Have a bite...or six [Shuu/Sousuke/Open]

Takahashi Aki · Apr 26, 2014

Both Sousuke and Kitchy watched Shuu's creature come to being. The bay t-rex began running about and both dog and owner exchanged glances. Kitchy who had been so very quiet let out a yip of sorts. It was an excited noise as the husky took after the baby t-rex in a playful manner. The Steward tried to see what Shuu had written down. Upon finding it difficult to do so without moving, the Steward backed up his wheel chair and worked his way over. "Hrrm..." He looked at the name, then he looked to Kitchy, and then to the infant T-Rex. "T-Rex. I imagine that is short for Tyrannosaurus Rex... some proclaim them to be the largest creature this world had to offer ... well on land at least. The females I've heard were larger than the males." The Steward tapped his fingers together, before rolling himself on his wheel chair back to the original spot. "Fascinating. Absolutely Fascinating. As I child I used to refer to the creature as Sharp Tooth... and that surprisingly was Kitchy's original form larger of course, but not too large. She stood about ... oh 6'3? This was when she used to be a metal construct before she was subjected and blasted by bio-beams. I honestly thought that no one really cared for such ancient and magnificent creatures. I appear to be incorrect. What fascinating things the earth holds secrets to us. I never saw the actual bones, but I have seen pictures." Sousuke's gaze would slowly shift to his cousin, "I suspect though that Katsuo or Uri have seen the bones of these beasts of antiquity. They gets around alot... more than I do ..." The last part of Sousuke's sentence was said quietly. This of course was coming from a man who had never left Wind Country, or seen the ocean. The reason for that was due to the Steward's condition or merely the fact he was a work-a-holic, but which one was more to blame was somewhat of a mystery.

Sousuke attended his meal as he listened to Shuu speak of her family sigil and how Mist identified through tattoos. It seemed a little barbaric to him that they would use tattoos. Certainly it made sense to him, but it didn't sit quite right with the Steward. How dark the inking was, the colour, all of these were indicators. It was a very well thought out system, and certainly it had a security in it that would be difficult for less than savoury individuals to replicated. "I don't get it... but okay." Sousuke would speak as Shuu stated that somewhere there was an impolite joke to be had. For all his intellect, the Steward usually had problems trying to obtain a sense of the metaphorical as he was a man of the literal. Certainly there were times he did get it, but this was one of the moments where he did not. The Steward would raise his coffee mug to drink from it.

As Uri finished his meal he would speak of his discovery in the archives. It would be subtle, but it seemed that his discovery had affected Sousuke. His brows would furrow ever so slightly. Surprisingly though was Sousuke's outburst. "That's not true! That is a falsification!" Sousuke wasn't known for speaking to others in a stern manner, but in this case he was. Sousuke would pause as he realized that he had gotten loud, well louder than he normally would. He never really did raise his voice when speaking to others. "I... I..." He would stutter for a moment as what he did seemed to surprise even himself. He had made an error of sorts. A grievous one at that. It was not becoming of him. "Stoneworkers are the foundation of many things. Their vitality led to self-sustenance. Some ... person of a lesser than morally sane inclination must have ripped those pages out of the book. Why I ... don't know aside from what I had mentioned, but I would very much like to know. Such damage to historic records is criminal." Sousuke sank back into his wheel chair. His eyes narrowed upon the ring tha Uri had produced. The cogs in Sousuke's head were turning. He was already reading into the ring. It had been well kept, not only by Uri but by many others. "The shine on that ring. Ebon Steel or is it Obsidianite? My armour as it currently stands had acquired the characteristics of ebon steel, but it's not true ebon steel. Both metals are difficult to smelt. You need a level eight fire technique to so much as get it to the phase of almost melting. When you get to nine or ten things get more dangerous then because you risk the integrity of the metal when you rework it and then force it to cool."

(MFT 814)

Mikaboshi · Apr 28, 2014

Katsuo watched with interest as Shuu pushed her hair aside and displayed the chakra mark on the base of her neck. Seeing it flash for a moment with her infusion of chakra and unable to contain his curiosity, Katsuo flowed chakra into his eyes causing the yellow to drain from their normally peridot coloring leaving behind a brilliant azure shine as he looked on. Even though the ink of the tattoo was gone, the latent chakra of the tattoo smoldered like the dying embers of a campfire under the veil-piercing eyes that Katsuo's Masashi heritage gave him. The task done, he blinked a few times and his green eyes returned lacking the mitsudomoe that signaled the activation of his doujutsu technique.

