Island Tour Vacation! [Closed]

[problemdaimyo]

Who: Hotohori, Adela, and Yamato
Where: A grand tour of Noodle Island!
When: The last two weeks of September.
What: The daimyo inspects his lands while escorted by two hired shinobi. It's a land whose biggest concern is noodles. Very little could possibly go wrong.

Originally he'd wanted to leave early in the month, and as it turned out there was enough of a delay that it was possible he could have arranged missions with other countries in the interim. Impatient though he was, it felt wrong to do so once he'd already sent one request...and aside from that, he respected the ninja he'd requested before. On a mission where most of their time would be spent simply interacting, it was wise to choose companions whose company he would enjoy.

Thus, he'd postponed traveling the island: the inspection wasn't exactly an urgent matter, after all. And though he'd willingly post-poned it, it didn't mean he wasn't antsy to depart for it once the time finally did come that the (two!) nin arrived.

He arrived at the gates of the Daimyo's Palace before his counselors did, once he got word that the ninja had arrived in the city, and smiled kindly in greeting once he spotted them. "I trust that the trip here was a pleasant one?"

Comments

[problemdaimyo]

Ah--alright, he couldn't help laughing, just a little. A rich, deeper laugh than his usual one. He was nothing more than amused, truly. At times, he wondered exactly what sort of relationship she thought they had--too personal for a moniker, yet too formal to use it without an honorific. If not for her blushing, he wouldn't be sure if she thought he was being too formal or too personal.

...In truth, he still wasn't completely certain. But it was much warmer interaction than her forced stiffness when they'd set out, and therefore it was welcome.

"You drew me aside for the purpose of telling me just that, at great difficulty, isn't it true? I should give nothing less in return."

[abileunaspada]

"It's not just that!" She blurted the words out, no longer making eye contact as she just tried (and failed) to properly regain composure. Right, there was something else -- something odd about what had happened.

"I-If you could use chakra and fight like that, why'd you never use it before? It could've helped a lot sooner."

[problemdaimyo]

His mirth faded gracefully back into a serious demeanor when she shifted subjects. As much as he would likely enjoy pressing the advantage he currently had over the flustered kunoichi, her question piqued his curiosity. Or, at least, his confusion.

"What makes you believe that I can use chakra?" Perhaps it was natural to assume, as most full-fledged ninja (but not all) used chakra...but that was a gap in his training. Regrettably, due to his inability to take formal training, he was not so advanced in skill as to properly harness his chakra...

[abileunaspada]

"When you snapped me out of the genjutsu. You put your hand on my shoulder and funnelled your chakra into me to disrupt it, right?" Less flustered and more scrutinizing, Adela frowned at him to try and figure him out. He couldn't be serious, there was literally no other way he could have snapped her out of it. Not whens he was uninjured.

[problemdaimyo]

"I did no such thing." If he did, it was certainly on accident. He did remember what she meant, but there was no conscious chakra use involved, only...a kinder word for panic, and shaking her in an attempt to prevent either one of them from harming the other. "That wouldn't be possible...as I have no idea how to do that."

He wasn't always forthcoming about the extent of his abilities, but in this case it was better to be clear, as they might yet encounter more danger. If not now, then on a later mission. If she counted on him controlling chakra, they would have very different plans.

[abileunaspada]

"Well, whatever you did, it involved a burst of chakra interrupting the flow of my own. That's how you can dispell a basic genjutsu for someone else. You did that."

She frowned at him, disbelieving as she shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest, "But if you're serious about having no idea... Then you should get someone to teach you how to really use it. Even if you're not planning on using it, you should at least know how."

[problemdaimyo]

What she said did sound vaguely familiar of techniques he'd heard from other shinobi before. Although he was certain he had no idea how to manipulate chakra, he also had no reason to believe she would lie. Therefore...it seemed likely that, perhaps in his desperation, he had accidentally accessed chakra he already had?

Regardless, he offered her a kind smile. "Eventually I intend to. As my teaching can only be piecemeal, however...there are still many things I should perfect before I begin to learn to control chakra."

[abileunaspada]

"That's stupid. You don't have to be perfect at everything else to start learning chakra control."

