Each till-n-fill is actually about 1000 ryo, maximum. So we could afford this from just the gambling money. I don't think that's the best expenditure for it at the moment seeing as there will probably be other misc. costs and fees that put this up a couple thousand.
I don't think this is feasible until we have a big pile of money from the salt thing and/or some businesses up and running and/or significantly more Pangolin gold (I would prefer not to do this one, please).
Each till-n-fill is actually about 1000 ryo, maximum. So we could afford this from just the gambling money. I don't think that's the best expenditure for it at the moment seeing as there will probably be other misc. costs and fees that put this up a couple thousand.
I don't think this is feasible until we have a big pile of money from the salt thing and/or some businesses up and running and/or significantly more Pangolin gold (I would prefer not to do this one, please).
Each till-n-fill is actually about 1000 ryo, maximum. So we could afford this from just the gambling money. I don't think that's the best expenditure for it at the moment seeing as there will probably be other misc. costs and fees that put this up a couple thousand.
I don't think this is feasible until we have a big pile of money from the salt thing and/or some businesses up and running and/or significantly more Pangolin gold (I would prefer not to do this one, please).
Actually, chakra farms might not even be necessary. Do we know how much chakra we can get in a day if we dedicate ourselves to hunting it? What if we had Leaf calling targets? Leaf, or at least the Nara, probably have records of where common sites for water based chakra beasts are. At least on the level of "The village of Hage has had three missions in the last year for exterminating man eating shrimp"
If we use that, 10,000 chakra a day wouldn't shock me.
I could've sworn at some point in the system transition one of the QMs dropped by to say that Elemental Mastery changed to Neutral element because it didn't make much sense for a Fire jutsu to make things colder, but I can't find the quote.
I can find points where people talked about Elemental Mastery maybe not being Fire, but it's always inconclusive. Even QM posts show confusion.
Bah. I actually thought about that as I was putting it together and apparently I didn't put the comment in. And now I find myself wondering if I had it right. The intention was that it was things like Grand Fireball, but let me check that I have it right about EM.
And now there's apparently a new version of the jutsu list that I can't find that lists EM as Fire. The only one I can find (which is linked in the canonical rule docs, displays itself as up to date, and has Spine of the Earth in it) lists EM as Neutral element but under the Fire Jutsu header.
Eh. Considering that Ami is meeting us in private away from Mori eyes, it's possible that she plans to open up about Kei if we prove to be sufficiently on Kei's side.
What a pity that we haven't and don't plan to tell Kei about the meeting and therefore will signal that we're not acting in Kei's best interests.
If we're doing the exact thing Ami is doing, then shouldn't that prove to her that we are, in fact, trustworthy enough to confide in? My read on Ami is that she would never actually do this during our first meeting, but I have trouble following your reasoning here.
You seem to be missing my objection there and discussing everything else instead.
My objection is, in essence, that we don't have grounds to complain that Ami is acting in her-opinion-of-Keiko's-best-interests rather than Keiko's-stated-best-interests because we are doing the same thing.
I don't think we should complain about that, but rather that she's not doing a good job of modelling Keiko's best interests, and is letting her own emotions negatively affect her decision making. Not directly, of course, but that's the spirit of what I'd aim for.
I also don't think we're doing the same thing other than in the most general of senses. Ami is actually ignoring Keiko's agency completely. Hazou is rejecting what he thinks is her opinion because he believes it's tainted by her irrationally poor self-esteem and fatalism.
For the record, I'd be fine with telling Keiko and then proceeding with the meeting irrespective of her reaction, but I feel it'd be cruel to give her false hope without anything concrete to base it on.
I mean, imagine the screaming in the thread if we need to come up with a plan to lay out Shikamaru without breaking opsec on any of our most OP weapons?
I mean, imagine the screaming in the thread if we need to come up with a plan to lay out Shikamaru without breaking opsec on any of our most OP weapons?
