Something Sweet [Uri/semi-open]

[Hoshirei]

After a long day's work, all Nari could usually think about was going home and soaking in her tub, today however, she had a hankering for something sweet. She stumbled upon a bakery just after she acknowledged her hankering. Noting the name, she couldn't help but smirk. It was her favorite bakery, Just in Chime. Walking through the door, the melodic chimes greeted her, as did the call of one of the clerks. She was somewhat of a regular, especially after a day full of a stressful, yet successful, interrogations.
As she sat at her normal table, she was greeted with her favorite hot chocolate and asked if she would like her usual. At the very thought of her favorite cherry-filled pastries, Nari couldn't help but make a pleased noise. With a chuckle, the server went off to get her specified treat. Knowing it would be some time, Nari allowed herself to relax a bit. She smiled and sipped at her drink, sighing slightly at the pleasant heat and taste.

 

[Uri]

While Uri was a ninja with the best of them, he often found himself doing more mundane work around the village. While it wasn't sailing the open seas or traversing treacherous snow-capped mountains there was a certain satisfaction that came with the menial chores his handyman position offered. A rock slide often started with a single pebble dislodging, and in a village cut-off from the outside world, if things didn't remain in order chaos would soon follow. Uri was more than happy to put a band-aid on scrapes and kiss metaphorical boo boos so that people could have peace of mind. There were plenty of shinobi in the world to commit their deeds. Another normal person was more than welcome in their shadowy ways.

Just in Chime was a long standing bakery in Sunagakure. It had existed in another permutation above ground, before the great descent and now was prosperous in the depths too. The matron who had started it passed away during Uri's travels, something that made him impossibly sad; she was like a second mother to him. The bakery also was a second home to him when he was much younger and a place of solace when his undeveloped mind was having issues coping with things in his life. Since being back, he had spent plenty of time here, helping out where he could, working the counter, and maintaining the place so that the elegant stonework that decorated the establishment never degraded. In the kitchen was the white-haired chuunin, flour dusting his work coveralls and sticking to his tan skin. One of the ovens had needed some work and rolling around on the floor of a bakery always tended to make a mess.

After what seemed like an eternity in the heat, the other ovens being in use, he climbed out from underneath the stonework. A flat palm pressed against the oven and the stone grew downwards to seal it all back up to working order. The young girl who worked there with her father smiled as she saw Uri in his disheveled state.

"You should be good to go! Feel free to start it up whenever."<i></i>

The young girl threw a damp cloth at him and it stuck to his face, "You have a little something on your face."

They both laughed as he tried to wipe away what he could, some of the moisture seeping out and making the flour pasty against his skin. he resisted retaliating and instead walked towards the front counter, stopping in the doorway between front and back. One the decline of the day, there were fewer people here, more people showing up in the mornings than the afternoons, but that didn't stop the occasional loyalist from showing up. Uri, as dedicated a visitor as he was, recognized the few sparse faces in the dining area. A sharp jab of a finger in his back got his attention and he turned around. The young girl handed him two things. One was the box of confections that acted as his payment for his work -Uri would always do labor for sweets in lieu of a monetary reward- and a plate of fresh-out-of-the-oven cherry turnovers. Dusted with a light layer of powdered sugar, the smell from them almost made his mouth water. Before the daughter could speak up, the chuunin rose a hand, "Thanks, and I'll drop these off for you. I know people's orders as well as you or your father. Don't forget, I practically work here too!"<i></i>

Hoisting his tool bag and satchel over one shoulder, he maneuvered his way out from behind the front counter and made his way over to where Nari sat sipping her drink. Graciously, he placed the confections on her table before her and smiled wide, "Hot chocolate and cherry turnovers, right? You're here almost as often as I am!"<i></i> There was a brief chirp of laughter and he took up a seat at a nearby table, setting down all his work equipment and opening up the white paper box that had been his payment. Inside were a baker's dozen of honey cream-filled dark cocoa donuts. One of his favorites. There was little time between him seizing one and taking his first bite. A satisfied mmmmmmmmmmm escaped him and he relaxed in his chair. They were still hot!

