Drunken Winter Kumoland

[Kiri]

Strange as it may sound, Kiri was still not used to the festivities. It was that time of the year, when the winds of Kumogakure would blow so hard that it freezes the rain into small molecules of snowflakes. It was almost as if someone with an enormous chakra was creating flurries out of their jutsu. But it was impossible to be something like that. It had to be natural. And for a long time, Kiri had been trying to figure out just what made the weather tick like that.

Sneezing, Kiri adjusted the scarf around his neck as he walked along the snow-covered streets of Susukino District. He would only come by this area when he had a need for specialised materials to be bought, mostly for his duties and studies at the Hospital. And then, there was that one time he met Her at the plaza. Kiri stops on his tracks as a small blush creeps on his cheeks at the memory of that night. He grins like a silly child underneath the scarf, knowing fully well he was happy beyond words. But that didn’t last long as a large snowball hits him square to the back of his head. A chorus of laughter and he slowly turned around to glare at the children who yelped and started running away. He sneezed again before dusting off the snow from his hair and then entered the bookstore.

Once inside, Kiri went to his usual spot, at the third shelf from the rightmost corner, two rows down and one stack to the left– that was the place where all the medical journals were at. And apparently, if he remembered correctly, the newly published subscriptions should all lined up by now.

Of course, Kiri would not know that far beyond his expectations of a silent night, just across this bookstore, a tavern of rambunctious fellows were just starting to get lively while underneath the wooden floors, the basement of an underground fighting arena was just about to get started. Oh and there were some ladies from the red light districts who had just so happened to enter the tavern with their most highly reputed clients.

 

[Matsuno Hama]

In the section of the bookstore which Kiri sought, a man stood there already, browsing through the books with a finger against the spines as if he were at the cusp of drawing one from the shelf. However, after brief pauses each time, his finger moved on to the next. As always, he wore silken bindings over his eyes, this time black with a raised design of eyes in place of where his own would sit. Being of the same black thread, it was only visibly really apparent when he turned his head, one of the eyes stitched in the pattern of a wink. He was overdressed for the bookstore, however, clothed as he was in a three piece suit, silver pinstripes running vertically along the jacket and pants. The vest beneath was all silver threading, and the dress shirt beneath that was a solid black, and everything matched the shoes he wore. If not for the stubble on his chin and unkempt hair he may have actually passed for a businessman of some kind.

Instead, the headband which hung from his waist, as well as the Kumogakure symbols he wore for silver cuff-links marked him for what he was; ninja.

He paused as Kiri approached, tilting his head just slightly. Turning to her, he motioned at the books with a lazy wave of his hand, and with a tone that was much more serious than his half-grinning expression, spoke almost solemnly.

"They don't have what I'm looking for." The blind jounin's grin spread just a tiny bit more. "Might be we need to go somewhere else, yeah?" His cadence of speech was relaxed, despite the faux seriousness of it, deep voice just a tiny bit on the scratchy side, his accent having something of a twang that, in another would, could be described as southern.

[MFT For the week of 12/25-12/31]

 

[Eishi]

I never did like this part of town, it always felt so forced and fake when it came to the holidays. I had my own demons to deal with on that front, but it didn't change that the spirit of the holidays that everyone spoke of was well and truly beaten out of me. At least I wasn't a scrooge about it, though, it all did annoy me.

It was around the time I usually am forced pass through on my way to my apartment that I noticed a most ominous sight. The two men who were essentially my quasi-teachers were seeming about to have a little chit-chat after Kiri seemingly noticed the other man from across the street. I felt a prickle go up my back at the sight. I really didn't know why I felt so appalled at the thought of these two having known each other. Maybe it was just the unease of something like compound interest? Either way, I wasn't a coward, and I knew when something interesting was afoot. I took a deep breath and strode over to the two of them, following right after Kiri's approach.

"Wow. You two actually know each other? I feel like that's haphazardous to my overall health and sanity," I said in mock despair as I closed in on the table. I took one of the seats near Pao as if it was the most natural thing in the world. I tried to flag down a waitress, though, it seemed no one was around besides the bartender at that moment. figuring I'd just get something when I saw someone come out the back, it would just have to wait before I could get some food.

 

[Kiri]

It was a strange meeting. Kiri was simply minding himself inside the bookstore when he found an eccentric man. At first, he thought that he was simply mumbling and would have ignored him. But then the man actually waved at Kiri and even invited him out for…. drinks?

Kiri blinked a couple of times, taken by surprise of this turn of events. He then glanced to the side before looking at the man curiously. And, despite his own good intentions, waved a hand in front of the man’s eyes as he was getting suspicious that the man was in fact blind. “That’s interesting,” said Kiri after he did so. “I didn’t think someone like you would be here. Ah, but I suppose that’s rude to think… wait, wait.”

Finally, his mind raced to the more compelling scenario at hand and looked towards the window and saw that there was a tavern just across the street. “Are you saying we should go talk over there? It does look a bit lively for the holidays. Bu I don’t even know your name?” Nonetheless, it would seem as though Kiri was intrigued by the man’s unique disposition and they were on their way out the bookstore and on towards the said tavern when they met with Eishi.