See, hedges. It's spelled with a 'd', not an 'n', and there's no 'j' anywhere. Easy mistake to make thought -- it's surprising how many people on this thread do it. smh
And now there's apparently a new version of the jutsu list that I can't find that lists EM as Fire. The only one I can find (which is linked in the canonical rule docs, displays itself as up to date, and has Spine of the Earth in it) lists EM as Neutral element but under the Fire Jutsu header.
It's the same one that's listed in the rules, and I've linked it from the from page as well. (Also, @Velorien and @OliWhail : I made post #2 editable by collaborators, so y'all are good to go.)
You're right that it's list under Fire but marked None. I think it's supposed to be Fire in both cases. @OliWhail and @Velorien , back me up / correct me?
Rejoice, the Multiple Earth Wall rules are still not finished.
However, while they are still not finished, we have a draft that we'd like to turn over to the players to break examine and optimise. Please keep the design intent in mind--this is an average defensive technique, the kind Jiraiya was happy to teach a promising deniable asset, with a creative application that wouldn't occur to many village ninja because they have no need for it.
Multiple Earth Wall
Earth Element Maneuver
Effect 1:AB (10, 30, 60, 100, 150...)
Duration +2 (Half-minute, 30)
Durability 4 (82)
Range 0 (Caster zone, 0)
Speed 0 (Supplemental, 75)
AOE 1 (Melee, 20)
Adv: Conditional Permanent (10)
Adv: Restricted Reflexive Casting (20)
Adv: Adjustable Casting Time (+10, -[Instant 0, 10, Half-min 30, 60, 100, 10 mins 150, 210, Hour 290 (max)])
Dis: Cooldown = Cast Time, min 1 round (-10)
Dis: Max Effect = ACT steps, min 1 (-10)
Multiple Earth Wall creates (Effect) contiguous 5x5x1ft panels of granite, which must emerge from a surface the caster's chakra can reach. If this surface is the ground, the panels produced by the technique are permanent. Otherwise, the resulting constructs dissolve after about 30 seconds or when shattered.
If a user has at least one unused supplemental action during an initiative phase, the user can reflexively cast a substantially scaled down technique to e.g. defend from incoming ranged attacks. Naturally, this cannot benefit from Adjustable Casting Time. Casting the technique reflexively reduces the range to within melee of the caster (-1 Range, -20 Strain), always produces a chakra construct (lose Adv: Conditional Permanence, -10 Strain), and reduces the duration of the chakra construct to mere seconds (-1 step on the time ladder, -20 strain).
Overall, this cuts 50 Strain, or 10 CP. In addition to narrative effects at QM discretion, the user gains a Tag on this newly created environment Aspect for defense.
Option: Make it a double-cost technique to learn, to balance flexibility?
I think "Slow enough to not cost any chakra." really means "Slow enough that your natural chakra regen will replenish the difference/there will be 1-2 CP cost per cast." or something if you get down to the nitty gritty. I don't know what the QM opinion is on how far you can move down the Time Ladder until it becomes ridiculous, though.
I think "Slow enough to not cost any chakra." really means "Slow enough that your natural chakra regen will replenish the difference/there will be 1-2 CP cost per cast." or something if you get down to the nitty gritty. I don't know what the QM opinion is on how far you can move down the Time Ladder until it becomes ridiculous, though.
I mean, imagine the screaming in the thread if we need to come up with a plan to lay out Shikamaru without breaking opsec on any of our most OP weapons?
I mean, imagine the screaming in the thread if we need to come up with a plan to lay out Shikamaru without breaking opsec on any of our most OP weapons?
Underground explosives should work nicely. HLaM + hidden roots to start, and just leave explosives underneath his feet, and also everywhere else. Never resurface until the fight's over. This strategy nearly auto wins against opponents without the ability to manipulate or see through earth.
Keep storage seals with bright lights inside on hand.
EDIT: We can ask Keiko if this counts as an OPSEC breach. It shouldn't. While this strategy seems like a god send win combo, it only really works on opponents where you know where they will be within a few dozen yards, and when they will be there down to the minute.. Hidden roots doesn't last long enough to set up real ambushes.
