That Which Costs an Arm and a Leg [Private]

[Kazumi]

Robbery! That is exactly what this was. Extortion! Yeah, that sounded right. Abuse of power! What was she going to do, tell them to toss her back out into the desert? Sure, they saved her life and she was all happy and grateful for the effort, but it was hard to be as pleased as a plum when they handed her the bill on the way out. The weighty shackle around her right angle to keep track of her movements in the city did not help her mood at all either. Sure, she guessed she was a flght risk, but if they didn't want her to pay more money than she had ever seen in one place for the privilege of their stupidly clean hospital, then maybe they should not charge her so much.

She knew the implications, they wanted to get some free labor from the poor girl. Get her hooked in the village's pyramid schemes and all lovey-dovey with the shinobi to pay off her debt right quick; said as much to her face in not so many words. She wasn't having none of that though. Village was a big place and even with all the shinobi around, there still had to be a way to make enough coin quick enough to get out of her before she gnawed her own leg off to get that stupid thing off her ankle. It didn't even take long. Details were scare, but the guy seemed right eager to give her directions after she liberated him from a few of his teeth.

Was not exactly inviting, the first place they tried to pawn her off too, Devil's Lair. Now the second at least seemed more appealing to her aching belly. She was not sure, but it felt like a week since she had anything proper in her belly and at worst the second place could at least give her a meal in exchange for chores or something benign. In all honesty, it was the contact that drew her there. What kind of loon goes by 'Immortal Trickster', if she only got a chance to get a look at that face and a few seconds to laugh at it, she might be able to go another night without food.

The directions were not great, though he was having trouble talking clearly so she didn't rough him up any further for the hastle. "Thought I was never going to find you." Kazumi idly commented as she stood outside the unassuming building. It was only two stories high, and peering over the weirdly shaped swinging door, it didn't seem to have much in it. Just a man behind a counter with nary another patron in sight. More than a small part of her wanted to kick the creaky door in, just to see it smack the other side, but she resisted and instead just stepped inside the Noodle Noose Saloon, letting the door swing loosely closed behind her, as she peered around.

There indeed didn't seem to even be another soul around, she didn't have an eye for business or location or any of that but she imaged a place like this, not having any customers at this time of day was not a good sign. "Hey, old man." She called, looking over towards the counter where the man was busy cleaning something unimportant, "I'm looking for the-" she paused, unable to keep herself from giving off a small snort, "the Immortal Trickster... you seen him around here... somewhere?" She gestured around the empty room.

 

[Miroku Akkuma]

Ichiro looked up at the newcomer & chuckled as she made her request. He walked over to a door that led further into the depths of the establishment. "Chiyo darling we've got another person here to see him." turning to face the potential patron once more he would say "Help yourself to a seat, someone will be over shortly if you'd like something to eat while you wait." there was a warmth in his voice that would no doubt be unexpected from someone living in the depths of these Ruins. With those words he would go back to cleaning as time passed by. Moments after Kazumi was seated a young teenage girl would exit the door behind the counter & approach her. There was curiosity in her eyes, perhaps she was wondering what had drawn this person here to Akkuma. From the looks of her she certainly was not someone from the area.

"Hi! Would you like anything while you wait for him hun?" the hostess would ask as she placed two cups onto the table or booth that the newcomer had chosen. Despite the unusual atmosphere of the establishment & those who gave it their patronage did not bother her. Then again after dealing with it for as long as she had been, there was no reason to really be concerned. Everyone was generally to focused on other things to worry about the likes of her. "Oh I almost forgot!" the hostess blushed & ran back through the door re-appearing moments later with a bottle of sake. It was one of the only two alcoholic beverages they stocked. It was distilled & bottled as it had been when they were Kirigakurian shinobi. Placing it on the table in front of the unnamed newcomer.

The doors to the saloon would open as another patron walked in & approached the counter. "Ichiro, Mai hope things have been alright yeah. Just the usual for me." the regular would say as he placed some yen on the counter. He'd give a nod of hello to the unknown woman before his eyes slid to the two glasses & sake upon her table. A look of slight concern would cross the individuals face, which was quickly replaced with a hesitant smile. However he still took a seat in a corner booth. All the locals generally knew each other. Those that didn't still knew that Ichiro & Chiyo's place was neutral ground. There were various players & organizations that had dealings or investments within the depths of Suna. Here is where they came to negotiate. Only one person had broken that rule & their body had been found hanging from a street lamp disemboweled.

Ichiro & Chiyo had been running the Noodle Noose Saloon longer then most could remember. Both were former shinobi who had retired, when all had moved on they remained. Knowing that they would be needed they became the last measure of the District. Somewhere as a last means to deal with something before it spilled into the streets causing unnecessary bloodshed. Over the years it had become an unspoken agreement between the denizens. Anyone who broke that would be dealt with severely. One would think that such a depraved community of individuals would have such codes. But without them the villages attention would be drawn & their way of life would be ruined. Enough of the Anbu had been corrupted that many of them got to go about there business without interruption.

