[Yamanaka Tomomi]

A strange crack has formed in the side of Noroi's head. Tomomi is no stranger to patching up his puppets- they get beaten up in battle fairly frequently, after all- but it's still an odd situation. He usually deals with total breaks that mean the puppet needs to be completely rebuilt, or minor fractures that can be closed up easily. This is an uncomfortable in-between and before he starts fiddling around with it, he decides he'd appreciate the insight of another woodworker. 

Luckily, he happens to be tangentially acquainted with one. 

He's never visited Senju Kazuto's house before. If he wanted to, he could probably stake outside for a short while, make little observations about the details of the building and how that information reflects on the man himself, but that really isn't the best way to make friends, so he instead opts approach like a normal person. Well, as normal as one can be with a broken puppet tucked under their arm.

"Good afternoon," he greets, pleasant as ever, when he spots Kazuto at work in his garden. His eyes play over the plants casually. Flowers or food? What does he grow here? That can tell you a lot about a person's priorities. "Sorry to interrupt. I was wondering if I could bother you with a request." 

[Senju Kazuto]

The House was far too large for just a handful of people to live in. Easily it could accommodate a large family, which certainly had being the intention behind the builder of the edifice, undoubtedly a Senju ancestor of his. Through the facade and the walls and the hallways and the rooms you could ascertain the same style that had being part of the much of the village since its inception, all having taken inspiration from the Senju Clan. Silence reigned as all but one of the scant few inhabitants of the manse allocated to the the head of the Senju Clan and his family were out and about doing their business, with no witness but attendants too busy to give much attention as they moved on to their tasks, leaving but the arrange of ancient armors upon their racks, busts of shinobi from past time, vases with plants being the only silent witness to the solitude. But away from the welcoming shade, away from the history and texts upon the shelves, away from the trophies and mementos from ages past and ages to come a man labored on his own garden. A rainbow of petals swaying on the cold breeze, swaying away the scent of spider-lilies, cherry blossoms, orchids and gardenias as his hands slowly plucked weeds that had formed on the base of the stem on a group of flowers. A knee pressed into the soft green carpet of emerald glass as equally green eyes were focused on the task, his mind already thinking of what were the next steps to take care in his chore. Placing the plucked weeds on a basked he heard the voice of a man, familiar to his ears but one that he hadn't exactly had much time to acquaint himself with beyond duty. Kazuto turned, his mind taken away from his task from a brief instance as he looked at the newcomer, hair shining under the son and eyes as clear as pools of water. A part of him began to consider asking him how had he found him here, but he decided not to ask, surely of all people the Hokage's assistant would knew were he lived. "Not to worry Tonomi." The Senju announced as he raised to his feet, a hand pulling the towel about his neck as begin to white away the beads of sweat with the cloth. "How may I help you?"

-tag- Yamanaka Tomomi -words- 414 -notes- --- -music- ---

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Yamanaka Tomomi]

There's a wide assortment of flowers on display here. It shows a delicate care, tending to all the unique needs of those plants. He shouldn't be surprised that Kazuto is so meticulous as to get it done, though. He's the dedicated and serious sort. He allows himself to mentally play with questions about Kazuto's aesthetic sensibilities; is he putting in all this effort out of a sense of pride for the home, or merely as a personal venture? He supposes it could be a little of both. He won't ask about either. 

"A little bird told me you were interested in woodworking," he jokes as he holds up Noroi, the doll's head drooping to one side. He traces his fingers along the crack in its face. "I've run into a strange bit of damage in this puppet. I'm not sure how it happened or how to patch it up. Would you mind taking a look?" The crack formed parallel to the wood grain, so his best guess really is a moisture issue.

"I would owe you a similar favor, of course." He wouldn't expect to take up time like this for free. 