Underground explosives should work nicely. HLaM + hidden roots to start, and just leave explosives underneath his feet, and also everywhere else. Never resurface until the fight's over. This strategy nearly auto wins against opponents without the ability to manipulate or see through earth.
I believe Shikamaru can use Earth techniques. At least I am pretty sure he can raise portions of the ground to create more shadows (called Training Brick or something?).
I believe Shikamaru can use Earth techniques. At least I am pretty sure he can raise portions of the ground to create more shadows (called Training Brick or something?).
I didn't mean to imply that said jutsu would be enough, only that Shikamaru knew one Earth jutsu so he'd have the affinity and potential to know more devastating ones.
Hazou had made sure to leave the apartment more than an hour before he was supposed to meet Ami. A serious case of nervous energy and a stronger than usual feeling that he'd die by Keiko's hand long before any external threat could get to him demanded nothing less.
On the upside, this meant he could take his time and take in the sights of his former Village as he walked at a leisurely pace to his destination.
On the downside, try as he might, he could not fully relax because there was always a chance of triggering a Surprise Keiko Event:
While it had felt like a good idea at the time to let Noburi in on this secret meeting in case he needed someone to corroborate his precommitment to not talk about Keiko, he had come to regret that decision; as much as he loved his brother, Noburi was definitely the type to break immediately under torture.
Getting beat up once in public was more than enough. He really did not want a repeat of that, thank you very much.
With these happy thoughts swirling in his head, he eventually arrived at a park he used to visit as a kid and sat down on an unoccupied bench.
Closing his eyes, he didn't realize how much he had missed just coming here and letting go of his worries. The breeze on his face and even the random chatter of the passersby felt like a balm on his raw soul.
Had he been homesick without even realizing?
"Saya, hold up please. This telescope is really heavy, you know!"
"Stop complaining, Aya. This is exactly why you will never catch up to my physical exams' score in the academy. Now hurry, if we finish our chores Dad might finally let us visit big bro."
"Do you really think so? But what if he doesn't want to see us? He would have tried to make contact otherwise, right? I really miss him."
A strange jolt of recognition passed through Hazou's body but when he opened his eyes he couldn't spot anyone carrying a telescope in the passing crowd. Weird.
Ah well, it was probably nothing important. He was about to close his eyes again when he noticed a small and fuzzy black shape to his right. A shape that he was absolutely sure had not been there just a minute ago.
Oh no.
No, no, no!
He was Goketsu Hazou, inventor of the Skywalkers, student of the Heartbreaker and adopted son of the Hokage. He refused to go down without a flight!
So forget about taking his time, he was heading to Yukizome's Experimental Cuisine this instance and he'd wait out the remaining time there.
He apologized to the civilian child and mother that he had nearly run over in his mad dash, but in the end he managed to escape alive and unhurt.
The child for her part walked up to the bench Hazou had bolted from, picked up the black kitten plushie and ran back to her mother with a huge smile on her face.
Mewnori would live to meow another day. And this time she would make sure not to carelessly forget her on a bench again.
-o-o-o-
While he initially had planned to enter the restaurant the moment he had arrived, he stopped short at the door because he realized his plan to meet Ami had one significant flaw: he didn't actually know what she looked like.
This could turn out to be problem.
But this was Keiko's big sister and he at least knew how Keiko looked like from spending time with each other as teammates. In addition, yesterday's match had given him extra insight. For example how she looked from below when was laying down on the hard arena floor and even from a bird's eye perspective from when Pangaya and Pandamonium threw him around like a toy to amuse their summoner.
Given said information he should be able to extrapolate Ami's looks: very similar to Keiko but taller and with longer hair because that's how aging worked, right?
Right.
And now that he had a rough idea what to look for, was he just to enter and hope there would be no other girls matching this description of her in the establishment - and then what?
Was he just supposed to sit down on the same table as her (assuming she had arrived as early as he had) and pretend to know what he was doing when he clearly did not?
