eat each other from within. What few buildings weren't in disrepair belonged to the rich, those who hoarded money from the rest and had a monopoly of some kind to go on. His was a poor village in a poor nation inhabited by poor citizens. What more could be expected?
Much, much more.
"Look around you," Aimi said to Amira, holding his left arm up to his side. He spoke as they walked, not stopping and looking nowhere but forward as he spoke. "Look at the village I've inherited. Look at the state of it, of it's people. You saw the state of my genin, now look at the general populace. This village feels more like a den, Amira, and it's a den that I barely lived in for the longest time." He paused here, looking down at the dirt road in front of him a moment before looking back up and continuing. "You know, growing up, I actually spent most of my time just outside of the village walls. To the west there's a small grass plain just beyond grove of woods that's just beyond the village's site, and beyond that is a creek. That's where I spent most of my time growing up. When I was here in the village and not sleeping, I'd be on missions. I once ran a cheating gambler out of here by beating him in a game of strip poker! Another time I helped a father and daughter reunite with one another. I helped train a young and promising youth who taught me something in return... but he's gone now..."
Aimi trailed off into an eerie silence, keeping up the pace and letting Amira take in his words and the scenery. "I'm rambling, I know, but just... just look around you. This is a village that I barely know after living in years of isolation and now I'm supposed to be in charge of it. I'm supposed to make it better, but where do I begin? What do I do to clean up all of this... mess?" The concern in Aimi's voice was quite palpable. It was almost a shade of doubt. Here, Aimi's voice grew hard and cold as stone.
"Yet, here we are, starting in a way that has nothing to do with my village directly. An alliance, formed in the face of another alliance that neither of us know much of anything about - this, Alliance of Summer. So tell me, Amira, Lady Sunakage - what would you do to improve this village? Or if you prefer, how would you help me should this alliance stand firm?" he asked her, not necessarily calling in the validity of her want for a truce and alliance, but more asking just what she would do to help him with the monumental task before him without directly saying so.
