Monkey meet Dancer

[Zasadel]

Hayasu lazily slept utop a nearby roof, likely drunk from a long night of drowning his sorrows out. Moonlight streamed from over the Kumo skyline, illuminating his surroundings and the various lanterns and lights of Kumo. The war was quite taxing on the Special Jounin, and not even the famed Kureiji was spared from it's taxations. The monkey in some fashion was stuck in some form of formal dress with half-assed lipstick scribbled all over, while Hayasu was barely able to keep anything covered. They were obviously quite the professionals. As he rolled in his sleep, he grasped Kureiji and pushed him off, Kureiji startling awake, screaming as he plopped into a garbage bin. Hayasu stretched and snored lazily before restlessly rolling once more. This time it was he that fell off. He slammed into a chair, the mountainous shinobi easily breaking it as he grumbled and awoke with a lazy, drunken yawn. "God damn it, not again..." Hayasu managed out, grumbling as he quite literally walked straight into what appeared to be a dark, abandoned house. He stumbled forward and face planted onto the floor, flaking out with a bottle of sake in one hand, and a scroll with various gibberish scribbled onto the other. The snoring was quite nosy, and would probably disturb any inhabitants inside.

[Pawprintgrrl]

The sounds of whooping and whistling still filled the air and echoed down the streets of Kumo. Cat-calls and sweet nothings being shouted from all directions. Although she was used to it tonight was worse than usual. Sayuri was trying to count the coins she had earned from her street performance as four boys were following her trying to get her attention. Her fiery red hair was pilled high on her head with pins and combs of the most decorative nature. Her usual clothing attire at home. Tonight she was in a full body cat-suite. A tight spandex kind of material for all the movement and flexibility that she needed. The sleeves were long and covered the tops of her hands looping around her middle finger to stay taunt. Even her feet were covered with a split to in the cat-suite. The only thing similar to her usual getup was her thick heeled geta with the red straps. Glancing back at the boys around her Sayuri rolled her eyes dramatically.

The whistling and goading continued as Sayuri spilled her coins into a red silk bag. She then tied it to a loop on her right hip so that it dangled and bounced on her thigh as she walked. Growling at the irritating pests that followed her, her dark eyes glaring angrily, Sayuri shifted her ring-blade from her left shoulder to holding it so that she stood at the center. "Please, kindly, leave me be. I'm tired and in no mood to play tonight," she said coldly. She was usually so warm and friendly, but she had not had the best day. She had been woken up by her father saying he had to leave for a bit on mission. It always bothered her when her father was gone.

The boys 'oh'ed and 'ah'ed mockingly at her, lifting their hands by their faces and shaking them dramatically as if to play scared. Sayuri's eyes narrowed and her lips formed a frown. Scoffing she turned and made her way down a nearby alley hoping they would stay where they were. Of course, they didn't. Her ring-blade hung at the back of her neck with her arms hooked around the back to rest on the hand grips at her sides. As she walked she was careful not to bump the blades at her calves. Still being followed she finally spun on her heel and yelled, "BACK OFF OR I'LL KICK YOUR ASS!!!" With that there was a loud crash just behind her causing her to jump and the boys to all run terrified that she had blown something up with her anger.

Sayuri slowly made her way over to a nearby trash can that was rattling. Peaking inside she saw the monkey from West Blue. Giggling with relief Sayuri rested her ring-blade on the wall, reached in, and picked up the monkey saying, "Awe, you poor thing. What happened to you?" Another loud crash. This one made her jump as well, clinging to Kureiji, only to see Hayasu, almost naked, on top of a broken chair. He managed to mumble out some words and drunkenly walk into the abandoned building only to fall, face first, into the floor. Sighing heavily Sayuri shifted Kureiji to her hip and followed the bulk of a man into the building. Eyeing him she gently nudged his hip with her toe trying to wake him.

