[Hatake Toshizō]

"under the stars". "A man who can't uphold his beliefs is pathetic, dead or alive." SOUL Not very many people had the guts to tell Toshizou he was wrong like she did, and that surprised him more than it angered him, as if was made evident by the arch of a single brow. He was curious as to he her reasoning behind it, for he couldn't see how he was wrong. If all their enemies and those who could potentially grow to become enemies were eliminated from this world, there would be nothing left to put them at risk. The world would finally know peace, protected by the iron fist of those who were willing to go to such lengths to ensure that they could live without fear. It was, of course, quite the contradiction: rule through fear, so people won't have fear of potential enemies, but to him, it made perfect sense, for if you had nothing to hide, you shouldn't fear your ruler, for he would show you the kindness the strong could give to the weak. Akatsuki explained that people could become monsters over time, even inside the village, and that allies could turn on them and he knew that. "I am aware. I've lived through war." he commented, but he didn't interrupt her further. Still, he scoffed at the thought of enemies becoming friends, to him, that was most likely deceit, creating an opportunity to catch them off-guard. No, all enemies needed to die, that was the only way to ensure that wouldn't happen. "You seem to think the world is in shades of gray, but it is not. Everyone is at one side, one way or another. And if I have to burn down the whole world to protect my village and my people, I will without any weight in my heart." he added, even though he felt a little less certain of those words. Would he really burn it all? His mind tricked him, made him think of the few people he held dear in his heart. Maybe her words made a little sense, not entirely, of course, but maybe just a tiny bit. The woman brought up another point, using herself as an example, showing that she might one day help his people, but if they hurt her loved ones she wouldn't hesitate to engage in combat, and asked if that would make her evil, to which he nodded. "We are all humans, we can be good, or we can be evil. This is our choice. Look..." he sighed. "I can understand your point of protecting your loved ones, and if that puts you against my village, you would be my enemy. And although I can agree your intentions would not be vile, you would still have become an evil to my eyes, and I would eliminate you. Moreover, if I thought you posed a threat to my people right now, or a potential threat... Yes, I would draw my blade and feed it your blood, but I am not reckless or imprudent. I would need to be certain in my heart that such a scenario would come to pass. You call it paranoia, I call it readiness, anticipation, prevention." Toshizou paused and sighed. "I care not for the taint my actions bring to my soul, and I know I will be going to hell when I die. But I will leave behind a safer world for my brethren, even if I have to lose my humanity. I'm a shinobi. I'm a living weapon. That's how it is." he added, although there was a hint of sadness in his tone. "You can train a dog with food. You can buy a person with money. But there isn't a man alive that can put down the Will of Fire. Some things will never change. The Will of Fire will never be extinguished" Forest Country -- [Akatsuki] [601 words]

[Akatsuki]

[attr="class","trying"]

[attr="class","we1"]

[attr="class","avatar"]

[attr="class","lost1"]please don't go

[attr="class","rise"]

[attr="class","dying1"]

[attr="class","mouths1"]Akatsuki's expression softened when the man spoke of war and how he'd lived through such horrors. Something, she knew, she could not relate to. While she had seen many terrors throughout her times on the road--knowing fear more often than security, due to the lifestyle and the hardships it brought--but it wasn't the same. She knew that. They each had their own griefs, every lifestyle seemed to provide its own flavor of misery. But, at least he was aware of such hard truths. It was a difficult thing to teach someone who had never seen it first-hand. It was never really the same..
    But the man seemed set in his ways. Akatsuki could not tell him that he was wrong for carrying this burden--it was something that she understood. And if he believed his soul would spend an eternity in hell, she couldn't contest it. She didn't know for certain what his demise would bring, nor where his soul would go--if it went anywhere. And if it was something he had made peace with, she wasn't certain it was her place to try pulling him from that path. There was something about that autonomy--getting to decide how one died, and where one's spirit would lay upon death. It was a right she didn't want to take from anyone. It wasn't fair for anyone to try. At the very least, every person deserved that much.
    "You say the world is black and white, but my experiences bring me to disagree entirely," she said. "I think it is very possible that you view the universe with such a narrowed lens of sight, and that you believe it must be the same for everyone. But every person is so completely and uniquely different. There are countless ways to view the world, and countless ways to exist in it. It's foolish to think that such a vastness could be condensed solely into two categories."
    She wasn't certain that he'd ever believe her, and perhaps she would have to be okay with that. But she was living proof of such. People could change. They could change for the better, they could change for the worse. She wasn't sure where she was, right now, and she held little confidence in her alignment anymore. But she knew at one time, she had been something akin to "wicked". And she knew, too, that her heart had been changed to beat for the less fortunate, and to act with selflessness. Surely, then, she had been a good person. What she was, now, she couldn't say. But she'd changed, as people often seemed to.
    It seemed that this man was a constant--never yielding in his convictions or his world views. And in a way, that was admirable.
    But Akatsuki had seen much of the world, and been given the opportunity to look into more lives than she could properly count. And she could say with confidence that not everyone was the same as he was.
    Maybe he'd be able to see that, too. Perhaps not.

