"Maybe all the recent problems haven't given me faith in anyone I haven't worked with extensively, have you considered that? It's not just you." He stared at the box, taking one and just smoothing it out in his fingers. "Especially not you. And don't say I never gave you reasons when I was a kid when you never tried to get any. You just let it go. That wasn't just my fault."

He looked back to him. "As for the war thing. How many people do you even think know it's as close as it is? Not that many. Not that many at all though I've been trying to make sure people are ready if it hits. The peace I helped build, and can we please remember that sensei wasn't the one going out on most of the political runs before he stepped down, is not as stable as people think it is, and you came in here telling me how it ought to be, and what I should let you do, at the expense of someone else. What exactly did you want me to think?"

He never raised his voice as he spoke, not once, and he finally closed his eyes on a soft sigh, pressing the tissue against his eyes and shaking his head. "Rice isn't our biggest concern in any case. It's mysterious, yes, but they're not doing anything. Our attention is needed elsewhere."