-2 months ter-
Pov: Kenzo
"Have you heard?" Kakazu asks me as I bite into my sandwich.
"Hm?" I look up and wipe the crumbs from my mouth.
"Your new bounty was just posted- Mist vilge's most wanted, a flee on sight order for all mist ninja who see you..." He states and hands over a bounty poster.
"*Gulp* woah... four million Ryo? No- Five million if you include Konoha's bounty..." I say with surprise and bite into my sandwich again.
"Hm, maybe you will be a greater investment than I thought... ever thought of faking your death?" Kakazu asks me and I send him a judgmental look.
"Rude" I say with my mouth full of lettuce, ham, cheese and bread.
I hope Naruto is eating healthy still... should of asked Ryū to keep an eye on that.
"We should head to another nation soon, too much heat and we will open up a major investigation on us from other nations" He tells me and I nod as I take another bite.
"Good idea- we heading out to another nation after this lunch? Or stay a few weeks" I ask.
"After this lunch- the two we are meeting will probably take over some of our responsibility in this area... our skills are wasted looking around for the three tails that has yet to revive" He sighs and taps his fingers along his arm as I pull out some more bread and load up a knife with butter.
"... that's your seventh sandwich" He mutters, clearly now thinking about the amount I spend on food.
"I am allowed to eat good food- I need it with all the shifting I do around here, plus- I got a good deal on some bread about to go out of date..." I roll my eyes and pce my ingredients upon the buttered bread.
"And the cheese, ham and lettuce?" He asks.
"... I only got a discount on the lettuce" I sigh and listen to him tsk his tongue.
Probably should have put more effort into my haggling skills... might even get an official haggling skill after spending so much time with this guy.
"Hello! Sorry for being te! Hidan was taking his time performing a ritual!" An orange mask pops out of the ground and two arms wave out of it.
Another man in the Akatsuki cloak walks towards us with a yawn before sitting down on the seat next to me, the masked man dramatically plops down onto the seat next to Kakazu.
"Yo" Hidan nods his head at me as I swallow down half my sandwich.
"Greetings- you are te, time costs money you know?" I scold them and shake my head with a sigh.
Kakazu silently agrees with a cold stare to them both.
"Yeah, yeah- we get it, my ritual took a bit alright? Now hurry up and give us the details" Hidan yawns and I frown as he reaches for my second loaf of bread.
I shift a third arm out of my shoulder and catch his hand... before shifting another and slowly but surely making him a sandwhich.
"That's the only sandwich you will get from me" I sigh and he takes it while eyeing my four arms.
I bite into my sandwich.
...
"So! Cool! Make another! Another~ please~" Madara asks me and I look him dead in the eyes... as I take yet another bite of my sandwich.
"This is the scroll of the mist patrol routes to avoid, this is a scroll containing a few emergency stash locations to use when in need of money... I keep track of them so repce what you take- and this is the suspected locations of our targets resurrection" Kakazu pces many scrolls on the table and I make another sandwich.
Man am I hungry, I need to stop eating so much random stuff because I am creating quite the appetite.
Then again... I do get cool new shapes to shift into when I do eat random stuff.
I bite into my sandwich.
---
Pov: Shuzo
*Tap!*
I open my eyes as I notice a rock hit my head and tumble to the floor, I look up and see Kurotsuchi juggling another small stone to chuck my way.
"Stop zing about and do something, this mission gets more boring the less you do" She compins to me about her current mission of watching over me.
"I am not zing about- I am mentally preparing myself and overcoming traumas from- never mind, just know that the only zy person here is standing still and sighing every five minutes because she can't fight something" I retaliate.
"I am not zy- nor bloodthirsty!" She pokes out her tongue.
"I am sorry... I did not mean to insinuate that you were bloodthirsty" I hold my hand to my chest and smile.
"So you do think I am zy!" She hurls another rock my way and I catch it while ughing.
"Fine- fine, what do you wish to do Lady Kurotsuchi?" I ask as I get up and bow formally.
"Stop calling me that" She grumbles but looks outside.
"I don't know- just not this" She hisses out and pouts.
"Okay, okay- lets go train" I sigh and stretch.
"No- not that bance stuff again- just sit still next to a training grounds while I find someone to spar with" she growls out and I chuckle as I follow her out of my small room.
...
I can feel myself becoming happier with each session of meditation... I am close to a breakthrough I know it- I just need to keep going forward at this pace... even if it bothers the young dy here.
Maybe I will level my meditation without a scroll? I would be quite happy with that, also need to get scrolls again... but with all this meditation and rexation I am doing pretty much nothing of note to get any.
Maybe I do need to stop meditations- or as Kurotsuchi would put it: 'Lazing about' as much as I am... put some extra effort to get some more weight or skills.
