While I've been gone [open]

[Oshiro Saki]

It had been... how long since Kosei'd been out? Too long. Any amount of time longer than a good nine hour rest at night was too long, really, but he'd been in a coma for... sheesh, he couldn't remember at the time. He knew it had been at least a couple months...

Too much had changed. Takayama-sama killed someone, Rin-sama committed suicide, Ayumu-san was no longer an AiT like he'd remembered... now he was the freakin' Vice Commander of ANBU. How long exactly had he been in that coma? It was worse that he didn't know why he'd gone comatose. Nobody did-- doctors, nurses, himself, ANBU-- nobody. All he knew was that the day after he'd come back from that ANBU mission with Ayumu and Gin he'd fallen asleep and never woken up, not until a week ago that is.

Now he found himself roaming the village, letting his legs take him on a journey while he zoned out, thinking about what had happened in his absence. Unfortunately, accidents happen when you walk places and you aren't paying attention: namely, walking straight into a wall at a fairly brisk pace. And the worst part about walking into a wall at a brisk pace is the backwards motion after you hit said wall, which, in Kosei's case, sent him stumbling backwards, before he fell flat on his butt in the middle of the light crowd of people. He got his glances, some stares, and the general majority of people who giggled or laughed at him. He was taken aback, of course, at the unexpected obstacle in his way, but more so by the pain that said obstacle cause on his face, and that the floor caused on his butt. He grabbed his nose in a vain attempt to dull the pain, but it didn't exactly work...

He stood up, left hand still on his face, adjusted his scarf (for he was dressed rather heavily, with a jacket and long pants on), then walked to a nearby empty ramen stand (those ones with stools situated at a counter, and cloth banner things offering some privacy). Luckily for Kosei, the owner hadn't seen it, since he'd been facing the other direction, but it didn't make him feel any better.

"I'll have a large bowl of pork ramen with onions please." he said through throbbing face-pain. Without saying anything, the chef turned back around and began preparing Kosei's order, and the general quietness of the morning returned, with only the cold air and the gentle noise of the small crowd outside as a comfort to him.

 

[Ryu Hime]

[Topic entered by Inpc Hebi]​

There was some excitement going on behind Kosei. A small boy was making a mail delivery and was not watching where he was going. He steps on a banana peel, which causes him to slip. Luckily he manages to grab onto something to prevent him from hitting the ground. His hand held something soft and squishy. Was that a pair of women’s shoe he was looking at? Oh god this can't be good, the boy thought to himself. The boy takes a nervous swallow as he looks up and sees a very angry woman (Hebi). The boy’s hand still firmly gripped one of her breasts. "Mommy.", he cries. She backhands him so hard that he went flying over the counter of the ramen stand. Letters fly everywhere; one even landed in the bowl the chef just prepared. People around the woman simply stared like deer in the headlights.

 

[Oshiro Saki]

As the chef/barista/owner person of the ramen stand set the bowl of pork noodles on the counter, a sudden commotion behind Kosei drew his attention away from the steaming bowl of goodness before him. The crash of someone falling and the harsh sound of a painful slap across a face stuck out among the cacophony of the hustle and bustle of the morning, however light it may have been. Normally, Kosei would have simply dismissed the series of sounds as the poorly played out antics of some person who'd failed at whatever he'd tried to do, and had been smacked by some woman in recompense for his actions. In other words, he'd been caught peeping down her shirt or something. And that was what Kosei assumed it had been, until about 1.7 seconds later, when someone crashed through the ramen stand's cloth privacy veil and over the wooden counter, landing him not-so-gracefully on the other side of the stand, at the chef-person's feet. Kosei's ramen got knocked, making him lose about half of the water, flavored by the pork and heated by fire, all over himself, the counter, and the floor. But most of it spilled on Kosei.

The AiT jumped up, using his hands to brush off as much water as he possibly could before it burned him more than it did--after all, the water was freakin HOT. After only suffering minimal third degree burns from said water, he looked over that the boy, now doing his best to nurse a horribly bruised cheek, and the stand owner, somewhat flustered, but not mad, at the upsetting of his peace. Kosei fished a letter out of what remained of his ramen, and set it on a dry portion of the counter as the chef did his best to help the boy up off the floor. Kosei turned and looked at who had done this, and when he'd seen everyone staring at one lady, who was obviously in a rotten mood, walked out from the stand to confront her.