[attr="class","lying1"]✎ Hatake Toshizō , notes here don't make them too long

ulla

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[Hatake Toshizō]

"under the stars". "A man who can't uphold his beliefs is pathetic, dead or alive." CHANGE Ultimately, they saw things through different lens. Toshizou's lens were far more limited in their spectrum than Akatsuki's own, but he understood that. Even back in the Hidden Leaf Village, most people didn't see the world as he did, and that was part of the reason he sought to bring back the Root. His soul was tainted, but that also meant that he had what it took to make hard choices nobody else could, and with that he could do the dirty work, the undesirable work, but the necessary work nonetheless. Her words were soft, they didn't irritate the man like so many others did before, and maybe that was part of the reason he was even willing to listen to her, even though he disagreed with what she was saying. Ultimately, Toshizou shrugged. "I can't deny that people see things differently. I believe I am right, and I'm sure people believe they are right. In the end, it doesn't really matter." he said, cracking a somewhat bittersweet smirk in the corner of his lips. Toshizou took a deep breathe and then looked up to the stars. "Oddly enough, you are not aggravating to me. Usually, people with such beliefs irritate me. I wonder why it's different now... Maybe I am getting softer to a degree." he admitted, thinking back on Iruhi and Tokaku, the two daughters he neglected for most of his life, and now was trying his best to be a part of their lives. They were rubbing on him a bit, he noticed, but he wasn't sure if that was truly a good thing. "At least not yet. I still have many important things to do." he thought to himself. "You can train a dog with food. You can buy a person with money. But there isn't a man alive that can put down the Will of Fire. Some things will never change. The Will of Fire will never be extinguished" Forest Country -- [Akatsuki] [284 words]

[Akatsuki]

[attr="class","trying"]

[attr="class","we1"]

[attr="class","avatar"]

[attr="class","lost1"]please don't go

[attr="class","rise"]

[attr="class","dying1"]

[attr="class","mouths1"]It didn't matter--yet, still, it sounded more like a quick dismissive of an opposing argument than a just belief. And change was difficult, it was scary, and it wasn't something most people were willing to face head-on. Even Akatsuki was guilty of such, so she wouldn't continue to argue with him. He believed what he believed--and that much she couldn't contest. But if she could provide a different perspective, or perhaps plant a seed that there might be a better solution out there, that was all that she could do. She didn't have the ability to sprout a plant in only a moment of time, and everyone was at a different stage in their growth. If they would grow, at all.
    And sometimes, seeds that started off looking similar grew into entirely different plants. And that was okay, too.
    Still, Akatsuki giggled at the man's comment that he had, perhaps, grown softer as he wasn't as aggravated with her as he thought he would be. "It seems to me that you're capable of change, too, then!" She smiled. "But softness is not weakness. I don't believe so, and I hope you recognize that as well." It could be said that she was "soft". In many ways, she probably was. Her sensei said that she had a "bleeding heart", and she was light and bright and other such things in his eyes. But he never called her weak, and she didn't believe, herself, that she was.
    There were others who were stronger than her, perhaps. But strength came in many forms, and she didn't think little of herself just because she expressed her strength in a different way from others.
    And who knows, perhaps one day this man could change and become strong in different ways, too. Perhaps he could find strengths in ways he didn't even know were possible. And so long as he was willing to at least listen--even entertain an idea different to his own, Akatsuki believed it was possible.
    And while she may never get to see that, she could hope for it for others nonetheless.

