Private I spy with my little eye... [pvt]

[Sazuki Nao]

There was alcohol at the dinner.. and Nao rarely drank alcohol, let alone high percentages. His cheeks were having a healthy color of red. His hairs were a little messy and his balance was off. "Ke-shii, I am home." He slurred out once he sat down in the doorway, giggling as he tried to get up the few steps to the doorway. He... was a mess. "Keeeshiiiiii" He giggled again as he couldn't help but try to call out to his future husband with the strange speech.

He finally made it to the kitchen and grabbed one of the children's cups of plastic to get himself water. It was then that he noticed the small figure beside him, "Hoo- hishomhi" And again he started to giggle, he butchered her name too. Nao was drunk, to say the least. He had worked a lot, eating dinner with the Byoin personnel to celebrate the rebuilding part, and how well they had done, and they had gotten him to the point of drunk that they didn't even know was possible. All the co-workers were glad he had tomorrow off and that they had dropped Nao personally off at the clanhouse.

He felt the small hands on his hind side and noticed Hotomi was pushing him to the couch. It took some effort from Nao to keep standing and not go face first... But in the end, he did manage there. Swaying from left to right with a big grin on his face. He would be looking to the staircase and back to the kitchen. "Spiiin" He sounded as a child and got the water in the plastic cup. "Thans shu.." He tried to remain polite despite the drunk attitude.

One thing Nao may have forgotten to it all. That at 22:00 a child would be standing in the doorway for Keiji... and he had gotten home at least on time like 21:20... but that still wasn't enough time to speed sober someone up for it.

[ooc; for clarification, this was a different dinner than the sennin dinner.]
[pvt for Inuzuka Keiyaku and Keiji]

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

When the Inuzuka boy left class that day, he at least felt he had something to look forward to. The sensei had instructed him to attend upon the Sakuro clan residence at 10pm that night for a meeting that hopefully put him in contact with an important name, someone who could help him realise the career path he had been leaning towards. He would go home, get some rest, have some dinner along with Morutobu and then get ready to set out again.

"Where are you going so late, boy?"

It was a deep, gravelly voice that made Keiyaku freeze. He turned out to see a large, shaggy black dog; it was Kiiromaru, his father's ninken. The dog was Morutobu's father and had a large hand.. or paw... in helping raise Keiyaku too. So overprotective.

"W-We won't be long. I'm supposed to have a meeting about some academy stuff," Keiyaku told the overbearing old mutt, not really feeling he had time to explain on top of not wanting to be late. With Morutobu, the little Shiba dog, running energetically as always at his heels, the pair set off, leaving Kiiromaru to roll his eyes after them.

Following the directions he had been given, he arrived at the clan's residence, nervously approaching it. Moru seemed to be eager more than nervous, in contrast to himself. As Keiyaku got closer, at around 10pm, he noticed the door appeared to be open. He approached slowly, knocking on the side of the wall and poking his head in, not wishing to just barge through.

"Uh, sensei? Anyone home?"

 

[Keiji]

A jovial sensation was expressed to Keiji as he approached his home from Hitomi. Apparently Nao had returned home drunk and barely comprehensible. Then as he got closer, Hitomi sent a wave of emotions, slight concern, someone at the door she sensed them approach. In response, Keiji whom at the time was only several meters away, should only take a few seconds if he rushed. Another wave of emotions, she heard a child ask for a sensei through the halls.

His presence hidden through chakra manipulation, the next split second he had jumped up in the air and landed without making a sound behind the child. Reaching forth his hand lightly touched the shoulder of the child. If or when they looked back they'd see a tall, and looming hooded person looking down at him, wearing black and maroon ANBU clothes tightly wrappe across his body, on his face was a white mask in the shape of a raven, the eyes hollowed out enabling Keiji's eyes to see and with the beak protruding in the center pointing down at the boy.

A dark but kind, warm and soothing voice, as that of someone who's seen death and despair and conquered those emotions, now only existing to help others reach the same. Like a father figure eager to impart his knowledge to the next generation, reached forth from underneath the mask to the child. "Now, what do we have here?.." he tightened his grip on the shoulders barely. Merely indicating with clarity whom he was addressing. "What brings one of the Inuzuka to this clan building exactly?"

Meanwhile in the doorway Hitomi, Keiji's Youkai contract in human form would appear from within the building, leaving Nao within working on his drunken stupor, ready to listen in on whatever was happeing. A short statured girl looking no older than a 12 year old, with massive curly red hair and wearing the same type of clothes as Keiji resembling that of an ANBU in Training. The last tidbit of emotions and thoughts she projected to her contract holder was knowing the location of Nao, and his current state, which sent a feeling of concern for his fiance within their home. But alas, now his attentions was directed towards their little guest.

[Thread entered in the most dramatic way possible!]

 

[Sazuki Nao]

In the 30 minutes before the child arrived to the clanhouse, Hitomi was having her hands full on the grown adult that had a few drinks too many. Luckily for all of them, Nao wasn't a puker but he would eventually get really attatched to people or objects with hugging.
As the child would get inside, Nao was already fast asleep on the couch. He was hugging the small square pillow that had layed there. Gladly for both Hitomi and Keiji, Nao wasn't a puker. Yes, the next morning he would be hella groggy and not in the best mood till the day after.

