With the afternoon sun, the weather was comfortably cool in Konohagakure, and Kameko was enjoying every minute of it. She had only been in town a few days and already she was half in love with the warmer climate here versus in the mountains of Kaminari no Kuni. She took advantage of it and wore a three-quarter sleeved, steel-blue dress; the black belt served both to accent her trim waist and to hold her katana, which accompanied her everywhere. The sheen of her Kumogakure Hitai-Ate stood out in her black hair, where it served as a headband, set off with a silver chain necklace, which lay upon the skin exposed by the v-neckline. It was an attractive look, but then, most of her clothes were well-fit and complementary to both her features and leanly muscled physique.

The young woman’s wanderings that day had brought her into the market district. The sights and sounds surrounded her, and she leisurely made her way into and out of various shops indiscriminate of what they professed to sell. She spent a rather long while in a glass-blower’s shop as the merchant tried to sell her a trinket. She politely declined but he pressed her, saying, “Here, do you have a pet at home? A little puppy or kitty? I’ll make you one that looks just like it!” Thinking about her sensei and a trick he had played on her when she first met him, she admitted that she did, indeed, have a cat back in Kumo, and she described a black cat with large ears and golden markings. Making arrangements to pick it up later that week, she left the shop, beaming at the idea of having the little souvenir for Flynt-sama.

Exiting the shop, she went into the next one, not really looking at the sign beforehand. She was delighted by what she found within. It was a music shop! When the elderly, friendly shopkeeper greeted her and asked if he could assist her in anyway, she declined, “I’m just looking, thank you.” The good-natured old man left her to it, reminding her to ask him if she had any questions before returning to the little counter and register at the entrance to the store. Kameko herself did not play any instruments but loved music and was fascinated to look up close at the items which produced it. Looking around, it seemed that the old man stocked a little bit of everything in his shop, and it was crowded with instruments on display, from guitar stands on the floor to drum sets to various racks with items that were unrecognizable to the young woman but apparently were some sort of music paraphernalia; soon she had disappeared from the shopkeepers sight behind one of the many racks. She found herself drawn to where various wind instruments were hung on a wall. Her bright blue eyes focused on the saxophone that hung there, the bright brass and interesting shape fascinated her; there was something about it that was just beautiful.

“The coast is clear,” Kyohei thought to himself as he slowly pushed open the door to the music shop he so often visited and peered inside. Quickly his eyes scanned the shop, seeing nothing but the old man he knew so well, and the tall shelves on the sales floor that obscured vision of the back of the store… just the way he liked it. The shop was located adjacent to one of the city’s main shopping districts, but fortunately for the Uchiha, not many came down this road. Even so, he still took the utmost caution during his visit to the shop. Even when inside he did not remove the hood of his black leather jacket that he used to veil his face, the cloth casting a shadow over his eyes, leaving only the lower half of his face and a few stray strands of silver hair visible.

“I was wondering when you’d be back,” the old shopkeeper said with a smile as he waved to Kyohei, “You’ve been away longer than usual. I have everything you need ready for you in the back, just as you left it.”

“Thank you,” Kyohei said stoicly as he approached the counter, nodding to the old man and reaching into the black rucksack that he had slung over his shoulder and pulling out a medium-sized manila envelope.

“Always so serious,” the old man said with a chuckle as he accepted the envelope and hid it away behind the counter, “I guess some things really don’t change. But I won’t keep you any longer. Go on, enjoy. Your secret is safe with me, as always.”

Without saying another word, Kyohei turned towards the sales floor and began marching his way towards the back. Assuming that the shop was empty, he tunneled on the ornately embroidered burgundy curtain that hung on the back wall and made a bee line right towards it. He stood before it for a moment, taking a deep breath before reaching over to one side of the curtain and slowly pulling it aside, revealing an open doorway that had previously been hidden behind it. Before entering, Kyohei looked side to side, almost as if he were afraid to enter with someone watching, but once he believed he was alone, he entered and silently pulled the curtain back behind him.

Behind the curtain was a large room which would appear to be used for storage. Along the walls were boxes stacked atop each other, all with musical supplies and equipment. In the center of the room however, sat a large, oddly shaped object beneath a cover. Placing his bag down on the concrete floor beside it, Kyohei would pull away the cover, revealing a full-sized grand piano that took up a large section of the room. Delicately, as if he were fearful of damaging anything, the Uchiha pulled out the small bench and took a seat at the instrument looking up to see that the music sheet sitting on the piano was at the exact song and page he left it at. One digit at a time he tested the keys, immediately noticing that the old man had kept the instrument perfectly tuned. Uncharacteristically, a small, genuine smile curled upon his lips as he looked at the notes on the page. Taking a deep breath, he would pull down his hood to reveal his face. Sure that he was alone, he closed his eyes and played.

The song he's playing:

---

582~

The sound of someone entering the shop tore her attention away from the instruments on display. Curious, she leaned around a shelf and saw a figure dressed in black leather talking, with his back to her, to the shopkeeper. It was odd that he wore his hood up on a clear day like today and odder still that the hood did not come down upon entering the building. ‘Suspicious, even,’ she considered. An unmarked envelope changed hands, and the figure began walking decisively towards the back of the store. Kameko ducked back behind the shelf once more, trying to figure out what she had just seen. ‘What’s going on? Is this music shop just a cover for something else..?’ It was easy, with that thought, for her to fall into thoughts of espionage. She would stumble upon an undercover, black market operation; after foiling their plot, she would proudly hand them over to the Hokage, and return to Kumogakure a hero, having been given a field promotion to Chuunin for outstanding service; she might even be given a medal. The daydream played into her aspirations of fame and praise, and it was easy to convince herself that it was possible. ‘After all, isn’t there a saying: “Truth is stranger than fiction?” Crazy things happen all the time; why shouldn’t they happen to me?’

