Maigo sat at the wooden bar top, a cold drink condensating on the napkin underneath it. His thoughts ran around in his head for a while as he thought through everything, all the events coming and going in his head. The scenarios and reactions, he was never much of a thinker to be completely honest, and in a place like this. Well anyone who knew Maigo wouldn't imagine to see him moping about a bar so much as he would be strolling around and picking any pretty face in the room that he could find. So much at risk though, he just wanted to sit alone to his thoughts for a while, letting the world around him start to spin away and people go by. The occassional patron sitting next to him for a moment to order their drinks and then to leave when they noticed he was too zoned out to pay them any attention.

His backpack on and his katana at his waist still, having just got in from his mission, he sat on the hard stool, his thoughts kept to himself. A familiar voice rang out after some time, he hadn't cared to pay attention to anyone sitting down next to him but the voice caught his attention. "Two please, bartender." Maigo turned his head slightly, his eyes a little dull due to having zoned out. "Oh, it's you..." he spoke a bit slowly, lightly as well. Hardly audible over the music and conversation going around in the Siren's Den, Maigo's back pack rustled though, the zipper being undone and Zero poking his head out. "Who are you talking to?" the sloth rolled out leaves in his mouth and still chewing them. "Careful Maigo, Aizou's gonna be pissed if she catches you..." he said chuckling a bit.

Maigo yawned a bit, still ignoring Aozame's presence for the most part reaching his hand back and lightly tapping Zero on the head, "Yeah yeah, I know. Go back to your leaves..." he said and grabbed his drink, taking the last sip of it before the bartender would bring the next round to them. He turned back to Aozame and spoke up, "So... what are you doing here? I didn't picture you for much of a drinker or socialite..." he continued on, a short chuckle popped up, "especially given how much you detested that offer to dinner." even in his depression he still couldn't resist making a joke or two, but who knew how long that would last.

[427 words]

"I didn't picture you for much of a settle down type either." she retorted with a smile at him, his response was to roll his eyes and gave a slight scoff through his nose. His attention turned towards the table where their drinks were being set in front of them. Maigo's refill on his whiskey and cola, he looked at it for a second and watched Aozame take her drink and down it in one go. A bit of surprise struck him, he never expected anything like that from her, of all people, she seemed more to start lecturing him over doing something like that. Continuing to watch as she hacked up a cough, Maigo laughed a bit and took another sip of his drink. She spoke up afterwards, a short rant of recently sad events to match the shift in her tone.

Even through the slight smirk, Maigo could tell she was feeling the affects of something, whatever that may. Speaking as if Teru had died or something like that? Should Maigo know about that? A heavy tearing at the pit of his stomach began to unwind as he felt out of the loop about everything, not even knowing that they were all staying at Sero's manor much less the loss of a friend of his. She continued on, giving the rest of her speel, almost apologizing to him for her decisions. Justification of her actions. Part of him wanted to comment on how they were merely the argument of those without reason for action. But he let her on, instead focusing in on her grabbing his drink and finishing off the rest of it.

A disenchanted look on his face as he almost couldn't believe her audacity, a quick attempt to change the subject to him not being her type and the dancers being so. Then a final quip as if all were well, a simple, "Well.. How have you been, lately?" his mouth almost gaping as he looked at her. He was stunned, and a small rustle from his backpack and Zero popped out again, "At a loss for words and getting out drunk by a little girl... man you've fallen off lately" he chimed in Maigo's ear but not in a whisper, instead like a bad itch in the back of his head. He sighed and yelled at Zero, "How about you shut up!" he gave a stern look and then turned back to Aozame.

A child-like tantrum on display as he continued on, "And you're being depressing!" he pointed at her and continued yelling, he could hear Zero snickering and slinking away into his pack again. "I was just fine until you stole my drink to be honest!" he detested, his face pouting as much as he was. He wasn't going to have it today, or maybe he was just not in the mood to pander to another depressive soul. Or maybe it was the bit of the Uchiha in him slipping out, more and more it seemed these days. Usually in full blown chunks of rage but now, he was starting to feel the affects drip out in little tantrums and a seemingly shorter fuse growing each day. He wasn't sure why the drink was so important, or why anything at that moment was, it certainly wasn't Zero's taunts getting him riled up.

It was something else completely, and beyond that, he hadn't the slightest clue. It would really depend on how Aozame took everything to dictate the direction of where it would all go, even as much as he'd detest fighting a girl. He didn't know why he took it down this road, other than it was a distraction from the ramblings going on, and a way to avoid speaking about himself anymore than he had to. Totally ignoring her quip about the dancers and absorbed into his anger, a very anti-Maigo action in the end.

[669 words, 1096 words total]

The scene grew quickly, Aozame pushing past his escalation to double down on it. She yelled back at him in return, "I'm sorry, princess! Here, I'll get you another!" his eye would twitch a bit briefly in response as he watched her reach across the counter for a bottle. The sloppily poured shot sloshed back and forth in the cup as she pushed it at him, a small bit of it spilled out onto the counter. The bottle flew back to the bartender who was quickly approaching with a concerned look on his eye, "Do you need a nap too?!" she yelled back and growled at the bartender. The scene around them unfolded, Maigo's lip would curl a bit as he realized that he was gonna do something regrettable soon.

