It was Fukai's first day back in Iwa. He awoke in his bed with a start. He shocked himself as to where he was. After a few seconds he came to and realised where he was. He was back in his old home, the old bed he had slept in for so many years while he was serving the village but it seemed strange now. Everything was slightly off like he was looking though warped glass. It was a strange feeling that brought uneasiness. Fukai sat up and slapped his cheeks, telling himself to snap out of it.

As for the young man's plans today, he decided that it would be best for him to report in to the shinobi offices and check in. He doubted that they would have him work today but he did not feel too bad after the long travel yesterday. If they did have some sort of task lined up then it wouldn't be the worst thing as long as it wasn't too strenuous. Fukai got dressed into his usual clan clothing of black and purple and wrapped the red scarf around his neck. After a small breakfast, he set off in the direction of the administration building.

The walk was one filled with strange memories, like a dream that he could barely remember. It seemed familiar and a natural place to be and yet things were different. He took in all that was around him and tried to decipher his mood. A mother with a young child, bustling int the opposite direction, a man behind the counter of a clothing stall and rows of houses behind it that made up the residential area. The road was the same rocky slate with various overpass roads that stood above it. As he walked futher, the road turned up a hill and increased in altitude. Buildings were carved from the mountain and fit into the scenery as square shaped boulders.

It was all the same... Why did it feel strange at all? As Fukai stood in front of the administration building, a realisation hit him. He was the one who had changed. After the long time away and the adventures that he experienced, he saw things in a different light. He had grown more perceptive to the opposite side of things. The man behind the counter in the clothes stall that he had past had bags under his eyes with old and tattered wares pushed to the back of the shop. He had been looking at passers by with furtive glances. Maybe his business was not doing so well. The woman that he had passed with her small child had a bruise in her left eye and one on her jaw. She had desperation written across her face. Had she been the victim of domestic violence? The purple eyed shinobi would have never picked up on this stuff before.

After a few seconds, the tall young man entered the building and walked up to the receptionist. He introduced himself and told him that he was reporting in for duty. The man recognised his name and went down into a file below him and rummaged around in there for a while until he resurfaced with document. He turned back to Fukai and told him that he was not needed for work today. Then he passed the sheet of paper over to the genin. Fukai looked down at it and before he could start reading, the receptionist spoke. "For your efforts and excellence in the chuunin exams, you have been promoted to the rank of chuunin. This comes with it not only an increase in pay and status but also a higher requirement for responsibility." Fukai stared at the paper. It seemed like he was finally chuunin. He had been the strength of the average chuunin and he had previously put it down to circumstance that he had not been promoted. But after his trip to the cloud village, he realised just how inexperienced he had been. Now he felt worthy of becoming a chuunin.

[679]

After his meeting with the Tsuchikage, Issei spent a bit of time wandering around the administration building. It was very different than Kiri's; lively, bustling with people, busy, and yet it still had an air of professionalism. Maybe it was just because Issei wasn't entirely comfortable being there, being in unfamiliar surroundings and all. He did like the decorations, the receptionist had been very kind to him on his way in, and Akira himself was quite the gentleman. The situation painted a luxurious air of power and wealth, which Issei could appreciate to some degree. Really, though, what purpose did he have there now? None. He just didn't have anything else to do that day, and Masa was at work, and he didn't really want to go back to the inn and sit in the room for the rest of the afternoon. So, he lingered in the building, snooping around a bit. There was someone having an argument over the phone, and in another office further down, two people were having a meeting of sorts. He passed by as he came to the elevator and pressed the down button; the argument grew louder and louder until the sound of a phone being slammed down into the receiver forced it into an abrupt stop. The elevator let out a "ding" upon arrival and the silvery doors slid open leisurely. He went in and pressed the lobby button.

