[hirana kizumi]

FUJIYAMA HIROSHI
ENVOY OF HOTEI

The close relationship between Kumogakure’s ANBU forces and the Shepherds of Hotei necessitated a certain degree of presence within the Hidden Village. While Fujiyama Hiroshi was no shinobi, being less than fond of physical conflict, he was a common sight within the community: he served the civilian population of the Village by and large, often giving his time in aid to the medical corps or to those elderly, retired shinobi who needed additional assistance in their twilight years. His primary purpose was to help those few Conciliators who elected to pursue a shinobi career: his services were gifted to the Academy both to aid in training young shinobi-to-be in the art of fighting against practitioners of religious arts, and more important to help those burgeoning practitioners of religious arts. Many hands made light work, but it took time and effort to learn how to use those hands effectively. Egao Momura was scheduled for an extra block of time after lessons let out for the day to spend working at Hiroshi’s side. Today they were to meet on the ground floor of the hospital, where Hiroshi, clad in an odd arrangement of mismatched draped cloths and a pristine white nurse’s apron, was vigorously washing linens with the help of his Many Hands. He hummed a quiet tune as he worked, using one pair of hands to spread a bedsheet while another scrubbed at a mysterious stain and a third pair hung a freshly-washed gown up to dry.

Egao Momura

LAIKA OF THQ

[Egao Momura]

Helping Hand

@tag

Momura was the type to always put 100% into everything, though that also meant he pretty commonly put too much into things. An endearing fault he was assured, even in things like academics which Momura very commonly flunked at. It turned out that being simple and honest made you really bad at doing shinobi history and tactics classes... even though he commonly used dirt in combat classes where he excelled pretty well with the academy kids there, at least until he was forced to sit through jutsu lessons and couldn't participate. To Momura that was probably the worst part cause they wouldn't even let him clean the classroom while he was bored, really weird.

Today though he was excited because he was headed to help out Uncle Hiroshi in the hospital. Well, not his uncle, but everyone was family in the community to Momura, and other conciliators doubly fell in that spot for him. Rushing around the streets, the young boy chose not to wear his helmet today so that he could absolutely make sure he didn't run into a vender again... last time he has spent like half an hour picking up cabbages and getting berated by an old man. No such issue though as he arrived to the hospital only to see Hiroshi working with hands facing away from him, Momura's awe rather visible on his face as he walked in.

His own single hand showing he was but an initiate in comparison to Hotei's teachings, "Hiroshi-Ojisan! What did you need me to start on!"

- ❤ -

[hirana kizumi]

Hiroshi lifted one of his real hands in greeting to the young Conciliator, a warm smile rising to his lips. "Good afternoon, Momura,” he said, and gestured for the boy to join him in washing. His six Helping Hands all remained steadily busy despite Hiroshi’s momentary distraction—in part to avoid needlessly wasting time, and in part to show Momura that such control over the Hands was indeed possible. "Today we are giving aid to the hospital in need of freshly laundered linens,” Hiroshi said. "This will also be an exercise in control for you, Momura—I seek your assistance in soaping and scrubbing, but for now I want only the aid of your Hand. Keep your own hands firmly clasped behind your back to resist temptation, and draw on Hotei’s gifts to give to the injured and sickly. Is this agreeable to you?” Hiroshi’s own human hands took a basket of dirty washcloths from his side and placed them next to Momura, getting the boy set up at his station with patience and care. "I will help if you need it,” he said gently. "Once you have made some progress, we will make this more challenging.”

Egao Momura

LAIKA OF THQ

[Egao Momura]

Helping Hand

@tag

Momura would nod along as he moved his own hands behind his back. Shuffling his fingers under the sleeves of his sweater on the opposite arm so his hands weren't even visible as he clenched his finger tips around the barest edges of the sleeves to keep them from going past the ends of them as he sat on the ground out of the way, making sure he could see the whole room before getting to work on the washboard. Hiroshi had been kind enough to stabilize it with one of his own hands since the young lad only had half the needed hands for a washboard.

Going over some of the stuff he could from memory in the training book his mentor had given him. Now was definitely not the time to be doing leg training though, this was a hospital after all and it would be disrespectful. Something Momura saw as a grand greed born of pride, he was better then that obviously! Hotei taught his conciliators to never fall to greed and he would not stoop so low - not that the mind of the child realized that sitting on the floor as he was looked equally rude if one had no context to him quietly helping his uncle in faith with chores.