[attr="class","lying1"]✎ Hatake Toshizō , notes here don't make them too long

ulla

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[Hatake Toshizō]

"under the stars". "A man who can't uphold his beliefs is pathetic, dead or alive." WHY Toshizou sighed and then shook his head when he heard her words. He thought of his daughters, and then his father, who he wasn't able to bid farewell to when the man was ill, and then after he died, all his words directed to him were meaningless. He had made a choice, one to prioritize his work as a shinobi rather than family, and even though he didn't regret it completely, there was a part of him that did, and that was why he reconnected with his daughters after such a long time, and was now fostering that relationship. "Not, it's not necessarily a bad thing, I'm aware of that. As much as I want to be like my blade, I'm still flesh and blood, and as such, I have to admit my own humanity. Nobody can be a perfect weapon, not even a Jinchuuriki." he said, lowering his gaze and looking at the campfire now. But a question was sitting in the back of his head for a while now. Lifting his gaze and looking at her one, visible eye, he asked. "But why do you care? I mean no offense, but... I'm a stranger to you. Why do you find it so important to make me see reflect on such matters? Am I interesting to you?" he wondered, unable to respond even to himself why he was indulging in this conversation, why he was interested in this strange, mysterious woman, and why she didn't trigger the anger so many other people did. "You can train a dog with food. You can buy a person with money. But there isn't a man alive that can put down the Will of Fire. Some things will never change. The Will of Fire will never be extinguished" Forest Country -- [Akatsuki] [255 words]

[Akatsuki]

[attr="class","trying"]

[attr="class","we1"]

[attr="class","avatar"]

[attr="class","lost1"]please don't go

[attr="class","rise"]

[attr="class","dying1"]

[attr="class","mouths1"]Akatsuki nodded with a slight smile, glad that he at least agreed with her on that. So many people who were as set on violence, bloodshed, and victory didn't see things that way. "Kindness", and "softness" of any kind was often seen as a weakness. Human emotions were better left discarded, to many. She didn't agree in the slightest, and was glad that Toshizō was wise enough to have come to a similar conclusion. Though, at the mention of jinchūriki, the woman's expression dropped. "Oh, especially not jinchūriki," she spoke softly, a hand hovering near her mouth as she let out a gasp of concern. "My heart breaks for them. I think they're some of the most..." She wasn't sure what the word was. "Vulnerable?" No, that didn't seem quite right, either. She wasn't sure what the Japanese word was for what she was thinking. It wasn't something of weakness--she knew that the jinchūriki were strong. But when it came to the matter of their humanity, she worried that they were held in the lowest regards. They seemed to be the least protected, and the most endangered. But, because their status as a "weapon", people held no empathy for them.
    Regardless.
    Toshizō glanced down at the makeshift fire of the camp, and he'd notice it had gone out quite some time ago and offered no warmth. In fact, the makeshift camp seemed to have been intended for more than one person to begin with, but looked rather abandoned--save for Akatsuki's presence.
    He asked a question in turn of her--wondering aloud why she cared to even be having this kind of conversation with him. Why did she see it as so important, she needed to expend her energy on it? Was he interesting to her?
    Akatsuki smiled a little. Well, that was one way of putting it, she supposed. "I think everyone is interesting," she explained. True, really. "But, I suppose that with you, I felt... concerned. It was the way you introduced yourself, mostly. It told of something that I think is quite worrying." She lightly hugged her arms as she reflected on it a bit more. "This world is dark. It is full of cruelties, and violence, and hatred, and injustice, and pain. I cannot change that. But I think that in those moments of darkness, it is important not to lose touch with the light, to not lose ourselves just because there is cruelty--and to not be consumed by it. And I believe that those moments of change, of healing, of hope--only come through the connections we make as people. I cannot change every person I meet, but if there's even a chance that I can touch someone's heart, or if I could merely plant a seed of change, then that is something I think is worth doing."