When he got to the ground floor, Issei said goodbye to the receptionist who replied with "have a nice day,"; not paying attention to where he was going, he collided directly into a man and nearly fell over. He caught himself, managing to stay on his feet, as he immediately grew tense and backed up a few steps. "My mistake, sir, I'm sorry." he looked up at the man, scanning over him with his cold eyes. This person had long, white hair and he wore a red scarf; he had been standing nearby the desk holding a paper, likely having just spoken with the receptionist. An Iwa shinobi, probably. "Are you alright?" he asked, admittedly more out of habit than for genuine concern. Though he was apologetic for bumping into the guy, it wasn't anything too serious to the point where he would've gotten hurt, and the paper in his hands was left intact. Issei's expression remained dour, in contrast to his question.

He stood there for a few seconds, thinking about the implications of his promotion. What does this mean for him now? He had a rough Idea of where he wanted to be, a five year plan if you like but no solid series of goals set out to take each individual step. He had wanted to get promoted as soon as possible after getting back from Kumo and he had pretty much done that without any proactive action. Now where to? He was a chuunin, which meant he had both an increase in responsibility and an increase in status within the shinobi hierarchy. As his mind slowly worked it's way around this good news, he felt an unexpected force from the side as someone collided with him. He was sent off balance, but only briefly as he managed to pivot ninety degrees and plant his back foot. He also reached out to grab the person that had bumped into him to help him to stabilise and maybe stop him from falling.

Fukai looked at the guy with his eyebrows a little raised, not really too irritated by such a nuisance but still wanting to see who did it. He was met with an unfamiliar face of a male a good ten years older than him. Despite the age gap, the two men did not look unlike each other. Both of white hair and both seemed to have the same sort of strength of body. The other guy was a bit shorter than him and had much darker eyes but that was about where the dissimilarity stopped. The man took a few steps back and apologised. He then asked Fukai if he was alright but he could see it was no more than a formality. The man had something on his mind and wouldn't care too much about such a little incident. The newly appointed chuunin was interested in this new face. His build gave away that he was a fighter and yet he was bound to know anyone of his age that fitted that role around here, or to have at least seen his face.

Fukai ignored the question and pushed his own. I haven't seen you here before, what's your name? It was a little presumptuous to ask for hi name in such a manner, talking in this way had got him into trouble when he was a kid, talking to his superiors. He had never cared much for the proper way of doing things, nothing much had ever been required of him until recent times. And now that he was an adult, his mannerisms her built into him and would not change easily.

[449] /1128

Pushing past Issei's concern, the man was rather unfazed by the collision and his first reaction was direct. He asked what Issei's name was, adding that he hadn't ever seen Issei around before. Issei made eye contact for a brief moment before looking down, toting a cheerless expression and a piercing, dark, gaze which was held to the ground beneath his feet. Even with his eyes downcast, he kept his head high and his posture pristine, as he'd learned to do like a second nature to him. This person was justified in wanting to know exactly who Issei was, since he was clearly a foreigner in the admin building, as evidenced by the Kirigakure hitai-ate tied to his head and partially obscured by his hair. The symbol shone outward behind a tuft of his pale bangs, with that metallic sheen that the headband had when he first got it years back. He'd had the same one for, what?...nearly 18 years, now. He felt old. He felt out of place. But he didn't let it bother him. "I'm Issei Momochi. I'm actually from," he paused to gesture toward his headband, "Kirigakure no Sato, so that's probably why you don't know me."

Perhaps this man would've known Issei from when he lived in Iwagakure, but there was no recognition in his eyes nor in Issei's and it seemed that they were strangers. Thus, a two-sided introduction was to be expected, and Issei pushed for it. "And what's your name?" he asked, his eyes darting back up. Now that he thought about it, no one in Iwagakure had remembered him, and he realized it was because he kept himself fairly isolated from the world outside of his small friend group. He hadn't run into his ex-wife and he'd only seen Masahide since he'd come back. He thought of the tea shop he frequented and wondered if the woman who usually worked there would remember him. It hadn't been that long seen he'd moved, had it? It felt like it was centuries ago. A different time, a different world, a relationship in shambles and a weaker Issei than the person he was now. Welcome changes, he kept telling himself. Forcing himself out of that train of thought and back into the situation before him, his hands slipped into his coat pockets and rested there comfortably, since he didn't plan on going as far as shaking this new person's hand. Too much focus on etiquette; he had already had enough of his share of formality for the day having just met with the Tsuchikage, and why should the guy he just bumped into care if they didn't shake hands in their first meeting? He didn't seem much like the formal, mannered type anyhow.