 

[Kazumi]

As the little hostess arrived and chimed her offer of food, Kazumi's stomach answered for her with an eager growl. Her non-existent coin purse let out a silent shrill of protest but it held little sway against the hungry behemoth. "Yeah, food's good. Whatever you serve'll be fine with me." She came here with the goal of quickly obtaining a fair bit of coin so she might be able to pay, but even if she didn't, what would they do? Extract the food from her gut? She imagined the old man or the girl trying to even wield a knife and couldn't help but let off another chuckle as she made her way to sit at the counter.

She looked a little confused as the girl bolted off, only to have the confusion replaced with delight as the bottle was placed in front of her. Her Master had rarely ever let her drink, saying something about dulling the senses, but if he was out in hiding, he wouldn't be around to tell her nothing. As soon as the girl departed, the bottle's lid popped off almost instantly as she took the bottle in hand and took a refreshing big drink. It felt like she was drinking the desert itself, but any liquid that was not sterile hospital water was a siren's call to her. She didn't even pay the new patron any notice as she downed another gulp, setting the bottle back down on the table with the glasses, letting out an eye-pinched heavy sigh.

"Hoh, damn that's some prickly stuff." The aftertaste and smell were not particularly enjoyable, but the resulting warmth that prickled her throat and gut were enjoyable. She hated the desert with a passion and that was before it tried to hang her out to dry like a piece of week old jerky, but this internal warmth was something odd but not unpleasant. A Kazumi relished in the feeling, she glanced around the shop, finally taking notice of the other stranger. Absently she her left hand drift to the sheathed katana at her side, the only noteworthy piece of apparel she had on her, aside from the metal tracking anklet that she was here to get removed.

 

[Miroku Akkuma]

It was an odd answer to the hostesses question, but then again he would fix the bill as usual. "I can work with that." Mai would say with a warm grin, before returning to the back through the door behind the counter. Ichiro would chuckle from behind the counter as the kunoichi commented on the drink. He knew it certainly was an acquired taste, he could see why it would have been liked in Kirigakure. But in the warmth of the desert it was not the refreshing beverage many desired within these lands. A few minutes passed before an unnatural sense of despair would sweep over them. Like the chill that runs up ones spine triggering that instinctual sense of fear. Like a corruption sweeping through the establishment the invasive aura preceded the Sages arrival.

His gloved hands would push open the saloon doors. In stepped the tall figure that was Akkuma, his outfit all too similar to that of his former Anbu days. All that was missing was his mask. The gloves upon his hands were littered with seals & obviously designed for combat. Hidden within his robes were all manner of weapons & tools. It had been a busy day for the Sage he was taking care of some matters. Finalizing a decision he'd made, loose ends couldn't be allowed for the path he walked now. His hair ghostly white cascaded passed his shoulders & the few parts of his body that could be viewed were covered in a litany of scars. Most notably the two that ran across the entirety of his head & across his neck.

Emerald eyes scanned the establishment & landed upon the table with his sake upon it. "Another bottle please Ichiro..." the Sage would say with a smile. Placing a small pouch upon the counter containing payment for the month to the business. Their existence benefited him greatly, things were cleaner this way. Akkuma's Geta tapped against the floorboards of the Saloon as he approached the table. With a nod to the individual he would take a seat opposite them. "Ken you should go to the Casino. They'll look after you.." with the words the man in the corner of the establishment got up. "Ugh..sure thing. I'll see you 'round" he scurried past them being sure not to look at the woman as he departed. Ichiro handed him his Yen back as he did so.

"I hear you made quite the scene in order to try & find someone like myself." he would take one of the glasses placing it upright on the table in front of him. The counter door would swing open & out came Mai with a smile she placed another bottle before him. "Food won't be long..." the Sage looked to her & with a warmth that seemed almost polar to what one would expect from an individual with his aura. "Thanks Mai I appreciate it, hope your mothers feeling better." which caused her to pause in her departure. Turning back she would smile "She is thanks to you, I'll need some more soon." before returning back into the back of the business. He gave a small smile hers had been such a simple & noble request he couldn't say no. No one else would have been willing to use the required methods to heal her ill mother.

His gaze would slide back to the kunoichi who sat before him. "You know there are simpler ways to ask for help. Especially in this place, I've found it to be most helpful in my most dire of times. The name's Akkuma, how can I help you?" with those words he removed the cork from the new bottle breaking the wax seal & poured himself a beverage. He downed the glass in a moment as he prepared to listen to the kunoichi. Wanting at least one drink under his belt in case things took a turn for the worst.

