Shika was truly in her element. The bar was her favourite place to come after a long day, and today had truly been a long one. She had been out running errands for Kensai all day and decided it was time to go and have a little fun. She wore a somewhat short black skirt with thigh high black and white socks and black healed shoes. Her top was pink and she wore her usual black fishnet half finger gloves. Her blonde hair was pulled back with a clip so that it wasn't covering her red eyes. She was wearing pink lipstick and a hint of blush on her cheeks as well. It would be impossible for anyone in the bar to realize that she wasn't actually a she at all, and that's just how Shika liked it.

As she entered the bar she looked around at the establishment, noticing there were a few patrons inside but not as many as usual. She walked up to the bar and smiled softly to the bartender, asking him for a cup of tea before walking to find a quiet booth to sit at. She could easily see the entire bar from the location she had picked in the corner, and would therefore be able to see anyone who entered as well. She was waiting for a specific person, a woman she had met in the market earlier and had asked to join her later. Shika wasn't sure if she would actually come, the woman not seeming to like the idea of the bar, but she decided she would come here anyway, leaving the offer on the table.

The lighting was dark as most bars were, the tables mostly empty. The bar and tables were all made of stone, only the chairs being made of wood and cushioned. This place wasn't the nicest place by anyone's standards, but it was the best Iwa had to offer. Shika had spent many a long night here getting men in trouble with their girlfriends by flirting with them, enjoying the sheer obliviousness of most men who would never have given her the time of day had they seen her in her regular attire.

Shika put one leg over the other, her toes tapping to some unheard rhythm as she lifted the tea to her lips, watching the door closely to see if anyone worth talking to would walk in...

(403)

Erai was walking down the rocky roads, her heels clicking all the while. She had an emotionless look on her face as her snow white hair moved with the rhythm of her hips. Dodging the occasional person who refused to move out of her way, the only thing on her mind was the girl she met earlier that day. Her arms were folded across her chest as the short, unzipped jacket she wore somewhat flowed behind her. The girl she met today was pretty, though she looked sort of young. Erai didn’t know if she was even a ninja, because she was dressed in a skirt, which wasn’t really ninja like. Though, a look can be misleading, Erai knew this first hand.


   After walking a short ways, she found herself at the spot the young girl invited her to. This place was a bar which was something that Erai wouldn’t normally come to. She hated alcohol, sick of it really. She was ready to puke upon even the slightest whiff of the stuff. She didn’t understand why most people even drank, though she heard it was a good to forget. Forgetting is the last thing Erai wanted to do, she wanted to remember everything that has happened in her life, no matter how horrible some of it was. After these thoughts, Erai peered into the bar with her arms still over her chest.


   Looking into the bar, Erai could see that there wasn’t too many people inside the place to begin with. Dressed in her normal ninja clothes, she walked into the place with little thought. Erai liked the thought and sight of little people, which meant that the smell of alcohol was very little. Walking deeper inside, she found there wasn’t much to smell. As Erai was walking into the bar, the bartender called her over and asked what she wanted to drink. By just looking at the stuff behind him made her want to puke, though she held it in. All she asked for was strawberry ice cream, and to her surprise they actually had it. Not too many places around her actually served ice cream, and even fewer had the flavor she liked. As soon as she got the medium sized bowl of the stuff, she picked up a spoon full and ate it.


   Erai was even more surprised by the taste, as she wasn’t really expecting it to be so good. She closed her eyes and savored the first taste, as that was always the best. Looking over to her right, she could see the girl from before. She was dressed in the same clothes, so she was easy to recognize, so after a short pause Erai made her way to table with the girl. Not taking too long to get to the table. Getting to the booth, Erai sat down on the opposite side of the girl as she spoke up. Hey, looks like I found the place. Erai said as she layed the bowl of ice cream on the stone table. She waited on the girl to answer as she began to take a closer look at her. She looked cute, though maybe a little to young for her tastes.