So the older male was called Issei Momochi and he was from the village hidden in the mist. This sparked a bit of interest with Fukai, he had not talked with anyone from Kirigakure before. Of course there was that one guy that he had fought in the chuunin exams but that meeting was one under duress and they didn't bother to exchange words. However, he had noted that the boy fought with what people would call honour and was quite skilled at that. This brief encounter set a high standard for kiri shinobi in Fukai's mind. He was interested in why the man was here but he wouldn't ask. A ninja leaving their home village was often something that was rare and took sufficient motive. Especially since he was here in the administration building, there was probably a reason for his presence that wasn't meant for Fukai's ears.

Even so, due to his new path, he was curious about matters that didn't concern him. In the past he had remained on the outside, distancing himself from the normal path of a shinobi his age. And that was fine when he was not concerned about anything but himself. But now that he had decided to act more proactively and push himself into the mix, he found a use for hidden information.

"And what's your name?"
The man in front of him was trying to be cordial but Fukai suspected that he wasn't very invested in this interaction. My name is Fukai of the Fantomusodo clan. He returned his name in the same tone that Issei had set. He reached his open right hand out to shake. His eyes were drawn to two figures that stood ten metres away, over the man's right shoulder. They both looked over at Fukai and then away once they saw him notice. It seemed like he was starting to get known around this place, which was not necessarily a good thing. He would have to watch his back, especially since he had no one to do it for him. The silver haired chuunin wanted to get away from the building so he turned is attention back to the older man in front of him. Whether the man had taken his hand or not, Fukai would lightly place his other hand on Issei's right shoulder and turn towards the exit behind him. Well, as a representative of Iwagakure, how about I take you out for lunch?

Should the other man agree, Fukai would head for the exit and hold the door open for his new acquaintance. He would then proceed to stroll down the road. There was something else that he was interested in, and that was other peoples perspectives. Tell me, what do you think of this place?

[473] 1601

The man introduced himself as Fukai, a member of the Fantomusodo clan. Now, this had to strange ring to it, or at least Issei thought so. "Phantom sword", huh? He wondered if they were actually a family or an organization of sorts. Considering it was used as a method of introduction, he figured it was a blood relation kind of thing and Fantomusodo was Fukai's real surname. Regardless, he'd never heard the name before, even while he was in Iwa, so he continued to contemplate the group as Fukai spoke. Then, there was an outstretched arm which was a clear sign that they were to shake hands, which Issei had avoided initiating in the first place but now found to be inevitable. He reluctantly started to raise his own hand in response, ready to grab Fukai's with a "firm grip" as to be assertive but not aggressive, like he'd been raised to do. It was all so tedious, really, for someone he had happened upon by chance and would probably never see again in his life. He lowered his eyebrows as suddenly the hand was dropped and Fukai's other arm reached his shoulder. The look on his face was less that of surprise and more of discomfort; he hated being touched, especially by strangers. His arm tensed and the atmosphere around the two changed. His eyes burned a hole through Fukai's face.

"I—" he was interrupted as Fukai spoke. "How about I take you out for lunch?" These fortified boundaries that Issei always held as his comfort zone were being crossed one by one and it took all of Issei's might not to refuse the proposal and push Fukai away, as well. His breathing still held a normal pace but his heart was beating faster than usual and his arm remained tense as he moved Fukai's hand off of his shoulder. "Please don't touch me. I'm not comfortable with that. Nothing personal, I just don't like it." his voice was level and calm but his eyes were hostile as ever; he diverted their path to face the exit that Fukai had been ushering him toward. He didn't like being social...why would he want to go to lunch? He had to admit, he was rather hungry, and he also didn't want to be rude to Fukai. The "phantom sword" man was probably already upset with him for his response to physical contact, refusing lunch would only make it worse. To try and seem a little nicer, he lightened up a bit as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Sure, I'll go to lunch with you. Did you have a specific place in mind? I'm not...picky with food." he managed a smile as he made his way toward the door, opening it and holding it for Fukai. "As for if I like it here, yeah, I do. I used to live here, but I moved back home to Kiri a little while ago."

