Tuujaimaa

Naruto: Of Compassion and Tyranny

Hyakune su Jikankizami, Ra

"Perhaps tonight I will speak of my sister, Kagami. I'm sure it is a story that you have been longing to hear, sweet thing." Ra replied, allowing the musical timbre of happiness to ring out with her voice as her lips curved upwards into a smile. After a brief second of holding the look, she turned to the devout worshipper of chaos before her and let out another laugh - but the musical timbre was gone, replaced with a malevolent resonance that was sure to mean one of many things for Izari - none of which could be called 'good' or 'pleasant'. Her stance did not change, nor did the air of authority that she emanated, but the mood shifted almost imperceptibly in the room - but Izari did not seem the type to notice such things with any frequency.

"Your god does not exist, sweet thing... And you know the Empress' rules on the imposition of one's religious beliefs on another, do you not? I recommend that you hold your tongue before she has Yakoul rip it out through your teeth... Or worse, has me remove all memory of your false idol from your empty little head." Came the reply, the tone similar to her more musical, happy side but echoing with the smug tones of authority that she was all too happy to abuse in the correct times and places. Whether or not Izari fully understood the depth of the threat was largely irrelevant, for Shoko would punish him gravely enough when Ra reported back the activities of the evening. It was not her place to carry out punishments in the Empress' name unless it was deemed necessary - perhaps Ra's lack of desire to impose upon Shoko's will (and subsequent lack of doing so) were among the factors that had earned her the esteem that she'd accrued. Advice was only a single service that she offered to Shoko - her network of spies stretched far across the lands also, and in times of need she had acted as a confidante. While most would be hesitant to place their trust in a woman like Ra, for charm did not earn trust, Shoko had a way of knowing about a person - and it was clear that her vision was one that the self-proclaimed Genjutsu Mistress avidly shared.

"I must return to Shoko, sweet Remi - she has requested my presence by her side for the trip to Sunagakure. When we arrive, I will tell you of Kagami and give you another book to read. Perhaps you would like to read the Jikankizami's treatise on the applications of shortening the length of telomeres for the purposes of genetic modification and reduced senescence? I know that the genetic aspect of the breeding process has always struck your fancy?" she added, turning away from both her and Izari as she begun walking towards the door - slowly enough for Remi to reply, but quickly enough that Izari would have to take action quickly if he wished to say or do anything else before she left.

Windspeaker Touho

The Windspeaker had taken it upon herself to guard the civilians of the village while the majoity of the fighting had occurred - carrying them to safety on the winds and repelling the Imperial forces as were necessary in order to ensure that every soul who needed to be protected from the battle and any collateral damage that might have occurred as a result got to the designated position. She had guarded them throughout the course of the battle, helping to keep their spirits high while their village was liberated. In truth, the fate of Konohagakure was hardly her first priority - it was, of course, fantastic that the village had been freed form the shackles that sought to oppress it, but it was the defeat of the Empire that had truly made Touho's heart sing with joy. Every loss they suffered was a death that she would mourn, but it was a step closer to a better world - and those deaths would be a small price to pay for what the Empire's defeat meant to her.

After the battle had finished, she did not bother to join in the festivities that were surely going to take place. Despite the victory they'd achieved, the death of even a single person was a tragedy that she would mourn in her own time - each life extinguished was a spark of the divine returned to the heavens, and each spark that returned to the heavens made the world a dimmer place to live in. Windspeaker Touho was placed in an awkard position when it came to war - she was willing (and capable at doing so) to fight for what she believed was right, but each death - regardless of which side of the battle it occurred on - was not something to be taken lightly. It was not something that one could simply forget about, or sweep under the rug. It was tragic, and too few people saw death with a fascination or glee. It was not an attitude that Touho hoped to promote to anybody.