[attr="class","lying1"]✎ Hatake Toshizō , notes here don't make them too long

ulla

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[Hatake Toshizō]

"under the stars". "A man who can't uphold his beliefs is pathetic, dead or alive." LIGHT AND DARKNESS He found it quite amusing that she felt bad for the Jinchuuriki. To a man like him, the concept of a Jinchuuriki was to be the ultimate weapon, the pinnacle of what a Shinobi could dream to become. A perfect Jinchuuriki, who had complete control over the power of their Bijuu had nothing to fear, and they could make the world bow at their feet, so hearing someone felt bad for them was interesting and sparkled his curiosity. But he could understand where she was coming from. A lot of Jinchuuriki ended up being broken children, who oftentimes cursed their own fate. "Such nonsense..." he thought as he once had coveted that power for himself, but he was well-aware his body was not capable of handling such massive chakra. He decided not to say anything, and instead just nodded, focusing on the question he had asked. The woman claimed that everyone was interesting, something he also seriously disagreed. Still, he arched one of his brows when she said she was concerned with him. "Concerned, you say?" he wondered, and she started explaining. She wanted to save people from their own darkness, she wanted to make sure they could change and see the light she coveted, that she could touch their heart. The man smiled, still bittersweet, but then he shook his head. "Not everyone despises the darkness. Some of us embrace it. Just like a tree... People are like different parts of it. Some are like leaves, and they need the light to thrive... Whereas others are like roots, they grow stronger in the darkness. Have you ever considered that?" he asked her. That was the creed of his organization, the Root, the "the unseen ones who support the great tree of Konoha from the depths of the earth". "You can train a dog with food. You can buy a person with money. But there isn't a man alive that can put down the Will of Fire. Some things will never change. The Will of Fire will never be extinguished" Forest Country -- [Akatsuki] [302 words]

[Akatsuki]

[attr="class","trying"]

[attr="class","we1"]

[attr="class","avatar"]

[attr="class","lost1"]please don't go

[attr="class","rise"]

[attr="class","dying1"]

[attr="class","mouths1"]The man went off on his own little speech of the light and darkness, and insisted that there were some who did not find it so undesirable. There was comfort and benefit to such a thing, and in its own way, it could be a healthy lifestyle--albeit a different one. He questioned to her if she'd ever considered such, and the young woman nodded her head.
    She had traveled the entire world, and met more people than she could properly count. Housed and entertained countless ideas, and heard many different stories, and had studied and witnessed several cultures that spread throughout the lands. Of course, it was not her first time hearing the thought, and neither did she disagree with it. She, herself, had come from a place where such a mindset was commonplace.
    While she was different from how she used to be back during those times, it was also true that she was different than how she'd been a year ago. Like the current of a river, she'd moved and changed in time. And while her lens of focus had changed, she could not entirely turn her back on her nature. She could not entirely deny her old ways, or insist that it was wrong--when it came so freely.
    "I understand," she stated. "I am not so different, myself. But all I hope is that for those who are in the darkness, it is because it was the path they chose for themselves--not something forced upon them, or not because they thought there was no other way. That is all I seek to do; enlighten." Whether that meant lifting spirits, reminding them of a different path, or allowing them to continue on their journey with newer conviction in their footsteps. She hoped to bring light to others, but she knew it was not always desired or helpful. Try as she might to leave a positive influence. "But I fear that many only find comfort in the dark because it's all they've ever known, and without having explored something different, I'm unsure how 'true' that choice is."
    But, again, she wasn't one to force people to see things her way. She simply enjoyed having conversations with people--and if she was able to guide them to a place that gave them peace, she was happy to do so. And if she could not provide such comforts, that was okay, too.