Fukai had been distracted by the people behind Issei and had not noticed the man's cold reception of his greeting at first. The handshake was an age old tradition of the human race. It was prevalent in almost every culture for a reason. It was because humans were, at an instinctual level, social creatures. The physical contact was a declaration of trust and to shy away from that was to exert dishonest signals. Fukai didn't think too much of it, though. He was broad minded enough to realise that people had their own individual way of doing things and he would not put any meaningful judgmental weight into this particular quirk. When his eyes had returned to the older male, he saw more than a little discomfort. He had glared at him, which surprised Fukai.

Instead of replying straight away, Issei spoke up while brushing his hand off. Fukai let it drop as he peered at the man. He was obviously quite introverted, maybe he had lacked human connection in the past or maybe he was just like that. It wasn't that strange, after all, hadn't he been pretty much the same for many years in the past? Fukai decided he should probably say something, something like not to worry about his proposal and get back to whatever he had planned. Then he seemed to start making an effort. He had some sort of motive for keeping a civil manner then, maybe since he was a visitor, he knew that it would be part of his job to represent his village well. Fukai remembered back to the duress that he had been put under to put his best foot forward while in Kumo. Issei even smiled as he continued on, opening the door and letting him though first. Maybe he would only require a little warming before

He had replied to his last question with shallow meaning that was called for by the rules of small talk. But what he was really seeking was words of deeper meaning. An insight into what an elder and someone of worldly experience thought of his home and it's current situation. About how it's people lived, how the country ran. It's culture and the quality of life of it's inhabitants. If Issei had lived here in the past then he was all the more likely to have a first hand experience of the dynamic recent history of the country. It's criminal past and continual cycle through Tsuchikages. This turbulence had a huge effect on the village and Fukai had seen his home metamorphose before his very eyes.

Whether Issei would be at liberty to impart such words with him remained to be seen. It would not be surprising at all to see him hold back out of professionalism or out of personal discretion. As someone who aspired to change for the better, he wanted to continually reevaluate his point of view and compare it to others. That's why he wanted to continue down the same conversational path.

The pair walked down the main road and then soon turned off onto one of the side lanes. The sun was now squarely in the middle of the sky and flowed heat down on the people below. Fukai walked with long strides, his arms folded behind his back and his eyes peering forwards, out of focus. He had all but forgotten Isseis' unusual mannerisms in the presence of his single minded focus. His wandering mind consumed more of his time then he realised, finally speaking after a few minutes. I want to know more. You lived here... What do you really think of Iwagakure? Of it's people, of it's governing body?

[626] /2227

The pair walked along the lengthy streets of Iwa, first following the more populated path away from the administration building before turning onto an emptier road as Fukai directed. Having moved past the initial discomfort, both Fukai and Issei remained largely silent as they walked. Issei wondered exactly where they were going, though; he recognized the streets but Fukai had neglected to mention their destination and what kind of food they were gonna get. Maybe it was still to be decided. Regardless, he'd find out soon enough, so he didn't bother trying to get an answer, instead keeping his lips pursed and his eyes staring straight ahead, to the far end of the road. A voice chimed again, asking another question similar to the last. It was prefaced with "I want to know more", which perked Issei's ears up. He didn't say anything or make an effort to face his acquaintance, but it was clear enough that he was listening. "What do you really think of Iwagakure?" The question's inflection put Issei on edge; it almost sounded like an accusation, but he didn't want to read too much into it and instead took it by face value. Fukai went into specifics, insisting Issei's opinion of its people and its politics.

