Chapter 26

Sunagakure
Ryoma, Jonin

“Do you want some pocky?” The voice of Toyoko came out in a stilted, slightly unsure manner. Ryoma looked up from his current activity, applying a terrifying amount of heat and weld-material to steel. He reached up, pushing his newest ‘puppet’ off his face and looked at her with his actual eyes.

The ‘puppet’ was something he threw together for this purpose. It had the general appearance of a helmet, mostly because it was a helmet. Part of the new puppetarmor he was putting together. A rounded combination of padding and metal plates with a sort of ‘crown’ or ‘blindfold’ that segmented to allow a visor-section to push back independently of the rest. Upon the ‘crown-blindfold’ was a series of puppet-eyes.

It was basically just a normal full-enclosure helmet that was ringed in false eyes, allowing him to see all around without compromising its ability to protect his face, provided he had a chakra string to link to it. Currently he was operating it with a pinky, welding the massive metal skeleton-segments of his planned puppetmech together like he was British.

The flaw he hadn’t initially accounted for was how hard it was to breath with his face fully enclosed. He’d need to install some kind of rebreather or filter into the lower half of the visor. Maybe simplify the design by putting ‘ears’ on ball joints and mounting eyes at the tips, the same omnidirectionality and the ability to peek around corners. It would look a bit silly, but if it worked then it was worth it.

All of this to say- he was sweating and breathing a bit hard as he pulled the visor back. “Pocky?” He asked with a bland curiosity, eyes squinting from the sudden light. Another thing he hadn’t accounted for.

Toyoko, his one and only tiny observer, was currently glaring at him from her supervisorial throne. She coughed into her gloved hand, glancing away and speaking again. “Pocky. I have been led to understand it is quite popular at the moment. It is only polite to offer a share.” With that she shook the little red box in her other hand, displaying rows of the chocolate-covered candy sticks inside.

He raised his brows, reaching a hand up to turn the scary arc-welder off and gently setting it down. In front of him was a large ‘cage’ in a state of partial assembly. Steel ordered from the Logistics Division, bolted together, and in the process of being welded as a finisher. The shape was somewhat boxy, with an interior that curved a bit like elbow pasta. The intent was for the pilot to slip in through the back and settle down into the chair. A space behind the head for the central chakra storage and a ‘console’ region for the planned battery-powered radio communicator and speaker system.

He briefly debated telling her that he didn’t really like sweets, but decided against it. If she wanted to be nice and share her snacks, he could be nice and graciously accept. Ryoma shrugged, reaching up to pull the puppet-helm off completely and setting it down. “Sure- I’ll steal some pocky if you’re offering.”

He walked over, reaching down into a cooler to pull out his chilled canteen, then making his way over to Toyoko’s supervisorial desk- the desk he used to hold all his plans and drafts that she was looking through. A little string from his pinky reached out, snagging a pocky stick from the box and bringing it over to his lips.

“It’s not stealing if it’s being offered, Jonin Ryoma.” Toyoko glared, taking a stick of pocky for herself and immediately munching down. The box of pocky returned to her vest-pocket and she took another efficient bite, the chocolate-stick rapidly disappearing into her mouth.

Ryoma, holding the stick between his lips and making sure to suck the chocolate off before biting, replied at once. “No, see- I’m a dastardly ninja who does many horrible crimes, so it’s only natural that I steal things. It would be odd if I didn’t.”

“Hmp!” Toyoko huffed, taking another bite and turning her nose up slightly. “You are a ninja of Sunagakure! Dastardly deeds and horrible acts are what lesser ninja might indulge in, but you are held to a higher standard.”

Ryoma took a swig of his cold water, sucking a bit more chocolate off the stick and thinking that statement over. After a period of consideration, he came to a conclusion.

He was a little bit too stunned by the statement to keep the bit going.

He turned to look down at her, half seated on the table and pocky hanging from his lips. “You uh… You do know what ninja do, right?”

She recoiled slightly, an offended expression in her face and tone. “Of course I do! We operate beyond the authority of any Daimyo, a nation of warrior-clans united by the strength of Lord First for the sake of the enduring Dream of Wind- Freedom from any authority but our own!”

…He wasn’t sure what exactly he had been expecting her answer to be. “We’re ninja. A mercenary-army of chakra-wielders that provides violence on behalf of anyone who is willing to pay us.” He replied bluntly, raising a brow. “Our entire way of life is predicated around accepting money in exchange for doing things normal people would consider horrible.”

Toyoko scoffed and rolled her eyes, wiggling her hands at him. “You shouldn’t mistake the day-to-day of our lifestyle for our purpose- the words of our very founder contradict you! We live, train, and fight for the sake of this dream, not for something as crude as money- that’s what lesser villages focus on!” A raised index finger emphasized her declaration.

“The ideals you fight for don’t change what you do.” Ryoma refuted immediately, lips twitching downwards. Her face scrunched up at him as he continued. “If you accept money for murder, you are still accepting money for murder- it doesn’t matter why you decided to.”