MFT

 

[Kazumi]

The sensation that struck her as she lifted the bottle for another drink gave her pause. It was unsettling to say for sure, but note entirely unfamiliar. In the two times she had felt her Master fully let himself go, she recalled feeling a similar presence. They both sent a prickly tingle up her spine and gave her the urge to leap out the nearest window, but this one felt colder somehow like a cold miasma was trying to claw its way through her skin. Kazumi turned from the bar, holding the bottle in a death-grip as she looked towards the entrance. She was not about to let herself be intimidate by nobody, but that fight-or-flight response prickled at her every sense as she watched him approach.

The young woman wanted to go back to casually drinking, but she couldn't keep her eyes off the man. He felt like a walking weapon, and he certainly looked the part and so instinct kept her eyes trained on him as he made his way across from her and sat. Even as the younger girl came and spoke, Kazumi kept her eyes trained on the man. Her sword arm twitched as she mentally restrained herself from drawing swords here and now, and while her blade remained sheathed and motionless, a physical cold slowly began to permeate the air around her as her body prepared for a fight to break out at any moment. Despite all of this, her tone was casual and collected when she finally spoke up. "Yeah, well drop of honey may get you a fly, but a slab of meat will get you the queen."

As the air around her continued to chill, she felt the clash between the soul-freezing aura and the nipping cold helped to put her more at ease. Her Master would have chided her for resorting to such a telling tactic, even if subconscious, all meant for the sake of a little reassurance. In either case, she managed to put the bottle back to her lips and take another burning drink. Combining it with everything else was serving as a good distraction, if nothing else. "Guessing you're the Immortal Trickster guy? You look a little dark and dour." She set the bottle down and pried her hand from it, resting it on the edge of the table, ready to push it over if the need came.

"You could say I am new in this Not-So-Hidden Village. Got too chummy with the wandering locals out in the countryside, decided to try out the waterless lifestyle for a few days and your village so graciously left me a bill with numbers larger than I can count." Kazumi shifted around in her seat, her head starting to feel like her head was moving half of a second later than it really was. The alcohol she guessed, but she couldn't remember the last time she drank well enough to guess. "They suggested I do some odds and ends for the village, and I don't fancy owing favors I didn't agree to. Word I heard is that Mr. Trickster's got work for able hands that pays."

If it were not for the stinging warmth in her chest, she may not have been able to turn aside from the man and kick her shackled leg out to the side of the table, exposing the metallic anklet. "Much as I love a good fashion statement, I don't fancy wearing this any longer than I have to." She tuned back to him and leaned more heavily on the table, small bits of frost now forming on the unattended bottle next to her. "Sure as rain you got something big that pays bigger, yeah?"

 

[Miroku Akkuma]

A chuckle escaped the Sages lips as he leaned back running his hand through his hair. "Perhaps...if it had been a different time those same tactics could see you consumed in the frenzy." he would say as he tilted his head to the side casually taking in the kunoichi before him. Akkuma flashed a devilish grin & gave a mock bow from his seat. A snap chill permeated from the woman & the Sage couldn't help but be reminded of his old homeland in that presence. It had been the lands of Kirigakure from which it originated after all. Her comment was not one he could or would argue with it was certainly a fitting observation about him. "Ah so that's why you're here..." he'd reach over lifting his bottle to pour another glass, those emerald eyes of his holding her in his gaze.

The kunoichi was not wrong he offered a variety of services for individuals in need of the Yen. But he still didn't know enough about the individual before him to decide just what kind of task she would perform. "Consider yourself lucky...under the rule of some a foreigner attacking locals would not have been tolerated. This village & it's people are not what the seem...I'd ask you not to harm them during your stay here." he would calmly say as he placed the sake bottle down, there was something in his gaze that suggested this was not a request. When he noted the ankle bracelet he gave an ominous laugh. "No Anbu tail as well, at least they only suspect you have running off on your debt & not causing too much trouble." he'd say before downing the contents of his glass. He was surprised that given passed events such an individual would be more closely monitored.

The Sage gave a small nod to her final question & a warm smile "It certainly can...although I'll need some answers from you first." he spoke in a business-like manner as he leaned back into the seat. Akkuma needed to know some things about the individual before him before they worked together. "Who are you? Clearly you aren't from this village much like I wasn't. What brought you here to try the waterless lifestyle as you put it." he would say not bothering to mention this was a common misconception & there was a massive underground water system that spanned the area. It was a treat best left for those would appreciate the stay in the village. He was yet to see if she was such a person.

