Travel [Private/Masao]

[Nakata Dai]

He hadn't the slightest clue how to find this Sennin. However, the residential district that he was lead to by the inhabitants of Kumogakure was a place the shinobi dressed in his black traveler's cloak would look. He assumed it might be one of the more luxurious houses. Perhaps he didn't want to bring attention to himself and chose a lower end place of residence. Maybe there was a special building he should be looking for. Regardless of all these thoughts, Anatsu wandered these streets, hoping Masao would find him. After all, the village couldn't be too comfortable with a random assassin roaming about could they?

 

[Takaki Saeko]

Someone tugged on the missing jounin's sleeve to get his attention. It was an insistent tug, almost pesky, but without hostility.

"Ohayo, onii-chan! Hey, are you lost? Do you need your loving imouto to show you the way?!" asked a bubbly, silver-haired girl with unnaturally fair skin, sporting a vocalist's checkered dress. She batted her eyelashes at him, striking a rather moe pose. If the setting had been a gag-anime, sparkles would ahve likely erupted from her silhouette. Hung from the crook of one warm was a shopping basket full of what seemed to be groceries.

 

[Nakata Dai]

Children and women passing usually did not cause Anatsu to pay attention. However, once contact was made with him, he could not not pay attention. He swiftly turned his entire body towards the girl. His initial reaction in his head was to grab her hand. However, he resisted and listened to her. It was evident to him that he was going in the right direction, or at least he looked lost.

"Yes. I cannot recall his name but I'm seeking... a Sennin of Kumogakure." answered the Uchiha truthfully. He hadn't the slightest clue who he was looking for exactly or what direction to go, but it wasn't the first time he was ever lost.

 

[Takaki Saeko]

"Nii-nii..." she pouted as the jounin turned and rather stiffly gazed at her. "Why didn't you didn't grab my hand forcefully, or trip and fall and end up grabbing my chest?! Real life is so boring compared to anime! Show Nyaruko-imouto-chan some dere, dammit!" she whined.

"Yes. I cannot recall his name but I'm seeking... a Sennin of Kumogakure," said the obvious foreigner. Nyaruko tilted her head quizzically.

"A Sennin? Hmm, do you mean Megane-kun who is the ANBU Sennin and is really shy around girls? Or do you mean Evil-sama the Medical Sennin who wants to harvest your organs and fluoridate our drinking water?! Or are you looking for Masao-nii-chan, who is Main Branch Sennin and...and...nii-chan, what did you do to deserve a brushing?!" she asked in horror.

 

[Nakata Dai]

*blink*

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*blink*





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Spoiler

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After blinking a few times excessively, Anatsu finally answered. "Masao."

This girl was particularly odd. He couldn't tell how old she was exactly. But regardless, she was extremely weird. He had yet to pick up on her tone of voice but he didn't really care much. He needed to meet with this Sennin person in order to continue with his life. There was very little emotion coming from the cold heart assassin. However, the situation was slightly funny.

 

[Takaki Saeko]

"So you ARE getting a brushing after all?! Ai-Ya! Nii-chan, is there no other way? Please, for your imouto's sake, don't do it!" wailed Nyaruko, throwing herself at Anatsu's feet and crying into his ankles. Of course, Anatsu being the rigid stick in the mud that he was, the girl would probably fail to obtain a response, and look up from her blubbering a few seconds later, somewhat bored.

"Onii-chan, you're not very lively today," she pouted sullenly. "Fine, fine, Nyaruko-imouto-chan happens to be Masao-nii-chan's secretary and personal assistant, so she will show you to Masao-nii-chan. He's at home right now, and I was on the way back from shopping for him - such an anime coincidence, neh?!" she said, poking him in the ribs. "Well come on, nii-nii, if you're too slow you'll miss curry dinner!"

[You can't see the village discussion forum, but I posted on there saying I was probably going to take an activity hit until Friday or even Sunday. Sorry for the delay, just giving you warning.]

 

[Nakata Dai]

"Alright. I'll follow you."

The Uchiha needed to follow the girl in order to find the person that he needed to speak to. Everything was moving along so smoothly . He was experiencing finer hospitality here than in Kumogakure. He needed to move quickly and efficiently in order to pursue his path. He needed to make money in order to survive and perhaps a place of residency would help as well. The weather was a bit cold and he was trying to get used to it. He was hoping to find a place to stay by the end of the night, or at least a promise of future income.

 

[Takaki Saeko]

Nyaruko skipped gaily down the road, her little basket of vegetables swaying merrily from side to side. Whether this was to offset the dourness of the sullen Uchiha following her or not, was up to the reader. Eventually, she stopped on front of a typical-looking wooden gate cut into a poured-stone retaining wall and produced a tinkling ring of nonsensical looking keys, one of which she inserted into a lock.

"Come on in, onii-chan! Make yourself at home! Your imouto will get you a beer if you want! If you get too drunk and grope me I won't be super upset!" she laughed, bounding toward the entrance of the average-looking house across from a small inner courtyard. Nothing seemed to be overtly locked or closed, and there was a small area for guests to take their shoes off near the door.

The inside of the house was slightly dated, although not unpleasant to look at. A pair of couches facing each other with a coffee table between them seemed like an appropriate place to sit.

Steps could be heard nearby, and soon afterwards, a middle-aged man with piercing eyes ducked into the room through a dividing curtain.

"You don't look like you come from these parts. Are you the Konohan who my gate captain let in recently?" asked Takaki Masao.

