Foreigners Who Found Home [Private/Mino]

Sat May 30, 2020 8:38 pm

Dusky mist covered the village as it always did, giving it a grayish bluish tint to everything within it. Many street lights were needed to illuminate most people’s path, for obvious reasons. The shinobi found themselves able to navigate through other unique ways if ever there was an emergency and there was a power outage. With the semi-random weather the land of waves had it could be very possible something much like a tropical storm or other natural catastrophe could rob the land of its much needed power source. The many buildings and businesses that ran through Kirigakure helped where they could in setting up extra lights to assist its civilians. A particular tea shop had not quite managed the same effort as others with the industrial lights made to cut through the mist like a blade.

Green paper lanterns were hung across the top of a small tea house, giving the front of it a greenish glow, quite visible from a decent distance away through the mist. Black kanji with a white outline were on the front of the lanterns that simply read, “Tea”. The place was not as impressive as other spots to enjoy a drink in the village but it was this fact that Zieg Uchiha enjoyed coming here when he felt he needed to get away from the noise of the village. Often only older men and women who also wanted peace and solitude made appearances in this place. With the exception, of course, of the occasional outcast and shinobi looking to enjoy a private conversation.

The long haired shinobi sat alone at a table with a single stack of papers in front of him. His right hand gripped a pen and motioned it almost mechanically across the bottom left of the sheet of paper. With the pen lifting from the sheet; in a swift, again almost mechanical like motion, slid the paper atop an incredibly smaller, less visible stack of papers to his left. His right hand moved in the same instant as his left, reaching for a sheet atop the large stack and placing it in front of him to repeat the process. His eyes would scan for a few seconds, sometimes longer, before continuing to attack the tower of sheets that required the Mizukage’s signature. He had not been his kage’s assistant for more than a couple days. Those days mostly consisted of brushing up on some general knowledge and history of the village, along with its politics and the many trades they specialized in. Aside from that he helped sign paperwork that needed signing. The Mizukage was pleasantly surprised to have an Uchiha as an assistant, His ocular abilities allowed him to memorize and perfectly mimic Kizmaru’s kage signature. With that he would be able to assign Zieg documents he had already gone over or had looked over that merely needed signing. Thus here he was with his task before him. He had the day to return the papers, so long as they were on his desk first thing in the morning and with the system he had setup for himself he felt he could knock it out in perhaps a couple hours. It would have been a shorter time but Zieg found himself muling over some documents that caught his interest, looking to them as potentially a chance to do some outside learning and better himself for the kage’s needs.

WC: 569/569

Sat May 30, 2020 9:21 pm

In the quiet of the cafe, the conversation Mino is having with the tea shop's owner, Mr. Rao, is no secret. It likely drifts in and out of Zieg's attention, as he focuses on his paperwork... though it can be hard for the practiced ear of a shinobi to block things out, sometimes. In any case, the pair is not concerned with his presence, save for the owner's visit to his table a few minutes earlier to ensure that he was comfortable and his tea was full.

The interior of the shop matches the outside - lit gentle and dim, the air soothing and calm in both aroma and ambiance.

"When was the last time you heard from the boys?"

"Gangi's wife is expecting," Mino replies. The tone is matter-of-fact to a stranger's ears, but to any shinobi who have worked with her, it's downright fond. "That was a number of months ago, so I suppose I am an aunt by now."

"Congratulations! ...that long? Have you told them about your father?"

Mino hums in deliberation, taking a sip of her tea. "I've been putting it off," she says. "...I'm honestly not sure they would really believe me without seeing it. They would want to visit, certainly."

"...well, he is their father, too," Mr. Rao gently chides.

"I am aware. I'd rather bring him to them, but I don't think he would travel well... and I wouldn't be able to care for him in Tea unless I took extended leave."

"Now isn't the best time, is it?" he says, sympathetically.

"No." Mino replies, sounding tired. "If it were anything else, I could fix it..."