She sighed, rubbing the back of her head at what she was hearing. Seriously? "If you can use it, you should learn to control it as soon as you learn it and learn everything in moderation. If you wait to perfect something before learning something else if it isn't required to learn that something else... It's just gonna take you until you're an old man to finally start learning chakra control, by that logic."

[problemdaimyo]

He didn't believe that he was simply being modest with his abilities, what would cause him to become an 'old man' before reaching an acceptable level to graduate to chakra...but he wasn't humble enough to make that argument, either. Certainly not if he'd managed to win her respect enough to have her use his proper name.

...It would be something of a shame if her belief that he used chakra was the one and only thing to determine that, however.

Rather than display either thought however, he simply canted his head to the side and offered her a faintly amused smile. "Finding teachers is a difficult order, you know. Unless...you're offering to be my tutor on the subject of chakra?"

He was, of course, teasing. To fluster her.

[abileunaspada]

"What?" That got her staring again, her jaw dropping a bit before she shook her head, "No, I'd be a crappy teacher. You can find someone else in Konoha, just... It can't be me, I'm not that good to teach someone else."

Wait, that just reminded her... "Why'd you want me so badly for this anyway? Hell, you even put it off until after I was out of the hospital... You could've asked for someone else."

[problemdaimyo]

He laughed lightly, good-naturedly. Her response was, of course, as expected. Although he doubted she was so terrible of a teacher as she claimed, she also didn't have the temperament of most teachers he knew. Not that he'd have minded if she'd talked herself into helping him. Familiar faces were the best tutors.

Rather than push that, however, he turned to her other question. It was more important, anyway.

He was silent a moment, determining whether to give her a longer or a shorter answer. Both were legitimate answers. It was simply a matter of whether he wanted to tell the whole truth or not.

"Because..." Ultimately he settled on giving her another soft, warm smile. "I like you."

[abileunaspada]

What!? She felt her face getting red, heated, as he said that. Liked her? No, that couldn't mean -- no she was being stupid there was no way he meant that! No, that just wasn't... Who the hell even would anyway!?

She swallowed thickly then, barely managing to prevent herself from swaying on the spot as she shook her head, "The hell do you have to like me over, there's not a lot to like me over."

[problemdaimyo]

...Was it something he said? She was getting awfully bright for him only saying he liked her. Perhaps it made him cruel to be too amused by it to correct whatever incorrect assumptions she must have made.

He blinked at her question, though. Did she really think her abrasiveness would disguise her true nature so effectively? "You...are honest. You are a genuine and warm girl, and kind enough to humor a man who dreams of things he cannot have. No matter what you may feel on the matter, you've gone out of your way to protect the pride and feelings of someone you know nothing about...and that makes you kind and considerate, as well as warm and genuine." So, again. The smile. "I see nothing not to like."

[abileunaspada]

"... You weren't supposed to see any of that."

She still wasn't looking at him, though she felt more ashamed of herself as she held her arms close to her body in a show of self-comfort that she strongly felt she needed then. Damn, she had just about forgotten about it too...

"It's probably on my part, that I ended up not hiding from you well enough, but your performance says otherwise. Who knows what you could do if you were properly trained, and if you don't try you don't know if you can do it or not. Even if you still have political meetings and all that stuff, you should still have time to try. It's better than the idiots who just sit on their asses and don't know a damn thing about it."

[problemdaimyo]

He gave her a faintly amused smile at her initial comment. He was an enthusiastic man, and he did not accept the impossibility of a self-made shinobi...but he was not delusional, no matter what other daimyo might say of him. Her interventions on his way home from Konoha had been obvious to him because he knew his own limits. Spotting her eventually only meant he knew who to direct his gratitude toward.

"So then...could it be that you're encouraging my deviant behavior after all?" Teasing again, yes. But she left herself open to it. And he was genuinely touched and flattered that she would say such. Often, he was quite certain the encouragement he received from teachers was only for political reasons, or for payment. He didn't believe either of her.

"...I think that you underestimate your qualifications as a teacher."