“It absolutely does! Someone who kills for a purpose is a professional- a warrior with honor and reason. Someone who kills for the thrill or for no reason at all is just a crazed axeman!” She rose from the chair, slapping her hands on the table and trying to lean intimidatingly towards him. She was too short for this to be in any way effective.

“Everyone has a purpose for everything they do- even if those purposes are shallow or stupid.” Ryoma shook his head, looking back towards the partially-welded frame and taking another sip of his canteen. “Killing for the thrill of it? That’s not a very good reason, but it’s still a reason. Killing for money? As valid as any other answer. Killing to protect your loved ones? Sure, why not? Killing for a dream? That’ll get you moving like anything else would.”

He waved a hand at nothing in particular. “You might think those reasons are good or bad, but that’s a moral judgement, not an objective assessment. It’s fine to do that, but that’s not the same.”

Things were quiet in the work-silo for a long few moments.

“…What’s your reason, Jonin Ryoma?” Toyoko asked with a serious tone, staring holes into the side of his head. She straightened up and crossed her arms over her chest. “Money?”

Ryoma considered that for a few moments, before shaking his head. “…Nah, not money.” He reached up to take the pocky out of his lips, licking them to make sure no chocolate was left on before talking again. How could he explain this…?

“I suppose there’s just nowhere I’d rather be.” He eventually settled on.

“Nowhere you’d rather be..?” She repeated his words. Good job Supervisor, that was a very clever reply. Then again, he wasn’t exactly writing poetry here either.

“I could’ve been a civilian doing civilian things. I like fishing- so maybe a fisherman somewhere.” Ryoma leaned back some more, resting on his hands and making a little fishing-gesture. “I could’ve gone into Logistics or Security and got a cushy job pushing paperwork or drunk people around. I’d probably be way safer doing any of those things, with a longer life and more of a chance to have kids with some large-breasted woman who likes me well enough.”

He could’ve hopped on a boat and sailed away- far away from these lands and away from anything that might influence the future. Far away from the apocalyptic events he knew could come his way in a decade or two. Everything would probably turn out fine if he did so.

Toyoko made a little ‘hmh!’ sound at the last sentence, making him exhale in an amused fashion and glance over at her. She met his gaze briefly, before looking away and raising her hands to cover her chest. He smirked, rolled his eyes, and turned away again.

Where was he…?

He stopped looking at anything in the room, his vision instead going to images of people he had never met and places he had never been. The most powerful people to have ever lived clashing in a battle that shakes the planet. Madmen and heroes beating each other to death for the sake of their incompatible ideals. A betrayal, and the revival of a vengeful goddess.

Concentric rings on fields of purple and red. White horns. A shattered window through reality itself.

A tree so tall that it sticks in God’s eye.

Eventually, he found his voice again. “In the end, I decided I wanted to be there- right in the middle of battle. I want to fight, and I want to win.”

“…You just want to kill for the sake of it?” Toyoko had a distinctly bothered and judgemental tone in her voice as she spoke. He supposed that he had gave the wrong impression earlier, with his talks of reasons not mattering.

Ryoma firmly shook his head in denial, waving a hand to emphasize his point. “No, not kill. I don’t particularly care if my enemy lives or dies, I just… I just…” He trailed off, suddenly returning to himself and realizing what he was saying. He threw his head back and laughed. “Haha! Look at me ramble on! Talking like I’m some kind of shounen protagonist!”

His laughter wound down into rueful chuckles, turning to glance over at Toyoko. Her expression was focused- like a cat staring at a bird it couldn’t reach. “You know, I think you’re probably the first person to ask me that.” He teased with a crooked grin.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

She blinked, pulling back slightly. “…Ask you… about your reason for being a ninja?” She replied slowly, eyebrows scrunched together.

Ryoma gave an amused, rolling, horse-like snort. “Yep. I don’t think I remember anyone asking me why I wanted to be a ninja before- congratulations for entering a very special club, the ‘hearing Ryoma blabber about pointless things’ club.”

She scowled suddenly, an expression that let him clearly see the family resemblance between herself and Captain Gentai. “I-it’s not pointless! A ninja’s reasons are incredibly important!” Toyoko made a cute little gesticulation with her hands to emphasize her point.

He tilted his head away, eyes squinting down at her in a teasing manner. “It doesn’t change that I perform dirty deeds for dirt cheap.”

“D-dirt cheap?!” She recoiled.

He smiled and turned away. “Filthy acts at a reasonable price!”

“You’re a ninja of Sunagakure! Take pride in your warrior-heritage! Your service isn’t filthy!”

“Maximum rampage for minimum ryo!”

She slouched, propping her chin upon her palm with a pout on her face, clearly giving up on trying to stop him. Ryoma wasn’t done though, and continued to list off lines of a joke he only half-remembered.