transverse tavern, (chae)

[KEITH]

A few weeks had passed since the assault on Kumogakure and our received punishment from the Mizukage himself. I felt that I had received the lightest punishment, despite Akira’s attempt at my life; he knew that I would survive it. I also could just replace the lost hearts with others, but for now, I just wanted to take things easy and slow for a change. It’s been a while since I had seen Chae or Gin, so I decided that I would pay the two a visit, though one at a time so I could focus whole-heartedly upon them individually.

My first would be no other than Chae himself, he had lost an arm as his punishment, and though like me and Gin, he had regretted nothing. But, I still felt bad for allowing such a misfortune to fall upon my fellow Kiri-nin. I viewed them all as family and would do anything to protect to, though I couldn’t protect them against Akira even if I wanted to. His power had far exceeded my own, and probably anyone else in the village. That was the past, though—now all I could do was try to make it up to the two in some way.

I decided to treat Chae at the tavern of Kirigakure tonight, everything was on me and I would let him drink too his heart was content, and even then, I had a special gift for him. I heard about his failed eye surgery before, but hopefully with what I had for him, he would be successful. I entered into the bar, my eyes swept across the room that had been filled with people. I ventured through the room, looking to see if Chae had already been there and had a table.

Hopefully he would have, I feared that there weren’t any more open.

“Hm, just where is that guy. . . ?”

[Chae]

"God you're horrible!"

A young girl cried out as she stormed through the doors of the back room and out of the tavern entirely. Following behind her, Chae stumbled against the open door's hinges while using the only arm he had to support his sluggish and tipsy state of being. Bottle in hand, he waved 'good-bye' and attempted to turn around to head back into the room, however, his eyes managed to notice Yokumaru stepping through the tavern's entrance just as the girl left. With a quick yell of his name, he hoped to gain his attention.

"Oi! Yokumaru, come and have a drink!"

Momentarily tilting his head back into the room, he ushered Yokumaru to join him as Chae himself finally turned and made his way back into his drinking booth. With three seats paralleled to one another, Chae say directly in the middle and sat the aforementioned body on the opposite side of the table, directing Yokumaru to his seat. More than sure that he'd have followed, the moment he stepped through the door, he spoke once more.

"So *hic* what brings you here? Haven't seen yer ass since that day."

[KEITH]

Not before long, the signal of Chae’s appearance would erupt from out of seemingly nowhere. I heard the voice of a young woman, and watched as she would scurry past me, making her way out of the bar in a quick haste. I was left staring, wondering what had happened, but before I could arise at the answer, a familiar voice had called out from behind me. “Chae?” I would say to myself, before turning around, and without so much as a pause, he invited me to have drinks with him. At least he had already been in a cheerful mood, getting drunk and all, that’s how I met him the first time a while ago.

I had taken him from this place and stood upon the battlefield we created in Kumogakure, though he was glorious than myself, all I could do was chance down a runaway who I never got a chance to catch up with. I followed him as he had leaded us to a booth in the back, I could only assume it was his own. After he had taken his own seat, he would point to the destination of my own, and I took it. But, before we even walked through the door, he spoke once more, asking what brought me here and about the last time when had seen each other, in the Mizukage’s Office.

“Yeah, it has been quite a while since then. . . But, what brings me here today is to treat you to a few drinks or more. The reason why we were able to escape with our lives was because of you, and so I wish to repay you. And, could you really give up few drinks?”

I had spoken immediately once he had shown me my seat, and jokingly finished off my speech with the free alcohol joke. I really did owe a great debt to Chae, and I could only hope that he would allow me to pay him back. Especially with the special gift that I had for him.

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[Chae]

Once Yokumaru completely stepped through the double doors leading to Chae's personal booth, a quick whistle and snap of his fingers summoned slim and fairly beautiful waitress that carried with her two shot glasses, one obviously for Chae and the other for his guest. Leaning over the table, she proceeded to seize the bottle and skillfully filled both glasses to the brim. Upon completion, she stepped away, bowed, and gracefully exited the room. Without a moment to waste, Chae chuckled and replied the moment the dual doors closed shut.