"If I thought badly of Iwa, I likely wouldn't have come, now would I have? Iwagakure is a fine village. There's not too much else to say." he said, softly. He was anticipating Fukai to change directions toward a different area in the village, but it seemed they were going to be on this road for a bit longer. Issei continued, addressing the things Fukai had mentioned. "The people are the same as everywhere else; I find that most people are the same, regardless of how or where they were raised. I'm not one for politics so I won't express anything concerning the village's government...you probably have more of an established opinion than I do." There was a pause, part of the natural flow of conversation as Issei decided what he wanted to know from Fukai. He didn't have any burning questions about anything else, so he stayed on topic.

"What are your thoughts on the village? I assume you like it, if you live here now." Issei asked in a monotone, eventually facing Fukai and making eye contact once more.

His new acquaintance replied with his answer while Fukai listened with intent. They kept walking down the street in a slightly tense and uncomfortable tension. Issei's coldness was still a little bit there and after hearing his answer, Fukai was sure that he wasn't going to talk in more depth than that. Which didn't surprise him, nor did it dissapoint. After each sentence that Issei spoke, Fukai didn't give much in terms of recognition, looking only ahead and keeping his steady gaze forward. He did not say more than the fact that he liked the village. He said the people were the same as everywhere, and didn't say anything about the politics.

Fukai slowly raised his face up to the sky to catch the cleansing rays on his face. He suddenly felt a pang of loneliness. He felt isolated and vulnerable in that street. After his many successful missions when taking out large groups of targets, he had overheard the words 'one man army' to describe his proficiency. Yet this was not something of his choosing, he had only worked alone because that is how he had always found himself. Sure, he had gained some friends and allies but where were they now? The closest thing he had to an ally these days was the girl called Yuurei Jet, which it was a bit of a coin toss to see if she would help him or stab him in the back. What was he expecting, for this random stranger from another village to forget his place and start spilling his inner most thoughts? What a fool.

He had heard the man mirror the question back at him but it had not completely registered. The chuunin was woken from his daydream by a sudden weight around his leg. He looked down to see a young boy hugging his shin. He stopped with surprise. The boy giggled. Gotcha Fukai!
Come away from him! A nervous mother called to her kid as she rushed up to the scene. As she approached, she seemed to reach out to grab her kid, as if getting to near to the young man would bring her physical harm. Her eyes darted up to meet his but only for a moment. There was distaste in her eyes, like she was looking at an eyesore that turned her stomach. But there was also a hint of fear. She peeled her son from his leg and hurried him away. Fukai watched them bustle down the street and turn the corner behind him. It seemed he was getting better known around these parts.

He turned back to Issei and looked at him in the eyes. A rueful little smile and a little gesture of the hand and he kept moving. Come on, there's a place up ahead. Trying not to think too much about what had just happened and the implications of such a thing, he thought back to the Kiri shinobi's question. What do I think... This time he was a little more animated, giving little gestures as he walked. He couldn't talk about his fears of destabilisation, about the dissolving of the system and the descent back into the way that it used to be. Instead he simply said what he could. There are a lot of social problems here in Iwa, hidden from view. I will work as hard as I have to improve things.. Even as he said it himself, he did not fully believe it. Coming back from Kumo, he was topped off with self confidence but after getting back, he realised just how big of a job he had in front of him. It would be a long road, and he couldn't even see the start of it.

They would soon after reach the barbecue place and Fukai would signal to Issei that this was the place.

[650] /2877

A mother and her child approached and the child quickly made his way to Fukai, grabbing the man's leg and yelling "Gotcha!" obnoxiously. Issei wasn't a big fan of children, they made him just as uncomfortable as grown people did. He didn't pay any attention to the two, instead keeping his eyes on Fukai, who smiled idly as the mother struggled to keep the child away. She took him from Fukai's leg and led him away, and Issei and Fukai were left on their own once more. Fukai continued to guide Issei, who was surveying the city streets around them and taking note of where in the village they were, what was different from what he had last seen there, and what he recognized. He was building a mental map of the village that he could remember for future's sake. "Come on, there's a place up ahead," Fukai explained, pushing further forward. The establishment came into a view, a rather unimpressive and quaint barbecue restaurant. Issei, as he had said before, wasn't picky at all when it came to food, and his appetite was only growing. He continued listening attentively as they made their way toward the entrance.