"What the hell? What was that all about?"

 

[Ryu Hime]

The woman has placed one of her arms across her chest; still feeling violated. “The boy over there groped my breasts.” Obviously she has quite the backhand. The boy, being the idiot that he is, decides to climb over the counter to explain himself. Whether it was out of pure misfortune or he was a glutton for punishment, he trips on a stool and falls flat on his face. Of course with his arm flailing as falls he manages grab Hebi skirt and pull them down. Sudden everyone had a perfect view of a white lacey piece of lingerie. A man in the background gives a wolf whistle and her face turns fifty shades of red; out of both embarrassment and anger. The boy looks up and his nose begins to bleed. Hebi grabs his shirt and realize he has just gone from heaven to hell. “That’s it, now you die!”

The boy lifted off the ground with tears pouring like rivers. He knew he was done for. “It was a accident I swear.” He looks at the man whose dinner was ruined, “Please, help me.” The boy could be no older than ten and his life was already starting to pass before his eyes. He sees that he had a very klutzy life full of pain and this is how it was going to end. Hebi uses chakra strings to pull her skirt back into place and then makes her hand into a fist. She seemed slightly hesitant in her actions as if she was debating whether or not she was going to beat the unholy snot out of this kid.

 

[Horigome Sukejuro]

It had been so long...so long since he started walking, shedding himself of the crippling apathetic force that rendered him inert and ebbed at his motivation had been struck down – but at what cost? Thought whirled through his head, however he simply could not focus.

Walk.

Walk.

Walk.

Walk.

He didn't care where his destination was, all the mattered was that the dark ichor of the cursed veil which left him wasting away In his own home...a home, if it could be called one, located in the heart of the Cronopolis, was far behind him by the time the sun had set. But now...where was he?

Thoughts became blurred again, gloved fingers traced against a wall – for a brief moment he rested his weight against the wall. A break.

Yes...a break. A break from reality. The words formed through the haze, inaction had found chinks in the armor of motivation caused through sheer willpower. Lids drew heavy as his lips parted and a sharp hiss rang through carefully fitted breathing apparatus.

“Hissk....just one moment.” his words whispered, but then there came a sharp cry which reached his ears.

”Mommy”

Eyes sharply open, though beyond the bleach white visage, nothing but hollow glass lenses reflect no hint of the emotions within. Energy and mortification at his weak flesh electrifies him as he pushes himself away, profoundly rattled Sukejuro seeks out this noise as he wearily pushes through the crowd.

The stares. Their prying eyes violating my identity, violating it with their ideas. Crimson boils at their scrutiny however their dark eyes bring truth – I am the stray dog who gets beat. his thoughts began to come to him, his mind aching with the fog of confusion as his feet began to plod faster against the street, offering more speed, more force as he opposed traffic in his direction.

I am an anomaly for them to cast their judgment, the abyss which feeds on their waste! Sukejuro's thoughts came to him more rapidly until he could no longer form words in his head, his blood ran through his veins with adrenaline as he arrived in no lessthan45 seconds from his last position...an establishment, some form of Ramen.

“Ramen, eh? I guess my insides could use something to eat, better than air, right?” Amusement ran high in his voice, oh this sudden feeling of euphoria, meeting new people always made him a little nervous. Or maybe it didn't make any sense, nothing ever did, erupting into the room the masked Shinobi arrived just as a boy pleaded for mercy.

''Please help me.”

“Tsk, tsk, tssssk.” Sukejuro drew out the last chastising remark into a fading hiss as he stepped in. He had an axe at his hip, a Nagamaki on his back and now – a armored glove with long claws mounted over the fingers. He walked towards the boy with a very slow and methodical pace as he locked his eyes toward Hebi. “Two young adolescence sharing an intimate scene? I think so...but don't quote me, I'm no expert!” there was a spark of amusement to his voice as he leaned in and wrapped an arm around the boys neck, claws beginning to pick at the boys shirt.

“No decency these days, you two, everyone is so rude. Doesn't anyone know what 'no' means? Impolite, however I came up with a wonderful solution!” He giddily exclaimed before he leaned in towards Hebi “Hit me instead...” He offered, but there was not a terrible amount of sympathy of the boy in his voice, nor were there maliciousness or dishonesty.