"Please, should be the other way around with those flying creatures of yer's that came out of yer back. *Hic* without those idunno how we woulda' made it out haha!"

He paused. Glass full, he reached out and grabbed it with his right hand, before gently easing its edge onto his lips and tilting his head back to consume the entirety of the shot. His lips tightened as his eyes blinked profusely once the strong alcohol made its way into his system.

"Have a shot, at least one. But on a serious note, we all played a part in what happened back in Kumogakure. But if you insist, I was never one to refuse a gift, especially not from a fellow comrade of the mist. You definitely have my interest I will say that.. "

[KEITH]

After Chae snapped his fingers, I watched as the slim waitress made her way into Chae’s personal booth, carrying two shot glasses and alcohol. As she would fill the glass to the brim, I couldn’t help but remember the time with Rael back at the gentleman club and the first time I had ever drank. Eventually from that point on, though Rael had become my student, we had also become good friends. Since this was my first time with Chae, I had hoped that we would be able to become good friends too, after sharing a drink together.

Chae didn’t know it, but I was a feather weight when it came to drinking, and perhaps just one shot of this stuff could do me in. As he had spoken about how it was because of me and my Avatars that we had escaped, I couldn’t help but disbelieve it. But, there was no need to think about that stuff anymore, it was time to move on to new things now. Allowing the past to hold you down will only lead to future regrets, which I had learned first-hand already.

Almost in sync with Chae, just a second behind him or so, I would chug down the drink as I threw my head back, allowing it to sink into my system and marinate. The expression upon my face had shown that I wasn’t use to drinking; utter bitterness is what I tasted and felt like. I tried to regain my composure as I listened to him continue to speak, smirking as my cheeks began to turn a shade of red, and the focused look within my eyes had now became aloof. Slowly, I began to loosen up as I felt the toxins of the drinks do its work inside of me.

I tried as best as I could to keep myself together as my slammed the shot glass back onto the table as my arm fell with it.

“. . . I suppose there is no reason to linger on about the past. Neither one of us regrets what we did, so that is that. . .”

My speech had now become slurred, and the feeling of warmth building up within my guts had made me feel so relaxed and cheerful. I couldn’t help but wonder how good it could feel doing this every day, enjoying the feeling that alcohol creates for your pleasures.

“I heard about the failed surgery performed upon your right eye. And, while we were back in Kumogakure, I had stolen the hearts of the Raikage and the ANBU Operative you killed. Come to find out that the ANBU guy was of the Hyuuga clan, and I had stolen his eyes as well. Surely you know where I am going with this—what do you think about it?”

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[Chae]

Chae forever enjoyed the company of other over a nice intoxicating drink as well as watching them fall deeper into the depths of pleasure the drinks provide. Nonetheless, he noticed just how light of a drinker Yokumaru had been considering how fast the alcohol rushed through his system and took effect against his body.

Smiling, he leaned in towards the table to further listen to Yokumaru's proposal in tandem with pouring himself yet another shot. Every few words that escaped Yokumaru's parted lips, Chae nodded to acknowledge what he'd been saying and to confirm his attention was seized.

Slowly, Chae picked up the glass before calmly twirling it around in circles repeatedly. Thereafter, he threw his head back and emptied the glass into his stomach while basking in its bittersweet taste and smooth texture. Setting the glass back down, a soft push sent the bottle sliding back across the table towards Yokumaru

"Haha, how many do you think you can take my friend?!"

Playfully teasing his ally, he continued on a more serious note.

"You heard right. Messed up pretty bad trying to get a Sharingan placed into it. But hell, I wouldn't mind trying again, it'd come in handy in case it ever happens again. As of right now, we both know coming by money aint easy unless you're Akira. "

For a moment, Chae actually showed a tinge of disdain for the amount of money that were given to them upon completing missions. While something, Chae felt as though the payout hadn't amounted to nothing at all in the long run.