[Senju Kazuto]

"A little bird, huh?" The Senju softly replied and shook his head, holding his own counsel about who might've given away one of his hobbies but decided not to press the question at all. He wasn't exactly secretive with his hobbies and pastimes so if someone had told the Yamanaka he could do little to dissuade them. As the man would hold the puppet he would inspect it, stroking his chin as his eyes looked through the damage that had being wrought upon the craftsmanship of the construct. Holding it in his hands he would take a closer inspection before turning his sight to the man and looking at him after receiving an offer of a favor owned. "No, it's alright. I can take care of this.... Hmmm... Well... Not with my gardening tools." He added. "Follow me, please." Kazuto said as he grabbed the basket filled with the plucked weed and lead the man inside the house, walking through the hallways passing by the old armors that had belonged to his father's father and then his great grandfather and even beyond. Scrolls that had being hung from the walls and tapestry that had ancient battles and moment of legend stitched into silk in red, green, cloth of gold and silver. Old trophies taking from vanquished enemies encased in displays as if they were relics of some form. Opulence seeped in every inch of the manse until they reached a room that seemed more spartan in nature than the rest of the house. The workshop was just that a workshop. Devoid of any decoration as racks of tools and worktables were arranged. Logs of woods were gathered into a corner and the scent of fresh pine, oak, mahogany and timber were present in the air. Saw dust and flakes shaved from the pieces of wood. The center of the room was dominated by a statue carved from a log that slowly seemed to transform into a vague womanly shape, yet much still needed to be worked on it. Placing the puppet on one of the worktables he looked at doll. "I can use some epoxy to fill the cap and then sand it down.... Alternatively I can just make the same part and replace it, although I'm not familiar with all the inner workings so I could do some damage to the puppet." With that he would look at at Tomomi. "So, it is up to you."

-tag- Yamanaka Tomomi -words- 417 -notes- --- -music- ---

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Yamanaka Tomomi]

Walking the halls of this home is almost as good as visiting a museum. He's sure he could spend a great deal of time asking about familial histories... if he didn't already know quite a lot about the Senju. Still, there are probably more familiar stories to be told here. Interesting tales about the sets of armor, old knickknacks, long descriptions of historical battles, generations of familial nostalgia. Stories that Tomomi shouldn't assume Kazuto knows, really. He shouldn't think such depressing thoughts, though. Not when he can admire the architecture. 


The switch from the main building to this room is quite striking. It may be the most telling thing about Kazuto yet. He's surrounded with excess, but, ultimately, he is a practical man. It's almost a comforting sight, in some ways. He looks about the shop, admiring it. His own is much smaller than this, and probably less used in recent times. He should really get back in there instead of getting complacent. 

"The epoxy method may be the best," they agree on. "The mechanisms in there can get rather complicated." Well, not inside Noroi specifically... It's, quite luckily, the most simple of their puppets. "And a puppetmaster should not give away the secrets of their puppetry, even to an ally," he jokes. The information that can accidentally trickle outwards from innocent origins is impressive. Kazuto isn't the blabbing type, but it's still a concern for Tomomi. 

Now that the path to proceed is settled, it would be polite to engage in more casual conversation, wouldn't it? They peer around the room again and their eyes land upon the large centerpiece, the work-in-progress statue, crafted with incredible care. "That piece is already very nice. You have a great sense of form. Might I ask what it is going to be?" Besides the obvious.  

[Senju Kazuto]