[Zasadel]

Hayasu had drunkenly heard the disturbance, and the very moment she nudged him he sprung up from his feet. A blur of movement, he grabbed the girls throat and pushed her into the wall, kunai drawn to her throat and a ferocious roar bellowed. His eyes burned with fury and wrath that no friend ever had seen from Hayasu's eyes, much less a student of his. This was the look of the warrior, the shinobi, the killer inside. He immediately backed off and blinked stunned, the instinct immediately dissipating as he quickly released her.

"OI! SAYURI! IT'S NOT A NICE THING TO SNEAK UP ON YOUR POOR OLD DEFENSELESS SENSEI LIKE THAT!" Hayasu said at first, albeit a much nicer tone then if it would of been an enemy. But realizing that he could of very well just killed the poor girl outwright he bowed and swayed a little whilst drunk. "None the less you were checking on me! I apologize. Kureiji and I had a binge after a particularly...rigid mission we just got back from. I sincerely hope you forgive me." Hayasu explained, slumping back onto his rump and shaking his head. He most certainly wasn't in character tonight. Even Kureiji sprang up from his own stupor and immediately dove for cover during the mess, peaking out with an "ooh!" before crawling slowly to sit up to Sayuri's shoulder to observe.

[Pawprintgrrl]

Her toe had just touched his hip and her sensei was suddenly on his feet. His large hand reached out for her with such speed and force that when Sayuri tried to knock it away she didn't even move his arm. Hayasu's hand was suddenly around her thin neck, almost wrapping around it completely, and shoved her against the nearby wall. Kureiji had dove from her arms to hide as Hayasu held the small girl pinned to the bricks. She could feel the cold, rough wall through her thin cat-suite as she clawed at his hand desperately. He was crushing her throat and roaring in her face. Sayuri kicked her legs instinctively trying to climb up the wall, as if that would work, and get air. The cold metal of the kunai at her throat burned, one of her geta fell to the floor with a loud clatter, and her eyes closed just praying he would let her go as she reached for one of the blades in her hair disguised as a decorative comb.

When Hayasu came to and released her Sayuri slid down the wall and fell hard gasping for air. Her legs were tucked under her body as her pale hand rubbed at her throat while she choked on air. "Defenseless?!" she coughed out terrified, angry, and sick with anxiety. Catching her breath Sayuri stood, dusted herself off, and slipped her shoe back on. Her sensei bowed drunkenly as he apologized before tipping backwards and plopping down. Sayuri's small hand rubbed at her neck as she eyed the man who could have easily broken her in two. He was almost two feet taller than her and at least three of her wide.

Kureiji slowly crawled his way over to Sayuri making tiny scared monkey noises on his way. Her forest filled eyes glanced down at him. Bending down she reached out her hand so that she could help him up onto her shoulder. His little hands in her hair to steady himself as she stood and made her way towards the bulk of a man in the other corner. Sighing heavily, still very shaken up, she said softly, "It's okay, Sensei. I'm sorry I startled you so..." She eased herself to the ground to sit next to him, one of her hands petting Kureiji's tail gently, Sayuri smiled warmly at the nearly naked man next to her. "Let's go get you some food and water, huh? My treat?" she giggled and shook the coin purse on her hip to let the coins tinkle together. Standing up Sayuri stretched her hand out towards her sensei offering to help him up, or, at least, steady him.

[Zasadel]

Hayasu blinked at her hand, slowly slid to his feet and brushed her hand away, instead opting to pick the girl up and place her on his bulky shoulder. He grinned and hobbled out of the building, shaking his head whilst making sure his "essentials" were covered. "Naw! Sensei's treat this time. Let it be an apology for almost ripping you in half." Hayaus said nonchalantly, whistling to himself as he struggled to keep balanced walking. It was awfully late in the evening, and it was most certainly not a good time to walk around as a young, beautiful woman. Kumogakure or not, with the refugees and people trifling through, the evenings could certainly be shady. As was his duty as her teacher, so was it that he protect her and guide her along any path she chose. Or stop her from one entirely.

