There's No Time Like Tea Time

The village was busy today down in the lower district, the commoners were a hard working people due to their lack of shinobi skills and it was the work ethic that this brought about that made me enjoy spending time around them. I sat in a small tea house called the Jade Dragon, a rather new establishment run by and older gentleman and his young nephew who were both extremely polite to everyone that came in and walked by even if the kid seemed rather forced. I had chosen a tea house though because an older and rather high honored member of the Hidden Dune's military had asked to speak with me about my venture into the deep desert, news of my recent discoveries had spread like wildfire in the dry season and everyone was wanting some sort of interview. With the exception of this man I had politely refused up to this point, after all I had no interest in talking about my experiences with people that wouldn't be able to understand them but would be found gladly writing them down for profit given the chance. But even the prestige of my hopefully soon to be colleague was not the true reason for choosing this venue, no at the core of the tangle of reasons was my gourmet taste when it came to exotic teas and while still new and rather underground in the mainstream market the Jade Dragon was becoming known for making quite possibly the best tea in the entire village even compared to the kage's private brew. I simply sat at a table for two in the middle of the room and sipped down the last of my Oolong tea and placed it on the table which was a chance for the level of customer service to be shown. Within seconds the older man that owned the establishment came over and refilled my cup with a smile before moving on. I simply propped up one leg over my knee, leaned back and sipped once more at my drink while reading the book in my other hand entitled, 'The History of the Empire'. My guest would be arriving soon though I was more than equip to wait a while should I need to.

Takeru marched towards the entrance of the Jade Dragon, his steps measured and even, almost as if they moved in time with a hidden drum beat. He nodded his head at a couple that waved as he passed them, he was one of the older shinobi in the village and his reputation was well earned. As he walked through the doors he shook the hand of the proprietor, the two often shared tea together after hours and traded stories about times past. He liked it here and enjoyed the fine tea, and was o the opinion that it was among the best in the village, if not the country. He spotted the man described to him, a fair haired lad with an eye patch similar to his own. The boy was reading a history book, Takeru approved of the young man already. He approached and sat down opposite him as the elderly proprietor served his Jade tea.

"I have heard much about you young man."

I quickly finished the paragraph I had been reading as the man I was to speak with entered the shop and sat down across from me, removing an ornate bookmark from my coat's chest pocket attached to a piece of fine silk that fell down against the leather cover of my book as I placed it within the pages I had been reading before closing it as I laid the text down in front of me. I nodded to the man and responded, "And I of you which is why I agreed to meet today, to many would squander this information and pass it off as nothing more than fuel for tomorrow's tabloid but you good sir are a scholar like myself. If my sources are correct you are one who enjoys researching a great deal into matters such as the tailed beasts of legend and the all to grim reality, this is why I feel that you are one of the only great minds in the world that would fully comprehend what I encountered." Realizing that my introduction had become something of a ramble I stopped myself and took another sip of tea before continuing. "I do apologize, normally I would start a conversation with a much more polite introduction of my name and then ask for yours but my name has recently had some celebrity attached to it and your fame in the fields of battle have been common knowledge among the village, if not the world, for decades. Such is the plight of those with recognized talent I suppose." I would smile and stop myself once again, taking another drink and waiting to see if the man a few feet away from me now thought I was some kind of showboat or even a blabbermouth perhaps.