Fukai answered Issei's question, claiming that there were a lot of social issues in Iwa that he wanted to work out, "hidden from view". Whatever that meant, it couldn't have been good, but Issei didn't know what to make of that or how to respond necessarily. The thought of asking exactly what these clandestine problems were came to mind, but he didn't want to poke and prod his way into things that he had no part nor purpose in. Instead, he pursed his lips and minded his own business as they went inside. A bright young woman greeted them and insisted that they sit anywhere; it seemed the restaurant was empty, aside from one or two other people. Issei moved to the table in the far southeastern corner of the establishment and sat down in the left seat, smiling as the waitress set two menus down on the table. He opened up the menu and scanned through it, finding anything of interest and deciding between his options. To avoid any uncomfortable silence while he browsed, he posed another question for Fukai, something more fitting of a deep conversation.

"How do you intend to fix these 'issues' you say Iwagakure has? I find that a lot of the time, peoples' intentions are a bit clouded in their own minds, but they seem to be passionate and determined in what they do nonetheless. Where does that take you, blindly following a creed without a method or a goal in mind? Being a ninja, it seems like too much risk for no real reward, in my opinion. It's a dangerous world, a fragile life. Yet, I became a shinobi nonetheless, and I've justified my decisions and I understand why I want to do what I do. Finding yourself takes a long time...so you're a shinobi just like me, that much I understand, but what are you going to do? And why did you choose the path of a shinobi?" The words poured out of his mouth until he felt that he had filled the metaphorical cup of interaction to the brim, and he would let Fukai guide the conversation from that point on. He put his eyes back to the menu before him and considered ordering the bulgogi. The sound of the workers in the restaurant cleaning dishes and moving about didn't seem quite as noisy as Issei expected.

They had continued down the street until they reached the barbecue restaurant. It was a nice little place that he had come a few times before. The first time he had come here was with a delightful young man by the name of Uchiha Izanami. It was reminiscent of a more simpler time for Fukai. He had met him while taking a dip in the hot pools, only to find a blind kid floundering around in there. The meeting had been rather strange and had left an impression on him. They had gone to this restaurant while talking about things that he himself was not all to sure about. Izanami had been a lot more mature than himself despite his age and put things in a light that he was unable to see previously. While they had been in the restaurant, some thugs had stormed in an attempted to rob everyone in the place. It was a pretty desperate move to try something like this as being in a ninja village, antics like this were very risky. But there were always people that were at that level of desperation and willing to risk it all for their form of instant gratification.

The two men entered the establishment and were greeted by the waiter. She was the daughter of the old couple that ran the place. As Issei chose a table, Fukai had a quick chat with her about how things were going. The woman always showed a face full of energy and this seemed to brighten her customers days. She recognised Fukai from last year and mentioned that she was starting to manage the books and slowly take over the place while her parents slowly integrated into their retirement. The chuunin excused himself and started to make his way over to the older male. The restaurant seemed to be flourishing despite it's location. For it was removed from the main roads where you you would normally find an eatery and didn't have much in the way of natural footfall. But due to the zeal of it's owners, people seemed to come here especially and spread it's reputation by word of mouth. That being said, there was not many people in here, maybe because it was in the middle of the week and more geared towards serving dinner.

Fukai gave a little smile and eye brow raise as he plonked himself down in the seat opposite to Issei. He sat diagonally to the table, leaning against the wall. The waitress came and delivered a pair of menus to them, giving a furtive glance to Issei and then at Fukai. They shared a little smile before she left. Fukai knew what he wanted but he looked over at his acquaintance with interest. To his surprise, Issei spoke up and initiated a conversation. Why did I choose to be a shinobi? Well, it was never really a choice for me. You do what you are brought up to do and follow the path that is layed out for you. Even after my mothers death and my detachment from the clan, I still followed that path. Hearing these words come out of his mouth, he was surprised to realise that this was the truth. He had only one path presented to him and he had been pushed along it. When the extrinsic motivation had disappeared, he had continued to follow it like a lost puppy. Beating things with a stick is all I have ever been good at. But I guess now I have awoken, and am able to see that there are indeed different paths available. As for what now, well that is indeed the question.

