This walk should definitely have taken longer

(Sorry Gary ;-;

I started typing and extra questions seemed to come up quite naturally so I felt obliged to put them down ic, but after this he should be definitely ready to leave the gates, though i might try to train within the village a bit. D:)

Dayum, that was one heck of a dog there. In fact, it, err, Chai, seemed to be staring at Kukla and his skin prickled a little. Sadly, he was unaware of shifts here or he might have tried to save his questions for others. That being said, this woman seemed pretty understanding, so hopefully she saw where he was coming from, so to speak, and wasn't too mad at him.

Ok, that temporary passport, he would keep it in a cargo pocket at all times! At least until he got something better to hold it in. He carefully inserted said temporary passport as soon as he received it, while the woman kept talking.

She helpfully listed off different sections of the village, but for some reason she seemed to have this wierd thing about Kukla and women, and he did not really understand. He wanted to ask but she kept talking a while bunch until suddenly she sat back, having finished abruptly.

"Uhm, that was pretty complete actually, you must be pretty experienced at this kind of thing." Kukla flashed a cheerful grin.

"Just a question before I stop troubling you, or two or... oh my. I'm sorry to take your time like this, but hopefully it is quick." Kukla's mind was flooded with sudden questions as many possibilities occurred to him. "Is it best to talk to the Hokage when he is in the office? Or is it considered ok here to talk to him outside of the office? Back in my old home there was not much seen of leadership so I don't really know the protocol for that. Is it safe to train in the streets? Where I come from, in some places thats an excuse to be mugged. Also, are there any particular inns you would recommend to stay in? And, what do you mean by that connotation of "women"...?"

Kukla stared in a confused manner at the woman for a bit, for a few good and awkward seconds, before he connected the dots, between "women" and certain groups back in the home village. "Wait, you mean THOSE people??? Madam, I assure you..."

Kukla was more than a little red in the face with embarrassment, his face displaying a complete and utter countenance of shock. "I... I'm not one of their customers, I'm not one of the pervy monks! I promise!" Kukla Nazar looked grief stricken at the thought.

Sadly, yes, Ashi was experienced with such explanations of the village's layout. It was the unfortunate nature of recent peacetime. While citizens and economies reveled in the lack of wars, the military became, more or less, a glorified police force. The Inuzuka would never dare whisper such things, but it was true. If one looked at all the free-time shinobi now had it was quite alarming and led to the a stagnation. People trained and trained, but for what? Shinobi held rank in the village, but the real power lay in merchants with vast trade empires and trade routes. Times had changed since Ashi became a member of the anbu. Were the changes for the better? Time would tell.

Over the course of Kukla's barrage of questions, Ashi nodded long politely. She would get her chance to speak at some point. Earlier in the day, a merchant had droned on and on about the price of sugar and even he ran out of steam eventually. Plus side? The woman knew more than she ever wanted to know about the sugar market. Though as the boy, as it was now clear he was just a boy, started to overreact to her suggestion, Ashi could not help but smile a gentle smile. It wasn't a mocking smile nor a wicked one. It was more the knowing smile of a teacher or a mother.

"Very well," Ashi said with the same smile. "I apologize."

Chai shifted at her feet ever so slightly as if to remind her that she still had a job to do.

"The Hokage can often be found in the administrative building during the day. I suggest talking to the people at the front desk there to arrange an audience."

A slight pause.

"As for training in the streets. Well, I'm sure it can be done, but it would be frowned upon. We would much prefer that all training be done on the training grounds."

Gesturing to the map once again, Ashi pointed out the spot near the shinobi academy she knew all too well.

"As for inns, well, there are more than a few, but they all overcharge and under-furnish." Glancing over her shoulder Ashi noted that her replacement for the next shift had arrived, a chuunin with short black hair-free at last. "I'll tell you what though. I am just finishing my shift here and if you want I can introduce you to a man I know, Goru Ichimatsu. He owns a small pub, but also happens to have a nice apartment over the pub he never uses save for the odd renter which he is currently lacking. I am sure he can give you a better price than any of the inns. How does that sound?"

