Midnight Munchies

[Diatenshi]

It was late into the night when most of the normal residents of Kirigakure were asleep. As an inhuman creature that didn't actually need to sleep, it was often during these hours that Chisaki found herself at a loss for what to do. Sure she could lay down and day dream, lose herself in fantasies for 8 hours while the rest of the world slept. But being raised in the militant nature she was, that seemed like a tremendous waste of time. As such she found herself out and about amongst the streets of the scum of Kirigakure. The outer ring was where the poor and wretched class of Kirigakure's citizens resided and if she happened to devour one or two people from that section no one really paid it any mind. The last time it had caused problems was cause she ate a slave she shouldn't have and her family had to pay reperations.

She was 'wearing' a mottled grey and black outfit that broke up her body's shape. Much more effective when sneaking than just wearing solid black. Her usual bright magenta hair was actually black for a change, styled in a mohawk that her father would hate. As she passed through the streets almost like a ghost, her foot steps light and graceful like a panther on the hunt, her her pink eyes reminisce of an albino person's scanned the streets for anything of potential interest.

[Ace Trainer]

Kozan walked awkwardly. Almost like he didn't know how to properly use his body, his shoulders hung slightly hunched forward, his arms hanging in front of him rather than to his sides. While most people walking would have some sway to their arms, Kozan's upper body remained entirely still as he moved through the dimly lit streets. He didn't quite get it, this....sleep-wake cycle? He fell asleep when he was tired, but it seemed that civilians had a predetermined time, a bed time, where they slept and then woke up. When this had first been explained to him he didn't really get it, and as he watched people over the past two years, this became something that he continually failed to grasp. Kozan rarely slept for more than 3 hours at a time. He'd wake, and get up. Then when he was tired he would sleep. He acted at the whim of his body. As it was natural to do.

As he walked, apparently with no destination, the large boy would occasionally stop and rub his chin, inspecting something curiously. His head would tilt to one side or the other, his brow would drop in curiosity, furrowed together.

Since the death of Experiment 81 during the great war, and his awakening from his pod, Kozan - Experiment 81 v2 - had often had nights like these. In the silence of the night, unhampered by people around him, Kozan would go around and take in the nuance of things, trying to understand. Sometimes it was a sign with a peculiar message on it, other times so aspect of architecture, a strange lock, or an animal. Every time he'd stare curiously, unsure of what to think.

This time, however, he stopped in his tracks in the middle of the abandoned road and tilted his head to the side. The large boy's attention captured by.. .something? Someone? It seemed almost mystical how it moved. He simply watched it move, wondering if it would notice him. What was this thing?

[Diatenshi]

Chisaki wasn't necessarily trying to be stealthy. More she was simply trying to reduce the number of idiots that approached her. Ever since she'd transformed she'd dealt with the lecherous gazes of men. Didn't matter that she was actually a child for she appeared to be an adult. Regardless any man that had touched her had met a very violent end. This had not always been a good thing but she stood by her actions each time. So when she notice yet another person seemingly staring at her she wasn't surprised. At least, not at first.

She stopped her hunting and appraised the person staring at her. His yellow eyes made her first assume he was a member of her clan that was following her. However, he was definitely a bit on the younger side if he was assigned to tail her, and a horrible one at that. No, she'd deduced it wasn't that. It was somewhat unnerving and yet flattering the way his gaze tracked her. There was a certain innocence to it reminisce of a young child seeing a butterfly for the first time. Her interest piqued she decided to approach. As she moved closer, shed blink and when they opened they'd be her 'natural' golden color similar in appearance to his.

"Why hello there. You got pretty good eyesight picking me out from way over here. What's your name buddy?" Her voice was warm and hyper. They kind animal lovers would make when they saw a cute puppy.

[Ace Trainer]

As she approached, the 'thing' revealed itself to be a woman, or a girl? What was the difference, age right? Well, it was hard to tell how old this one was. Female, he would decide on. This thing was a female, it seemed. She spoke warmly, and made the most curious comment. He had good eyesight. Yes, he'd heard that before. He was a predator, and he'd been given exceptionally good eyes in order to catch his prey, or target, or whatever it was. Then she called him buddy, a nick name. He'd heard it before occasionally, but typically between people that were familiar with each other. He slowly drifted into his memories, trying to think if anyone had called him buddy before, until finally coming to the conclusion that no, he had not. Which made it even more strange that she called him that.

