Follow Me Down (open)

[YAJUU RINA]

It was another dark and gloomy night in the Hidden Mist Village; the moon and stars were obscured by a thick layer of a misty fog that seemed to constantly occupy the city. The night air was comfortably cool and calm, the perfect weather for a midnight excursion Rina thought as she left her small apartment for a walk about the town. She wasn't dressed in her usual ninja attire; tonight she wore a short black skirt with a pair of matching, strappy black heels and a loose purple tank top. Her dark hair was pulled back into a messy bun with her bangs framing both sides of her face. She wasn't trying to impress anyone in particular, but dressing up actually made her feel... Girlie for once.

Rina closed her door behind her, not bothering to lock it (if anyone tried to break in she would know... and easily hunt them down). She took a left, heading downtown. This was a shady part of town, and it was even more dangerous at night, but the young Yajuu girl was not worried even the slightest bit. She actually hoped someone would try to confront her, just so she could beat the shit out of someone (she hadn't had a good fight in a while). However, much to her disappointment, she made it to her destination without any trouble. She stopped in front of a well lit, but dirty looking pub and walked in with her hips swaying seductively side-to-side. She sat down at the bar and ordered a semi-strong bottle of alcohol without being ID'd, despite being under age. Rina thanked the bartender with a wink as he poured her a glass and she drank it quickly and greedily; she didn't know when she would have time to relax like this again she wanted to enjoy it. After finishing two more drinks, she turned to face the door to see if anyone interesting walked in. Drinking by yourself easily became boring, and she didn't want to buy herself drinks all night...

[EBISAWA]

Hideyoshi whistled as he walked through the dark streets of Kirigakure‘s downtown, easily able to walk through the dense fog. It had been a very long and painful journey for the luckiest man in the world, but it was something he knew he had to do. He was born here, and even though he knew he didn’t belong, that he wasn‘t welcome, there was people he had to thank. There were people he had to find before he moved on. And so, in his nice, white, expensive suit and his fancy tie, he walked among the poor, the criminals, and the homeless.

After far longer than Hideyoshi would have liked, he came upon one of the people he was looking for. It was an old man, just leaning against the wall. His beard had grown since Hideyoshi had last saw him, and he had lost some weight, but it was the man who had pretty much raised him. It was the man who had taught him how to steal, how to hide from ninjas, how to survive in general. Hideyoshi owed this man everything, and now that he had the means too, he planned on repaying him. Hideyoshi kneeled down and gave the man a grin. “How ya doing old man?” he asked.

“What?” the old man asked, stirring from sleep. He stared at Hideyoshi for a few moments, during which Hideyoshi realized that the man who had raised him was long gone. This was a shell, a husk of who took care of him. “Do I know ya sonny?”

Hideyoshi sat in silence for awhile, deciding on how he should deal with the question. Suddenly, he wrap an arm around the old man and lifted him to his feet. “Come on old man, lets get ya a drink,” Hideyoshi told him, helping the old man walk along. This was the least Hideyoshi could do for the man, let him have expensive sake for the first time in his life.

After several minutes of uncomfortable movement, the two finally arrived at a bar Hideyoshi could only describe as shady. Still, it would probably be the only bar in town he could pay at, due to his missing nin status. The two walked his, Hideoyoshi supporting the old man as they walked up to the bar. The only other people there seemed to be a girl and the bartender, which was probably in their favor. After getting the old man seated, Hideyoshi smiled at the bartender. “Two bottles of your finest sake my good man.”

[TAKARA]

(Too lazy to log onto my other account ^_^;

Rina sipped at her drink as she watched the door intently, but nobody came inside. She should have expected this since it was one of the seediest places in the village. No matter, she turned around in her seat to face the bar again and decided to finish her drink before she left to find a place that was more alive... And maybe a little more polished than this stunning establishment.

After finishing her drink, Rina reached into her pocket to pull out some cash to pay for her beverage. She was about to lay it on the table when she sense someone walking towards the entrance. She moved her head only slightly to see if the men walking in would be worth her time. The first man she saw was old and looked as if he had been through some rough times, a sight Rina was all too familiar with. The second man, however, piqued her interest. Her eyes flashed in recognition; she knew who he was and he was not getting away without being interrogated. Rina nodded her head at the bartender, signaling him to come over. She handed him more than enough money for the drink and asked for a glass of water. She would need a clear head when dealing with this man.

The man, she remembered his name to be Ebisawa Hideyoshi, sat the old man down a few seats away from her and ordered the best sake this shit-hole pub had. Rina inwardly rolled her eyes; the bartender was just going to give him the most expensive alcohol there was, and that certainly did not mean it was the best tasting. Whatever. At least the man sat where she could easily observe him without being noticed.

