The Emperors New Groove

[Taiga]

As his hand twisted the knob to shut the shower off, Hayate moved towards the glass door carefully opening it with his left hand. Steam flowed out into the room as he reached for his towel and began drying off. Despite having had a nice warm shower he was not relaxed... his mind was busy wandering about the stressors that being the emperor brought. Under his rule, Lightning Country had rapidly developed in the past decade. It had gone from a place where people died of everyday disease and famine to a place with technology on par with Kumogakure itself. Hayate had even expanded this to Tree Country and other territories. His people had built a canal through tree- done alliances and built trains and everything possible to better the world... for everyone.

And still, people hated his guts. The civil war and the things Banri had made him do were inescapable. Bent over the sink and in front of his meal, Hayate looked down and closed his eyes, shaking a little. His white hair was somehow whiter. His beard somehow coarser. His eyes opened only to see his blood-covered hands, and only to blink revealing that the blood itself had been a figment of his imagination. He splashed some cold water on his face, then left to get dressed.

---

It was early morning on a Saturday. Hayate decided he needed to walk to clear his head and nothing was better than the gardens of Akino peak. It was, after all, a place that was a reminder of hope that even in their darkest days, the light would shine upon Kumogakure. Today he was not wearing his official Raikage robes, instead, he was wearing a simple jinbei and geta. The wooden slippers clicked-and-clacked as he walked up and down the promenade till finally, he reached the water lily garden, where he stepped onto the wood slats.

The birds were singing and the frogs croaking. The Raikage walked a little until he found a bench. He'd take a seat, and unintentionally, he'd fall asleep. He'd been sleep-deprived for some time now... at least since the great war.