Takeru leveled an even gaze at the younger man across from him, the man had no manners, but it seemed that none of the younger generation did these days. His own son was often rude and impolite to those he met, yet he didn't even seem to notice what he was doing. He was amused that young Shitai, as he knew his name to be, thought of him as a scholar. Scholars buried their noses deep in their books and forgot the world at large, spending their time theorising rather than acting and never knowing the true face of the world. He let out a soft harrumph and fixed his eye on the other man. "Do not mistake me for some elderly book keeper young Shitai" The subtle emphasis he put on young was purposeful, if the boy wanted to slight him then he would be treated as a boy. Takeru took a small sip from his tea, it truly was delicious. "Beasts of legend you call them? Are they mere fantasies that you dream about as you look over your books? I have seen one of these beasts, seen the horrors it brings. Can you imagine seeing your loved ones fall before you, knowing that nothing you do can help. Try, if you will, to think of how an ant feels defending it's home from a boot. That is what it is like, these beasts you mention so casually in conversation where any might here. They are a sensitive topic, you would do well to remember." Takeru's face had remained a grim mast for the entirety of his speech, he kept his voice level, and any who heard would have thought he was discussing the weather, yet his eye was a cold stone in its socket, staring down this young upstart who so callously mention the beasts which had sown death through the village. Sipping his tea again Takeru placed his cup down once more, his gaze softened, but only a fraction. "Tell me more of these discoveries of yours boy, they piqued my interest, and i would know more of them."

As I had expected, and as has become the norm over my years, the first impression left by my lack of skills when it came to interacting with others was not a very bright one however it seemed that despite my mistake of bringing up the bijuu so early in the conversation his guest was still interested in what I had to say on an intellectual level if nothing else. I let out a soft sigh to release the stress of once more not doing well in conversation and began the tale of his journey to the west. "It was three days ago now, I had dressed myself in a deep exploration suit complete with oxygen tank and started off into the depths of the Ressa. As I'm sure you have been told I was on yet another foolish venture to try and make contact with the legendary ancient ones that guard that wretched place except this time I succeeded where others and myself had previously failed." Needing to take a moment to catch my breath from the excitement I was displaying from at long last recalling this story I took a short break and a drink from my cup and then began to proceed once more. "Like all standard tanks I had little more than a good hour's supply of breathable oxygen for getting both in and out but admittedly I grew excited with my smaller findings of some ruins with etchings of ancient symbols on stones within the storm and after a nasty fall down one of the larger dunes found myself with a busted pipe leading to my tank. Naturally I performed the Aburame's special ijutsu to remove the pain from myself as I was surely a dead man in that terrain but here I sit before you so surely that can not be the case. As I lay there fading between this world and the next I saw what I at the time imagined to the the reaper coming to claim my soul for oblivion, an enormous creature of serpentine shape that seemed to swim through the sand like a fish through water. It was at this time that I passed out from lack of oxygen." Once more I needed a break so I took yet another drink and emptied my cup, signalling the shop keeper for a refill and continuing as I waited. "I would awake after only god knows how long to find myself in a large room made of soft flesh and surrounded by fresh air, yes indeed I was in the bell of the beast. Well technically it's throat but you catch my meaning. I then noticed a faint glowing from my bag so naturally I investigated, the rubbing I had made earlier that day of the symbols on the stones was lit up a faint purple and as I touched it a voice filled my head, a soft voice of an elderly man that said 'you who have discovered our ancient writings have been spared this once. the mercy of the ancient ones has fallen upon you this day now sleep and return home.' All of a sudden I then passed out once more only to awaken not but a few dozen yards outside the reach of that terrible storm and my rubbing missing. I cleaned myself off and traveled back to my home to tell my father of this and from there the story seems to have spread across the entire village which brings up to this point in time of me speaking with you." As I spoke the elderly man refilled my glass which would allow me to now take another sip, my story told and now silently being judged by my guest in his head as he formulated a response for this seemingly fictitious tale.

Takeru drank silently as he listened to the boy's tale, it certainly was interesting and raised a great deal of questions about the history of the land the village relied on. The issue of the sand worms would certainly need to be addressed, they could pose a threat to some of the outlying households and civilian travelers. "An interesting tale Shitai, one i'm sure will be remembered for a while, and it does pose some interesting questions." He granted the elderly tea man a thin smile as he refilled his cup. " Thank you Iroh. These ancient ones are intriguing, and the knowledge their cities might hold is certainly worth a risk to uncover. So i ask, what is it you mean to do next?" Takeru kept his gaze on the young man, never wavering. It was often said stone would move rather than meet his gaze for too long, he was a hard man, whose experiences had forged him into unbreakable iron when the situation demanded it, and he often had trouble relaxing, even for tea.