Or worse: what if there were multiple girls matching the description? How would he even know who'd be the correct one? Knowing his luck, he'd sit at the wrong table with the wrong "Ami" talking about the wrong things at the wrong time and then her actual date would show up and he would have to explain how this was all a misunderstanding and really, wasn't Uplift great?
And now that he thought about that, was this a date? Should he have brought flowers?
This clearly was a well thought out plan. He sighed and pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket to review it:
Secret Embarrassing Diplomatic Undertaking to Collect Intelligence About Mori's Intentions
Under it were loads of tiny scribbles to help him guide the discussion with Ami but it was painfully clear that his plan lacked sufficient contingencies about a situation like this one.
He put the paper back into his pocket, making a mental note to burn it before he went home and considered his options:
He still had time so he could go buy some flowers and return home to further optimize his approach with someone smarter than him. Like Ke--
A cold shiver ran down his spine.
Or maybe he'd not do any of those things and just head inside right now.
Yes, that definitely sounded like the smart thing to do.
-o-o-o-
To Hazou's delight, he could not spot any female patrons whatsoever inside Yukizome's Experimental Cuisine so his worries about chatting up the wrong person turned out to be groundless at least.
In fact, there only seemed to be two male patrons in here: the first one was sitting on a bar stool, eating… something. His pained grunts whenever he took a bite of whatever-that-was did not inspire confidence in Ami's choice of location.
The second one was seated at a corner table with a half eaten dish in front of him and was quietly sleeping with his face on the table. At least Hazou hoped that this was what he was doing because he couldn't actually see his chest move from his current viewing angle. Still, none of the staff seemed to be concerned about this and it'd be unlikely that Mist had started executing people via restaurant in a bid to be more humane under Aunt Ren's leadership, right?
He turned his gaze away; having established the restaurant as an Ami-Free-Zone for the moment being, Hazou had no idea what to do. Arranging for seating would be the usual step but he didn't know whether Ami had a place reserved for them or not.
Smelling his fear and indecisiveness as service people won't do, a waiter (?) pounced.
"Good day, young man. I am Minoru Minori and I will be your waiter today. Do you happen to have a reservation or were you struck by the desire to do some science with your taste buds spontaneously?"
Spoiler Alert: This is clearly Ami wearing an incredibly shoddy disguise to try and mess with Hazou.
She isn't trying very hard however (her clothes are much too big for her frame and she is using her normal voice for starters). She is mostly interested in seeing how Hazou would react to him catching her.
Ami, Deceit: ?? - ?? (Dice) - 90 (A disguise not even a child would fall for) = 16
Hazou, Deceit: 24 - 2 (Dice) - 6 (Severe Consequences) = 16
Tie goes to the attacker and Ami wins.
And props to Keiko, only she could mess things up for Hazou without being physically present - as far as you know, anyway.
A/N: Oh, good. It's going to be one of those updates.
Then again, who was he to judge when he was living with Kagome-sensei who was clearly a man using a name traditionally reserved for women? Disappointed at himself for jumping to conclusions he missed the waiter raising his very, very bushy brows in disbelief.
"Sir, are you alright?"
"Ah, yes, sorry", Hazou replied. "I am meeting someone here and she has probably already made a reservation for us."
"Very good, sir. Who would this lovely, gorgeous and - presumably incredibly intelligent - lady happen to be? So I can look up under which name the reservation was made, you understand "
Ah, crap. Did Ami put it under her real name or a fake one? Well, nothing to be done about it. Time for some patented Hazou Charm to deflect and defuse the situation.
"Yes. A local girl. From Mist, very loyal and very legal. No need to look further into it."
"..."
"..."
"Well, will you look at this. I do have a reservation for 'Girl from Mist' here. Please follow me, sir."
The waiter led Hazou into a seperate room. One which only contained a single large table and two chairs.
Yes! He did it and all without arousing suspicion!
Score: Hazou one, waiter zero.
Hazou took one of the chairs and gingerly sat down. To his surprise, the waiter did the same on the chair opposite to him.
"What are you doing?" Hazou demanded.
