Merriment for the wicked

Fang Country, also known as the middle of nowhere was all but perfect for a young, outcasted inventor. Take Mar Byrd. A nearly penniless ninja who’s hitched a one way ride with a merchant for free. Anything for the slightest bit of protection in the bandit filled lands far from any major village. Atleast that had been his sales pitch, as few were interested in robbing an apparently empty wagon.

“End of the line.” The retailer declared, stopping just outside of his home. “One second, I’ve almost captured the last stroke of this blueprint. No, no~” Mar merrily chimed. Scribbleing in an oily paint that dripped vigorously onto the cart below. The humorless man, who’s frown dwarfed the sour expression of his ox. Unhinged said cow and sent the young genius sprawling out into a pile of rubbish. Before he’d so much as shaken the potato peel from his spiky hair his de facto ferryman had climbed into his warm house and back to the embrace of his family. “Damn.” The ninja groaned. Despite having held up the model kite page far above his head the splatter of week old pudding had doused it throughly.

The ever dignified scholar picked himself up. Washed a fresh stain from his coat with a handy hanker chief. And indulged in a sprits if cologne from his nearely empty bottle. Looking around what he surmised to be the rough part of town. His heart called for sake and companionship but his pockets called for discount soup. He walked just over to the next door resteraunt. “The Chortleing Chuunin.” Giving a friendly wave through the window which had a perfect view of his embarrassing arrival into town.

He created open the door with long un-oiled hinges and stepped on a credit floorboard. Pausing with a tone of red in his cheeks. Before taking a seat at the nearest stool and depositing his bag idly below the table. He’d heard somthing about this place, but he just could not recall what it was. He waited for service, tapping his foot and drinking in the atmosphere. Which was half the reason he went anywhere like this.

The sun had long set and the usually crowded restaurant was starting to empty. As far as the Chortling Chunin went, the eatery kept hours longer than most. Akihana was almost certain she even heard noises form the restaurant downstairs at all hours of the night while she sat awake in her room. Deliveries, messages, special orders, special guests, it all spoke to Maku's usual business sense and the Kunoichi wouldn't have been surprised if the restaurant was a front for something else in his vast portfolio. but she had never asked and of course Maku had never told her.

What she did know was that they stayed open until almost midnight even though the final customers were usually out by ten. Unless Maku was playing his music of course. Tonight, the man was not and at nine thirty sharp, Sarah had given Akihana a longing look when the blonde had come downstairs to pick up the orders for tomorrow.

"Aki pleeeeeaaasseeee," the redhead simpered, adding. "It's almost empty, who's gonna come in this late. You literally just have to hang around until closing and then lock up." The assistant chef made a valid point, and Akihana found it hard to say no to requests at the best of times. So ten minutes later Sarah was out of her apron and out the door, leaving Akihana to wait out the one remaining couple in the restaurant.

A quick check of the kitchen revealed that everything was spick and span, the cash register had been emptied out and all the ryo from the day safely stored away, all the tables were clan and set for tomorrow save the one being occupied by an elderly couple at the far back and the storage area locked off.

Smoothing her simple pale blue knee length dress over her slender frame, the kunoichi walked towards the front of the restaurant, subsequently approaching the elder couple and asking them if they would like something more. the woman shook her head while the man began to speak before his expression changed.

Mutely, he pointed to the large window and the scene that was unfolding outside. A poor man was being tossed out of a cart and straight into the day's refuse left out for the garbage collector to take care of later in the night. The blonde's first instinct was to rush out and help but that meant leaving her post here. Fortunately, she didn't have to struggle with the decision for long as the man headed into the restaurant after his somewhat unconventional landing.

"I'll be right back," she assured the elderly couple who looked to be ready to leave. Ducking back into the kitchen she took from a hanger one of the server's waist aprons, wrapping it around herself and grabbing a semi damp, clean towel on her way back out.

In the two minutes it had taken her to collect everything, the man had already found a seat and was waiting idly. Fixing a warm smile on her face, the blonde approached him. "Good evening, welcome to The Chortling Chunin, I'll be your server today." Politely, she offered him the clean towel now laid out on her hands without making a mention of why it would be necessary. There was no point in making him more embarrassed than he was already.

"My name is Akihana, and most of our kitchen is closed but if you'd like something simple, it can be arranged in no time." Her golden eyes gleamed softly as she spoke, trying to make the stranger feel more at ease.

