Lets do something

Age : 32 Posts : 428

Location - Merchant Town in Kuma no Kuni

After a short journey from wherever he came, Rail reached a small merchant town in a land known as Bear Country. He did not know why this place was called Bear Country since he never visited this place before. But, he was sure that it had to do something with bears. Maybe, it was full of bears, or maybe the people were like bears. But, who cares?

Moments passed after the hero of the story had reached this small town and he was now seen walking though the central square, looking around to see different kinds of people walking around him, some were like him without a goal, while others were on their way to somewhere. At this point something was awoken inside of this man, something that he thought that he could suppress as long as he was in this city. But, it did not seem as if he was capable of doing such a hard task, it was just too hard for him. Although, this task was not something that he wanted, it was forced upon him and he did not have any options, he was like a small bird which had a small cage trapping it until the next war has arrived.

There were things that he was allowed to do, but even so this cage limited his movements, he was never truly free. Even so, in this cage he was safe from the hunters who might try to hunt him and serve him for dinner and the rewards which he gained by providing a good performance were rather nice, due to that he always decided to stick to his cage and try to live through the good and the evil. Of course, the given example was just metaphorical and the reality was somewhat worst, while at the same time the cage was somewhat larger. Either way, since he was aware of his cage, Rail knew that he had to do something about his desires and so he decided to remove himself from this gathering of people to a more secure place, somewhere where the smell of money and gold would not make him restless. Oh how tiresome was this curse, his urge to steal, his urge to see the golden river flowing over his body so that he may lick it and taste it, its metallic taste was rather wonderful.

From the main square the tall male would slip into a nearby alley, a place hidden by the shadows of the buildings which were to its left and right, leaving only the front and the back exits open, where people like him or worse would enter, trying to hide from the light and what light brings. For some people darkness was more enjoyable than the light and this man was no exception. However, he only liked darkness over the light in which many people stand, in other words for this man it does not matter if a place is full of light or darkness, as long as there is nobody else there. Of course, that only goes for times like this, when he was forced to ignore his urges, his difference was not something that many would have liked. Anyways, there he was, walking through the shallow alley in an attempt to make his urges to vanish since there was nobody there, when out of a sudden a cat appeared.

Oho?

Age : 32 Posts : 428

OOC: Anyone? o.o

What a cute kitty it was, white with orange stripes all over his body. At that moment the young silver haired male fell in love with this kitty. But, it wasn't due to the reasons which seemed obvious.

This cat showed him something, something that he missed. It was the smell of ramen, the food of Gods, something that this young man missed. With his greedy eyes he would scan the surrounding area, searching for the source of the smell. It didn't take him too long to find him, just outside the alley in which he was, there was a ramen shop. Quickly he would march towards the place, entering it in a cool and awesome way with a smile over his face and a pose, looking around to see who else was there. The moment some ugly chick noticed him, she fled, the old man did so as well and so there was only one person left. "Yo, gimme what he has." With a cool voice this cool looking young man would speak, telling the old man who owned this shop what he wanted. Once the shop owner heard him, he would start making ramen, while Isamu made a couple of steps, reaching the chair which was to the left of the boy. There he would sit and wait calmly, still smiling.

His order came in rather quickly and in a matter of minutes a bowl filled with a nice soup and noodles was in front of him. Last time he was something like this was a couple of days ago before he went to do some job for a client of his and during this job he did not eat anything remotely tasty. During that assignment all he ate were fruits and berries that he could find in forests and those were not tasty that much and they only served to make the hunger go away. But now, finally, after all this time he finally found something that could make him so much happier. Even though he was smiling at this very moment, he was sad inside, said and hungry.

Posts : 760

Two days had past after his initial contact with Nagase Uriko at the Tree House. Keiro had sat on the stool and requested a few more waters before he decided it would be best to settle down some place to rest for the night. The bartender, agitated rather than angry, had offered him a room for a price. To Keiro’s surprise, he stayed the night in one of the barracks on the third floor of the makeshift building to which the bartender. It was a higher price than Keiro expected, probably because of the damage he caused to his bar and of course out of spite. Keiro could only agree to the terms feeling the drain of the day fall on his body. It wasn’t anything physical, his body was fine and if he was up for the task could probably walk towards the next country without much of a hitch. His mind was in a grey fog and he didn’t want to move carelessly out there without having some sort of the clarity, especially during night.

He slept and hung around the tree house till he felt it was time to leave. He made the excuse that he was just taking a break but that fell short when his mind went down memory lane back in prison. Then the phrase ‘I’ll rest when I’m dead’ came into being. It showed up in big, neon lights with four bold exclamation points in his head. No use of trying to push that in the back of his head because it was glued there in that space in his mind where bad memories tend to show their pretty little faces. He figured that it was a good time to leave. After putting his belongings in his satchel, he threw it over his shoulder and walked out of the large tree house where he knew this wouldn’t be the last time he would come.

