Kumogakure; a place not for the man who feared heights. Not for the man who hates the bitter cold of winter. Not for the man who can't hold his drink. Fortunately for him, Xian didn't fit into any of these categories. He was a drinker, though not so much of a "party-er" he liked to have intellectually moving conversation while being inebriated. Almost as a challenge issued to himself to see how much he can drink before he loses his cognitive prowess. He isn't one for moving on potential mates, he just intended to chill and drink.

He walked through the bitter cold of the Kumo winter, it was roughly 9:00 PM. It was just another day he had chosen to throw aside the idea of ascending in rank as a shinobi, and instead drink away his depressions. Without a bad past or a troubled life one might wonder what someone like Xian had in the business with depression. The answer was quite simple. Great minds tend to overthink things tremendously. Stout atheists crumble to their own ideas and he was not so different. The idea that he only had one life to live and his most joyous experiences were in a state of intoxication kind of made it worse.

He entered the Sky Bar where young people were gathered, dancing in their promiscuous fashions and some underage under the table drinking was going on. It wasn't Xian's problem to deal with, and he certainly had no intentions of dealing with it. He ordered the "#6" as he called it. A peculiar drink that only he ever seemed to order. It was made of the finest sake, and mixed with kiwi, strawberry, and mango. A feminine drink ? Maybe. But did Xian care? No not really. Xian just liked the flavor and smoothness of the drink and the fact that it wasn't bad coming back up. He spun around in his stool and sat back, watching the lights dance and flicker, which the dancers on the floor seemed to pulse to. Dancing. A strange ritual indeed. He sat in wait, wondering if he'd drink another night alone or if by chance he might be able to find a good conversation in this bar.

Nagare had spent the last few days training. Now that he actually had a moment to rest, he wasn't sure what to do with himself. He'd already taken a 3 hour long nap, and now it was night, although not nearly late enough to end the day. So he lay in his bed, staring up at his ceiling, wondering what to do. His obvious lack of friends was a problem, because who did he have to hang out with? He supposed both Bokuden and Kenji were still around, but they were his former students, and he felt more like a father to them rather than a friend. Besides, they were busy with their own work as ninja. Reconsidering the idea, Nagare realized that he was a Sannin, and he didn't even have any work to do. He hadn't been on a mission in months. So what had he been doing? Nothing but training. Maybe he trained a little too much...but it only made him stronger, and he couldn't deny that was one of the things he wanted most in life. Power, in a way, was a drug to him, and he was hooked. Anything that would make him stronger than the last day would due, it was all enough to please him. Why was he so obsessed with power? Part of him believed it to be his personality, but he toyed with the idea of his "darker half" being the reason.

The man finally found his way out of bed, standing up and putting on some decent clothes. Decent was by no means shabby for Nagare, he was a fan of nice shirts and pants rather than ninja gear when he was off-duty, but it wasn't anything impressive either. He simply threw on a pair of black jeans and a striped shirt, as well as some sandals, and was on his way out the door. He walked down the familiar roads, keeping his eyes on the horizon and the moon which was now high in the sky, gleaming silver. He ultimately decided on his destination being the Sky Bar, a place he hadn't been to since one of his first dates with his ex-girlfriend. Those memories seemed so distant now, over 5 years had passed and he hadn't seen Jishin since. He remembered her plain, brown hair, her simple and almost masculine face, and her cut and dry personality, and although those all seemed to be negative traits in the eyes of most, she was perfect to him. Since the day they met, both on Zetsume's squad, he was smitten, but she had outgrown him and their short-lived relationship decayed. So there he was, still a lonely shell of a man with no friends and no love, but he managed to keep a smile on his face through the idea of one thing that would cheer him up at the bar: alcohol. Nagare was no drunk...but he could play the role of one, if only for a night. No harm done.

He entered the establishment with a smirk, looking left and right at the drunk youngsters like a curmudgeon. Only, the difference was, he was still young. He acted as if he was in his forties but he was 22, near 23. He looked down on all of them, as if to say, "You kiddies and your damn drunken lust! Get over yourselves." But who was he to criticize? He had come for the exact same thing, minus the lust. He sighed and sat down at the bar next to a man with long, dark hair. Choosing not to address the man first but instead the bartender, he asked quietly, "Excuse me, sir, can I get a katai melon cocktail on the rocks? Thanks." The bartender nodded and began to prepare the drink, as Nagare stared down at the table. He just remembered that he didn't like people. Probably another reason why he didn't have any friends. He opted not to speak to the other man unless spoken to first, in order to avoid having to be a social butterfly. Nagare was probably anything but social, he was cynical and spiteful of nearly everyone except those close to him. Why had he even come to the bar if that was true of him, though? A glass was placed in front of him by the bartender, and he looked down at it. Oh, right. The alcohol was why.