(This is the nicest person I’ve met in my entire life) Mar’s monkey brain immediately told him. Giving a shy nod. He was happy to run the damp cloth through his hair in particular. Shivering slightly as a sticky coin rolled out from under his ear. He moved with great composure and only got one half of the towel dirty so he could fold it up and she’d be free to take it back without touching his disgusting filth.

Now that he was really clean his spirits turned up immediately. “A thousand pardons miss, I don’t usually strut into nice businesses reeking like a pig.” He winks. “Rice would do me just fine, doesn't have to be fresh.” Mar asks respectively. He could only afford cheap grub, and in cases such as this he liked to eat as simple as possible. Bread, fruit. Whenever he reached out much further than that he tended to get food poisoning easily, not to mention any sort of greasy, undesirable fare was not appetizing to him in the slightest.

Now back to his senses, the inventor was instantly able to place his strange memory from earlier. In this very resteraunt there was allegedly a former ninja. He remembered because any and all rumors involving potential chances to learn new Jutsu were of great interest to the young man. The realization was clear even in the look he held in his eyes. Though the freind lunes did not vanish. It was more like he’d finally gotten a joke.

“This Place is well named if the word on the streets true and it’s the home of a, former ninjitsu enthusiast.” He quipped, calmly enough to not really be heard across the room to the other patrons. He summoned there was a good chance that she might even be the... What was their name... Maku he heard about. Though it was sensible that missing ninja would be masters of disguise. Using both chakra and military skills to their advantage to disappear off the face of the earth. Most were surprisingly... eccentric. He’d learned his entire substitution technique from a homeless former ninja who had an hourglass for a torso. Whatever he could do for a lesson, or at the very least an interesting conversation with this potential ninja was whatever he wanted to offer. Of course it also helped she was easy on the eyes.

"Not at all," she dismissed his apology. Having witnessed how he landed in his current predicament, Akihana knew the fault wasn't his. "Everyone is welcome here." She meant it too. Despite whatever the restaurant covered for, it was also a place to cook and serve food. Maku - or any of the staff really - had never been known to turn down someone hungry, regardless of how much coin they possessed and it was this particular ideology that Akihana had aligned herself with. Everyone deserved food and the blonde had never found a greater cause than providing it for those who needed it.

At his request of plain rice, the medic raised a golden eyebrow. Especially when he insisted they didn't have to be fresh. There certainly was some rice in the warming trays out back, along with fresh vegetables, a side of steak and a bowl or two of chowder. The young woman immediately made up her mind to get this gentleman everything available. She was just about to leave to fetch his order when he spoke next, commenting on the not so secret nature of the eatery they were currently inhabiting.

Maku in his usual style, believed in being so overt that it was covert. As a result, not only was the restaurant named what it was but it was decorated with every kind of ninja paraphernalia known to mankind. Kunai and tanto hung on the walls, masks were framed up high, a set of Akatsuki robes took place of pride behind the counter and even the usual serving uniforms were made up of flak jackets more commonly worn by ninja. If this young man was of a shinobi nature, of course he would know...

Her golden eyes moved cautiously to the elderly couple who was getting ready to leave, even though they were in no danger of hearing her and the man's conversation. The blonde held up a single finger in a motion that said "wait" before moving to the other couple and assisting them on their way out. Once they had left, she moved to the kitchen, gathering up the food from the warming tray. The flavored rice was paired with a steak and vegetables and a bowl of chowder was placed on the tray too. Akihana also found mashed potatoes languishing in the warming tray and added that to the order. Finally, she added a bottle of soda to the mix.

Carrying the huge round tray shaped like a ninja shield out to the front, she walked back to the newcomer, setting it down with the smile. "I wonder if you can do us a favor and help finish our leftovers. I doubt we'll get any more customers at this time, and its such a pity to see food go to waste. We'd be very grateful, and its all on the house of course."

Once he had accepted the food, she would address his earlier question.

"Yes, the owner was a shinobi at one point," she answered honestly. "He's not around at the moment, so his brother and I are helping with the restaurant, we just live upstairs," she added, motioning to the flat the three former village leaders shared now. "If you have a message for him, I'd be happy to take it."

"Huh." Mar initially replied, a couple.... Less than cordial sarcastic remarks at the tip of his tongue. if only for the fact that he'd believed a good deal of the artifacts to be genuine. But at the same time he had every reason to doubt this claim. Seemingly every missing Ninja had enough rusty Kunai to build a summer home with. Though admittedly he had no idea about anything to do with the masks. The flak jackets raised his attention slightly but it was the Akatsuki jacket that pretty much made him drop the idea. The ninja was under the firm ideology that if such a group even existed, their presence was likely overblown. A disappointing reality, but the most reasonable one. "Well, you can't fault me for the idea." He replied with a joking smile, putting a hand behind his head. He made no reply to her subtle gesture to wait. Maintaining his optimistic stance.

