Love is a Biological Weapon and a Tier 3 Offense [Private | Eros]

[Byakko Yukiin]

The swarms of lights, the flushes of flesh-wrapped heat pursuing their non-flesh bound counterparts like moths to the flame, and the consistent roar of noise made it all the clearer that one was in the bustling heart of the city at the wrong time of night. Or right time, if you were a delinquent. As a proper citizen and shinobi the only time Yukiin found himself here was with a goal to accomplish and made his interactions appropriately short, getting what he came for and then leaving in the most direct way possible. Tonight was a bit of a different matter and while he found the entire suggestion to be "ludicrous" and "a fantastic waste of time and research potential", as he said in his sternly worded complaint letter, it was apparently in the village's best interests to advertise its walking weapon caches as "personable instead of walking freezers", a phrase that he did not use but which was used at him. If he had any nerves left that might've touched one.

Entertainment for the masses made out of dragging the lab born monster into the light of day to pretend to be something it wasn't but unfortunately for the film crew that had decided to meet him at his house instead of on location. They seemed to believe he would do something filmable before he even got there which was foolish considering he spent the entire movement to location reading the compelling and appropriate literature on the subject, though he couldn't quite figure out why people lost their clothes halfway through it. Still, the magazine man had assured him these were quality date preparation goods so Yukiin didn't really understand why the cameramen seemed so intent on watching him read and snickering to themselves.

He tried asking but one of them pointed to a small taped sign on their equipment that said 'Do not interfere with shinobi in their natural habitat' and he thought that was probably good advice, some of his associates were a bit stabby. Yukiin discarded the books which he'd been juggling between arms and tendrils to speed read through an entire library in one trip downtown, handing them off to one of the camera crew and asking him to hold onto them until he could return these works home. He couldn't certain he'd gleaned all their secrets from just one read through and he didn't have any of his sealing inks or the like to determine and unravel any Fuuinjutsu built into it.

Shrinking his form, sliding each of his extra appendages back into his skin, he adjusted himself from underneath as the icy slurry of himself made a few last minute touches to what he was wearing and what he was wearing on top of what he was wearing. The skin in use was more appropriate than the younger body he'd been occupying before now, he needed to make some changes anyways and he still had more room to improve, but his actual attire had also been altered for the occasion. He had far less direct control over that as it wasn't chakra based which annoyed him but that was the norm here in Kumogakure - you wore clothes made out of material things.

"It isn't me, but nothing is these days." Yukiin muttered to himself, pulling the door open to enter into the restaurant, predetermined, pre-scouted days ago, and pre staffed with people he'd met prior so that he felt confident he could kill them if they tried to poison his food and pass off the buck. Not that he would let that happen, he knew where they got their supplies from and had checked in with them as well to ensure that they were not passing along any toxic goods to the local businessess...so if anything did happen, he knew who to blame. No individual in the kitchen had unrestricted access to any dish or its ingredients, the place was too small, there was always at least two or three other people in the kitchen working, and with only a dozen or so staff in general he could eliminate the handful in the kitchen without serious impact to business health - they could bounce back from losing a quarter of their staff.

All it took was two weeks of foreknowledge and several excursions, well worth the knowledge of security.

In short - the only loose end was his acquaintance for the evening. For that reason, he bought all the seats in the establishment for the next three hours and filled them with associates of his from work. It would be impossible for her to bring her own men in and attempt to run a tanto into his neck without doing it herself or infiltrating his branch, at which point he had bigger fish to fry anyways if Kahako was allowing traitors into their midsts.

Well, except for a couple of ANBU guys doing a stakeout in the corner, they refused to cooperate with his "insanely excessive safeguarding measures" so he left them their table so they could sulk around and threaten staff if they came too close. If he was insane for taking precautions they were insane for trying to compensate for not doing so by being scared of having their necks snapped by waitstaff, a point he accentuated by snapping his own neck backwards to look at them.

"Please don't snap my vulnerable neck, thats my weak spot." He spoke, casting his voice from the man who had shown his discomfort. It seemed wide and obvious to him, these small body ticks, but now it was obvious to everyone since it had been announced verbally. There was a rumble of laughter that only the people exposed to the dead could give out in response to the subject, the humor typically reserved for the Medical branch.

One of the maskless men narrowed his eyes and took a heavy drag from his cigarette as a response while the target of his mockery flushed a deeper color. Clearly a student on the team, new to the game, easy to get under his skin. So was his own skin though as touched a senbon in his own neck that had most likely been planted there by one of his senior's deft hands. Fair play, it was illegal but he couldn't prove they'd put it there, even the camera crew wouldn't have a device fast enough to catch that kind of movement, so he just had to let it slide as easily as the weapon slid out from his flesh. A twitch off the jugular too, if he had one, so it wasn't lethal...it just looked lethal.

The abomination in man-skin turned back to face the entrance from his previously turned towards the back table position, that is to say he snapped his neck back around, a bit shocked but not exactly changing colors. A pair of delicate fingers plucked the weapon out without so much as a grimace or sound. He set the thing down on the table, bloodless, coated in a fine silver fluid as the flesh of his neck mended itself in a crystalline flush before it recolored itself into skin.

"So, how long have you been there and how many drinks until I get a new first impression? Don't mind the needle, would you believe it was a war wound fighting on the front lines in heroic defense of the Raikage? If not, please add to the previous total how many it will take to make that seem plausible; I need a good barometric for lies."

 

[Siu]

Makeup, eyeliner, hair extensions; weapons this shinobi had not utilized in what seemed like ages, neither had expected to have a purpose to do so for any longer. However, today would be an unusual occasion.

"...What do boys even like?!" Exclaimed a clearly frustrated voice. The whole event felt rather pointless to her unless the real intent had actually been to film for a comedy rather than a romance reality-show--because that's exactly what they were about to receive. She now grievously regretted the agreement she'd allowed herself to be persuaded into for the purpose of supposedly promoting a 'positive and more 'humanly'' outlook upon shinobi.
This 'date' had been arranged in a nice location at least; Within the very vibrant heart of Cloud--the Susukino district. Whom or even what her mysterious date would be within that district, however, she had no awareness of whatsoever. Was this that thing they called 'blind dating'? It seemed like a sick game of torture; For, how could anyone know whether they were interested in agreeing to go on a date with someone without having at least a general idea or picture of them first? Who made the rules for this show, anyways?

The anxiety of the day would only increase as she eventually set foot to leave her home, greeted by an all too enthusiastic camera crew.

"Oh...great Raiden.." Muttered a voice of great disbelief.

There was a thumbs up from one of the cameramen, yet a head down from the embarrassed kunoichi as she left the porch with eyes focused to the ground.

"Just a few hours, right?" She inwardly reassured herself. "Just...a few hours."

---

Enter Restaurant Scene...<i></i>

Emerging through the doors of the lively establishment, the older kunoichi felt herself completely overwhelmed from her anxiety. She needed a cigarette--did they allow smoking in here? No, that would be considered rude in front of a date, right? At least, that's what the manual she'd read beforehand explained. Her heart felt as if it would explode in her chest, she wanted to die; Was that allowed on live television? Somewhere in here was her selected match.