It did not take much persuasion when such recognition was awaiting her success, and the young woman went into spy mode. The shopkeeper was obviously involved, so she couldn’t be seen by him either. Activating her Current Perception’s Tracking Range, she double-checked the old man’s position, still standing near the front of the store, and the suspicious one’s location, moving further back in the shop. Sneaking would only draw more attention to herself, so she made her way to the back of the shop as though still casually browsing. A little meander, stop to look at something  which would just happen to hide her behind another shelf, a quick check that the shopkeeper’s electrical signal hadn’t moved from his location, and repeat. When she reached the back of the shop, she found a heavy curtain hung over a doorway. Looking for the figure, she found his signal to be somewhere on the other side of that wall; she waited until he seemed to be settled for a few minutes before continuing.  Checking on the shopkeeper once more, she walked confidently, as though she wasn’t trying to avoid detection, through the last open space before she was hidden again from sight. Carefully holding open the curtain, the young woman slipped behind it, slowly letting it down behind her to keep it from swaying.

It was only at that point that she considered how stupid this whole endeavor was. She wasn’t back home in Kumo where her hitai-ate leant her some measure of authority. She was a visitor, a foreign kunoichi, in a strange village, snooping around in a shop’s backroom. ‘They’re going to think that you’re trying to steal something!’ The thought stole the daydream’s warm glow and replaced it with a chill; what would happen if she got arrested here? Would they release her back to the Raikage’s keeping or would she be held here without bail? She turned to slip right back out when she heard something... A piano?

The curtain had essentially soundproofed the room, and she had entered during a rest in the music. The young woman hesitated for a few moments, entranced by the beauty in the notes. Not considering her action, she turned, this time drawn by curiosity to find the source. As she did so, she unintentionally allowed the sheath of her katana to rub across the side of one of the cardboard boxes set by the door. It did not make a loud noise, but the music he was playing was so tranquil and parts so soft… She held her breath, hoping that he was too engrossed in his music to have noticed. She could see now that the musician was the same person as the suspicious character who had entered the shop; with his hood lowered, she could see his silver hair, but his back was to her, so she could make out no other features. 'Don't notice me. Don't notice me... You didn't hear anything. Nothing at all. Please don't stop playing...'

Chakra: 140/150:

Note by note, Kyohei slowly began to immerse himself in the music he played, finding a measure of comfort in his secret hobby. It seemed that these days he was able to do this less and less, making the few opportunities he did get more and more precious. And the best part about his secret pleasure was that, hidden away in the back of this old music shop, there was no one to interrupt him. It had always been that way, and it had become one of the few escapes that he could rely on without fail. He was truly alone with his music… or at least that is what he thought. In one of the lulls of his song he heard an unfamiliar noise from behind him, something akin to a scraping sound. The sound immediately triggered a surprised response from the Uchiha, causing him to end his song abruptly, the melody shattered when his fingers fumbled on the keys as he lifted himself up from the bench.

This had never happened before… how could it happen now? This room, this piano, they had always been his escape, uncompromised by the outside world. It felt like the wind had been taken out of his sails, but most of all it felt that his sanctuary had been breached, leaving him feeling quite defensive. Quickly he turned around to see the source of the disturbance, a stern look on his face as he looked behind him. He remained silent for a moment as he stared down the person that had intruded on him. It was a girl. She was relatively tall, not overly so, but seemingly more in the “above average” category of heights for women than not. Her hair was long and black, with deep blue eyes that seemed to be filled with nervousness and surprise at his actions.

At the very least, it did not appear that she was an enemy, despite what his training and the weapon at her hip would lead him to believe. Kyohei was familiar with killers. He worked with many of them, he had fought against many of them, he was one himself. Regardless of their reason for doing so, there were always certain types of auras around people that had malicious intentions. He felt no such threat emanating from this girl, but that did not put him at ease, especially after having his secret discovered and brought to an abrupt halt. Even so, he toned down his aggression before opening his mouth to demand answers.

“You shouldn’t be back here,” he said calmly but with a clear weight to his words that cut through the air like a dagger, leaving no room for misinterpretation of his words, “This isn’t the place that someone would casually stumble upon accidentally, they’d have to be searching for it. Who are you and why are you here?”

---

483 | 1065~

Kameko winced as the song abruptly cut off. Cursing her luck, the young woman blushed, embarrassed to be caught at her subterfuge. As he turned around, she ceased maintaining the chakra that had been flowing to enhance her Current Perception; there was no point in tracking people’s movements now that she’d already been caught. ‘Stupid, stupid, stupid. You should have just walked right back out when you had the chance, then no one would have been the wiser,’ she thought as he stared down at her, those grey eyes hostile. The young woman stood very still as he scrutinized her, feeling a threat in the air.

The man could understandably be upset at his practice being interrupted, but this reaction seemed like a bit more than that. There wasn’t anything obviously illegal going on here, just someone playing the piano… So what was with all of the secrecy? Arriving with his face hidden and keeping it so until he was in this backroom, the unmarked envelope to pay off the shopkeeper, and this response to her arrival seemed to match up better with the fantastical crime ring that she had concocted in her head than with a boy playing a song. Something wasn’t making sense. ‘I mean, I’ve heard of people being performance-shy, but this seems a bit extreme… Is Konoha some kind of music capitol that composers have to sneak around to keep their creations from being ripped off?’ She hadn’t heard of such a thing, but then, she hadn’t been in town for very long. He didn’t appear to fit the usual mold that she would expect for a maestro; he was rather more muscular than she would have figured, but what did she know?

Gradually, he seemed to calm, but that was little comfort. It would have been easier if he had huffed and blustered at her, ordering her from his sight; when one had such control over what was presented outwardly, it was hard to tell what one might do next. Eventually the tension was cut with the knife of his voice. It was calm, but sharp with reprimand. She wasn’t one to fabricate excuses, and it was unlikely that any such would be accepted by the authoritative young man, so she went with the truth. “My name’s Ryuzoji, Kameko. As for why I'm here.. I saw you paying off the man up front, and… well.. with the hood on you looked rather suspicious..” She offered a little sheepish smile to soften her words; it wasn’t exactly polite to call someone suspect. “..so I followed you back here. I’m sorry that I interrupted your piece. It was beautiful.” The words were apologetic, but honest.

