Memorial Stone Garden.
A homage to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice, a tribute to the shinobi who gave their all for this humble little cluster of buildings that made up the Vilage Hidden in The Leaves. It was not often Soku visited this place, the headstones marking various shinobi's resting places as she navigated the rows and rows of graves that littered the terrain. How many lay here? Hundreds? Thousands? It seemed like an endless stream and with each passing second, it pulled at her heart knowing all of this was avoidable, it was preventable if society learned to function with each other instead of against each other. She briefly stopped at a headstone, a name inscribed on it in exotic cursive text but she knew the name by heart resting her hand on it for a brief moment before getting up and walking on, the light breeze allowing her purple robes to flap in the wind. Her brown hair fell down to her shoulders as she navigated the various names, some of which she knew by heart. For once, Soku was unarmed, she considered it a personal offense to carry weapons in such a sacred place such as this and would hear nothing against it,
She stopped at a patch of grass where a freshly dug hole had been dug and the construction of a new memorail stone had begun. Soku knew full well who this was dedicated to and it pained her. He had been like a father to her and yet so simply, so quickly, life had torn him away from her. Once agian, she had been unable to protect them, first it was Ziren, then Asuka and now Yukio. "Oh, old man, why did you have to go?" The veteran captain murmured sitting down taking some of the dirt in her hand turning it over and over as she mulled over the thoughts. The blue eyes, the light-toned laughter, even his sarcastic demeanor at times was something she missed. "It wasn't your turn yet to go, so why?" He had been the one who had found her, mentored her to the status she now held and now she paid the ultimate price in the form of family, a thought she was still busy coping with.
The details had been vague but when the ANBU branch had been informed of the assignment of a new Sennin suddenly per Takeshi-sama's order, it had then stuck her then something was odd. The truth had presented itself sure enough and it was the kind of truth that she wished would go back into some hole into the darkest corner of the planet. "Asuka's all grown up now, hasn't changed one bit. " She chuckled tearfully a bit at that one patting the grass beside her. "It's just so unfair, Yukio. I told you that you needed to consider relaxing for a change but you were always stubborn in some instances." It was a trait she had admired and one that hung over her like a dark cloud. Was it that stubborness that had gotten him killed? "It's tough out here but this is a different sort of tough I am fightng and this time, I don't think I can win."
A homage to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice, a tribute to the shinobi who gave their all for this humble little cluster of buildings that made up the Vilage Hidden in The Leaves. It was not often Soku visited this place, the headstones marking various shinobi's resting places as she navigated the rows and rows of graves that littered the terrain. How many lay here? Hundreds? Thousands? It seemed like an endless stream and with each passing second, it pulled at her heart knowing all of this was avoidable, it was preventable if society learned to function with each other instead of against each other. She briefly stopped at a headstone, a name inscribed on it in exotic cursive text but she knew the name by heart resting her hand on it for a brief moment before getting up and walking on, the light breeze allowing her purple robes to flap in the wind. Her brown hair fell down to her shoulders as she navigated the various names, some of which she knew by heart. For once, Soku was unarmed, she considered it a personal offense to carry weapons in such a sacred place such as this and would hear nothing against it,
She stopped at a patch of grass where a freshly dug hole had been dug and the construction of a new memorail stone had begun. Soku knew full well who this was dedicated to and it pained her. He had been like a father to her and yet so simply, so quickly, life had torn him away from her. Once agian, she had been unable to protect them, first it was Ziren, then Asuka and now Yukio. "Oh, old man, why did you have to go?" The veteran captain murmured sitting down taking some of the dirt in her hand turning it over and over as she mulled over the thoughts. The blue eyes, the light-toned laughter, even his sarcastic demeanor at times was something she missed. "It wasn't your turn yet to go, so why?" He had been the one who had found her, mentored her to the status she now held and now she paid the ultimate price in the form of family, a thought she was still busy coping with.
The details had been vague but when the ANBU branch had been informed of the assignment of a new Sennin suddenly per Takeshi-sama's order, it had then stuck her then something was odd. The truth had presented itself sure enough and it was the kind of truth that she wished would go back into some hole into the darkest corner of the planet. "Asuka's all grown up now, hasn't changed one bit. " She chuckled tearfully a bit at that one patting the grass beside her. "It's just so unfair, Yukio. I told you that you needed to consider relaxing for a change but you were always stubborn in some instances." It was a trait she had admired and one that hung over her like a dark cloud. Was it that stubborness that had gotten him killed? "It's tough out here but this is a different sort of tough I am fightng and this time, I don't think I can win."