Taking sheets from the hamper Hiroshi had not been hanging what he assumed was the cleaned sheets and clothes from, Momura would begin sorting out what was and wasn't colored first. Whites always came first in the Egao household after all, father would not have him do it any other way after all. Most didn't seem to complain about the sorting either even if it wasn't the exact way others did it. Having a system built on tradition for a simple chore, after all, was a thing to cherish, and the charity to do laundry was the opposite of the wasting rot that was greed.

"Hiroshi-Ojisan is there a reason you think my Sensei has me taking puppetry classes? The class' Sensei told me I wouldn't really get much from it since Hotei doesn't let us use Ninjutsu and I really just don't get which is which. Is the class really helpful or is it useless?" Momura asked abruptly despite concentrating on cleaning the cloth with his rust brown hand. Scrubbing the cloth up and down with methodical strength that was maybe a bit too harsh, but the hand had not the strength to really damage the tool or the cloth.

- ❤ -

[hirana kizumi]

The logic behind Hiroshi’s decision that Momura only use his singular Helping Hand, at least to start, was simple: it allowed the child to focus on only his Hand, without relying on his physical flesh-and-blood hands to make up for what one Hand alone could not do. This would allow Hiroshi to evaluate exactly how well Momura could control his hand when he was allowed to focus on it, and nothing else. He considered the question posed to him. "I am no expert,” Hiroshi said, a necessary caveat, "but to my understanding, puppetry is a taxing art that requires fine-tuned control of one’s chakra and mental focus. Though we do not use the gods’ bounty ourselves, there is still a lesson to be learned in the philosophy of puppetry, and I would imagine that many of your sensei’s theoretical lessons would translate well to the use of our Helping Hands.” Once he was certain that Momura’s control over his hand was sound, Hiroshi nodded. "You may now use one hand to stabilize the washboard. Keep the other behind your back, and maintain your focus appropriately. You’re doing very well.”

Egao Momura

LAIKA OF THQ

[Egao Momura]

Helping Hand

hirana kizumi

How wonderful was it that they could do this for the hospital still despite not being trained as medical staff themselves? Momura didn't have the mind for any of the complex stuff that they handled here, but he had enough to appreciate what they did for the community all the same. Moving only one hand out from behind himself and onto the washboard so it could balance Momura would do as he was instructed.

In a way the boy was kind of mechanical, he obviously was curious and he on more then one occasion had lost focus on tasks like this before and had to be helped with what he was doing. However, Shepherds were simply built this way or so it would seem, the young man's position as a Novitiate of Justice proof enough that he was the ideal sort for the job's contents. Mulling over what he was told in simple terms Momura came to the conclusion that Hiroshi had the right of it with what he was telling the young boy on the matter of puppetry. To take the content's of one's answers to a question to heart was a somewhat childish, but pure trait of Hotei that Momura thought correct as well, so he took the answer at face value.

"So Sensei wishes for me to have perspective from the side of shinobi on the craft... Okay. It would be wrong of me to say I understand, but as long as I am receiving teaching it would be simple greed and uh... folly? Right? Not to listen. Are there other things that you think I should look into more specifically Hiroshi-Ojisan? Hotei's community relies on us relying on each other and I would definitely appreciate any insight of your own on my current education," Momura would state as he continued to clean clothing as he was supposed to. The wording of his speech sounded almost text book, like he had heard an older member say it before and was trying to repeat it from memory and failing a bit. Perhaps he was trying to bite off more then he could chew asking for another opinion though? He had figured it would be a kind way to carry the conversation into Hiroshi's court, whatever that meant.

- ❤ -

[hirana kizumi]

Momura was an interesting boy: he clearly held love for Hotei in spades, but he was simple-minded and pure of heart. He seemed to take many things at face value, accepting Hiroshi’s offering of an explanation exactly for what it was; at the same time, he seemed to dig deep into the trenches of Conciliator philosophy, seeking and snuffing out even the slightest of possibilities that an action may be based in greed. Self-reflection was a necessary tool for any worshiper of Hotei, but young Momura engaged in a very intense version of that self-reflection. "Understanding the shinobi perspective even if it is not something that we follow or believe in is critical to our work as Conciliators—and even more critical to your work as a Shepherd,” Hiroshi said as he continued his work. "Listening to that perspective is wise, yes, and refusing it would be prideful. There is always something of value to learn, even if that learning comes from outside the collective.” He considered the question quietly, thinking back on his own conversations with academy instructors and other residents of Kumogakure, concepts that he had integrated into his own teaching and learning. "It may perhaps be wise to speak to a shinobi who is a specialist in genjutsu,” he said. "As with puppetry, it is my understanding that it requires very delicate control, and some skilled with the field are capable of using multiple techniques at once. There is mental finesse to be found and adopted there.”

Egao Momura

LAIKA OF THQ

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