Kyohei’s eyes narrowed as his facial expression dulled, obviously unimpressed by this woman’s answer as to why she had intruded on him. A quick glance up at the top of her head revealed a traditional village headband. It was a traditional symbol of the shinobi villages that had existed for centuries, the kind of thing that Kyohei had long since abandoned in his own attire. Under normal circumstances, such a symbol would mean nothing to him, but in this instance there was a particular characteristic of the headband that stood out to him; the symbol engraved on the metal plate was not the symbol of Konoha. “Suspicious?” he retorted, still evidently unamused, “Who’s the suspicious one here? A shinobi from outside the village trespassing into a restricted area of a civilian owned shop, chasing after a member of that village on some vigilante mission as a guest in this village with no authorization to make arrests or apprehensions. Does that sound like something that would just be allowed to slide? Political climates have been tense of late. It’s not unreasonable for this to be looked at as an act of aggression from the side of Kumogakure.”

Kyohei’s conviction did not waiver as he made his ominous remarks, but in his own mind even he felt that in his frustration he was going a bit too far in an attempt to frighten the girl as retribution for her intrusion. The Uchiha huffed before turning away from the girl without waiting for a response, walking over and grabbing the cover that he had pulled off of the piano earlier before proceeding to throw it back over the instrument. “As far as you know, I don’t play. Forget you heard anything,” he remarked as he slung his rucksack back over his shoulder and pulled his hood back over his head, “Do that and I’ll forget about this. I’m sure that you can find your way out if you managed to sneak back here.”

The Uchiha’s mood had changed drastically over the course of just the past few minutes, from peacefully immersing himself in his play to a rather gloomy mood after discovering his audience. It probably didn’t make much sense to the girl, such a strong reaction to something as simple as having an audience as you play piano, but it was without a doubt her presence that made him stop the music. Either way, Kyohei began to make his way out of the room after collecting his belongings. However, he stopped just as he was walking right beside her, standing silently for a moment before turning his head towards her and muttering, “Thank you,” almost under his breath, in reply to the compliment on his playing earlier. With that done he began walking again, assuming the chain of events to have ended.

---

480 | 1545~

Kameko was taken aback that her answer did not yield the results that she had anticipated. It wasn’t uncommon for people to startled when walked in upon and to go on the defensive as a result, but the response that her presence had elicited from the young man was more than that. She stood there, expression carefully neutral, as the angry young man snapped at her. It was hard to feel bad about her actions when presented with such a reaction. To claim that her merely wandering into a backroom would set of an international incident was rather dramatic. She hadn’t touched anything, nor drawn her weapon or made any aggressive movements towards him; it was hard to imagine that the Hokage would make such a fuss over a Genin being overly curious. ‘But perhaps things are different here… ‘ she considered. For most of her life, things had generally gone her way, and it was hard for the young woman to imagine that she wouldn’t skate though this incident as well… if she wasn’t stupid.

‘Coming back here, staying back here, instead of slipping back out when you realized what a bad idea it was, that was stupid.’ So she did not contradict him, remaining quiet when he finished his threat. She bowed her head slightly in response, the gesture easily read as one of acquiescence. Kameko had grandiose dreams, and she certainly did not need to have this incident get in the way of any of those; she had barely been granted permission to travel here on her own, and she would not jeopardize her ability to do so by insisting on her being in the right. After all, even though she felt that the young man was blowing the whole thing out of proportion, he had also voiced what she herself already knew: she wasn’t supposed to be back here.

That line of thought and his ordering her silence, or else, led her to wonder why it was that he was so intent on secrecy. A musical talent was hardly something that was widely considered shameful. In her typical fashion, it was her curiosity that kept her from keeping her mouth shut and letting the man go before he changed his mind. As he passed close and muttered thanks, her hand reached out slightly, fingertips just barely brushing his sleeve; guarded, she did not know how he would react to even so small a gesture. “Wait, please,” her voice was quiet, more subdued than it had been when she thought she’d just smile and explain away her presence without any trouble.  “I’ll go and not say a word; I’ll forget that this little shop even exists. But, why do you go through all this secrecy when you have such talent?” From her point of view, it wouldn't hurt to tell someone sworn to silence about the reason for all of the deception; after all, she didn't even know his name. However, the young man was not responding at all how she'd expected, and she would not be at all surprised if he ignored her completely; it just wasn't in her nature to not atleast ask.

Why? What did she mean why? Why did she care to know the reason? It wouldn’t mean anything to her. And why did the answer to that question seem so much harder to grasp than it should have been for him? He stopped in his tracks when she made that comment, partially out of surprise of her even asking such a thing, but more so due to his inability to answer that question for himself. He had an answer, didn’t he? He always had his reasons… or at least he thought that he did. Times had changed since he first began playing the piano in this shop and so had he, dramatically so, but this ritual had always remained the same. In fact, he couldn’t even remember a time when he even sought to do anything but this ritual in regards to his playing. Achieving anything more than personal gratification with his secret hobby was never even a thought he deemed plausible.

Part of him wanted nothing more than to walk away from this girl and never see her again. He did not come here to be questioned, but for whatever reason he could not bring himself to leave this matter without resolution. The fact that this girl seemed to take such a keen interest in he and his hobby both excited and infuriated him and he didn’t know which emotion to feel most strongly or which one was even warranted. No one had ever asked before. He would turn around and glare at the girl, looking her up and down as if sizing her up the way one would size up an enemy on the battlefield. Despite her seemingly friendly demeanor, it was clear from the look in his eyes that he was deeply suspicious of her and the aura he gave off was decidedly nebulous. He had not yet decided what to think of this girl yet, but he knew that until proven otherwise, everyone was his enemy. That was a life lesson that he would never forget. “I’m nobody,” he said bluntly, “Not to you. We don’t share ties of blood or friendship. We aren’t even from the same village. To you, I’m nothing more than a face without a name. Why does it matter so much to you why I don’t play in front of people?”

---

399 | 1944~

The young man actually stopped at her request, which was more than she had anticipated by his mannerisms. However, when he glared down at her, she wondered why she had bothered. Although she couldn't guess his actual intent, the look in those grey eyes was not an encouraging one. What was it that had put such a chip on his shoulder that he felt that everyone was out to get him?  It was becoming increasingly evident that there was nothing she could say to appease him, so she ceased trying to. “I don’t really care why you don’t play in front of people, to be honest. Surely you can see that hiding your face so you can sneak in to play in a store room without anyone seeing you isn’t quite the same as not wanting to get up and play in concert.” Slightly softer, she continued, “I’m not out to get you. I don’t even know who you are! That’s one of the things about being from out of town; I’ve got no bias or inner-village politics to worry about. All I have is curiosity.” She made an open handed gesture, and continued, “Tell me or not. I’m not going to force you or try to keep you here.” Her words matched him in bluntness, but the blue gaze did not contain the judgment that his did.