He didn’t have much to carry on him. He had a change of clothing, loose fitting pants with a black semi-fitting, semi-loose shirt, his open toed shinobi boots, the bag of kunai and a ragged cloak that hid his appearance when he felt the need to wear it. What he was currently wearing was what he wore when he was walking around after his confrontation with Uriko in the tree house. He wore a unbutton blue shirt wearing a white t-shirt underneath it. It was somewhat loose. He wasn’t showing the impressive musculature of his upper body only because it drew a bit of attention to people. He wore straight black jeans with black shoes that resembled converses. They were clothes that Keiro bought from the local retail store in Amegakure after settling in and gaining a steady amount of income. From his look, he appeared to be almost an ordinary city man who was from the younger generation. Bear Country doesn’t have large, booming cities like the ones in Konohagakure or Kumogakure but people were still human and they always moved with the times. The country may have different ways of doing things but it’ll be the young crowd that’ll always draw the attention of modern society. He had the option of probably using the hold ‘cover every part of the body’ tactic but that was effective in large, crowded areas where lighting was terrible and the minds of people were focused on other things. It worked especially well in Ame because it was already raining. He was in the open now, in the countryside where everybody knows each other and they know a new face when they see one. The settlers who probably see that Keiro was a new face but he wanted to have the illusion of wear something that resembled a young bachelor living on his own in the city that was going to visit his old ma and pa in the country and is just passing through.

Keiro passed through the small villages without a hitch. No one came to bother him from the village, he didn’t sense or get any bad feelings of anyone following him nor did he see anyone giving him a stink eye. He did have some stares coming his way but they were just onlookers of a man walking past them and off further down a pathway leading to a major city. He reached into the large city where the young man resided when the day was half gone. He didn’t know whether he wanted to enter into the city or stay out in the forest. If he stayed at least twenty-five miles out, he could catch himself some good game and eat that for his dinner. This place wasn’t too harsh in conditions. It was early summer and there would be fresh berries to pick. Then he remembered that there could be a contact from Zurui. He did say before he left that he would send in a messenger for missions outside of Amegakure. The messengers were usually in cities and only stretched out in the forest when need be. It sounded inconvenient but remembered it was best to have a large web of connections branch off in small ones for better control in messages. Maybe Zurui had something for him. If not, he’ll stay the night in a small inn and move on where he could spend time in the forest. He had plenty of time.

He moved through the city, past the square plaza and the differentiating districts when his eye caught a small ramen joint where it looked to be the restaurant district. It made him reminisce of the small shop of ramen in Konoha where it was oddly place like a small convenience store that would also be a rest stop on the walking paths towards small towns and villages. He didn’t like ramen. Never found the taste of it quite as satisfying as homemade stew that either he or his mother would make. He would always be hungrier two hours after he ate the stuff. He patted his stomach feeling the small heat resonating off of him. He wasn’t hungry, not yet at least but he wouldn’t mind sitting down a bit, maybe listen to a few locals if they were to come by and talk the local gossip. He could get a good feel of things just by sitting down and listening to people talk. People never realize how much they speak on a subject over lunch and dinner. Food was relatively the one way to open a person up to conversations because it calms the first need human’s have.

He was pushed aside by a fairly unattractive woman. She smelled of heavy perfume and sweat mixed in her odor and saw that she had splotches of acne on her face. He felt bad for the woman in that short instance. She excused herself and exited out. There was only one other person sitting in, a older man who was in his forties reading a small paperback as he dipped his chopsticks into the bowl pulling out a few strands of noodles. He didn’t seem to even notice him walking inside or the man sitting on the counter. Keiro sat down on the stool over from the man who seemed to be enjoying a nice bowl of ramen. He was fairly young, the mix that a teenager has when one enters that stage that is between childhood and adulthood. He had white hair, silver even, that was slicked back and spiked at the tips. No doubt a pure opposite of the relaxed, almost chilled hair Keiro styles it only because he didn’t give a damn when he wasn’t trying to impress anybody or when he was on the move.

The young man seemed to relish the taste of the ramen as if it was drawing good memories of his childhood. His eyes showed a bit of nostalgia if that was possible to show in eyes and didn’t seem like he would be able to hold a conversation for eating something that good.

The cook came up. Keiro just asked for coffee if they had it. He was expecting the cook to say “Sorry, no coffee” because it didn’t seem like the type of restaurant but he was surprised when he learned that they did serve coffee. The cook came back with a mug and had a container of coffee. The hot liquid poured into the cup almost to the brim. “Thank you.” Keiro replied and drew the coffee close to him not really thirsty or having any desire to drink it. Just having something warm in his hand was enough for now. He looked over to the young man who was probably still eating his ramen “You want another one? You look hungry kid.”

