Takes place some time during the two months of growing distance between Sonyo and Belamos after the kids have left.
Takes place in multiple parts of the OASIS compound.
Posted: Fri Nov 08, 2019 10:31 am
βWolfe Whitehornβ
In an attempt to escape the ever growing distance between her and Belamos, Sonyo had taken a surgery at the OASIS compound. It was a simple surgery, just an appendectomy for a farmer who was too poor to pay for it themselves. He was a kind man, sagely, and positive despite being consistently screwed over by the fact Arashigakure never stayed in the same place. He was excited about no longer being in pain, and Sonyo was excited for him. The surgery had started uneventful, and the calm and quiet if the operating room had been soothing to her.
In till everything went wrong.
First is was malignant hyperthermia; his heart rate started to drop out of no where and the whole surgical team had been confused in till the temperature was checked. They began to close and cool the patient, but then his clotting factor bottomed out. Then his kidneys failed as he became acidotic, and by then Sonyo was flustered, quickly trying to throw stitches in place as the patient began to bleed out. It was all too much, within minutes the man was dead. All the jinchuriki could do was stand there in shock, and even though the rational part of her knew that sometimes everything went wrong in surgery... she cracked.
Her OASIS duties were sacred to her, even through the failures she kept a cool and collected head. But not today, not with the kids leaving, not with Belamos distancing himself from her... Sonyo punched the operating table, hard, splitting skin and breaking bone. She let out a gasp of pain as she immediately recoiled, cradling her injured hand to her chest. With anger burning in her eyes, she told one of the resident doctors to close up for her.
He had no family. No one to claim him. No one to punish her for her stupid mistakes. Sonyo curled up in her office in the surgical wing, mending her hand, her mind spinning. She needed someone, someone who would understand, someone who would calm her. Kagerou was busy in Arashi, she couldnβt go to her and Lohner would only be pained to watch her suffer this and be able to do nothing.
They werenβt who she wanted anyways. Who she needed.
He was here. He spent most of his time here now, for reasons he was never really honest about; she had yet to get a straight answer out of him. She made her way to his domain quickly, cradling her still mending hand close. Outside of Kagerou and Kura, he was the only one who knew who she was inside oasis, which meant once she was in the safety of his building she was able to rip off her head and face veil to reveal tear stained cheeks. Her eyes held a mixture of emotion, her scrubs stained with her own blood from the knuckle injuries. Her hair was tousled, starting to fall out if the intricate mass of braids that decorated her head.
She used her good hand to pound on the door to his workspace, summoning up her voice even as it crackled. βMasa! Masa!!β She knew heβd be able to hear her. He always could. She pounded on the door again, tears welling in her eyes once more. Maybe she could just pass it off as the pain from her hand, but part of her knew better.
With each beat of the women's fist upon the door, it pulsed a soft blue tone and lines of Fuuin spread from the point of impact. To the trained eye they were summoning seals. The sound of a shower could be heard through the door, hastily cut off and fabric pulled over the man's frame as he crossed the threshold to the door. The workshop in OASIS had become his home, despite the offers from neo-Konohagakure for their patronage, his reasons he played to his chest, and a few were indeed selfish. He had wanted to escape this life in the past, to escape his fears and never to witness those he cared for breaking when he could no longer protect them. He still wouldn't admit to himself every reason he returned.
Stood behind the door in a loose pair of white canvas pants, and a similar vest, the ex-Hokage stood chest-to-face with a rather disheveled Sonyo as he pressed the release and the door slid open. His head tilted to one side and his mass of white hair, soaked through and wrapped in a towel atop his head shifted with it and threatened to break free.
Crimson eyes scanned her over and focused for a moment on her cradled hand, though he didn't see her injury just yet.
"Ah, my Desert Rose came for a visit. What's the matter?" He asked as he brushed one of her braids back then motioned her into the living space.
"It's a little spartan, I'm sorry." The Hatake whispered as he whisked her in, his thought to keep her focused off of herself for a moment.
Posted: Fri Nov 08, 2019 12:57 pm
Wolfe Whitehorn
Sonyo stared up at him as he asked her what was wrong, her thoughts swirled trying to grasps exactly what it was... she hadnβt even noticed that he had moved her from the hall to inside the space. Masahiro was still a stunningly gorgeous man, and it took her off guard more than half the time.She started to pace, still cradling her hand. The knuckle inhuries were starting to clot and dry now, and the underlying broken knuckles finally healed. Sonyo shook out the hand, flexing and retracting her fingers to test the mobility. It was painful, swollen, and starting to bruise but her range of motion was intact. She turned the back of her hand to study it for a moment, silent. Her words were nothing but a whisper when she spoke again.
