1 Dr. Kireilove, or how I learned to stop worrying and love oranges. (Chigetsu/Inv) Wed Mar 28, 2018 3:11 am
Kirei
B-rank
Tossing and turning in the middle of the night, there is a lone Uchiha dreaming of an orange future. Standing in on the precipice of a sheer cliff, the winding roads long decayed, Kirei overlooks an endless grove of orange trees. The citrus glow mixes with the infinite sunrise here, and the boy can't help but feel small before the enormity of it all. A thin haze of smoke wafts from the trees, bonfires lit throughout the orchard by those brave few pilgrims who journeyed down the mountain's treacherous paths. In this ethereal realm of orange light and no sound, Kirei was one such sojourner. Footstep after perilous footstep each gave way to the new challenge of finding a secure hold.
Below his feet, the stone gives way and the boy scrambles for something to hold. Fingers slip, he lets out a cry muffled by the dream and plunges toward the bottom. The descent is swift and brutal; he comes crashing through the canopy into a world of orange stars strung across his vision against a green sea. The ground never comes. Instead, the oranges continue onwards, falling from peripherals into the boy's sight only to sink away into that growing mossy expanse. Then he feels it, the splash of liquid on his back is there and then in a flash as he becomes submerged in orange depths. Spluttering, he claws his way to the surface only to see the orange tide rising before his eyes into a dark, looming figure. With a spinning maw of sharpened fangs the orange behemoth rockets toward Kirei.
Everything goes black.
"God damnit."
Kirei opened his eyes slowly, adjusting to the morning. He would hesitate to call the surreal orange journey a nightmare, though it left his waking brain somewhat confused in its stead. With the fog moving from his thoughts, it became clear to the boy why he'd dreamt of oranges; arriving home the first thing he'd done was send word to his father of what he needed. Of course, Kirei framed it as a gift for instructors of rare fruit. The advantage Kirei had over traditional mail was his Hound. The dog was not, in actuality, his, but part of a summoning contract entered into by his father, and Yūji's primary purpose was to serve as an intermediary between father and son, able to be summoned across the world at will.
The young male had been disappointed to learn that Yūji couldn't merely carry the produce with him but an overnight courier service would do the job well enough. It was still early, so Kirei took his time in preparing for the day, lazily going through a morning routine as if he'd already been here a decade. It was almost enough to bum him out, how monotonous this all felt again already. By the time he'd meandered around long enough for the morning to be in full swing, he pulled open the door while snapping his fingers for Yūji to follow.
"Post dock first." Kirei would coo, absentmindedly.
"You ordered too many oranges. There'll be hundreds. Hundreds of oranges, Kirei." Came the stern reply.
With the city already in full swing, the courier's landing where the pair wandered to was already bustling with crowds. Kirei could see, not far off sure, gigantic shipping vessels with smaller boats ferrying goods to shore as crews of what must have been hundreds worked tirelessly unloading aboard. It was in one such ship that Kirei would spy the tell-tale orange shade of his cargo. Practically pushing to the front of the line, Kirei was met with disdainful glares until he breached the final wall of adult bodies to slam his palms forcibly on the oak table.
"Oranges." Kirei would smile cheerfully and point past the clerk to a man unloading two large black bags. With a heavy head, she would turn and waltz over to check the invoices before leaning down and presenting Kirei with some import papers to sign.
Claiming his prize would be met with rolling eyes from the grumpy hound who would follow the boy towards their next destination. Departing the port left the duo with no shortage of strange stares as the Uchiha meandered away, absent-mindedly tossing an orange up and down. As a privileged bourgeois Konoha rat, Kirei was well familiar with oranges, but in the Land of Water, the import fees made them much more expensive. The boy thought nothing of asking his father to send through hundreds of the things and acted as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Secretly, from the shadows, envious eyes would watch him move.
The Alley Cat downtown looked a lot different in the light of day. Closed at these hours and surrounded by actual businesses instead of the dark and fog, Kirei felt a bit more normal about what was going on. Busy, but not overcrowded, the lane was mostly peppered with restaurants opening for lunch when Kirei arrived a little before noon. The Konoha iconography on his clothing and blonde mane would surely be enough for Chigetsu to recognize him. Truth be told, Kirei terrible about the whole thing that went down when they'd met, Kirei didn't even know the boy's name. But he'd smashed his juice, caused him to transform into some sticky abomination and for what? For his own fun running around in the dark? Nay, Kirei swore, never again would he prowl the darkness to cause mischief. At night he would endeavor to be a real ninja, or maybe a crusader of justice, he hadn't quite decided yet.
