A Gold-Plated Springtime (Part I)

Mission:

Taking part in festivities was a little out of Baruga's wheelhouse, admittedly. Oh, yes, she could blend in at the usual royal gala or obligatory wedding ceremony, but most people of her social standing were... how to say it? Above "festivities". They were designed with the common man in mind, after all, which meant rigged games, absurd prices, busy crowds, and so much walking.

However, she'd like to think she's grown out of her disdain for such things as a kunoichi, and so she finds herself here. Alone, and a bit lost, but by the gods her kimono looks absolutely dashing. Uncertain of what she's supposed to do in this environment (after all, no courtside tutor is going to touch on how to immerse oneself in the drabble), Baruga simply looks for activities and any way to break the rigged games.

And then she hears a callout for a drinking contest, and, well, she's barely drinking age and full of bravado, so of course she makes the attempt.

Baruga straightens her outfit out as she steps forward to the booze-saturated table, only partly listening to the heady announcements of the event MC. There's some fellow who just won, but clearly can't drink another drop.

A round robin she's guaranteed one round in? Obviously, she'll take those odds.

---

WC: 217

The man hosting the event was a portly older chap with a blocky mustache and a clean haircut. Exactly the type of person you'd expect to be doing this sort of thing — well, barring his clothes, which seemed to be out of fashion by about twenty or so years. Then again, old-school-classy was coming back these days, so she wasn't one to judge. In any case, he had the whole set on: tie, suit, suspenders, all of it.

"Hello, little lady," he said, and Baruga made a face at his non-recognition, "here to participate? I suspect your first round will be easy."

"Of course. I'll just be going as long as I can. My name is Baruga — feel free to introduce me as an aristocrat."

"Good, good! Too many bland faces, it's hard to make exciting introductions. Just sign this waiver and take a seat."

Once the logistics were settled and Baruga took her spot, the announcer made a big, gung-ho speech introducing her. "Baruga, the beautiful bourgeois here to briskly barrel booze into her belly", if she heard him correctly. From there, the cups were set out and it was on.

The first contender, a man drunk out of his mind, did not last long, as expected. She actually drank her share of sake: a light amount, which was enough to make the red-faced champion topple.

Patting her lips daintily, she put her hands under her table as she made the hand seals for her own cheat for this. Dragon, Hare — Space-Time Arts: Portals, with one localized in her throat and the other in a nearby sewer drain. No need to go anywhere above D-Rank for this.

---

WC: 282
TWC: 499

The next challenger came up, and as his introduction was given, Baruga simply tidied herself up and waited for the starting bell to sound off, looking every bit as expensive as everything else in her life. Her current opponent as of now was a somewhat handsome twenty-year old, definitely conventionally attractive. And, from the sound of a higher-pitched audience member, very much not single.

In a moment, the match begun. Baruga took her time slowly but surely pouring drinks down her gullet and into the pipes she'd connected her throat to, while her constant show of drinking was pushing her opponent to try and outdo her. Mister kind-of-handsome was flexing and trying to show off the volume of his drinking, but the issue was that this was a drinking contest: as such, he spent more time drinking quickly and thus purchasing and consuming liquor than she did calmly guzzling it down.

By the end of it, the man was down for the count after his twelfth cup, all while she was pouring her seventh cup down a drain pipe. The crowd, of course, wasn't actually counting, and so the MC gave her the victory for outlasting the second contender. And without a drop of sake in her liver, would you look at that?

---

WC: 213
TWC: 712

And so it went. Unfortunately, as it went on, Baruga felt her chakra flagging over the course of the hour-or-so of fake drinking. Although it was a D-Rank technique that she was using, it still required her to burn through chakra, so at some point, she knew she needed to tap out. She just needed to find an opportune moment to do so...

And with just her luck, a ninja with a foreign headband sat at the table, and she knew the jig was up. He was dressed in standard flak jacket and all, but she could tell that he was of a higher rank than her; which means that she couldn't keep up her technique, especially if she was getting sloppy the longer she went. As such, she dismissed her Space-Time Arts: Portals and gave him a cursory once-over.

A standard adult man, slightly overweight but definitely experienced. She might just lose, here. As the MC did his job and started driving up the crowd, he glanced over and gave a smirk. To that, she simply sneered. Goddamn peasants, give them a forehead protector and they think they're on top of the world. Well, nothing to do about it.

The signal was given, and Baruga started swallowing down her drinks at her own pace, maintaining her usual strategy but without any of the trickery. Luckily, she couldn't sense him using any techniques either... but her sensory abilities were frankly crap at this point, so she wouldn't be able to tell. The man kept chugging along, all while she felt the cheap sake drop into her empty stomach like liquid weights with every cup she drank.

...Guh. Urghhh. She truly did hate drinking cheap liquor: she thought she would be fine, since she went through expensive bottles of age-old booze like crazy! Well, more like lovingly enjoying a glass of it while she works on paperwork, but that should have counted for something. Already, she can feel the sake start to hit...

...But then the man next to her toppled over, and she spotted his table. Huh. Guess he thought this was a speed-drinking contest. Her luck, then; best to drop out and collect her spoils now.

---

WC: 367
TWC: 1079

— 2000 Ryo + 100 Ryo from Genin Rank
— 10 AP
— 20 AP (From 1000 WC)
— 204 WC to Space-Time Art: Portals (B-Rank) (1500/1500)
— 875 WC to Space-Time Art: Portals (A-Rank) (2375/2500)

Approved