βI botched an appy. I went in to surgery because I was running, it distracted me, and I killed an innocent man...β Her voice wobbled hard at the end of her sentence, her bottom lip trembling. There would be no repercussions for her, other than her guilt. All OASIS surgeries had signed waviers and legal documentation. Pained hazel hues looked up at Masahiro as Sonyo bit her lip to try and halt itβs trembling; she must look so foolish to him, so childish. The thought made her heart hurt, causing more tears to well in her eyes. βI feel like Iβm losing everything again, Masa...β
Losing the kids, losing Belamos, losing her faith, losing her mind... it all felt like sand between her fingers. She had even lost Shukaku, the demon STILL refused to speak to her. Even when she had no one before, she had had the tanuki. Sonyo missed his presence deeply, it felt like she was only half the person she was before. She took in a deep breath, looking up at the ceiling, an act of desperation to try and calm herself. βThe kids left. It feels like any day soon I might wake up to find Belamos has joined them. Iβve dealt with the pain of losing plenty of people Iβve loved but this is different... this is... this is a whole, new, different pain...β
Masahiro eyed Sonyo for the briefest of moments as he silently offered her a wash rag and a wrap of gauze for her hand. He had learned many things about the desert rose since he returned to these lands, the first, to let her speak and have time to come around to conclusions. She had blossomed in the years since he left these lands, and it pained him that he had missed it all. He turned his back to her and walked into the small kitchenette, his shoulders slacked as he retrieved a small teapot from beneath the countertop.
"Still preferable to jasmine?" He asked softly, as he let her continue, his tone additive, not intrusive to her explanation.
He listened, waited, and nodded along with her tale, until she brought up the aspect of it being her fault. Her fear that she caused this all because her family was falling apart from her. A stitch in his side ached, and he suppressed it with all he could muster. An all too familiar pain from a woman so young.
"How many hands were with you on the table? Was no one else able to help, did everyone else just stare? I thought not. You bear a burden that is not yours alone." He chided as he set down a hand made set of wooden plates and fist-sized hand-turned wooden cups into which he poured their tea.
He would address the issue he knew first. The homefront she had been slow to divulge much to him about. He had been relieved to a degree on that regard, but it had awkward moments such as when he learned of her feelings for the boy in the tree, it prompted him to action, only to learn that she had betrothed to a supposed demi-god in Belamos Karna. Both things conflicted him, but neither were his life to live, only to help her with.
"You... You have a luxury. I only got to see one of my children leave the nest. The other three died, and while I do not know the motives of Bela, I do know you gave them your adoration. If anything, all will remember that of you. Everyone has found a serene calm in you when their lives were tempestuous." He murmured behind the lip of his cup, eyes settled upon hers from across the room.
Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2019 7:30 pm
Wolfe Whitehorn
Sonyo sat, sipping at her tea with a now clean and bandaged hand as Masahiro began to undo the mess her mind had become. She didnβt look at him as he talked about the surgery, instead she stared at her own reflection. It took her a stubborn minute, but he was right. There were many hands in that room, and as much as she wanted to blame herself... she truly did do everything she could. Kagerou had told her many times that she blamed and burdened herself with things she didnt need to, that she was too hard on herselfβ a product of her upbringing, of never pleasing her mother. She sighed and took another sip as the silver-haired man continued.
At the mention of his dead children, she flinched. She had completely forgotten about that, and her oversight filled her with guilt. His long, hard, life always seemed to yank her back down to the ground. Sonyoβs eyes flicked up, meeting Masaβs. Inside their hazel hues swirled guilt and pain for his situation, and even further behind was a need to comfort him, to say something. The black-haired woman frowned, softly setting her cup down.
βIβm sorry, Masa... youβre right...β Her eyes turned downwards again as she began to fiddle with her cup. βTheyβre still alive... and Belamos has taught them well.β Sonyo took in a deep breath that shuttered softly; now that she felt like she overreacted, she wanted to get off the topic as soon as she could. So she went and did something sheβd never done before... Gently turning the teacup in her hands she lobbied a question back at the former Hokage.