Plain and simple, he was bluntly offering to become the object for her to vent her frustrations.

[MFT] [WC=624] [Note: Sukejuro is acting out of incoherent impulse, and this is a combination of severe character quirks and exhaustion, there is no ulterior motive or goal. ^^]

 

[Oshiro Saki]

Ok guys, this is where I remember I like to RP in first person.

Sheesh... this kid was a waling disaster area. It was like nothing he did was working out for him... I understood that, more than he would ever know with such a brief encounter as today. Being from the Ichita clan, I know what embarrassment and humiliation is like, especially when it comes from doing something stupid. If you haven't heard, the Ichita clan was known for its screw-up shinobi. Nothing good came out of it... until me.

And my legacy has led me up to here, standing before a pissed off chick and a klutz of a kid. And now I was the one who was gonna have to keep her from killing this kid... well, I mean, I don't think she was ACTUALLY gonna kill him... but she might come close to it.

That wasn't the end of my problems either. A man-- or, at least, I ASSUMED it was a man, from the voice-- stepped out from the crowd, brandishing an axe at his hip, a katana-like sword with a handle that appeared counterproductive based on its extreme size, and a gauntlet with two long blades protruding from its knuckle guards.

Fortunately, he wasn't planning on using any of them on anybody, for the time being anyways. If he did... well, I suppose I'd have to do something about it, even though I wasn't on duty at the time. I was still a shinobi, and regardless of the time, I knew my position in life: to protect the weak, the innocent, and to punish the evil, those who would threaten the peace of the righteous.

I now had a two-pronged threat: I knew that the lady needed to be calmed, and I was still unsure about the masked man... he seemed... I don't know. He wore a mask which covered his whole head, offering no hope of obtaining an identity without some ocular jutsu, and... well, trashy, disgusting clothes like nothing I'd ever seen before. I suppose he was homeless... but from the weapons at his disposal, he obviously knew how to fight. Now, before you go assuming that I'm metagaming and taking stuff from my writer's OOC mind, here's my rational behind it: you don't just GET weapons. You get them one way or another, and if this man really did live in the slums, he would have to fight off other vagabonds and such to keep them. Also, it wasn't like these blades were new; they appeared old, beaten up, and well-used. They had obviously seen combat of one form or another.

"Hey, lit was an accident, cut the kid some slack, would ya?" I said in as reasonable a voice as I could muster at the time.

Almost as a second thought, I looked over at the kid and pulled him away from the masked man, then leaned in near his face "Get outta here kid, and keep your distance from any women, ok? GO." I gave him a push in the opposite direction of the lady. My voice was by no means friendly, though I meant no harm in them. I was just being firm with the kid. Besides, that masked guy had just had his hands around his throat, I had to do something. I turned to the masked guy and pointed at him.

"And you," I said, a slightly militant tone lacing itself into my speech. "Stay outta this."

Looking back at the woman, I kept my same tone of voice.

"You know, death threats aren't the nicest thing you could say to little kids."

 

[Ryu Hime]

As the masked man wraps his arm around the boy he would notice that he had no pulse or body heat and the weight did not seem right. Oh the sacrifices Hebi had to do for her costumer, though beyond that the boy felt and looked real. When Kosei pushed the boy, he falls to the ground lifeless like a marionette. “But it is what would likely to be said in such a situation. Let me introduce myself.” She flicks her wrist and the boy stood up with his feet just an inch of the ground. It was becoming quite obvious what this boy really was. “I am Washihari Hebi, Grandmaster Puppet Maker. I only make the most realistic puppets.” She cringes after glancing at the doll. “I hate making low tier puppets. Anyways the puppet was created to be a klutz. I assume due to type of klutziness he described and the fact that the costumer requested a camera in his eye that it was for perverted reasons, and thus the test. Normal I would have had the puppet interacted with someone else, however I deemed that to be too much trouble than it is worth.” Who knows what would have happen if the woman could tell if it was a puppet. The people would be calling her a pervert. No, no it was far better to make herself the target. Hebi was an eccentric woman but good at what she does. Her puppets are exquisite but very expensive and require a full five page written history of the character the puppet is supposed to portray.