The owner nods sympathetically, and there's a long few moments of quiet before she changes the subject. "The poster is new," she observes, lifting her chin to a lavishly-illustrated marketing poster for a Tea Country puppet theater production. It takes its place among a small smattering of memorabilia from Mr. Rao and Mino's shared birthplace. Though Mino had the time of her life watching puppet theater when she was little, the leering faces of the illustrated puppets are off-putting after decades of shinobi work. She always half-expects those delicately-painted lips to start spilling poison.

"Can you keep a secret?" Mr. Rao says with a proud smile, voice dropping conspiratorially - still not all that secret in the peaceful quiet of the teashop, though. "My grandson? He's on the puppet team. He painted the lead puppet's face...! That's how I got the poster so early."

"...It is quite striking. He's very talented."

TWC: 423

Sun May 31, 2020 8:04 am

The black pen continued its dance across the pages of the important documents the Mizukage needed signing. His system was fairly lenient on his brain power, allowing it some freedoms from its work. A lot of the policies or decisions on face did not make a grand deal of sense to the advisor. He sighed slightly, giving up on reading fully through another document before simply signing and going for another. A slight breath came in a huff from his nose right as his hand was about to grab another sheet. The aromas within the tea house gave the small space such a calm and fuzzy feeling. Almost allowed the shinobi to forget his occupation sometimes deals with death. After roughly 45 minutes or so he finally paused his readings and scribblings. The tea and steam that was filling his nose suddenly became apparent to him again, as did most the world around him. It almost seemed like the lightning in the establishment all became brighter all at once. Which would be impossible given the lighting method.

As his senses would begin to consciously return to him he could not help but overhear a conversation at the front bar. The mention of a father is what caught the studious Uchiha’s attention. His eyes shut and he briefly paused for a moment, the memories flooding back to him and gone as instantly as they came. His head turned slightly to get the appearance of the source of the conversation from the corner of his left eye. His limited yet precise vision informed him of a figure he had actually seen before in his time in Kirigakure. He wasn’t sure when the woman arrived or even if she was here when he himself entered, as he paid no one in the tea house any particular mind. His head was full with thoughts as it were. Curly blond locks sat atop the older woman’s head as she spoke of tending to her father in Tea Country. This caught the young man’s attention. He remembered that she was a Kirigakure shinobi much like himself. However what he had not expected was for more shinobi to have moved here much like himself. The circumstances had to be dire considering at one point people believe the village hidden in the mist and the country as a whole was done. It had to be an incredibly important reason the woman was here. He thought he could remember her name. He might have heard it before. She was a...medical ninja. Yes he remembered hearing of her from his brother Ballian, who also took up the medical profession in his spare time. The name still escaped him.

He turned his face back to his papers and looked to them dead eyed for a moment, not really there but still thinking to himself. After speaking with his brother about the Eyes of Heaven poem he heard about and discovering the importance of building strong connections to build a strong system he felt compelled to speak with the woman. It would be a lie to say he was not interested in her past at all. She likely would not want to freely do so, as Zieg was not frivolous with his own history. The thoughts, while no longer the torment on his mind it used to be, was still a nuisance to ponder over. She seemed more comfortable with her past from what he could pick up. Taking another sheet of paper and laying it in front of him he would begin signing away once more. He attuned himself to continue listening in on the conversation now, this time more intently. He mulled over speaking to the woman directly himself in his head but was not sure if it would be the wisest for him to spend his time on his personal curiosities and not finishing up the documents required first thing tomorrow morning. His hand went through its memorized motions as he went through the jumbled thoughts in his mind.

WC: 670/1239

Sun May 31, 2020 3:28 pm

Zieg's increased attention yields little reward. The conversation has shifted to puppet theater and does not show any sign of shifting back to Mino's family woes. At one point, Mino turns her head just so... and her gaze catches Zieg's, just out of the corner of her eye, and the line of her mouth hardens slightly as she realizes that he is actively listening in on them. Nothing especially sensitive, of course, but it annoys her on principle.

This man is... familiar, vaguely. The fact that some part of Mino's brain can remind her of his gender speaks to the fact that at some point, she has been made aware of him. Ah - right. Ballian's brother, the one from Konoha.