The young woman felt like this was going no where and sought to push it into some kind of resolution. She was patient in some ways, but not in all of them; she wanted her curiosity to be sated, but she didn't want to continue stand here and try to tease something out of the man while he towered over her, staring her down. It had occured to her that one of the good things about his secrecy was that he was unlikely to actually report her being back here. Sure, he could tell the shop keeper, but then proper authorities would be called, revealing his little secret when they asked why she'd gone back there in the first place. She did not seek to provoke him, but it took away a measure of her initial worries when he had threatened her, enough where she didn't flinch from speaking to him in such a direct manner.

Kyohei breathed in deeply before exhaling with a long sigh, easing a bit of the tension that had built up as he relaxed himself a bit. He still didn’t know what to think of this girl, but the fact that she didn’t buckle when he pressured her made her worthy of at least a chance for him to humor her. Once again she had gone back to making the point about his sneaking about with his face covered and once again the Uchiha did not see the need for the distinction between his sanctuary in the back of this old shop and any normal person’s private quarters where they would play. This time however, his response would be to pull back down the black hood that he had used to obscure his face, leaving it in full view once more. His eyes remained closed as he pulled the hood down, tilting his head downward slightly as to lift the hood up without disheveling his hair. When the hood was off he would raise his head high once more and turn his attention towards her, this time with a much softer expression. No longer were his eyes flaring with anger, but instead they gave a sense of aloofness and intrigue as to the girl’s intentions.

“That wasn’t the first time you’ve complained about me covering my face with the hood during this whole ordeal,” Kyohei remarked, “It’s strange for that to be such a centerpiece of your concern if you were worried about be being involved in criminal activity. It seems like such a minor thing. Or was it that you liked what you saw while you were spying on me playing?” His lips would curl into a smirk before continuing in a teasing manner, “Most grown men don’t have the nerve to speak to me so freely. I’m unsure whether to be impressed or wary of you. You’re the kind of girl that is used to getting what you want, aren’t you, princess?”

---

344 | 2288~

Simply, she answered, “Yes.” A pause as her eyebrows drew together over her bright blue eyes. “No, I mean…What?” The young woman blushed at her inarticulateness; she was caught off guard by his sudden shift in demeanor, for he’d gone from threatening her into silence to teasing her. Her original answer was certainly the truthful one to his latter query, even if it was not the one that she normally would have given; she had grown up being more or less catered to and fawned over and had, as a result, grown accustomed to getting her own way, but that was hardly something that one announced. As for the former… Well, her first answer had been honest in that regard as well, though she hadn’t considered it before his asking. When the young man wasn’t busy glowering at her, he was an attractive guy, tall and well-built, but the main draw in attractiveness was the sense of confidence that he put off; after all, in a hidden village, many young men were fit and good-looking, but it was the self-assuredness on top of that that caught her eye.

However, with that little smirk on his face and the purposeful way he removed his hood this time, careful not to muss his silver hair, it didn’t appear that he needed further confirmation of his own handsomeness, so she didn’t give it to him by correcting her earlier, stumbling answer; she continued, composed as though he hadn’t tripped her up. “I’d go with impressed,” she offered with an easy grin, as though advising him; she was never one to sell herself short. “Though, I’ll admit, I suppose it helps that I don’t know who you are, Mister Piano Man. I’d hazard a guess that their lack of nerves comes from some illustrious reputation that your glare, though certainly impressive in its own right, cannot quite relay.” Her words were spoken in a jesting manner. Eyes sparkling up at the man as she gently mocked him in turn. She had judged that any sort of impending consequences were unlikely, and she was not nearly so cautious as before, assuming that he was a person with more "bark" than "bite" and that he had "barked" himself out. Successfully distracted, she didn't notice that he had not answered her own question.

Well, he hadn’t expected her to be so comfortable in this situation to respond to his teasing with snark of her own, but maybe he should have given her previous attitude. Still, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Once he had calmed down from the initial problem he had with her, she seemed interesting enough to play with for a bit. He wasn’t lying when he said he was unaccustomed to anyone, let alone pretty little women mouthing off to him. He always did find strong-willed women to be… alluring, but that didn’t mean he was simply going to let her have her way. That was no fun. If experience had taught him anything, it was that making strong women submit to you willingly was rewarding because of the work you put in. And while he did very much enjoy being in control, it was nice to let a woman take the reigns from time to time, but that had to earned, much in the same way submission did.

“And just which question was that yes an answer to?” He said slyly, that confident smirk still resting comfortably on his face as he paused and enjoyed the game, “Hmph, beautiful, bold, and eloquent, maybe impressed was spot on after all. Well, you are a bit nosy, but I suppose that’s fair enough given the circumstances of our meeting. So tell me princess, what brings a girl like you all the way from The Village Hidden in the clouds to the back of an old music shop in Konoha? I mean, other than me. Surely you didn’t come all this way just to get swept off your feet by a tall, dark, and handsome, silver-haired stranger. As tempting as that does sound.”

Ever balancing on that all too familiar line between teasing and flirting, Kyohei had no qualms about ‘poking the bear’, so to speak.  Besides, judging by her last response, she was just as much a fan of wit and playful banter as he was. She was a proud girl, probably a bit stubborn too. He doubted that she would be able to resist a challenge, especially one coming from him that simultaneously made light of her previous statements and called her resolve into question. People like her, that just wasn’t their style. That was what made it so much fun to tease them about it. “But I can’t just tell you everything you want to know just because you ask. Where’s the fun in that. You might be used to getting everything you want out there, Kameko, but if you want to know more about me and my music or my ‘illustrious reputation you’re going to have to work for it. Or rather, play for it. I won’t force you though. I could be wrong after all, maybe you don’t want the story behind the hood. Or maybe you don’t think you can keep up. I wouldn’t blame you for chickening out. All you have is curiosity, after all.”