...Just a few hours.

Eyes frantically scanning about the building, they'd settle upon the most obvious individual of the entire lot. Not obvious in the sense of his attire, height, nor appearance in particular--yet, by the very fact that he was the only individual in the restaurant with a traumatizingly-distorted, indisputably-broken neck with a protruding senbon decorating it. The young kunoichi's eyes widened in shock, far too flabbergasted and confused to even respond with the necessary precautions shinobi are generally taught to perform upon witnessing such possibly life-threatening circumstances. The camera crew was literally just sitting there filming a dea--

....Oh wait.

The male's recoil-worthy scene and cringe-worthy sound effects of cracking and popping bones as he attempted to re-position his neck back into the way most normal humans technically should have them, and nonchalant senbon placement upon the table as if he were an immortal zombie from the latest Jashin horror-film left the female utterly awed and speechless. His mouth moved, and he performed sounds akin to words, yet Siu's mind was far too overwhelmed to effectively process all her selected match was speaking. Widened eyes and dilated pupils with a slightly open mouth was all her chosen 'match' would receive in response, as the young female desperately struggled to retain something akin to composure.

"I..." Began two fumbling lips,

"..need.."

"a..."

"...smoke.."

Manage to articulate to kunoichi, before performing a complete u-turn straight back for the door again in order to buy some time and hopefully recompose herself.

...What exactly had she agreed to?

 

[Byakko Yukiin]

"Not the type of poison I had in mind but..." Yukiin was unphased by the turn of events, it was unusual to have someone act like it was their first day on the job and the idea of making corpses was new but considering the changes in course structure as well as the predisposition of other branches to keep a distance from the nature of their work? It was hardly surprising. He found it immature but what was he to do about it? Complain? No, better to just them sort themselves out and offer a helping hand in the matter by retrieving a storage scroll from inside his pocket, slipping the lip open, and sliding one of the various poisons he kept on his person out in a fresh vial. The powdery dark substance contained in this one was complimented with a production of paper to dump a portion out and roll it within it, the basics of a cigar or cigarette.

Once that was sorted in the brief second it took, Yukiin held the stick between his fingers and offered it. A talon from one of his fingers clipping the edge from the paper roll off so that it maintained a clean appearance between retreating back into his flesh. He hoped that claws weren't going to scare her too but at that point she was being very rude and unreasonable and was a lost cause anyways.

"Tabacco is one of many plants that I tend to, it helps in the medical field to have an intimate understanding of how toxins develop from their infancy and growth to their application in the human body and the inevitable consequences of that introduction. This is a high potency mixture with a few additive ingredients for flavor, it should serve your purposes in this half dose. As a doctor it isn't my professional opinion you should smoke but I'll probably be involved in installing new lungs into your chest in 40 years unless I can find apprentices who have a surgical knack so it's my own problem."

A full dose would kill an adult male but he left that part out, best not to go into details about his intention to grow a strain of tobacco he could use to kill mission targets and adversaries. Most poisons could be used recreationally after all, this is what alcohol was, so turning these common recreational poisons into lethal variants gave him ways to attack opponents who might not go down directly and who might have tasters or immunities to conventional poisons. It was easier to kill a man with something he would take from you willingly than to do so with something you had to sneak into their food or bloodstream.

"And you can smoke in here, second hand inhalation can't cut years off of a lifespan that is infinite." He said, gesturing to the totally-not-agent with his stick between his lips.

The distant Byakko clansmen gestured to the seat across from himself, whether she was turned around or not part of the gesture was for the camera so at least someone would appreciate it.

"I am Byakko, Yukiin and that is your seat from which you may smoke as you like, unless you're just trying to get away because my status as 'differently life enabled' concerns you. I can promise you that I have no interest in converting you into a cult, transforming you into a puppet, or harvesting your heart. These things require forms to be filled out and I told myself I wouldn't do any paperwork tonight, you'd have to ask me during work hours."

 

[Siu]

The kunoichi's head turned to reacknowledge the male in the midst of her hopeful retreat as he unexpectedly, and—admittingly, somewhat shamefully undesirous of her—made attempts to continue dialogue aside from the expected 'ok' she'd desperately hoped to receive in response. Perplexed eyebrows arched in the midst of his lecture concerning the benefits and woes of tobacco as one of his claws, talons—or whatever it was, clipped the edge of the object in hand. This perplextion arose not due to a difficulty in understanding her matches small lecture, yet from his oddity in both behavior and speech.

Glancing at one of the cameramen, an obviously troubled expression written upon her face before looking back at her match again, the kunoichi seemed to ruminate for a few seconds before darting her attention back towards the door of the establishment.

“Hrrnn,” lowly noised the young woman in obvious distress, her leg indicating movement before abruptly stopping itself, her attention turning back to the selected date once more—If she insisted upon her retreat after the extended invitation, it would definitely be considered rude, wouldn't it? This felt akin to being outplayed on a chess board.

Her legs somehow managed to finally move again, not only just as far as back to her original distance before the intended departure, but now even towards close proximity of the male and to the indicated seat in front of him. The robotic attempt to maintain her composure was blatantly obvious as she took her seat in the most unnaturally 'formal' attempt; legs side by side, with two arms gripping either side of the seat of the chair, squeezing them tightly with discomfort. It was impossible to wholly conceal the feeling behind her eyes.
Slowly reaching out a hand to accept the extension, she'd bring the offer to her lips and inhale the substance. Momentary surprise sparked her features as she experienced the unexpected potency of the contents, suppressing a cough. While she was no stranger to tobacco, this was indeed a strong batch in comparison to what she had grown accustomed to usually smoking.
There would be lingered silence as she indulged in her ritual, unabashedly taking all the time required to adequately calm her disturbed and greatly agitated nerves. When she'd finally had her necessary fill, two far less anxious and languid eyes would now more rationally gaze upon the male, as if searching for features she'd previously overlooked in her initial shock.

“I agreed to a date,” calmed and more organized speech would inform, “not a horror show.”

Preserving her gaze upon the male, she'd pause as if allowing her words to air for a bit before continuing on.

"Tell me 'why' you deemed a broken neck and this," an open palm accusatively indicated towards the removed projectile resting upon the table,–"the most appropriate of welcomes.” The kunoichi slightly tilting her head downwards, a free hand moved to rub her forehead in frustration, "..I don't understand.” the confused turmoil of her voice would communicate.

 

[Byakko Yukiin]

"'Horror show' huh? Let me tell you a joke then." Yukiin's features wiped away any traces of expression, not that there were much there to begin with, adopting a jovial form that he pulled out of the memories of one of those wayward souls he was integrating. "Stop me if you've heard this one before...a man has three children, his wife was born with chakra trait and died in an attempt to make her into a kunoichi leaving him to attend to his children who were each taken into custody because they also had heritable chakra trait. The man is alone, seeing his children sparsely, until one day one of his sons just doesn't come back. Then another one. Finally, the last one comes into the office of a monster and asks to be made immortal so that he can ensure his father doesn't lose his last son, it would be a trivial matter for a monster to make that arrangement for him, it happens all the time...and you know what the monster says?"