As they ducked through the door, Hayasu started down the street, opting that he was far too intoxicated and needed to sober up before running from rooftop to rooftop. "So, tell me about you. You know probably an awful lot about me by this point, what of the mighty Sayuri?" Hayasu spoke, keeping her steady as they headed for the more well lit areas. What wasn't known however, was that Hayasu's senses were a tad dulled from such heavy consumption, and he would most certainly be more suspectible to anyone attempting to surround or get the drop on him. Rather it good or bad, time would tell. The moon shone over the skyline of Kumo, illuminating most else, but keeping a deepend hue over the depleted streets.

[Pawprintgrrl]

The little girl was suddenly up so very high it almost made her dizzy. Hayasu had just scooped her up onto his shoulder like she was a small bag of rice. A cross between a scream and a laugh left her mouth as she steadied herself and Kureiji. Sayuri could tell that her sensei was drunk and having a hard time keeping them from toppling over, but she paid it no mind. Matter of fact, she found it kind of silly.

As they ducked out of the abandoned building, Sayuri practically bent in half to miss the door jam, and giggled at his question. "Mighty Sayuri. I like that sound of that Sensei! Oh!!! Will you grab that for me, please? Definitely don't want to leave that behind," she said pointing to her ring-blade against the wall. If not, she could always come back and get it. It's not like anyone would want it. It's such a unique weapon, and so hard to master, who'd try and take it? Kicking her legs as they walked along Sayuri said, "Well... I dance with my mom a couple shows a month, and I do street shows for extra money. That's what I was doing tonight. I'm an only child, and... well... That's about it. What do you want to know, Sensei?"

[Zasadel]

Hayasu lifted the ring blade like it was a frisbee before pressing onward with a lazier yawn. "Mmm guess that's good enough for now. Next question is where to go. It's awfully late for you to be runnin' around without a mission or task. I should probably get you home. That could take a while with as much Sake as I've had tonight." Hayasu bellowed, laughter booming off the hollow walls of Kumogakure. By now most of anyone of importance would be inside, on a mission, or dead quiet. This gave Kumo all but an eerie sensation from how quiet it was, though the nearer they migrated towards the center the more noise could be heard. After all, even shinobi villages had some form of a nightlife. It wasn't always serious!

The idea had even occured to Hayasu what it would be like if he were to ever be Raikage. He scoffed at the thought, bringing a grin to himself. Hayasu, in a position of massive political power and leadership? That was unlikely, though it was a funny thought. They turned from the road toward one of Kumo's bridges, the night sky still gleaming amongst stars whilst a gentle breeze rolled through the mountains.

[Pawprintgrrl]

Sayuri looked up into the sky. The moon was full and bright. It was probably around 11 o'clock, she guessed, and he was right. She should go home. "But, Sensei, food. You need food. I guess Momma wouldn't mind if you came in for a bite. I could make some tea. That way we can get you some kind of robe too. Oh! And you can crash there if you need to. Kureiji can snuggle with me if he'd like." she said then looked at the monkey who made a little chitter and sniffed at her eye. She giggled and pet the small monkey's tail again as she shifted on Hayasu's shoulder slightly. More just shifting her weight from one hip to the other.

Pointing across the bridge to a large house about two streets down in the dark Sayuri said, "My place is down that way. The BIG one on the left with the red roof. Just follow the cherry trees." Down at the end of the street there was a cluster of cherry blossom trees all tangled together like an archway. It covered the lane down to the neighborhood where Sayuri's family, and a few other well known families in Kumo, all lived. The front of her home had large red wooden gates with black trim. The doors themselves, though, were light and thin with silver kanji spelling out her family name Nakatomi. It was a grand spectacle.