[abileunaspada]

"Look, I'm not that great with chakra control. I'm still underqualified. I know several other chuunin in the village who'd be better suited for it than me," She shook her head once more, her eye twitching as she tried to ignore the fact that she was getting incredibly red again. Why did he insist on doing that anyway? It wasn't like she was that great, not yet.

"And if you were good in combat for yourself, you wouldn't have to use so much money just to hire ninja to be your guards if it wasn't really needed. If you wanna help people then fine, but learn properly and learn your limits. You can't do everything yourself."

[problemdaimyo]

"The quality of a teacher isn't their ability to perform what they teach, but impart the knowledge they have about the subject." As a daimyo, he knew that quite well. Many exceptionally talented experts might sell their knowledge for the right price, in any field. It was important to be able to separate the ones who could teach their knowledge from the ones who ad no idea how.

Anyway, she simply earned another small, kind smile. "Does Konoha allow your Hokage to travel long distances or engage in dangerous missions on his own?" His ability (or lack of) to fight and defend himself may have been a part of hiring 'escorts' or 'aid' on missions such as this one, but he held no illusions about his counselors allowing him out on his own on any mission they considered 'dangerous' regardless of his skill level.

He would always push them to allow it, of course, but he understood their reasons for fearing for his safety too well to believe they would ever capitulate. As Yamato had said when they first departed. A daimyo (particularly one without any sort of heir) traveling on his own was almost always likely invite trouble. If it didn't, his counselors would still insist that it might, and 'might' was enough to demand escorts.

[abileunaspada]

"... As far as I know, no. The Hokage's too valuable, the council would insist on giving him escorts and for him to not leave the village for long periods of time," She frowned at Hotohori with that, because--

Wait, did he seriously think he could get the Hokage to teach him chakra control?

[problemdaimyo]

...Was she really thinking that? Because that's not what he meant at all. Naturally, he assumed that she must have understood him, though, rather than assume she didn't.

"Then it is unlikely the Land of Noodles will be saving money on shinobi wages any time soon."

[abileunaspada]

"... The same reason, huh?" She frowned a little, thinking it over more. What was she thinking, of course his position would require him to be under guard at all times...

Sigh. Maybe she had him wrong, he was longing for something beyond his station. And to think that was the sort of life she was vying for, if she was honest with herself about it...

[problemdaimyo]

"I imagine it's much the same with any ruler." He nodded calmly, expression impassive. "I ask that you don't tell anyone else this, as it will only encourage them, but...it's not objectionable not to travel alone. This way, even if I cannot live in a village such as yours and make honorable friends such as yourself, as comrades we can still befriend each other."

He smiled warmly at that. "A wonderful strategy, don't you think?"

[abileunaspada]

"... M'personally not so wonderful, but you should do what you want. It's your choice," She scratched her cheek then, not really looking at him anymore because... She didn't know what else to do or say. She had told him what she wanted to, and asked what she wanted, so now it was just kind of... Awkward. Especially with what he'd said.

... Damn. She actually kind of wanted an interruption, or at least to head back...

[problemdaimyo]

"Then I will continue to do so." After all, if he didn't do as he pleased with the choices he was given, how would he bear all of the things he wasn't given a choice on the matter of? It would be a simply unreasonable request.

He allowed silence to lapse for a few moments, before he gave a small nod, and leaned in as if he were somehow being more covert speaking to her in this manner. "...Don't you think if we remain here much longer, our other friend will become suspicious of our intentions?"

[abileunaspada]

"Yeah... Let's go back," Adela nodded in agreement, ignoring the lean (in spite of her cheeks getting pink again, why was he so close) before she turned to walk back. She kept her eyes and ears open to check on Hotohori, but other than that it didn't seem like they'd be ambushed while within sight of their camp. Not after all that had happened and the catches they had made...

[problemdaimyo]

The chances of encountering a second such attack on a mission through the relatively peaceful (and quite small) island of Noodles were vanishingly small. But then, the primary reason for the accompaniment of these shinobi were companionship, not protection, anyway.

He gave a small nod and fell in step beside her as she started back. "The next time we stop will be in a village. We should take advantage of the opportunity to have a proper meal for dinner."

He was making small-talk, in case she was curious.