---

516 | 2804~

Having resolved to avoid feeding his already inflated ego, Kameko didn’t humor his attempt at fishing for a compliment. Rather than voicing a specific answer, the girl’s response was just a little ambiguous lift of her shoulders in a shrug, her cheeks dimpling as the corners of her lips pulled up just enough to where the expression could be identified as a smile, albeit a vague one; she’d let him take the little gesture to mean whatever he pleased, by that smug little smirk on his face he probably would have ignored any answer she had given in preference of what he preferred to hear anyways.

As he continued, it seemed that he couldn’t compliment her without a touch of mockery; she got the distinct impression that the pianist was a bit of a ladies’ man, an odd characteristic for a man whom, previously, seemed so fond of discretion. “For you and me both,” she replied wryly, intentionally misunderstanding his words to mean that he, himself, wanted a handsome stranger to come and sweep him off of his feet. In answer to his question, she continued, “I just came for a bit of sight-seeing, and I’m afraid to say that your dusty old backrooms just can’t compare with Kumogakure’s… Such a disappointment.” Her voice and face were very expressive as she spoke, and she shook her head as though genuinely disappointed in the storage room.

This was not the first time that a young man had asked her a similar question since she arrived in Konoha and likely wouldn’t be the last; it was a bit uncommon for an active-duty shinobi to spend his or her days off traveling to another country, and she’d been lucky that her request had been granted. She certainly didn’t stay around in case the administration changed their minds and decided they had missions for her in the village. Kameko was new enough to the shinobi business that she still got genuinely excited to complete missions, but she also recognized that things would probably not stay quiet enough that she could go traveling again for a while, so she took the opportunity when it presented itself.

He continued with a challenge to her to find out more about him. She wondered if he would even follow-through with any honesty if she played along, since she still didn’t even have anything to call him by instead of “Mister Piano Man”, but her curiosity nagged at her, urging her to find out more about the stranger if she could. His goading about her being chicken and unable to keep up played on her pride despite the fact that it was obviously intended to do just that. “Oh? And what’s the price for your story?” Her right hand reached up to brush through her dark hair as she commented, “It’d better be a good one if I’m going to have to work for it.”Her interest was clearly sparked by the idea, wondering what he might be arrogant enough to suggest as a fair trade for a tale.

Kyohei let out a brief chuckle, partly amused by her persistence with the sarcasm and partly annoyed that she wasn’t playing into his hand quite as easily as most would. Although, he wasn’t necessarily sure whether that was entirely a bad thing. Even so, he would give her much of the same treatment she seemed to be giving him while trying to bait out a reaction and intentionally ignored the particularly snarky remarks of hers like the bit about “dusty old backrooms” or the implication about his sexual preferences. Even her body language and tone of voice were clearly intended to be props for her act, making them all the more easy to simply cast aside before making the next move. It was an interesting exchange, a conversation between two people that seemed to be carrying on with the intention of doing nothing but “mind-gaming” the other, for seemingly no reason other than entertainment and curiosity. From an outsider’s perspective, the whole ordeal might have seemed somewhat passive aggressive or venomous, but at least from Kyohei’s point of view it was harmless banter.

“Well, the only way to find out if it was good or not is to hear it for yourself, isn’t it?” the Uchiha replied slyly as he turned and began walking towards the piano once more, pulling off the cover and tossing it aside with a swift wing of his arm. “But I have to say I’m disappointed that you would need to ask what the price of having your questions answered would be after I so clearly stated that you’d have to play for it. I don’t really like having to repeat myself, princess. Maybe I was impressed too soon.”

With his foot he would push out the bench in front of the piano slightly, inviting her to take a seat before continuing. “Now come on,” he said playfully as he motioned with his head for her to approach the instrument, “If you spent less time playing with your hair and flirting with me and more time playing along you’d probably be getting your answers quicker.”

---

360 | 3164~

Her head tilted slightly, inquisitively, as he turned and walked back into the center storeroom floor. With a flourish, he whipped the cover back off of the piano and tossed it aside with a broad sweep of his arm, and those pesky neurons in Kameko's head decided to begin firing. With all of his flirtation, she had only really heard part of what was said to her and had brushed off his amendment about playing for it as being more of the same word-play, not considering that he literally meant playing for an answer. The idea was all well and good; it could even be seen as a fair trade for she’d already had a song, or part of a song anyways, out of him, but there was a problem with that… Kameko was completely lacking in any sort of musical prowess. She could appreciate, and did appreciate it greatly, but she herself could not play. It was similar to how some people pick up foreign languages easily and turn the mundane into something far more intriguing by simply voicing the same intent in another tongue, and for others, it would always be awkward and almost painful to listen to them butcher those identical words; she, much to her dismay, fell into the latter when it came to instruments.

As the piano bench scraped against the floor, it occurred to her how improbable the whole situation was, and along those lines, the familiar thought of ‘How did I get myself into this?’ ran through her head. But, regardless of the coincidences that led up to it, the situation wasn’t going to change and the young man was looking at her expectantly. Remaining where she was, she replied, “Ah.. I thought that you were implying a game of luck, or skill.” Shaking her head, she continued, “I’m afraid that you have me at a disadvantage here. We’ve already been determined that you’re an excellent pianist, and I’d hate to have to follow such talent.”

The words were a flattery, for certain, but not a false one; the only thing false about it was that it insinuated that she had some level of skill, which, in its own way, wasn’t all that false. Her level of skill was just embarrassingly low; she had played before, certainly, but it had been several years since her piano tutor had given up on her as a lost cause, with her own full agreement to that decision. She was more than happy to be seen as being falsely modest, for regardless of what type of cajoling might follow, she would simply refuse to play; her ego could not bear to have a stranger listen to her do something that she had absolutely no inclination, natural or otherwise, towards.

Kyohei, unimpressed by her excuses, looked at her skeptically as she tried to talk her way out of playing along. He didn’t actually expect her to be able to play the piano, although her presence in an old music shop like this would at least make the possibility of it slightly more likely than normal. He couldn’t say that part of him wouldn’t be amused by someone as proud and cocky as Kameko struggle and embarrass herself while trying to play, but that wasn’t really the point of the whole deal. While he didn’t need her to play an entire piece, the fact that she wasn’t even willing to sit down at the instrument was putting a bit of a damper on his parade. Sure, he could have asked her to do something else, but she showed at least enough interest in the music earlier to hopefully be swayed a little bit.