"Alright then." Kazuto replied after the man had agreed with, his hands going to one of toolboxes he had upon the work table, pulling from the drawers until he found the epoxy that he used to fix minor flows with his carvings and creations. Pressing the white and grey substance he would begin to methodically mix it, the colors of the substance turning into a pale shade of brown until the mixture was ready. Taking texture tool he would slowly work the epoxy into the crack, gently pushing the mixture so it would fill the gap. Satisfied, he would let the puppet rest, giving sometime for the filling to dry before he could attempt to sand any roughness away. His attention would then be spirited away by the question of his guest. His eyes were laid upon the statue that he had been carving, the surroundings of the carving littered by flakes of wood and wood dust from his carving and sanding. The shape of the statue vaguely familiar, the face starting to show the inkling of kind features that slowly were turning more and more humanlike the more you observed it. The statue was smaller than him, roughly having the same height of his chest. "It is meant as a gift... well... not quite." He said correcting himself as he scratched his chin, trying to find the best word to describe the intention behind the statue. "A reliquary more like it." He said in a quiet tone. "It is meant like a memento for my in-laws." He said as he looked at the female representation of the statue, not looking like anyone that he knew, but more like a representation of peace that would raise suspicions that here could be the ashes or baubles or whatever sort of remain from the members of a clan that had betrayed the village like the Adachi had done, specially when he planned to make the statue hollow after he was done with the main carving. "Never had the chance to meet them, I suppose this makes for a poor gift to my fiancé for our marriage, but at least I can honor her parents in a way."

-tag- Yamanaka Tomomi -words- 375 -notes- --- -music- ---

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Yamanaka Tomomi]

The sculpture is really impressive. He continues to observe it as Kazuto speaks, admiring it. The way the light casts across the form, catching subtle details that slowly rise from the wood. He can imagine, already, what it might look like when it is finished. It is possible the end result will be even more impressive than that, though. There is no doubt at all that Kazuto is a skilled craftsman, not with the delicate slope of the statue's jaw, the impressions of soft and kind eyes being slowly rendered into form, the carefully considered anatomy. How many hours had already gone into the work? Quite a few, Tomomi is sure, and he is also sure there are more to come. 

"A poor gift?" Tomomi asks, turning his attention back to Kazuto. "I would hardly call it that. You've put a great deal of effort into creating it. Nothing shows appreciation like hours of dedicated work," he hums. "And icons representing lost loved ones have a storied history." Maybe that is too clinical of a way to describe it, but it is true. People often wish that lost family could be there for significant events. Allowing their participation through representative imagery is a practice as old as time. And a very kind one. "Do you always downplay your talents?" He asks, in a very mellow form of teasing. 

[Senju Kazuto]

"Pride cometh before the fall." Kazuto murmured almost instantaneously, his eyes would rest then unto the Yamanaka, trying to gauge his approval or denial of his words. These were a sentiment that his mother had installed unto him, that his grandmother agreed upon. Pride and arrogance had wracked much of the clan before, it had poisoned the mind of his two elder brothers in believing that they had been blessed with a divine right to do as they please only because of the name of the clan they were born into. His father had fallen to this curse as well, his powers and abilities reaching great renown but sample every delight that his position could afford him. He had tried so hard to maintain some semblance of rectitude, a compromise of honor in the way he lived. "I rather remain humble about skills and abilities than to bask in praise and adoration and become bitter to it." He would add. It had been the truth about himself since he had accepted who he was destined to become rather than reject himself. He was just as flawed and fallible like any other and he had accepted that. "It is not perfect you see?" He pointed to a small crack in the wooden surface that would need to be filled with epoxy after the . "As nothing should be, there is much to improve and learn. Abilities need to be refined, a single misstep can doom a battle such like a single thread pulled can undo a tapestry or a stroke of a string ruin a sweet melody." He said as he would take a look back to his guest. "Perfection is the death of innovation. Perfection is utter arrogance." Nature was after all, rife with imperfection. He sought to learn and do so calmly, he would be content yes, have some pride but he would be overly critical with his own work, he would keep his goal to improve and refine until he was satisfied that he had reached a peak and then seek something else to work on. "Well, it is what I believe in at least. It's not a absolute truth. You may disagree and you're in your right to do so."

-tag- Yamanaka Tomomi -words- 382 -notes- --- -music- ---

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Yamanaka Tomomi]

"It's certainly an interesting perspective, if a harsh one," Tomomi laughs softly. He's certainly a hard figure to read. Is the laugh placating or does he agree? Neither is particularly evident on his face. There is no doubt he's listening, but one also couldn't be blamed if they assumed he wasn't, just looking from the outside. Such an impassive face is almost spooky otherwise. Tomomi could leave at that, this minimal response that aids the conversation in no way. Let Kazuto make his own decisions about whether he sees the other shinobi as vapid and disagreeable (though Kazuto, he's sure, would use much more polite terms than that). 