Age : 32 Posts : 428

OOC: Sorry for the delay, I was kinda busy with some other things.

Ah, the taste of ramen, it was way better than the young boy anticipated. With his right hand he would pick up the chopsticks located in a small tea cuff in front of him, using them to pick up some noodles from the bowl with ease. But, he did not eat them right away, first he got them closer to his nose so that he could enjoy their smell and the warmth radiating from them. It had been so long since he last tasted them. Unable to hold his urges any longer the silver haired boy would open his mouth, quickly placing the noodles that he picked up into his mouth. The same process was repeated over and over again, until he finished his bowl of ramen. But, since he did not want to stir much attention, Rail would take it slowly, taking a couple of minutes to finish his bowl. As he was eating his meal warmth started to overflow his body, he could feel his hunger going away and the feeling of satisfaction emerging.

Before he managed to finish his meal, he heard someone else entering the shop from behind him. Rail was a rogue, so he was used to living a dangerous life, despite the fact that due to his low rank he wasn't actually being chased by people that much, so he learned to pay close attention to what is going around him. The moment this newcomer entered the ramen shop from behind him he was ready to pull out the kunai hidden in his sleeve. Honestly, this boy wasn't really a skilled fighter, but he was good when it came to threatening people in order to create a opening and escape. This ramen shop had two innocent bystanders and using them as hostages was a good idea. Though, once more he was over-thinking things as the male who just entered wasn't even a ninja. Even if he was, he sure didn't look like one, at least not to this young silver haired male.

By the time this male had noticed him, after he got his coffee, the youngster was already finished with his ramen. "Nah, one bowl was enough for me," was the answer which Rail gave to this man who kindly offered to buy him another bowl. Now that he got a better look of this man, the silver haired male noticed that he wasn't from this lands, just like he wasn't. Although, at least this guy actually bothered to dress up like a normal guy, unlike Rail who kept his ninja look. "I am guessing you ain't local either? The people here are quite nice, trust me, you will enjoy staying here."

Posts : 760

His offer was decline but the young man didn’t refuse the conversation. He was beside himself, this young man, somewhat conflict as to whether or not it would be best for him to talk. He did the full view look, one that was discrete and unnoticeable to the untrained eye. The general outline with the gaze had to be the way that Keiro walked, the way he dressed, was he an enemy, should I watch what I say, if I fight him will I win, is there any escapes? There was more to than that the examining eye did but that would’ve depend on whether or not Keiro was a threat and the surroundings around and beyond his grasp.

Keiro smiled, not a warm smile not to a first time person he met but it could feign the warmth of a human being. It was more charming, a clever wink of the lip as if his smile was saying ‘yes, I know you’re a Nukenin…but do you know that I know” and left it at that. Keiro felt appropriate to take a sip of his coffee. He did so, letting the hot liquid just brush against his tongue and took a small amount of coffee to ingest. He let out a sigh. The young man spoke "I am guessing you ain't local either? The people here are quite nice, trust me, you will enjoy staying here."

Keiro made a soft humming noise in his mouth and took another sip “Yeah, I’m not from here. I’m just passing through in all honesty. I recently just graduated from a university with a bachelor in International Business with a minor in finance. I decided before going into my profession that I at least see my ma and pop before heading straight for a country where business is booming.”

He turned to look at the menu up above him. There were pictures of ramen with titles such as ‘habenero hoisn hot ramen’ in bold red letters with fire coming out of it. Something told Keiro that wasn’t his idea for putting something as silly as that to advertise but someone within his family, maybe a young son or daughter. It just looked silly, especially with spelling ‘hosin’ wrong in the kanji text. He wondered how many times the taker tried to fix it but never found the right opportunity to do so. The man who cooked the young man’s dinner had caught attention to his conversation even as he try to wash the small pile of bowls and utensils he was washing. It was no use of acting like there wasn’t a conversation was going on. A small time kid dressed as a shinobi and twenty-something coming in from ‘out of state’? If that didn’t draw enough attention then Keiro should dress up in a chicken outfit and began reciting “The Tale of the Samurai” backwards.

“Ya de, ya de, this place here doesn’t seem like the ideal town for business. It’s a nice city and all but it’s too local. I’m looking to go big or go home. Boom or bust as they say in the bigger cities. Besides, I’m all tired of the small countryside. Just not my style anymore and you don’t get the thrill like the big businessmen of those large corporations have. I want that, ya know? Here they don’t have that. They don’t got any but small plans, small ideas and small goals. Something that this guy right here don’t want.” He points to himself.