Was Ashi too nice? Maybe, but she was planning to go to Goru's pub regardless and the old man could always use some more ryo in his pocket. Plus, it was true that the inns in Konoha would often gouge foreigners for every last cent, which always rubbed the anbu operative the wrong way. It also helped that the Inuzuka owed the old barkeep a favor after he let her crash in the very apartment she was now marketing. Yes, Ashi Inuzuka had a drinking problem; she enjoyed sake a bit too much. It made the pain from work simply float away for a while erasing all the lives she silenced from her mind.

Partway through a post ;-;

will def. post tomorrow D:

(I assume it would be best for you to do the npc?)

Whew. Thank goodness, she finally believed that Kukla was not one of those perverted priests, who usually, though not always, were to be found outside the Nazar clan. Glad that the misunderstanding, though one he did not truly comprehend, was cleared up of sorts, Kukla relaxed visibly. Even better, she was 
 
Ok, sounded like the Hokage had off time and it was safest to leave him along and schedule time otherwise. 

He followed her gaze to see another person showing up. Her next words suggested that that was another Konoha ninja, here to replace her.

A lodging? For a good price? Awesome possum!

"That would be terrific! Thanks so much!" Kukla Nazar smiled full force, hopefully nobody was blinded by the glare that could result. He wondered what this barkeeper would be like. When she was ready to leave, he would follow her, but until then he would scrutinize the map as if trying to absorb it into his skull through his eye sockets. His smile had only abruptly, replaced with a frown of almost comical concentration, hopefully he did not unintentionally look like one of them murderous creeps. Sadly, he probably looked like a weird, well meaning but bumbling monk, lacking severely in social skills.

[Take your time; I'm in no hurry.]

Nodding at the boy's enthusiastic response and flashing a kind smile, Ashi pushed herself out of her chair. Grabbing the black cloak of the anbu she draped it over her shoulders, but not bothering to close the front. The cloak itself was ambiguous enough to pass as a regular traveling cloak for the cool night, which was something the Inuzuka often took advantage of.

"Have fun on the night shift," Ashi teased as she walked out of the booth with Chai close on her heels. There she would wait for the boy to make his way around. Luckily it did not take long and Ashi set out at more leisurely pace than before so as to spare Kukla the exertion to keep up.

Left down one street, right up the next and then another left. The woman remained silent throughout the walk as she was not too sure what to talk about. Plus, she had already told the boy about the area they were walking through, the entertainment district; Ashi did much like repeating herself.

Unfortunately, Kukla would not get to see the entertainment district in all it's glory just yet. The early afternoon hour meant that many of the bars and such were shuttered up. The place looked tame at the moment. However, the moment the sun dipped below the trees it came alive with lights and barkeeps promising a good time or something more. This was the place for off duty shinobi and civilians alike to relax and Ashi was bringing Kukla into the heart of it all.

At last the pair would arrive in front of one of the larger establishments named The Taproot. The exterior appeared to be covered in bark giving the large two story compound a unique rustic look that drew so many customers. The sign that hung over the large oaken door read 'What is a Leaf without it's roots?' making an obvious reference to it's location in the Leaf village. No, Goru was not much of a subtle man as Kukla would soon find out with Ashi pulling open the door and holding it for the Funkagakure native.

In sharp contrast to the bar's facade, the inside was polished to perfection with the centerpiece being a long black-wood bar and the wrought iron furnace for the colder months. Behind the bar stood a man who looked to be more bull than man judging by his large physique and six and a half foot tall frame. However, this man, who went by the name of Goru Ichimatsu, had a definite magic about him as he carefully cleaned each cup with all the love and care one might expect from a father. It was clear the man was comfortable here and for a moment one could see the annoyance at being disturbed as he cast his gaze to the door. Thankfully, the annoyance quickly turned to a hearty smile and a deep laugh.

"Ashi Inuzuka," Goru said as the woman made her way to the bar only to take a seat across from the man. "And you brought Chai with you too, come on over here big guy."

The large hound found it's way around the back of the bar in a few bounds greeted by ruffling of his head and an offer of what could only be left overs from the night before. As Chai gorged himself, Goru returned his gaze to Ashi and Kukla if he followed the woman.

"I like that dog," Goru quipped. "He doesn't come here near often enough, yourself though?"

The man gave a slight shrug and nasal snort to imply the levity of his words.

"I could see less of you."

"Oh, knock it off Goru," Ashi responded with dismissive wave of the hand.

"So, what brings yer here lass?" The man questioned.

