No more parties in L.A. . . .

[Seijin]

Umashi had to give it to the upper-class that called the Alcazar home, they really knew how to make a person feel welcome, and by feel welcome, what he mostly was referring to was the fact that they were doing the exact opposite. Decadence was one word for the sort of sights that he saw as he walked the streets, but it didn't quite hit the mark in its totality. Simply put, nobody in the country should have been living this luxurious for there to be those to lived in abject poverty relatively close by. Supposedly that was the way of the world and yet, as much as he tried to hide his own political leanings, Umashi couldn't hide the disgust from his face at times.

Forced to dress in a regalia more befitting of the sort of shmucks that he tried to distance himself from being a part of, Umashi was forced to flip a few saved assets in order to blend in with those around him. Having enough of a fortune to bankroll more than a few places was enough to afford him a fancy outfit. Being able to feel comfortable in the outfit was something else entirely as he went about getting fitted, because of course everything was custom made here, and eventually out he stepped onto the street looking like he mostly belonged. Now all he needed to do was find a place to get a decent bite to eat. Being on a mission sometimes brought a little extra down time. Being hungry wasn't going to ruin what little time he had for such normal needs.

 

[Seijin]

Shops, great and small, from the least to the greatest all surrounded Umashi as he walked the streets. There were all sorts of restaurants to dine at, from the more formal to the chic location that only offered the cutest finger foods. Knowing that his time was at a premium and not wanting to dirty himself too much, what he opted for in the end was a small restaurant on a semi busy street. From the vantage point that a small outside table offered, he could see the comings and goings of the people of the area. A simple meal, more of a snack really, he ordered a sandwich with semi-chilled soup that would do away with the heat of the day.

While he greatly disliked the sandy desert expanse, Umashi was certainly starting to see the charm of this part of Soon's Haven. Simply put, it was just right. By the time that his meal had been delivered to him, he was able to sit and enjoy the sight of a small commotion that was occurring. A rich persons horse drawn carriage had managed to hit another rich person's horse drawn carriage. How the two had collided with all the space afforded to them. Perhaps they were purposefully playing a game to see who would blink first or perhaps it was just two macho types trying to prove who was the more important person. Whatever was the matter, information was exchanged and the two eventually went on their way. All the while Umashi sat and watched and observed from his comfortable little two seater table by the well defined pathway.

 

[Seijin]

The thing about being a people watcher was that eventually, people sat and watched the watchman for what he was doing. For Umashi, the watcher of the watchman proved to be a rather proper looking kid who didn't seem to care to be shopping with his even more proper looking mother. Dressed in an almost ethereal regalia, the airy looking heiress (Umashi assumed) was making the rounds from shop to shop and while on his decided second to last cup of tea, Umashi caught the tail end of her day's exploits. While she had box after box and even a few bags of clothing loaded up into a horse drawn cart, her son found Umashi interesting enough to look at that he couldn't seem to look away.

As cute as the kid was, Umashi certainly wasn't trying to get into a staring contest with someone else's child. Thinking back on his children, and when they were younger, Umashi certainly relished the memories that he had of all the little games that they used to play. This kid was about the age that they would have been when they figured that they could gang up on their father and overload him with cuteness. Fond memories as they were, Umashi knew that they were just that, memories and that like all things time moved on. A proud father that he was, his children were now practically grown and busy doing other pursuits, namely protecting the family and taking care of their mother. One day he’d see them soon when all of this mess with Maru was figured out but for now, he worked tirelessly to make a world that he could feel safe raising them in.

 

[Seijin]

As the saying went, kids would be kids, and when eventually the woman realized that her son was antagonizing a perfect stranger, the woman blushed and made a universal sign of apologizing from across the way as she handedly grabbed her child and attempted to put him right before setting off on more shopping adventures. Like a true discerning parent, Umashi understood all too well how parents rarely if ever could completely put their children on a leash. It was just a simple matter of life, babies would go from the womb to graduation in record time, a true blinking of the eye. Here today and gone tomorrow, completing all sorts of missions and taking life by the horns. It was what it was, a fact of nature itself.

Even outside of being an actual parent, Umashi often thought about those under his care in much the same way. Sure, he wasn't actively serving as a Kage but once a Kage, always a Kage as the saying went and his years of being a teacher never seemed to leave him. There were of course times where he wanted to simply protect his students from all of the wild things that took their prey under the cover of darkness but he couldn't. No, there were some lessons that had to be learned the hard way. Some lessons that he simply could not teach. From boys to men and every learned growth in between, Umashi would have to be content with watching the world go by for his students and be content with just that. His meal paid for and his time better spent on other pursuits, Umashi finally decided to stop being a bump on a log and went on about his way.

OOC: Topic Left