[Topic left unless stopped]

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

Something seemed a bit off here. Keiyaku felt uneasy as he knocked on the door, not entirely sure what to expect; he thought the sensei from his earlier class would have met him out front or something of the sort. He looked down at Morutobu who seemed to just be blithely staring up at the Inuzuka boy, he slightly bemused expression on his face, as if unsure what to do. Keiyaku was on the point of turning around when he heard a gentle voice in his ear and a hand on his shoulder, almost causing him to jump a mile into the air. He turned to look up at the presence behind him, staring up into a pair of eyes looking back on him through a scary-looking mask. Trying not to let his voice shake, he felt his lips move indistinctly.

"I...I...I..."

Morutobu, the little Shiba puppy was curiously sniffing around at the man's feet, as if trying to determine a motive, but at the same time, lacking a crucial sense of caution. He gave a little yip, and Keiyaku seemed to relax slightly.

"N...Na...Nao-sensei asked me to m-meet him here. This i-is the Sakuro Clan place, r-right?"

The sight of a red-headed girl, around his age, emerging from the house, did little to assuage his worry he'd just stepped into something serious. Moru seemed to be fast picking up on his big brother's fear, retreating to sit between his legs, leaning tightly against one of them as he looked up at the masked man, his hackles raised.

"I.... I... I mean, we, w-were told to meet him here be-because, we're, I... I mean..... we're looking to.... we..." Keiyaku stammered, trailing off, muttering something indistinct that sounded suspiciously like 'ANBU'.

 

[Keiji]

Listening to scared muttering of the child was an odd pleasure he felt. Not like scaring children was a common ocurrence or anything, the adoptive children living in the clan house knew him well enough not to be scared by his presence, but instead seeing him as some parental figure.
And yet here was a whimpering child with a whining little puppy between his legs, practically wetting themselves in fear. Underneath the mask he licked his lips, imagining himself tasting the pheromones you excreet under great distressful moments. Then slowly calming himself after hearing the last mutterings, clearly reading his lips intended words.

Pulling the child around to face in his direction, and then releasing the grip on the Inuzuka's shoulders he replied in the same tone as before. "You're in the right place." More relaxed, he stretched his knees in opposite directions, resting his arms on them closing himself off from the child with arms slightly crossed and moved his body down to get to the child's height so the dark abyssal eyes of the white mask could see directly into the Inuzuka child's eyes.

"Unfortunately Sazuki Nao, is currently indisposed, he might have forgotten your arrangement.." He paused to let the disappointment of those words settle in as he continued "However, considering the circumstances, tell me what you want to know of the ANBU?" He tilted his head slightly, imitating a curious bird. "Are you intending to join their ranks?" Another pause as the little girl took another step closer behind the child leaving the doorframe and closing the door behind her, curious to listen in on the conversation. "Does the secretive order of the elites intrigue you perhaps?" He tilted his head the other way. "Or is there perhaps another reason you felt the path of the ANBU was one where you belonged? Please, do tell.."

He awaited for his response, understandable to the circumstance he might need to collect his composure and relax his puppy, maybe take a few deep breathes. He was currently in perhaps the biggest job interview of his entire life. This was the moment that might define his near, if not far future, it was time. And Keiji knew this, and enabled him to do so.

They were still standing right outside of the front door to the clan house, Nao inside working through his hangover, he was eager to get back in and help nurse his fiancé and lift him into bed, readying fatty and salty foods, readying water, thankfully, knowing Nao, he knew a bucket was most likely not necessary. But alas he still had another business to deal with here.

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

Keiyaku could feel his heart slowly sinking into his stomach as he watched the masked man perch himself onto his knees, a strange gleam in those eyes which was all he could see of the man's face. His nose twitched, sensing a presence behind him too, in the house. His eyes darted mometarily to the periphery of his vision before focusing on the man before him; Morutobu seemed to have detected the same presence as well.

The right place...

Keiyaku's attention solely focused on the masked man, slitted-pupil eyes gazing deeply into those behind the mask, about to respond to the first question. The mention of the sensei being... indisposed... was enough to make Moru perk up, yipping in indignation, at the idea the two of them had been somehow hoodwinked. It was a mark of the tension of the sitatuation that Keiyaku stayed him with a growl, a wolfish shadow passing over his face as he issued the command. Moru fell silent.

The boy's immediate thought was to ask about the whereabouts of his teacher, to ask what had happened to make him forget... but then again, grown ups did lots of odd things. Maybe it was better to leave well enough alone.

"We... we know some things, I guess. Not a lot, though. O-Our fathers; Inuzuka Tōboe and K-Kiiromaro, b-before retiring, were ANBU o-officers. In-Inquisition Branch, they told us... whatever that means..." Keiyaku explained shakily, his efforts to stay his voice failing pathetically. It felt too painful to admit that he feared Kiiromaru would flay him alive if he did not follow in his father's footsteps; this was a path he and Moru had to discover on their own for it to mean anything. At the same time, there was something else to his and Morutobu's ambitions.

