Food Brings Us Together

Yazui considered himself a calculating individual; always watching his environment, analysing his companions and gathering information in order to best decide on a course of action. His sudden display of vulnerability was unusual for him and was perhaps a sign of how world-weary he truly was. Years on the run and without purpose had chipped away at his person until he found himself in a moment where just for a moment, his true feelings of hollowness had crept to the surface and out of the cracks of his oh so carefully crafted mask.

Or maybe something about these people made him feel comfortable enough to open up?

The two strangers both reacted differently to Yazui’s display of vulnerability. Kinko for his part stood silently, not touching the food the Tenka offered him and avoiding eye contact. He would instead scan the room while Yazui talked and during the short silence that came after, showing a lack of interest in the missing-nin’s story. It was annoying , rude and insulting! Yazui would supress his irritation, the only indication of the negative emotions being a slightly sharper inhale as well as a brief balling of his left fist, which quickly relaxed again. He would then focus his attention on the one who had asked the question. Mizuki, who was at least listening attentively.

What she said next was about the last thing Yazui would have expected from this evening. As she explained her purpose here and invited the two men to join her, Yazui was silent once again. Only this time, it was because he was truly at a loss for words. An organization in the Hot Springs country? And Yazui could join?

It almost sounded to good to be true.

Yazui would silently let Mizuki say her peace before leaving. Her method of exit did shed some light on how she had managed to sneak up on the missing-nin earlier. Was it some sort of earth style? The Tenka made a mental note to remember this detail and add it to his mental profile of the woman. This information could be useful later if he wanted to get a comprehensive picture of this mysterious lady, but of course there were more important things to think about right now.

Mizuki’s offer seemed almost like the second chance he had been hoping for for so long. A chance to be something more than the consequence of one bad decision. A chance to finally crawl out from under the rocks and embrace life as a shinobi once more. To do what he was trained to do and what he was good at. But could he trust her? What guarantee did he have that all of this wouldn’t blow up in his face one way or the other. By now, Yazui could say with reasonable certainty that Mizuki wasn’t out to kill him or collect his bounty. But this didn’t mean she was to be blindly trusted. For all intents and purposes, she could be luring him in to be captured or sacrificed to some vile god.

At the other hand, it wasn’t like he had any prospects now. If she really was offering him a second life, it would be a waste to pass up this opportunity.

Yazui would stare a short while at the place where Mizuki had vanished into the ground. He would then look up at Kinko. His eyes would narrow slightly as he eye him over and sized him up with renewed interest. The two hadn’t interacted yet; for Yazui’s part he was content to let Mizuki take charge in the situation. The man’s lack of interest in Yazui could have various reasons, as much as annoyed the Tenka.

For now, Yazui would observe the man’s reaction to Mizuki’s offer. Maybe Kinko’s thoughts on the matter would give Yazui some idea on whether or not to accept this unexpected opportunity.

---

WC: 650
TWC: 4098

The three would play eye games as they would watch each other's moves.  Kinko had a lot running through his mind, even less to say.  Kinko usually had a lot to say but he was uncertain how to play this game.  He more so, would watch as it played out and then interact.  He was very interested in Mizuki, not only was she a Kyuketsuki but she may be someone who could help Kinko in other ways.  He certainly wanted her attention, perhaps, a conversation as well.  Kinko would find himself smiling almost every time Mizuki glanced his way, almost blushing.  He did not move much when she spoke to him, he tried playing his body language cool, despite struggling with his facial expressions.  Still, he would smile back at the offer and invitation of an organization.  The idea was interesting but not something that Kinko felt immediately compelled to assist in.  He had more questions first, he was unsure of his future, more importantly, his past.  Additionally, while he felt a sense of comfort and trust from this new water flower, he figured there was much more to her than what she is saying.  He would smile a little brighter as she left, hoping to leave a lasting impression.  'Hmmm...by the river...she's cute.'  He felt something different about her chakra, about her energy, about her presence.  Something felt like home, nothing that he had felt before.

His eyes shifted focus to see the not as attractive missing ninja from Kumogakure.  His face returned from the smile to the blank expression as he walked closer to the table.  His hand grabbed the ladle and stirred the pot, warming and mixing the ingredients of the soup, releasing another wave of incredulous smells.  Something that was quite foreign in these lands.  Without saying a word, he would grab a bowl and pour himself a cup of the soup.  Only one scoop, he was not planning on staying too long.  His eyes would peer over to this missing ninja for security but he did not felt threatened by him.  Surely, Kinko could defeat this man.  His mind was racing, a lot of different options to go with.  Kinko could be whoever he wanted to be in front of this guy.  The issue, Kinko did not know who he wants to be, who he COULD be.  He looked over to the missing ninja, unsure if he wanted to talk about it more.  However, with a blank face as he reached the spoon of the bowl, dipping it into the soup.  "There are not many Missing Ninja from Kumogakure.  I do not think I have ever met one. I am sure you know the going rate for the head of that headband don't you?"  He said as he took slurped his soup with a genuine smirk.  His mind wondered of this was a Kumogakure recipe, maybe something he picked up over the years.  He nodded his head to support the soup but to also encourage conversation.  Kinko did not have enough facts to know the story behind this man, only knowing that the Raikage is a dictator. Kinko did not want to pry too much but he wanted to know, but most importantly, Kinko wanted to know if this missing ninja planned on going to the river. "...Are you going?"  He asked rather abruptly, as he took another slurp of his soup.  All while standing next to the table.


