Winds of Change [Open, Konoha]

A respectful nod was all the three younger shinobi would get in response to their thanks. 'Thank yous' were always rather awkward for the Inuzuka woman. She had been raised in a family where one wasn't thanked for doing what was expected of them and, in her mind, it was expected that the members of the leaf village looked after the well being of one another. All the same, she appreciated the sentiment.

Before she closed the door she cast a sidelong glance back at Chai who seemed to be enjoying himself. The dog had taken to rolling in the snow making what amounted to doggie-angels. No, he wouldn't be coming inside anytime soon. Sometimes Ashi could only envy her companion's thick coat.

With the door shut behind her, the smell of the academy hit her like a ton of bricks. It wasn't so much that it smelled bad, but rather that it smelled like...like the past. With all the windows tightly shut and many of the classrooms closed as well the smell seemed all the more intense. She could remember fondly the days of her earlier life as a teacher and they felt a lifetime away. 

Luckily, she was broken from her nostalgia by the words of the black haired boy. No point in living in the past, after all.

"I believe we have," Ashi inhaled deeply. "You definitely smell familiar, though I can't recall exactly when we may have met."

"Regardless," Her hands dropped to her side as she gave a shallow bow. "Allow me to formally introduce myself, you can call me Ashi."

She wasn't one for being called by her last name. ANBU training had drilled the importance of conformity into her and on the job she conformed to all orders. However, one would find that Ashi Inuzuka and Operative Wolf were two very different people. 

"Now, how about we get some tea?" She asked rising from her bow. "You can't go wrong with something warm on a cold day and I think rehydrating would be wise for at least one of you."

The last part was aimed directly at 'smells-like-sake'. 

Sweeping into the academy she quickly found the teacher's break room. Thankfully it had not been locked and it did not look as if the layout had changed much since her last visit a few months ago. Perhaps she should have remained a teacher?

With the water on to boil, she returned to the group in silence.

[Sorry, not the most inspired post in the world]

On a cold day such as this Love would've really appreciated a warm beverage but she quickly remembered that there was somewhere she needed to be. Before she could say anything the older woman disappeared in the to school. Love waited patiently for her return which didn't take very long. "As much as I would love to have tea with you I just remembered I have a prior engagement that I must be getting to." She said with a bow and turned to the males. "I didn't catch your names but maybe we'll meet again." She gave a soft smile before sliding the zipper of her jack back up and rushing out the door into the cold.

WC:117 [exit]
TWC:635
Claiming: 3 stats, words to skill

Exit is approved, but I am sorry to say that since this appears to only be a social topic you cannot gain stats.

"Ashi?" Kisuke though to himself as that name did not ring any bells. Not to mention that was not much of a formal introduction, she didnt even give her full name and at that her name sount like a nick name at best. Shaking the snow out of his red dyed hair with his right hand, Kisuke would respond "Uchiha Kisuke." Ashi felt that they had met before so maybe telling her his full name would remind her. 

Now that Kisuke was out of the cold and in the warm of the school, he was itching for a cigarette. But there was no way Ashi would let him have a smoke inside the academy therefore instead of pulling out cigarettes from his jacket pockets he pulled out a box of mints. Popping two into his mouth, Kisuke would hand it over to Kotsuzui without look at him and said while sucking on the tasty candy "Here, take them all before you suffocate us with that nasty breath of yours."

Turning his attention to the other female in the room who responded to Kotsuzui, Kisuke would slightly frown at her response. "What the hell would your friends be doing out in this weather?" He found it odd that she was out looking for her friends considering what the conditions outside were like. Realising that he did not really care why the girl was outside Kisuke would turn his attention back to Ashi and nod in agreement. "Tea sounds good." The tips of his extremities were on fire for how cold they were and his leather jacket wasnt too good at keeping him warm. So hot tea would do him good therefore he followed the slender kunoichi over to the unlocked staff room. 

With the Anbu taking care of the hot beverage, Kisuke plopped himself onto one of the couches and kicked off his ice cold boots before resting his aching feet onto the table before him. Placing his hands behind his head, he would continue sucking on what remained of his mints. "They got any food here?" Now realising that he was quite hungry.

Kotsuzui caught the box of mints out of the air before laying a few out into his open hand. "Well, at least you're considerate" Kotsuzui said with a grin before tossing the mint box back over to Kisuke. As the mints freshened up his breath, he turned over to Love with looking a little curious as to her sudden urge to leave.  One moment she was listening to Ashi, who had just given her name to Kisuke, and quickly entering the academy to get warm. The next she was rushing right back out into the cold to apparently find her friends. How strange. Whatever, if she so willingly wanted to go back into the cold to suffer, she could go right ahead. "I'm sure we'll meet again" Kotsuzui said to her as she made her way out.