[KEITH]

“Hah, I’m pretty sure that I am already at my limit. But what the hell, right?!”

I said in my drunken stupor with much enthusiasm. After Chae poured himself another shot and took it to the head, he pushed the bottle my way for another drink. I knew that the alcohol already had me against the ropes, but the feeling was too good to just simply let it go all so easily. Despite however it might have tasted to me.

By the time we would be done, Chae would be dragging my limp body out of the bar, I was sure of it. I took the bottle, my grip wasn’t what it used to be before the first shot, but I was able to grasp it firm enough not to drop the bottle as I filled my glass to the brim. I took the shot, and in one fluent motion, my head shot back with it, and I reenacted the first expression once more as I felt the harsh drink burn as it went down. At the same time I would have, Chae would have talked about his past surgery and our money issue, despite us robbing the vaults of Kumogakure, that money was quickly spent.

The only other way to get money was to go on a ton of missions, which I wasn’t too fund of, but if Chae really wanted and needed the money, I would help him in any way I could.

“Yeah. . . *hic*”

I had caught myself after I hiccupped, and I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. It was either at me or simply because I was so drunk, it was hard for me to tell at the moment, but I was surely enjoying myself. It seemed so hard to get serious, at least for me, but even if my words didn’t carry a serious tone anymore, which they didn’t really need to, hopefully Chae could grasp the depth of them still.

“Well, you surely deserved more than what you had gotten from their fragile vault. So. . . without further ado. . . !”

I was so drunk that I couldn’t even focus much anymore, though I was able to slowly retrieve a pod from within my flak jacket. I slowly moved my hand from my jacket to the table, and flicked the bottle over to him. I didn’t move slow because I wanted to, I had to or my body would slip up and do something really crazy. When I had almost no control over it.

While Chae would probably examine it, I began to pour myself another shot, before passing the bottle back over to him.

“*hic* So, how is it?”

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[Chae]

Chae suddenly leaned forward in surprise with his forearm across the table. He smiled and laughed upon noticing just how adamant Yokumaru had gotten about putting down more shots than he could ever handle. For that alone warranted a mark of permanent respect in Chae's book. Laughing along side Yokumaru, Chae used every ounce of his willpower to dampen his level of laughter to both comprehend and respond to what Yokumaru had been saying the entire time.

Before long -after going on and on about how Chae deserved far more than what he initially received after completely emptying Kumogakure's vault, inebriated and anxious to she what it was that Yokumaru had in store for his one armed ally. Without a moment to spare, a small preservation pod had been tossed over to Chae'd direction. Intuitively, his hand reached out and caught it without much effort and examined it as best he could considering his drunken state. A hiccup and a laugh later, Chae finally found the words to respond.

"Well I'll be damned, you snagged a byakugan during all that? Heh, you're definitely *hic* a certified Kiri ninja haha!"

Once available, Chae poured himself another shot in which he immediately threw back with iron tolerance for alcohol. Sliding the bottle back to his comrade, Chae snapped open his satchel and gently slid it into an open area within it.

"Truthfully, if this all works out, I'd be the one in your dept for getting me a new good eye Haha!"'

SPOILER: Click to show

Iryo Ikken (Organic Preservation Pod) [Byakugan]
Rank: A
Type: Medical Accessory.
Special: Each pod can only hold either 1 major set of appendages (arms, legs), 1 minor set (hands, feet), OR, a whole head. Preserved parts retain their integrity indefinitely. Without this, a looted body-part belonging to a Player Character can only last five (5) IC posts before it loses its effectiveness for transplanting purposes. Each pod takes up two (2) accessory slots.
Description: Much larger than the capsule, this pod performs in much the same way as its little brother, except it can now hold large appendages, such as arms, legs, hands, feet, or even a whole head! In the form of a cube, its diameter is a meter each side, and is easily carried by a handle at the top of the chamber. Its insides contain a special clear liquid that, although usable only once, is designed to preserve a given body part for short period of time.
Cost: 20,000 Ryo.