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Daraku had had a rough day of travel, killing, and burning bodies. It wasn't the most glamorous way to be welcomed to Iwa, but it was his method of choice. He'd rather go around killing and training than sightseeing anyhow, but he wasn't about to tell anyone that, of course. Now that he had finished his tasks for the day and it was dark out, he headed to the first establishment that was of interest to him, a bar called the Rock Pit. But before that, he needed to get the dirt, water, and blood out of his clothes. Hell, he needed new clothes. Damn, I should've thought this whole defection thing through more and brought stuff more with me. He shoved a fist into his pocket and dug around for spare cash, discovering a wad of Ryo bills and counting them. It was surely enough for both new clothes and a hotel room, so he wrapped a black cloak around himself to hide the bloodstains while he went off to a nearby store.

Daraku wasn't one for shopping, so he simply got some necessities there; a few pairs of black briefs, various shirts and pants, socks, bandages, shoes, sandals...the only unnecessary things he bought was a silver chain necklace that stood out to him and a black-and-orange checkerboard tie. He walked out of the shop carrying large bags, striding to a small inn nearby and renting a room. It wasn't hard finding it considering the inn was no bigger than a manor, with about 10 rooms total. He opened the door and shut it behind him, removing his shirt and his pants and tossing them out onto the bed. "Argh, how am I going to get all of these stains out..." he sighed, and turned his attention to the bags of clothes, then to the shower. He removed the briefs he was wearing and stepped into it, washing and humming to himself.

After Daraku emerged, he brushed his teeth, combed his blonde hair back, and put on a white polo shirt and the checkerboard tie, new briefs, black pants and shoes. A quick glance in the bathroom mirror showed that he had cleaned up nicely. Happy with his fixed-up appearance, he left his sword propped against the table and his Sunagakure hitai-ate on the floor next to it before he exited, locking the door behind him. The trip to the bar wasn't too difficult, as it was a large and popular area and people seemed to be flooding over there. He followed the crowd, finally arriving at a dimly lit bar that was reminiscent of a club. Whatever, as long as they had attractive people and alcohol, he didn't mind. He entered through the front doors and felt the chill of an air conditioner overhead, before ordering a Brandy Alexander with extra cacao cream. Scanning through the faces of the crowd, he didn't really find anybody of interest except for a few guys and gals with nice asses in the corner, until he found a table with two fairly attractive women sitting and speaking.

The Sunagakure ninja made his way over to them and sat at the left end of the table, sipping his creamy drink casually. "Hellllooo there, ladies~ How are you two doing tonight?"

[561]

As Shika kept her red eyes firmly glued to the door she noticed two people of interest walk into the bar. The first one she was the woman she was expecting to see, her long white hair flowing behind her as she made her way to the bar. She made it quite obvious that she was a shinobi from the way she dressed, obviously not caring who knew which wasn't always the smartest thing. Shika smiled when she noticed the woman also hadn't ordered an alcoholic drink, favouring instead a bowl of ice cream. Her smile remained as the woman made her way towards her, chuckling softly as she heard her speak.

"Yeah you did," Shika said in her soft voice, watching the woman as she took her seat. "Though the Rock Pit isn't hard to find, mind you when you spend as much time here as I do..." she trailed off, her eyes moving towards the door once more as the second interesting person of the night made his way through the door. He was very well dressed for someone in this establishment. He looked as if he had just come from a business meeting, his clothing and combed back hair helping give this theory merit. She couldn't help but watch as he walked past, her eyes sliding down to his ass, which looked rather nice in the black pants... ...Pulling off his tie...Unbuttoning his shirt...his hands on my chest...running down my sides...kissing my neck...pulling down my... Shika felt a pressure building in a couple of places, though the most notable was her nose, dabbing it and noting blood flowing. "Ugh...damned climate changes. My nose is bleeding.." She reached into her bag and pulled out something to stop the bleeding before watching the attractive man walking towards her. She batted her eyelashes and smiled at him, sliding over to the next seat to allow him to sit beside her. "Why hello yourself handsome, what brings you here?" She had to watch what went through her mind carefully, lest her disguise be blown by an unfortunate situation...

(351)

Erai could see people starting to flow into the bar as time went on. She was slowly eating her ice cream, not wanting to have a brain freeze. She realized that she still had on her ninja outfit, though she didn’t really care about it. She had just gotten done with a mission and hadn’t even made it home yet. She wasn’t too tired, and in truth found this place quite relaxing. She didn’t smell any alcohol, so that was always a plus. As she was listening to the area around her, she heard the girl reply to her previous statement. In truth she was right, the place wasn’t too hard to find. This whole place however was quite confusing to her. The way everything was laid out, it was like moving from one mountain to another. This was probably more true than Erai thought.