 

[Horigome Sukejuro]

Hrm, boy is not a boy, in fact, maybe not even living object.

Nonsense, he move and talked – puppets cannot talk, must be some kind of wood person.​

Of course! The crafty trees, they have infiltrated out society with their wooden doppelgangers! What will I do?!​

Relax, reconsidered, if it were trees then only we would have heard it – not everybody.​

Alright, now I feel bored.


Sukejuro remained quite silent and still as he argued with himself – it was quite a useful skill in times like these that he thought before he knelt down and examine the puppet more thoroughly – running the steel nails of his left hand over what he thought was the skin before looking up.

“Deceptive. I like it, but maybe don't like you for spoiling fun – upsetting.” the moment he had been waiting for the last few minutes concluded in disappointment as exhaustion wracked him again and his head began throbbing. Standing upright he drew his left arm up and pressed the claws to his pallid, albino flesh before he stopped and pulled his arm away as he refused.

“But you know...I don't know but I don't think I asked for that...” uncertainty plagued his voice, lurching his head to the side as he turned toward Kosei, treating him much like everyone else did – a wild dog to be put down, issuing commands despite being roughly his equal in age, eyes watched safely from behind the mask. However he didn't say a word to Kosei, as he shifted to look towards the woman “You two can have your privacy then – I have no further interest in either of you.” though now there was no amusement – there was nothing but apathy for either of them as he walked over and sat at a table.

“Too hungry to argue right now...” Sukejuro admitted as his body felt so heavy right now.

 

[Morishige]

The moment the puppet went flying through the air, Hato and Tori looked at each other. Who would do something like that to a child? Intrigued, the moved forward to investigate the scene. Moving closer to the ramen stand the boy flew into, they seemed to look concerned. However, they were watching the woman Hebi who was obviously the assailant. They wanted to find out just why she had done this. Luckily they wouldn't need to speak up, if that had even been noticed yet. People around the scene seemed to be preoccupied with watching. A man from within the curtain seemed to be rather pissed that his meal was ruined; anyone would be.

As the scene progressed, it was revealed that the boy who went flying had been the true assailant, molesting one of the woman's breasts. But as the child came forward to explain, he tripped and proceeded to further transgress against the female. Tori's right hand came up to her face in shame, eyes peeking through her fingers to keep an eye on the situation. Hato's eyebrows rose as the woman's undergarments, which were quite expensive looking, were revealed. He even huffed a little in laughter. "This just keeps getting better." he mumbled to his companion. Tori just shook her head while death threats came forth that everyone just assumed to be an exaggeration. Well everyone except the boy; he turned to the man begging for help.

While Tori kept her eyes on the boy, Hato was still busy admiring Hebi's underwear. That's when he noticed the chakra strings she used to pull her skirt back up. "A puppet user..." he mumbled to himself while keeping a trained eye on the woman. It really did get more interesting as time went on: a new player joined the scene with some very interesting words to contribute. He seemed to be offering himself in exchange for the boys life, or rather for the punch Hebi was about to give. It was at the point Tori turned to say: "Something isn't right here Hato, be wary." But the man just ignored her. This new player was acting in such a way that seemed likened to a masochist. "Patience, let's see this through." he ordered. Tori huffed disapprovingly and cross her arms.

The first man seemed to command the situation, speaking forcefully against this masochist and rather bluntly toward everyone else. But when he pushed the boy, the child seemed to turn lifeless. "Huh?" emoted bother individuals watching. "Oh my, how intriguing..." Hato said with a devious smile, realizing what had been going on before them. Now with her name in the open, Hato nudged Tori to write it down as a unique opportunity proposed itself. The woman was a puppet maker, claiming to be a master at that, and purposefully exposed herself to the embarrassment as a field test. Quite the die hard business woman. But it wasn't this that attracted Hato to her, it was the puppet itself.

As the other man walked away, it was time to make their entrance. "Keep an eye on that one." Hato suggested to Tori, gesturing towards the rather strange man. The man with silver hair approached with a grin and a bow. "Ms. Washihari, do I have that correct? It's a pleasure to meet you. Do you have a minute to talk?" he said, exchanging glances toward the other man as if he wished for him to remain silent. There was something odd about him...