Hm, a thought for after my breakthrough.
---
Pov: Ryū
"That's all for today- no more whining and remember to help each other study for the test ter this week!" I yell out to my battle-sages who groan out with varying degrees of acceptance.
I smile before flickering away past the trees and hopping over many houses to find my apartments window, I sneak in and close it before taking off my sweaty clothes and immediately heading into the shower.
...
Team 2 has become a serious threat to team 5 in the realms of power... soon the may become as strong as them.
And so will the other teams when they get a handle on their lightning, maybe they won't need to use the Bio-Rune on their wrist in another year or two?
Who knows- new findings and teachings are so exciting these days.
*Knock!* *Knock!*
"In a moment! I am having a shower!" I yell out and sigh as I turn it off and grab a towel.
Barely even a few seconds in, I wipe myself down before putting on my pants and shirt.
Is this something from Tsunade again? She knows that I spend today 'rexing' so why is she bothering me? I barely get any time to use the challenge scrolls now, I probably would get more sparring done if I just asked Gai to spar with me every day.
Not like he would refuse that given how he is... Maybe this is due to the recent talks with the nd of lightning? The Lightning Lord has taken a liking to some of the Fire Lords proposals tely and the kage wouldn't be opposed to some more income...
I open the door and see Akemi outside, she smiles and holds out a folder for me- I take it and she strolls inside.
"You left quickly today- I didn't even get to speak with you before you left" She scolds me and I chuckle as she walks over to my fridge and grabs a water bottle.
"You rushed here for a folder? You know... maybe some of my workaholic habits are rubbing off on you..." I smile before pcing the folder down on my desk in the corner and closing the door.
"Psh- you and your nonsense would have interrupted my day off if you didn't get that report, thanks for the water..." She waves at me before climbing out my window and flickering away.
...
That was odd.
I close the window and enter into my bathroom again, taking off my clothes and finishing my shower.
*Ruffle* *Rustle*
I pick around my cabinet and grab my over shirt set of clothes, it will do for my challenge scroll stuff and to sleep in ter.
...
I yawn as I walk over to my desk and pce my new set of clothes on, pcing the goggles on my forehead I look down and at the new folder.
Report? I don't get that until the end of the week- I pick up the very light folder and open it up, it holds one sheet of paper in it.
'My pce- when the sun sets, wear something nice'
?
I read the page again and look up with a confused look before turning the page over and reading the other side.
'Yes. This is what you think it is'
...???
Now- wait- hold on, my heart is not ready for this.
I don't have something nice! I have mask set and goggle set ten times over! Why do I dress like a cartoon character! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!
I get up and look around for my wallet- I grab it and rush out of the building... I have a few minutes before the shops start closing down right?
I flicker as quick as I can and I end up finding a pce yet to close... I unfortunately annoy the person wanting to close shop as I look for something nice...
And I pick out a much nicer set of my goggle set of clothes, better materials, better patterns and styles- button my over shirt up and buy a comb on my way out.
I flicker back home and comb my hair... that looks odd- I ruffle it again and comb... okay now everything looks odd- how do I look again?
I sweep my hair back with the comb and ignore the fact that it rises back to its scruffier position as I grab my house keys and leave behind my ninja gear
Anything I am missing? Oh man the sun is going down!
I leave my house and lock it before flickering across town and stopping one street before her apartment and patting my hair down and keeping my clothes straight.
...
This is wrong. This is bad- Kenzo wouldn't have chosen this. This is bad.
*Knock* *Knock!*
"Hello? Ah, so you managed to catch a clothing store? I was hoping you showed up looking worse than me" Akemi chuckles and I look down to see her bck form fitting dress.
I can't...
"Now when I say my eyes are up here... I don't mind the fact that yours aren't" I look up to see her smirk and my face is dyed red.
...
My heart... I cannot let my heart ache just for Kenzo's sake, Shuzo agrees that we aren't him anymore... we are new- I am in love.
My boiling blood, my joyous emotions... that weird ugh I keep doing around her...
I cannot deny it- sorry Kenzo.
But I have new priorities now.
"Star struck?" She leans on the doorframe and poses.
...
"Something like that" I mutter and she stifles a ugh before walking inside her candle lit apartment.
Forget the pain.
Forget the torture...
Lets live for a minute.
"... maybe be a little less star struck" She snaps me out of my thoughts and I close the door behind me as I enter into her apartment.
"Take a seat, hope you don't mind but I just ordered some takeaway barbeque- can't cook a meal when you keep me at work all day" She gestures to the table where she has pced various food onto her ptes.
I sit at the table with her and gnce into her eyes... her beautiful blue eyes.
"Okay- maybe my eyes aren't up here..." She awkwardly shifts and I gulp before looking around the pce.