[EBISAWA]

((Np )

Ebisawa smiled as the alcohol was placed before the two. It looked nice enough, not nearly as good as the stuff Ebisawa had back in his cellar, but what was he going to expect from perhaps the shadiest bar in all of Kirigakure? He poured two shot glasses, placing one in front of the old man, the other in front of himself. “Drink up ya old coot,”[/color] he said as friendly as he could. The two downed their drinks quickly and merrily. As thought, it was decent sake, but nothing special. “Ya still down ‘em like I remember,”[/color] Ebisawa said with a laugh as he rested his elbows on the bar counter.

Ebisawa spent the next several minutes listen to the old man tell stories, a few of which he was involved in back in the day. Sure, most of the tales were about hiding from Jounin, and several times he would repeat the same story, but Ebisawa smiled and laughed at each one. He clearly wasn’t all there, his mind reaching to call upon the greater details of his stories, but it was the same man who had taken care of Ebisawa, and that was all it had taken to have him be merry.

He had noticed the girl staring at him a long time ago. Normally, this wouldn’t have been a problem, he didn’t mind being the center of attention. However, this was a special night, and honestly, anyone having more than a passing interest in him while he was in Kirigakure was unsettling. He had planned on just ignoring her and hoping she went away, but after a few drinks, that wasn’t going to be an option.

“Listen darling,”[/color] he said, slightly turning his head to lazily look at her from over his shoulder, “normally I don’t have a problem with a pretty young thing like yaself swooning over me from afar, but tonight I need to spend sometime catching up with the old man here. So if ya can use those sexy legs of yours to go someplace else, I would be quite pleased. Besides, if ya are lucky I will stop by tomorrow here and we get a little bit more… acquainted.”[/color]

[YAJUU RINA]

Rina quietly sipped at her water as she observed the odd couple. She briefly closed her eyes, no longer than a blink; Seppan Koutai, she said in her head out of habit, and she shifted the inside of her ears to her Yajuu's. Her inner-beast, the Black Panther, had better hearing than her human ears, and she wanted to thoroughly observe the pair.

The two threw back their drinks one after the other. The older man became loose lipped after a couple drinks and began telling stories about his past. Even though a few stories were repeated, the other man, Hideyoshi, still listened with a smile on his face. He obviously had deep feelings for this man. Maybe this was why he had returned to his former village? Regardless, he still needed to be brought in for questioning. It was her duty as a Kirigakure kunoichi to uphold the law, as annoying as this was going to be. Why couldn't she just have a relaxing night of drinking without criminals walking into the same establishment as her? If I ever get a night off again, I'm locking myself in my house, she thought dully.

Hideyoshi suddenly looked in her direction. Shit. She'd been caught. "Listen darling," he began.

Darling? Oh no he didn't. Pet names pissed her off, and his speech afterwords continued to scratch at her nerves... And change her opinion on this high-class missing-nin. He was an idiot, and she was going to let him know... In good time.

"I'm very sorry to interrupt you and your, uhh, father," Rina said with the most innocent voice she could muster. "I should probably get going anyways, since I was just stood up by my date."

She stood up from her seat, pretending to wipe a tear from her eye, and left a tip at the table. She was a good actress, so hopefully he would take the bait. The drinks in his system would hinder his senses, so she wasn't too worried about being caught as a fraud.

[EBISAWA]

Any other night Hideyoshi would have gotten after her. Hell, any other night Hideyoshi probably would have been sweet talking her and pumping her full of alcohol before he found out she was vulnerable. However, even after a couple drinks, generally more than enough to get him acting like a fool, he still had his priorities. He wasn’t going to abandon the old man here, especially not after he had been drinking. Even sober Hideyoshi doubted the old man could have found his way to safety, and now with alcohol in his system… no, Hideoyoshi wasn’t going to leave him by himself.

“Another round my good man!” Hideoyoshi told the bartender, slamming his hand down on the bar counter in an overdramatic fashion. After another glass, Hideyoshi started to spill stories of his own, at first being nothing more than reiterations of the old man’s. However, it quickly turned into his tale of grand escape from Kirigakure, which of course required the plastered Hideyoshi to stand up and act it out. Well, he tried to stand up, but he was having trouble seeing straight, which caused him to sway back and forth as he tried to get into position.

“And then da bastards tried to catch me goin’ over the wall ya see? But their pants were still down to their ankles! So there they were, waddling’ after me, screamin’ at me! Here was some of Kirigakure’s finest, all caught with their pants down by some bratty little kid! And I was glancing’ back as I tried to desperately pull myself over that wall, praying my little legs would be able to get me over! I was almost there, just about to finally pull myself over, when all of a sudden one of them gets my leg!” Hideyoshi practically yelled as he told the story, spinning around and waving his arms as he did his best to act out the situation as best as he could. “So there I was, one leg up on over that wall, the other being grabbed by this jounin. And I was screamin’ and hollerin’, hopin’ for a miracle.” Hideyoshi suddenly paused, steadying himself as a he looked over at the old man. “Then some old drunk, who had no real reason to risk his life for mine, walked on by and fell into the ninja, causin’ him to slip. I owe my life to that man.”