"Nothing like a good sweet after a day's work."<i></i>

[mft]

 

[Hoshirei]

When Uri showed up with her turnovers she almost laughed. She certainly recognized him from the may times she had come in looking for a treat. "You are quite correct. I know you like what you're eating, though I have seen some other sweets grace your plate. I'm guessing you helped them with something in the kitchen? You've still got a bit of flour on your cheek." Nari picked up a turnover and took a small bite, relishing in the taste of cherries. "I don't believe that we have ever spoken before. My name is Nari, pleasure to make your acquaintance."
With that, she took another bite and ended up covering her mouth when she felt that some of the filling fell just below her lips. With a quick, discreet lick, the filling was off of her skin and in her mouth where she preferred it.

(((Ugh, short post is short)))

 

[Uri]

In Uri's lifetime, there were fewer things that people had in common than the love of food. Food was a universal language that everyone spoke and on some level allowed even the most different of people to relate to one another. There was more than one situation where he had sat down with someone at odds and ended up being friends due to good food and better conversation. It was one of the numerous reasons he liked working at the bakery whenever he could. A new face, a new friend in the making. This time was no different.

Uri nodded enthusically, "I honestly think I've tried everything at least a hundred times here, and then some. They have to make so many things to keep up with me that I had to fix their oven!"<i></i>

The chuunin pulled out a handkerchief from one of his front pocket and wiped away the gathered flour he had missed. Some remained, stubborn and caked on that it was. Nari seemed like someone who enjoyed her chances to indulge, even if it was something as simple as sweet treats. There was a base pleasure that came with snacking that couldn't be achieved anywhere else.

"I'm Uri--"<i></i> He stopped and realized how wrong it felt to be introducing himself from a table over. Getting up, pulling a chair behind him, he settled in the adjacent spot from Nari. The confection-packed box landed in front of him, and with a wipe of his hand, he extended it across the table, "I'm Kuroda Uri, and it's a pleasure to meet a fellow sweet-lover."<i></i> Uri offered his usually bright and cheerful smile, "And I do hope you don't mind my forwardness. It's terribly awkward to talk to someone from so far away!"<i></i>

 

[Hoshirei]

She listened and watched as Uri wiped at his face, trying, and failing, to remove the rest of the flour. He started to introduce himself before seeming to find some sense of awkwardness and settled in a chair right across from her. He extended his hand, which she took easily, as he fully introduced himself.

She returned his smile and her hand returned to her chocolate mug. "I don't mind your 'forwardness' at all, Uri. In any case, since you shared your family name with me, I should do the same. I come from the clan Shiba, descendant of Suna's Uchiha, though our branch has not truly conversed with the main sects in some time."

Nari allowed for that to sink in for a moment, sipping at her chocolate and nibbling on her turnover. "What do you do when you're not here fixing the ovens from over use?"

(((Ugh, what's with me and short posts lately...)))

 

[Uri]

A Shiba?

Uri had learned of many major Sunan clans as a child through his father's shop. While they were never rich, a lot of people came to him for decorative pieces to help display their clan's history. Through that and the notes they provided, Uri had gotten a chance to learn a lot of other families in Sunagakure. From there he spent time learning for himself, reading up on whatever he could. Since he wasn't part of any unique clan or bloodline, not an Inuzuka, Uchiha, or some such prominent house it fascinated him so. Now he had made a point of knowing almost all information on public record and even some that wasn't. Knowledge was growth and Uri always looked to continue his evolution.

"I've had to fortune of meeting members of the Fire Country Uchiha clans. A dedicated bunch!"<i></i>

Uri had seen and met a lot of people in his travels. It wouldn't surprise him if he had met with family of hers prior to this meeting. As Uri was chomping into another frosted cake, he looked up with cream sticking to his lower lip. Licking it clean with a nimble swipe of his tongue, he smiled and withheld a laugh at the question, "I do a lot of things! I'm kind of the village's handyman. I fix broken things, and make new things. If you visit Soon's, their sports arena and musical hall I was in charge of building!"<i></i> Being an architect had been his claim to fame in a few places, but it was but one hat her wore, "And an alchemist, a sailor, a bodyguard, a farmer, a painter, a medical assistant, a mountaineer, and tons more!"<i></i> There was a certain energy that enguled Uri when he spoke of his travels. Few people knew Uri well enough, but he was much more lively when not focusing on the village or being in the dark cave they resided in.