"Well, you know that room you have upstairs? " Ashi said as she nodded over at Kukla who hopefully had the sense to take a seat at the bar himself. "I just might have a tenant for you."

Bringing his hand to the short boxy beard of brown and then running ti through his matching wavy hair Goru leaned up against the bar and scrutinized the bald boy. For a moment not a sound could be heard save for Chai eating up the last of his meal.

"Well boy," Goru said as his coal black eye hardened ever so slightly. "Is that true?"

The conversation dropped here; it was time for Kukla to present himself to a possible landlord. Of course, it would be prudent to give an introduction, but Ashi was not about to coach the boy through it. Goru was a particular man and he didn't take kindly to false sentiment and rehearsed speeches. It was part of the large man's charm, really.

Kukla scrambled to keep up with the "Wolf" as the other had called here, but fortunately she slowed down soon to allow him to keep at just the pace of a brisk walk.

As they walked, he scoured the village with his eyes, trying to catch as many details as he could, and falling quite behind. His head often turned away from his actual path of travel, he nearly walked into Ashi when she suddenly stopped to open the door of an establishment he only barely caught the name of.

The Taproot huh?

SKidding to a stop was not hard due to Kukla's hardly impressive speed, and he ended up just mere inches from potentially annoying his first, hopefully first of many friends in the area. "Whoops, sorry, I should really watch where I'm going! Wasn't trying to walk into you!" He looked genuinely apologetic, as that was how he was feeling.

It was only now that he noticed the door she held open, for him. He was a little unused to this kind of thing, truth be told, and made a mental note to try to do the same later. Seems like the people of Konoha were more polite overall than those of Funka. His kin were reasonably polite, but they were quite counterbalanced by the vast majority of volcano denizens who brought down the average politeness, if there was such a thing, to levels quite beyond here apparently. He figured it might sound rude, but he had trouble resisting the urge to comment on the conspicuous lack of death and such in the area, not even tortured screams even!

Inside... wow.

Kukla stood in open mouthed amazement. The Village gates were hardly a masterpiece. The Nazar clan were not big on niceties. God forbid he even compare this to the typical Volcano dwelling.

He slowly turned around, a couple of times, in place. Realizing suddenly that the "Wolf" had gone to the bar, Kukla decided to follow suit, and scrambled again to the open seat on her left. That guy was huge, but was somehow so gentle with all his stuff, looked like he really loved this place, if the cleanliness was any indication.

Judging by the way the dog... Chai? Was jumping towards the fellow, and the irreverent way he spoke with "wolf" err, Ashi Inuzuka, they had some extensive history. Seemed this was the fellow she had mentioned earlier about hte spare rooms.

"Uhhh."

Well, he was off to a good start now wasn't he. His nervousness was quite apparent though, being confronted by a large bulky guy. He swallowed, quite noticeably, and regained his composure. Returning to his cheery tone, at first sounding slightly forced but soon relaxing into his normal tone, "Yep, if you'd have me I'd be happy to stay here! It's so much nicer than what I'm accustomed too frankly! See, I'm new in town, literally just walked in the village gates less than an hour ago, and I don't really know anyone aside from Miss Ashi, and yourself now. So, yeah, I'm definitely interested in finding lodgings, especially in a ship shape place like this. I'm Kukla Nazar, good to meet you Mister Goru!" As he finished speaking with a smiel in his eyes, Kukla extended his hand forward in an attempt to offer a handshake.

Booming laughter.

The booming laughter of Goru echoed around the room. Steadying himself on the bar in front of him it slowly died down. Kukla had passed the Goru's not so stringent personality test.

"You have balls kid, I like that," The large man said. "The last person to call her 'Miss Ashi' left here with a black eye and broken nose."

If one were to look closely at the Inuzuka they would find a rare and faint blush coloring her cheeks.

"That wasn't my fault." The woman mumbled halfheartedly.

It wasn't really Ashi's fault. The guy, Ryuu, had been trying to buy her a drink all night and she had been politely ignoring him. However, after a few drinks of her own, punching a guy's lights out to make him stop asking seemed like a good idea. Ah, hindsight.

"Sure, sure," Goru said before turning his gaze back to Kukla. "You must've caught her on a good day. So, I could give you the room for say 2000 ryo a month."

The pricing was a steal.

