Did… she even love me?

In truth, there was certainly more out there, but Hattori and the majority of his kin had no interest in seeking it out, let alone experiencing it for themselves. The old ways, their ways were the best. It was undeniable in the Kaicho's mind; of course there were details here and there he didn't entirely agree with, but the foundations of society were solid and thus had stood the tests of time for that very reason alone. But in many ways Jiro was the black sheep of the family; and to Hattori's observation it seemed like a choice. Perhaps the boy did not make quite so much of a pest of himself as his older, half brother, but the resemblance was there. A desire to be anywhere else, notably.

Hattori exhaled.

"You are seeking permission to leave? Immediately?"