A Meeting of Shinobi

Hara walked up to the teahouse, bending down to enter in through the doorway he paused briefly at the entrance and adjusted the cuffs of his robes. His recent missions had afforded him a new purchase of some simple black robes with a black undershirt. He also made sure to get some cleaner wraps for his head and hands, as his old ones had gotten raggedy from his lack of care for them. In addition to his black robes he wore his sash tightly to his waist, the Hyuuga clan symbol proudly faced outwards and resting on his right hip. As he entered he nodded silently to the attendant, wordlessly being led back to his usual booth.

Hara sat at his booth and quietly sipped on his tea. He had taken to visiting the Black Market and people watching. He could learn a lot by doing that. He listened to people as they talked about various illicit deals, and occasionally used his Byakugan to check each exit of the tea house he was in. It had been months since the forest, and yet he still couldn’t shake the feeling of paranoia. Like everything around him was a threat. He sipped on his tea again and listened in on a conversation about some sort of shipment moving across a border.

His time in the hot springs had been interesting, he generally didn’t enjoy civilization, but the hot springs were also a pretty sparse place and the illicit nature of the land meant he could get away with being less than a friendly person. Despite that, he could feel himself getting stir crazy. Staying put was never Hara's strong suit especially after his exile, and he shuddered briefly at the thought of having to stay put in one place for his entire life.

The tea house was busy that day, a host of new boats coming into harbor. Travelers from all over flowed into the place. The place was filling up quickly, and the low mumble of multiple people carrying on multiple conversations vibrated through the room. Smoke had begun to form its own layer just below the ceiling filling the building with a pungent aroma of tobacco and potpourri. A mandolin played hauntingly beautiful music from a corner of the teahouse.

Hara continued to eavesdrop and listen in on peoples stories as they recounted their adventures away from the hot springs. He enjoyed living vicariously through them and their tales of adventure. He listened intently as people talked of daring smuggling routes, or a violent clash at some border of a village. He longed again for the open road, sleeping under the stars and making an impact on the world.

As he eavesdropped He sketched an oarfish on a napkin,Sipping his tea quietly and thinking about all the big plans he had for himself. The oarfish had been a creature that Hara had thought about for a long time. When Hara was a child he was always so afraid of seeing one, to see one spelled destruction. But, he knew better now. They weren't things to be looked at with fear but joy, for they were harbingers of hard times, and hard times made strong shinobi. To see an Oarfish would be a gift. He continued to sketch on the napkin, filling in small details as he listened to the din of conversation begin to fill and rise in volume as more people filled the teahouse.

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After retreating from the very serious crew of a large ship she briefly stopped at, Kyoko soon found herself back in the bustling land of hot springs. Though she didn’t have many connections, she knew she could sell some of her concoctions to the more, susceptible, patrons that frequent the black market. She spent a few hours attempting to sell her wares near the borders, though unfortunately, she didn’t have much luck. Before long, she made her way to the market, hoping she’d find some clients. Thankfully she was used to selling her wares on the side of the street, and due to the faction affiliated with the surrounding area, it was quite easy.

Other missing ninjas like her had been through various traumatic events and often sought to dull their senses in hopes of escaping their memories so she was happily there to supply them with whatever they wished. Soon days passed and due to her charm, she was easily able to gain assistance from those around her. Luckily she found a rather tough-looking old woman who introduced herself as Koi who decided to take her in. In return, Kyoko has been supplying the woman with various elixirs that could be sold alongside various drinks she sold at her tea shop.

Her nights were primarily spent wheeling and dealing her way through various transactions. Thankfully the black market was flooded with enough illegal trade that acquiring some ingredients was easier than usual. If she didn’t have the money for them, it was easy enough to convince somebody looking for their next fix to get it for her. Some people chose to steal from various shops to feed their habit, though Ryo was quite easy to come by so most simply decided to pay whatever price she requested. Her days however were mostly spent reading in one of her favorite spots within the tea shop.

As she returned to Koi’s business, she found it busier than normal. To those who noticed her, they’d see a rather short young woman who stood roughly 5’4. She has royal purple colored hair that’s pulled up into a high ponytail, though her bangs and a few stray hairs dangled slightly in her face. Her bright green, serpent-like eyes looked to be scanning the room for an open seat, seemingly annoyed. In terms of clothing, admittedly what she was wearing was a bit sparse. Due to constantly traveling in hot climates, it was simply more comfortable to wear just something simple.

