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

[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.

[abileunaspada]

"Agreed, having food cooked by someone paid to do it well will be nice again," Again she ended up nodding, keeping a slight distance from him but still keeping a watchful eye out for trouble. Even the wildlife could be dangerous...

[problemdaimyo]

He gave a light laugh. "Are you indicating that the meals we've had recently weren't cooked well? How very harsh of you."

The wildlife could be, but for the moment, there seemed to be nothing nearby, save for a snake that quickly zipped through the underbrush a short distance away from them, apparently intent on its own business.

[abileunaspada]

"Field rations are never as good as home-cooked food, you know tha-at," Her voice stuttered just a bit when she saw that, and her body immediately became rigid before she let out a breath that she hadn't been aware that she'd been holding. She was being paranoid, just because it happened once...

But, it didn't stop Adela from rubbing just a little at her previously injured arm. Even if it didn't hurt any more, the memories of that ordeal were still as clear as the scarring under her clothes.

[problemdaimyo]

The stutter in her voice caught his attention more than her stiffened stance, as he hadn't been looking at her at the time. When he did look up at her, however, he frowned in concern. If there were a present danger of some sort, he imagined she would be prepared for some sort of attack, rather than silent.

Some other concern, perhaps? An unhappy memory about cooked food...? "Adela, is everything alright?"

[abileunaspada]

"It's fine. Just... Just a bad memory," She shook her head, sighing and looking around a bit more. No, there wasn't anyone nearby for an ambush, too many animals were around for anything to have disturbed them. She headed back towards the camp in silence then, still unable to stop from rubbing her arm. Damn, it bothered her a lot still, even after almost a year...

[problemdaimyo]

It seemed very unlikely by her reaction that the memory had anything to do with cooked food. Particularly due to the way she rubbed at her arm, as if ridding herself from a phantom or remembered pain. While his expression tightened somewhat in concern, he made no attempt to question her on it further. Perhaps it was fair of him to be called rash and foolish by those who did, but he was not tactless or unable to judge when not to pursue a matter.

He was rather familiar with having memories one would rather not, and elements of a past that were not meant to be shared. Instead of speaking further, he simply followed after her back of the camp in silence as well.