Every Party Needs a Pooper:

   There was time to kill and work to be done. The streets of Konohagakure were flooded with travelers from distant lands who had come to bear witness to the eager fledging shinobi who hoped to garner respect from their elders and foreign dignitaries in the upcoming Chuunin Exams. Rhys Kenta was one of these newly arrived foreigners, and though many things set the bulky man apart from the majority of this influx of people, one was most prevalent at the moment; Rhys would be one of the competing shinobi attempting to prove their worth in the weeks to come. One might suspect that Rhys was a shinobi based on his gear, and not to mention the ever present rhinoceros at his side, but few would guess that this bald bearded behemoth of a man was only in his early 20's and was still at the level of Genin. For now Rhys wanted to keep his nature a secret if at all possible, he already drew enough attention from his appearance, and he did not want to alert other competitors of his presence here until things were underway. It had taken some time to find lodging for him and Reorx, but finally a safe place had been found where Rhys could leave Reorx out of sight for now. So, Rhys decided to put some his alternative skills to use and looked for some local work while he passed the time.

   The remaining available job opportunities were not of the highest caliber. Most businesses had increased their work forces well in advance upon the announcement of the Chuunin Exam's location, but there were some jobs that always needed more bodies; security, waste management, and advertising in the streets. Seeing as Rhys's intimidating figure was not meant to charm as was required with advertising, and the fact that he would pick up no other man's garbage, that left security. Rhys has worked many short term jobs throughout his life such as bartending and working as a bouncer, though his hulking figure did most of the work when he was bouncing because not many common men wanted to mess with a man of Rhys' size and visage. Rhys spent the better part of the day going to business to business looking for work, but there was little to be had until Rhys happened upon a rather nice building called the "Shushaya Pub". The pillared building was bustling with locals and foreigners alike who were eating, laughing, and most importantly; drinking the house sake. Some of the more rambunctious patrons had started singing some strange song about what their wive's did to punish them after too much drinking, which was likely in the near future for some of them, while a timid waitress attempted to settle the men who were so deep in their cups. Rhys muscled his way through the crowd up to the bar and after some time was greeted by someone who seemed to be in charged based off of his commanding presence and the practiced was at which he handed out the sweet smelling drinks.

"Yes, what can I do for you sir?" asked the aged man behind the bar.

"Well hopefully I'm the one that will be able to help you. You seem to be a bit short handed and I have experience as a bouncer and bartender. I have mouths to feed and a light coin pouch." Rhys plied on all of the charm he could muster in hopes of convincing the man.

"Kids huh? I know how that is."

"Well no not exactly.. my mouth.. and, well I'm not going to lie to ya, a rhinoceros."

"A rhinoceros.." the man looked at Rhys incredulously before bursting into laughter. "Ok ya, tell you what. Bring that rhinoceros here and you got the job." the man continued to chuckle as he walked away to serve a another customer.

   Rhys shrugged his massive shoulders as he stepped away from the bar and pushed his way back through the throng of people to get outside. He slowly made his way back to his lodgings to pick up Reorx, Rhys was still reluctant to draw so much attention, but it might not be the worst thing in the world. It might benefit Rhys to have a few rumors of him milling about before the exams. Misinformation was the only thing that traveled faster than information and hopefully a couple exaggerated stories might give Rhys an edge later on. There was a few other people here to represent the fallen Village hidden in the Sand, Sunagakure, and even though Rhys knew next to nothing about them he would do whatever he could to make sure that their presence was respected during these exams.

   After some time Rhys found his way back to the make shift stables that were acting as lodgings for him and Reorx, who was only too happy to leave the cramped shelter. The pair once again made their way back to the Shushuya Pub, but this time it was far slower going. The majority of the people gathered in the village streets had never seen a real rhinoceros before and every passerby wanted to stop to stare or engage the pair so they could learn more. The pair were accustomed to attention garnered by their appearance, but never had it been on such a massive scale. The twenty minute jaunt that separated their lodgings and the Shushuya Pub was turned into an hour long trudge thanks to the constant interruptions from curious onlookers. Finally, after what had seemed like half of an eternity had elapsed, Rhys and Reorx arrived at the entrance to the pub. Rhys knew that the young Reorx could handle himself so Rhys entered the pub alone. It was probably best not to bring a rhinoceros into a building adorned with light wooden furniture. The man in charge behind the bar was still hard at working slinging drinks looked up at Rhys as he entered the pub. "Look buddy I don't know you and I am slammed right now, so why don't you.." the man stopped short as his gaze shifted in the direction that Rhys was pointing to with his finger. The bartender looked a bit dumbstruck for a moment as he looked out of the open sliding door that served as an entrance, where right out front Reorx the rhinoceros stood surrounded by potential customers who came to get a better look at the exotic animal. Never one to pass up an opportunity, he turned back to Rhys. "Alright so you were telling the truth. You have the job for tonight! Keep people coming in with that beast of yours, kick out the drunks after they have paid, and most importantly, make sure nothing gets broken! First things first. Toss that group over there."