[attr="class","lying1"]✎ Hatake Toshizō , notes here don't make them too long

ulla

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[Hatake Toshizō]

"under the stars". "A man who can't uphold his beliefs is pathetic, dead or alive." GAZE Akatsuki seemed to be used to looking at distinct perspectives and perhaps that was part of the reason he was feeling drawn towards her, interested in knowing more about this mysterious woman. The fact that she was beautiful did help on that fact, but Toshizou was well-aware of that side of his, and he was doing his best to keep it at bay. He carefully listened to her words, as she explained her understanding and hope that those who dwell in the dark were doing so of their own volition, and such was the case with Toshizou and most members of Root. They chose to be the ones living in the dark so that people could enjoy the warmth and comfort of the light. "I see." he simply said. She continued on to say that she feared people who coveted the darkness did so because that was all they ever known, hence invalidating that as a conscious choice. "That may be the case with some people, but I wouldn't say that this is the reality for the vast majority of those who choose the path of darkness. The light is not meant for everyone. Without darkness and light, there's no balance in this world." he said, pausing to look at the skies once again. Suddenly, a faint smile appeared on his otherwise stern feature, and his crimson eyes rested upon her eye once more. Toshizou got up and walked towards her, standing a feet or so away from Akatsuki. "This conversation was rather interesting. I thank you for all you shared with me. Your wisdom is more impressive then your beauty." he said, not denying he was attracted to her. "I guess, ultimately... If it’s possible for one person to be hurt by another, then it’s possible for that person to be healed by another." he added. "You can train a dog with food. You can buy a person with money. But there isn't a man alive that can put down the Will of Fire. Some things will never change. The Will of Fire will never be extinguished" Forest Country -- [Akatsuki] [310 words]

[Akatsuki]

[attr="class","trying"]

[attr="class","we1"]

[attr="class","avatar"]

[attr="class","lost1"]please don't go

[attr="class","rise"]

[attr="class","dying1"]

[attr="class","mouths1"]"I certainly hope so," Akatsuki whispered in response. She hoped that what he was saying was true--of how the people who lurked in the darkness only did so because they wanted to, fully aware and conscious of their decision and not because they'd had their hands tied.
    But that had not been her experience.
    She had seen many people who were prescribed fates that only brought them misery. She had seen, many times, where people acted in violent or irrational ways because they were at the end of their rope. She had witnessed, even, those who would rather end their own suffering than continue to live in the darkness that others had thrust upon them. She had easily fallen into that line of thinking, too.
    And her home land had been full of the like--accursed people who were angry and frustrated at the world and everyone around them. Bonded only by their hatred. Some branches had broken off and tried to deny their fates, but continued on an endless path of misery as they forced themselves to hide in a world that was not meant for them. Then, there had been hers--a branch of people who locked themselves away because so long as they were separated from the rest of the world, they were safe. They could be themselves--as hateful, violent, and rash as they were--without consequence. They were allowed to live fully and give in to their nature--
    --But still, it had been miserable.
    Something they could not escape, so they embraced until the violent, bitter end.
    But it wasn't desired. So often, it hadn't been. There was just no other choice for people like them.
    So, Akatsuki wanted to argue with him. But she knew, too, that her perception was only being painted by the jarring, vibrant brush in her own hand, illuminated and highlighted by her own experiences. It was not the same for everyone, and she was grateful that as she'd traversed the world she had learned that the Kyōbō had truly been unique in their... misfortune.
    Thankfully, though, the conversation shifted away from that train of thought as the white-haired man drew near. He briefly thanked her for the conversation they shared--expressing his interest in the matters they'd discussed, and even complimenting her wisdom. Though, the latter half of the praise left the woman quite flustered. Though her cheeks had already been pink from the cold, she turned her head away shyly for a moment as her face reddened. "You flatter me, sir," she said in embarrassment. Though, she'd smile a little at what he said and nodded, turning her gaze back to the man in front of her. "Yes, I would like to hope so."
    If you could be hurt, you could be healed. She wanted to believe that. No matter how painful some injuries were...
    Surely there was always hope that things could change again for the better. Right..?

[attr="class","lying1"]✎ @ulla , notes here don't make them too long

ulla

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