"It's been a pleasure, as always," Mino says to Mr. Rao, paying for her tea and getting up from the counter.

"Write to your brothers, Mino!" the man reminds as she turns away, and Mino replies with a good-natured grunt of acknowledgment, giving him a vague wave of farewell. Mino passes Zieg's table as she begins to head out... and then hesitates, eyes gliding over all of that paperwork, gaze calculating.

Mino casually plucks one of the papers from the top of Zieg's stack, giving it a cursory scan. Her eyes linger on the signature of the Mizukage - a perfect match for the scrawl of writing found on the bottom of hospital funding requests. She brings her gaze back to him, allowing him to stew in silence for a few long moments. "Oh," she slowly drawls, with the cadence of a strict babysitter who has found a child's hand in the cookie jar. "Apologies for my rudeness. I was not aware I was in the presence of the Mizukage."

At the counter, Mr. Rao raises an eyebrow, looking as though he isn't sure whether to reprimand Mino for bothering his guests or to make himself scarce.

TWC: 738

Mon Jun 01, 2020 4:25 pm

He really made an honest effort to return to his own little secluded world. Mentally anyway, as he went through the rest of the sheets. He continued while Mino had continued and then eventually finish her conversation with Mr. Rao, who gave her farewell by telling her to write her brother. Zieg was fortunate to have the blood bond he shared with his own brother in name, Ballian. Otherwise he would have no living family to claim outside of the cousins he still had back in Konoha. They were merely family by circumstance and name however, as Zieg interacted with them as much as it rained in a desert.

Mm. Just let it go.

He thought to himself attempting to return his attention to his work. He finished off a document and placed it upon the complete stack and his hand casually went for another before a surprising event took place. Thin fingers nimbly would slide the sheet he was going for away from his stack of completed papers as he went for an uncompleted sheet. His eyes and head followed the hand up to reveal the form of the very person he had been unintentionally eavesdropping on. A huff of air left his chest as he watched the woman scan the document. Had he not already established her a medical shinobi of Kirigakure she might have caught herself having broken fingers from a reactionary brain synapse. He however held himself as violence wasnt his first instinct when dealing with things.

The woman made a witty remark about being in the presence of the Mizukage. The young Uchiha man let out a slight chuckle as he turned 45 degrees in his chair, so his right side would be rested on the back of the chair. He swung his arm around the back so he could have a comfortable frontal look at the medical shinobi.

“I guess you could say I am.” he responded calmly. He said this because it was not an entire lie in the circumstance. The Kirigakure hospital received some of what would be signed here and, up until now, they would have been none the wiser to Zieg being an acting kage when dealing with the forms and paperwork the overburdened the actual kage.

“I do believe you have met my brother. There would have come a time we also met.” as he spoke he turned his left hand upside down so the palm was facing upward and pointed it towards the other side of the table, gesturing to offer the woman a seat.

WC: 427/1666

Mon Jun 01, 2020 5:16 pm

Mino looks him up and down when he turns to face her. Hm.

Well, she's had her fun. It's best not to antagonize the village's jounin too badly... well, at least not until she knows this one a little better. She has some final remark to make on him working on these documents in a public place, but that train of thought derails and crashes at his next words.

Ah... right. He's Ballian's brother. If this man knows that she and Ballian have spoken, then he likely also has some idea of the contents of that conversation. Clearly, this man is also close with the Mizukage in some way... or he is remarkably confident about being caught crafting forgeries. The form she had read was remarkably mundane, however, with little opportunity for potential sabotage or embezzlement. There is also the strong possibility that he literally is the Mizukage, although his coy response seems at odds with that conclusion.

There isn't enough information to act on, and she might have stepped into much more trouble than anticipated. Her mouth twitches.

Mino slides into the seat, returning the form neatly to the top of Zieg's stack of signed documents.

"In the sense of fate? Or have you been aiming to speak with me?" she asks, crossing one leg over the other and leaning back into the chair, getting comfortable... well, as comfortable as she can get, wearing her chunin flak jacket. It's horribly stiff. If he is anything like his brother, she may be here for a while.

