strangevisitor
ANBU Squad Leader
Only a man looking for a dream
Posts: 1,754
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Post by strangevisitor on Aug 24, 2009 23:15:15 GMT -5
Utsuro jumped slightly, dropping his spoon into the bowl when Takeo slapped the table. "Wh-what?"
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Tensei Kaori
Hokage
Konoha's #1 Henge Master
Taking over the world, one bishie at a time...
Posts: 7,888
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Post by Tensei Kaori on Aug 25, 2009 17:12:52 GMT -5
It wasn't until Tsutomegi jumped that Takeo realized he might be acting a little too rambunctiously. Come to think of it, he did seem to be a little nervous around other people. Takeo would have to tone it down a bit around him... at least for the time being. "Eheheh, sorry about that," he said abashedly, moderating the volume of his voice. "Sometimes I get carried away, and this is pretty big news. They only just announced it at noon, and a lot of people have been too busy working for word to get around. And that news would be that... "They announced the new Hokage! The formal inauguration's not for a few days because of... well, I dunno, actually, but there's some reason for pushing it back... but I guess they thought people would get too antsy not knowing who's gonna be in charge around here. "Anyways! You'll never guess who it is! Tensei Kaori. You met her last night."
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strangevisitor
ANBU Squad Leader
Only a man looking for a dream
Posts: 1,754
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Post by strangevisitor on Aug 25, 2009 18:18:51 GMT -5
Son of a.."T..t..t.." A Tensei was going to be in charge. Not only A Tensei, but the medic who had taken care of him the night before. That overwhelmingly commanding presence...he supposed it would lend itself well to a leadership role. Still...a doctor in charge. And he had to speak with her about entering the Academy. Doctor. She'd want to poke...and prod...make sure he was 'ok' to enter...And then she'd poke more...and prod more...because doctors always found him 'a curiosity'. Then she would want to 'run some tests' which would be 'for his own good'.. "I...see.." Why was the area spinning so violently?
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Tensei Kaori
Hokage
Konoha's #1 Henge Master
Taking over the world, one bishie at a time...
Posts: 7,888
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Post by Tensei Kaori on Aug 25, 2009 18:50:01 GMT -5
Takeo blinked. Most of the reactions he'd heard thus far - most of them; there would always be someone who wasn't happy with decisions like this - had been quite good. Then again, Tsutomegi hadn't been around Konoha for very long, so he wouldn't know what had been going on. "You okay there, man?" he asked, reaching across the table to lay a steadying hand on Tsutomegi's shoulder. "You look like you just saw your own doom."
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strangevisitor
ANBU Squad Leader
Only a man looking for a dream
Posts: 1,754
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Post by strangevisitor on Aug 25, 2009 19:02:11 GMT -5
Flinching at the sudden contact, it was actually a relief as the touch snapped his thoughts back to the here and now, instead of continuing the dizzying spiral they had been. "F-fine...I am...fine." Utsuro nodded softly, returning his focus to his meal.
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Tensei Kaori
Hokage
Konoha's #1 Henge Master
Taking over the world, one bishie at a time...
Posts: 7,888
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Post by Tensei Kaori on Aug 25, 2009 19:14:06 GMT -5
Takeo nodded, removing his hand when he felt sure that Tsutomegi wouldn't collapse where he sat. "If you're sure," he said hesitantly, "but just say the word and I'll get you to an aid station." Now there was a reaction Takeo hadn't been expecting. For a minute there, it had almost seemed like Tsutomegi was afraid of the Tensei. True, they were to be feared by Konoha's enemies, but that could be said about plenty of the village's shinobi clans. "Anyways," he continued, "I thought you might like to know. Besides the usual reasons, too. The Tensei were strangers here too, once, which means you newcomers might end up with a Hokage more friendly to your cause than you might have had someone else gotten the position. They remember stuff like that. Old favors and old grudges. And letting you into your new ancestral home is a pretty big favor."
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strangevisitor
ANBU Squad Leader
Only a man looking for a dream
Posts: 1,754
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Post by strangevisitor on Aug 25, 2009 19:24:06 GMT -5
"Th-thank you...I suppose...that...is a small boon...in my favor.." Utsuro relented, pausing to eat a little. "I just...know how my luck...tends to run...." He added after a moment, resting his free hand over the pocket the Maneki-neko was tucked into safely. "You said..yourself, after all...Old favors...and old grudges....For all I know..she could hear my name...and exile me..for some long forgotten reason.." Lamenting, he stirred the bowl up some just for something to focus on. "So....I do not...let my hopes rise too high. My..greatest misfortunes...always start...with a fall."
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Tensei Kaori
Hokage
Konoha's #1 Henge Master
Taking over the world, one bishie at a time...
Posts: 7,888
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Post by Tensei Kaori on Aug 25, 2009 19:33:27 GMT -5
Hearing those words, Takeo couldn't help but remember Tsutomegi's collapse in the admin pavilion earlier. It proooobably wouldn't be a good idea to bring that up; the guy might think Takeo was cursing his chances here. "C'mon, man! Cheer up!" he said instead, offering what he hoped was a contagious grin. "Konoha is the village of second chances! As long as there's one of us alive, we'll never give up. And since you're here now, that means you shouldn't either. After all, you're practically one of us now."