[Zasadel]

"Oh god don't give him ideas. Oii." Hayasu grumbled, as Kureiji whooped, hearts in his eyes as he probably pictured all sorts of filthy things. Hayasu replied with a temple rub, trying to get his own visuals out of his mind whilst listening to Sayuri. "No...NO TEA. MOOOORE SAKE!" Hayasu cheered, Kureiji cheering as well as the duo soon took off, completely ignoring Sayuri's directions. Comically, Hayasu sprinted through the streets, a bull in a china shop until he reached a corner market. He set Sayuri off his shoulders without a say and charged in, pretty much forgoing the fact he was about 80% in the nude. The shopowner screamed and began to smack him with a broom, Hayasu tossing up money into the air. "WOOOO MAKING IT RAIN NO JUTSUUUU!" Hayasu exclaimed, the various paper money floating around as he ran out of the shop with two colossal sized bottles of sake.

It was quite apparent at this point he was semi sober. And that wasn't good enough. He somehow managed to grab a quick set of pants from the rack inside, throwing them on in a hurry before grabbing Sayuri and leaping onto the roofs toward her home. He planted himself in a screeching halt on her rooftop, skidding to the far side before plopping down and downing half a bottle of sake in one gulp, falling back content with life once more before snoring oafishly, letting out a loud belch.

[Pawprintgrrl]

When Hayasu began to yell, as usual, Sayuri's hands came up to her ears and jumped. She was not used to anything, let alone a person, being so loud. Kureiji hopped up and down on her shoulder excitedly, grasping fallen tresses of her hair like reigns and trying to get Hayasu to start towards the alcohol. It must have worked because next thing the little girl knew she was holding on for dear life, speeding through the streets on a half naked man with a monkey holding onto her hair flailing behind them like a flag. Sayuri's sensei came to a sudden stop and put the girl down on the ground. She, practically, fell to her knees, shaking, and started to pet the ground thankful it had stopped. The monkey cooed at her inquisitively.

Next thing she knew Hayasu, now with pants, thank gods, came barreling out of the store with two HUGE bottles of sake, one in each hand. Sayuri's eyes grew wide as she tried to dart for it, but was too late as Hayasu grabbed her around her waist and hefted her like a bag of flour. They were on the roofs jumping here and there till they landed on her roof. Hayasu dropped Sayuri as he plopped back on his rump to drink from one of the new bottles. Kureiji stood on Sayuri's back, hair tangled between his little fingers, hopping up and down and whipping her hair like reigns. When he realized they were no longer moving he whimpered and dropped her hair.

Sayuri let her arms dangle over the edge of the roof and stared down at the beautiful garden her mother and herself had worked so hard on. The trickling of the koi pond started to pull her back to her senses. Sighing heavily she slowly began to sit up and moved to let her legs dangle saying, "Wow, Sensei. I didn't realize you had so much energy."

There was a clicking of shoes on wood down below them. A soft voice, extremely delicate in the night, said, "Sayuri? Is that you? Who's up there with you?" Sayuri looked down and saw her mother in her robe with a worried look on her face.

Smiling down at her mother she very calmly replied, "It's okay, Momma. It's just me. Sensei and Kureiji are here too. He got me home. Oh! Look!" Quickly she untied the coin purse on her hip and tossed it down to her mother. Her mother smiled wide and waved up at them only to turn and head back inside to bed.

[Zasadel]

Hayasu was far too busily enthralled with alcohol to notice at first, but once Sayuri's mother began to head for bed, Hayasu chuckled. "Oi! Pleased to see you again! If you'd like some Sake there's plenty to share!" Hayasu politely "informed" her, chugging part of a bottle and grinning to himself. Oh this was to be a long night indeed.