TWC: 989

Tue Jun 02, 2020 1:01 pm

The Jounin moved his body back to its proper position, with his back to the back of the chair and body and head facing Mino as she made her way to the chair opposite his table and sat down. The older woman’s eyes, or eye would be given the details of Zieg’s appearance. Soft pale and featureless skin made him appear almost glowing in the yellowish tint the paper lanterns illuminated the inside of the tea house with. His dark hair contrasted heavily with his skin as it surrounded his face. He was not engaged in physical activity, nor did he have intention to for the moment so his hair fell freely down his head, minus that which flowed down the side of his face. This hair was tied together with a white string. His bangs were cut to be just above his eyes, allowing slim visibility of his eyebrows. He was dawned in his casual wear also, sporting a loose fitting white and blue striped t-shirt, and dark blue pants. The nails on his small hands were painted dark blue. As Mino spoke of fate, something that tickled Zieg greatly as his brother also spoke often of fate, he could not help but let out a small and soft chuckle. He placed his elbows on the table and clasped his hands together, also resting them on the table, papers sitting on either side of his forearms.

“I’m not one who believes in fate, but call it what you will. What it is is fortunate for me if anything.” the Uchiha replied, words soft, melodic and almost soothing. He examined Mino’s face very briefly. Something Zieg noticed almost immediately was the prosthetic in her right eye. It lacked the signs of life its counterpart did. The red blood vessels were missing and the light from the tea shop reflected off of it slightly more. “I’m sure you already know but I suppose I should offer a formal greeting. Uchiha Zieg.” After he spoke he bowed his head some inches to the women and then allowed for a brief pause before he spoke again. “Your surname is one I am not familiar with. I take it you like myself hail from a land that's not the Land of Waves.”

He relaxed himself slightly, leaning back in the chair and allowing the slight tension in his body to rest itself. She was a comrade in arms, despite their different fields of work. Zieg greatly respected the medical profession, both for what it offers to the world and because it was a very useful wealth of knowledge for his brother to have in desperate times on the field. Despite a lack of knowledge of one another the Uchiha definitely held some form of respect for Mino.

WC: 463/2129

Tue Jun 02, 2020 2:53 pm

Mino allows herself the uncommon luxury of meeting the eyes of an Uchiha. The act always brings her a small amount of amusement - one of her mother's many lessons was never to do such a thing. His unscarred face, the lull of his voice, and the length and pristine care of his hair suggest that he is particularly talented in genjutsu. His appearance is not that of somebody who frequently gets into close scrapes.

His demeanor would be very effective at putting anybody at ease. Mino's body language remains stiff. She does not expect him to make an overt move to influence her, or she would never have met his gaze in the first place, but that doesn't mean she has to get suckered in by pleasantries before she knows what he wants.

"Kurokabi Mino," she allows in return, making some quick calculations of etiquette... and then dipping her head gently - meeting him halfway, in this strange cultural context they both share. Such a brief acknowledgment would absolutely be a snub in either of their homelands, given Zieg's superior rank, but in Kirigakure displays of proper manners are... rarer. Attention to propriety is less important than attention to power, and power is always in struggle.

"The Land of Tea, as I am sure you gathered from our conversation," she says, inclining her head to Mr. Rao, who has decided not to linger over shinobi conversation and has found some paperwork of his own to do behind the counter. "I find that Kurokabi is usually an unfamiliar name. That's by design. My father's family does not draw attention to itself." Though the Horaana bemoan that they have not cultivated a bloodline, Mino finds that fortunate. She is sure that Zieg's heritage has gotten him into a fair share of trouble, as potent as his eyes surely are. Mino grimly wonders if she will ever be tasked with plucking them from his skull. Such assets would surely not go to waste if he were to die on a mission and his corpse was retrieved. "The Land of Fire, I presume, in your case?"

