Hail to the Victors {P}

The sun had just crested on the morning after the Sunagakure chuunin exams and Hirako was coming to for the first time during his stay in the hospital. Instantly he felt a dull throbbing in his head. gingerly reaching his hand up to his head he found that it was wrapped in bandages. Straining his mind he tried to remember why he was here in a rather comfortable bed. And then it hit him like an electrical stick to the stomach: he had been in the chuunin exams when that kid stuck him with some weird stick and, well, he had headbutted him. At this thought his stomach turned a bit and he held back the instinct to be sick-the hit to his stomach had been rather...charged to say the least. After realizing why he was here Hirako started to ponder the big question: was he a chuunin? Closing his eyes the Aburame attempted to clear his mind with no avail, but he kept them closed all the same despite this failure. As such he would never know if there was anyone else in this ward. For now his mind was populated with the eerie golden glow of the portals the man he had battled against used-they were surely a wonder.

Gilgamesh had awoke from his state of unconsciousness a long time ago, he now stared at the ceiling above him with multitudes of thoughts streaming through his head; he had been harmed.. He was not a god.. yet. His hand still stroked the dry blood that now caked his upper lip, his mane of royal blonde hair still stuck up in what seemed to be a permanent hairstyle.. That snake.. it was relentless.. always chasing him and threatening to destroy everything he had worked for.. That was when something weird happened to the boy; he shuddered. Serpents were everywhere, he was smart enough to understand that.. but one that uses snake puppetry as his tool of destruction? That was notable.. perhaps his usage of bugs as also notable as Gilgamesh looked down at his legs and torso which seemed to show volcanos of tiny rashes.. He did not recall being bit but perhaps they were sneaky enough to do it when he was no longer conscious.. It was then that Gilgamesh turned his head and much to his displeasure he noticed the one that had managed to draw with him in the chuunins. He was not sure of his name, so he asked with simple taste, "What is your alias, man of bugs?"

Had he gone back in time to an era when people talked all funky? Hirako was not sure, but he twisted his head ever so slightly and opened his eyes to see the figure of the man he had faced in the chuunin exams...how odd. Quirking a single eyebrow Hirako responded to the man's weirdly worded question, "My alias? I don't have an alias. However, my name is Hirako Aburame. What's your name?" Hirako had heard the man's name being called out by the crowd, but the name was jumbled and garbled now in his memory as he had not been focusing on the spectators all that much. Waiting for an answer Hirako would remain where he lay as he did not really feel inclined to get up, hell, he had nothing better to do.

Gilgamesh' single red eye gazed at the man that had been his opposition; it was a fun fight he would have to admit but it was tiring, it was also quite.. eye opening. Even people  that believe they are gods can be harmed.. Throwing his head back a little so he could gaze at the ceiling again he spoke casually, "I'm Gilgamesh, hailing from the Uzumaki clan. You fight well."

An Uzumaki, Hirako recalled that they had done some big things throughout history, but he never took a real interest in the clan as a whole, so he simply curtly nodded at the boy's response. Looking around the hospital room the Aburame spotted his snake puppet. It had a glaring scratch down the left side of its body from what seemed to be a sword-he still did not know what occurred behind the golden portals. Mentally sighing the Aburame added fixing up his puppet on his to do list. Otherwise everything else seemed to fit the oddly sterile hospital environment, which was a bit disconcerting to Hirako: how could it be so clean? It was then that his mind shifted to a much more important question once again: was he a chuunin? Figuring he might as well bring up the matter with Gilgamesh he spoke in a slow, but deliberate tone, "So, any idea if either of us got the chuunin rank? All I know is that fool who fell off his dragon most certainly did not." Hirako rather hoped he had gotten it, because it would mean he could start to build grander puppets with the income from missions. On the other hand he half wondered what had happened to that odd boy who apparently fainted from the heat or something.

Gilgamesh allowed a small smile to be unveiled on his lips at the boys remark of Hiroshi; he didn't seem to know his name which was a bit amusing to him. He shuffled somewhat on the bed to get into a more comfortable position before he started to speak once more, "The doctors have been calling us Chuunin, or that could merely be the side-effects of some of the drugs they're requiring me to take."

Drugs, yeah, Hirako was definitely feeling the effects of those. However, he was overjoyed to hear that he was a chuunin. Granted he did not show this anywhere on his face nor through his voice as he had long practiced how to keep himself together. Not wanting to be a deadbeat and drop the conversation Hirako responded to Gilgamesh in a rather off handed tone, "Well, I suppose that means we have to start doing more around the village...kind of a pain, which reminds me: I have not seen you around the village ever." This was not really a question. Instead it was Hirako think out loud. He had seen many people in Sunagakure, but never this man, which struck him as odd.

That would certainly be interesting; having to do more around the village. He was already known for his dealings with the insane and his blatant disrespect for those he deemed unworthy of himself.. Would this only inflate his ego and make his grounds for bullying much bigger or would it act to actually mature him? Only time would tell with this fellow. "I tend to not hang around the poorer areas, so that's probably why." A not-so-subtle blow, he merely turned his head around to see the boy once more, "What's your goal in life?"

Hirako shrugged at the boy's rather off handed comment. This guy was arrogant without a doubt, but perhaps it had escaped his ll knowing mind that, well, he had been beaten by someone from the 'poorer' parts of Sunagakure-go figure. Technically it was a draw, but it was rather obvious from the man's bug bite ridden body who had come out on top here. Then came the man's next question, which confirmed Hirako's suspicions: this guy was a pompous arrogant prick, but, on the other hand, Hirako did not really care in the least. Thus he answered in a thoughtful tone, "My goal? My goal is simple: to perfect the art of puppetry. I'll take whatever path I can to get there. After all life is the art of change and whatever works works." Nodding as if to affirm what he had just said Hirako gazed down at the snake puppet that sat at the foot of his bed.

Gilgamesh gazed upwards towards the light that seemed to bleach the room. So it was done.. He was trapped in this place with a philosopher. Never in his wildest dreams, and he did have very wild dreams, did he expect to see the day where he would be forced to talk to a philosopher. Their weird outlook on life always stumped him and, dare he say, made him quizzical on life. A king should never have to second guess, that is not the way of a leader. He merely nodded and spoke softly, "I'm sure you will do so, man of bugs."