"Something we have in common then." He said, lifting his right arm and showing off the back of it. Inked into the skin of his hand in a dull and dark rust-color was a perfect circle outline with the triple-tomoe mitsudomoe of the Zenjingan in it-- the symbol of the Masashi Clan. For Shuu whose eyes could see chakra as clear as day, flame chakra burned brightly just beneath the surface of the seal held in place by equal parts seal and willpower. "I guess you could say mine's about rank as well... it's the hunter seal of my family. We get'em when we've proven our mettle enough to wander the desert on our own without our teacher. Mine's a little different than most though. A bit of old magic I picked up from some crazy old lady that I helped out a few years back with a sand shark problem. The sharks gave me some souvenirs too but those aren't really appropriate for meal time."

He was of course referring to the scars that the shark's teeth had left in his body. Even though Katsuo had conditioned himself to recover quickly from physical harm and tempered his body against being harmed in the first place, he still had quite the menagerie of scars and healed over wounds. It was something of a collection for him by now and it was a wonder that he'd not managed to get himself a nice big facial scar like so many other men and women in such violent lines of work did. Uri finished his meal and seemed to lament the fact that he could find no mention of his lineage back to the First Men that his father had told him of and that struck a bit of a chord with Katsuo for the desert hunter had lineage woes of his own that he wrestled with. Most men would scoff at Katsuo's hesitation to reveal his birthright and take the throne but for a man who had lived his whole adult life free as the wind the thought of being trapped in a city and surrounded by a cavern with politicians around him constantly was scarier than any monster. Between the court full of advisers and counselors and a pack of demons, Katsuo would dive fists first into the pack of demons without a second thought.

"Importance is a matter of perspective my friend." Remarked Katsuo as he scooped up the last remaining bits of the omlette that Sousuke had put before him and it disappeared past his lips. "To a man lost in the desert someone with a waterskin is the most important person in all the world. Really at the end of the day we're all just folk."

Kendori Shuu · May 10, 2014

As Sousuke commented on the T-Rex she offered a gentle smile and inclined her head.

"Very good, Sousuke-kun, but alas I would expect that from a book-learned individual such as yourself. When my Great Uncle Rashoumon would bring home pictures, drawings, scrolls, and even bones from the ancient beasts I admit that it captivated a home-bound child like myself. I couldn't get enough...until one day I begged him and my parents enough to let me go on a brief expedition with him. Only a few weeks or so, but it was amazing." She reached into the pouch she'd stuck Uri's metal sphere in, a pouch of odd memories and odds and ends she usually carried with her. She withdrew from that pouch a rather unique looking kunai. It was of bone construction, curved at the tip, and sharpened and modified to be made into a viable weapon as much as a keepsake. It would look more appropriate in a child's hands than an adults', but could serve the same purpose in a clinch if necessary, as she kept it in top shape. She set it on the table and slid it towards the Steward.

"This is one of the primary claws of a species known as Velociraptor. It is one of my most beloved and prized possessions, which I myself unearthed on my trip. My Great Uncle fashioned it into a crude kunai for me since my parents were telling me I wasn't old enough to have my own at the time, and it never left my side after that. A common misconception for those only moderately informed is that Velociraptors were not as big as people might suspect. Barely a foot and a half tall. I was fascinated by all of the powerful and dangerous beasts of ages past when I was a kid. Still am, I suppose, as evidenced by the fact that it still has not left my posession since I found it, only these days I have more to occupy my time and attention than I did as a kid with nothing but time on my hands."

As Katsuo demonstrated his own Shuu smiled gently. "Now you're just trying to find an excuse to show off your muscles~," Shuu teased, though her keen vision made it impossible to miss the infused chakra into the tattoo. "I can see the power in it. Fire-based, if my chakra detection skills have not rusted on me," she spoke coyly, refusing to reveal just yet how she knew...though on their drinking binge she'd told Uri all about the true nature of her eyes.