 

[Nakata Dai]

This was it, the moment he had been waiting for for some short time. He had finally found the man that he was looking for. His piercing eyes was the first thing the Uchiha noticed. The man had clearly seen a lot of things that a normal civilian sought not to see. The Uchiha was no stranger to the terrors of the shinibi life. He was the genius former shinobi of the Hidden Village in the Leafs and now merely an inexperienced rogue shinobi, attempted to seek some sort of financial income from a foreign village.

He would not sit unless offered. And usually, he wouldn't speak unless spoken to. However, this was a different circumstance.

"Anatsu of Konohagakure's Uchiha clan/" answered Anatsu. He had redness in his eyes. For a familiar shinobi, they resembled the sharingan. However, in Anatsu's case, they were a product of the rare and powerful Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. He had the ability to see the world through a new light with these powerful eyes.

"I am in need of work, perhaps refugee. I have a combination of talents that may seem useful to your village as my services are no longer required to my village."

Anatsu chose the honest path for some reason even he himself could not explain. Perhaps he was hoping to develop a sense of trust with this new village...

 

[Takaki Saeko]

"So you are the Konohan," said Masao. "Please, sit. Do you want anything to drink? My maidservant, or at least she thinks she's my maidservant, will be preparing dinner soon. If you have no other plans you are welcome to stay and eat with us," said Masao, sitting himself down on one of the couches to face Anatsu.

"I am in need of work, perhaps refugee. I have a combination of talents that may seem useful to your village as my services are no longer required to my village," said the Uchiha. Masao nodded. The new arrival was a missing-nin Uchiha of Konoha - almost stereotypical, in a way. Still, the Sennin was a good judge of power, and this one had it in droves. Enough to make him feel slightly uneasy, although not uneasy enough to call for "backup."

"I take it by your last statement that you are no longer an employee in good standing with the Yamaguchi Corporation, then. You come to Cloud at a fortuitous time given your situation. Currently, we have no formal diplomatic relationship with Neo Konoha, and frankly, what relations exist at all are often filled with tension. You need not worry about any summary extradition, although I must also give you fair warning that if agents of your former employer come to our village seeking you, as a matter of policy we will not bar them from doing so, nor will we lend any special assistance to either party." The terms were simple enough - Cloud was neutral ground, for now. "If it is regular work you seek, you are welcome to pursue it through the many private contracting agencies available throughout the land. However, we in the Cloud administration would be willing to pay you well for any information you can provide us on the inner workings of Neo-Konoha - call it a consultancy fee," he chuckled.

"Can I ask what happened to make you part ways with your former village?"

 

[Nakata Dai]

Anatsu listened carefully. He had no reason to fear Kumogakure thus far. It was evident that they welcomed any information that would allow Kumogakure to have an edge against Konohagakure.

"If I gave you information on Konoha, that would make me a traitor, something worse than my Rogue status, and that would never allow you to trust me."said the Uchiha. He paused for a moment. He didn't know exactly what to say. He had never had a labor job before. He didn't know exactly how what to do with one. He was always a bounty hunter.

"I have never had a real labor job before. Let me clarify about my talents. I am a bounty hunter, a skilled assassin. Konoha is no longer my village. I knew too much about the dark secrets of the ANBU and they tried to erase me. I can and will kill for money. I'd like Kumogakure to be my employer..."

To be straight forward and serious, Anatsu would finish on.

"And yes, if the process is right I will assassinate anyone... of any village." Obviously Anatsu did not wish to kill any Konoha shinobi, but he didn't mind doing it. "I specialize in assassinating rogue ninja and drug lords."

This was no unique boy, he was now clearly a Konoha Special ANBU, a very dangerous man. Yet he hoped his honesty would prove trustworthy to the Kumogakre shinobi.

 

[Takaki Saeko]

"In the words of our Raikage: Interesting," said Masao to the Konohan's statement. "Well, the offer still stands. We always hunger for more information on our neighbors. Anyway, we, as if the leadership of this village, could always use the services of an easily-disavowable assassin from a foreign land. Sometimes there is little other way to ensure the safety and security of this village and of this country. I find it perverse that the incorruptible are often those who would seek to make enemies of our interests, but it can't be helped," he shrugged.

"Let's come to an arrangement. You are free to stay here and you will even receive a regular honorarium - enough to cover food, lodging, and even some luxuries - all for the simple task of remaining on call for me and some trusted comrades of mine as I see fit. If there is an annoying weed that must be pulled, we will ask you to tend to the garden, so to speak. Of course, I can't write this down, and the Raikage is too pure-hearted to be bothered with the sordid details of an arrangement such as this, but as long as I, or those I select, remain Sennin of the Main, you can count on our end of the deal. Is this acceptable? Also, are you staying for dinner?"

[TL if Anatsu gives a positive response.]

 

[Nakata Dai]

It was a successful trip for the Uchiha. He achieved everything he meant to achieve. What he ended up doing for the rest of the night was irrelevant to the tale of this character. Obviously, it was safe to assume that he would not turn down the hospitality of the Kumogakure Sennin. After agreeing to what he had to offer, the Uchiha found himself in a more stable situation. Now it was just up to him to figure out where to sleep and where were the best places to eat. His income would naturally be a lot less than his Konoha days. However, it was only a matter of time before Kumogakure trusted him more and realized his true abilities and his never ending potential. An assassin of his skill and silence did not grow on trees. It was evident that this man realized it as well.

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