"I-It's what we do all day; we hunt to...t-to feed our clansmen. We h-hunt to keep our mind busy, to focus. W-We are one of the oldest clans in this village," Keiyaku declared, his voice raising with a kind of prideful stoicism, but at the same time there was an element of having long since rehearsed his words, "w-we use our skills and secrets to protect the village, other-otherwise, what are we for? My clan, we... I was given this knowledge, and these skills for a reason, right?" As he said this, he looked down at his hands, at his fingers which ended in sharp claws protruding from his skin. His eyes drifted down to the puppy between his legs, who still looked rather indignant and defiant, albeit scared. Keiyaku said one more sentence, and, surprisingly, he spoke it with confidence and without stammer nor splutter.

"We were made for this."

 

[Keiji]

"Most intriguing.." Keiji thought to himself. The amount of Inuzuka's that he's taken apart, bodies opened and examined closely is difficult to count, but he remembers all that he has learned. Their unique organs, and the chakra that is infused within, he could pinpoint the exact points to extract the organs from this little child, to eternally remove and nullify the traits that make them unique from all other chakra users. His Harvester training itching his nose to do the surgical incisions. A short breath escaped his lungs, not realising he was holding his breath slightly.

"Your passion for utilizing your clans abilities, and following in your fathers footsteps is admirable. It's important to treasure that family and the gifts their blood has bestowed upon you." He said those words but he also sensed the irony in his own cursed clan and close family, burned by the stake by the villagers of his neighborhood, cursed by the legacy of his great great grandfather whom was instrumental in several wars. He's never been particularly proud of his family, his Hyuuga eyes is all he has and truly knows of his legacy, as he is the only one in his close family where they awakened.

The bitterness he felt towards all non-chakra users boiled within him for decades and made him want to hurt all those that didn't, wouldn't, or couldn't comprehend the powers Chakra enabled, their ignorance was what killed his family in the end. And a tingle of these emotions still rested within him to these days, despite his chosen profession to help others, chakra users or no.

A nod came from the raven mask staring at the child. "Yes." He finally admitted, looking back up from the nod. "You'll do fine. We shall have to test this resolve of course. We will call for you, and you will follow the directions received or you will be disqualified from entering our ranks. So be ready." He leaned slightly closer to the child's face, and in a serious note continued. "Understood?"

Hitomi would give an affirming clap from behind Keiyaku with her hands as a way to finalize the moment regardless of the reaction to Keiji's words. "And that's that." She would give a small and soft slap on the child's shoulders. "Run along now, I'm sure you'll see Nao-san soon and he can apologize to you in person."

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

Keiyaku stared back into the blank, white eyes behind the raven mask, transfixed. His mouth hung slightly agape, his legs moving together, slightly clutching the Shiba Inu puppy between them as the man spoke. He could feel the hairs standing up on the back of his neck while the man seemed to contemplate him; the impassive gaze he was giving him appeared, to the Inuzuka boy, conspicuously calculating, like a predator seizing up the weakest member of the herd. The spiel about following behind his father being admirable, it all sort of just washed over him without leaving much impression behind, the sound of Morutobu whimpering below seeping into his brain somewhere until finally.

'Yes.'

The abrupt word snapped him out of his reverie, and, suddenly, the man was looking at him approvingly, sharing a brief word of encouragement, and then plunging into strict instruction which Keiyaku dutifully noted, his legs still shaking slightly.

"S-Sir, yessir," he said with almost military-like gusto, albeit quavering slightly. He was just about to open his mouth again when a loud clap behind him made him almost jump out of his skin. He whipped around to see the young girl behind him, looking at her as though he were seeing things. Without another word, he reached down and grabbed Moru by the scruff of his neck, pulling him into his arm. He took one last tentative look at the both of them, but mostly at the masked man. Opening his mouth to say something, he shut it again quickly, thinking better off it. Instead, he turned on his heel and strode off home, a slight scurry in his step, as though frightened the ground might swallow him.

[mft]

~Topic Left~

 

[Keiji]

The masked ANBU with his hollowed eyes followed the child's actions meticulously, and as he faded from his sights the intrusive thoughts continued gnawing at him. The truth of war, the truth of the services the ANBU has on their docket every day is a matter not many guts or souls can comprehend, the efforts they have to go through to keep the village safe, keeping it functioning and being what it needs to be for the people. While also working towards the goals of the Kage, regardless of the circumstances and work. Testing limits is what Keiji had to go through with his sensei. He thought back on his own test. And wondered how he'd throw this pup into the shadow wars being fought behind the curtains and away from prying eyes.

A short breath as he heard the steps fade too far from hearing, turning to Hitomi he hastily requested "Show me Nao.. Now!" standing up straight and following her into the house as he pulled off his mask when he was certain he was behind the entrance door.

"Right this way." She said as she waved him in, and lead the way inside to where Nao had fallen asleep on the couch.
"Ready the usual, I'll take him to bed."

[Thread Left]