The man-flesh creature picked up the senbon, crushing it into powder inside his grip.

"He says he can't."

Yukiin smiled, jaw splitting in a facsimile of amusement as transparent as his effort to smooth over the topic by picking up a menu; breaking eye contact as he let the punch line fall out of his lips, far more venomously potent than a cigarette ever could be regardless of who made it. The laugh that came after it, genuine, boisterous, only rolled itself into the poison like mud on a hog.

"He has a date tonight."

When he finished laughing at his own joke, he wiped something away from his eye. He didn't cry, but it paid to pretend to have these human features, made them more comfortable. With the menu in one hand and his other free he spun up a bit of air into a barb of ice, tossing it back through one of the camera lenses that was zooming into him. A lense had very little hope to compete against his ice but the projectile stopped before it punctured the man's head as well, he wasn't going to murder the innocent...he just didn't like to be observed like this and being put under pressure by a human that didn't want to 'understand', only wanted to know, was more than enough to spark bad behavior. Thats how they all were, she would've been happier if he lied and said 'Oh its just a Genjutsu, haha' because that would allow her to forget that monsters were around her and that she just chose not to notice. Yukiin was a good liar, it wouldn't have been hard what with the absence of facial expression and cues on demand, but she was a shinobi and deserved more parts truth to lies.

"I did not intend to be observed by you, I was just having fun with my time off. Sue me."

His claws clicked out, tapping on the menu....uncomfortably.

"...Please uh...Please don't actually sue me, she takes away our Good Medic Stars and I won't be able to attend the pizza party."

Yukiin smiled more earnestly. It was a lie. There was no pizza party.

"Now my question, are you going to order anything or are you going to try to endure my terrible sense of humor sober? Inadvisable, also you have yet to offer a name. I'm not one for local customs but I would have to put out several more cameras before anyone else didn't notice."

 

[Siu]

Her previously comforting hand now acting as the prop to rest her head, the Chuunin's eyes reopened from their temporary relief of frustration in order to give audience to the male's 'joke'. While the selected Date before Siu had been feigning facial expressions, the kunoichi in front of him did not. Her jaded expression slowly shifted into furrowed concentration the deeper the man went into his 'joke'. The expected sparks of surprise and quirking of eyebrows had taken place here and there, before her conversions back into her original expression of concentration; Particularly, when an icicle suddenly went speeding right into one of the cameramen's lenses.
There had been momentary alarm as she darted her eyes both towards the object and its victim—more attention emphasized upon the victim over the actual object in concern for his well-being. Fortunately, he appeared, though greatly started, for the most part fine. Siu herself had not been a fan of the privacy-invading objects, however, she had also deemed that there were far more 'civilized' ways to handle her discomforts with them.
Near the end of his dialogue, the female teen blinked a few times after a blatant attempt to comprehend her match's seemingly sudden shift in personality in regards to....good medic stars and a pizza party?

His own inquiries would then also eventually become voiced, though would not receive an immediate reply. The kunoichi inhaled another puff of smoke, likely the main thing keeping her emotionally stable throughout this entire, bizarre act. Through the veil of tobacco, dark pupils gazed upward as if peering into something unseen. Whether he'd been aware of it or not, a cord had been struck within the female in the midst of his story, and she could not suppress the feelings arousing from within her as a result.

"Monsters.." inwardly ruminated the teen, memories and reflections of the past long dormant now gradually re-emerging to the surface.

What transpired may have appeared as but a few uneventful moments, a simple delay of contemplation; Yet, the experience of thoughts which had been racing to occupy every crevice of the female's mind within that short span of time had been far more intense than it appeared on the outward surface.

"There are a multitude of other alternatives to fun." she'd finally reply in a nonchalant manner. "Yet, if it had not been intended for me to see, well then, I am sorry for jumping to conclusions and for my possibly rude response." The kunoichi allowed another air of pause, giving the words extra time to settle.

"I am Siu; Hikari, Siu, and I am not unlike one of the children in your story. The only difference is I'm not dead, yet—whether fortunately or unfortunately." she'd continue. "You call yourself a monster, yet the deed you committed was what i'd call the act of an angel; If such things even exist."

"For, only a fool would ask for eternity in this profession. Eternal servitude—that in itself is damnation on earth." The girl exhaled another plume of smoke, consciously reminded herself to carefully watch her tongue considering she was currently being broadcasted on live television. "The boy in your story was an idiot," she'd retort distastefully, –"I'll have the spicey chicken and a beer—I'll need a drink to talk with you."

 

[Byakko Yukiin]

Curious thoughts that produced even stranger words, to observe his actions out of either concern for a citizen or mistrust in his intentions or control of his abilities and yet to continue to call him something like an angel...and then to call him a fool for his choice of lifestyle. A jumbled mess of meanings, a bird's nest ensnaring its eggs. If it were another scenario and he felt it appropriate he would pry into the matter and pick at her thoughts but engaging in that kind of verbal aggression, even if many parties did not recognize it as such, was inappropriate. He couldn't get away with it, someone would notice if there was a wide enough audience, so he had to be far more subtle to coax them from the nest.

Yukiin absorbed the things she was saying as water to a sponge, taking it in and processing it so that it could be assigned to its appropriate labels as he built a comprehensive impression of who and what she was...besides rude and unaccustomed to Kinjutsu (somehow.)

"Hikari, Siu I find your choice of wording to be strange but to chastise my sense of fun is the strangest one."

With both hands still on the menu, eyes returning from the target of his speech back to it, the air above his head audibly snapped with the crystalline form of chakra as an icy halo conjured itself into being, defying physical law like a parking ticket after a concert by hovering without support.

"I suppose I shouldn't bother with wings then...coffee, grilled yellowtail, and any wine grown and bottled in Wind Country will be fine."

The Medic clapped the menu shut, sliding it away from himself as he reached up to pluck off his halo, spinning it around his fingers like a chakram. Several slow rotations slowly building as he made the disc slip from finger to finger, absent mindedly entertaining himself it seemed though he was mostly just trying to regain full dexterity in his body.

"I've been told I take compliments poorly so you can call me whatever you like, foolish angel just seems like a mouthful. You aren't a Medic, and you can't be ANBU if a neck snap sets you on tilt, so you have to tell me how the Main Branch has been doing with all this tiresome restructuring. Your recent change in duties means that my client list has shot up but I don't know what you, specifically, do there. My relationship with the Main Branch is..."

Memories, fleeting fogs under heavy sedation snapped into harsh focus with a crystal clarity as the insight of an adult gleaned information beyond the mind of a child's eye. He'd been experimented with for his unique bloodline, not just as his classification as a Haku, and everything that they had taught him to do was now useless in this modern world that had little place for his kind of machinery. A cold glimmer of contempt stretched across his features like a climbing vine reaching through his pupils before it was grabbed by a conscious clawing, tearing its presence out before it lingered too long. These were not just his memories anymore, the suffering inflicted on past generations to make each 'soul' within him become a shinobi only to fail and become part of this amalgamation stung like a bitter syringe.

They had made enough monsters and now the academy wanted to wipe away its bloody past. They wanted to play pretend.

He could pretend too, so he smiled.

"Pleasant."

