New chapter, tell me what you think. :)
"The offer would sound kind, or even considerate, if I didn't think you were doing it out of pity." Sakura gaped soundlessly as she tried to think of what to say. Sure, she felt bad about his experiences but she knew how proud ninja's were and she knew they didn't go out looking for sympathy. She'd learnt first-hand, through Kakashi and Sasuke, how too much emotion could backfire terribly
"What? No! No! It was just my way of saying thank you for walking me home… not throw you a pity party." Her arms that were lifted slowly came back down to her sides, while she hoped that her response was enough to keep him from harbouring any negative feelings towards her.
"I didn't mean to jump to conclusions." His head bowed a little to represent his apology, and she assumed that he had accepted her invitation. She opened the door, and stepped aside to let him in, which he did. Her home was large, and spacious as they was enough room for both of them to walk alongside each other in the corridor, comfortably. She led him past a few rooms until they entered the chashitsu. It was small but homely and in the middle of the room was an elevated mahogany table with four cushions on either side. The decoration of the room was floral with Sakura petals adorning the walls and a small bonsai pine in the corner.
They took their shoes off at the door and Tobirama was led to one of the soft cushions, to which he sat, legs crossed. Sakura left and came back with a tray of different tea's and a wooden cup for each of them. She set the tray down to the side of the table and sat opposite of Tobirama, so she could face him directly. Her legs were folded beneath her in a traditional well-mannered manner. Growing up her mother stressed the importance of knowing ones heritage, and where cultural values stemmed from.
"Would you like Green tea, Jasmine tea or Kocha tea?" She was the perfect host.
Tobirama was a little surprised, he thought that such customs had faded a while back ago, yet here he was on a mat, in a chashitsu, doing everything traditionally. It was like a flashback to his younger days. To his left, he could see her garden, and the little pond that was in the centre surrounded by Sakura blossoms.
"Jasmine tea, if you please." His voice was different to his brother. Hashirama's voice was calming and even enthusiastic at times; however, Tobirama's deep voice always had an underlying tone of seriousness. Even in the most casual of situations.
Pouring the contents into a larger pot then into his cup, Sakura then picked out green tea for herself and slowly sipped the hot beverage. It was gold to her taste buds.
"You live here alone?"
"For the time being. My parents are MIA right now."
"You believe they'll be back." It was a statement instead of a question but Sakura answered it anyway to convince him her sincerity wasn't denial.
"Yes. They're alive, I can feel it."
Tobirama chose not to comment further. He could still remember, vividly, the day they heard about the death of Itama. It was a shock and completely unexpected, and he too, presumed his brother was still alive. They all did. Memories like that only fuelled his anger at the way society was constructed at the time and Tobirama felt a deep resentment to the era in which he was born.
The conversation started slowly at first but then eventually drifted back to what they were speaking about previously on the topic of equality.
"So how come many of the teams still have a 2:1 ratio."
"There's still more male shinobi in comparison to females. The ninjas from a civilian background make up around 30 percent of the entire force. Civilian families don't usually support their daughters in such a career because of the killing and high risk of death it involves. So out of that 30 percent, ninety percent are men."
The white haired man nodded thoughtfully, absorbing the information like a sponge. The more he knew, the more he would be able to help.
"Is there anything else that you I should know?" Sakura racked her brain for knowledge; Konoha was constantly evolving, so it was easy to miss things.
"Well it depends on what you want to know. Social attitudes, cultural views, there's loads."
"Tell me about social attitudes."
"Well, umm, the only thing major that I can think of is that people are more relaxed about sex before marriage. I mean, before when everything was traditional they had virginity ceremonies and things like that but society has moved on from that. It's not that big of a deal anymore."
He appeared to be a little put off at the prospect of people having sex simply because they wanted to. There was a tiny crease in between his brows and his eyes were narrowed distastefully.
"In my time, we had the occasional famous courtesan but a majority were yūjo's. Reputation was very important for women. If fact, back then if a woman were to ask me inside for tea, as you did, it would be seen as an invite for pleasure. Her reputation would be ruined and her family would have disowned her."
"What? All that, just for tea?"
"To be alone with a man, meant that you would accept whatever advances he made towards you. Keep in mind that women didn't go into battle because of their physical inferiority. Therefore, men ruled and were obeyed. The common thought was that they knew best. So if a man wanted to sleep with you, denying him that right would be seen as disrespectful."
"Because men know best." Sakura finished. She had only heard snippets of what life was like before, as very few people knew. There were detailed stories about wars and adventures, but the common thought was that women played minor roles in society. It was a shame that this turned out to be true however, history was written by the winners. In this case, the winners were always men. History was their version of events, with women omitted from it completely.