Rather than walk to her destination, the Windspeaker lifted herself off of the ground with a surprising grace for so melancholic a figure and soared off towards the newly rebuilt house of her friends Suishou and Shadan. The pair were a remarkable couple who shared her passion for the cause, but loathing of the methods needed to reach it. Shadan in particular did not enjoy death unlike many of the combatants of the Rebellion, and for this reason the pair got along quite well. That was not to say that she did not get along well with Suishou, however - the two shared a maternal instinct that few could understand.

It did not take long for the priestess to arrive at the domicile of her friends and touch down lightly at the entrance to their home, gingerly knocking at the door. She knew that the house had only been rebuilt very recently and she wanted to avoid knocking too loudly for the fear that she might knock the door over, as ridiculous a notion as that was.

Naruto: Of Compassion and Tyranny

Hyakune su Jikankizami, Ra

"Interesting, that you would speak such heresies in front of me, Izari... Do you not fear reprisal?" Ra's voice called out, the sense of easy authority she typically gave off wavering and shattering in an instant as her footsteps loudly padded along the ground, heading directly towards Izari. With the sense of calmness gone, Ra's presence was more intimidating, darker, like the tentacle user's so-called evil side, and unlike before it was not something that could be easily ignored without repercussions. Each step forwards towards Izari made the her seem more dominating and less pleasantly aloof, and by the time she had reached halfway towards his location she would have come across as legitimately terrifying to any of the Empire's footsoldiers. Izari was, naturally, possessed of a tougher psyche than the footsoldiers, but there was a chance that even he would tremble before her. If not, she could easily discipline him.

"I would appreciate it if you kept your... More subjective pieces of information to yourself. Remi is a seeker of knowledge, of experience, and you should not taint her perception by stating opinions as truth." She spoke, the tone darker than before but still laced with the quintessential sultry undertones that her voice naturally seemed to possess - she was clearly not angry or even considering a serious course of disciplinary action, but her requests were only thinly veiled as such - it was quite clear that these little favours were orders, and that there would be various consequences should they be disobeyed.

"Remi, sweet thing, is there anything I can do for you? The battle must have been tiring for your Mother - would you like me to tell you a story? I have one in mind that I have not told for a very long time, and your ears are certainly worthy to hear it, should it interest you?" Ra offered, tilting her head ever-so-slightly towards Remi as she did so. The smile on her face was warm, inviting - genuine, even - and her posture seemed to remain in the position of radiating an easy authority, even when she had just berated a member of the Empire for his misgivings. Remi perhaps could not understand the finer details, but Ra knew that she saw things and learned from them. It was hardly a mystery to her how the autistic savant's mind worked - but she had glimpsed the insides of a great many minds. Others were not so lucky.

Naruto: Of Compassion and Tyranny

Ignoring the Empress' advisor is a baaaad idea.

Naruto: Of Compassion and Tyranny

#NeighboursWithUnprotectedRouters

Naruto: Of Compassion and Tyranny

Hyakune su Jikankizami, Ra

As Namine's body fell to the ground, unconscious, Ra's form briefly moved through the air to catch her and prevent her from hitting the ground. Though she was by far from the strongest person in the world, her agility was quite good, and her strength was more than passable enough to carry Namine's unconscious frame with little effort. No words of surprise were emitted, nor were did any sounds emanate from Ra but those that were the result of her actions - none were needed. It was not the first time that an intense situation had arisen and Namine had found herself less able to cope than she normally was - and while it would have come as a shock to most, Ra had already long-since thought of a variety of scenarios in which this very event happened and had prepared from them long in advance. It was something that she had found a particular knack for - expecting the unexpected, even in the most dire of times, and it was a skill that had proven itself useful a great many times.

With strides that could look practiced to an onlooker, Ra carried the unconscious Namine through the halls of the castle, twisting and turning unpredictably in a series of routes very few of its inhabitants knew about. It was both quicker and safer to travel the unseen paths, for prying eyes lurked in every nook and around every corner, and the fewer prying eyes that caught glimpses of the Empress' advisor, the better - regardless of affiliation, anybody who knew what Ra was doing inadvertedly held information that was of great value to Ra, and attributing any form of value to anyone other than Shoko herself, if she could help it, was typically a prudent course of action. It did not take long before Ra surreptitiously slipped Namine into the care of those in the infirmary before slinking off into the shadows again.

There were some people who Ra could not hide from without the assistance of jutsu or specific items - and in this case, that being was Yakoul. It did not give the advisor any comfort to know that Yakoul would sense her approach long before she actually arrived, but it was hardly a pressing issue. It was not like she was without power over the creature, and it was not likely that it would give anything particularly important away. Without prior preparation, she would have to simply allow Yakoul to take whatever actions it so chose. Thankfully, while crass, Yakoul's actions were typically predictable due to its lack of advanced cerebral processes.

"My my, Nikuya... Giving alcohol to Yakoul is certainly a brave course of action." The sultry voice of Ra would echo around the corner and through the doorway as she followed shortly thereafter, placing herself in the doorframe with a smirk on her face. Her posture gave off a feeling of authority - smooth, but sensual, as if wrapped in the embrace of silk. Gentle, but demanding, and utterly infallible - the art of the presence was one that her more combat-inclined comrades had little time to perfect, but she had all of that time to study and grow in the arts that they could not. It would perhaps have been better for her to fight, but if the Empire was to succeed in its goal, her talents would become necessary in the future - perhaps moreso than those of the combatants. Only time could tell.

"I would tell Yakoul to stop teasing you, sweet thing, but I do find myself in the precarious position of having an interest in the topics it is warbling about..." She nodded towards Izari, letting out a small laugh, almost musical, and as dripping with the carnal tones of sensuality as the rest of her - she had often found that the men (and often the women also) had found her quite captivating, easy to listen to and obey, but there were those in the castle whose interests were more primal than anything related to lust or admiration. Izari had not firmly placed himself in any such category, but the situation unfolding before those in the room would soon tell exactly what camp he played for, so to speak.

Naruto: Of Compassion and Tyranny

Pandora's box isn't so bad. I heard it has some lovely cushions to sit on.

Also, I get proper internet tomorrow. I can start posting again then! Woooo.

Naruto: Of Compassion and Tyranny

I'll post for you, Ruro, when I'm back from work. Been moving house and stuff recently so my ability to post has been a little hindered. xD

Naruto: Of Compassion and Tyranny

I am indeed moving. Thanks Paul.

I have mobile internet on my phone, but I can't do much with it.

Naruto: Of Compassion and Tyranny

The answer given was much like the woman who gave it, in many ways - gentle, but backed by a fierce compassion that bordered on the obsessive. There were few things in the world as cheap as words, and there were people who would have tried to lie through their teeth when posed with the daunting request to make a case for an entire faction's ideals - but from even the few moments that she had spent stood there, listening intently, Kinuko was fairly sure that Kaede could make that request as accurately as possible bar none. Her points were heartfelt, and if nothing else this proved that Kaede was indeed a genuinely caring person, but emotions did not factor into the fate of the world.

Kaede had made an error, however, in assuming that Kinuko thought herself able to change the fate of the world alone. Kinuko's sense of perspective had changed her thought process and use of language considerably more than she had assumed it would - somewhat ironically - and her mannerisms often came across as arrogant to the uninitiated in those regards. Even behind the cool neutrality, people would always think of Kinuko's words as those that felt as if they belonged to a higher power, and with no god in sight Kinuko became that higher power. It was far from the truth, but in the interest of balance it was not something that she often discussed with people. Katsu, too, had made an error - though his was significantly more grievous than his superior's. Kinuko stood for, above all else, balance. There were times and places where certain actions were meant to happen in order to ensure the continuity of the world, and appropriate death was one of them. Katsu's death was not supposed to occur at that time, and so it was not his time. When his time came, Kinuko would certainly be among the first to remind him of that fact - either as an ally, or as an enemy.

"This world has undergone much, Rebels of Konohagakure. For each era in history, the people have fought for the freedom that they believe they deserve at the cost of all else, and with their combined efforts over countless eons they have won. Perhaps this eventual victory is as integral to the cycle that governs this world as the wars that rise to oppress the freedom that you crave. I would have liked to think that this world was ready to lay down its arms... And perhaps, in your hearts, some of you are. But not now, and not under the whims of the Empress. I will fight for your freedom... And I hope you understand what a miracle it is, to be free from oppression and famine and war, and that you treat your brethren with more humility and respect that a war like this never need arise again."

The speech could have been heard by one, a thousand, or none - but the declaration had been made, and nothing else beyond that point mattered. It seemed that the world was not yet ready to unilaterally usher in an age of peace under such violent means - the spirit of independence was strong within them, and while the Empress' vision was something Kinuko could understand, a vision meant nothing if the people were not willing to back it. One unit, no matter how powerful, no matter how significant, could never rule over an entire world that did not want them to rule. Perhaps Kinuko had underestimated the tenacity of the human spirit.

Kinuko would not, however, intefere with the battle with Kenta - it was clear to her that his last wish was to teach his former allies the most important lesson of all: Sacrifice was a necessity, and that no sacrifice should ever be taken in vain. It was a lesson the children would find hard to stomach, of that she had no doubt, but it was a lesson they all needed to learn. War was not glorious, and it was not honourable or desirable. War was the end of all things peaceful and beautiful, and it should have been treated with disdain from its very conception. When one learned to find the death of innocent people abhorrent, war became a difficult prospect indeed.

Naruto: Of Compassion and Tyranny

The reaction to Kinuko's approach was not entirely unexpected - after all, she did have a headband from a deceased member of Konoha in her hand. It was hardly proof of anything on its own, but when dealing with unknowns suspicions too easily became facts in their believer's minds, and when they had decided on their opinion as fact it was hard to get them to change. Kinuko gingerly took the headband and placed it on the ground, before taking a step back and raising both of her empty palms in a sign universally attributed to being peaceful.

"Your war threatens to consume the world with its fury, members of Konohagakure. There are many who have simply hidden their intentions, or who have neglected to actively choose a side, but the luxury of being undecided is one the world and its inhabitants can no longer afford. I have come here to decide on the fate that should befall this world, to preserve the delicate balance that the Empire, the Rebels, and this war threaten to disrupt. Make a case for your side, and I shall listen. After that, it will be time to decide, for better or for worse." Kinuko replied to Kaede, ensuring that her tone was completely even and her elocution was perfect - her words were easy to understand, but did not carry any tones or inflections that could possibly have been used to decide a purpose. The voice could have been mechanical for its lack of expression - but there was an urgency to it that no machine could have replicated. There was purpose, though what that purpose was could not possibly have been deciphered.

"I will ensure that the rebel this headband belongs to gets a proper burial. I took it from their corpse to identify their cause of death, and apologise for any disrespect." Kinuko stated as an afterthought, keeping her pose, face, and voice neutral as she did so. Perhaps Kaede, one versed in the delicate art of compassion, might take a different meaning from the words that she spoke than her peers took. Perhaps the young Hyuuga that seemed to wish to throw his life away from her would take a different meaning from it still. If Kinuko wanted to kill any of the people spread out in front of her, it was something that she was capable of doing - but the actions of the group in front of her seemed to think otherwise. That was a good thing - their apparent underestimation of her abilities would give her an edge if the Rebels' case failed to impress her.

While waiting for an answer from Kaede, Kinuko made sure to keep unbroken eye contact with her. Her periphery still delivered a wealth of information to her, and she could use the Tenchi to avoid any other unpleasant situations, but it was important for her to judge Kaede and vice versa - and eye contact was among the most effective ways to get a correct sense of judgment. The beenfits of the exchange of eye contact would be fairly one-sided, however, as Kinuko's eyes betrayed nothing but the sense of balance that she stood for - still, she knew nothing about Kaede. It was just as likely that she came across some grand revelation as Kinuko did. At this point, all there was to do was wait for the reply to come - for better or for worse.