Quickly popping the rest of his donut into his mouth, he chewed a few more times and spoke again, "I returned to the village roughly six months ago from a ten year trip abroad. So I do a lot of things. I enjoy the simple things. I don't mind letting other people be the important leaders or super scientists or crazy ninja-types. Mother Suna knows we have enough of them!"<i></i> There was a slight shrug as he thought about his reply, "I just like being ordinary, even if some of the things I can do are extraordinary."<i></i>

Another flash of his bright-white teeth and he started back into yet another sweet. When it came to his snacks, Uri didn't have the best manners, but there was something awkwardly charming about it, "So,"<i></i> He started, mouth half full, "What about you, Nari? What do you do? What do you like to do?"<i></i>

 

[Hoshirei]

When Nari mentioned her Fire Country relatives, she couldn't help but laugh. Dedicated? That was quite the word for that bunch. "Yes, they are quite dedicated, are they not. My family is somewhat removed from them, and the others here. Quite a few generations back we split off from them. The Shiba are not as- what word to use, ah yes- ambitious as our cousins. We do our best in what we do, but so long as we do our best, that is fine for us. Not to mention that a few of the main branches here do not like the color our sharingans have become. I quite like the color myself." As to prove her point, she activated her doujutsu long enough for him to see the color before turning them back off.

"If you have only returned here for six months, I wouldn't be surprised if quite a few things had changed from when you were here previously. I do believe I have seen some of your handiwork around this area, if I am recalling Soon's properly. As for things I like to do, they are fairly diverse. I enjoy reading, for learning and pleasure. I enjoy learning about the mind especially, it is fascinating. People watching is fun as well. If we were in a club, I could tell you so much about each person by just looking at them for a few moments. When I was younger, I used to explore the caves around the village. Ran into a fairly large scorpion once, hence the tattoo." She motioned towards her arm, showing off her ink. "My father didn't much like when I got these, but I could care less. I would rather not be the future clan head, thank you very much. My brother can do that."

With a soft huff at the reminder, she drank deeply from her hot chocolate, wishing, at that moment, that it was something else.

 

[Uri]

Nari seemed the type to be stuck in a world that was demanding things from her and she simply wanted nothing to do with them. Being stuck in a parent's shadow was something Uri could relate to. While he had been forced into his father's job under different, more dire circumstances he had no plan of being a mason all his life, to vanish into the darkness of the cave shaping the stone that encapsulated them. It was for that same reason that he decided the only way he would be able to move on and become his own person was by leaving everything he had behind him. Uri had only his mother to leave behind, but Nari had a clan looking to her. While similar, their situations were worlds apart.

"Oh? Tattoos? I love those! They always have a story to tell. I don't have any myself, but I do have these,"<i></i> He up turned his un-gloved hands to reveal the runes branded into his skin of his palms, "Not as artistic, but they do tell a story! They also help start many new ones too!"<i></i> As he paused to finish off another treat, he took a moment to let the last thought fade away as he observed the Uchiha. As with her kind, she liked observing too, and with that inherently came knowing when you yourself were telegraphing thoughts outward.

Hands free of food, he shot a finger up into the air with a loud excited exclamation, "How about a magic trick? I'm also a street performer too! You said you like scorpions!"<i></i> Dusting off his hands, he reached beneath the table into one of his bags, pulling out a large sheet of paper. Quickly, he showed it to Nari, flipping it end over end to show that there was nothing on it. In one hand he crumpled it into a little ball and promptly ate it. After a few chews, he swallowed and opened his mouth to show that it was empty, "Now for the fun part!"<i></i> Now he reached for one of the doughnuts and slammed his palms together, the confection vanishing into a flat line. When Uri brought his hands back apart, there sat an origami scorpion. Daintily he placed it before Nari, and then reached forward, behind her ear and retrieved the missing sweet treat he had smashed into oblivion a moment before.

