Kirigakure was an interesting place, if Syekren was any judge of its character. It wasn't bad, once one got used to the cold and the mist most of the time. Syekren, having spent most of his life in the land of wind among the scorching desert sands, couldn't really ever see himself getting used to the climate he found himself in, not really. He had spent a lot of time in the village hidden in the Mists up to this point and it was all for Izumi and to ensure his young daughter Chou would have enough worldly experience to understand exactly what she wanted out of life. At least, that was the plan, but they had barely left their hotel room together.  They usually went their own ways when it came to going out for errands. Izumi was doing whatever someone who just became a ninja of the mist officially was doing. Chou was being a child and exploring, getting a feel for her surroundings. Probably. That's if she'd woken up from the deep slumber she'd been in since they left the former village hidden in the sands. When Syekren wasn't spending time with ravens, training them to deliver messages or establishing contacts in the mist to make his business ventures easier, he was drinking and generally being complacent around the village. He'd been eating their foods and watching the day to day lives of the shinobi who came and went. He'd peeked in on the training of a few genin and chuunin and was surprised to see some of them actually using ice in jutsu,  or training with swords and putting some experts he'd seen to shame.  It seemed that what knowledge there was of the ninja here and their specialties wasn't fabricated much, if at all. He didn't want to make himself seem suspicious so Syekren didn't watch too closely or too often, the last thing he wanted to do during his time in a foreign land was to draw attention to himself, anymore than he likely already had.

Syekren was dressed in a black tee shirt and blue jeans with black sneakers upon his feet. He had his tanto strapped to the back left of his belt with the trench knives he'd gotten not long ago upon the front of his belt on the hooks made for them. The man with the beard and mismatched eyes, a scar reaching from the middle of his left eyebrow down through the eyelid to the left cheekbone, which cut a bit into his beard was getting dirty looks from passing shinobi or villagers. He guessed it wasn't due to his outfit or weapons, it likely had to do with the fact that he was wearing the hitai-ate of the village hidden in the clouds, Kumogakure no Sato, upon his forehead, holding his scruffy hair back. The black locks with strikes of gray in it wouldn't be able to hide the large symbol of clouds upon it, which seemed to draw so much negative attention his way. He didn't really understand such resentment for a symbol, but he guessed some of them were still sore about the business that happened with a previous Raikage, regardless of whether or not he was a part of it. From Syekren's understanding, there had been a bit of a fit thrown by said Raikage, who proceeded to unjustly jail Kirigakure shinobi who were visiting. He didn't have all the details just  yet, however, and doubted he would get them given how long ago it had happened. That coupled with the new Raikage made finding such information almost impossible.

Still, the Uchiha would not allow himself to be thrown off track by these thoughts. He stood there, in the middle of the market district, looking down at a map he had purchased for and exorbitant price. One hundred ryo for a map was quite high, considering he'd never actually bought one before, but he wanted to be able to find his way independently. Asking for directions in a foreign land never bode well for visiting shinobi, in his experience anyway. The many silently looked down at his map as he walked, looking up to follow paths he'd seen on the paper, trying to find his way to.. Ah! "Now there ye' are. Been wondrin' when I'd stumble upon ye." The Uchiha had made it to his destination: a tavern.  He folded up his map and pushed it into his pocket, opening the door to enter the establishment. Ignoring the gazes he got from the onlookers, he sat a table far away from the others in a corner. The tavern he'd found himself in was active for it being nearly evening, and there were even a few younger shinobi enjoying meals. It seemed to be more of a restaurant than a tavern, in the food respect at least, and Syekren found himself wondering exactly whether he would find what he wanted in such a place. Before long a hostess came over to take his order, looking at him with dull, bored eyes. He cleared his throat silently before he made his order: two bottles of FireBrand Whiskey. When he received his prize the Uchiha handed her a generous pouch of coins and bit into the cork of the first bottle, pulling it out with a loud pop, spitting it onto the table. He looked around, matching gazes that came his way until they looked away, taking a health swig of his drink, sighing at the more watery flavour of it. It seemed the recipe was different in each village. What a disappointment.