"Do you know how you came by your Gifts?" the Sage would ask lifting the Sake bottle up & sliding a finger across it's side making a point of the condensation that had formed due to the temperature drop of the room. "It is so rare to see someone with it since the fall of Kirigakure." In fact he had only met one other with what he suspected was the same kekkei genkei. Curiosity got the best of him & he wanted to find out if he was right. Part of him was tempted to challenge the kunoichi to see if she truly did wield the Gift of his former homeland. For if it was not that he had missed her preparing a jutsu & he had not indulged himself enough to justify that thought.

MFT

 

[Kazumi]

The young woman's eyes were a fierce and determined ice blue, refusing to be the first to break her gaze from his as they met. It took an obvious effort, but she kept her eyes unblinking forward until he looked away towards her anklet. "Yeah well," she replied in a somewhat dismissive tone, her head feeling a little foggy which only amplified her natural dismissive tone, "long as they don't draw swords on me, I suppose we can play all cheery with one another." She took the bottle back to her lips, forcing another, albeit smaller, drink down. In the short term, it felt like it was helping to keep herself in check, though how long that reinforcement would last was the question.

She set the bottle back down and leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs in a somewhat vulnerable position. Even the dread aura she had initially felt from him felt more distant than it had when he first arrived. "Name's Kazumi. I came to this forsaken country with my Master for training. Hells only know where he ran off too." She crossed her arms and closed her mouth, waiting a few long seconds for him to eventually continue with his questions. "Born and raised in the islands off the cold hell that used to be Water Country. Imagine that, some place even less hospitable than here." She let off an amused scoff before continuing. "Don't remember a whole lot. Parents were merchants, so they certainly didn't have that gift, as you call it." He didn't outright comment on what he meant, but it was pretty apparent.

"Relative I guess, or maybe the gods just smiled on me and wanted to see how they could mess with me. Either way, I can't say. Never knew anyone from the ninja village there." She hesitated before she corrected herself, "that I remember. Merchant family and all that, sailed around a lot. So maybe odds would say we did." She shrugged and idly reached out to take another drink from the bottle, her pale cheeks already looking faintly flushed. Thin lines on her face became more apparent as the blush had slowly grown, silver hair-thin scars where dozens of small cuts had likely been made and healed over many years.

 

[Miroku Akkuma]

The Sage merely smiled as the kunoichi before him appeared dismissive. He was accustomed to people attempting to maintain the facades they showed society in his presence. A natural defensive behavior to the presence he emanated. "I'm sure that won't be an issue...nonetheless it's an amendment I can allow." he would say with a chuckle after all agreements such as these had to involve a willingness to negotiate. Those piercing emerald eyes of him watched her intently as she answered his questions. So we she was an outsider & her Master had run off. She didn't look like a slave he saw no brands or marks upon her. No it would have to be here Master as in a Mentor. An important distinction for someone like Akkuma with such varied business ventures.

Her comments on the current state of Water Country & by de-facto Kirigakure made a thin smile appear on his face. She finished her statement by saying she was unsure if they had known anyone from the village. "Well you know someone from there now..." he picked up his bottle & brought it to his lips. Downing the last of its contents, placing the empty bottle onto the table before him. Allowing himself a brief recollection of the place that had been his home. "By all rights it was a paradise in comparison to many of the other villages. At least that was before the Great Winter claimed it." he calmly said as all who were from those lands already knew that eldritch horrors now claimed those territories.

"Since you're a fellow shinobi of Water Country I feel obliged to help you in a means that won't...tarnish your reputation among the village." his words were business-like but there was a devilish mischief that burned in his gaze. "A meeting of some distinction...no doubt a declaration of war or something of that nature. Nonetheless I'm going to be making an attendance with some of my kin." he paused running his fingers through his hair as he looked at her saying. "I need a body guard. After my sons so eagerly executed me I have yet had the chance to vet many of those within my closer circles...due to my time recuperating. Should all things go according to plan you may even be recognized as a factor in making me behave myself so to speak." he would chuckle when he finished speaking. The Sage was no stranger to trouble & even though he claimed to be changing his ways. There was still an inarguable desire burning to do as he pleased.

"Your debt dealt with for your company...between the Kazekage & whoever else is there I imagine there will be much unimportant conversation. Although I suspect there will be much information to gather from the occasion. I'll even cover any expenses on the day & today naturally." he would calmly say before motioning for another bottle to be brought out. When it came to the table it was accompanied by two extravagant meals. Ample portions of steak with a mixture of vegetables & a savory mushroom sauce that coated it. "Do we have a deal?" he would ask grabbing his utensils & beginning to devour the meal before him. Within moments he would be done, if Kazumi looked away from him for even a moment she would miss the event.

"You should at least know who you're working for...I'm Miroku Akkuma." he would calmly state his name. No additional monikers, they were unneeded for this interaction. After all it would only be a simple matter of asking if the kunoichi before him truly wished to know more about the individual with whom she was entering a compact with.

MFT