Soon he found himself as the lone patron of the Chorleing Chunin. Once she'd gone to the kitchen he pretty quickly returned to another page of his design journal. This time using a non messy ball point pen. His scribbles, though originally abstract. It took the form of yet another take on the flying machine he'd been designing for such a long time. This one featured an Aerial screw pointed upwards to generate lift. Just imagining the various applications quickly put himself into a flow state. If he could figure out the power problem. Than the screw itself could be armored. He had no doubt that this could deflect projectiles and every hope it could drill through flesh like a nail through dry wall.

Applying prospects of combined arms and modern engineering to the battlefield was what he loved doing best. Whenever he was put into a good mood, he always wanted to sketch his way into the sky. But paper could not do all the work. Even now he thought about the obsticals to come. He'd need a workshop, he'd need to progress his jutsu theory into cutting edge practice. Solving problems that had never been solved befor- Was that steak?

His train of though had been interrupted when something resembling a spread for a king arrived back on his table. For a second, distracted as his brain was. He thought that a rice based side of beef had to taste awful. Then he realized the whole gift was the real deal. He almost wanted to question her charity, but there was no logic he could reasonably find that would wind up hurting him. "You're a very kind type of woman. I can do anything to return the favor." His first instinct was to try for a big tip, but his wallet was sad and shriveled. Then came a far more interesting followup. He knew just what he wanted to say.

"Don't sell yourself short, Chunin or star waitress. I can see why he'd rely on you and your brother to take care of this business." He stretches. "You can tell him that Mar Byrd dropped by, and he was interested if he had a friend or two still in the industry. I'm ill content with being a traveler, and my favored studies are complete. Time to make a difference I think." He replied, that was indeed how the wandering ninja saw it. Crime for a bigger picture. He wanted his flying machine sure, hell he wants to someday kiss the stars on it. But some things were more important than that. Namely, the long term well being of those living under ninja society.

"Of course you can," she replied to his question of doing something in return for all the food. "You can enjoy it and give us your honest feedback." As she spoke however, ehr butterscotch gaze wondered to the scribbling he had been busy with until the food arrived. Not as well educated in technical diagrams as she would like to be, Akihana could nonetheless surmise what looked like plans for some kind of machinery. Perhaps he was an engineer of some kind? "And once you're done, I have a slice of key lime pie in the refrigerator. A god dinner should always conclude with dessert."

Assuming he did not dismiss her and began to indulge, she would note his scribbles politely. "May I know what you're working on? If you feel comfortable telling me that is, otherwise it's perfectly fine. I only ask because machinery maintains is hard to get in this part of town." in fact, from what Izuru had to say, things broke down more often than they worked here, and Akihana could understand how difficult that would be for villagers without ample funds or shinobi abilities.

"Don't sell yourself short, Chunin or star waitress. I can see why he'd rely on you and your brother to take care of this business.

A slight pink touched her cheekbones at the compliment, but the blonde couldn't in good conscious take it without being honest. "I'm not a waitress,' she confessed, not quite meeting his gaze from where she stood. "The wait staff left earlier, as did the kitchen staff. I'm just filling in, I usually only make desserts." Of course, she wasn't a chunin either, but that didn't need clarifying. He had probably worked out she was a ninja from her muted chakra signature and she would not deny the claim anyway.

"Very well, I will convey the message to Maku when he returns." of course, the blonde had no idea when or where that would be but then again, who did? Maku came and went as he pleased, answerable to no one, least of all her.

Mar was sweating now, it was obvious to see from just a glance at his brow. He was out of his deapth, and did not stand a chance in this game of kindness. She’d caught him with his pants down, and had every advantage. He was inside ‘her’ building, his hunger was being met by ‘her’ food. And her manners and composure were spot on. She didn't even take credit from the servers. He expected this exchange to be logical but it was growing wildly out of hand. When he opened his mouth there was only a funny noise carried on his timid breath. “Weeeeaaa ahhl *cough*” he tried to recover.