βWhat were they like, your family? ... I dont think youβve ever told me much about them outside of Ayame... Iβve never really asked either... β Sheepishly, she glanced back up, taking a sip of the tea once more. The heat felt wonderful on her bruised hand. βWhat was your wife like? What kind of person was she? I bet she was wonderful, since she married you.β
Masahiro watched with a knowing eye and nodded as she worked herself through the stages of her internal turmoil. He had not meant to press her with such a hard edge, but when it happened, it was best to just leave it at that, and let her work out the rest. A smile crossed his lips as she spoke of the children and their current well-being. Though soon she turned the questions back onto him, with this question he sighed.
"They..." he stopped, his breath caught in his throat, he hadn't thought of them in depth for years, "they were amazing. Ai and Mitsuko perished with their mother. Tetsuo was murdered, he fell victim to those with an ax to grind against me in my youth."
He tilted his head back his hands wrung the cup of tea around in circles, a tear crested the porcelain face of the man. After a moment he pushed himself forward and shook his head side-to-side.
"Etsuko... She amazed me daily, with the small things she did. Her light touch, her skill with people, and how she could float around unnoticed if she so desired. She could talk anyone into an easier state of mind, she could wrap a room around her fingers, and she knew just when to walk away. Her long dark hair caught the sunlight and kept warmth into the cold nights, enough to warm even my cold soul, when I was a man torn apart by the betrayal and subsequent death of Kein. Her eyes, more green than brown, toyed with the light and shone with her mischevious nature. If she was in a good mood, they'd shine. If she was angered, her eyes would darken to a near brown." He chuckled, every thought of the life lived thirty-five years ago coming back to him clearly.
"I'm sorry. I haven't thought of her in years, it hurts." He said with a soft gasp as he brought the tea to his lips.
It was apparent he had choked back a sob. Etsuko and Sonyo had much more in common now than the Hatake had wanted to admit.
Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2019 3:15 am
Wolfe Whitehorn
He was crying, Masahiro was crying. She had never, ever, seen the Hatake cry. He had always been this huge immovable pillar the entire time she knew him, she had been almost sure he couldnt cry. It was a stupid thought; he was human, a human who suffered much more than she had, with more scars she could never relate to. Sonyo frowned, putting down her cup, and before she knew what she was even doing she was up out of the chair and moving. She was pulled by the urge to calm her oldest friend, to stop his tears. She had come here to ease her sadness, not cause him grief. Never that.
She had hurt almost everyone in her life, she refused to hurt Masa.
Coming to a stop behind the white-haired male, she gently draped her arms over Masahiroβs shoulders. The woman carefully took the teacup from him, placing it back on the table before effortlessly wrapping her arms around him from behind. Sonyoβs chin rested on Masahiroβs left shoulder as she closed her eyes, eyebrows knitting together as if she felt his pain. It took her a few seconds to speak, the wheels turning in her head, trying to capture the proper words.
βIβm...β Sonyo stopped and started again. βShe sounds wonderful. I wish I could have met her, to thank her for loving you.β She took a moment to take a breath. βEven though I didnβt know her, she sounds like the kind of person who would be sad to find that youβre still hurting over her. They donβt want us to mourn...β Sonyoβs eyes slowly opened to slivers, staring at the tea cup in front of them as if it held all the words she wanted to say. Her hands tightened their grip on Masahiroβs vest, her lips setting hard. βIβm sorry I asked you to recall something so painful... If I would have known-β
She stopped herself again, letting out a soft sigh. βIβm sorry. I should have known, itβs painful for me too... talking about him.β She never talked about Nari; some part of her believed if she just let him rest it would stop hurting. It never stopped hurting. But she was in denial, and it worked better than letting him haunt her every waking and sleeping moment. The jinchurikiβs breath faltered for a heartbeat, but she recovered as if nothing happened. βThe pain never fades...β
His eyes remained closed, but his other senses focused on the sounds and scents that swirled around him now. She had set her own drink aside and stood, the fabric of her own clothes betrayed her movements even as Masahiro failed to watch her. The gentle scent of the woman, Lavender and Soap, lingered in the air tainted slightly by the antiseptics and blood of the surgery theatre, and grew stronger with each footfall towards the Hatake. In the scant few seconds that passed and felt an eternity he felt her circle him and envelop him within her arms. As her chin settled upon his shoulder he rolled his head into hers as a heavy sigh trespassed his lips.