Looking especially out of place, Kirei waited in the middle of the street with one sack at his feet, and the other slung over his left shoulder. In his hand, he held a half-peeled orange from which he took the occasional bite. He wondered whether the other boy would even show, he hoped so.
1006
Below his feet, the stone gives way and the boy scrambles for something to hold. Fingers slip, he lets out a cry muffled by the dream and plunges toward the bottom. The descent is swift and brutal; he comes crashing through the canopy into a world of orange stars strung across his vision against a green sea. The ground never comes. Instead, the oranges continue onwards, falling from peripherals into the boy's sight only to sink away into that growing mossy expanse. Then he feels it, the splash of liquid on his back is there and then in a flash as he becomes submerged in orange depths. Spluttering, he claws his way to the surface only to see the orange tide rising before his eyes into a dark, looming figure. With a spinning maw of sharpened fangs the orange behemoth rockets toward Kirei.
Everything goes black.
"God damnit."
Kirei opened his eyes slowly, adjusting to the morning. He would hesitate to call the surreal orange journey a nightmare, though it left his waking brain somewhat confused in its stead. With the fog moving from his thoughts, it became clear to the boy why he'd dreamt of oranges; arriving home the first thing he'd done was send word to his father of what he needed. Of course, Kirei framed it as a gift for instructors of rare fruit. The advantage Kirei had over traditional mail was his Hound. The dog was not, in actuality, his, but part of a summoning contract entered into by his father, and Yūji's primary purpose was to serve as an intermediary between father and son, able to be summoned across the world at will.
The young male had been disappointed to learn that Yūji couldn't merely carry the produce with him but an overnight courier service would do the job well enough. It was still early, so Kirei took his time in preparing for the day, lazily going through a morning routine as if he'd already been here a decade. It was almost enough to bum him out, how monotonous this all felt again already. By the time he'd meandered around long enough for the morning to be in full swing, he pulled open the door while snapping his fingers for Yūji to follow.
"Post dock first." Kirei would coo, absentmindedly.
"You ordered too many oranges. There'll be hundreds. Hundreds of oranges, Kirei." Came the stern reply.
With the city already in full swing, the courier's landing where the pair wandered to was already bustling with crowds. Kirei could see, not far off sure, gigantic shipping vessels with smaller boats ferrying goods to shore as crews of what must have been hundreds worked tirelessly unloading aboard. It was in one such ship that Kirei would spy the tell-tale orange shade of his cargo. Practically pushing to the front of the line, Kirei was met with disdainful glares until he breached the final wall of adult bodies to slam his palms forcibly on the oak table.
"Oranges." Kirei would smile cheerfully and point past the clerk to a man unloading two large black bags. With a heavy head, she would turn and waltz over to check the invoices before leaning down and presenting Kirei with some import papers to sign.
Claiming his prize would be met with rolling eyes from the grumpy hound who would follow the boy towards their next destination. Departing the port left the duo with no shortage of strange stares as the Uchiha meandered away, absent-mindedly tossing an orange up and down. As a privileged bourgeois Konoha rat, Kirei was well familiar with oranges, but in the Land of Water, the import fees made them much more expensive. The boy thought nothing of asking his father to send through hundreds of the things and acted as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Secretly, from the shadows, envious eyes would watch him move.
The Alley Cat downtown looked a lot different in the light of day. Closed at these hours and surrounded by actual businesses instead of the dark and fog, Kirei felt a bit more normal about what was going on. Busy, but not overcrowded, the lane was mostly peppered with restaurants opening for lunch when Kirei arrived a little before noon. The Konoha iconography on his clothing and blonde mane would surely be enough for Chigetsu to recognize him. Truth be told, Kirei terrible about the whole thing that went down when they'd met, Kirei didn't even know the boy's name. But he'd smashed his juice, caused him to transform into some sticky abomination and for what? For his own fun running around in the dark? Nay, Kirei swore, never again would he prowl the darkness to cause mischief. At night he would endeavor to be a real ninja, or maybe a crusader of justice, he hadn't quite decided yet.
Looking especially out of place, Kirei waited in the middle of the street with one sack at his feet, and the other slung over his left shoulder. In his hand, he held a half-peeled orange from which he took the occasional bite. He wondered whether the other boy would even show, he hoped so.
1006