Shuu did not miss the emphatic disagreement that Sousuke displayed in the face of the Uri's suggestion as to why his family couldn't be found in Sunaan Histories. It was hard to miss, actually, considering how normally quiet and reserved the crippled man usually was. Katsuo spoke up himself with words of consolation, at which point Shuu just let out a slow sigh, grinning. She pulled herself to her feet, stretching all her muscles at once as her hands raised over her head, letting out a squeak as she then reached down, plucked up her beer, and drained the remainder of the contents in a single swig then slammed it down on the table with a sharp clunk.

"Uri-boya...I'm disappointed in you." She turned and wandered over to the T-Rex, bending down to scritch it's chin, probably giving the boys at the table a decent view of her curves, though not indecently so...just enough to hint at the woman's figure. She was not a harlot, but she did not hide from her sexuality either. She would wait a minute, probably to let her words sink in. Most would think they were not ones of matronly concern, but seemingly the opposite. "You and I may not know each other for decades, but I'd like to think I've come to understand you." She straightened herself, turning to look him in the eyes with a steely sapphire gaze that was full of fire and challenge, but not in an adversarial fashion...more those of one looking to push a friend out of complacency. "You are like a pitbull. You don't let go of something once you wrap your jaws around it unless you damn-well want to. You don't let something beat you. Not in any way, even if it's just emotionally. You have darkness and depths you don't let others see--and I get that; we all have that level to us--but in the end your fiery optimism always wins out. You don't accept defeat on any level for any reason, not really; not when it matters to you...and this clearly does." She walked up to him, only a few inches from his face, and offered a sly grin. She was not the prim and proper type of girl. Never had been. If she felt something should be said, she would damn well say it.

"You're angry you can't find mention of your family? Fine. Get off your ass and find it. Either your brethren lied about the duration of your line's presence in Suna, or someone has removed mention of your family. Either way, definitive proof must exist somewhere. People who do those kinds of things usually keep such proof as insurance. So find it. You just need the motivation to do it...or are you afraid of what you'd find~?" The grin that had curled its way across her expression never once flickered or vanished, as though she were goading a reaction out of him, and in a sense she was.

"You're Kuroda Uri, goddammit, and you're one of the most gifted geniuses I've ever seen wielding chakra...so use that giant brain of yours. The Uri-boya I got utterly sloshed with and did all kinds of legally questionable stunts with would not just sit on his hands and lament his own lack of knowledge. He would go out and seek it no matter the effort or cost. If you're willing to do that for things you haven't any experience or knowledge like counting cards or stealing the wig off of that one police officer's sleeping head, then why the hell wouldn't you do it for your own family name?" She stepped back, slouching back into her chair, and offered a more gentle smile to him this time.

"My father once told me true friends tell you what you need to hear...even if it's not always what you want to hear. So if I upset you I'm sorry, I'm not looking to do that...I just needed you to take a long hard look at yourself and ask yourself if what you've done and what you know is truly the extent of what you're capable of doing to find out the truth you seem to both crave and possibly fear at the same time."

Uri · May 11, 2014

"Ebon steel is right," He remarked, thumb still rubbing against the minute detailing of the ring. "It's quality is something magnificent. This little trinket has survived everything I've been through." A short flick of his wrist and the silver of the chain evaporated into droplets in the air long enough for him to remove the ring from its catch. Reaching across Katsuo with an apologetic wave of his hand, he left the piece of master craft jewelry to rest before Sousuke for inspection.

The stranger from beyond Sunagakure was right in that they were all the same at the end of the day, but many people did not share that view. Sunagakure, despite being completely free of any governing force other than itself, and led by a man who believes in the good of all mankind, it has a caste system that elevates and takes better care of those who could afford it. People fell through the cracks all the time and it was due to their social status in the village. While Uri could usually always overlook everything with a smile, this was one thing that had always nagged at him. Mostly because it was the cause of his father's inevitable death. A man whose life was spent entirely on improving others was nothing more than a shadow in a dark cave when he passed away. There were other tragic examples too, ones that Uri just bared witness to, unable to act until it was far too late.

