Or Nah

[Yomi]

A lovely old couple allowed Yomi to rent out this old farm house for her stay in Tea. They were more than willing to finally take a trip to the city and stay in a nice hotel and do all the things they wanted, seeing as how Yomi paid five times the amount they had requested. She felt it inappropriate to ask and then not pay what it would have cost her and her brood for fancier lodgings. Besides she still wanted privacy and needed a place where Besito could roam around freely without fear of stepping on something...or someone.

The woman rummaged through her belongings, looking for the hooch she had packed away for a night such as this. Today was arduous and she figured sobering up was the absolute opposite of what she wanted to do especially considering who she had for company. It had been almost two years since they had an actual conversation. The pleasantries they exchanged for the sake of parenting or the discussions they had where work was concerned notwithstanding. They put on a good show indeed, but, she was not sure that she wanted to continue the façade. Umashi was stepping down, and she would now have to decide if this was something that they still both wanted.

But first things first…

She poured some of the hooch in one of those red plastic cups and sat one on the table for him as he waited for him to arrive. Once he did, she would motion for him to sit down and imbibe. She was sure that he needed a bit of liquid courage, or just something to ease his mind for what she wanted to discuss. Yomi stared at him for a long while, as if she was seeing him for the first time. Breaking her gaze she looked into her cup, noticing that it was uncomfortably close to the bottom. Reaching for the hooch again, she poured it slowly and set it back down on the table. Circling her finger around the rim of her red cup she kept her eyes down.

“So, let’s play a game, Mr. Kaisenami. We’re going to tell each other something we think the other doesn’t know. If they didn’t know it, they take a shot, if they did know it, the person who said it, takes a shot. You cannot opt out of taking a shot however, you are also allowed to ask one singular question. No embedded questions. No “If yes/no, then’s… Just one question and the person being asked must answer. Also we cannot refrain from answering said question. Clear?” The woman tilted her head to the side and looked for him for approval, although, she bargained that he would agree to her little game.

“I’ll go first and remember if you didn’t know, you take a shot.” The former Kage rubbed her hands together like Birdman. “So, did you know that my father came off that mountain top with a gang of girls and tried to sacrifice me to Jashin? He said he was sorry he missed the wedding though and that he hates you on principal. I told him not to worry because you missed it to.” She folded her hands on her lap and looked at him waiting for an answer. Yomi hoped she was coming off as petty as she wanted to because she wanted to get all of it off of her chest. If they were to move past it, they would both be better for it. If not, then at least they would know before they left Tea Country that it was over.

 

[Seijin]

Feeling just as relaxed at first, Umashi sat down opposite of his wife but not before he took the time to kiss his wife on the lips . . . a kiss that for all intents and purposes, lacked emotion from her. It seemed like she was going through the motions and from that bit of insight, it was obvious that a talk was happening. Sitting down, he'd watch her go through the liquor pouring and then explain the rules of the game that they would play. To him, it was dangerous to reminisce while drinking but in order to earn back his wife, he was willing to do so. Taking on his own cup, he looked at it and within the liquid he could see it all, his past, his present and his future. Yomi claimed that they were supposed to be revealing truths but the better question was could they even handle the truth. The truth hurt and before things would get better, they'd have to get worse. With the kids away and them renting the home that they were in, he at least could enjoy the liquor for the evening without having to fear about having to rock a baby to sleep.

She spoke about her father and his gang of women to effectively kill her . . . unfortunately he did not know that. "No, I wasn't aware of that, and I'm sorry that you had to go through that without me. I . . . I'll take my drink now." Taking his sip, he had to refrain from initially gagging because he hadn't totally expected Yomi to bring the especially good stuff. Inhaling and exhaling slowly, he closed his eyes and let the taste of the liquor simmer on his tongue. Tonight would be a night of truths and with that, he'd be remiss if he didn't at least try to make the best of it. Thinking of all the things that he wanted to bring up, he went for the lowest hanging fruit. "My turn I guess . . . Did you know that Yamaguchi Kiseki aka the pop idol Yume was actually my first choice for Hokage? I did not vote for Uchiha Takeshi to be the Hokage and if I had my druthers, Okada Kaji, a former member of Iwagakure who followed me back to Konoha and who now is a shinobi of Kumo with the Raikage's ear, would have been our next Hokage. I just felt so guilty about not ever actually being the true choice for Hokage that I moved aside when the vote came around for Takeshi to be appointed. At least now, Konoha would have someone who was actually elected versus the fake that I often feel like."

Clearly under the influence of the liquor even at so much of a simple taste, Umashi more confessed than gave Yomi something to answer on. How she would take the moment of weakness or if she'd even see it as that at all remained to be seen, but for now, Umashi would sit in silence and let the light of the lit fireplace to dance off of his face as he stared at it and wondered if things could ever go back to the way that they were. They'd been through so much and indeed the early years were the hardest, but for them, the nearly two years of marriage had seemed like a lifetime and some rifts would probably always remain just that. Trying to think ahead, he thought about the other things he might also reveal but the harder he tried to focus on them, the more that the fog of emotion began to well up and obscure the most rational things from view. What could she probably reveal that he didn't know already, would her words hurt more than the hurt that he caused himself? What was the end goal of it all, the questions simply became more questions.