The spinning disc, which had been passed by now through both of his hands and their respective fingers heated and evaporated into nothing more than fog and faint chakra traces. Yukiin didn't know if she could see chakra, there was no signs of Byakugan or Sharingan but there were not the only ones that could manifest these abilities...if she could, then there might be larger issues like the fact that he was made out of chakra and something that very much was not chakra. The Uchiha he'd asked about it when he was giving them eye exams didn't like it, something about a dark abyss with strings of chakra faintly strangled inside of it, but they couldn't even tell him if they liked one or two more so what did they know?

Whatever, give them all eye glasses with the wrong prescription so they shoot fireballs into the sun and Genjutsu particularly juicy slugs for all he cared. He needed to move onto the conversational barb in his foot and he gave the microphones a glance, considering whether it was worth disrupting them but he supposed that there were still ears around, if they were distorted they would just subtitle things with what they heard so it wouldn't actually help much. He'd already gone over budget buying the place out and replacing a camera anyways, replacing a bunch of microphones would definitely exhaust his supply of Good Medic Stars. He was only a couple of stars away from a free homocide and he was looking forward to that.

"Strange question but it seems the people, kunoichi specifically, that I encounter these days all end up meeting with my...father or cousin so to speak. I only want to know what your relationship is with the living red cord of fate, that blood bundle in doctor shape, as I suspect there is one."

Without fail Osuteno was involved, if it was a woman and she was in Kumogakure then it seemed he would get his tentacles into them one way or another. Maybe it was a pattern he hadn't even noticed himself but it was one that seemed to be cascading into Yukiin's life and consistently badgering him with criticism of his lifestyle choices. It didn't even make sense, what was so good about his tentacles anyways? They all had tendrils.

Yukiin looked down at his wrist, a tendril of white slipping from his collar as he looked at it intently.

"...is Osuteno bigger than me?" He muttered under a heavy sigh, pushing out a burst of icy air that would ideally distort the recording quality and leave only the two parties at the table aware of the comment.

 

[Siu]

Eyes listlessly trailing the halo as the male continued on with his eccentric antics, the female's attention would cycle between the conjured ice-toy and her Date as he resumed dialogue. A faint quirk of her eyebrow communicated her notice of the emotional disturbance briefly contradicting his jovial facade; How curious. “Perceptive, aren't you?” a disinterested voice noted after a short delay. “Though, you're definitely asking the wrong person if you want more information regarding all that; I'm just newly returning Infantry here.” She'd précis concerning, extinguishing the cigarette against her napkin, resting the bud atop of it. “Thank you.” Void of enthusiasm, her tone nevertheless still communicated sincerity.

Mentally collecting bits and pieces of information from the speech and actions of the character before her, it didn't take a genius to deduct through enough surface-level observation of his few jutsu 'tricks' what his primary Ninjutsu affinity likely was; An uncommon element for an uncommon individual, fitting. Though, this had not been her first witness of the element, and therefore she hadn't been as intrigued by its display as she might have been otherwise; For, there existed another blue-haired boy with highly eccentric traits holding the very same affinity—yet, even he ironically had a considerably more tolerable personality. And while perhaps no less bizarre in nature, he was at least far less creepy than the ice-releasing male before her.
As one might expect, the match's play on words and rather obscure descriptions had definitely left the young woman in query concerning the exact context of his question;

“Your...what?” a clearly puzzled countenance would respond back. The kunoichi's nose suddenly wrinkled into a full grimace—Claws hadn't been anything too alarming, she'd witnessed enough of those throughout her career, yet the fact that a single tendril was now merrily slithering free from the already–bizarre Date's collar was admittingly rather disturbing and somewhat disgusting for her to witness.

Please, tuck that thing back in for Raiden's sake..

Had this been his reason for labeling himself as a 'monster'? It was here the kunoichi now began to heavily ponder whether the man before was truly human or another Medical-Nin's loose science fair project; Leave it to Medical Branch to always house the most bizarre abnormalities. Why couldn't they actually create useful and non-creepy inventions—like say, a device to actually aid in solving the non-chakra sensitive problem so there could actually be a better selection-pool for shinobi's to date? No, somehow things like tendrils were far more appealing of a project. At least Osu's tendrils maintained some form of respect towards aesthetics, allowing them to be rather bearable and appealing to witness—this man's tendrils, however, were just downright disgusting.
Pupils constricting upon hearing the rather spontaneous mention of the familiar name, 'Osuteno', Siu's expression now became somewhat opposing, her eyes glancing towards the intended route of the icy winds; aware of its intention. Two questions immediately arose within the kunoichi's mind. The first was: 'How' exactly had this man even been aware that she'd had any connection with the accomplished Medical-Nin, to begin with? She'd never once met nor seen this male during her time with Osu, nor during her ventures to the Aesculapium. It had only been today that she'd both met or even seen this man. Her second inquiry was—

–“Mr. Byakko." There was solemness mixed with a taste of sternness in the words. "Fathers and cousins share things with their relatives....My father, for example, when I ask, openly shares about his day and work with me. Even when I do not ask, I'm still usually one of the first ones he updates....Yet you, Mr. Byakko, seem curiously uninformed.” Two eyes narrowed. “Tell me, why—if you are the son or fellow cousin you claim to be—have you not been openly shared your desired information from your very own, more fittingly, mother or cousin? If your relationship is as close as you claim it to be, then shouldn't you easily be able to ask this question in person to this relative, yourself?" The suspicion in the young kunoichi's voice was clear.

 

[Byakko Yukiin]

It was always interesting how much a single verbal finger on the right nerve could get a man to spill their guts. Literally it worked a lot better, usually targetting a freshly exposed nerve after you'd cut into the others, but that sort of technique was inappropriate in this setting and his date wasn't a criminal in need of information extraction. No, she was just a cookie jar and Yukiin found it difficult not to stick his hands in and eat before dinner. It was a shot in the dark, he couldn't confirm anything and he didn't know anything but if he played his cards right she'd tell him plenty of what he didn't know and what he should know based on what she thought that he knew that they both knew.

Engaging stuff, a linguistic clusterfuck...but engaging.

Instead, he tapped the table, spreading his fingers across its smooth surface like a melting puddle.

"The inventor of wood planing devices and techniques is the father of a table, it doesn't have a mother. You understand."

It wasn't a question, it was a statement of faith in her abilities to put two and two together delivered without looking into her eyes as he felt that if she saw something in them she didn't like it would just spark further outrage. It was not a literal expression, it was an expression of scientific heritage, that the research handed off by one is parentage of research that branches off from it. She didn't need to be a Medic to understand these expressions but apparently, they didn't come first in her mind, the first thing she thought about was her actual, genetic, parents. This told him many things but the key thing to glean from Siu bleeding her heart out on a table for him to see was that there were concerns in her regarding parentage, either her own or Osuteno's, and that this was a subject that was worth delving into. He was curious but it wasn't worth agitating her further and it very unlikely it had any bearing on himself, though there was clearly some bearing as she seemed concerned that he might know something.

There was no walking back what had been said but there was salvaging things now that he had been made aware of the fragility of his company. They were only human, delicate even for their kind.