Instead of replying immediately, the waiter twirled his thick moustache like those villains Hazou thought up for their game nights, then pulled on it, removing the disguise completely. "It's a-me, Ami!"
"Oh", Hazou said dumbly. "Well, this is awkward."
Ami only flashed him a bright smile.
Score: Hazou one, "waiter" two.
-o-o-o-
"Noburi, have you seen Hazou? I wanted to review our match with him some more", Keiko said in between bites of the most delicious honey covered waffle ever. The honey was even from Bear. Bear!
"Uh, no, I haven't. Why?" Noburi replied.
"I literally just told you", she looked at him in concern. "Are you alright? You seem to be sweating heavily."
"Ah, yeah, I think I might be getting sick. I'll go lie down for a bit upstairs just to be safe. Please make sure I am not disturbed. By anyone", Noburi turned on the stairs hesitantly, then looked Keiko in the eyes in a burst of courage. "Especially close family."
How odd.
"I will do my best to serve you, Noburi-sama", she gave him a mock bow. "Anything for the glory of the Goketsu."
Keiko had just finished her meal and had started to walk upstairs to read a book when the doorbell rang.
Sighing at having her potential reading time cut short, she jumped down the stairs and slammed the door open.
"Yes?"
Two girls, roughly three or four years younger than her, stood in front of her. One of them at least had the decency to look her in the face while the other hid behind her oversized telescope, shuffling on the spot like the book hating coward she probably was.
Then again, it hardly mattered which one of them did what since they both looked the same to Keiko.
"Hi! We were just wondering if Noburi is here? We wanted to visit him if that's alright", one of them said. "Please?"
"I'm afraid Noburi is currently not receiving any visitors. Now shoo!" Keiko decreed, then slammed the door shut.
It was reading time after all and that time was sacred.
"Saya, I don't think big bro wants to see us. Do you think we did something wrong?" Aya started to sniffle.
Saya went to hug her. "It's alright, I am sure this was all a misunderstanding. Let's go home for now, OK?"
"S-sure."
-o-o-o-
Hazou and Ami sat in silence until after the real (and moustache-less!) waiter had brought in the food and refreshments.
Hazou was still too embarrassed to talk, so he distracted himself by looking at the things the waiter had brought in; he couldn't help but notice that - even though the food looked pretty disgusting - it also looked very familiar.
So familiar in fact that he had nearly blurted out the question about whether Yukizome's Experimental Cuisine was a front for Mist's Seal Research Department because he recognized the stuff on his plate as the product of failed sealing research (though a lot more intact than Kagome-sensei and he would have left them).
Oh dear. Ami had taken him to a restaurant that served beings from the IN with beings from the OUT. Beings that appeared to be still alive enough that they had started eating each other.
What was she playing at? Was she signalling that she knew about Hazou doing dangerous research? Research which ultimately led to the development of Skywalkers and his adoption into Leaf?
The other thing that caught his attention was a big ornate bowl of water close to Ami's side of the table. A bowl that was big enough to submerge a human sized head in it.
…
Was she taunting him?
Did she know that Hazou could use Mist's Ultimate Secret Forbidden Technique which could incapacitate any Mist jounin regardless of their conventional power level by pulling their hair and pushing their face into the water? He had seen the devastating effects of it once in person and been told about the other known occurrence by Jiraiya himself (Hazou disliked remembering that one even more than the previous one).
This was clearly no coincidence and he was acutely aware that he was in possession of a technique so powerful that it could topple Mist singlehandedly if it spread - at least assuming they didn't counter it by issuing razors to their senior staff. He briefly wondered whether the long hair all of the sannin cultivated was more than a fashion statement.
He thought he was pretty subtle in checking out the bowl, yet Ami seemed to pick up on his musings because the moment she caught his eye she winked at him and started twirling her hair provocatively.
Was this a test, then? Was she trying to figure out whether he would try to attack her if given the perfect opportunity?
No, wait. Think about this rationally. Maybe it wasn't a test but her way of conveying that she was no threat to him right now and that she had deliberately given him a way to compensate for the inherent power difference between them?