   A wide toothy grin spread across Rhys' face as he was given the job. He turned his attention to the table that the bartender had indicated towards. It was the same group of men that Rhys had noticed earlier, the men were still singing though now it was far more slurred and the song itself was of a more lascivious nature. The men were in various states of disarray; clothes were partly removed or sloshed on by sake or other liquids that Rhys had rather not think about, they were red in the face, and their raucous behavior was only getting louder with each passing minute. The group of drunkards paid no mind to the approaching figure of Rhys, and only seemed to notice him when he reached out his bulky hand to snatch their bottle of sake off of the table. The jubilant singing ceased at once as the source of their merriment was stripped away from them in a flash. The drunken men all turned to look at the hulking figure of Rhys that stood over them, the bottle of sake sitting idly in his hand. There was a brief moment of silence while the group took the time to register what had just occurred, finally one spoke up with a sauced grin returning to his face.

"If ye wanted a drink all ye had to do was ashk.. here why don't you.." the man was cut short by Rhys' booming voice.

"Sorry gentleman, but your stay here has come to an end. Gather whatever things you may have and exit the building. When you are outside you can have what's left of this bottle. Now pay your tab, plus some extra for the noise and mess you made, and then get out." Rhys folded his muscled arm with the bottle of sake still hanging frim his gripped fist.

   Three out of the four men quickly pulled out handfuls of ryo and tossed them on the table as they got up to leave, but the man who had just spoken to Rhys was staring up at him with defiance in his eyes. The alcohol soaked man stood up wobbly on his feet and pointed at Rhys with a lone finger. "And just who ish gonna make me? Huh? You fat boy?" Rhys was used to this sort of treatment, especially from those that were too deep into their cups, but this sodden man had made a poor choice of words. Rhys reached forward and grabbed the outstretched arm of the drunken sap and lifted the man up off his feet in one quick pull. Rhys draped the man over his shoulder and headed out of the door ignoring the protests coming from the enfeebled captive. As soon as they crossed the threshold of the outside world, Rhys flung the man to the dirt below at the feet of his drinking companions before wiping his hands off to get the filth of the drunk off of them.  The three standing men of the group lifted their companion to his feet with concerned looks on their faces. The trouble maker dusted himself off and began shouting a slew of obscenities at Rhys that were too vulgar and slurred together to be repeated. With each new insult the loud mouthed drunkard stepped closer to Rhys who, though he stood there silently taking the verbal abuse as his blood pressure rose, was just itching to take this upstart commoner and turn him inside out.

   The drunkard pushed his luck too far, he had made his way all the way up to Rhys and was barking his insults up at Rhys when finally it happened, the drunk reached out and attempted to shove Rhys back. This was what Rhys had been waiting for. Rhys reared his fist back before thrusting it forward to connect with the drunkard's stomach. The impact of the blow sent the assailant, for he had indeed attacked first, flying backwards into his compatriots sending them all tumbling to the ground where they lie in a misshapen heap. The sounds of retching and groans of pain emanated from the pile of drunks as they tried to regain their bearings after the sudden beginning and swift ending of the fight. Slowly, Rhys strode forward towards the men that were scrambling to back away. Thoroughly satisfied with his work, Rhys crossed his arms once again before calling out so that everyone on the street could hear.

"That was your final warning. You drunken fools need to learn some manners, and I am MORE than willing to teach them to you! Now get out of here before you REALLY make me mad!" The "warning" seemed to do more than just suffice. The now sobered group of loud mouths quickly gathered themselves enough to get on their feet and begin dragging their unconscious friend away from the scene. Turning on his heel, Rhys left the street and gawking crowd to return inside of the Shushuya Pub and decided it was best to bring Reorx inside as well now that it was getting dark. The bartender was glad to see the issue resolved and allowed Rhys to leave Reorx in the back for the rest of the evening while he worked the door.

   The rest of the evening passed fairly uneventfully. Every other patron that had been there to bear witness to Rhys' "extraction" of the overly inebriated group, decided to pass the word along that tonight was not the night to cause trouble at the popular pub. People came and went as the night came on, the waves of joyous drinkers swelled and abated with time until all that remained were the so called "regulars" of the pub that stayed until the very last second before leaving their favorite haunt. Rhys was helping the waitress to stack chairs after cleaning off the tables when the bartender that had hired him approached.

"You did a great job tonight, and I will have you back any time. You are done for the night and can go whenever you are ready."

"Much appreciated, it feels good to work with one's hands. There is just the small matter of payment."

"Ah yes. Well your payment almost covers what your rhinoceros has eaten, but I am willing to let the remainder slide. Come back any time!" the bartender alked away as Rhys rushed into the back room to find Reorx feasting away on a few different crates of vegetables. With a long sigh Rhys collected his friend and led the way back to their lodgings.


WC:2248
-1000 C-Rank jutsu "Iron Sights" training
-750 D-Rank jutsu " Growing Golden Horn (Combat Pet)" training
-450 Reaction Time D2-D3
WC:48 remaining