"I'm not your buddy....", his voice drifted off. While a comment like that would typically be something aggressive to be said, Kozan's tone betrayed that this was closer to a question than a statement. "I don't know you.", he said with finality. He stared at her, blinking. Silence would permeate between them as the boy simply stood there with his arms hanging to his side. He seemed unbothered by what was almost certainly considered awkward by most. If Chisaki looked closely, she likely would notice the absence of what people often called the 'wheels turning'. It didn't seem Kozan was deep in thought at all, simply there.

Finally, he spoke, "I'm Kozan.", he offered forward. After saying it he seemed to force a smile, it seemed incredibly disingenuous, one of those smile that happened only with your lips and not with your eyes. And yet somehow he had an air of sincerity about him.

[Diatenshi]

While the first thing that had made her notice him was his incredible eye for detail, the boy's mechanical responses got under her "skin." Especially when he tried to smile. "Great another broken experiment on the loose," she thought to herself as she peered into his eyes. While rare to be this underdeveloped she'd seen similar creatures in the research department of the hhd. They were creatures purely raised to fight, indoctrinated so deeply that they rarely had a sense of self or identity, making it odd that he gave a name. A bit of irritation found its way into her gut as she thought of how Kirigakure simply used its shinobi, treating them as less than human while pretending they were regarded as upperclass citizens. She looked at him and what appeared to be a genuine smile appeared on her face, though she was far from feeling happy at that moment.

"Your smile needs work Kozan. If you don't truly understand the emotion the action is supposed to convey it'll come off as fake. You should spend some time with me amongst the cattle to study them and how they act more. You gotta practice to the point that it seems real and genuine, even when its not."

She wasn't entirely sure why she invited him along with her. Maybe she was hoping he'd develop a stronger identity and be more than what the village had made him to be. A quiet act of rebellion as it were, against the village that treated her like an animal in a cage.

[Ace Trainer]

He cocked his head to the side when Chisaki spoke. Part of it was natural, an intuitive modification to redirect his hearing. Instinctively, and probably not even conscious of it's benefit, directing one ear closer to her meant the other was away from her and could pick up on new sounds easier. Animalistic. But, part of it was curiosity too. 'Needs work?' what did that mean. Was there something wrong with his smile? "Is there something wrong with my smile?", his words echoed his thoughts. Many people filtered themselves, it seemed this was something Kozan elected not to do, or didn't know how to.

She offered to spend time with him too, though, and Kozan nodded, "Ok.", he said flatly. It wasn't an okay as if to reluctantly agree, nor as if he simply had nothing better to do. It was just confirmation. Absent of the doublespeak and implied meaning so heavily encoded into language for most people. Kozan had words downloaded into his brain, the entirety of language offloaded into him like a file. He'd not spoken for the entirety of his life in that tube and then given language 2 years ago and expected to just use it. But, language was more complicated that words and syntax and Kozan had not yet sorted all that out.

"What do you mean emotion in the action?", he asked, his voice still flat. Perhaps he hadn't realized that smiling was a action to express happiness or kindness, and not a pleasantry that was mandated by norms.

[Diatenshi]

Chisaki wondered to herself a moment why she was even trying to educate this lab rat. Hrmm possibly to piss off his makers as teaching a tool for killing doesn't really need to develop a sense of self... Or maybe it was because he was so pitiful... Even the normal flesh bags she referred to as cattle had moments of light and enjoyment out of life.

She carefully took his hand, in a method that he could understand that she was guiding him not attacking. As she took him through the streets a particular bar popped in her head. Chisaki's bloody reputation had begun to precede her and a particular bar had learned how to bribe her out of eating their clientele. They had just the thing to help...

"A smile isn't something you just do... Its a part of body langue. You know the definition for that one right?"

[Ace Trainer]

Chisaki guided him, and Kozan was apt to follow, allowing her to take the lead and take him away to wherever she was headed. As they approached one bar, she made a comment. Not something you "do". If she said so, wasn't everything something you did? How do you smile without doing it? Seemed silly. Then she asked about body language, and he nodded. "Yes I know what body language is.", he said flatly. The way he said things always seemed like they should be comments laced with attitude or indigence, but instead Kozan seemed relatively unoffended or concerned about what he was saying or how he felt.

"Where are we?", a quick change of subject, perhaps unintentional. Kozan looked around the bar they were in, it looked rather seedy. But then again, what place didn't in this part of Kirigakure? It wasn't the best of places, and Kozan certainly wasn't familiar with it. He kept his eyes on Chisaki, blindly trusting this random person he'd met. He knew little better than to do otherwise. PErhaps the boy wasn't read to be out on missions yet.