The woman came back to take their order. She trotted up to their table and excused herself for interrupting. Fukai motioned for Issei to order first and after he did, he would ask for a couple of grilled skewers. The thought had him salivating. She would pleasantly take the menus away and tottle back. Fukai turned back to the Kiri nin. I guess I just realised at some point that I care about the state of my home and that I have the potential to affect it. Whatever I can achieve is worth far more than my life. His tone was more casual than most would be when speaking those sorts of words. He would watch for the man's reaction and reply with interest.

[742] /3619

Family influence played a big part in Fukai's life, apparently, as he claimed he'd been brought up as a shinobi and didn't really have a choice otherwise. He'd remained one in the long run for lack of any other skill, Issei assumed from the sound of it. He was probably as good a shinobi as anyone else; Issei hadn't seen him in battle but he looked to be physically fit and skilled in his own right. He explained that his mother had died and he had detached himself from this phantom sword clan and it hadn't affected his career as a ninja. Just then, the waitress returned to take their orders with a skip in her step, and Fukai ordered the skewers that was a few pages behind what Issei was planning on ordering. He remembered it because he had considered it himself, but decided against it. She prompted him for his order once Fukai finished. "I'll have the bulgogi, please." He relaxed his expression briefly to give her a polite grin as he handed her the menu before returning to his grimace. She left the two to their conversation, off to deliver their orders to the chefs.

Fukai continued, saying that he had realized at some point that he could be influential in the future of his home, which must have struck a chord in him and inspired him to become a better shinobi. That same patriotism and loyalty was present in most ninja who lacked ulterior motives and self-serving desires; being born and raised somewhere and eventually fighting for that same place's survival ultimately bolsters some kind of care and connection, naturally. Issei felt the same way about Kirigakure, although perhaps not as passionately as some. It was more that he was comfortable there, at "home", and being someone so defensive, he was readily protective of his home. Fukai finished by adding that whatever he could achieve was worth "far more in his life", something that surprised Issei. Not enough for him to have a visible response in his expression, but he did give a nod after a moment, acknowledging and respecting Fukai's thought process. He took a sip of water and said, "I see," quietly.

The waitress returned later on with their food, and Issei thanked her in his husky voice before grabbing a pair of chopsticks and separating them between his fingers. He immediately started eating, bringing a large chunk of meat to his mouth and savoring it wholly with a half-smile. He avoided eye contact with Fukai for the time being, mostly because he found it and unnecessarily uncomfortable during meals unless one of them was talking.

Purple eyes hovered on Issei, watching his movements. He seemed a bit of an odd duck now that he had been exposed to him a bit more, he seemed to show little interest in anything that Fukai said. Maybe he was just naturally introverted or maybe he had his own things on his mind. Whichever it was, this meeting was obviously not of any importance to him. This was fine, Fukai didn't require any particular form of response from him at all. He smiled once more, he was starting to feel uncomfortable himself. His gaze dwardled to the side and then the banisters and then to the window. He thought of several lines of conversation that may be fitting but he came up with nothing. He sat up straight and fiddled with his cutlery for a second before saying: Well, I hope that you continue to have a pleasant stay here. If you need anything, feel free to ask for me. The words didn't come out all that well but luckily, the waitress turned up to break the moment.

The ever pleasant waitress appeared next to them, holding a plate in each hand. For the older male came a plate heaped with cooked slivers of beef, marinated and barbecued. For himself, came grilled lamb and capsicum skewers with a little pottle of sauce. This is what he had been waiting for. Fukai rubbed his hands as the food was placed in front of him. He thanked the woman before she left, not waiting for long before picking up one of the wooden handles and ripping into a large juicy chunk of meat. The taste was just right, and just as he expected from his favourite place.