A slight pause.

"Though, if you can't pay me outright I do also happen to have need of a dishwasher. It's not a glamorous job, but you'd only have to work nights and I'd call you square on the room."

"Aren't you gonna let him see the room first?" Ashi said wryly. Goru sometimes got caught up in the forest and missed the trees.

"Oh...yeah" The large man admitted absentmindedly scratching the back of his neck. "Why don't you go take a look upstairs and tell me what you think."

Goru pointed towards a doorway shrouded by a forest green sheet embroidered with the red symbol of Konoha. This of course led to a wood stairway that opened up to a studio apartment with about the same area as the bar below it. Yes, it was quite the steal. If Kukla left Goru would turn over to Ashi and begin speaking again.

"I never took you as one for charity work," Goru teased as he poured a large amount of sake into an earthen mug before passing it over to the woman.

"Maybe you don't know me as well as you think?" Ashi shot back before taking a sip from the mug that caused her to reconsider. "I take that back maybe you do."

Their conversation took a turn to the mundane as they discussed the happenings of the village while waiting for Kukla's return. Goru knew things about people that an anbu operative would takes months to find out. It always paid to be friends with a barkeep in Ashi's line of work. Besides his usefulness to Ashi as a source he was also a good friend.

[Feel free to describe the apartment. It would probably be pretty nice.]

O_O

Kukla had a bewildered look on his face, as the initially stoic giant of a man suddenly burst out laughing. From the sounds of it, Kukla had accidentally treaded on forbidden territory perhaps? “Miss Ashi” was a bad handle it seemed. A brief glance at said kunoichi showed a visible tinge of embarrassment. IT was a funny change, given that she had had a totally different demeanor previously. A bashful, normally jovial wildcat in kunoichi form might be the easiest way to describe this. After that, though, the bartender shifted right back to the subject of a room.

He tried to not be agape at the thought of spending two thousand ryo, though in comparison to the items he had purchased before it did indeed seem like a steal. That being said, he was effectively penniless at the moment, and was not a ninja from these parts, so he couldn’t do missions, and would be stuck at odd jobs. Needless to say, he felt slightly crestfallen, and might have appeared so too at the mention of the price.

However, this being replaced with the offer of being a dishwasher in the nighttime, sounded like a viable alternative. He perked up. “Just the dishes doesn’t sound like a fair trade though, I could help you sweep, or serve I guess, in between other jobs and such. Good point about looking though. I’ll certainly do that now.”

Partway through walking to the stairs, Kukla paused and turned to Ashi. “Oh yeah, sorry about that, didn’t know I was using a bad uhh, handle? Is there something else I should call you instead, just “Miss” perhaps?” He would wait a bit for a reply, if Ashi replied along the same vein of conversation, he would nod his head respectfully and ascent the stairs.

A walk up the stairs was announced by a small creak here or ther, on the occasional step, the wood having aged a little, but being in worn, but good shape.

At the top of the steps there was a door, left slightly ajar.

If there had been anyone inside the room, the first thing they would have seen was a shiny dome that nudged the door open.

The door silently swung open on well oiled hinges, this part evidently as well kept as the rest of the place. A brief look around the apartment was all it took for Kukla to make his mind up. Happy bright yellow walls added a cheerful hue to the room, the bed was mediumish size, and soft, with a posture board leaning against the side of the bed, between the bed and the wall. A small desk, a comfy looking chair, and a dresser were the other bits of furniture scattered around the somewhat roomy apartment. Awesome possum! Closer inspection revealed a rack in the closet, and a stand for hanging hats and such. He didn’t bother checking out the bathroom, scurrying downstairs, and resisting the urge to give both of the others a great big hug. It was all fairly low key, the happy paint on the wall notwithstanding, and given that Kukla didn’t have a lot of need atm, well….

He came back down the stairs, and looked at Mister Goru – “Are you sure you are gonna let me stay there for just dishwashing each night? I’m seriously willing to help out a bit more than that, its simple but quite nice up there, lots of good quality!” Kukla beamed and straightened his neck again.

(ooc: if we ever end up using our wc towards training I think we would need to have kukla ask about training grounds and the like after the room thingy. Not in a rush, I’m just saying ^_^)

Wrinkling her nose ever so slightly contorting the red markings on her face, Ashi glanced over at Kukla. For a moment she half considered asking the boy to call her Ashi, but that wouldn't do. Familiarity was not something extended to strangers so readily especially from a foreign land. The boy seemed harmless, but in the back of her mind the anbu part of her told her to not to get too involved.