[For NPC information, please go here]

Meanwhile twenty miles away, Kioku Ishikawa sat down and began to read the local newspaper.

 

[Oshiro Saki]

Even though I wasn't looking at the kid anymore after I'd pushed him, I knew something was off.It was weird... like, I don't know how to describe it. It was like all the force I transferred to him in pushing him was lost, like if you were to try to push something that was in midair. I turned back around, only to see the "boy" limp on the ground, appendages twisted in unnatural positions. That, combined with the subtle wooden clink that "he" made when he hit the floor, told me that it was a puppet.

This was an interesting thing to me, since I was a former puppeteer. Never in my life had I ever seen a talking puppet, though... I suppose it could be achieved with excellent, well-practiced, precise control of a manufactured voice box. It could also be done with pre-recorded phrases, and based on how she had planned this whole thing, that was probably the case.

But now I was pissed. She had planned this whole scene to take place... which meant she purposely exposed herself, then purposely knocked her puppet into the ramen stand, spilling my ramen, which wasted my money and burned my lap.

I had an issue with that.

I looked down at my somewhat soaked clothes, my legs still hurting a little bit from the searing hot water, then raised my eyes at Hebi, as she called herself.

"Listen up, Hebi. You purposely threw that puppet into that stand. If the owner wants, he could file charges for vandalism, and I could press charges as well, since you just spilled half a bowl of hot ramen on my lap."

I did my best to keep my cool, but it was obvious that I was pretty mad, now that I think back on it. And, of course, more people started joining in. This time, it was some guy with silverish hair, who was probably just as curious about the puppet as I was. I, unfortunately, was too angry to think about it though. The black, jagged scimitar strung horizontally across my back felt like it was getting heavier, as I restrained the urge to draw it and silence the people around me.

Public indecency, vandalism, assault (as involuntary as spilling hot water may have been), disturbance of the peace... a lot could be called on her. Luckily for me, I did manage to cool off before I did something stupid.

"Hold on. Pause. Rewind."

Those words may have sounded jumbled together, or strung apart, to other people, given my time-distortion capabilities which I wasn't controlling very well at the time. If you didn't know already, a constriction of my chakra network, combined with an enormous chakra bank, led a large amount of chakra to leak from my body (detectable/visible to any with the proper ocular jutsu or sensing abilities). THis caused some form of a "time shift" around me, for unknown reasons, and allowed me to dabble in temporal jutsu... sorta. It wasn't exactly temporal... but I don't know any other way to explain it. Anyways, the time around me and what I did got messed up sometimes, and this was one of those times.

"What I meant to say was that I just want you to please, be more decent with your testing, and don't send puppets flying into ramen stands anymore. Especially when people are eating in them. Okay?"

 

[Ryu Hime]

First off, there is no wood! Hebi is Toujigikou; the skeletal structure of the puppet is clay of her own make. Hebi raises an eyebrow at Kosei’s response. “You assume I did that on purpose. You push the kid. He went pretty far for a simple push. He’s far too lite.” Hebi fist was clenched in anger she hated everything about this puppet. If it was for the fact the father of the buyer was a good customer of hers, she would not have made this stain in her collection. As for the meal and vandalism she had a solution to that. “Mokuba!”

Spoiler

A butler seemingly appears out of nowhere. Knowing Hebi , the people around her should assume he is a puppet, which he is. However he is a far better grade of puppet than the boy. Skeletal system, circulatory system, respiratory system, integumentary system and muscular system all replicated with in him. He possesses a modified Sonic Compressor to allow him to speak and a modified Heat Emissions upgrade to project body temperature. This is a true example of her handy work. He places an arm across his chest and bows, “You summon me Milady.”

She points at the bowl the held what was left of Kosei’s order. Tiny pieces of paper still floated in its broth. The butler looked at the bowl with a look that said, oh dear. “One of my tests got out of hand and ruined this poor man’s dinner.”

The butler nods his head, “Say no more Milady. I shall fix him a bowl right away.” Without hesitation the butler turns around and goes behind the counter and begins chopping pork and onions. He also took two eggs, salt, ham and onion into a bowl and mixed it with a pair of chop sticks. He moved with such elegance and grace that it was hard to tell if he really was a puppet. In half the time it would have taking the chef, Mokuba was finish. He was simply one hell of a butler. “A bowl of ramen for the gentleman and an omelet for Milady.” Hebi tosses a coin purse onto the counter for the chef with enough money to pay for the food and any damages.