"Surprise!"<i></i> Uri beamed as he sat back into his chair, hands in the air. In the same instant the scorpion too rose its claws in the same gesture, mimicking its creator, "Magiiiiiiic~"<i></i>

It was a cheesy distraction, but it was better then letting her dwell on her issues. Uri liked trying to get people to smile. Hopefully he would have achieved at least that.

 

[Hoshirei]

The young woman couldn't help but smile brightly when he praised tattoos and showed her the rune marks on his palms. She wanted to inspect the rune marks, and it would show in her eyes, but she would refrain. People usually have runes on them for a reason, similar to her tattoos. There was always a story, and perhaps if they knew each other better, she might ask, but that was not the case.

She finally finished her second turnover and sat up a little straighter when he mentioned a magic trick. She may be older, but seeing slight of hand tricks were always fun. Many tricks were too easy to figure out. She had been banned by more than one "magician" because of her ability to do the trick after seeing it once. The didn't like that, especially when they called her up to see if a "normal" person could do it. Well sorry if she had an idedic memory and the observation skills of her clan.

Shaking herself out of it, she watched with a smile as he created a crisp origami scorpion and didn't actually smash the pastry as it had seemed. Childish glee was expressed through a very bright smile and a small clapping of her hands. With calculated grace, she reached out toward the paper scorpion and gently picked it up just behind the sting. "That is quite the talent, Uri. I believe you have finally stumped the unstumpable. Unlike most magicians or street-performers, I only have a slight idea of just how you may have pulled that off. Quite the feat, I am actually unwelcome by most of them. They certainly do not like me around. If I am allowed, they all know to never pick me for their demonstrations. It has been that way since I was young."

She moved the scorpion to her free hand, allowing it to rest on her palm. At least with this one, she wouldn't be poisoned if it stung her.

 

[Uri]

There were a lot of magicians out there in the world, and many relied on a mixture of contraptions, genjutsu, and sleight of hand. While Uri was a talented ninja, he made a point of never using any of his ninja techniques unless he had to. A master of sleight of hand was more deadly than the most refined illusionist. Being an Uchiha would have helped Nari a great deal in noticing the beginnings to some of his less obvious movements, but even those were just bait to pull her attention else where.

An open palm hovered above the paper scorpion and Nari's hand, fingers dancing as if controlling a puppet and the origami piece responded in turn. The legs adjusted the body of it, turning and looking around, tail curling, paper crinkling as the papercraft animal moved as if it was living. A more obvious observation would be the subtle flow emanating from Uri's palms, the branded seals aglow with subtle energies.

"That's because they're not very good then! True magicians challenge people how to figure out their tricks and when they do, they find new ways to mystify."<i></i> Uri brought up his second hand, turning it over and revealing squares of paper held between his fingers, "Misdirection is all it really is and having nimble fingers."<i></i> In one subtle movement, he flipped the squares between his fingers until they were all stacked up in his hand, "I used to be a street performer for a short while, lived off of tips. My specialty was sleight of hand, and while I may have started out with the more common practices I did improve upon their foundation."<i></i>

Hands returned back in front of him, he stashed away the paper pieces and picked up another doughnut, easily having already eaten four of five by now. A large bite came, and honey cream clung to the corner of his smiling mouth, "So, what is it you do? Surely someone of your stature must do something fascinating! Maybe you're a pirate queen or the hidden daughter to the Daimyo!"<i></i> Clearly he was jesting, but the earnest curiosity did show through.

 

[Hoshirei]

Nari couldn't help but smile as Uri moved his hand over the scorpion and it made small natural movements, almost as if it was looking for a way down. She did notice the glowing seals on his palm, but saw fit to ignore it for the moment. As curious as she could be, Nari would much rather save what could be a personal question for another time. When he denigrated the other performers, a smirk graced her countenance. That was very similar to something her father said after one such occurrence of being kicked out of a party.