"I apologize if my expression caught you strangely, I am, as you say, perceptive but I am also, as you say again, foolish in my own ways. Still, you've handwaved my interest in your work as an attempt for me to glean information from you about my work-related concerns but that is simply a conversational framing device - I am asking about your day. I was led to believe this is typical conversational material since neither of us are the pizza man..." Yukiin trailed off, giving his pre-date research material a few more thoughts before deciding that none of them really covered this scenario and that human females typically didn't want to copulate with ice monsters. Maybe he was supposed to be the pizza man though? Had he already screwed up? Rough stuff.

Ah, right. There was always the ace in the hole - the compliment.

"You are..."

Full of blood? No, they don't like to be reminded of that...
Have admirable facial symmetry? Too many words.
Surprisingly aggressive over daddy issues? Definite no go.
Well, maybe something honest then.

"...a brilliant star whose features and faculties exceed averages."

A man from another table cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted.

"He means he thinks you're pretty and smart but he chews dictionaries for nutrients like a jackass!"

Yukiin smiled weakly. "Thank...you?..."

He coughed, winding himself back into his topic.

"Most of my conversational partners are students, patients, or other creatures so I don't get much practice talking to people in ways that are not attempts to con them out of information so I can repossess their kidneys or lectures to people who might blow themselves up if I don't loom over them. However, I am comfortable 'in my own' skin so to speak, I do not mean to alarm or disgust but it is no different than you cracking your knuckles for me to extend my digits and limbs."

The young Byakko held up a talon, the crystalline formation glistening under the restaurant lights like a soup special after a long day at work with light pockets.

"You called me Byakko but don't understand the significance of it, its a feline heritage. A cats claws are retracted actively, not passively, this means that they hold them in and are most comfortable when they are released as this is their default state. It would be no different than asking you hold your fingertips to your palms all day and for me to look at you strangely if you extended them."

This displayed claw slunk away, with the remainder on his other digits doing the same. Yukiin tilted his head to stare directly into one of the cameras.

"Never declaw your cats, you have no earthly idea how significant the damage is and how much you harm a feline by doing this. If you're going to watch you are also going to learn, you have no excuse for it now. You wanna watch me crash and burn a date? You are now being held hostage to learn. Don't declaw."

He turned back to Siu, rolling his eyes agitatedly.

"Anyways...you're creative, I'm sure you could imagine what thats like when its more than a couple of finger bones." He said, rolling his shoulders back to stretch the human form he was confined within but which it would've been impossible to really convey to her. Even his cousin Revenant's were different from him, he was the only one of his kind...there was really no hope of random dinner dates coming to grasp or terms with what he was when there was no precedent. Yukiin was chattering into the void to fill time, human empathy was limited to other creatures they could vaguely relate to but transcending mortality and becoming a monstrous soup in a suit was far beyond even vague relates. He was pretending to be human on a good day.

On bad days? He forgot he wasn't. Those were especially bad days, trying to rekindle something in a herd of animals he no longer belonged to because the muffled embers of humanity still lingered. That was what he wanted after all, to retain it all and to be able to think and feel much like a human did, this was why he put in all that research and effort...but it didn't really seem like a benefit on the bad days. Here he was, trying to salvage a date night like it mattered.

It seemed like he had more to say but the Medic didn't pick up the rest of it if there was more, instead thanking the hands that brought both party's their ordered items and wrapping his clawless fingers around the handle of a coffee cup to bring it to his lips like a human would. It was all a charade anyways, might as well commit to it.

 

[Siu]

Siu's narrowed gaze remained resolutely affixed upon the male before her as he laid down his justifications; Avoiding eyesight had perhaps been the wiser of decisions, given her current opposition towards the man in response to his suspicious statements. She'd understand his intended correction well enough, finding no purpose to further debate upon the matter; Though, she pondered whether he'd actually understood the reasoning behind her substitution of the word 'mother' over 'father' as a more suitable description regarding the metaphored doctor in the first place.

"You are..."
"...a brilliant star whose features and faculties exceed averages."

The kunoichi's features softened before she blinked a few times—Not in result of being flattered, yet in result of becoming rather perplexed;...A wha—?

–A single exclamation from the other table would shed necessary light upon the overly–sophisticated phrase; Yet, the young woman would now instead just find herself rather 'thrown–off' from the seemingly spontaneous 'compliment', struggling to comprehend how that even harmonized together with the rest of his dialogue. It was akin to originally deeply lecturing about politics, only to spontaneously go into full detail regarding apples and their agricultural process; absolutely muddled. Still, she'd preserve attentiveness to the male's words, remaining silent in the midst of it all, ruminating over all his sayings—however difficult to understand and interpret they were.

Eventually, the pair's desired orders would arrive; Enticing, fried–chicken legs and wings, dribbling bright–red with hot–barbeque sauce, steaming fresh from the kitchen. Cubed ice jingled against the large glass–mug accommodating the golden beverage dancing about its abode in response to its settlement atop the wooden table, creamy foam frittering away above the brimmed vessel; yet, none wasting. The Chuunin would tilt her head; performing a polite, stationary bow towards the departing waiter before returning her attention back toward the now coffee–indulging male.
Her returned expression appeared wholly neutral; neither a sign of preserved indignation nor delight—seemingly impossible to interpret. Then, a deep exhale departed from her lips; akin to the kind mother's released when pressured to forgive their children for offenses upon taking their obliviousness into consideration. Her elbow moving to prop itself atop the shared table, the young woman would cup her face into her hand, rubbing her forehead.

"Hnnnng," she'd groan with a fluctuated tone, venting more of her inward frustration.

"Byakko—Yukiin-san," lips would finally speak, adjusting the addressal without explanation, "It's not about the claws—I have seen enough of those to understand such features oftentimes can't be helped. It's not even really about the....tendril...thing," The young woman further elaborated, emitting a brief shudder.
The chattering of guests sharing the establishment and clattering of utensils, glasses, and dishes echoed about the restaurant as the female situated her hand to blanket one side of her face, her half–veiled expression seemingly jaded through her single, exposed eye; She was mentally foraging for the least offensive words to effectively convey her thoughts to the Match.

"It's," A single brow furrowed as she sieved for viable word choices, "the way you act—Your Personality."

"Breaking your neck and stabbing it may be a fun way for you to kill time—but you were also aware you had a Date....You have to be sensitive, Mr. Byakko—sensitive to other's feelings. Maybe I am wrong to judge you on your behavior, maybe I even responded too rudely, but there is a level of Nunch—," The female's features briefly sparked a mixture of what appeared to be both annoyance and disappointment. However, this hadn't been due to the male before her this time.
Looking away for a few moments, she'd contemplate; How could one aptly describe this word in Kumogakurian language?–"...sensitivity." she'd imperfectly settle for.

Her attention gradually strayed towards her meal; though, for no significant purpose. The single pupil faintly glistened through the inviting smoke of her delicacy; listless.