Mokuba takes the egg dish to Hebi and she turns to the one that addressed her not moments ago. “Yes, is there something you wanted of me?” She takes a bite of her omelet and it was delicious and fluffy.

 

[Morishige]

Another individual seemed to enter the scene as if summoned from thin air, and just as expected, both Tori and Hato assumed it was to be another puppet. It seemed to have been conjured to fix any damage that may have been done by the 'test'. Hato nodded in approval, making a mental note that this woman knew how to cover her backside. But now it was his turn to talk and the questions were brewing in his mind.

"Indeed, after seeing your puppets in action I have several questions." he began, ready to gather the information needed. "How exactly are they made and with what materials? How do you get them to be so life like? How did you manage to get such unique and life like speech mechanisms to work? Can you explain just what you can do with them? I apologize for wanting to know so much, but I was actually wondering if I might be able to purchase one. That's why I want to know so much, so I know what I am paying for. They look expensive after all."

Hato was just looking for information, as if to qualify the woman for something. If she passed the test, then Hato would continue, but if not then they would depart.

[For NPC information, please go here]

 

[Horigome Sukejuro]

Three was company - but five? That was far more entertaining, he was in fact blessed with such company. A fact which was only enhanced by the feeling of discomfort that he felt in the pit of his stomach. Maybe that was just his bodies way of telling him he was running on fumes - though that couldn't be right...the air filtration of his mask was designed to keep that out of his system, so had to be the thrill of company.

Though aside from that, he noticed the stairs early on - from the new comers no doubt. He so badly wanted to buy something for himself however did not want to spare more time on flights of fancy to really miss out on something valuable, something he neglected himself for months.

Human Contact.

Oh, and sleep, and proper nourishment, but mostly human contact.


But so focused was he now, like an outside crow feasting it's eyes upon a potential meal. Pulling his back up to hunch over the table as he looked at the group that he tenuously considered himself part of, staring at body language and general movement in context to the conversation. It was but one of many of his few pleasures that he still possessed in this life.

"Perhaps a distraction? Yes...perhaps." He went onto suggest before turning his 'eyes' to the young man who sought to shove him, sought to chastise him like the vagrant cur that he appeared to be. However taking a few coins, Sukejuro's sigh came as a hiss "Chef-sama, a round of meals for the new comers - if they would have it?" He didn't pay too much - for the basic bowl of ramen for Hato and Tori. "Good company...is hard to come by, especially those who aren't so quick to judge I think." he would offer, though it was such an improper time to be generous especially as he picked through his own satchel, scraping just enough to purchase himself a bowl of nourishment - but ordered afterwards so that he would eat last.

"Now then, I heard something about a test...I'm not being tested am I? I am very lousy at them..." Sukejuro wearily contributed, feigning ignorance despite listening intently onto the whole conversation. What was his angle?

And if not, then why?


[MFT][WC = 386]

 

[Oshiro Saki]

To say the least, that was not how I had anticipated my day turning out, especially when my mind had been preoccupied by many a thought beforehand. It all seemed very confusing to me at the time--still does, actually. Now I can understand exactly what was going on around me, but while it was happening, it was like I was seeing it all through a dark fog, like nothing was real and I was stil in my little coma, safe and sound in the hospital, where nothing could touch me and I could rest in an endless slumber without a care for anything else...

But those thoughts were what led to death. Every man is important, and no man is eternally safe from anything. This was where I realized just how close to death I'd come while in that coma... I nearly gave up the will to live, to come back for some reason I didn't know at the time. It brings my mind back to an ancient proverb: he, who's task in unfinished in the sight of the Lord, is immortal. There was something I still had to do...

But enough of the sentimental talk. You aren't here to listen to my nonsensical ramblings, you're here to learn more of my life. So where was I... ah, yes! I'd just called out Hebi, the puppet maker.