His question was one that I had been pondering for a while now, torn between my curiosity as a man of science and my sensibility of just barely getting out of there last time by more or less dumb luck. I took a few long moments to sip tea and consider how to answer this but eventually the words were found. "Honestly I am not sure, while I can't say I have not considered going back into the dusty abyss on a follow up exploration I am still a bit in shock from my near death experience. In addition to this the message I received seemed as much a simple message as much as warning. After all they did specifically say that I was spared this once so the same trick won't work twice I think." I would take another sip from my glass and clear my throat before going on, "Despite all this though, common sense aside I have discovered something that could shift the entire foundation of the world's view on mythology as well as possibly being able to harness the ancient one's power to aid the empire and perhaps even ending this dreaded war. I'm will to put my life on the line if it means I don't have to pick through the corpses of my fallen comrades anymore." There was genuine sadness in my voice as I progressed towards the end of my mini-speech. For the first time during this meeting I wold not take a drink from my cup but rather stare into it, watching the leaf move about at the bottom as the gentle breeze flowing through the shop caused the drink to ripple.

Takeru raised his cup at the sad admonition in the younger man's voice, he too had seen many comrades die, seen people he loved ripped away by war and conflict. "War is a horrid thing, yet i fear this one may be a necessary evil to put the world into order, to bring peace for all. I have several plans in place to help end this war, and it may be i need the help of an intelligent young man such as yourself. You can expect to hear from me when i do." Takeru waved at Iroh again, his teacup had run low again, and he rather enjoyed the taste. Many times he had wished Kailie were still here with him to enjoy the Jade Dragon's tea. But she was not, ripped from him by one of the many evils of the world.

The common hatred of war was a shared trait between these two men although while I only had the one plan to help in the effort that was more of dream than anything this man seemed to have things in order and plans set up to make thing happen which was exactly what I wanted to be a part of. "You can expect me to be at the ready at all times for anything you can think of should it help save the lives of those who serve on the front lines for us." I would now take a larger drink from my cup that would empty it, while Iroh was at the table I had him refill me followed by a verbal thanks. The socially norm would also include a smile but that was something I had not been able to do since my childhood and the tea sage knew this.

Raising his cup one last time Takeru finished off the last of his tea, it really was the best that the village had to offer. He waved Iroh over and thanked him for his service, telling him to add a little extra to his tab for the excellent tea. Smiling he held his hand out to young man opposite him. "Shitai, it has been a pleasure but i fear i must be off, i have other things to attend to today and i promised to go through some exercises with my son after i have finished up the day's business. We shall have to meet again sometime, your company is enjoyable" With that Takeru rose and nodded briefly to the younger man once more before makign his way out the front door of the Jade Dragon. As he strode away from the tea shop he pondered on the plans he had made for the future, and how this intriguing boy might fit into them. He smiled slightly to himself the whole way home.

The meeting had gone well enough, one side was able to hear the information he wanted from the direct source while the other was at last able to speak with someone in depth about what had happened. I nodded back to the man as he left the tea shop, unlike him however my tab here at the Jade Dragon was already rather high and knowing that the rent collectors would be coming by later I wanted to make sure that Iroh was safe and comfy money-wise. I waved to him and picked up my book as I dropped several thousand ryo on the table, granted it wasnt a gigant amount an only a fraction of his tab but it would make sure that the old man and his nephew ate for the next few days even if the rent took all they had saved up. After that I walked out the front door and opened my book once more, reading as I walked along the streets of the lower district and thinking of what history could teach us as well as what should happen if it decided to randomly repeat itself at the least opportune time.

[end of topic]