[KEITH]

“Hah, it’s the least I can do for my friend. *hic*”

I watched as he would examine the pod and its contents, my cheeks still rosy as I carried a bright smile upon my face, hoping he would have really liked it. And that it had been helpful to him in the long run, it was certainly the least I could do for my friend. My mind returned to Gin, I knew that I had to visit him next and I wondered what I could do for him and his loss of sight. Surely I would think of something in the end, as the Shinobi Gashira, it was my duty to look out for all of the shinobi within Kirigakure and help them.

But for now, I just wanted to enjoy myself and these drinks that we had been blessed to still be able to receive. As Chae had thrown his shot back, I would have followed suit with him, and had done the same, before my gaze would set back on him as he talked about repaying me because he would be in my debt. I couldn’t help but laugh at his words, anything that helped them was my repayment, if he hadn’t known already.

“The Kushinada are surely a wonderful family. You, Akira-sama, and even Tenryu-sama are great shinobi and friends. It is truly an honor to work with all of you. *hic* But, you Chae, you should be my drinking buddy. Can’t do anything like this with Akira-sama, he’s always busy and uptight, sort of.”

I ended it in a playful tone; I didn’t want Chae to think I was bashing Akira in anyway, he had surely known that Akira did actually possess those traits. I wondered if Chae had known something about Akira that I didn’t. Despite all the years of being his sworn brother and working by his side, I hadn’t actually gotten to learn about him on the personal level as I would have. I’ve always felt left out, perhaps he simply couldn’t confine in me because I wasn’t family.

Maybe. . .

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[Chae]

Shot after shot, Chae drank along side Yokumaru, enjoying Kirigakure's finest alcohol. Keenly, Chae listened to his newly considered friend as he divulged his feelings and respect towards the Kushinada family. For the briefest of moments, he mentioned the late Tenryu Kushinada, Akira's brother and Chae's own cousin. While Akira may not have approved of Tenryu compeltely (if at all), Chae's loyalty and respect for Tenyru had been no different than was with Akira himself. Although he refused to admit it so openly, Akira and Tenryu meant the world to Chae, next to Kirigakure and everything involved with it.

"Hah, tell me about it! Akira could use a goddamn drink or five. Uptight bastard needs to learn how to relax. we *hic* we go out and help kiri the best way we could, and *hic* whut dos' he do? He cuts mah friggin arm off!"

In a small, quick second fit of rage, Chae through his glass against the nearby wall away from the booth itself. Huffing a sigh, he looked down in an attempt to regain his composure for Yokumaru's sake; after all, the last thing Chae wanted to do was completely ruin a fine moment a friend of his planned out. Raising an open palm in a apologetic manner, he spoke.

"Gah, lookit what I've dyun nah. I preciate' tha gift Yokumaru, I relleah do, but I think I need a minute to mahself."

Chae, admittedly, hated the fact that Akira took his left arm without even showing any kind of consideration in regards to restoring it. While he -for the moment- adapted to using ninjutsu with a single hand, he refused to get overly used to it as he decided that getting not only a new eye as top priority, but getting a left arm as well.

[KEITH]

A smirked crawled upon my face as Chae had spoken, ending it with him needing a moment to himself. I guess our words had brought up some different feelings within him, but I hadn’t meant for anything like to happen. I just wanted us to have a good time, of course. But, I had to respect his wishes of his time alone, and with that, I nodded to him and slowly rose up to my feet.

“*hic* Alright, I suppose I will be making my way. Hopefully we get another chance to drink like this. See ya, Chae.”

I didn’t want to rush my words or movements, knowing I was drunk and could easily fall over and pass out. Once I made my way to the entrance of Chae’s booth, though I struggled to get there, I lifted a hand to wave off to him before making my way. After I sober up, I had planned on going to see Gin, but maybe that would have had to wait for the next day. I exited the booth, and the bar entirely shortly after.

[Exit.]

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