Kinko was unsure if he should spend time with missing ninja, especially ones he did not know.  He did not feel as at ease with this one, there was something about him.  Maybe because it was foreign, maybe because there was really no settling in, always watching your back out here.  Something about him reduced the tension but could not eliminate it.  Even now, his mind would not stop thinking about Mizuki, what was she up to?  Who was she? Regardless, he knew he was going to learn more about this Kyuketsuki.

[WC: 639/2533]

Yazui would watch Kinko grab a new bowl and fill it with a scoop of stew, effectively emptying the pot. This was interesting as Yazui had already prepared a bowl for his two companions. Did Kinko fail to notice? Did he want control over how much he ate, as the portion he scooped up for himself was considerably smaller than the two full bowl still resting on the table. Or did he mistrust Yazui? It wasn’t out of the question, although if the Tenka had any desire to poison Mizuki and Kinko he didn’t have any time to prepare anything to lace the food with. Not to mention he lacked the medical knowledge to know how to poison someone with such a strange physiology as a Kyuketsuki.

It felt kind of awkward now that Mizuki was gone. He almost felt like him and Kinko were two children who had just gotten scolded by a mother figure and were now forced to play nice while she was out of the room.

For his part, Yazui would pour the remaining contents of his bowl into his mouth as Kinko asked his questions. Swallowing the savoury goodness, he took in what the Kyuketsuki said to him. A small chill went down his spine when he mentioned the headband. It was around his neck right now. Stupid! If he wanted to lay low, wearing the symbol of the very village that wanted him dead on his body was a stupid mistake that Yazui mentally chastised himself for. Part of him wanted to rip the damn thing off his neck and throw it into the corner… but he didn’t want to look stupid in front of Kinko… or anybody for that matter. So instead, he would take it off and hide it later. And for now, he would chuckle at Kinko’s comment and his appreciation for the food.

“Neither have I.. the Lightning Country I know isn’t exactly tolerant of my kind of people.”, he would say with a smirk before adding “Probably not enough for you to want to hand it in.” He would frame it as a joke, while trying to estimate his reaction to the suggestion in order to determine whether the man would turn out to be a threat after all now that Mizuki was gone. Yazui knew him to be a Kyuketsuki from the Lightning Country, but didn’t know whether he was on village business or had struck out on his own. From what he had gathered, Kinko left the Lightning Country on bad terms and he didn’t seem to have brought other Cloud shinobi with him. He didn’t seem outwardly aggressive or hostile, so Yazui didn’t feel immediately threatened. But he didn’t feel entirely comfortable either. It was a gamble either way.

Luckily, Kinko seemed to have the same thing on his mind as Yazui; what to do with Mizuki’s proposition?

“It’s a tempting offer.” Yazui answered. He decided to take the chance and talk about this with Kinko. Maybe the two were just paranoid, and some friendly, open conversation was just what the situation needed to ease the tension. “Like I said, I don’t have much else to look forward too. Having some allies won’t hurt either. Strength in numbers and whatnot.” He would move his hand towards one of the untouched bowls, the one meant for Mizuki. “On the other hand, how can I know if I can trust this woman? Or you for that matter?” He hoped Kinko would be able to appreciate the honesty and sensibility of the situation. The two were complete strangers in a foreign land in a world where being too trusting more often than not lead to a horrible, premature death. If anything, trusting Kinko would be the less likely thing to do.

Then again, he was speaking his mind. Was this also a sign of trust? Or merely a calculated bit of honesty in a bid for clarity or to gauge a reaction? Sometimes Yazui himself didn’t know.

Regardless, he would take a large mouthful of stew and let a silence fall over his last question. He would observe the Kyuketsuki intensely as he chewed his food, all the while thinking. If (and it remained, until further notice, an if) this opportunity was genuine, had just decided he was going to take it. Saying the benefits out loud once again made him realize that this might just be what he needed. And having decided this, he figured he might help fate along by nudging this man forward. After all, there was strength in numbers. And the man seemed as good an ally as anyone.