[YAJUU RINA]

Rina casually strode out of the bar as Ebisawa ordered another round, and turned in the direction of her house. However, instead of returning to her apartment she silently leaped onto a nearby roof and faded into the shadows. The dingy old bar was still in sight and within her hearing range, thanks to her kekkei genkai. Another round of drinks was ordered by the already drunk Ebisawa. What a fool, Rina thought to herself. Did he really think that he would get into the village without being spotted? Whatever, he would learn his lesson soon enough.

Rina continued to listen in on the two men's conversation. Ebisawa was the main converser now, and he began telling his own stories. One in particular caught her interest; the story of his escape. So, the old man wasn't his father like she first assumed. He was an accomplice. That was interesting. She debated whether or not to bring the old man in with her, but decided against it because he was already... Out of it, to say the least. She would continue to patiently wait outside for the perfect opportunity to strike. Like a beast hunting its prey.

[EBISAWA]

It was only another hour before Ebisawa and the old man finish, neither of them being known as strong drinkers. However, within that hour, more stories were told, more drinks were drank, and more old man vomit covered the bar than ever before. Eventually, they half walked, half fell out of the bar, singing merry songs, arms wrapped around each other’s shoulders like they were best buds. It was quite a site to behold, to see the man who prided himself on being composed and rich sway back and forth, being supported by a beggar. However, in their states they didn’t seem to care all that much.

“So which ditch should I be leaving ya broken carcass Old Man?”

“Carcass? Whatcha talkin’ about sonny? I may be old, but I could still run laps around ya!”

“Oh yeah?” replied Ebisawa, finally separating from the Old Man, staggering a little as he tried to stand up straight. The Old Man seemed to be having similar trouble, drunkenly swaying as he tried to balance. “Ha, you can’t even stand up straight!” Ebisawa continued, throwing his arm forward to point at the Old Man. What he hadn’t counted on as his body being unable to stop the forward momentum, causing him to slip and fall flat on his face.

[YAJUU RINA]

Over an hour had passed and Rina was still patiently waiting for the men to leave. The temperature had dropped significantly since she had first left for the night; her toes and fingers had gone numb and she was almost positive that her lips were blue. Despite being covered in goose bumps and freezing, she remained perfectly still in her hiding spot. She ignored the pain and focused only on her goal... Capturing the target.

More time passed. The two men continued to throw back drink after drink, even after getting sick (the bartender must have been thrilled about that, hah). At least they began to attempt to compose themselves not long after this incident, much to Rina's pleasure. The men stumbled out of the bar in a drunken stupor, singing happily together. What a pity, Rina thought. Their joyous reunion will end on a very low note.

As soon as the men fell out of the bar, Rina left her perch and was in front of them faster than you could blink. She was posed in a threatening stance with a kunai knife held in each of her hands. "Ebisawa Hideyoshi," she said curtly. "You have two options. Either come with me without a fight or come with me half dead. Your choice." She glanced over at the old man, her eyes flashing menacingly at him, "I suggest you leave unless you wish to have the same fate."

[EBISAWA]

Ebisawa stared at the girl for a moment, still on the ground. Her lips were blue, and even in his drunken stupor, he could make out the goose bumps on what skin she had exposed. She was shorter than him, though to be fair, that wasn’t too uncommon. The point was, beyond the kunai, this girl didn’t have anything physically intimidating. Ebisawa wasn’t unable to recall that he had seen this girl only a little over an hour ago, though realistically it probably wouldn’t have changed much for him. He probably just would have been a little frustrated with himself because he didn’t notice it sooner.

“Awwww, she’s adorable!”[/color] Ebisawa said as he slowly got to his feet. Still laughing and smiling, totally unfazed by the ninja before him. Even her sudden appearance didn’t bother him, as he had ways to even surpass her speed, pushing his muscles to limits they didn’t enjoy. Still, even now he didn’t want to fight her, more out of worry of hurting her than fear for his safety. Perhaps if he was sober he would have thought of a better way out of the situation, but now the words just flowed from his mouth. “She thinks she can scare me by actin’ all tough! She’s just like a puppy bearing her fangs!”

He turned his back on her, as if he was trying to walk away looking cool, though this largely failed due to him swaying back and forth and wandering in no real direction. “Honey, I don’t want to fight ya. I would hate to damage something so fragile,”[/color] he managed to get out before walking right into a wall.