"Quite right, they were not very good at all. It did not help that I was still in a stage where I blurted most things out before thinking. I do believe that I have not actually seen a 'magic trick' since before I entered the academy. I would perform some small shows for my family to prove my skills in slight of hand. Those skills have become rather useful in my pursuits during the last few years."

She set the paper scorpion on the table and turned back to her cocoa only to find it a little cold. A small pout formed before she slowly closed her eyes and fed some fire chakra into the drink. Once it was warm again, she smiled and resumed her look of calm and poise. Nari looked at Uri just in time to see that some cream had clung to his mouth. His question and following statements made her laugh lightly.
"I am certainly not a hidden daughter of the Daimyo, though I would have to say as such if I were, ne? As for a pirate queen, some could call me that, but all in all it would be false. I am actually an interrogator. I am quite good at what I do. My younger brother helps me sometimes. It is rather interesting. We are the children of an Uchiha and a Yamanaka. We received the opposite gender parent's coloring and talents, but received the same gender parent's eye color. Rather fascinating to see a male Yamanaka with almost black eyes."

 

[Uri]

"Oh, that is interesting. Genetics in shinobi families can produce a lot of unique things."<i></i> Uri had seen a lot of unusual mutations. He himself possessed such a mutation, but in this case it was a stunted gene that he had inherited. Part of his trip had been trying to discover more about himself, and that included some of his oddities. Neither of his parents exhibited more commonly known traits, but Uri had encountered numerous health and physical issues due to an abnormality that was in his blood. That was what the brands seared into his hands were; they put his body back in balance and provided gates that Uri could use to help manipulate life.

Licking his mouth clean from any excess sugar, he nodded, mostly to himself, "So an interrogator, eh? That's a pretty niche job choice. Since you're an Uchiha, you probably like to use illusions to manipulate information from people, huh?"<i></i> Despite his more joyous demeanor, Uri had seen a lot of dark things in his years, some things he would never wish to do again if he could help it, "Do you find yourself wondering if you're permanently scarring whoever you're questioning?"<i></i> His voice had lowered a bit, since this specific type of conversation was probably not for most normal village folk, "Some information is important to the village, but when we're in times of peace, or when we aren't at all-out war, but is it always worth breaking someone for it? I guess what I mean to ask is: Where do you draw the line? Y'know?"<i></i>

Slowly he took another bite, allowing the sweetness to brighten up his somber visage, "Scary world out there. There's enough pain without having to cause more needlessly."<i></i>

 

[Hoshirei]

Nari listened as she ate the rest of her treats. She calmly wiped the corners of her mouth and set her napkin on the table. "It is a bit of a niche, that is true. Having Yamanaka family members does help some in learning different techniques. I do use different illusions to garner information. Most of the time I stray away from the more dangerous ones. I tend to use light illusions and suggestions more than anything else. In times of peace especially, I almost completely avoid using my Tsukyomi. The only time I do use it is on those that would not get out of jail any time soon, as in ever. I may be an Uchiha, and have a sadistic streak, but I do not like the power that my abilities have. The ability to destroy someone's mind in a matter of seconds does not appeal to me whatsoever."

 

[Uri]

"That is a terrible burden to bear, and not even one chosen to weigh upon you, but cast upon you by birth. At least you have an understanding of what you can do and why it's best to never lash out with it without an even more dire reason behind it. Luckily for me, I was not born with any such hardships. Any strength I possess I had to earn through sweat and blood and-"<i></i> He paused to wipe away some of the flour still stuck to the edges of his face, laughing, "dirt, in this case flour. Never have I ever just been handed something so readily and with such influence that it could affect others."<i></i>

He stopped for a moment to consume the remaining half of the dessert pastry, chewing thoroughly and swallowing before speaking again, "I've only had my family and my knowledge and my tenacity. Nothing else. Whenever fate saw it to give me a chance to change someone's life, it was never through a grand gesture or birthright, but with what I had available at my fingertips, what I could do with my hands."<i></i> While the topic he was speaking on was a serious one, he talked about it like one might the weather over coffee with a colleague, "A lot of people don't even have the luxury of a roof over their heads, they've stopped having faith in their deities, in people too. Show a little kindness, give them shelter, restore hope and their lives will become infinitely better. That's why I'm a fixer and a builder."<i></i>

Idly, he made the paper scorpion dance on the table, still a smile on his features as he mused at the little creature.