He should be more sociable, though. "I don't disagree with you," he decides. "There is always something to be refined. The moment one thinks they've reached the highest of their skill is the moment they need to begin extending their reach once more. And overconfidence in the field leads to mistakes." He made plenty of them in his youth before he got more tactical, learned to anticipate his own flaws. Pride has been the downfall of many shinobi. Socially as well as physically, really. It is easy to lose sight of what's important when you're at the pinnacle of your own world. 

"However, I also believe there is a difference between humbleness and denial of skill," Tomomi says. "One is an understanding that there is always room to grow or that skills vary uniquely between people. The other betrays an lack of confidence in the self." He considers his next words carefully. "When we dismiss our own growth, we cannot fully incorporate it. If you keep your skills as something separate from yourself and deny your ability, you can't fully understand them. And flaws have their own ways of giving rise to something unique, with character... As you said, evolution relies upon an absence of perfection. All that is to say you can accept a compliment without collapsing into hubris," they tease. 

[Senju Kazuto]

"Yeah.... hmmm... I suppose you're right." He added, considering the words that the man would have given him. A part of him he took the words and understood them. He was proud of what he created, proud of what he had crafted with his own hands. But at the same time a part of him still felt that complacency was counterproductive so he was always trying to reach for excellence. "I will take your words in consideration Tomomi-San." He said before taking a look at the puppet that rested on his table. Quietly he would take the puppet in his hands and noticed that the epoxy, noticing that it had hardened, rough yes, but it was ready to be worked and smoothened. "I think this is ready." He said as he began to smooth the piece with a sandpaper, quick and precise movement of his hand, slowly bur surely making the gap even and almost unnoticeable, although he imagined that paint would most likely be the one element to cover the flaw. "Unfortunately I don't have paint to cover the flaw, so you might need to go to another person to see it painted, or paint it yourself." He said as he would inspect the piece and nod in acceptance, finding the repairs satisfactory. "I'd say its a good idea that you check if the piece remains stalwart." He added as he would point the piece that had the crack at some point. He imagined that the epoxy would ensure that the piece was strong, but he also preferred to make sure that the the piece wouldn't fail in the midst of battle. An error in the battlefield could have mean disastrous consequences for the users and he didn't wish the dead of a colleague of the village. "Why don't you give it a try?" Kazuto suggested.

-tag- Yamanaka Tomomi -words- 317 -notes- --- -music- ---

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Yamanaka Tomomi]

He watches Kazuto sand down the epoxy with interest. He should purchase some of his own on his way home. Most of his repairs to his puppets really do involve totally re-crafting components when they break. It might be helpful to have this on the field for quick patches. He isn't too concerned about the aesthetics of the puppet, so he may not even repaint it, but he'll need to think on that. Leaving it bare could reveal a fault in the puppet's construction and an opponent might target it. But it does have a 'creepier' sort of look with the patchwork colors. He'll have to weigh intimidation against risk. 

"Let's see," Tomomi says, letting their chakra strings snake out to connect to the small puppet. They stand it upright. The epoxy holds through that, naturally. "Luckily, this isn't one of my more combat intensive puppets," he admits. Which was probably evident, given it's about knee-height and looks good for little besides maybe aiming for ankles. He gives the limbs a few experimental swings. "I think it should hold well enough for its purpose. I'd ask you to let me test it out, but I doubt either of us would enjoy that very much," he says, contemplative.

Even when a puppet curse is warned about, it's a disorienting and stressful experience! He sincerely doubts someone like Kazuto would want anything to do with it. "I appreciate your assistance with this, though. Saves me several hours of carving a new piece. Not that he minds the process, but he would rather spend time on his current projects than on having to reconstruct Noroi completely.