He had to keep talking for that moment. He felt that if he went with the ‘enigmatic stranger’ persona, it draw just as much attention as the chicken suit idea. He had to seem like he was rambunctious, a young man who was rambling on about making it big and it should be working. If psychology was right on this one, that cook in the back would think of him as just a young, cocky kid. Keiro wave his hand excusing himself for being rude “I apologize. I just got off on a small novel. Where are my manners? I should ask you about yourself too. It would just be impolite for me to just go off and rant.” He put a hand out for the young man to shake “My name is Hei. Shikyo, Hei. I didn’t catch yours.”

Age : 32 Posts : 428

OOC: Once more I apologize, its the end of the semester, so I have a lot of exams.

When he came to this place the young white haired male did not expect anything to happen, he just wanted to enjoy his time as he prepares for his next job. Of course, due to the fact that he is a rogue ninja, one could figure how his jobs are all some sorts of illegal activities. He did not know why he asked the man next to him anything, but then again, at the moment he was kinda bored and this man looked like a nice person to talk to. Talking to strangers was not something that he practiced, since there was a chance that the man who he just meant was going to be his newest target. Such coincidences did not occur to him that much, but the possibility was there and risking the success of his next assignment was something that he did not want. Not to mention, this young man did not look like someone who possessed large sums of money or anything that had some sort of value, so he probably wasn't on any of the lists of rich people that his clients had.

Anyways, out of a sudden the man next to the young Rail started a quite long speech on why he was here and what he wanted to do in his life. It was quite odd, just a moment ago he was looking at the menu and then he started to talk. Honestly, the young silver haired male could not even follow him most of the time, his story was filled with a lot of details which did not mean anything to a boy such as this. Since he did not want to let this man notice how he was not interested into his story, he continued to listen to this man as if he was paying attention to his story while he was trying to figure out a way to get away from him using some rather lame excuse. Rail was a rather smart young man and he knew a lot of simple and rather stupid excuses that were perfect for such a situation. However, just when he was about to interrupt this man with a excuse that he made up right on the spot, the dark haired male stopped and apologized for his rant, asking him about his name and such.

"Ah, I found your story to be rather interesting. As for myself, I am just your average youngster who wants to become a ninja. I came here to train by fighting bears and all sorts of strong animals." Yup, he was lying, pretty much everything he said was a lie. With a gentle smile over his youthful face he would shake the other mans hand, while giving him his name: "My name is Isamu Washi." Oddly enough he did not lie about that.

Posts : 760

“Isamu” Keiro repeated. “A nice name, meaning to be in high spirits in some cultures. You seem to be in high spirits today.” Keiro knew immediately that the young man was lying but he didn’t care all that much of the lie. Hell, his story was an outright lie down to the last detail of him graduating from a nameless university. He didn’t even know any universities nearby or in any in the surrounding countries so if anyone were to ask him as to ‘which’ university he went, the response would’ve taken him a good amount of ‘uuuhhs’ and ‘mmm’s” before he gave them a bullshit answer. Odds are that no one here would be questioning it so his name was safe for now. Damn, now he would have to actually keep up with the façade until he either left or he came up with some credentials.

“You want anything else besides coffee?” The cook asked with slight distaste. It was just a trace, a slight twitch in the voice that could very well be mistaken with country twang but his eyes…those grey pale eyes that stared at Keiro were eyes that stamped accusation on his forehead. Keiro was slightly enjoying his bit of irking. Proding the cattle with a hot iron is all well and fun but only goes so far in a small town and he had the buggering feel that he would be in this town for more than a day.

“No thank you, my good establishment owner.” The silliness of it was going to be overwhelming if he didn’t leave. I suppose you wouldn’t have any places where there is an inn?”

The cook’s eyes creased into slits but Keiro’s smile loosen tension ever slightly. The cook could not decide whether this “Hei Shikyo” was just an elusive con man or just an outright prick. He seem the type, his features were handsome with loose brown hair. It reminded him of the days when men tried to ‘stand out’ of the whole business attire that this town once filled. The girls would go ga-ga for men like Keiro with those blistering blue eyes. Were they blue? Or were they a different color? His eyesight was not what it used to be but he could’ve sworn they were the bluest eyes he ever seen.

“There are three hotels-“ he hesitated “then there are two inns. If you’re looking for some high end place, The Spring will be the place to go.”

“Ah, thank you my good man. I may have to take up on one of those inns. But I believe I shall wait up on my new friend Isamu.” Keiro gestured to him and turned his attention away from the cook. The cook gave a smug look and continued on what he was doing “Say, my man, since you’re a shinobi of the kind I’m sure you scouted the place out no? Mind showing me the town a little bit?” He hoped the kid would say yes, please for the love of all that is good just say yes. More people were coming in, one was a family of three and a young couple. Of course, coming into the ramen shop and hearing a bit of a loudmouth coming in would draw just a tad bit more attention. He was tired of putting on the charade and he hoped the kid would see the signs.