Not looking up from his playing, he asked a question, "Do you believe in fate, Nari?"<i></i>

 

[Hoshirei]

She played with her empty cup as she listened to him. It was one part of being an Uchiha that she didn't like. Sometimes she really wished that she had inherited the Yamanaka bloodline. Sometimes, especially in her other line of work, it would be so easy to just destroy the person's mind. Every time she used her sharingan she walked a fine line between destruction and submission. Unconsciously, she rubbed her hip where her ANBU mark lay. As much as she believed that it could give her a good outlet, sometimes knowing that someone's life was in your hands was a terrible thing.

"You are certainly fortunate. These eyes are both a blessing and a curse." She gestured toward her sliver eyes, letting them swirl to her purple sharingans momentarily. They certainly were both a blessing and a curse. They helped in battle, but if you unlocked that final segment of power, it could completely destroy your vision. "Sometimes I would much rather have worked for everything I have received. In a way I have. I had to work to activate my abilities, but it was certainly nowhere near as difficult as some others have to work to get as far as I have."

She smiled softly at the scorpion as it danced. He then spoke a word that she didn't think of very often. Fate, that elusive word that haunts some people. "I'm not sure if I believe in fate or not, Uri. I do think that some things happen for a reason, but I'm not sure if I believe that everyone has a planned out course. There are so many variables, no one other than a deity could potentially plan out an entire life. With every choice and potential consequences, who could possibly plan out an entire life but a vastly powerful deity."

 

[Uri]

A single life all by itself was in fact a simple thing. A straight line without nothing to disrupt it or change its trajectory, and so it was thought better to create a whole world. Deities were always a peculiar thing to Uri. While he wasn't ever particularly religious, he knew the power of faith and how it led people through the more dire times of their life. On occasion he could even be heard swearing using Mother Suna's name, but he didn't view this figure as a mighty god whole ruled in the sky and controlled all he knew like puppet master and a marionette. The irony of having an established deity in Sunagakure is that they came from a history of men who fought to overcome such beings, to throw off their shackles and free themselves from their preordained lives.

In a way a lot of people still lived with bindings around their wrists. Even now Nari did, and yet she didn't seem to mind.

The scorpion danced merrily about, from side to side on the table; an apt metaphor for Uri's own thoughts.

"Of course no one can see all such things. It's nearly impossible to even fathom that, but consider this..."<i></i> Small movements of his fingers swirled the air, and slowly the scorpion began to fold into a different shape. A mere moment later and their was a spider skittering about under Uri's control, "What if everyone was a single thread, and every time something happened or you met someone new, the threads intertwined into a ball. All of a sudden, your thread is now heading in a different direction, even if only by a subtle change. Now from that change you find a completely different thread again, missing another one by only a hair's width. That difference could have meant a whole other life. Life or death."<i></i> The chuunin jerked his hand upward and the spider jumped, floating in midair, legs tight together as if walking on a single string of webbing. As it hung suspended in place, Nari's sharp eyes would see a near invisible tether to the tip of one of Uri's fingers holding the papercraft upright, "After a certain point we become so entangled with others, that it's impossible to know where it all leads, but there are some unique circumstances where someone can manipulate these threads and change their course without becoming tied up."<i></i>

Dropping the spider back onto the table, it slowly folded back to its original scorpion form and remained idle, "Fate, as I see it, isn't controlled by one person or one thing, but everyone and everything. Right now you may make a decision, but make a different decision for the same situation later because of a different influence."<i></i> Uri finally looked up back to meet Nari's gaze, his smile still present, "Choose to live through your own choices, not because someone wants you to do something else. If you never travel the path you want, you'll will always think back to that moment and wonder. Do what's fulfilling! Indulge!"<i></i>

The white-haired man reached into his nearly empty box and put one of his two remaining cakes on her empty plate.