"We are not pizza deliverers—were Shinobi, you're right," agreed the female, her tone softening near the end of the statement in an attempt to avoid coming off as too assertive, yet maintaining its solemness. "Yet, just as pizza deliverers don't desire to continue conversing about their job all day while off–duty and relaxing, I don't desire to be conversing about Shinobi–hood all day long, either...You should ask something more....date-relevant—like, I don't know, outside interest or something—favorite books or performances."
Attention drifting back down towards the meal afront of her, the kunoichi's free hand picked a seasoned herb from the plate, twirling the single leaf between her thumb and fingers aimlessly, examining it purposelessly. "What are you, Mr. Byakko? You called yourself a monster earlier—why?" Her eyes trailed back upward, revealing a glimmer of curiosity within her jaded countenance. "...Were you anything before a shinobi?"

 

[Byakko Yukiin]

The creature peered up from the lip of his cup, the wafting hot vapors searing his vision worse than any human exposure could but it was something he engaged with anyways, the same as he engaged with humans. His skin minimized the impact but it did not remove it and exposing things to his internals was another matter, even if the liquid froze and shatter inside himself in reaction to the supernaturally cold temperature of his being, as that stung quite a bit more. Was there any rhyme or reason in ritualistic self-abuse? In relishing the pain of a species' habits that were no longer his own? No, not really...it was irrational. He could subsist on nothing but more dregs, harmlessly extracted from willing corpses whose heaviest chakra traces would go unused without his appetite...but that wasn't worth explaining over dinner.

His ambition had been to retain much of what made him human, his metaphorical humanity, and it was still in there...but to call himself a human was to equate himself to creatures who enjoyed activities that he engaged in purely out of a masochistic desire to continue pointless rituals.

To equate him to something that was not a shinobi was equally ludicrous.

From behind the steam vapors he could see Siu struggling to dance on puppet strings that he did not create, the demands of social etiquette and graces that were beyond either of them. Though, in fairness, he certainly had added his own handful of wires to the mix by behaving as he had.

"You say you don't wish to talk about our employment and ask me what I was before employment as if that were a better topic." Yukiin remarked, a blend of humor and solemnity in his tone as he set his cup down and cradled his face between the spread web of fingers like a spider in wait or a therapist or some sort of horrible spider-therapist fusion that injects you with venom and exjects your money from your wallet.

"Before I was a shinobi I was punished for not being a shinobi but ironically my personality flaws, severe depersonalization being the largest one as I used to talk through a puppet in the third person, were considered acceptable. Anyways...those of us born into a chakra capable bloodline are of high value, once my existence was known it was really just a matter of time until I was brought into the academy and through the fog of drugs, blood, and tears I can't tell you what I was like before I was made useful. My mother had...objections."

He paused though the movement held in his eyes as he took another draw from his cup, setting it at the edge of the table empty. Yukiin lifted a finger to his neck, claw dragging across it without actual contact in a rapid moment that left a whistle of wind and only the two shinobi seated there able to see it. A camera only captured images, on a good day, at a human speed let alone a superhuman one so while they functioned for capturing most date activities anything performed at 'shinobi-speed' would simply not work. Only shinobi could observe it and even other shinobi watching the footage couldn't catch what a camera couldn't as the camera was relaying it, their own eyes weren't there. In short - it was a polite way to communicate the fate of his mother between two people and no outsiders.

For the viewers at home, his hand was stationary. He'd always been aware that he could move like that to avoid recording but throwing something at a camera gave the impression that this was the extent of his objections, he could only impotently lash out and that was the impression he wanted. Really he could've conducted this entire conversation in sign language but he didn't know sign language, she probably didn't either.

Note to self: learn sign language.

"As for monstrous status? I mean...come on. It isn't a philosophical issue, I call shinobi humans and some of our kind do things that even I find distasteful, like open toed sandals and keeping their uniforms in disrepair. They're all still human. Same with man-eaters in Wind Country or whatever people in Fire Country do for fun besides make wine and engage in sexual congress with trees..."

As if on queue the bottle followed and was placed on the table, the waitress pouring the first glass for him and then refilling his coffee cup, setting both in front of him.

"Thank you, its a very nice blend and your service is greatly appreciated." Yukiin spoke to her with a smile painted on, convincing enough for your average person but once she had nodded, smiled back, and took her leave it dripped off his face like runny paints and he resumed his typical neutral expression.

"I don't eat, drink, sleep, or perform any other function you do unless I choose to because I wish to emulate you. It hurts to do these things but I do them anyways because it brings you comfort and helps me anchor myself to you. Believe me..." The 'Revenant' paused and sighed, blowing frosted air over the table leaving momentary ice crystals to dissolve in the smothering heat of artificial lights and human bodies, as he drug a hand through his hair and looked up at the ceiling like it had secrets for him. "I did everything I could to retain my humanity and bet your ass I succeeded where even my progenitor said it was unlikely but..."

Yukiin pulled his head down, his hair falling back into place haphazardly as he did so. Maybe the word 'progenitor' would bother her less than saying father. She did seem to not like it but the entire issue of Revenant gender, considering they could change their bodies any time they pleased considering their hearts were really what they were, wasn't worth delving into.

"I'm unique. I am the first of my kind and, well, nobody wrote a book for me. I have to write it. Its going alright but the title needs work. I call myself a monster because by popular vote things that feed off of corpses, are made of tentacles, and are functionally immortal are monsters. You can call me something else if you like, I did like that 'angel' bit but that opinion seems to have dissolved already..."

The working title of the book in question was "Why all your cousin Revenants are jealous, especially Osuteno: a guide to being a modern, superior, version of outdated Kinjutsu and why you should definitely be as smug as possible about it." but his editor didn't like it and also he didn't think she wanted to hear any of his sense of humor at the moment. Instead he picked up his utensils and placed some of his fish into his mouth.

Some other smart remark came to him but it died sliding up his throat. Siu here was making an earnest effort and he was just trying to skirt these unfortunate topics without digging too deep into them and that seemed even ruder than up and leaving. Yukiin's face twisted, suppressing his words and exhaling through his nose with an almost thunder of pressure. She wasn't wrong, his attitude was pretty poor and he had little to lose.

"Look, its just how things like me get by, you said it yourself - even if I was as flesh and blood as you I would be just as abrasive, folks just have a convenient excuse to avoid me now that I'm a faceless tentacle monster in a human suit. I just like to think that my own kind, shinobi like myself, can understand what is given up in service...but sometimes thats just what we tell ourselves so we can stay at work where things make sense. The alternative is that you go home alone and make a pot of coffee you know you don't even enjoy drinking anymore because maybe today is the day the mail shinobi says 'I'd love to' instead of 'Sorry, I'm busy.' and even that much is more conversation that doesn't revolve around dead people than you've had all day."

Both of his hands went to his temples, elbows on the table, resting a headache that didn't exist as a thin white wirey tendril snatched his wine glass and pressed it to his lips, pulling the fluid out like it would do anything to him. This level of poison didn't even make him feel things anymore. It was all ritual, theatre, instinctive responses that no longer held any meaning and no longer helped him do much more than pantomime humanity.

Still, it comforted in some small way so he poured another glass.

"...but I can also juggle, thats more fun. My favorite book is whatever is in my hands and I've never attended a stage play, they aren't usually open when I'm out of work." Yukiin stated with a light smile, returning to the human number of limbs as the spare one slid away and he held his eye contact. "You mean to tell me people read so little they can pick favorites?"