Kiri’s eyes quickly darted between his student and the man he had just encountered. “That’s rather interested. Fate sure has a way of playing with me. If you guys know each other, then I suppose it was only a matter of time before we met, right?” he would say at a glance at the older-looking man.

[WC: 271]
[MFT]

 

[Matsuno Hama]

A small half grin spread as the hand was waved before his face, and in a playfully mocking gesture he brought his own hand up to wave before his own face.

"Ah, hell. Didn't see that one either." He tsked with disappointment and shrugged, "Go figure. Explains why they didn't have my book, yeah?" His grin returned as he followed Kiri's gaze to the tavern across the street and gave a nod. "Yep. Gonna be a fight or somethin' down beneath it. Food and a show, what's better this time'a year? Sure, I think I'm supposed ta stop it but uh.. well. Figured maybe findin' a book on medical procedure, 'case anyone got seriously hurt, would help. Ya know, when I do eventually decide ta stop it."

Stopping briefly at the door of the bookstore as they made their way out, he lifted the winter jacket, tailored to match his suit, from the student he had hung it on and hung it over his shoulders before following.

"Ting Pao. An' you are?" He asked during the interim of their travel, though once they entered and he'd tossed his coat onto another Academy-student-coat-rack he couldn't help but grin as he heard Eishi's voice and Kiri's question.

"This is one'a my protégé, a new christened member of Ting Pao's Ting Pao Pow Pow Pals, LLC. An' no, Eishi. He'n I just met." He answered both, sitting just before Eishi did. "An' if ya die young, well. Hope ya at least ain't a virgin, doin' so." He said seriously to the kid too young to have probably approached that subject before outside of scholastic adventures in the naughty book that was Sex Ed. "The food good here?"

[MFT For the Week of 1/8-1/14]

 

[Eishi]

"Ugh. I don't want to hear that from a man who's never even seen pussy," I response at Pao's comment, a look of feigned horror on my face. I didn't comment on his claim that I was his protege, I was curious if Kiri had any issue with it. Either way, I didn't care. Both of them were a pain in their own special ways. I, on the other hand, was feeling lively at this point and still had yet to see anyone who looked even remotely like a server.

"Either one of you cares to play pool while we wait? Sure a waitress will be our way at some point," I queried towards the two men, one twice my age and the other already dying of old age at like thirty or something. If they didn't want to play, I would just play on my own. It was a good test of coordination and understanding angles, along with being a good bit of fun, anyway. I wondered how good Pao could possibly be at the game without seeing the action, but he probably had some crazy bullshit way to perceive the location of the pool balls and the inner wall of the pool table. I shuttered to wonder what these two could do if they had any experience. I wasn't any sort of slouch, but two elite ninjas could do some stupid things when they put their mind to it.

I took my time finding a cue stick. I had to find one with at least a decent bit of metal inlaid or I would have trouble gripping it with only one hand. After a couple of moment, I was lucky enough to find one with enough metal in to grip it at the butt of the stick. I placed it on the side of the table as I went to rack up the balls when a couple of rougher looking men of the club decided they wanted my table.

"Hey kid, get the fuck outta' here. This is our table," A man, large enough to be mistaken for a bear said, his words slurred at his obvious drunkenness. He was backed up by three of his friends, none of them looking anything remotely like decent folk so I had no desire to go easy on the lot of them. I decided I would wait until they touched me to beat them senseless, but maybe I wouldn't have to...

 

[Kiri]

That’s right. They never introduced their selves yet. It was merely a common feeling of wanting to share drinks that got them along so far. “That’s right, I forgot too. I’m Kiri. Tsuyoshi Kiri from the Medical Branch,” said Kiri before he listened to the rest of what Ting Pao had to say.

Kiri raised a brow at Ting Pao’s explanation. “Oh, he is?” Kiri looked at Eishi from the corner of his eye as if to say ‘you never told me about any of this’. Then again, it was Kiri’s job to always know about everything about his student so he simply nodded and smiled and then shook hands with Ting Pao. “Well, I’m glad there’s someone who’s looking out for my student. He’s really a unique kid so I apologise, in advance, if there’s anything he may have come short on. Please continue to be his friend and teacher as well.”

Soon enough, as they would be seated, Eishi would show a bit of his mischievous impatient side and rush along to find a pool table. Kiri looked back at Ting Pao, wondering if the man would actually consider the game when he’s blind. Ah. That’s no good, Kiri. You shouldn’t discriminate against the physically disabled people. Who knows?! The guy could potentially have perfectly good vision using chakra imagery. He nodded silently to himself before there was a sudden commotion. And looking back over to Eishi, he saw that his troublesome student had already gotten himself into another mix-up.

“I’ll let him handle for now,” said Kiri in resignation as he made an order for a hot cup of cocoa and some muffins from the waitress that came to their table. “He won’t know how to grow if I’m always there to keep him safe.”