"Did you ever feel as if it was wrong? I mean, did you agree with the way women treated?"
"Yes. We accepted it just as we accepted war." Tobirama looked at her unblinkingly; perhaps she thought he would say he was fierce advocate of women's rights. If so, she was in for a disappointment. The inner feminist in Sakura raged, but she could see his point clearly.
They sipped their tea in silence, each tending to their own thoughts.
"I can't help but wonder though. We all know that there are many less than honourable men in this world, who use rape as a form of power. Does that not discourage you or any other woman?"
"Kunoichi are trained to handle a wide range of scenario's that involve their gender being used against them. We are taught that rape is just another form of interrogation, which it is. Used by the enemy to break your resolve, though self-worth. The idea of rape shouldn't be a deterrent. Usually, we know when someone has been in a battle because we can see it. We can see scars, missing limbs and mutilations. And, I think that's what makes rape so hard for people to understand. It's hard to heal something that you can't see. You cannot operate on trauma. You cannot X-ray depression, and you cannot say sorry to a person whose committed suicide because of shame and social stigma. For the women who carry on as shinobi, rape isn't a deterrent, because the entire point of most missions is to overpower by any means necessary. Whether by jutsu or intelligence."
"Doesn't this cause a problem, if a child is conceived?"
"Both men and women have tablets that is mandatory to take before a mission. They temporarily stop ovulation and all sperm is blank."
"Why must men take it?"
"Equality. Also, men can be raped too." The corners of her lips twitched upwards slightly at his expression. It seemed as though he was still getting used to the idea of equal opportunities on all fronts.
She poured more tea for both of them and discussed how it was her father, who had come up with the idea for the garden when she was born. The Sakura trees grew as she grew, and were meant to be a symbol of her life. Her mother loved history and would read or reference things from the past when Sakura was little. They were Chūnin and usually did C and low B rank missions, this was mainly when Sakura was a child and they always wanted to make sure at least one of them would be alive and there for her, if something were to happen to the other.
"When I was young they let me have whatever I wanted. It was good in the short term, but long term wise in terms of my ninja skills, it was terrible. I failed the Chūnin exam and had to repeat them. I guess they didn't really see the importance of being ninja, but they were well intentioned. If it wasn't for them, it would have taken longer to find my Will of Fire." Sakura's eyes were unseeing as they stared into her green tea.
"What is your Will of Fire?" his curiosity was piqued and he was interested to see what spurred her on as shinobi.
"Growing up, no one believed in my abilities. Even I didn't. The idea was, I would maybe become a Chūnin and do some mundane tasks for a couple of years before retiring, marrying and having children. Nevertheless, Tsunade-sama saw something in me that I didn't know was there. She saw potential that was overlooked or dismissed. She saw a young girl desperate to catch up to her teammates. Despite how far back I was compared to the rest, she took me under her wing because she had faith in me. My Will of Fire is to protect those who cannot protect themselves, so that one day, they too, may find someone who sets them on the path of greatness."
Previously, Tobirama thought that she was a bit naïve, but repeatedly she had proved him wrong with her knowledge. The Will of Fire was something dear to him and his brother. It was this Will that allowed Konoha to be built and the same Will that had enabled him to live through many battles.
He allowed the corners of his lips rise to an approving smile and his face softened slightly showing that his guard was lowered just a little bit. Her company was pleasant and she did not have any ulterior motives against him, so for now he would trust her and enjoy her company.
From their seating position, they could see the horizon from her garden and the colours of the even sky began to merge into different reds, oranges and yellows. The sky showed birds in huge masses flocking in different directions, moving towards home, where ever that may be.
"May your Will live on."
Sakura wasn't too sure, but she knew things had changed between them for the better. He didn't seem as closed off as he was before and even smiled at her. When their tea was finished and the day was ending they finally stood up, and Sakura escorted him to the door to bid him farewell and thank him for staying. Stepping out into the patio with him, her eyes struggled to make out his features due to the darkness that enshrouded them both.
"Thank you for the tea, Sakura-san." Tobirama wasn't sure, but it seemed as though the distance between them had closed and Sakura was leaning in. she was close. He thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. It was dark after all.
Close enough to kiss. All he would have to do is inch forward just a little bit more.
Chashitsu - traditional Japanese tea room
Yūjo - Harlot, Prostitute
Hi, guys tell me what you thought about this chapter by reviewing and let me know of my typo's and things you might like to see in the story. :)