"The admonishing plea, Never forget me, is such a condemnation. It forever leaves us stuck in the belief that if we move on, we've disrespected their memory. But if we mourn... We cannot live." Masahiro opened his eyes to look into the features of Sonyo, so reminiscent, he lingered on old, long passed thoughts.
As her hands clutched his vest, he brought his own hand to his chest and placed it atop hers. The look in his eyes matched with a gentle shake of his head and he placed a soft, near fatherly kiss upon her forehead.
"No, the pain never fades. You learn how to live with it, compartmentalize it, and eventually, if you're lucky, and happy enough... You can replace it." The elder sage spoke, his words a hushed tone, offset by the whisper of the winds that pushed through the halls.
"But it helps, to have a voice or two, to keep you grounded."
Posted: Wed Nov 20, 2019 9:16 am
Wolfe Whitehorn
Sonyoβs eyes closed again as she leaned in to the lips pressed to her forehead, a small soft smile spreading on her lips. He was always so gentle with her, so calming. Her eyes fluttered shut as she listened to him, his words soft. They made her think... had she replaced Nari? Sonyo was unsure, but the parallels between Belamos and Nariomi couldnt be ignored. Both were strong men, jinchuriki, respected by the people they protected, far out of her league and... and they both distanced themselves from her.
The months approaching Nariβs death were hard; she had nearly driven herself in to the ground constantly researching ways to stop her late husbandβs osteosarcoma. Nari had a particularly resistant and aggressive form of the cancer, and even when it did respond to treatment it was never long. They had grown apart further, too. Sure, the ninshuu sage had stopped being gone all the time but he had checked out in other ways.
She had never been enough to tether him.
The thought brought a sudden, barely held back flinch. Sonyoβs hands, which were still held in Masahiroβs own began to warm fairly quickly as her heartrate climbed and her mixed chakra nature began to respond to her stress. The female took in a shuttering breath in a vain attempt to calm herself, keeping close to Masahiro has if his presence alone could yank her back down from the thundercloud of her thoughts.
βI dont think Iβm quite there...β She mumbled, trying to keep her calm. βThings were fantastic for a while but... all good things must end, I suppose.β She wanted to rebel against the thought that she couldnβt just stay peaceful and happy forever. Inside her mental plane, shukaku was still slumberingβ but the chains that had gone loose on him, inscribed and strengthened by the chakra of several people all glittering in different colors, began to tighten as the ball of sand began to stir. βHe wants to leave. Belamos. He feels like heβs lost his purpose, like he no longer has anyone to provide for but... but Iβm right there, dammit...β
Was she not worthy of happiness if she didnβt have kids attached to her by the hip?
γtabYOU GAVE ME THE CHANCEtabYOU GAVE ME THE CHANCEtabYOU GAVE ME THE CHANCEtabYOU GAVE ME THE CHANCE time and again, in vain β time and again, in vain β time and again, in vain βtime and again, in vain NOW MY FEELINGS FOR YOUtabββtab EVERY TEARtabββtab EVERY SMILEtabββtab PAID IN FULLtabγ
Maybe sentimentality had set in on Masahiro, he pined for the younger days, when such worries weighed heavy upon his own heart and the deaths of many didn't stain his hands. But he had grown old and he had learned that often a kind man must do terrible things to preserve a kind future for those to come. A notion filled his head, one upon which his heart lingered for the briefest of moments as he dared entertain the spark of mischief it offered. Pretension faded from his eyes and anger had all but left him. In these moments, he was naught but the kind teacher who had taught Sonyo in the Sands, and welcomed her later into the Leaf. Here he listened to her worries and held her to him as to remind her that she was safe, and wanted in this space, unlike those she had previously fled.
Happiness was a rare gift for him, one almost always followed by disaster.
"His children left, he's right, he doesn't have anyone to provide for anymore. Sonyo, you vastly underestimate yourself and your necessity to be taken care of. You've no need to be taken care of, you can build a nation with your own two hands, or burn another to the ground. But that he lost sight of you... That is the shame in all of this. He should have sought the horizon, to building a future, together. There is purpose enough, making your way to a smile." The elder Hatake said with a sigh, as his head adjusted to the side and his eyes looked to those of the young shrine maiden.