The patrons around them whispered their threats, Aozame's chakra was riled up and starting to bleed in the same feel as Sero's had. That infectious and black chakra, it was a tone against Maigo's. The affect of Sero's dark chakra could be compared to blackness, a hole sucking everything away into nothing and screams of the void yelling out. Whereas Maigo's chakra would flair in the color red, unbridled and passionate fire lashing out at its surroundings and surrounding everything it could encompass. For the time, he restrained his chakra though, letting her brood in her own anger as he prepared to lash out. Her anger was well beyond obvious, and he knew that pushing it any further would be a bad idea, but he wasn't gonna let her brood any more than him. Whatever the reason, it wasn't a contest, but he treated it like one, in his conscious where he wasn't aware of it. He hated her brooding, when he felt so much anger in his bones and body, boiling under his skin and infecting him.

It intoxicated his mind and decisions all together, nothing would solve that entirely and it grew each day. He reached across at her, his sharingan now activated and carefully watching her for a moment as he thought the situation through. Taking the glass in his right hand he yelled out, "Hey!" a simple call to her, his voice raised and sharp in tone. He took the shot glass and slammed it in front of her, the glass breaking and the drink pouring out everywhere, a slight cut to his hand as a small shard cut into it, but he ignored it as he kept his eyes trained on her.

When she would turn to him, if she did, she would find him leaned in, a few inches away from her face and sharingan activated, preparing to cast the hell viewing technique on her at first glance he could. A rather unfair technique, it would cause her a bit of grief, and he knew a little bit about her distrust of the Uchiha inherently already. This would add nothing to that but disdain and maybe even worse, for him as well. But for now, he didn't care, and this was his method of dealing with his own grief, even if it was nothing more than a childish outbreak.

Assuming that his genjutsu landed, he would breathe a sigh of relief slowly as he slumped in his seat some, That'll keep you quiet for a minute. Give you something really to complain about... he though to himself as he heard footsteps behind him, a heavy hand would grab his shoulder and turn him, the bouncer of the bar getting ready to throw him out. That would be an interesting mistake for him to make.

[613 words, 1709 words total]

What is it, about anger burning in the heart of a naturally kind man that makes him so. Something so tantalizing and outrageous, the smallest thing rings out like the bell of a church in the middle of the night. That sound driving the irritation further, it didn't have to be anything substantial, someone else who had claim to something that he deserved as his own right? Someone else angry while he was, a childish tantrum of the very breaking of his mentality, not wanting to break his concentration on his own problems to hear out someone else' own dilemmas. The pervasive mindset of his old self that was always so kind, calm, and relaxed cried out at him as the hand of a bouncer grabbed hold of him and turned his shoulder. Aozame already under his genjutsu and beginning to feel the transition around her, slowly but surely. Maigo let his eyes fall away to their normal yellow color, to save himself the trouble of being so easily identified. And against these guards, he wouldn't need them.

The bouncer called out to him, "Hey, it's time to g- ugh" falling back a step or two as Maigo pushed him in the chest to interrupt him. Standing up to his feet, Aozame saying something towards him but he ignored it for whatever was about to happen. The bouncer regained his balance and his locked on Maigo, reaching back to throw a heavy winded punch, Maigo swiftly ducked under it and gave a heavy-fisted uppercut to the bouncers chin to counter. The heavy set man gave another 'oof' noise as he fell back to the ground, another bouncer coming up to Maigo and throwing a punch into Maigo's jaw. His head turned and saw Aozame start to panic within the genjutsu, he'd seen the same eyes before with worry, but hers gave a lot away to panic.

Probably some affect from Sero, replacing the feelings of a normal human emotion and replacing it with a more calculated approach. She'd gotten to where her anger was prevalent and that meant to Maigo, that she was progressing. But towards overcoming her anger and being a better person, or learning to perfectly control it, which would either lead her to a cool, calm and collected nature or something more calculated and unforgiving like Sero himself was. Enough of the short reflection on Aozame and her potential future with so much uncertainty in it, he had another bouncer to deal with himself. And his anger was burning enough to really give it to him, a quick punch back with all his strength. Followed by a spinning elbow with his other arm and then a few more strikes to continue his combination. Taking a bit of his anger out would be fine, other patrons in the bar started running out as he realized his sharingan was activated again. But he couldn't take it too far, he slowed his attack to let the man with a bloody nose and probably black eye fall away.

Just in time to see Aozame get knocked out by another bouncer, she fell away from his punch with a bit of lag. Maigo sighed and jumped up, spinning around and landing a heel kick n that third bouncer. It dropped him immediately, as Maigo landed back to the ground and scratched his head. The bar was empty, the lights and music still going. The patrons had fled off entirely, the bartender scrammed out the back door and the security guards had all been knocked out. He probably only had a few minutes before the Kirigakure no Sato police force, or maybe even ANBU agents showed up to apprehend them.

He knew he'd regret it soon after, but he couldn't leave Aozame there unconscious to deal with whatever came. Maigo placed a hand on her shoulder, knocked out completely like a little kid, he pushed a bit of chakra and used Kai to break the genjutsu. A rather terrible nightmare to leave her in while knocked out, but he doubted it would earn any sympathy points when all was said and done. He grabbed hold of her body and threw her over his shoulder, letting her head and arms fall behind his back as he began to carry her away. Dragging the both of them out of the Siren's Den and then jumping away as quickly as he could.

Maigo headed for the outskirts of town, to a small park nearby, a light breeze in the night sky. The moon shown partially through the clouds, he laid the young Hoshigaki against a tree for her to wake up. He'd leave her there for a moment and head towards the nearby pond, taking a seat at a bench and watching the moon and stars reflect in the water. Occasionally picking up one of the stones from the gravel walk way in front of him to skip across the still surface of the water.

[841 words, 2550 words total]

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