Well, whatever it was, Ami seemed to have grown bored of waiting for Hazou to make the first move.
"So, do you want to take it from the top? As you already know, I am the amazing Mori Ami - but you can just call me Amizing if you want. And you must be Goketsu Hazou, right?" she asked.
Hazou internally cursed himself for precommitting to refuse to answer a few questions every now and then so he could establish a pattern of plausible deniability for questions he genuinely did not want to answer.
But he cursed Noburi even more for letting him talk him into not answering the very first question she would ask. 'It will establish dominance', he had said, and idiot that he was, Hazou had believed him.
"Umm", Hazou replied, establishing his dominance in all things stupid.
"Your name is Goketsu Hazou, son of Kurosawa Hana, formerly of Mist, is it not?"
"Hdk."
"Are you alright? It sounded like you were choking."
"Oh, I wasn't. I said 'hdk'. It means 'Hazou doesn't know', it's a clan mandate thing. For some reason only I have to follow it though."
Ami blinked and Hazou could swear her smile grew even bigger. Was she half cat or something?
"So Hazou doesn't know whether Hazou's name is Hazou? Nevermind that then. Was there anything in particular you wanted to ask me? Nice suit, by the way."
"Thanks, you too." Argh! Stupid reflex. He had just complimented her on her ill-fitting waiter's uniform. Smooth, Hazou. Very smooth. "Uh, I mean you are very pretty and you are clearly very smart."
There, that should make up for the faux pas.
Why was she leaning closer now? Was she blushing? Oh crap.
Hazou was acutely aware of how similar Ami was to Keiko right now. Not by their mannerisms, naturally, because these couldn't have been more different if they tried - apparent tendencies that they enjoyed messing with him aside - but by their appearance.
And this realization made him deeply uncomfortable.
Not because he couldn't imagine himself dating someone like Ami at some point in the future but because he was reminded that Keiko didn't even know he was here. And the only way to tempt fate more than by meeting Ami without Keiko's knowledge would be if he'd fall in love with her and they'd start dating behind her back. Or her front. Or even had the audacity to do so on the same continent as her.
His knowledge of Mist clan history was spotty at best but even he remembered reading about that Yuki clan that nearly destroyed itself from within due to an affair gone wrong.
Said story was particularly memorable for him because some of the people he had talked to in Leaf actually thought Yagura had had them killed for having a bloodline - which was beyond stupid.
Either way, he could and would not let his clan get destroyed if he could help it so it was time to course correct.
Which should be easy since all he'd have to do is be himself and say something stupid.
"So breeding programs, huh?" That should do it. Now to grab that glass of water and drink from it to buy some more time.
"What about them?" Ami replied. Then her eyes widened. "Oh, is that why you mentioned them in your speech? 'You don't need breeding programs, you just need population and time'? It all makes sense now."
It did? Hazou had a bad feeling about this. At least he had the presence of mind to lower his glass and swallow. It wouldn't do to accidentally get Ami wet.
"When you said this you were directly addressing the Mizukage and Hokage, your aunt and your adoptive father, respectively.
"You were asking them for permission, weren't you? For you to marry whoever you wanted to because political marriages to strengthen a bloodline are not that far off from a breeding program, if you think about it. And you made sure I would be there to hear you say it with the message you had sent me two days earlier. You agreeing to meet the day after the match settles it.
"Oh my, this is such a nice romantic gesture! I'd be delighted to accept your proposal! ❤"
That was that, then; he was a dead man walking. If the embarrassment wouldn't get him, having to explain to Jiraiya and Keiko why he was now engaged (?) to Mori Ami would.
And this was seriously unfair. He said stupid things all the time and this wasn't usually what happened!
Of course, he could always try to say no but given his experience with Mori women in general Hazou knew that they cared little about his desires if they went contrary to theirs, so that'd be a lost cause.
Best to just get it over with and give in.
"That, uh. Huh. Yes." Hazou replied, showcasing his mastery of language.
"But enough about that, you probably want to address the elephant in the room first, don't you, my dear Hazou?"