“Oh come on,” he replied playfully as he reached his hand out to her for her to take, “You saw me play when I didn’t want anyone else to see. I think we should at least even the score. You don’t have to worry about not being able to play, it’s just us here. Unless there are more of you Kumo-nin running around, trespassing on private property in Konoha you should be safe to play.” His choice of words, once again choosing to point out her trespassing, were intentional and playful, hoping to stoke the fire that was her own ego and pride. “So let’s go, princess,” he teased her again with a wink, “I’ll show you a few lines of music if need be, but we can’t move on to the game if you don’t at least make an effort. It’s time to swallow your pride and have son fun. You’re on vacation, aren’t you? You have all the time to be a stiff when you get back to your own village.”

---

342 | 3146~

For a moment, Kameko simply stood there, her blue eyes studying the young man; they flickered down, briefly, to his proffered hand before returning to his face. She considered her options, and from his insistence, she determined that it was either play along – literally – or walk out and brush this aside as a strange encounter with an unsolved mystery. Making a decision, a plan, those bright eyes closed for just a second as, in her fitted dress, one could see her take a purposeful deep breath in before releasing it through slightly parted lips and looking forwards once more as she approached him and the piano. Slender, sword-calloused fingers accepted his hand as she neared, releasing it as she settled herself upon the bench.

The act of simply settling on the bench was done with a bit of fuss. Those hands neatly brushed the skirt of her dress beneath her as she sat, her posture perfectly upright and feet neatly together. The young woman took a moment to smooth her skirt, another to push the hair that she had been playing with neatly back behind her shoulders, before, with a flourish, placing her hands lightly upon the ivories; for that moment she exuded complete confidence, looking for all the world like she was actually skilled at the instrument.  “No, I won’t need you to show me any lines..”Turning her head just slightly to look at her “audience” of one, she announced, “An original composition.”

Her attention returned to the instrument she sat before and another inhalation could be seen before…Duun..Dun…Duuun…. Her right pointer finger played the “D” next to “Middle C” for three notes of varying lengths with rests of equal variance between them; she knew enough to remember the proper hand placement, at least. After finishing the last note, her hands neatly folded themselves in her lap, and she turned back to the young man, her lips curved into a smirk. “They say… that music is between the notes.” Who “they” was, she couldn’t recall, but she quoted “them” with authority. It could not be said the Kameko lacked in theatricality. Did she just play the piano? Technically, yes, and there were arguments that an artist could make along the lines of "what is music", but to herself, she viewed it as a loophole; the beauty of the design of a piano was that to play it, in it's simplist form of producing an individual note, was not very difficult for anyone, even her.

Three notes. That was all that Kameko played on the piano after making such a fuss and display about actually sitting down at the instrument to play. The sounds weren’t even varied, she just hit a single key on the piano three times. It appeared as though this girl was unable to resist her curiosity, but equally as stubborn in her insistence on putting on this front of arrogance and snark. In her mind, Kyohei was sure she thought that she was being clever, but he had no intentions of allowing her to take a shortcut to what she wanted. Perhaps using the word play was a poor choice for what she would need to do to get her answers. She seemed to enjoy the games, but the next game they would play… she would have to work for what she wanted.

“And who exactly is ‘they’?” he inquired with a not so subtle tinge of suspicion in his voice, “The same ‘they’ that had you convinced that tapping down on a single key a couple of times would satisfy me?” Letting out an amused huff, the Uchiha would step up behind the bench where Kameko sat and purposefully lean past her side to the book of music that sat on the instrument, placing his left hand on her shoulder as his right began flipping the pages of music sheets. “How about you tell me what kind of music you like? It might make it easier to find a piece.”

The gesture was harmless, as were Kyohei’s words, but of course this was all part of their game. Almost as abruptly as all this seemed to have started, Kyohei would remove his hand from her shoulder and instead bring it up to the not in her forehead protector’s cloth that she had been using as a headband. Then, with some swift, dexterous movements of his fingers and a flick of the wrist, he would tug on the knot, causing it to unravel and allowing him to pull her Kumogakure forehead protector away from Kameko. “You seem quite proud of this don’t you?” he teased with a sly grin as he took a few steps backwards to put some distance between them, “I mean, you even where it as a fashion statement. That’s adorable.”

---

388 | 3554~

His reaction to her little ploy was not what she had expected. She been hoping to coax out a laugh or a smile, which was much of the reason why she had played up the big preparation for a parody of a performance, but no, he seemed to have swung back to being suspicious of her again. ‘It was worth a shot,’ she resigned to herself. There was something about his mannerisms, a domineering aspect to them, which fueled the sassy side of her personality and pulled her arrogance up to the surface, and she couldn’t help herself but make another quip. “How unfortunate. I suppose you just don’t get my art,” she said in the most exaggerated high-brow manner that she could manage, even adding a dismissive wave of her hand to top it off.

He stepped up behind her as she finished, placing his hand on her shoulder to lean over her and start flipping through the music book. Apparently, he intended to pick out a piece for her to play, despite her having just told him that she wasn’t interested in playing any written pieces. Her cheery manner began to darken into annoyance at his presumption when, before she could begin to answer, he slipped his hand from her shoulder to her hair, untying the makeshift headband of her hitai-ate with one quick gesture. Her hand flew up to it at the feeling, but with a flick of his wrist, the rest of the dark fabric slithered off before she could grab it. Her mouth reflexively twitched downward with displeasure; she had a bad feeling about how the situation had changed. ‘So much for being able to just walk out.’

Pivoting on the bench to face the young man, she remained seated, her expression neutral as she looked at him. To his question, she offered a nonchalant shrug. “It’s an outward symbol of my allegiance to my country. Of course I would be proud of such a thing.” The words were spoken as though it were obvious. Indeed, it shouldn’t be a surprise to him to see her wearing a hitai-ate; Konohagakure was a hidden village filled with shinobi running around wearing the traditional forehead protector in, often, untraditional ways, such as her headband. Besides the fact that it was customary to wear them when on-duty or when traveling to another country, such as she was, she was also still rather attached to it. It represented her claiming her future as her own and, in a way, taking control of that future with her own hands instead of simply stepping into the positions granted to her by virtue of her birth. Kameko was purposeful in not making her fondness of it visible on her face nor, hopefully, in her mannerisms; she had a feeling that whatever ‘game’ he wanted to play next would go a lot easier if it appeared that she was not invested in the item.