This turned into one of those times where you're trying to stay mad at someone, but they do something so outlandish, so stupid, so unexpected, that you can't help but laugh, or smile, or some goofy combination of the two. Hebi's first reaction was to summon another one of her puppets-- at least I assumed it was a puppet, since she did seem to summon it, and it quickly fled behind the ramen counter (the stand's owner protesting at first), then prepared one of the best tasting bowls of ramen I'd ever had! Well... it DID put too many onions in, but when you get a free bowl of ramen, it's hard to complain. Am I right?

I ate it cautiously at first, but once I had a few mouthfuls, I was hooked. But for the time, I set the unfinished bowl of fresh ramen on the counter, next to the one the stand owner had made, and turned back to Hebi with an awkward smirk/smile thing.

"Goddammit that was good." I stated bluntly, knowing I couldn't stay completely upset over my ramen anymore. "But you should still resort to more... appropriate forms of testing your puppets, ok?"

My head started to hurt. It started faintly, but it quickly began to resonate within my head until is was a measure, concise, irrepressible throbbing that I struggled to hide. Fortunately, I didn't show it too much, or so I had thought. Hindsight is 20/20... and I see now that I probably showed it more than I thought I did. I did manage to ignore it, for the time being, while the ill-dressed man spoke up about not being good at tests... which was my first clue that he was either incredibly sarcastic, much like I was, or he was looney. Or maybe both...

The gray-haired man was busy still inquiring about the puppets , which was reasonable, given that even I had questions, and I would have considered myself very knowledgable on matters pertaining to puppets and puppetry. After all, I used to use them; should I not be an expert?

"You, at the table." I said in a mild tone, after grabbing my two bowls of ramen and walking towards the masked man. "I'd like to talk to you, if you don't mind." I set my the old, half spilled ramen in front of him, with a new set of utensils by it. It didn't really matter that it was the old one, since both bowls had about the same amount of noodles left in it, but I did want the one that Hebi used her puppet to make. It was fantastic.... ugh, my mouth is watering just thinking of it-- woops, sorry.

Anyways, I wanted to know more about this masked man, since he seemed like such a curious character. My headache was still there, but I managed to suppress it enough to function like a normal human being again.

"What's your name?" I asked carefully. "Actually... it's getting a little crowded here. Can we talk while we walk?"

[MFT]
[Topic left with Sukejuro, if he accepts]

 

[Ryu Hime]

This man sure had a lot of questions, but if he wanted to buy a puppet he would need to answer a question first. “Hold on a moment. Before we get into details about the puppets I like to ask what type of puppet are you looking for? Do you want a basic puppet or a weapon puppet?” Hebi was pretty confident the man knew what a basic puppet is; most people do. A weapon puppet is not so popular which she wouldn’t be surprised if he had no idea what she was talking about. “Matsuka is a basic puppet. A weapon puppet is a weapon that resembles and moves like a puppet. A weapon puppet has neither trap nor upgrade slots and can only be used with the phantom blade jutsu. Most puppeteers don’t like them because phantom blade disallows one to use basic puppets with the weapon puppet. However the bonus is they can perform taijutsu and depending how you augment them, they can do multiple different types of taijutsu.”

 

[Morishige]

Apparently she needed more classification before delving into the brass and tacks of puppet making, and went on to explain the difference between basic puppets and weapon puppets. Hato smiled, thinking of just what he would use them for. It would be amazing that's for sure. "Basic puppets are what I seek to learn about, I have no need for a puppet that functions as a weapon. That's what weapons are for." he said, smiling looking around at the others to see if they were as well. Tori just smirked at him and tapped her foot impatiently. It was unfortunate she couldn't see what Hato could.

He was eager to learn just how versatile these were and how they were made. If they were as he assumed, Hebi might become one of the richest women in kumogakure.

[For NPC information, please go here]

 

[Ryu Hime]