"Thank you for inviting me tonight, this is... you are quite something" I blurt out and look at her again... noticing the worry she has on her face.
"Wha- thanks" The worry starts to fade as she pushes her hair back and starts to eat.
"Oh- have some wine" She gets up suddenly as if just remembering and pours me a gss.
Oh wow... I didn't notice it at the door but she is acting more awkward than me.
"Thank you" I smile and she coughs again.
"Not used to the complete confidence you have right now..." She mumbles and sits back down.
"I'm usually not confident in what I do... but right now? I think I can be with you..." I tell her as I start to eat too.
"So... you like me too?" She asks the question.
I take a sip of wine and pce the gss down... looking at my reflection in it.
...
"I cannot answer that question without asking you something first... if I held a terrible secret that could change how you viewed me... would you want me to say yes?" I ask as I stare into the wine.
"Terrible truth...? Nothing too bad I hope..." She awkwardly adjusts her dress and I look her in the eyes.
"Please... if I held something... Something that I know would make you angry with me... would you still want me to say yes knowing that I cannot tell you" I ask her.
The st person I told made a huge leap of faith at the end of his life... and he told me never to tell anyone this secret of mine.
...
"That's, a bit more than I was prepared for sorry..." She blinks away the awkwardness on her face and takes on the same face she uses when performing medical jutsu.
An absolute face of seriousness.
...
"I... am thirty this year with two failed retionships... the first one died when I was a genin... and the second one was cruel... I don't think I will get another chance like this if I let you say no, so yes- I want you" She looks me in the eyes and nods her head.
"Then Akemi... of course I like you" I smile and I can feel the tension in the air pop as her shoulders rex.
"Just- keep that secret deep down... and do let me know if that secret could harm me..." She asks me and I nod.
"It won't I wont let it" I will never let Kenzo take this away from me.
------
A blessing or a curse? Careful what you wish for Kenzo.
------
I gulp and pick up my gss again, before we start digging into our food as the candle light illuminates our forms.
We talk for a good twenty minutes, about anything and everything that crosses our minds...
"Where did you get the dress?" I ask her.
"A year ago from somewhere near the north border? I would have bought something new but this fit and I didn't necessarily have the time with our workload" She takes a breath.
"Its beautiful- no need to get something new when you have something like that in your closet" I smile and pce another piece of meat in my mouth.
"I can see you purchased yours quickly, the tag on your neck tells a whole story" She ughs and I immediately rip the tag off my shirt.
"Yeah I have multiple sets of two different outfits in my closet... had to get something new" I ugh with her as we finish off our ptes.
"Expins the tags coming out of your pants too- did you buy underwear just for me?" She grins and I snatch the tags away.
"Please don't tease me" I beg her and she ughs as she takes our ptes to her sink... I finish off my wine and pce it with hers next to the sink.
"Good idea, lets just drink from the bottle... make yourself comfortable on the couch" She grabs my arm and pulls me across her apartment to the dimly lit couch.
"A small couch with one bnket...?" I ask with a gulp.
"Oh- you are right, lets go to my moonlit bed with rose petals thrown about" She pats my shoulder and turns me to her bedroom door.
"Oh wow... I thought that was a joke" I say as she opens her door to the small yet comfy looking bed.
"Is that... too soon? We can just cuddle or maybe talk?" She asks me and I hold her hand that rests on my arm.
"That- well" I stumble through my bnk mind as I try to find words.
"Oh no, I broke you" She rolls her eyes and pulls me into her room, choosing for me.
"Okay- yeah sure, I- yeah" I blink as my mind somehow bnks even more.
Oh- I have never done this before... oh wow I hope it doesn't show.
"You really can't think can you? Who knew your weakness would be this? Then again... socializing has never been your strong suit Ryū" She pces me on her bed and sits next to me.
"Are you sure?" I ask her.
"What you want permission for every little move you make? Hopefully you understand that we are dating now and can do stuff like this" She grabs my shirt and pulls my face into a deep kiss.
...
"A bottom? You? Or are you that bored with me" She mocks me as she lets go of me and I remain as I was.
"What- no absolutely not" I grow flustered.
"Or are you a... oh wait- are you... is this your first time?" She asks me.
"Well..." I stumble over my words.
"Bahahaha! I suppose for the lunatic who chases storms this isn't your usual haunt! Okay then- let me take the lead... you just rex and repay me ter" She ughs audibly before taking my body and pushing it to y across her bed.
She then crawls atop me before kissing me once more and kissing my neck... chest...
------
Quest complete: Become a man.
Reward: ↓
------
I wipe away the notification... but the downwards arrow makes me gnce downwards to where she has reached.
...
Okay that is a pretty good reward.
Thanks for reading :)