“Such a strange thing, isn’t it?” Kyohei mused rather seriously while examining the Kumogakure plate more closely, dangling it in front of his face, “That shinobi are so caught up on such antiquated symbols. Do you ever why we’re told to wear these brands? 400 years ago, maybe identification would have been a problem, but that is hardly the case today. I stopped wearing mine years ago. It just… didn’t feel right anymore, you know?” He rolled the cloth between his fingertips, causing the plate to spin slowly as he stared intently at it.

The Uchiha said nothing for just a moment before snapping himself back into reality and turning to face Kameko once more. Taking note of the expression on Kameko’s face, Kyohei wondered what had changed. Even when this girl was trying to express disinterest before she made it a point to make a show of it. Somehow he seriously doubted that her personality as a whole had somehow shifted in the course of a few seconds. The only reasonable conclusion he could come to was that it was all another act of hers, but what was the cause this time? The head band? He had hoped it would bait a response out of her, but if she was truly angry he didn’t believe she would take it so likely. This girl was much too proud for that.

He locked eyes with her and intended to remain silent until she spoke, but was unable to stop himself from breaking out into laughter. “Oh come now, Kameko, don’t be such a stiff,” he taunted as he stepped back towards the bench and leaned down to speak to her face to face, “As cute as you look when you’re trying to be tough, I quite liked it when you smiled. You’ll make me feel bad if you stop now. Don’t tell me my charm has worn off. Come on, follow me. I can’t have you heading back home with a sour opinion about the village.“ With that, Kyohei would pull away from the girl, turn, and begin walking towards the doorway.

Stopping in his tracks at the beginning of the corridor that led out of the room, Kyohei would turn his head to the side in order to look at Kameko from the corner of his eye. A smirk curled back upon his lips as he took the forehead protector and slung it over his shoulder, cloud symbol exposed as a tease to get her to chase after him. “Besides, I still need to pay you back for that masterpiece you played me, so come along. I mean, you don’t have to come if you really don’t want to, but I have a feeling you’ll be wanting this back. Don’t fall too far behind, princess.” The Uchiha would then stick his tongue out at Kameko slightly and begin walking out of view down the hallway.

---

499 | 4053~

“I suppose it’s just a matter of tradition,” she commented in response to his, likely, rhetorical question. Her eyes were drawn to the plate as it spun, held up before the young man as he inspected it. ‘Stopped wearing his? So he’s a shinobi as well.’ The information wasn’t particularly useful at the moment, but she tucked it away with the other tidbits that she had observed about Mister Piano Man; perhaps she’d eventually to be able to piece together something useful out of it, despite his determination to keep her from knowing anything about him. For goodness’ sake, she didn’t even have a name to call him by besides “Piano Man”!

A moment later, the genuine emotion of surprise showed on her face as the boy suddenly burst into laughter. It seemed so out of character for him, but the condescension that followed when he leaned down to taunt her was much more along the vein that she had learned to expect of him. He sauntered over to the doorway, obviously expecting her to come trotting after him like a little dog… The most annoying part of it was that, as long as he held her headband captive, she’d do just that, and as he flipped the little band over his shoulder, it was clear that he was well-aware of the leash that he held. She stood up, shaking her head as she moved to follow him.

After a few steps, Kameko hesitated and “…Don’t fall too far behind, princess.” turned back to the piano. Looking around, she found the discarded cover and pulled it back over the instrument. With a little sigh, she did exactly as she had despaired of moments earlier and began trotting after him, catching up before he reached that heavy curtain separating the backroom from the main of the shop. “Where are we headed to, Piano Man?” she asked curiously as she followed him, slightly off of his right shoulder.

A moment later, she observed, “You know, if you’d like to keep your playing a secret, you should probably give me something else to call you by than ‘Piano Man’.” She had resigned herself to the fact that she would have to tag-along with him until he grew bored of her and decided to give her back the hitai-ate. Sure, she could try to take it from him, but it wasn’t worth the trouble, especially now that she knew he was a shinobi. He was irritating, but she certainly wasn’t itching for a fight; it would lead to nothing but trouble in a foreign country. ‘It’s a good thing that I didn’t have any plans for the day...’

The Uchiha would pause before the large curtain, curling one hand around the edge as if preparing to pull it aside before he turned to face the girl with him. He stared at her for a moment, contemplating whether or not it was time for him to actually give her a name. It probably couldn’t do any harm at that point, so he decided he might as well have… in time. “Now now, Kameko,” Kyohei said, waving his finger to gesture a ‘no’, “Questions can wait until we get outside. I figure you have to be tired of our ‘old, dusty backrooms’ by now, right?”

With a wink Kyohei would pull aside the curtain slightly in order to slide through ahead of Kameko, aiming to use his speed to disappear from behind the curtain before she could follow. Obviously he had no intention of ditching her before returning her headband, so he would wait outside the shop for her to catch up, propped up with his back against the wall right next to the entrance. He fully expected her to be able to find him, and not just strolling out of the shop and seeing him there. Unless she was just a very good guesser, she was somehow able to deduce that there was a door behind the curtain that was intended to look like nothing more than a tapestry. If he were a gambling man, he would bet that however she was able to find him before would allow her to locate him again… at least if she had any interest in recovering her forehead protector.

A familiar melody caught Kyohei’s attention as he tried to wait for Kameko. It was an ice cream truck and not just any ice cream truck, but the same brand that used to drive around his neighborhood when he was a kid. Part of him was really tempted to try and look cool by posting up on the wall to wait for Kameko to exit the shop and keep up his mystery man act, but the nostalgia was stronger. He thought it rude to get himself ice cream and nothing for the girl that he had chasing him around though. The problem with that was that he had no idea what she liked. Maybe he should just get something simple that most people would enjoy. He ordered two soft-served vanilla cones, one with chocolate sprinkles for him, and one with rainbow sprinkles for her since she seemed to like color. As he waited for his order to be prepared he casually rested his arms on the window-counter and leaned on the truck.