Hebi takes a seat at the ramen stand. “Take a seat for this might take a while. Okay, first off as a Toujigikou the skeletal structure is made out of clay of my own make. The clay is made out of several ingredients to create a skeleton both strong and flexible. Do not worry about the puppet exploding for that process requires a specific chakra signature. The muscles are made out of ninja wire.” More spools than anyone normally buys. “I use small plastic tubes to simulate the veins and an extra thick water balloon as the heart. I use chakra to pump the heart, thus allowing the puppet to bleed when cut. I normally use animal blood, but if you desire human it will cost you extra. I use a heat emissions upgrade to project body temperature. The speech mechanism is actually quite simple. You take a sonic compressor and turn down the pitch, which lessens strain on the trap, thus allowing it to recharge quicker. However if you plan on doing long speeches, please inform me so that I can put in an extra modified sonic compressor.” This is something she had to do for puppets that were created to teach classes at the academy. “As for what you can do with them. They can do anything a person can. I do warn you that my puppets are high tier, with a couple of exceptions.” Hebi place an open hand on the table palm up. A wasp and spider then crawls out of her palm’s mouth; both of them being about the size of her thumb nail. The detail put into the appearance was simply astounding. “I also create drones and spiders. They are perfect for surveillance and if you put a strong poison the drone’s stinger, a good assassin.”

 

[Morishige]

Hato quickly found a seat next to the woman whom had just shown the public her undergarments, still amazed that she was unfazed by this; or she was really good at hiding it. Nonetheless, a elbow found it's way to the counter and another found the chop sticks to begin eating-- until he noticed that Tori wasn't joining him. Looking over his shoulder, he sent a questioning look toward her. "You can have mine, I'll be over here." she muttered, and moved to an empty table. As the woman began to bask in the sunlight, Hato turned his attention back to Hebi as she began her explanation of what exactly went into the puppets.

Things began to make more and more sense as she went along, but as she did so, Hato list of questions got shorter and shorter until it was narrowed to a few unique inquiries. "The clay makes their skin seems realistic, the wire simulates true muscles, tubes for circulatory system and a makeshift heart. Nice." he thought. She had pretty much thought of everything by the sound of things. But the true jewels were displayed afterwards, the wasp and spider. Hato's eyes grew wide and he leaned forward to get a good look at them. "Simply amazing..." he said quietly and then took another mouthful of noodles. The mysterious man looked to Hebi with a smile.

"Just a few more questions. These are controlled by you, but how much concentration does it require to keep them seemingly realistic? Are these automated in any way? How do you translate what you want the puppet to say, or is it only a few pre-recorded message?" he asked. "And you already have me convinced by the way, I just want to know more." smiled the man whom continued to eat.

[For NPC information, please go here]

 

[Ryu Hime]

Now we get to the part where most tend to no longer be interested. So many people are unwilling to put in the time and effort it takes to become a true puppeteer. “Automated? You got to be joking. Nothing is automated not even the speech. It talks like you and I. The sonic generator makes the sound but it is the tongue and lips that shapes the words. It takes a skilled puppeteer to use them to their full potential. If you expected to control a puppet as well as I without practice, I hate to tell you there is no short cuts to greatness. Knowing this are you willing to put in the work? I do not sell these works of art to sit on shelves and gathering dust; I expect them to be used.”

 

[Horigome Sukejuro]

Sukejuro waited.

And Waited.

He waited until he watched a husky man stand and leave after a few moments.

And still yet, he waited more. Though he was certain - he had a perfectly clear voice, he had become white noise to the trio who were content on merely discussing trivialities of puppetry. It did make him think to a time where he considered puppetry - thought of creating a puppet made of wrought iron with leather bolted onto the metal framework and -...

But that thought could wait, now he heard, something vaguely shot in his direction, it was what he had waited minutes. A tinge of excitement ran through his blood as he was given an opportunity, at long last, to answer an inquiry directed to himself.

"You, at the table."

"Hrm?" The masked 'boy', as he was properly regarded, would lock contact with Kosei for a moment, before looking around first left, then right, before pointing to himself "Eh, you mean me?" He would ask though more evidence would surface to answer itself.

"I'd like to talk to you, if you don't mind."

Sukejuro found that whilst lost in his inner turmoil, a steaming cup of food was set before him "Eheh...It was me I guess after all, but we cannot speak here?" He would inquire, turning back to his 'friends' as they fixated on the mundane

Soon things were happening so fast, now he was being asked for a name and to take a walk with this man...boy? Not quite a man, no, but not a child - like himself. Perplexing thought, he struggled to find time to offer a nod as he took the bribe in hand - the noodles as he stood "Fine, fine, fine. I am Sukejuro, or that is what my father called me." He explained as he followed Kosei reluctantly as he used a small flexible straw to fetch the liquid, drinking broth first.

[Request Accepted, Leaving with Jinkotsu Kosei][MFT]