Kotsuzui could not help but smile at Ashi's remark about re-hydrating. He obviously knew what she was trying to say. "Got jokes do we?" Kotsuzui said as he moved over to a second couch beside the one Kisuke was resting on. Flopping onto his back, Kotsuzui extended his body across the whole length of the couch into a resting position. "I think i'll just stay here till the weather clears up....or until I get kicked out" said the Kaguya. Feeling quite comfortable, his eyelids slowly began closing on him as he couldn't help but drift into a sleep. Though Kisuke asking if there was any food jolted him back awake for a moment. "By the way, I'm Kotsuzui Kaguya" he began, introducing himself to Ashi, "this fool's teammate." Kotsuzui would continue speaking right after chewing down the last bits of his mint. "Are you a teacher in this academy?" he asked as she seemed to know her way around the place. If so then the would most likely be a high ranking shinobi of Konoha, or at least a Chuunin at the bare minimum. In that case she could be quite skilled, maybe they could end up sparring if the weather cleared up. The though of sparring started to get the Kaguya excited so he quickly changed his train of thought. He didn't want to let the weather disappoint him.

The older woman moved to stop the younger girl from leaving, but she had already slipped out the door leaving Ashi to make sure the door closed firmly behind her. Who was she to stop her anyway? If the girl had somewhere she had to be then it made little sense to stop her. Yet, the Inuzuka still felt a slight twinge of guilt—so much for being a protector of Konoha and its people.

Called back to the staff room by the telling whistle of the kettle, Ashi returned to the staff room where the two others had taken up residence. Setting out three mugs she deftly poured the steaming hot water into each sending the earthy smell of green tea into the air. Taking two of the mugs she brought them to the table that served as the centerpiece of the room before returning to grab her own tea. 

"Well, it is nice to meet you both," Ashi said, taking a seat on the opposite side of Kisuke's couch. "And I assure you Kotsu it's no joke. Hydration is important, especially in your state." 

Yes, Ashi had a bad habit of making up nicknames and Kotsu rolled off the tongue much better than Kotsuzui. 

"You're welcome to try your luck with the fridge," Directing her response to Kisuke she motioned vaguely in the direction of the fridge. "But you're taking your life into your own hands."

Memory marred by alcohol is a tricky thing; one moment it is there and the next it isn't. However, looking at Kisuke a bit closer she began to connect a few dots. Groping her way through the fog of her memory it finally all clicked together into one blurry embarrassing image.

"You were looking for that Stein character, weren't you?" Her face reddened unconsciously and she glanced away for a moment as she recalled the state Kisuke had last seen her in. "I remember that vaguely."

"Vaguely," She clarified again. 

A brief pause as she inadvertently burned her mouth with a small sip of tea.

"And yes, I do occasionally teach a few classes here," She stated with words dripping in a wistful melancholy. Of course, she wasn't lying as she did still teach some classes when asked, but that wasn't her day job. Naturally, she wasn't about to go off talking about how she secured Konohagakure's borders and guarded the kage despite his affiliation with Kumogakure. No, being an ANBU was not something to boast about.

Kisuke paid no attention to the stranger who suddenly ran out of the academy for he cared very little about her. He had no idea who she was therefore what she did meant nothing to him, he simply sat back with his hands behind his head patiently waiting for the water to boil. Upon Ashi making her way back to the lounge, the water was hot and ready at last. Generously pouring them a cup and bringing it to the table, Kisuke would lean forward and wrap his numb fingers around the steaming mug. "Thanks." He would say to Ashi while she retrieved her own mug. 

Keeping his hands wrapped around the mug like a blanket, the Uchiha would glance over towards the fridge once Ashie mentioned him testing his luck. Looking at the fridge in disgust Kisuke responded "In that case I think ill hold off on the food."  Any food that was left over by the staff probably wasnt too edible. "Your welcome to taste test it for me." Glancing over towards his lying down teammate, Kisuke would nod over towards the fridge with his head and continued "You're hung over, I'm sure you could use some food."

The mention of the name Stein brought on a flurry of emotion that Kisuke could not control. Rage, anger, anxiety, all overwhelming his senses at the same time. The memory of what that man had done to him overtook his thoughts and Kisuke tightened his grip around the mug held in between his hands. Slowly raising the mug towards his lips Kisuke would sip the smouldering tea. The fragrant aromas filling his nostrils and the sweet tea rolling around in his mouth helped too sooth his nerves and calm him down.

Putting the tea back onto the table, Kisuke turned to look at Ashi and said "Yeah, I was looking for a man named Stein, a Konoha nin I believe. I never ended up finding him but word got to the right ears and I achieved my goal nonetheless." Kisuke recalled back to when he was in the streets asking around and he had luckily ran into the wife of the current Hokage. 

Then his memory was jogged. Kisuke glanced up and down, giving Ashi a one over before saying "Oh yeah, now I remember you. I ran into you when I was asking around for Stein." Kisuke recalled the state she was in and understood why she "vaguely" remembered. "Oh shit, just my luck. Im stuck in a room with two alcoholics." He though to himself as he quickly continued speaking not to make things awkward now that he remembered she had been drunk "You remembered who I was looking for so thanks for listening back then. Its nice to meet you now in... better conditions." Kisuke was referring to the fact that she wasnt drunk and that he had retrieved his Sharingan but she wouldnt know the latter for he never told her why he was looking for Stein.