959

It wasn't as though he minded having company usually. Drinking alone was never something he truly enjoyed. Tonight, however, he wished simply to be left alone to his thoughts in peace and quiet. He would notice that such things were not meant for him to reach, as his ears picked up the sounds of foot falls coming in his direction. His eye lazily drifted upwards to meet the face of a young boy traveling from the bar to the southern corner that the man had situated himself in, away from the eyes of others. Hopefully to have spent the night without answering questions or dealing with angry jeers. The boy approaching him apparently hadn't picked up on that, and instead made it his personal mission to interrupt what little downtime Syekren could find for himself. The Uchiha sighed quietly and took another swig of his whiskey, his eyes never leaving the approaching blonde male, who stopped at his table and spoke. The young man apparently decided he recognized Syekren, raising his arm to the back of his head and smiling. The motion of one raising their arm had the older shinobi on edge, one hand under the table, fingering his tanto's hilt.

Syekren eyed the young man warily as he went on to ask if the elder Uchiha had ever spent time near the Uchiha compound in Konoha, or if he was from the Fire Country. His eyes burned with the intensity of chakra flowing to them, wishing for a moment to turn to his sharingan state. He held off and calmly spoke, in a rather short manner, waving his right hand which clutched the bottle, fingers waving away. "You do not know me, boy. Move along for you'll find nothing here of the fire country. My home is the village whose symbol adorns my hitai-ate. That's all the information I need share with anyone about myself." Looking the boy up and down he noticed a hitai-ate for Konohagakure no sato, which would explain his questions and intrusive behaviour. The shinobi Syekren had met during his time in the land of fire were rather bull headed and went straight into any situation they believed they could force themselves into. Whether it be a battle, meeting a new person, or simply taking a mission. They were a boisterous lot.

Still, something about the boy did ring of familiarity. Perhaps he wasn't so rude or confused after all, Syekren looked closer, taking in the young man's features, trying to place a name. His mind flashed back to his time spent in the Uchiha compound and in the house he had purchased next to it. There was hardly anyone near that area, save for a strange, if not demented, old man and a young child. Come to think of it, he hadn't see that child in a few years, possibly nearly a decade by now. What was that kid's name and why did he immediately think of that? Syekren was slightly puzzled and he quietly stroked his beard in thought, contemplating what all this meant. It took seconds to put the pieces together and realize that this young man in front of him was the small blonde child always following that crazy old guy around the compound. Last the elder Uchiha remembered the old guy thought the Uchiha were still in the prime, top of the food chain. He never bothered to ask why they lived there, or to correct the old man. In any case, what was the young guy doing here? As a ninja of all things.

"Actually, boy..Sit." Syekren gestured to a chair across from him, having taken his left hand from the hilt of his tanto."You do look quite familiar now that I think about it. I can't place a name but you remind me of a young child I used to see following this demented old man around the Compound." It might seem rude phrasing what he said in such a way, but Syekren was not one for games or beating around the bush. He was a direct person and didn't sugarcoat anything. He preferred hard truths.

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Syekren kept his eyes on the young blond Uchiha, his mismatched hues warily judging him and sizing him up. It was strange to see someone from his clan without the signature dark hair, much less a blond. The elder man would have his free hand pull the fingers through his beard, giving his chin a soft and contemplative stroke as  he listened to Kirei's words, then pondered the question which followed his statement. True, there had been quite a bit that had happened between the nations of lightning and of water, most notably between the villages that held the kage and ninja.  Though, it had been some time and they'd gone through two Raikage since the last chuunin exams that were held in Kumogakure years ago, so why was the hatred still so fresh? As for why he wore his symbol openly, it was more a matter of challenge than nationalist pride. He didn't know if he should tell this young man that, however, given how close Konohagakure and Kirigakure were as allies. He didn't want to have to fend off a multitude of ninja from both villages should he overstep his boundaries. What would be the best way to play this?