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strangevisitor
ANBU Squad Leader
Only a man looking for a dream
Posts: 1,754
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Post by strangevisitor on Aug 25, 2009 19:51:03 GMT -5
Maybe the grin would have worked, if Utsuro ever gave someone's face more than a passing glance through a disarray of hair while staring at the floor. Maybe. "It is...a nice thought...admittedly...But...I have...never been one...of anyone.." Utsuro muttered quietly. "Anywhere..." It was true enough. Everywhere he'd gone in his travels, he was the odd one out. Eyes following him wherever he went...whispers behind his back...general avoidance. All common occurrences. "I am...used to it....though.." Utsuro shifted slightly, his head turning to gaze at a random building in need of repairs. "Besides.....I would not....want to use up...a second chance...someone else here...might need."
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Tensei Kaori
Hokage
Konoha's #1 Henge Master
Taking over the world, one bishie at a time...
Posts: 7,888
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Post by Tensei Kaori on Aug 25, 2009 20:02:14 GMT -5
"Jeeze, man!" Takeo sighed, feeling more than a little frustrated that his earnest attempts to cheer this kid up were falling flat. "You're exhausting, y'know that? Didn't I just say that we're a whole village of second chances? There's plenty of the things here to go around." Still grinning, he let himself fall forward onto the table's surface, ignoring the jolt his head got on impact. Maybe he could make eye contact this way. "Cheer up, Tsutomegi! If a useless guy like me is trying this hard to get you to crack a smile, imagine what the rest of the village is like!"
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strangevisitor
ANBU Squad Leader
Only a man looking for a dream
Posts: 1,754
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Post by strangevisitor on Aug 25, 2009 20:10:43 GMT -5
"G-gomen Takeo-sama.." Utsuro stammered, jumping back a bit as his companion fell foward, while simultaneously grabbing hold of the table's edge so as not to fall from his seat. Had he been that exhausting? Had the strength been sapped from... Oh...wait...he was grinning... " Cheer up, Tsutomegi! If a useless guy like me is trying this hard to get you to crack a smile, imagine what the rest of the village is like!" "T-takeo-sama....you are...not useless..." Utsuro stated softly. Why WAS this guy trying so hard just to get a smile out of him? Surely there were others deserving of such attention. "A..little strange..though.." He finished with the faintest crack of a grin on his lips, knowing fully well just how that statement sounded coming from him.
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Tensei Kaori
Hokage
Konoha's #1 Henge Master
Taking over the world, one bishie at a time...
Posts: 7,888
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Post by Tensei Kaori on Aug 25, 2009 20:18:28 GMT -5
Not useless, eh? You should tell that to the higherups, he thought wryly. At least someone who isn't my parents feels that way. Still. Was that....? "AHA!" Takeo exclaimed joyously, leaping back up and slapping the table again. "There! You finally smiled!" Then a thought occurred to him, and he promptly withdrew his palm from the tabletop. "Oh. Sorry. I forgot you don't like that. So. Now that I've got you all well and cheered up - relatively speaking - whaddaya say we explore the village a bit? Those maps can get pretty confusing sometimes. After you're done with lunch, of course."
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strangevisitor
ANBU Squad Leader
Only a man looking for a dream
Posts: 1,754
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Post by strangevisitor on Aug 25, 2009 20:25:03 GMT -5
This young man....was incredibly enthusiastic. About everything, it seemed. And this is right after such a cataclysmic event as a huge war. Utsuro couldn't even fathom what he must have been like in more peaceful times. "That would be....a wise idea.....and very helpful." He admitted. "I am...absolutely terrible with them..... maps, that is. Thank you.." After adding in that last statement, he returned his attention to his lunch. What he could finish of it, anyway.
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Tensei Kaori
Hokage
Konoha's #1 Henge Master
Taking over the world, one bishie at a time...
Posts: 7,888
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Post by Tensei Kaori on Aug 25, 2009 22:00:25 GMT -5
Takeo just nodded as though that were the response he had been expecting all along. "Go ahead and take your time, then," he said simply, settling back into his seat. "No need to hurry, right?" ... wait a minute.... Did Tsutomegi just call him Takeo-sama!?Finally on my way!She had needed to stop and ask for directions, but with the bathhouse's name printed on the tokens she had been given, finding where her destination actually was hadn't been too hard. She just had to get there. She was still walking quickly, but not as quickly as she had been before. She had a bit of a way to go, and - despite the afternoon light making shadows slant across the village - her pocketwatch told her it was still only early afternoon, and thus she had plenty of time. Honestly, she was glad this had happened. Now she would be able to dissolve all her worries with a nice soak and be that much more confident when she resumed her job hunt. If she ever reached her destination, she thought rather irritably. Just how big was Konoha anyways?
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strangevisitor
ANBU Squad Leader
Only a man looking for a dream
Posts: 1,754
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Post by strangevisitor on Aug 25, 2009 22:12:05 GMT -5
It took some time, but Utsuro finally finished his meal. What he could of it, anyway. As he had predicted, the little girl had given him about twice as much as he'd managed to finish. Any more and he'd be bordering illness, and that would certainly be counterproductive. Of course, now all that was left was to agonize over what to do about the leftovers. It'd be such a waste to throw them out, but surely no one else would want them.. "Umm..Takeo-sama....what..should...I do...with this?"
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