---

443 | 4496~

Surprise, surprise, her query did not result in any more progress towards her goal of discovering his name or, really, anything else about the stranger who swiped her hitai-ate. She let out an amused little exhalation, “Hmph.” Notwithstanding her annoyance at her forehead protector being held as ransom against her playing along with whatever game he had in mind, Kameko had made peace with the fact that she’d be tagging along for a while and had asked more of as a test than out of an expectation that she would actually get an answer. As a matter of fact, she probably wouldn’t be able to trust any answer that he gave at this point; after all, why tell her the truth anytime soon if it was so important to him that he keep it secret in the first place. The fact that he’d stuck around and bothered to make her stay as well was the only surprising thing in the situation.

Or so she had thought. As soon as the idea crossed her mind, the man abruptly bolted through the curtained doorway. For a breath, the young woman just stood there staring at the swinging curtain. ‘What the…’ She stepped through the curtain and her bright blue eyes rapidly scanned the main room, searching for a flash of silver hair or the dark cloth of his hood. When she found neither, she muttered a curse and rapidly, at a pace that could just barely be considered something other than a run, made her way out of the store. Running would have made her look like she had stolen something rather than the truth, which was that she had had her hitai-ate pilfered from her, but there was a trickle of fear that it was stolen in truth rather than in jest. There was no clear reason for a common thief to go after such an item; they were cheaply made of inexpensive materials and were also extremely common in the hidden villages. The only thing that made hers unique in Konohagakure was the fact that it had the cloud of Kumogakure inscribed onto the metal plate. His secrecy and sudden disappearance suggested that he might have discovered some nefarious use for it, and as she made her way into the sunlight, her face reflected that concern.

Those sensitive blue eyes were narrowed against the sudden brightness, and it took her a few moments of scanning the streets and surrounding area to find him, because it was in a context where she least expected to find him. The surprise registered on her face, before her expression creased into a sheepish smile as she joined him before the truck. “You have sharp ears, Mr. Piano Man. I didn’t even hear the truck come by,” she admitted, conveniently ignoring the other admission, which would be that he had worried her by running off. If he had been watching her when she first exited the shop, that would have been fairly clear, but she felt no need to state the obvious; so, as was typical for the young woman, she simply brushed over that which embarrassed her as though doing so would erase the event.

The jingling of the shop’s doorbell caught the Uchiha’s attention, leaving him to wonder what the girl he had been stringing along all this time was thinking as she scanned the city street for him. With an amused smirk he had already turned his head back to face the ice cream truck by the time she spotted him and began making her way over, pretending he hadn’t noticed her look of concern as she stepped outside. Kyohei chuckled at Kameko’s rather random observation and the haughty way she pretended that she had been cool, calm, and collected this whole time. “See?” he said with a smile as he turned his head towards her once more, “Contrary to what you might believe I’m not tall, dark, and brooding every hour of the day. I do have some redeeming qualities.”

His train of thought, as well as his speech would be politely interrupted by the older gentleman that worked the ice cream truck. With a wide grin Kyohei gladly received his order, sliding an unfolded bill across the counter as payment before taking a cone in each hand. Their transaction now complete, he would turn away from the truck operator and return his attention to Kameko, now with two ice cream cones in hand. “Listen,” the Uchiha began with a sigh, “I think we got off on the wrong foot. I apologize for my overreaction back in the beginning. I tend to be rather… private about my personal life. I guess I’ve spent so long trying to keep people out that I have trouble distinguishing when I should allow people in. But that shouldn’t be your problem. So maybe it is, but I’m hoping it’s not too late for us to wipe the slate clean and start over?”

Kyohei would then extend his left hand forward, offering Kameko to ice cream cone dipped in rainbow colored sprinkles, his lips curved into a smile as he made his peace offering. “My name is Kyohei and I’m a member of the Village Hidden in the Leaves,” he announced directly, finally answering her long-standing inquiries about his identity, “It’s a pleasure to meet you Kameko. I feel like I should make things up to you for earlier. So how about it, princess? Surely you don’t already hate me enough to turn down ice cream.”

---

402 | 4898~

Perhaps for the best, her quip about his redeeming qualities was never voiced as the ice-cream man spoke, and the young man turned to settle up with him. When he turned back, it was with two cones in hand. As he began, she eyed the ice-cream in his hands, conveniently allowing her to judge the position of her hitai-ate. Although she sorely tempted to try and grab ahold of the ties and pull it from his grip, she resisted, for doing so might cause him to lose his grip on his recently acquired sweets, and that’d just be mean; after all, he didn’t seem to be in a hurry to run off again, so instead, at his request, listen she did. He offered an explanation, an apology, of sorts, and extended the brightly sprinkled ice-cream cone as a peace-offering. There was no hesitation as she reached out and immediately accepted it with her right hand.

“It’s never too late,” she agreed, with a smile to match his. ”It’s a pleasure to meet you, too.” Did she believe that that was actually his true name? No, or, at least, she wasn’t entirely confident in the truthfulness of his sudden change of heart; at this point, it wasn’t a point worth pressing. She wasn’t so tactless as to refuse when someone tries to make amends… and besides, the ice cream would melt if she took too long to decide. With that in mind, she took a lick from her cone, her tongue efficiently clearing the sprinkles from one side. Those blue eyes closed briefly as she tasted the sugary goodness.

When the ice-cream truck had stopped, it had continued to play its charming little melody. This tune also caught the attention of the nearby children, some of which came running up, their parents trailing behind them, carrying purchases from the other various shops which lined the street. A small crowd began forming around them, and looking for a less busy area, Kameko noticed that one of the many benches which had been built along this street to cater to the foot-traffic that it attracted was currently vacated. She extended her left hand to draw Kyohei’s attention to it and wove her way through the eager customers to reach it. When she made it to the bench, she took a seat on one side, assuming that Kyohei had followed and would join her on it. When he caught up with her, if he chose to do so, she would ask in a teasing voice, “Besides having an ear for, apparently, all kinds of music, do you have any other hidden talents, Kyohei?” While waiting for his answer, she would begin the pleasurable chore of licking the remaining sprinkles off of cone.