Oh good. He did precommit not to mention Keiko at all but once Ami did she would be fair game. So at least something good would come out of this.
"Oh, Kei--" / "Summoning Technique butnotreally: Come forth, Mr. Twinkles!"
Ami slammed her hand on the table and after the cloud cleared all Hazou could see was a huge pink stuffed elephant that was successfully hiding Ami behind its bulk.
Until she jumped on the table to hug it from behind anyway.
Jiraiya had tried to warn him. Repeatedly. But he didn't listen. He just had to press on and now he had met his match - in more than one meaning of the word.
And she was looking at him expectantly like this was something to be praised for. He suppressed a sigh.
"That's a really big elephant. Well done...?"
"Thanks!
"By the way, it sounded like you wanted to say something? It sounded suspiciously like 'Oh, Kei' but I'm afraid I cut you off in my excitement."
"Uh, nah, you must have misheard. All I said was 'Okay.' But enough about that. I am sure you have questions for me as well?"
Ami nodded, picked up her elephant and put it back into her storage seal. The food that had splashed around when she had unsealed it was already eating through part of it's adorable fur but death-by-storage-scroll would take care of the residue and some sewing later would take care of the fur.
"So, how was life as a missing-nin? Did you visit any cool locations? I am thinking about writing a cooking manga set in Bear featuring a missing-nin protagonist who is searching for the ultimate ingredient to make the ultimate dish.
I even thought of a great name for it: 'The Missing-Ningredient'! What do you think?"
He could do this.
Just relax and remember OPSEC. Hazou wasn't under any illusions he could lie to Ami without getting caught so he would have to be deliberately vague. Hopefully without her catching on.
"Great title. And our life as temporarily-displaced-ninjas-serving-their-Village-through-other-means was alright. It was rough at first and living in constant fear of Captain Zabuza was nerve-wracking but on the other hand having the opportunity to do good without all the red tape was refreshing.
As to where we went? Lots of places, really."
Nailed it.
"That's so cool! I also went to Lots of Places, it's a miracle we haven't met earlier!"
Or not. She was clearly mocking him.
Probably.
It really was hard to tell considering she had yet to drop her smile from the moment he met her until now (all she had done was vary the intensity of it), which made reading her really hard.
He actually wondered if she might be part Kurosawa with the way she could keep it up but even he had enough tact to know that questioning her parentage to her face would have been a faux pas.
That particular question could wait until the second date.
-o-o-o-
All in all, that went better than expected. Ami had even given him a hug before they parted ways, and he was now engaged (?) to a very powerful and influential kunoichi.
'Operation: SEDUCING AMI' was tentative success then. In fact, it may have been too successful even. Either way, it looked like Jiraiya had worried for nothing. Or too little - the jury was still out on that one.
Before he had left, Hazou had even handed her a post-interaction survey which she had happily accepted and promised to turn in the next time they'd meet.
Though he really did not like the way she winked at him before asking whether he would keep handing them out once they were actually married.
He thought he was all done getting red in the face but apparently not.
Now all that was left to do was to burn the note in his pocket to destroy all evidence of said meeting and he could head home to figure out a way to tell Keiko about what had conspired without getting accidented in his sleep.
He pulled out the piece of paper but instead of finding the note he had written, he found a different one entirely:
This was really fun! ^_^ I am looking forward to meeting you again. (✿◠‿◠)
PS: I know what you did last summer. (˵ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°˵)
She knew what he had done last summer? But he didn't even remember what he had done himself.
Which could only be a good thing, right? If it had been something bad he would definitely remember.
But no, focus and try to remember just in case this turned out to be important.
Lets see: Murdered some chakra beasts, went to Snow, unsuccessfully tried to find chakra beasts to annihilate there, left Snow, exterminated more chakra beasts, revolutionized ninja warfare via Skywalkers, killed some more chakra beasts, got adopted by Jiraiya and became Leaf royalty, reduced chakra beast populations, nearly got Minami killed, reduced civilian ship populations, actually got Minami killed, introduced some chakra beasts to explosives, and talked to Keiko.