 

[Siu]

The kunoichi's pupils had dilated upon realizing the connection between the shinobi-speed throat-slit gesture and the male's words to indicate the fate of his mother. There had been a sympathetic expression of sadness from her, whether he'd felt the same or not. While Siu hadn't eaten any of her meal yet, she did take a few sips of her beverage, and whether by placebo effect or genuinely due to effects of the alcohol, she felt gradually herself becoming more tolerant of the conversation. Though, regardless of whether she had imbibed the substance or not, the conversation had already taken an interesting twist as the male went on to address her inquiries. The kunoichi was beginning to feel as if she might have actually been learning something about the male before her now, past surface appearances.

"So, you like books..." It was difficult to perceive whether the statement had actually been a question or simply an aloud musing. "You read anything outside of...Medical books, Mr. Byakko?" Her chin moved to rest atop her palm now, some spark of interest in the discussion. "There's a book I would recommend, titled, 'Observations of a Wandering Soul'. There's a quote: 'In every human resides a monster, many simply hide that monster better than others. The human who continues to feed that monster, will eventually find themselves consumed.'"

Amused chuckling echoed from the background as a few guests appeared to be enjoying more casual conversation, in comparison to the somewhat solemn atmosphere of the two shinobi sitting afront one another. The female's gaze lingered as she remained silent; as if allowing the quote ample time to sink in.

"You're not wrong when you say there are 'humans' who commit far more distasteful deeds—though far worse than the ones you've mentioned—deeds darker than even literal beast and creatures of abomination would commit. Claws, tentacles, mutations, abnormalities—these may define something inhuman, yet it doesn't define a monster; Though, feeding off corpses and being functionally immorlal—that may be another topic. I don't know much about you to judge."

Spoons faintly clattered against various dishes and bowls in harmony with the toasting of glasses as customers partook in their meals. There was an uncomfortable feeling about being the spotlight of the entire establishment; the many cameras seemingly in perpetual observation of the two shinobi. Even simply drinking in front of the camera crew felt uncomfortable.

"You see them?" Her free hand rose a finger to lazily indicate a few tables behind the male. The kunoichi would allow him some time to observe. "Do they look like monsters or humans to you?" The table of two males and a single female were in the midst of merry laughter, the tall pitcher atop indicating intoxication as the group shared its large order of barbeque.
"No tentacles nor claws, as human as it gets....However," Her expression became more serious, "The eye only sees the outside—yet, is blind to the soul underneath. You never know who someone truly is until you observe their behavior. And even then it's difficult because people love to facade—shinobi being the main offenders of this, as it's required of our trade. " Dark eyes returned towards the male. "Who are the real monsters, My. Byakko?" The inquiry aired for a few moments before her own finger would blur in a throat-cut fashion to mimic the male's own gesture. "Oftentimes they are those who appear the most human."

A slow, concentrated inhale, and then a slow, deep exhale aired; as if the entire dialogue had exerted far too much energy for the young woman. She'd begin to pick at her chicken with her fingers. "Do not pretend to be something you're not, My. Byakko." she'd casually request, her attention still upon the now cooled meat, "If it hurts then don't do it. Whether you drink coffee or not, whether you eat fish or not, I could really care less." With that, she'd place a ripped piece of chicken thigh into her mouth.

 

[Byakko Yukiin]

"Shinobi lie but you will have to lie better to convince me that you would really prefer I stop pretending, this entire body is pretend after all and you would find me less appealing if I didn't have a face. I picked this one out, I thought it would be appealing." Yukiin framed the face in question with a hand, tracing the features he'd delicately crafted and molded into a form that he was lead to believe would appeal to people. "I was up all night working on this..."

He sighed again, playfully dejected, tapping a piece of his meal with a utensil. It reminded him of how hard he found these things when he was younger, controlling a shinobi's superhuman abilities was quite difficult at first, like a child learning how to manipulate his grip, so it wasn't uncommon for him to break utensils or plates by applying too much force. Now it was second nature, the fullest extent of his powers and the lowest expression of them were both equally comfortable...save for that realm beyond his 'safe capacity' which touched into that...thing. He left that beast alone, it hadn't done him many favors.

"I said that I don't consider my classification a philosophical or moral concern, its just what I call myself. Birds eat worms, rabbits eat grass, humans each other animals, monsters eat humans...but you said you didn't want to talk about work so I will leave these shinobi morality concerns as they lay. Regardless of what category I fit into I am, and always will be, Byakko, Yukiin...and several other people with a variety of fake mustaches if the day's coupon is once per customer."

He placed the bit of meal between his lips, closing them and sealing it as he 'ate' what little dregs there were to be found in such a low-chakra creature beyond the sight of his company, though he obviously did not chew as that kind of motion introduced energy and he was presently trying to remove all energy from the food stuff. It occurred to him that his treatment of thermodynamics as 'quaint suggestion' was probably concerning but when there was a whole country underneath the sun refusing to accept the laws of physics either, what he could do in his own body probably wasn't as impressive.

Following that, on her insistence that he do things to his preference, he pulled the wine out of the bottle in a liquid flow, converting it into several icicles that set themselves upon the table in straight lines save the one that slipped into his lips as he drew the toxin out of it. They were how he liked to take fluids, little frozen 'pocky sticks' that he could drain into liquid, enter into his system, and promptly refreeze to join the remaining slush that he was, and then replace the consumed stick. Drinking out of the cup was worse and less enjoyable, taking room temperature fluids was much worse than allowing him to chill them first.

Yukiin didn't bother explaining or commenting on it, things like this just weren't the effort.

"Your book recommendation seems like something your Head Instructor would write, maybe he bought himself new uniforms with the money so he looks less like a homeless person too." The Medic made a pulling gesture at the sides of his face, icicles draping off it momementarily like long hair and sideburns, before it dissolved away moments after it was created. "I read plenty of non-medical works, I would be very bad at botany if I didn't brush up on that after all. Admittedly Kumogakure soil has benefits but it takes a lot of knowledge to be able to grow anything that isn't toxic here, I've started to make some plans about growing some trees just to see what thats like cause I've seen pictures of big trees and I've read about them but you know I've never seen a really tall tree. It takes decades, apparently, but I'll live as long as I please so I guess I might as well start now."

"You know what they say in Fire? The best time to plant a tree was ten years ago, the second best time is today...at least thats what a magazine salesperson told me and I think he's at least half trustworthy."

 

[Siu]

The kunoichi quirked an eyebrow at the mention of 'Head Instructor'. While Yukiin's physical description indeed sounded akin to a man Siu was quite familiar with, the title of 'Head' also seemed very far from that person, causing her to question whether the individual she had in mind and the one he was referring to were truly the same. In any case, she'd observe the unusual icicle-ingesting performance while picking at and indulging in her own meal, sipping beer here and there unto completion.