Ashi was probably right about needing to hydrate especially being in the state it was currently in. Though he never really worried about it. He would just go about his day whether he hydrated or not. He just assumed since he was young his body could handle it. But Ashi probably knew better than he did so he took the tea. "Thank you" he  as she placed it onto the centerpiece table, though he waited before taking a sip. Even though he was still feeling cold from being outside, he knew the tea was too hot. He also hadn't flinched at being nicknamed 'kotsu'. As it was, everyone called him Kots, now Kotsu being the new one. It seemed no one enjoyed the name Kotsuzui. Shame on his parents.

Kotsuzui looked over to the fridge when Kisuke told him to taste test it after neither of them wanted to get food. His stomach was still settling from the previous night. Any food he took in may not stay in for very long. At the moment, tea would probably be the best thing for him. "If this were a mission, I'd be willing to put my life on the line for y'all. But today ain't the day" Kotsuzui added in, not daring to go to the fridge. 

The Kaguya pushed himself up right to have a sip at his tea. Bringing the tea to the rim of his lips the Kaguya held it there for a moment at the words of 'Stein'. "Why does the name sound so familiar" Kotsuzui thought to himself before finally taking the first sip. After further pondering it hit him. "Wait, I know Stein" Kotsuzui spoke as he placed the tea back down onto the table. "I met him just outside of Konoha a while back. He was a peculiar character. For no apparent reason he just started training me and showing me jutsu. He taught me my first jutsu and taijutsu. What ever happened to him?" he'd ask, looking at both Kisuke and Ashi to see if either of them knew. He'd like to meet him again and potentially have him teach the Kaguya some new moves.

A kind knowing smile was all Kisuke would get as Ashi did not wish to delve deeper into one of her more human weaknesses. Certainly, alcohol would never come between her and the next mission, but it did help smooth over the down time. Killing, interrogating and manipulating people were all part of her job description and she excelled at all in the moment.

However, when the moments passed and adrenaline no longer ruled her body the gravity of her actions set in; she, no matter how one might spin it, was not a good person. Such was the lie her life was, she served Konoha and would do anything to protect it. In fact, people often praised the Konoha ANBU choosing to ignore the necessary evil inherent to their line of work. Unfortunately, Ashi could not ignore nor forget, so sometimes…sometimes it was better to forget and alcohol had just that effect; a temporary reprieve from both reason and conscience.

“People come and go,” Ashi noted as Kotsu turned his gaze to her and the Uchiha. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he is long gone by now.”

Truthfully, she couldn’t comment further on the man. After all, she didn’t know him and was only just remembering him and Kisuke’s request for help. Yes, the whole affair was quite embarrassing and clearly rather sensitive for the Uchiha.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Ashi hoped to change the subject. “What team are you two on?”

The obvious question she refrained from asking was who their team leader was. Naturally a curious person Ashi enjoyed getting to know people. Kisuke and Kotsu seemed interesting enough, so why not get to know them?

Who knows? Maybe getting to know people outside of the ANBU might be enjoyable. If anything it was a welcome change of pace.

[Feel free to steer this thread in whatever direction you'd like it to go.]

Kisuke was quite surprised to hear about the circumstances with which Kotsuzui had met Stein for the first time for he had met Stein the same way. However instead of being taught his first jutsus he had had his Sharingan stolen from him. Who was this man that he would teach one kid something and steal from another what is most valuable to him. The mention of learning their first jutsu brought Kisuke back to when Kasai taught him his first jutsus. Remembering about Kasai only reminded the Uchiha that Kasai had attacked the very village he was sworn to protect. Slightly shaking his head as all these memories ran through his head he though to himself "What a mad world we live in."

"I hope he's dead." Kisuke responded to Ashi's response to Kotsuzui. "I dont know how you knew Stein but the Stein I knew was not a nice man to put it simply." Best case scenario Kisuke would be able to exact his revenge, put that man through the hell he made Kisuke endure. But that would likely never happen so the best he could hope for was that Stein was dead." 

Pertaining to Ashi's new topic of conversation, Kisuke would turn to face Kotsuzui with a raised eyebrow. What team were they from? Kisuke truly did not know. "Do we even have a team number?" The Uchiha would ask his Kaguya teammate. "Our situation is a little.... fucked up." Admitted Kisuke as he turned to face Ashi. "Our sensei is Ayumi. Come to think of it I dont even know if she has a last name." Chuckling at how messed up their situation was, Kisuke would go on to explain "Originally our team was us two and a kid named Jin Yamanaka. A few moths after our team had formed Jin passed away from a heart attack I think." Kisuke would turn to Kotsuzui to see if hew knew for sure.

Whether he did or didnt Kisuke would continue "So then he was replaced by another Uchiha, dont remember the scrubs name. We were getting ready to complete our mission requirements to become Chuunin but once we were done that punk up and decided to retire being a shinobi. A fucking Uchiha deciding not to be a shinobi, you ever herd of that? Now we have some Kaguya gal named Kirino I believe. A pain in the ass if there ever was one. So now we have to do missions with her to be ready to rank up. Our team is plagued with set back after set back." Grabbing his cup of tea, with a sigh he would lean back and sip from it. Kisuke felt he should already be a Chuunin but all these setbacks were postponing his progress.