Stage 4 -Depression (Kozai)

"Very well, your mind seems quite made up," the blonde accepted, not unkindly a she processed his words. If Hoshi had taught her anything, it was that people were different. If Kozai was different or harmful, she supposed time would tell. She could get him the paperwork but it would be Denkiteki who would put this young man through his paces as a shinobi of the star. Until then, she could have faith in him and the fact that she was only looking out for her people.

"A Queen belongs to her people first and foremost."

The concept of royalty had completely escaped Akihana at first but now she was starting to understand. The feeling of dread that accompanied such comprehensions often iluded to Akihana only understanding things in the nick of time, and time was certainly running out.

"I wish you the best of luck in making friends then," she smiled, preparing to take her leave. "One of the Queensmen will have the papers brought to you before the bells of sunset. You can look them over, fill them out and submit them to the academy whenever you like after that." Shina would process the paperwork properly, she was a sound ninja and Akihana had grown rather fond of her stoic yet gentle approach to being a her work.

"Now that we have that settled, would it be okay if I borrowed this book?" she asked, raising the book from her side to show it to him. "Honored Librarian," she added with a ghost of a smile. "I'd like to read about this mythical water myself, perhaps even send a few of our ninja out there to retrieve it just to see if it makes a difference." It was a long shot but it was one nonetheless.

"Do you think it would help" she asked, perhaps redundantly but she had to ask, to reassure herself more than anyone else. If there was one other person besides her who truly believed... perhaps her worst fears would not come to pass. "Or would you say it's an exercise in futility?"

Hmph, very well. Whether she actually believed that he was good enough or not was of no significance to him. What he wanted was her assent, and nothing more. He needed nothing else. Sitting down in his chair, he mulled about the problems at hand. If he was going to start interacting with ninja, he'd probably be asked to manage people as a master-level ninja. And that meant.... in all probability, jonin-level suboordinates. Good, he hoped that they were smarter than Mitsui. He sorely needed some intelligent and pragmatic conversation, something that he couldn't really get much of around these parts. 

Seeing that this village had the Queensguard, which were extremely open, he couldn't help but wonder about the village's order. How was it that some person hadn't yet taken advantage of this system? Well, he supposed it was time to take pre-emptive action on that. As soon as he saw his orders, he'd begin shaping what small part of Hoshi that he was given control over to his own image. This was for the betterment of the village, not particularly for his own ends. Though, indirectly, it allowed him to stay here and have access to the resources within Hoshi, which he valued somewhat highly.

"Sure, take it." What, was the library going to refuse a patron? It's not like he was particularly anxious about how Akihana would treat such an ancient text, though her child could get to it and cause it harm. It's not like that mattered much, since she seemed to guide him with a good hand. Kozai knew VERY little of parenting, though, outside of set actions patterns that he observed in zoology. From what he had seen of people, human beings were no different. They acted the same, lived the same... fought the same. 

"It's due in three weeks." His next course of action, however, was to re-establish eye contact with Akihana. The look Kozai's eyes was one you would normally see in a harsh, bitter war veteran. It wasn't kind, and it didn't equivocate. Kind of like Kozai himself. There was no place in his icy heart for anyone else. The only way he could possibly help other people was if they benefited his own ends, whether directly or indirectly. This cranial way of approaching life was how he had done things since chunin. He had been wild and emotional before that... but Kozai looked back on that time as something to forget. It was gone now, like a corpse in nitric acid.

"If you want my honest opinion, though.... Putting your hopes in this 'miracle water' is useless. When it doesn't work, the people caring for the queen will know despair." He made a split-second decision and forged onward. "If she does not cast aside her aversions and prejudices... she will die." From the information he had found and from what he had been given, he knew that this was the case. If the queen died from not allowing herself the proper medical care... well, she had no one but herself to blame.

Nodding in polite gratitude, the Kunoichi tucked the book once again by her side, hopefully it would provide an insight into a cure and if not, into why people seemed to have such hope attached to this miracle water. Kozai's honesty cut deep, maybe she had always known it would. Was that why she had asked? A way to punish herself because Akihana had begun to feel that she deserved the punishment. It didn't feel right to be in pain over something that didn't exist, that wasn't quantifiable so all this extra pain was to simply validate how she felt? The blonde shook her head, her eyes cast downwards so at least he wouldn't see the pain his words had caused her.

"I appreciate your honesty, very few people find themselves being honest in the light of sparing someone's feelings. You appear to be a realist though." It was not meant unkindly, rather as the fact that it was. And at least she could be grateful that he hadn't gone to any lengths to give her false reassurances. The young mother gave herself those plenty.

"I'll take my leave now, I'm sure you have your own work to get back to. Please don't forget to eat. I'll be sure to send regular meals to the library just in case." And with that, if the young man had nothing to say, Akihana would walk out the library doors, the old text clutched protectively in her arms as though it carried the secret bit of hope that would - against all odds and common sense - save the Queen's life.

Because a Queen belonged to her people, and her people would not live long without her.

(Exit)

"Goodbye, then." He silently sat back down as Akihana left the building. What an odd woman. She specialized in fields similar to his own, but yet she was so different. This was further proof of something he'd already known for years now, that people were also composed of their various experiences. Well, that was all fine and well. What he really wanted to do, though, was to get down to business and not worry himself about any of this miracle healing business. If they wanted his help, they knew where to find him. Most likely, though, he knew what was going to happen already. That woman, the queen, would rely only on tradition to help her, and she would inevitably die. Well, that was of no concern to him. Monarchs came and went, but Denkiteki would probably be there as the REAL ruler of the village for a while. If there was something he knew about a hierarchy like this one, the queen was really just a figurehead for the people. Tch... how pathetic. Systems like this still existed in the world. 

At any rate, Kozai picked up a rather large and hefty pad of paper and began to work. It was time for him to really get going. Since people were apparently coming over with paperwork for him to sign, then he would have to be ready for duty as soon as possible. Not hard, considering who he was, but that meant that he had to put some effort in. Hah, if he was to actually lead a group, they'd no doubt be the best ninja in all of Hoshigakure. Everyone around here was soft and inadequate. Unlike them, he was harsh and cold, like the winter he had been born in. 

Well, in that case, it would be good to start with construction, would it not? He'd do it slowly, and carefully, like he had with his lab in Iwa. Oh, this was going to be great. For those who were about to work for Kozai, the future would be bright indeed.

[EXIT,
3608 of not really training, so putting it toward Kaguya re-roll.]

You need to actually be training the thing you are trying to reroll kozai, I don't see anykaguya training or studying so denied. Everything else approved

[Ahh, thought BL re-rolls were just from inherent WC. In that case, putting it toward 36 AP.]

Mk approved