“What about you?”, he would ask after swallowing. “You’re here to kill a certain target, but you haven’t found him yet, right? Don’t you think having a couple of people helping you out in tracking him down would be useful?” He would leave the question hanging in the air for a few seconds for Kinko to ponder about before continuing. During all of this, he would remain at his place, casually taking bites from his bowl while keeping his voice low and steady.  “Maybe if we can learn to trust Mizuki and each other, this offer can be very beneficial to all of us. Helping each other out while also working towards a common goal.” He would slightly shrug his shoulders while extending his hands outward, while flashing an easy smile.

---

WC: 995
TWC: 5003

Kinko would look over back at Yazui, he was probably right. He imagined that Yazui was not worth much, but he knew all missing shinobi had some sort of bounty. Kinko knew that many people like him made money on returning these shinobi of assisting in their capture. Kinko had not participated much in these activities but knew they were very common and had multiple opportunities to do so. He was absolutely certain he could figure out how to return and report and obtain the reward for these shinobi but that meant going back to Lightning Country, something that Kinko had no intention of doing anytime soon. Maybe if there were a bounty collection station closer that would accept his bounty. Last thing Kinko wanted was carrying his head hoping to find a collector who would accept the prize. He had heard stories of the disease heads can carry, like that one shinobi who got bit by the decapitated head that later killed him. Kinko would surely not die of disease, being of strong blood and medical, he knew he would be okay. The idea would only cross his mind for a second before he knew it was not feasible. Of course, the confident shinobi knew he could if he wanted to, luckily for Yazui, he did not want to. He had other ways to obtain money, and potentially another lead to some sort of employment. This new opportunity seemed much more interesting, but Kinko knew he wanted more time around Mizu, the one he suspected to have been a former Kage. Potentially the same village from his father was from. He wondered if Yazui had any idea, if he had any thoughts about the reality of who that lady was. Kinko knew there were many possibilities, but his thoughts of reality seemed not only reasonable but plausibly, in fact, likely.

Kinko wondered how much of a loser Yazui was since he had nothing going on. He wondered if Yazui was someone who would sulk his entire life or find a new life, a new meaning, and a way to redeem himself. Kinko almost looked down on the abandoned puppy of a shinobi, someone who had no one, no place to call home, no prospects for jobs, someone with nothing much to look forward to. Kinko judged the loser missing ninja quite harshly, wondering if many other missing ninja were like home. How could someone so pitiful and weak come from a shinobi village. Just imagine if this dork came from a hard world, he would never survive. Kinko questioned if Yazui had the character and constitution to even hack it as a shinobi on the outside. He wondered why he wore that headband collar, must be the dog that he is. Kinko knew that he would likely never find himself in Yazui’s position but he knew he would always have a plan, an idea, something to look forward to. Something to work towards, instead of finding abandoned huts to call home.

He wondered how long this missing ninja has been away from his home. Surely, Yazui would need a charity to take care of him. Kinko would take another slurp of soup because judging the dork further. “I will consider. I will go seek her out by the river for answers of her organization, but I think she has other answers I am looking for.” He said finishing the bowl and placing it on the table, acknowledging it’s taste. He was not surprised that such a man could cook food as delicious as a woman.

He waited a few more moments and as Yazui finished, he looked over back at him. “Surely, there is strength in numbers but that is if everyone brings a benefit.” Kinko said suggesting that Yazui may have nothing but food to offer. “If she trusts you, then I may have to.” He turned his back on Yazui, not in disrespect, but in trust. With his feet heading towards the door, he looked back as his hand turned the door open. “Let me know if you hear anything.” He said vaguely referring to Mizuki but also about the man he is tracking. “…I will see you by the river.” He said as he made his way out. Surely, Kinko would never spend the night in the same room as Yazui, especially with only one bed.


[WC: 730/3263]
[EXIT]
[Claims]:
Chakra Scalpel A Ranked
700WC remaining
+15 Chakra
+ 17 Vigor

WC 2339
EXIT Claims:
25% stat discount
1875 words to learn Seal of Sōjō Kōka 1875/1875
remaining words to the ether

Approved @both

With Kinko gone, Yazui focuses his attention fully on his food. Munching away, he ponders over these new opportunities.

---

Exit and closing thread

TWC: 5003

Stat claims:

+10 vigor
+20 chakra
+20 speed

Learning Armoury Seal (1000 WC), Wild Bubble Wave (1000 WC) Perfected Illusion (2500 WC) and Genjutsu Messenger (E and D-rank for 500 WC total) for a total of 5000 words

Approved

Using remaining 700 WC for https://www.narutoroleplaygame.com/t49968-mystical-palm-v7-2
Final 1800 is used https://www.narutoroleplaygame.com/t55475-spooky-scary-scam-artists