Xian was seated facing the crowd on his bar stool, constantly leaning back to reach for his drink when he felt the urge to drink, or found something to antagonize his thoughts enough that he felt an even greater desire to leave his less than sober existence. As he watched them young men and women, whom he really didn't even have the space to address as such being that he was 19 years old, with a look of confusion, and yet one that was of acceptance. Had he missed this boat in life? The boat of "nonchalantly rubbing against people of the opposite gender and calling it dancing"? Whatever it may have been that caused him to miss this boat, he was thankful for it as he raised his glass to his mouth and indulged on the great flavorful poison of his kidneys.

As he sat he noticed a man enter the bar, giving the crowd a similar eye as what he himself had just finished giving. Though this man was a bit older than Xian by the looks of things. A bit more esteemed on the same token. His shirt was striped, his pants black. He was dressed casually but something rung out to Xian that he had seen this man before. Nevertheless the man wandered right over to the bar and took his seat next to Xian, not speaking a word but instead leaning over the bar and requested his drink very quietly from the bartender. The man proceeded to make constant eye contact with the bar table, clearly not trying to invoke conversation.

Spinning around in his seat to face the front, Xian crossed his arms and leaned forward onto the bar casually, then looked over at the man and said "We all typically come here for the same reason, if that reason isn't to be on that dance floor it's to relax.  What better way to escape the troubles of the world than to ingest something poisonous to our bodies, eh?" He said wiggling his almost empty glass then sliding it to the bartender in exchange for a full glass. "The name is Xian Ryuzoji, who might you be?" Asked Xian with a nonchalant grin on his face.

Surely enough, the man turned to Nagare to speak, but his voice somewhat soothing, if anything. He went on talking about the reasons they were all there that night and how "poisoning the body" was the escape. Nagare didn't necessarily agree with this, he found things to be simpler and never really thought about the fact that the drink he was sipping was a substance capable of giving him liver failure and killing him. He put the drink down, now a bit put off by it, but he still sipped at if every few moments regardless. It tasted good, why not live life and have a drink once it a while? Part of him felt guilty for doing that to himself but what could one drink hurt? The other man continued and introduced himself as Xian, but his surname was what struck Nagare. Ryuzoji. It was Bokuden's last name, and he gave a sly smile. Cold this Xian be somehow related to Bokuden? Small world, if so. He followed through with the straightforward and oh-so outgoing question that Nagare knew was coming. It always did when a stranger was talking to him. "Who might you be?" The question rang in Nagare's ears and his response was almost automatic.

"I'm Nagare Sōseiji, by name. As for who I am as a person, though? Many things...but always first and foremost, I'm a ninja." He gestured toward the Kumogakure headband around his arm before looking back down to the melon cocktail. It was a pale green color that seemed brighter than it was in the dim lighting of the bar. Nagare figured he should be polite and follow through the regular "meeting someone" ritual, next step being to ask more about the other person. Question that came to mind? Same one that was asked of him. "And who might you be? You have the same surname as one of my former students, as a member of the Ryuzoji...do you know Bokuden, by any chance?" Nagare asked, sitting forward in his seat and drinking a gulp from his glass. With each sip, his head blurred just a bit more...he'd been drunk before, and it wasn't a pleasant feeling, so he was careful with his sips. But his glass was nearly empty, and how could he resist ordering another?

The Sannin kept his eyes set on Xian, with a half-smile on his face. Small talk was a start, it was better than awkward silence at the very least. He awaited the Ryuzoji's answer quietly.

Xian listened to the man as he spoke, the man noted that the first thing he considered himself in life was a ninja. A noble clause indeed. Xian lifted his sleeve just enough to show where he had his headband wrapped around his bicep.

"I am a ninja when a ninja is what I need to be. And every other day I am only Xian. My father once told me to first approach the world with open arms."

He took another drink, allowing the smooth poison to take hold of his body, numbing him just a bit more. He then took to answering the next question. Something about a Bokuden. A name that he had never heard. And without any other words to accompany that he looked up from the bar and said "Bokuden? I've never heard that name unfortunately. In fact, I don't even associate with my own clansmen too often. Or rather I don't speak to anyone at all very often."

The alcohol, a serum of truth is what it was. It had Xian telling unneeded facts to the stranger at the bar.  Xian slid his hand down his face own face as if to wipe away a blurry screen.

"Students you say? That must mean you are a higher ranking ninja then? I myself am a genin still. One could say too many nights at the bar and a lack of motivation to sign up for a squad are keeping me at this rank. What is your rank among ninja, Nagare?"

Notice: must close thread, character got deleted in a mix up and I don't have a copy of him, nor the will to rewrite that app. Sorry mate :,(