Thankfully. She did give him an opportunity. (Another one) he duly noted. But she’d scratched the surface of a topic he was deeply passionate in. “It’s a possible design of mind. Called the aerial screw. Above all else I want to be the man that takes us off the ground. Flying machines you know? This particular model, well it’s useless with engineering on it’s own. Steam engines like what we use on trains don’t have enough kick by weight. But I think if it was combined with wind ninjutsu or propelled by the right fire release it could get the kick it needs. But of course that’d only work in the troposphere. By the stratosphere the air would be so thin not only couldent you breath it but the energy costs would be ridiculous. So it couldn't go to like, the moon...”

He paused, realizing he’d not only gone off on his own ninjutsu theory, but had been talking for quite a while. “Yeah, I blame schools. We live in a time where these sciences should be tought to everyone as far as I’m concerned. If it’s made of metal I could fix it. The other month there was this double drawbridge at a port town I was meeting a professor in. Thing was a mess, creator died a couple years ago. A couple weekends I could spare here and there and it was as good as the day they built it.”

He tapped his pencil against the table, absentmindedly wolfing down some of the chowder and vegetables. She was as nurturing as a mother and as sweet as cherry pie. For nothing she’d given him a great meal and for that he was greatful. But Maby he could get something even a little closer to what he wanted.

“You know, if I were to impress your friend I could see myself staying in town for a while. It’d be my pleasure to get off the road really. But you know, my designs aren’t much without those Jutsu. There’s not anything you could, share with a hopeless schoolboy could you?”

Mar was teetering either way in his seat childishly at the enticement as she simply began discussing living arrangements and how he could give back to the community. He was fine with this, sincerely. For where he was right now, one of his best roles would certainly be to give these Fang country folk a tune up. Sure, Maby one day it’d be better off for him to recommit himself to his calling as an inventor. But that was not now. Not to mention the real meaning of the gesture. If she agreed to this, that meant he was in for what he most wanted. Another chance to study beneath a more than adept practitioner of the ninja arts.

“Bwuh.” He sputtered, on another page of his book was flipped open to with lightning speed. She could see his earlier efforts of having scrawled a detailed, comprehensive guide on the summoning jutsu. And he seemed to be out to copy it with nothing more than a glance at her recent use of the shadow clone teqnique which had far greater deadly potential than his own frail illusions.

“Sorry, yes that sounds perfect. I’ll make sure they know the angel who invited me to the opportunity.” He commented. Busily working. Sketches of duplicates of himself materializing and the required hand seals. “Clean you all you want, it’s a privilege.” Though most ninja would only think about how well they could apply this technique to kill or defend themselves. He thought like a scientist. The best lab assistant he could hope to have was himself after all.

“I have mastered less than ten jutsu right now, but I have a comprehensive knowledge of three hundred. Nothing beats a live example.” Like an exemplary student he finished the comprehensive document. Most sophisticated of it all was the diagram of the chakra network of the human body and where it would go on a clone copy. “Is Ninjutsu your specialty?”

Once again, the young woman broke eye contact at the compliment, making an astute observer realize she was not comfortable with them. Not having received many throughout her life, the kunoichi had no idea how to process them let alone feel at home accepting them. Raised in a village system that had embedded the value of duty in her at an early age, the blonde was still trying to work out if she had any individual worth outside such a militaristic system.

“Clean you all you want, it’s a privilege.”

"Thank you," she murmured as the clone behind her picked up speed. Before, the duplicate Akihana had been moving at a relatively normal pace but with the go shad from the friendly stranger, she disappeared, appearing in the kitchen window the next instant with an armful of plates ready to be washed. The Body Flicker Technique was useful for quick clean ups, and Akihana had not tried to utilize it for anything more when she could help it.

While the clone worked, flash stepping to and from the dining area to the kitchen, the original listened to Mar, nodding at his experties in Ninjutsu. He had knowledge of many, perhaps even more than proper practitioners of the techniques. When asked if it was a specialty of hers, the young woman slowly shook her head, shifting fine gold strands from her back over to her shoulder with the motion.

"Not primarily," she admired truthfully. "I was trained as a... Medical Ninja, a very long time ago. I took up Ninjutsu as a supplementary field because..." Because she had been promoted to ANBU and they were insistent that she be able to deal damage as well as heal it. Another cause she had spectacularly failed at when her hands in battle always rose to heal rather than harm. "I've not kept up with practice though," she added, not noticing the deficient clone now creating seals to put the cash register in storage displacement for protection. To Mar, it would simply look like the entire cashier's station had disappeared when it fact it was just safely stored in space and time.