"See? Had our threads not crossed, you wouldn't have gotten that!"<i></i> He raised the last one in his box up into the air as if to toast, "To choosing what makes us happy!"<i></i>

 

[Hoshirei]

Nari stayed silent as she listened to Uri's pseudo-soliloquy. His points did make sense. "You certainly have a point, Uri. There are a great many things that do not make sense with the conventional beliefs about fate. Perhaps it was never our fate to meet and talk, just to see each other every now and again in this bakery. However, you were here fixing things and ended up serving me my treats. This is actually a day that I am not usually in here. If we made some decisions right now, we could either end up as friends, lovers, or just remain as acquaintances for the rest of our existence. It is an interesting concept to think about. Our decisions certainly influence the ways we do things and our futures. Perhaps one day it will not be extraordinarily odd for people to believe in something other than fate and the gods. I may believe in a higher power, but that does not mean I believe that that power has much influence on our lives. I actually believe that the kami created humans and they guide sometimes, but I do not believe that they have much say over our lives."

She picked up the pastry she was given and returned the toasting gesture. "To choice and power over our fates."

 

[Uri]

Uri promptly stuffed his mouth with the remaining snack cake, chewed one or two times and swallowed it nearly whole. There was a pleasant tingling of his extremities from the sugar coursing through his veins, a feeling he often enjoyed in while working his earlier morning shifts. A glance at the light outside told him he had spent enough time on his break. Getting up, he brushed himself down again to rid himself of excessive flour clinging to his coveralls. One swift swing of his arm through the numerous loops to his work bags, he hefted them onto his shoulder, leaning to one side to allow gravity to keep them in place. A hand cupped over his mouth, he called out into the back, "Kaiyo-chan, put Shiba-san's order on my tab! Thanks!"<i></i>

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaai!" The voice rang out from the back.

The Uri-patented smile beamed down at Nari, "One kind gesture will in turn mean another. Make some other person happy today and we'll call it even!"<i></i> As he turned to leave, he stopped and a finger shot up into the air as he made an exclamation of realization, "I almost forgot."<i></i> Returning to the table, he disassembled the paper scorpion and began scribbling with a charcoal stick. On the a few of the papers were unique characters that weren't common to the ninja sealing arts. Almost as quickly as before, he put the creature back together with ease and rested his bare hand above it for a moment. A brief glow discharged.

"There. Now you have a pet. You can even fold it up and unfold it later."<i></i> Uri's hands were now buried in his pockets and the papercraft scorpion moved about on the table on its own volition, "Not sure how long it'll last. I mean, if my scribbles hold up, it could be for a while. Maybe next time we cross paths I'll find out! It'll be neat!"<i></i>

The chuunin made for the exit, stopping at the door for one final wave before departing to get back to his work day. Every decision was important, even the smallest ones as they directed the course one would follow. As long as people understood that then they were capable of controlling their own fates.

[Topic Left]

 

[Hoshirei]

Nari guffawed slightly when Uri stuffed his final pastry into his maw. With the amount of times he chewed, Nari was almost afraid that he would choke, but he somehow didn't, what a lucky man. When he rose and brushed off his garments, she smiled softly, the smile turning to a bit of shock as she heard his call to the back. She almost protested, she could afford it after all. His smile halted her protestation, and his words made her smile return. She nodded and watched him turn toward the door.
When he turned back she was a little confused until he unfolded and refolded the little paper scorpion after adding some seal-design to it. She was absolutely wordless until he was almost out the door. She ended up blurting, "Thank you for the pet." just before he exited. The Uchiha heir sat there for a few moments more, still in a bit of shock. A couple moments later, she stood, dropped a tip on the table, and walked out the door.

About half a mile down the road, she saw a little girl crying, leaning up against a wall. The girl was adorable, black hair and the bluest eyes anyone had ever seen. She helped the little girl find her way home, and was profusely thanked by her mother, who tried to offer the jounin some form of payment. In the spirit of her new friend, she refused, only accepting a thank you hug from the woman and the girl because they would not part without one. The little paper scorpion did a little dance on Nari's shoulder that made the little girl giggle.
With a smile, Nari went home and fell asleep.

[Topic Ended]