Shuu then scolded the chuunin and proceeded to offer the whole table a view they would be able to appreciate as virile men. He also knew when Shuu was winding up to give one of her speeches; she had done it a few times when they had been in a drunken haze. He couldn't recall a single word of them, but he did remember fetching more shots to see how far he could drive the Hyuuga into inane rantings. Uri was not a confrontational person on any level, and in fact was infamous for diffusing such situations with a sweet smile and a sugary treat, but this time was different. There was an insinuation of neglect or awkward denial. Which was completely untrue. To presume something so important hadn't been researched to the depths of Sunagakure's capability was asinine. The thirst for knowledge the chuunin had put him in places, doing ungodly things just for the sake of their understanding. His entirely trip had been just that; a learning experience to help him grow. To see all the great evils and utter disregard for life and cruelty in the world is what inspired him to be a catalyst for change where ever he may go. A single thread of fate could alter the entirety of reality to a completely different string of events and it was these small acts that caused tidal waves that had made him admire his father like he had.

The discovery of his family was not so much about knowing, as it was to clear any possible ill-word against his father.

As Shuu concluded her fiery preaching, Uri nodded, fetching from his jacket a small red lollipop he unwrapped and began to partake in, "My father would not lie." The piece of hard candy between his lips was the only thing holding him back from the emotional reply he had built up. It was not appropriate to ruin everyone's morning with some outburst at a public place. That and he wished to maintain the beasts wandering the cafe for as long as he could; flaring up might cause unwanted surprises. "And I do not care where I came from. I was raised in believing a single person can change the world, that anyone can be a hero if they rise to the challenge. That is the foundation in which Sunagakure was built on. We are King's Men." Uri passed Sousuke a grin having stolen his trademarked slogan. "My family is everything, Dori-chan. Don't ever think otherwise, but there are questions that don't have answers that I cannot find, at least, not here, not in this village." There was a heavy exhale, a sign that he was clearly holding back a much larger and more passionate response. He closed his eyes and nodded briefly, as if in confirmation of everything she had said.

"We'll talk later, when conditions are more appropriate and we don't have company." Methodically, he slid his gloves back on and pulled the securing band tight to keep them in place. Fingers wiggled as they settled into their confines once more. There was a moment that hung in the air when no one spoke, but it was quickly ended as Uri stuck a finger into the air. "How about a little dessert to wrap up our meal, yeah? I have something I've been experimenting with I want everyone to try." A rotation in his chair and he would spot their waitress. A wave of his hand would flag her down and the classic Uri smile greeted her.

"What can I get you, Uri-san?"

"A bowl of various berries; whatever you guys have in stock right now, and a pitcher of water." While it sounded reasonable, she still gave him an odd look due to the obvious fact she could tell he had a plan up his sleeve. She trotted off to fetch the request and Uri turned back towards the table, turning to Katsuo, the lollipop dancing as he spoke up. "If you think the animal trick was something, wait until you see this. This is a Uri original and its probably one of the greatest inventions of our time."

[mft]

((OOC: Bother that was hard to write.))

Takahashi Aki · May 13, 2014

Sousuke looked at the crude kunai that Shuu had produced. He didn't touch it merely he leaned forward and looked at it. He turned his head and looked at it from a different angle. The Steward would have perhaps picked it up, if he were wearing special issue gloves or something to prevent truly dangerous bacteria from damaging the bone. The thought then struck the steward that Shuu herself wasn't wearing gloves. Secondly she had slid it across a table that was already bacteria infested. Surely... surely it must be okay if he were to handle it with his own hands. The Steward with great hesitation reached forward to take the bone, as he was about to take it but he halted immediately. His fingers dangling above the object. Instantly the Steward went to his own backpack from underneath his chair. He pulled out from the bag a tooth, in fact it was a tooth belonging to that mutant sandshark he had engaged a long time ago. It was with the help of his mentor, Mikaboshi, and his Ward, Okibi, that the Steward was able to more or less blot out the terrible experience that came with the attempted digestion of said sandshark of the Steward. The larger tooth slide across the table and a large tink was heard when it made contact.