"I won't give you a black-eye don't worry," Ashi said plainly accenting her words with a pleasant smile. "Call me what you wish, Miss Ashi is just fine."

Returning her gaze back to Goru she gave him a slight glare before entering back into conversation. Truth be told, even saying Miss Ashi felt weird on her tongue. It reminded her of the endless ranks of students she once taught. Each were more formal than the next, kids were like that. In way Kukla did remind her of a one her students though a bit older and with less hair. He certainly had the same naive sentiment as many of the academy students Ashi had taught. It was mildly endearing.

The conversation shifted between Goru and the Inuzuka to petty topics. About the man who made the mistake of turning too sharply with a cart causing the mountainous bushels of wheat therein to scatter everywhere. Or about the the latest bathhouse scandal. Oh, and how could one forget the newest imported sake from Sunagakure that seemed to have a snake in it?

Sometimes it was important to talk of little things. It took the focus off the big picture just for a moment. Better yet it gave the mind a break. On could find themselves breaking down if they worked themselves too hard and did not relax. Of course, in Ashi's case, it helped that she had down two generous mugs of sake without blinking.

Kukla would return to the room just as the pair was discussing what exactly putting a snake in sake really did for the taste. Chai, lay moping at Ashi's feet looking a bit forlorn. If anyone knew of the dynamic between Ashi and Chai then they would understand the hounds mood based on the light blush that lay over her cheeks. To say the woman was drunk would be untrue; buzzed would probably be the more correct term.

"Trust me, it will do this old place good to have someone living up there," Goru said. "Though, Miss Ashi here will need a new place to ride out her late nights and early mornings."

"Oh shut up, Goru," Ashi said a bit louder than she should have.

"That being said I can't make a deal with a man," Goru paused as he glanced at Ashi as well. "Or woman if they cannot share a drink with me."

The large barman quickly poured three small shots of sake distributing them with surprising speed between those present. Then Ashi spoke up or perhaps it was the sake in her stomach that did? One couldn't be sure.

"To the new dishwasher!" Ashi yelped as she rose her glass and emptied it bottoms up with an unusual zeal that caught Goru off guard as he rose his glass as well a bit late. Hopefully, Kukla saw sense and went with it all.

With empty glass in hand the woman gazed wistfully at the wall of colored liquid across from her. Like a puppy her eyes jumped hungrily from one to the other.

"It's not yet opening time and she is like this," Goru directed his voice to Kukla in an undertone. "Do Chai and myself a favor, have her show you the sights and sounds of Konohagakure. It would do her good."

A pause as the man gestured discreetly to the dog at Ashi's feet with a knock on the hardwood bar.

"I mean, look at poor Chai."

The dog did truly look quite miserable; he hated seeing his best friend drown herself in drink. Everyone had their vices. Ashi's vice lay at the bottom of every cup she drained.

"What're you two talkin' about?" Ashi questioned breaking her gaze away from the wall of bottles. Perhaps it was the trait of the dog within her soul, but alcohol tended to lessen the woman's attention more than a normal person. Her attention span entered an almost childlike state jumping from thought to thought on a whim.

Mmmk, so “Miss Ashi” would be a safe handle then.
 
Privately, Kukla was not really a good drinker either, having had little exposure outside of the Volcano village, where he mostly did not partake in such affairs. That being said, even with his inexperience, he got the gist of what Goru was saying. He was not used to this though, and was scrambling to follow suit after Ashi, approximately the same time as Goru.
 
Kukla glanced at the dog at Gorus suggestion, and nodded quickly. That dog had unsettled him a tad earlier, and he looked very unhappy now.
 
“Sounds like a plan”, he spoke in a soft undertone.
 

“Say, Miss Ashi, on our way here, I thought I saw a couple of shops that sold spare parts, fr puppets and other curiosities, maybe a few places that could have been training grounds. Would you be so kind as to show me some good places that people normally gather here to train, or maybe some good shops to buy parts from?” After speaking he glanced back at the bar keeper briefly, in an attempt to catch any non verbal signals Goru might sent to him.