To Sayuri's comment Hayasu shrugged. "When you live alone for so long, training every day all day, you tend to get the most out of each day. Especially when you have a weapon trying to gouge it's way into your eye every time you go out for a mission. Oiii." Hayasu stated, shaking his head before downing another swig of Sake. So far he had managed to kill a half a bottle, quite pleased with his progress before looking to the moon. "For all I know, I could be dead this time tomorrow. That's why Sayuri, I highly recommend you get the most out of each day. What you do is quite nice, the whole dancing thing, AND HEY YOU NEED TO SHOW ME SOME MOVES FOR MINE AND KUREIJI'S ROUTINE! But anyway, you do well with what you're given, but we need to get you out into the real world. On a mission." Hayasu proclaimed, offering Kureiji some Sake, whom downed just a bit and gave a rather adorable belch before plopping down in Sayuri's lap.

Apparently this was when a mostly intoxicated Hayasu decided to notice the Monkey's outfit, bursting out into laughter, as he pointed at him. "You look like Yue's type Kureiji! Hairy and in a dress! Pahahaha." Hayasu spoke out, falling back and kicking his legs like a child. Kureiji raised a vengeful eye and pounced on Hayasu's chest, scratching at Hayasu's face who flailed until the oaf fell off and slammed face first into the ground. Luckily, he didn't break anything, nor damage the wonderous garden, but it was certainly possible.

[Pawprintgrrl]

A mission...? She hadn't been on one yet, and the idea kind of intrigued her. Of course a part of her wanted to hesitate and flinch away from the idea, but she kept her calm. Sayuri knew that she would have to prove her worth sooner or later. As Kureiji plopped into her lap Sayuri poured herself a bit of Sake and sipped at it calmly. Her hand idly pet the small monkey as her mind wondered at how she would do in a real fight. Yes, she was tactful in life and relationships, but would she really do well on a mission? She sighed heavily, closing her eyes, and sipped more of the Sake in her cup.

Hayasu's laughter pulled her out of her own mind as he said, "You look like Yue's type Kureiji! Hairy and in a dress! Pahahaha." Sayuri began to giggle at the comment, remembering the boys from the restaurant, and the monkey jumped from her lap to attack his owner. Sayuri watched, laughing harder, until they both fell from the roof to the ground. Gasping worriedly Sayuri looked over the edge of the roof at where they landed. Her hand came to her mouth to cover it before she stood, grabbed the sake bottles, and made her way to the tree branches that loomed just over the roof tiles. Carefully she climbed down the cherry tree and made her way over to her Sensei.

"Sensei!? Are you alright?! Oh my goodness!" she said worried as she helped him sit up. She crouched down, making her lower than eye level, and began to brush dirt from her teacher's face sweetly. "Oh dear. You can be so silly, Sensei," she said softly as she picked a twig out of his hair. Giggling she handed him the half bottle of Sake before standing and looking out into the garden. She stayed silent a moment before musing out loud, "What kind of mission, Sensei?"

[Zasadel]

Hayasu let out a rather impolite belch before falling back over, starting to snore loudly before immediately rousing back up and yawning lazily. "Mission? What mission?! Oh..right..I don't know~. There's a lot to be done with this war. Morale boosts, aiding the wounded, things of that nature. Not every mission has to be filled with bloody combat...just generally mine are. Being a workhorse and all." Hayasu chuckled out before downing another swig of sake straight from the bottle. How this man was a professional was beyond most's ability to comprehend. Moving forward however Hayasu soon stumbled about, looking to the far side of the house whilst a group of rather nefarious looking men approached. Raising an eye, Hayasu turned to his apprentice.

"These guy's friends of yours? They aren't in standard Kumo attire. Could be refugees, but I don't exactly approve of you having a group of men coming to your house this late in the evening young lady! At the very least I *hic* hope you're using proper protective jutsu!" Hayasu snorted with a laugh, falling over still quite intoxicated. The men were generally out of earshot of anyone not a trained shinobi such as Sayuri and Hayasu, but the closer they got, the more sinister they appeared. They were most certainly not locals, but based on their stride and demeanor, they also weren't shinobi.