There. Both of them were even. Therefore if something happened to the claw knife that Shuu had produced, she in turn could keep the tooth of the mutant sandshark. "I once was almost consumed by an unnaturally large and mutated sandshark. That tooth belongs to it." Sousuke spoke explaining the tooth. It wasn't nearly as old as the nail, but it was just as rare. The Steward had never seen such a large sandshark in his life. With less hesitation than before Sousuke picked up the claw. He held it in the palm of his hand. He then closed his hand around it. The Steward then held the knife between his index and middle finger. He made a mock playful gesture of swinging his hand with the knife. Yes. "Your Great Uncle what a wonder he found. Small in size, but ancient in age this is. This is certainly a treat. To see such a thing. Curious though the size of it. I must wonder if this is a finger claw or a toe claw. Hrm... " The Steward would look skyward for a moment still handling the possession between his index and middle finger. "Left hand claw. I'd say... maybe the middle finger? The size of the thumb equivalent would be smaller..." The Steward would guess.

By the time he had finished his theory it seemed that there were to be more ... words between Katsuo and Shuu. She guessed correctly about him having power over fire chakra. The Steward would neither confirm or deny. It was not his place to give away Katsuo's secrets...though he suspected Katsuo may blurt something out on occasion due to his honesty. Nothing too revealing. "Well. Thankfully for you Katsuo your sandshark didn't try to make a one bite meal out of you. I was swallowed whole, and the digestive juices were ever so slowly melting my MKII. Granted I'm really just ..." He paused for a moment. Timing was not one of Sousuke's strong suits. He quickly worked in his mind to reword his approach to this. Not nearly as funny as he had worked out in his mind, but at least it was a form of conversational piece. "Well... I'm more of an appetizer. I'm just skin and bone, you're ... well you would be more like a main course so to speak." Shuu would then attend to the infant T-Rex, the Steward would merely shift his glance to Katsuo. Shuu was indeed a fair lady, and thus to 'oogle' her as she had accused Uri of doing earlier was not proper. Especially when the Steward was in a relationship with Yume. Truthfully it was more up to Katsuo to do the 'oogling' so to speak considering their eye play earlier. Shuu was in truth closer to his own mother in age, maybe a decade younger than his mother who was ... mysteriously always thirty-nine years of age. He suspected his mother in truth to be forty-three. Katuso though was maybe ... seven or eight years behind Shuu? Women never spoke of their ages. In fact trying to put a number to them was difficult for even Sousuke.

Regardless. Shuu was a little too ol-- ... gracefully aged for the Steward, but not for Katsuo. Perhaps he could ... arrange for a meet up for them like the time Saemon had arranged for Sousuke to meet with him and his brother at the ... well to be most certain the arrangement wouldn't be made at that facility. Secondly Sousuke would need to fund the meet up seeing as how both Shuu and Katsuo were broke. Thirdly Sousuke while the younger of the group had to take some sort of care of his cousin seeing as how he was of the Sunahoshi lineage. Granted Katsuo didn't want to have such things, or be treated any different ... still thought it was in Sousuke's place to take care of him. Not the other way around. Such was not disclosed to Katsuo, and perhaps never would be.

From there the conversation would turn sour as Shuu had words for Uri. The Steward suspected that this was what one called 'getting told'. It was brash, and certainly more than what Sousuke would have said to Uri. The Steward wondered though what Uri would say in return. The answer came in a very Uri-isque fashion. Then to boot he also added the use of the family motto of the Takahashi clan. Sousuke would nod his head approvingly. The Steward had never seen Uri truly riled, and he suspected that he would never want to. "History is a great book of stories. You merely need to put your hands on the right landmark title and go from there. I'm certain you'll be successful in your undertaking Uri ... you've got your hands on something being that ring. Think of it as a ... forward or a prelude if you will. I know signet rings can unlock certain secrets, but finding said secrets ...well that's anymore matter entirely." Sousuke had hoped that he had said the right things to help Uri.

It seemed that dessert was to come with style. Sousuke would clap his hands together as he was looking forward to this. Even Kitchy let out an excited bark to show her enthusiasm as well. "We are certainly in a treat."

(MFT 891)

Have a bite...or six [Shuu/Sousuke/Open]

Takahashi Aki

Faithful Ninja

Mikaboshi

Faithful Ninja

Kendori Shuu

Ninja

Uri

Active Ninja

Takahashi Aki

Faithful Ninja