A simple, black fishnet body suit that had a nude-colored fabric underneath could be seen covering her torso and stomach. A black tube top covered her chest, the fabric stopping before it got to her waist. At her hips, a purple skirt clung to her form which stopped about halfway down her thighs. A small slit could be seen up one of the sides, and a black pair of spandex shorts could be seen underneath. Around her waist, a few small pouches contained various ingredients and products that clinked slightly as she moved. In her hand, she held a rather large-looking book with a few plants on the cover.

Unfortunately, there weren’t many spots to sit, however there was a stranger sitting in her favorite spot. The man's aura felt a bit off-putting, though she couldn’t help but want to introduce herself. She had run into quite a few oddballs on her adventures already, so she figured an encounter here would be potentially as entertaining. Kyoko easily made her way through the busy crowd like a snake in the grass and after getting herself a cup of tea she walked towards the table. Soon she was standing before the intimidating man, with a look of genuine curiosity. Quickly she introduced herself, her voice full of excitement as the air around her buzzed slightly.

”Shops quite busy, mind if I sit with you, stranger?” Before he could respond she quickly made herself comfortable in the seat across from him at their booth. ”I’ve been sitting here for the past few days and haven't seen you around. You just blow in from the hot springs, or have you just been hiding? Oh! Pardon me, my name is Kyoko, lovely to meet you, and you are my dear?”

With a bit of a sly smile, she’d place her book on the table beside her and place her cup in front of her. She watched him with a doe-eyed expression, though the iris of her eyes continued to be slit like a serpent.

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With his sketch done he took a drink of his tea and stared at it, listening in on a conversation behind him about a shipment of medicine coming into town, he began to listen more intently but was interrupted by the excited and bubbly voice of a woman, ”Shops quite busy, mind if I sit with you, stranger?” the voice said as a woman slipped into Hara's booth. His mind immediately turned away from any concern with eavesdropping, focusing his attention on the new person in front of him he scanned her quickly up and down, being careful not to activate his Byakugan.

The woman in front of Hara was absolutely tiny in comparison to himself, and yet she moved and acted with a confidence that demanded respect. He took note of the various sounds that emanated from her pockets and clothes as she took a seat, no doubt illicit drugs, he thought. He had heard the sound of pills and powders in glass vials before when shaking down other gangsters within the hot springs. It wasn’t his style but he held no compunction over it.

         She was clearly athletic, clearly beautiful, enough to make even Hara blush slightly as he met her eyes, but only for the briefest of seconds before reverting to his usual stone faced demeanor. It was her eyes that caught his attention the most, he stared into them intently as she spoke, their snake-like nature intrigued and captivated him. He held no compunction with staring, Hara was a rather intense person, if he wanted to stare at someone he would stare at them.He refused however to use his Byakugan, as he knew it was better to keep it a secret as much as possible, and he had some amount of respect for a person's privacy.  And so as she talked, he stared intensely at her, and listened.

 ”I’ve been sitting here for the past few days and haven't seen you around. You just blow in from the hot springs, or have you just been hiding? Oh! Pardon me, my name is Kyoko, lovely to meet you, and you are my dear?”

He took a long drink from his tea as an excuse to let the silence sit for a second as he contemplated how much he should tell her, he decided against a fake name. He liked the energy she gave off, however different it was to his, and he felt he could trust her… at least a small amount.

“Hara” He would say simply and with an unchanging face, Hara wasn’t exactly the happiest person, and it didn’t help that he had a resting angry face even if he was in a neutral mood. On top of that, He wasn’t the best talker.

The small silence afterwards indicated he probably should have said more. He continued quickly, the rust of social interaction still present after his year in the woods.

“I’ve been on the outskirts of Yugakure, I have a camp there that I built myself.” His monotone voice hid the pride he felt in his self-made camp. He would point down at her book “Big fan of plants eh?” He would say in a tongue and cheek manner, his eyes flitting down to her pockets which clinked with chemicals, a small hint to her that he knew what the deal was in at least some capacity. Even his stoic nature couldn't help giving a small shit eating smirk as he kept eye contact with the captivating green snake eyes of the shinobi across from him.

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