At this moment, Erai realized that she didn’t even know this girl’s name. The girl didn’t tell her name for some odd reason, though Erai was even more surprised that she didn’t ask for it in the first place. Erai was ready to ask the girl’s name when she saw that her eyes were shifting their attention fast. Erail raised an eyebrow as she followed the girl’s eyes. Turning around, Erai was attempting to find whoever the girl was looking at. It was hard to tell who exactly she was looking at with the sudden flow of people, though Erai did see somebody. This young man was walking over to their table with a drink in his hand. Erai couldn’t really tell for sure what type of drink he was holding, though she hoped it didn’t have any alcohol.


After that thought ran its course, she started to pay more attention to the man that was on his way over. Admittedly, Erai didn’t care too much for the guy’s fashion sense, though he did have a pretty face. Cute~ Erai mumbled under her breath as she turned her head back over to the girl sitting across from her. Her eyes widened as she saw the girl’s nose bleed. Erai started to look around the table for napkins when she saw the girl fix it herself. She then heard the girl blame it on the climate. What? Erai said to herself as she heard the girl play off the situation by replying to the man’s statement. Looking at the man, she decided to invite him over to sit down, there was no use in talking across the room. Hey there, why don't you come sit next to me? Erai said with in a flirty tone.

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The first woman looked a bit uncomfortable as she pressed a hand to her face. Daraku didn't pay much attention, instead focusing on the Brandy in front of him and how good it tasted. A smooth and serene voice rolled out from her mouth, catching his focus as she said, "Ugh...damned climate changes. My nose is bleeding.." Daraku gave her a confused look. Climate changes...? He had just traveled all the way from Sunagakure on foot and he was completely fine. Odd. He took another sip and listened as she continued, "Why hello yourself handsome, what brings you here?" Daraku smiled at her, the way she smiled was rather cute, before he set down his drink again and replied.

"I'm just looking for some fun, I've had a long day of travel and whatnot. You two were the first thing to stand out in this crowd, so I figured, why not join you?" He flashed a clear white smile and adjusted his tie, which had slumped over the table as he leaned in to speak. The sound of the other woman talking caught him off guard, and she suggested that he come sit next to her. He was already occupying a seat near the other woman, so he kindly declined. "I'm fine here, thanks. So, you guys. Let's fit some official introductions in...I'm Daraku Matsuro, and I'm in town on business," what kind of business, he wasn't going to tell, obviously. If they asked, he would say something like his job as an "international finance businessman", believable enough so that they wouldn't question him, especially considering he had dressed so nicely. "What are your names, and why are you here?"

All the while, he kept his icy blue eyes passing between either of the two, taking a moment to look at the one next to him before pausing and looking at the other woman, with beautiful white hair. They both were very pretty, and he was lucky to have stumbled upon them so suddenly as he walked in. He sipped again from his drink, which was half-empty now, as he awaited their responses.


[365]

Shika's smile became brighter upon confirmation of her theory of this man being a business man. This was the kind of person who she most often liked to have her fun with, but for some reason this man seemed different. He was infatuating and she couldn't tell why. She thought perhaps it was the accent, or maybe his beautiful eyes, hell it could even be the way he walked, she wasn't quite sure. All she knew was what he made her feel and want... his lips meeting mine...my clothes slide off...I kiss down his body...skin meets skin...hot breath on my neck...pressure in my.... Damnit, she was doing it again. Usually only her roommate had this effect on her. She decided it may be best to look away from the male, lest her nose become a geyser or something else happen.

Her attention instead turned to the girl sitting across from her. She had noticed a determined look in her eye earlier in the day that she couldn't get out of her head. Shika, or Shigeki, was a member of the famous Kanetsu clan, the clan that was lead by the current Tsuchikage, Kazu. She liked to consider herself a rather good judge of character and looked for people who she could form strong ties with, to help her as she advanced towards her goal of being Tactical Advisor of the Tsuchikage. She had firmly believed that this girl had been one of the people who would be able to help her out, but she wasn't quite sure why. It was, however, quite difficult to explain this all with the newcomer sitting with them, especially since he was distracting her so effortlessly, something that only Kensai could usually do to her.