Fukai had always been habitually disciplined and didn't end up treating himself at all. He had to end up finding excuses to go out and visit this place, justifying the unneeded expense to his budget. There wasn't any real reason to skimp on stuff anymore, he had plenty of cash from his high rate of mission turnover and basically a free salary during the exams. He had a descent cash pile back home but his previous lifestyle stopped him from splurging. Also the time was quickly approaching where he would have to upgrade his equipment, the tired old oak staff was not going to last him much longer. That ruddy stick had pulled him through some tough times and dirty missions, it would be sad to see it go. He remembered back when he had first bought it, he had been on the bones of his arse and been over the moon to finally be able to buy something as modest as a fancy stick.

A little bit of sauce ran down the corner of his mouth before he cleaned it up with a quick flourish of a napkin. The meat was tender to the point of being creamy and the capsicum was cooked through yet retained it's crisp crunch. Fukai's mind wandered as he pondered what he could do with his mad scrilla. A new weapon was a must, he would probably go for something metal this time. It would be useful for conducting his raiton as wood had quite a bit of resistance to it, heating up instead of delivering energy. He could also consider moving apartments to get something more trendy and upmarket but that thought quickly left his head. There was no real reason for an upgrade, plus anything too fancy and he would not suit it. The same four walls he had had for years were good enough for him. He could buy some clothes, especially his scarf could do with a bit of a restitch...

Chomping down on the last few bites, Fukai looked up at his acquaintance. He would not drag out this encounter for too much longer, in fact, leaving as soon as possible would probably let Issei return to a comfortable state. Well, thank you for accompanying me for lunch, it was nice to meat you. He waved a bare skewer around in the name of the stupid pun and then stood to leave. He would give the man one last small smile before leaving to pay.

[714] /4333
~exit~

Training:

Fukai made a kind gesture toward Issei, while fiddling with his utensils, as he said that he hoped Issei had a good stay in Iwagakure and that if he needed anything, he just needed to ask Fukai. Issei found himself looking back at Fukai with a genuine smile, having opened up enough to establish a friendly connection. It helped that Fukai seemed to be a kindhearted person, which was a rarity from Issei's perspective. Issei nodded in response, unable to give an audible reply since his mouth was full and chewing. Once he had swallowed the piece of beef that he had been working on, he caught his breath and said, "I appreciate it." Now, Fukai had already set the tone for a departure, and the conversation had settled into an easy flow with long pauses (which could be interpreted as awkward silences, if seen from a bystander's point of view), so Issei took his attention away from his food for a moment as Fukai finished his food and finally stood up. He held a bare skewer in his hand. "Thank you for accompanying me for lunch. It was nice to meat you." He waved the skewer flauntingly, making an obvious pun on the homonyms meet and meat. Issei blinked a few times, unsure of how to react but eventually forcing a chuckle. It was more to acknowledge that the joke had been made than anything; the right corner of his lips bent upwards into an uncomfortable grin. And with that, Fukai made his way to the staff to pay for his food and leave.

Issei's eyes made their way back to the food in front of him, and he savored the succulent meat of the dish with every bite. Slowly, the bowl's contents emptied until he had eaten the full serving and he laid back in his chair, letting go of his chopsticks and placing his hands in his lap. And what now? He figured he should head back to the hotel and do some training, perhaps; he didn't have any other important responsibilities to attend to, at least not at that moment. He rose and followed in Fukai's steps, making his way to the waitress and handing her the appropriate sum to pay for his meal. Then, he exited the small restaurant and continued out into the streets of Iwagakure no Sato once more. The living quarters were a bit further down, and the hotel was past that border, so he had a long trek ahead of him before he'd be back. He didn't really mind, though; if he took the right sidestreets and avoided the crowds, it would be a pleasant walk and he'd have plenty of time to think. That was something that he had grown to appreciate during this trip...those fleeting moments of peace and quiet that felt so sweet while they lasted. But alas, nothing lasts forever, so he had to enjoy it while it did.

[ Exit Thread ]

Training: