A Light in the Dark [Seika]Jan 28, 2024 19:36:08 GMT -5
Shindera Mori
The roots must be destroyed for the rot to die
groupMissing-Nin
age 27 years old
birthday 15 September 996
rank A-Rank
occupation Bandit
Wry laughter came from Mori's chest, an old debate, but one that never seemed to die, "The only certainty I've ever known is that the world is cruel and unfair. To desire to change it, is to wish."
The words lacked malice, and the good-natured smile that accompanied them made the earnestness of the sentiment known, but there were other matters to discuss before they rehashed the cynical views of a clanless bookworm, "Then allow me to prepare you some matcha. Not quite an imperial blend, but one I grew quite partial to about a year ago. I did some bodyguard work for a caravan master, ironic, no? Anyway, I ended up enjoying his selection of teas. The man was a bore but his wife proved an adequate conversation partner, so they still live."
With his tale finished, he allowed silence to settle as he took to brewing the tea. Mori could feel her burning eyes upon him, once again feeling like prey before a predator. It was not a feeling he was familiar with, he had allowed himself to grow complacent in his killing. So few of those who patrolled the roads offered any real threat to him, mayhap his skills were growing rusty, unused. A terrible fate. Even then, he remained sharp enough to know that any sudden movement from him would see a quick response from his old companion. Whether she played at ship's captain or not, he knew that Nakajima Seika could fight with the ferocity of any cornered animal, and fire danced and burned at her smallest thought. He had come to hear her out, he did not intend violence, but he always expected it. Near a decade he had been a fugitive, death was life.
But he continued as if preparing tea for a friend in a small tea house back in Kumogakure, and so too did she continue the conversation. Two killers playing at domesticity. He moved to pour the tea, but acquiesced to her direction and sat before doing so. As he poured the liquid, he listened intently, lips pursing in thought.
He sat in silence, allowing the aromas of the tea to waft into his nostrils as her words filled his ears.
Finally he spoke, "I never thought it could be possible, I had contented myself to a rather quiet existence, studying and surviving. I know you disagree with me on my definition of them as wishes, but I was never afforded the ability to see them as anything but. The name 'Shindera' is that of a peasant priest, not the burning heirs to Yukigakure."
He sipped on his tea, "But I also never thought it would be possible for one woman to take control of a warship, to break the souls of her crew such that they worship her as a goddess. Maybe you were not the optimist, maybe I was merely a pessimist playing at realist."
Mori chuckled, "Maybe that is a debate to which I must finally concede the point. Maybe the world can be changed."
It went unspoken, but it was clear, regardless of any of his other stances, of his nihilistic view of the world and its inhabitants, the desire to believe was there. Mori wanted to believe in Seika's ability to change the very fabric of the world, he wanted to burn down the corruption that had long since taken hold of the roots that blossomed into the villages and nations. More than that, he wanted to burn down the villages itself. He knew, deep down, that she was wielding his hatred for Kumogakure against him, appealing to his emotion, yet, he did not care. He wanted to see the village die, he wanted a world free of Kages.
"Is it not better to die in pursuit of one's dreams than to live without?" He spoke aloud, but the question was rhetorical.
"If it is happening as you say, then the fire rises, and this comes as the ideal opportunity for our dreams of a new world to arise. To sit idly by and allow my own skills to waste away instead of in pursuit of change and justice. That would be a crime, more so than whatever the fools who call themselves lords dare label us with. I would be a fool to not join you," Mori answered, before immediately countering his own point.
"Although, I must admit to some reservations... Your men. I trust your ability, I trust your drive and your fire. But the eyes of your followers are soulless. Do you remember the day that we met? When you burned the corpses of those rebels? I see much the same in your sailors as I did in those men, they follow, but they do not know why. Should the world be destroyed, then the fire of Nisshoku should match the fire of your own convictions... of our convictions." |
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bonobo
has written 23 posts
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