As her hands warmed and she clenched the fabric of his vest, he sighed and warmth of his own flooded through the pair of them. First, it passed as katon nature chakra passed through his palms, but then the cool and flowing rush of suiton warmed as it intermingled and their natures washed against one-another. He lifted his hand gently as to make both of their hands rise from his chest, before tapping back down several times, to focus their attentions back down. As he glimmered any sign of success, or her spiraling further, he spoke.
"I've been far from the best friend, nor the best countryman. I left for nigh on twenty years to discover what part of myself these wars had taken from me. I do apologize, for making you deal with that time in solace, and loneliness." He confessed to her as his hand guided hers up to his lips to place a gentle rasp against the back of her knuckles.
ββββββββββ P A S S I V E S ββββββββββββββββββββ
β³
β’ β’ β’ β’ β’
ββββββββββ J U T S U - U S E D ββββββββββββββββββ
β³
β’ β’ β’ β’ β’
Torture Me Softly
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Posted: Sat Nov 23, 2019 10:30 am
Wolfe Whitehorn
Tap, tap, tap; it was like a call to come back down to the ground. Masahiro, like Kagerou, always seemed to know exactly what to do to wake her up from her delusions. That was probably the bonus of having a stable mind, she supposedβ to be able to look at things rationally, to be able to ground others. If only she had that strength. His responses brought a soft chuckle from her. Build or burn a nation, huh?
OASIS wasnt a nation but it was close enough.
Her mouth opened to formulate a response, a small joke at her expense, a smile tugging up the corner of her lips but she was caught off guard. Masaβs apology got her first, then was quickly followed by lips on her knuckles. She immediately flustered, which triggered a slight color change across her nose and cheeks as she fumbled for the words ripped from her. Displays of affection like this werenβt uncommon for the Hatake but they caught her off guard today. Kagerou would have been jealous, and then she probably would have teased her about her embarrassment.
Sonyoβs hazel eyes darted away as she tried to compose herself again, her stuttering slowing as she regained control. βYou have nothing to apologize for, Masa. The living alone in the forest part wasnβt so bad, it was actually really peaceful. Everything else... I... Endured.β Endured was definitely the best word. Despite talking about such a sad time, Sonyoβs face was fairly calm as she focused on the feeling of Masahiroβs chakra natures. In turn, the raging shakuton calmed inside her.
βYou were dearly missed, though. I worried about you, since you were the only one I knew still alive. I worried if you were safe, happy... No news ever reached me, however.β The junchuriki finally turned her gaze back to the older male, a warm smile in her features now. βI had to speculate about all the amazing things you were doing; I had quite a story going, you know. I constantly hoped you were well, since I could do little else. Better than I was, creating a new lifeβ new friends, new family.β
She had worried about him nearly every day; about his well being, about small things like if he liked the food there, and... about bigger things. Had he replaced her? Forgotten about her? Some self deprecating part of her had desperately hoped he had, especially during those rough few years after Suna was gone. And, deep down, some very selfish part of her had wondered if he missed her.
βThat loneliness made me a better person, I think. Made me feel more for people... if thatβs even possible. It made me make this place.β
γtabYOU GAVE ME THE CHANCEtabYOU GAVE ME THE CHANCEtabYOU GAVE ME THE CHANCEtabYOU GAVE ME THE CHANCE time and again, in vain β time and again, in vain β time and again, in vain βtime and again, in vain NOW MY FEELINGS FOR YOUtabββtab EVERY TEARtabββtab EVERY SMILEtabββtab PAID IN FULLtabγ
Masahiro caught Sonyo's brief agape expression and lingered on how adorable she was as she blushed at something so simple as a kiss placed upon her soft hand. His time in foreign courts had marked him, but taught him a value, and certainty, about life. He valued it for its finality and reveled in its uncertainty with each minute he garnered, though he recognized the sadness in which Sonyo was mired. It was the long-winded, ageless pain we all come to malign. It was loneliness, even in the hands of others.
Masahiro murmured softly into the woman's knuckles before he softly chuckled.
"Enduring is... An artform. The forest is a kind host in our worst days." The Hatake recalled, memories rife with the days of life in Konoha's primal forests amid the days of his youth.
"I spent years sequestered in a tower, wherein I learned new control of chakra, of nature. That's how I've come to control all elements now." He said with a smile as he tilted his head back into her shoulder.