"Guess I'll go next," she said looking back to the young man and blushing slightly, feeling the blood flow into her cheeks and make them warm. Damnit, why did he get her so hot and bothered? He was going to ruin her disguise, and possibly one of her favourite skirts! She played with the new choker around her neck and chuckled softly. "My name is Hasekura, Shika. I'm here more for pleasure than business..." Her foot rubbed against the young man's and one of her gloved hands had found its way to resting on his leg. "This is one of my favourite places to come and relax after a long days work.." When she said this she gave a cheeky grin, looking towards the woman across from her and eagerly awaiting her response. It was said you could learn a lot about somebody from their clan name, and that was one reason why she didn't give hers so freely. Shika's persona had served her well in the past and would do so again, at least for now, until she could reveal her true self to the woman across from her, when she knew that she could trust her of course.

(510)

Erai listened to what the man had to say about having fun. Apparently he had been traveling all day, the first thing that came into Erai’s head was From where? She didn’t say this outloud, it would have probably killed the mood that was already set. She was sure he didn’t really feel like talking about his day anyway. Erai watched the girl across from her with analytical eyes. It didn’t take the wisest of masters to see that the girl had a thing for the young man before her. Erai could tell just by the way she looked at the man, so she decided to back off. Someones thirsty. She thought letting out a giggle that only lasted for a few seconds.


Erai then caught the eyes of the girl, which made her feel a little confused at that moment. She had no idea who that girl was, it would probably be best to ask her, though she didn’t really know how to do such a thing. Erai didn’t want to make it awkward, though she would have to find out someway. Just as she was thinking all of this, the man thought it was a good idea to do introductions. This was a good thing, now she didn’t have to worry about asking the girl herself. Erai found out that the man was Daraku Matsuro, and he said he was in town for business, though he never mentioned where he was from.


Then it was the girl’s turn, who introduced herself as Hasekura, Shika. Erai wasn’t really familiar with that clan name, though she didn’t really try to memorize all of them either. After that statement, Shika continued with how she liked this place. She apparently liked to come here after a long day of work. It was now Erai’s turn, though she didn’t know what to say. She knew that simply saying the name Uchiha would could cause an uproar. Erai didn’t know what the Uchiha’s standings were like after all these years, the only thing she had to go on was what happened so many years ago. Erai looked up at Shika and Daraku to open her mouth and speak. My name is Erai Takahashi. Its nice to meet you both. Erai looked at them both with a smile, not showing her teeth, but a smile none the less.
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The woman sitting closest to him, with a sparkle in her eye and a red hue pumping into her cheeks, spoke calmly. "Guess I'll go next. My name is Hasekura, Shika. I'm here more for pleasure than business. This is one of my favourite places to come and relax after a long day's work..." Simple enough, she had similar goals to he, in that case. He flashed a smile at her, before averting his gaze to the woman with white hair. "My name is Erai Takahashi. Its nice to meet you both." A short and sweet answer, she seemed to have dodged the question of why she was there. He figured nothing of it, though, maybe she didn't have a solid reason. He sat back in his seat, gulping down the last of his Brandy Alexander. Looking down wistfully at the empty glass, he stood up, brushing himself off and pointing a thumb to the bar behind them. "I'm gonna go get another drink, I'll be right back."

As Daraku made his way to the bartender, he flipped through the bills in his pocket, casually pulling out one and handing it to the man. "I'll have another Brandy Alexander, thanks." The bartender's forehead crinkled as he frowned. "You got it, but you be careful there. These may not be large drinks, but they do pack a punch." he explained as he took out the brandy and cream. Daraku merely nodded, half-listening, half-wondering what to ask Erai and Shika back at the table. He didn't want to sit in awkward silence, he hated when that happened. He started thinking of questions and topics he could bring up ahead of time so that the conversation would be fully laid out within five minutes of his return. Once Daraku's drink was finished shaking, the bartender handed it to him, and he mouthed 'thank you' as he headed back. He arrived at the table, with the most basic yet thoughtful question he could think of.

"Could I buy either of you a drink? I've got enough money to go around, at least for now." He said, setting his drink on the table and thumbing through his pockets again. He had the ryo to pay for it, so why not?

[343]