"It's more part of my military uniform than anything else. I'm a ninja of the cloud and wherever I am, it doesn't change my home. As for what I'm doing here in the mist, it's simple. I have a student who was recently in the exams, competing in honor of Kirigakure, after which she moved here. I'm here to ensure she does well and succeeds before I move on to other things." The uchiha finished stroking his beard and took another healthy swig of his drink, setting the bottle down and reaching into his left pants pocket. He withdrew a soft pack of cigarettes, flicking the bottom to have the 'butt' of one pop up. He grabbed it with his lips and replaced the pack, lifting his hand up and focusing chakra into it. Within seconds his hand was alight, allowing him to puff on the cigarette in the flame, lighting it and releasing the odor of burning tobacco among the pub. He rolled the cigarette around in his lips, calmly letting his chakra fade from his hand while looking about the place. A few still had their eyes on the pair, but not really enough to warrant becoming defensive or paranoid. Just the few looks someone would give another person who was doing something they found distasteful.

"Truth be told, I'm also looking for something here. I'm not really sure what just yet, but something is calling to me. As time goes on it feels more and more like I should be wandering again, enjoying my freedom instead of being chained to another village. When you're part of a village's ninja corps, you're really just another tool or number to them, you know? The village will do what it wants for selfish desires, hoping to beat other villages to gathering power." At this point he'd take a long drag from his cigarette and flick it onto the ground, stopping to take a long swig of his whiskey again before continuing. [/color=crimson]"I suppose I used to be a ninja who didn't mind that type of system, but now I'm thinking that there are other ways to be. You're a young man, here in front of me  sits another Uchiha going the path of the ninja. When I was your age, I was the captain of my own Squad, and right hand of the Kage. Now I'm sitting in a bar in Kirigakure, wondering if spending my life, killing and destroying for a village that only saw me as a weapon was the way I wanted to go."[/color]

The man was slightly tipsy, on his way to becoming drunk. There was something about this young man that made him feel some regret, and he couldn't place why. At the age of fourteen he'd become a special jounin and lost his eye to an attack. At such a point he was fresh to the ANBU and should have been able to defend himself but had fallen, lacking. He'd spent sixteen years after that in the employ of the Kazekage, training, growing stronger, and taking out targets. For what? He was now at the beck and call of another Kage, wishing he'd spent more time wandering and realizing his own dreams. Something would need to change. "You know boy, I really admire mercenaries who essentially spend time doing work that ninja do, only for better pay. They pick and choose their own jobs, who they remain loyal to, and can disobey orders to kill if they believe the order isn't for the best of the people. Hm."

In truth, with Izumi and Chou, he'd thought of starting up his own little mercenary band. Traveling the world and fulfilling contracts, making his fortune and taking only jobs he agreed with. Instead of being the villain he would no doubt be painted as for his part in Sunagakure, he'd be a hero to those who truly needed the help something like his band could bring. Was it all just a pipe dream or could he truly do something? With another large swig, his first bottle was empty, and the alcohol was beginning to hit him like a tonne of bricks. He was used to this feeling, but he realized he'd been rambling this whole time, talking the ear off of Kirei, who likely hadn't expected to have to deal with such things when he approached. "My apologies, lad. A bit too much of the drink there. I suppose I can introduce myself in any case, I'm Syekren. Used to be known by a few names, Hizencho, the Inferno of the Sand, nowadays I'm just the 'Uchiha with the mismatched eyes.' You likely recognize me because I own a home right next to the compound in the land of fire." Syekren had let his voice get a bit lower, no higher than a whisper when he introduced himself, so naught but Kirei could hear his identity. Knowing that the young man was an Uchiha and he knew how dangerous such a confession of identity would be in the ninja world, Syekren deemed him trustworthy enough for that, at least.

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