TWC: 1337 (nice)

Fri Jun 05, 2020 12:51 pm

Small curves edged on the sides of his soft lips as Mino engaged with Zieg’s niceties and tradition, given not many often did, nor did he expect them to. Bows and offerings of names was something never to be expected out of anyone. His nights sleeping near the shores and under the stars during his first days here in the Land of Waves allotted him a lot of time to himself to think, which might have driven other types mad. He would be able to reflect on the many behaviors of man as he skulked and stalked about the many different villages, hamlets, cities and even tribes. Even amongst their own groups many people\s behaviors differed. Tradition simply seemed coming close to being lost these days. It was a saddening thought sometimes but one he could not help. Not yet in any case.

Another slight giggled emerged from the belly of the man hearing and acknowledging Mino’s own perceptive abilities. She WAS a Kirigakure shinobi after all. He would speak nothing of the remark however. The smark girl would know the amusement spoke the words needed so he would not have to verbally. He listened intently to the Chuunin speak about the secrecy of her family name, it being something her father seemed to have intended. How nice it would have been, he thought to himself, to not have such a prestigious name. Of course it came with its perks. Perks Zieg valued greatly and intended to proudly use as he saw fit. However it also came with disadvantages. There are few who don’t know at least a little information about the Uchiha and their capabilities. Their value. He was simply cursed to sometimes share a mutual uncomfortability with people he meets. Both untrusting of the other parties for typically the same reasons.

“You would be correct.” He said. His hands unclasped and he leaned slightly to his left, his hand reaching down slightly before reappearing back above the table holding a black flap messenger back. He began taking large bits of the stacks of unsigned papers and putting them into the bag, being sure to leave the signed ones for last so they would be at the top and stacked front facing to the other papers. “I’m confident many could make that assessment. To my knowledge I am the only Uchiha in Kirigakure.” And thank the heavens for that. He thought to himself. “Am I right to assume you are the only Kurokabi here?” A not completely honest question, given his foreknowledge of the overheard conversation. He knew her family was back in her homeland. Her brothers. Her father. However he knew it would be unwise to assume anything so the question was asked in earnest. It was up to her to decide what he meant. He would not press her on the matter. He himself, afterall, was not one to so freely offer information of his past. It became a permanent nuisance in the corners of his mind, that typically scrapped itself to the forefront of his consciousness from time to time. At least once a day.

WC: 519/2648

Sun Jun 07, 2020 9:55 pm

Her compromise seems to please Zieg. Perhaps she should have been less giving. Ah, well. The conversation is going peacefully so far, so perhaps she should be less petty. Mino allows the tenseness in her body to ease... somewhat.

She nods at his confirmation, mulling over her own time in his homeland. Her gaze follows his hands - not necessarily in a suspicious way, but a responsible and alert one. Non-shinobi often describe shinobi as being 'on edge', even in private and relaxed contexts, and Mino supposes that this sort of thing is what they mean. It is difficult for Mino to slip into that sort of full state of relaxation, even though she does make a concerted effort to retain her ties to the non-shinobi world.

"No." She does not elaborate on that response to his question. He'd missed something, and that comforts her. Her expression looks faintly amused, and she allows herself to relax a little further. The silence hangs for a moment as she considers where to take the conversation next. Mino does not want the conversation to linger around the topic of her father. That is a matter that is both vulnerable and private, and whatever Zieg had gleaned from that overheard conversation will be what he is left with.

"I spent some time in the Land of Fire, when I was younger," she says, leaning back, that amused look turning to a small, nostalgic look. "I attended a research school in Umihoshi." A large and wealthy coastal city, likely familiar to any sailor in Kiri, and familiar to Zieg if he had run many missions outside of the village during his time in Konoha. Quite a lot of shipments run through it, and it is a popular destination for scholars for its research opportunities. "During that time, I met quite a few Konoha shinobi. They always struck me as quite sweet and soft. At the time, of course, I did not know how deep the issues with their leadership ran. I suppose any of them could have been similarly two-faced... not to imply anything of you, of course."

It may come off passive-aggressive, but she doesn't particularly care. If the shoe fits, he is free to wear it.

TWC: 1709

Foreigners Who Found Home [Private/Mino]

Foreigners Who Found Home [Private/Mino]

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