"I was mainly referring to you eating and drinking, Mr. Byakko; You need not take the statement to the extreme. I'd be disturbed by the lack of a face—yet, I'd also be disturbed knowingly watching you inflict pain upon yourself just to pretend like you actually enjoy and digest food and drink normally in front of me. Again, it's a matter sensitivity; How aware of other's feelings you are. I do not tell you not to be, Byakko, Yukiin, however, you should also balance between catering to other's sensitivities and being yourself. I also do the same; both for you and" —the female's eyes shifted a moment towards the cameramen before returning back to the male before her—"them."

Grabbing a nearby napkin to wipe and clean her mouth, placing the crumpled object next to her dish, a hand reached for her pocket. She'd slightly lean to the side, as if struggling to remove the object. Her wallet eventually presenting itself, the kunoichi would flip and count through a wad of yen.

"You are knowledgeable, Mr. Byakko; Very knowledgable, yet very difficult to follow." The Chuunin crushed the pay for her meal near her beer atop the table. The sound of her chair scraping against the hardwood could be heard as she scooted back. "If you plant a tree," she'd continue, gradually coming to a stand, "plant a useful one—like a fruit tree. We have enough useless trees in places like the Ancient Forest." Placing a hand on her hip, she'd stare at the male with what appeared to be curious eyes, yet also somewhat puckered lips to the side; seemingly formulating a final impression of him.

"Go?" voiced the single inquiry.

[Exiting/Completing Thread After Yukiin Post]

 

[Byakko Yukiin]

"Everyone is knowledgable about something." Yukiin said, laying this fact of life out like a sheet to dry. It was something he struggled to come to terms with at times due to the intolerable nature of some people but it was something he believed to be true. Every mind he added into himself brought new insights, even if they might be mundane, and they added to the tapestry of experience that had previously been rather bland. He knew the taste of pain and death and fear better than many but he was still learning about many other things like the strange mixture of sensations caused by life's rarer moments. A man who sees his child for the first time knows something unique that the childless don't and whether or not that is of value, it very likely was not when measured on the scale of war utility, it was more to know. Most things people knew had very little to teach the Collector about war but they taught him more about life after them or how you pick up your life in the shadow of its influences, the consequences of one slit throat causing a cascade that no individual could see but that a collective might understand.

It was all knowledge and it was his task, unassigned by any authority, to sort out what was useful and integrate it into himself so that he could achieve decades of knowledge in a fruitful weekend of eating the less fortunate. Every new 'soul' bring with it the weight of its sins however and those were what he typically learned, they were what stuck through into the dregs that he consumed instead of lighter things. No...he didn't remember birthdays, promotions, weekends with the wife...instead, nine out of ten dregs he gathered were a collection of horrors that he was glad to remove from circulation.

Siu mentioned the nature of humans but he failed to clarify how much he really knew about the topic.

That was for the best, she likely knew plenty and didn't need to know just how common that knowledge was becoming. Kumogakure was at peace, there were alliances and treaties and even the remnants of past destructions were cooling...the world was settling into a strange position. Yet the calmer the world beyond the gates became the more a human heart screamed out to introduce chaos within its grasp, in the absence of a world of fire what do you do with a match? Humans were made head to toe out of matches.

Byakko, Yukiin didn't believe in peace.
...or maybe he just didn't like it.

He set his own payment on the table, eyeing what was already there but deciding that it wasn't worth the argument over etiquettes he only half understood, maybe this was the new thing after all and he was hardly in a position to complain about it. Instead he gathered up each dish, cup, and utensil and stacked them in place at the tables center in a few quick seconds. Yukiin didn't wait long for the waitress to return.

"Your service and cooperation is appreciated, I hope that you and your staff are well and that this media circus brings you a healthy stream of fresh customers. Any negative light shone on your business due to my behavior will be corrected to the best of my ability, although I don't expect to see any of that..."

His eye drifted, a tiger in the grass, towards the camera crew as he strode towards them, speaking as he did and terminating his speech by placing a handful of currency atop the camera he broke earlier. He didn't actually know how much these things could cost but he didn't expect it to be higher than a month's wages, anything left over was a 'tip' for the crew members. If he was under...well...he'd probably get a bill. "Only the good shots from the flattering angles for this establishment, the women don't need it as I'm sure all their angles are flattering but I want this place to do repeat business and then some. If you can make my tentacles look a little bigger though? That'd be super. Just a request, not a threat."

The Medic rolled his shoulders, the crack of false bones accompanying it as he followed suit. Maybe it was all a shame and a waste of words to barter and negotiate for a peace that humanity, let alone shinobi, could never appreciate but even if the species was matches waiting on a powderkeg...that didn't mean they would strike now. In the present the flames were dim enough that even the beast of ice could learn to enjoy their presence, the sensation might've been painful but every day it dimmed in intensity and he would adjust.

Maybe someone had to wait on him to return to work.
Maybe that didn't always matter.
Maybe the country would nurse her wounds quietly for a while longer and he could learn to...enjoy it.

He didn't really know, it wasn't his knowledge but knowledge was like planting a tree. Start today.

"Go."

[Complete]

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

The sound of sparkles could be heard as a cute girl bearing angel wings, whether they were fake or not is still a mystery, appeared just in front of the two. "Hello, lovers! It's me, Eros, here to do the post-date interview! Don't worry, lovers, I don't bite!" she said with a big wink to both Yukiin and Siu. She pulled them both to the side, away from the other person they dated, and started to interview them about the date, saying nearly the same questions to both.

"So, we found out that you fought the current champion of the arena. GROGG in all caps. It's an honor to have someone who fought and lived against such a powerful and strong brute," she said almost drooling out of the corner of her lips. "Those rippling pecs, those massive arms that could crush you, and an ass made of steel," she said before snapping out of it and returned to speaking to Yukiin.

"Anyway, I have a few questions I want to ask you. Only your responses will be recorded so let's get to it. Okay! First question," she said as she pulled out a set of cards.

"Did you like the person you ended up dating and tell us why you liked or disliked this person. The more details the better," she said as she flipped over to the next card. She waited for his response before continuing with the next question.

"Would you go on another date with this girl? She looked kinda like a bad-ass and could probably hold her own. If you were to date her again, what kind of date would you take her on?" she asked before listening to Yukiin's response.

"Oh my goodness, you're SO pretty! I wish I was as pretty and bad-ass looking as you. Maybe we could--" she said before being cut-off by one of the directors yelling at her in her earpiece. "Ahem. Anyway. Please tell me, and the audience, how your date went. Did it go good, did it go bad? And would this guy make a good potential mate in the future? He is quite cute with all that white hair. Who knows, ebony and ivory can clash and make some cute babies and all that," she said, going off the rails as usual. The question MAY seem a bit uncomfortable, but that's just Eros being Eros. "Oh, right. Only your responses will be aired so don't mind me, heh heh," she said, swatting at the air and looking upwards with a goofy grin on her face.

After Siu answered the question or not, Eros gave her a bit of time to answer. Afterward, she fired off a second question. "So, all that leather you wear," she asked before being buzzed in her earpiece once more, flinching at the sound of loud yelling. She shook her head and turned to ask another question. "Actually, scratch that. Is there anything you'd want to change with the date? Like, go to a different location or anything or do something different? Basically, if you were in-charge of the date, what would the two of you have done?"

OOC: Sorry for the late response.. i was just kinda swamped on the site. Better late than never right?