"Loneliness reminds us that, in every connection we make, we are not alone, we are not failures. We seek others to show us... That somewhere, we're all human too." His smile faded softly as he thought of the somber years spent in Skyeveil with no real outward connection, just books and the elements of chakra to manipulate.
"But there were those I missed every day of my journey. Yours was a constant face among them." He whispered.
ββββββββββ P A S S I V E S ββββββββββββββββββββ
β³
β’ β’ β’ β’ β’
ββββββββββ J U T S U - U S E D ββββββββββββββββββ
β³
β’ β’ β’ β’ β’
Torture Me Softly
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Posted: Fri Nov 29, 2019 8:15 am
Wolfe Whitehorn
He had been alone, all that time... that thought alone hurt, thinking of Masa alone in a tower somewhere. She could nearly see it in her head too, walls lined with books she could only imagine the contents of, beautiful stone architecture and Masahiro, sitting alone sipping tea surrounded by a pile of those books. It sounded homely, part of her... part if her wished she could have gone with. What would her life be like now if she had ran after the Hatake when she had heard of his departure?
Would she be as destroyed as she was now? Or would it have been harder? Would she have had created more problems for him, carrying a demon from a different culture inside her? How many of those books would she have read, how many more ways to save lives would she have learned? Would it have been easier when Nari died, or would it have destroyed her more knowing she hadnβt been there to help? The questions spun in her head like a wheel that could never stop turning no matter how hard you tried to jam it.
She could still see it though. Living in that tower with him.
Sipping tea, cuddled comfortably in a nook somewhere while he joked with her. No worries other than learning as much as she could, reading as much as she could, learning new and exciting things. Her daydreams were sliced through, however, by his last remark.
βI-It was?β The words tumbled out of her lips before she could stop them, filled with all the confusion and surprise she felt. Sonyoβs eyes stared down at him, slightly widened, searching for any hint that he had been joking, as if she couldnβt come to terms with the fact she might be missed, that he might have missed her. And she really couldnβt, she was almost entirely sure he was joking... but the longer she stared, the more she realized Masahiro wasnβt the kind of man to make jokes like that. Her mouth opened once to say something, but then snapped shut again as she rethought her words a million times in her head. Again her mouth opened, βYou missed me...?
Had she really not been crazy? Had he missed her as much as she had missed him? That couldnβt be true... he had met many amazing people in her life, people she knew as well. She paled in comparison to all of them, they were legends as she was just... her. Just Sonyo. She had nothing great to her name that was actually hersβ all of her power was given, not earned. How could Masahiro, nearly god-like in strength, have missed her out of all people.
She didnt realize how long she had been staring incredulously in to his eyes.
γtabYOU GAVE ME THE CHANCEtabYOU GAVE ME THE CHANCEtabYOU GAVE ME THE CHANCEtabYOU GAVE ME THE CHANCE time and again, in vain β time and again, in vain β time and again, in vain βtime and again, in vain NOW MY FEELINGS FOR YOUtabββtab EVERY TEARtabββtab EVERY SMILEtabββtab PAID IN FULLtabγ
"You find that so incredulous a notion, my dear sweet Desert Rose?" Masahiro asked as he stared back into her soft eyes, a smile passed his lips as his closed and he tilted his head.
"Of all I left behind here, friends, if one could call them that, students, associates, none left so much an impact upon me as the little Suna-kunoichi who brought a practiced hand and medical knowledge into life, and a compassionate heart into battle. That's why it was no shock to me at Tismore Atoll when I found out it was you leading the efforts of OASIS." The man said with a soft press of his forehead into her chin.
He tapped her hands on his chest again to bring her attention back down to the world.
His feet shifted as he uncrossed them and kicked a file open on his table, he sighed as he heard the papers rasp. A reminder of tasks left unfinished while he sought to enjoy a moment's respite and take a warm shower, a clarion call of duty when he'd rather discuss life with Sonyo and catch up on life with the young woman whose inner fortitude he had admired for years.
"A few between here and there have approached me with reverence, others sought me for tasks related to my old position. The new 'Hokage' even asked me to come with her to the Treaty Talks in the knowledge of who I was. But that's what I am to people. A title, not a friend, or a person. You, even when I was Hokage, or serving as Liason Shinobi to Suna, saw me as Masahiro, the rib-kicker." He laughed.
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