Nope, looks like he had worried for nothing. That had been a pretty normal summer as far as his team was concerned.
Well then, time to head home and figure out how to break it to Keiko. The problem with ranged weapon specced ninja was that they could still hit you even if you made sure to be very far away before breaking the news.
But as long as she let him speak and as long as he came up with a great plan to explain why him getting married to the sister she idolizes would be a boon to the clan, it should be fine.
Which it will be. Definitely. Since they were all mature and well adjusted murder children.
…
He would take the long route home, enjoy the scenery one last time.
Just in case.
-o-o-o-
"So, how did it go?" Noburi inquired from the couch he was currently lounging in like an oversized cat.
"Pretty well, actually. She seemed to be onboard with Uplift and she had a… peculiar sense of humor. Also, I am pretty sure Keiko isn't going to be the last formerly-Mori to join our clan."
"Duuuude! Does that mean what I think it does?"
"Yeah, I think we are engaged now. Probably, I am not too clear on the specifics."
"Engaged to whom?" Keiko said while walking into the room.
Oh shit. When had she even snuck in? He hadn't finished planning yet but he at least had a tried and tested reply from before to fall back on.
"Yes. A local girl. From Mist, very loyal and very legal. No need to look further into it, you wouldn't know her."
"I see. By the way, what is that sweet smell coming from your direction? I think I recognize that from somewhere."
"Oh, that? Perfume. I, uh, use women's perfume now. Because really, who are we to tell people what they should or should not use? Down with the establishment, I say", he turned to Noburi for support but none was forthcoming. "Sage damn it."
Keiko casually glanced down at where her weapons pouch was usually located, but then she remembered that she'd left it in her room since she hadn't planned on committing fratricide today.
Bummer.
"I couldn't agree more. Please stand by, I will be right back."
Once Keiko had left, Hazou exchanged a nervous glance with Noburi and then both of them rushed out of the house as if Jashin himself was on their tail.
They refused to come back until Jiraiya had assured them that at least one full squad of his best and most trustworthy ANBU would be guarding them at all times.
Keiko for her part remained uncharacteristically happy for unknown reasons which only worked to unnerve them even more.
-o-o-o-
"Well, this was fun", Ami said to herself while she put her disguise back on. Just in time, too, it seemed because a new customer had just approached her. "Welcome to Yukizome's Experimental Cuisine, I am Minoru Minori, how may I help you?"
"Hello, I am Kurosawa Shin and I have a reservation?"
"Very good, sir. If you could follow me into our private room?"
Oh right.
Her ✰Hazou-chan✰'s self-proclaimed rival had somehow learned about their meeting and decided he could not afford to be left behind. And Ami was more than happy to oblige. And then she'd poke him to figure out where the leak had come from.
Frankly, she quite enjoyed messing with Kurosawa in particular because of all the adorable faces they'd involuntarily make when she managed to rattle them.
And after today, she'd have one that belonged just to herself. ^_^
A/N: I think this is the longest chapter I have written in, well, ever.
I don't even know what I was trying to do (and still don't) but I just had this itch that had to be scratched apparently.
My initial idea didn't even have them getting engaged but it somehow ran away from me.
Every day my nervousness of meeting this jounin tier Mori lady grows greater and greater.
That's partly becuase the immense hype surrounding her, and sheer shipping expecation, make me worried about Hazou's chances.
Mostly chances of him not making a complete fool out of himself, especially since Compels are no longer a thing and we can't just ask to spend ALL THE FP to stop him from ordering a fresh pair of feet to chomp on.
This would not be helped by our recent defeat (though at least we didn't hurt Kei, hopefully).
Every day my nervousness of meeting this jounin tier Mori lady grows greater and greater.
That's partly becuase the immense hype surrounding her, and sheer shipping expecation, make me worried about Hazou's chances.
Mostly chances of him not making a complete fool out of himself, especially since Compels are no longer a thing and we can't just ask to spend ALL THE FP to stop him from ordering a fresh pair of feet to chomp on.
This would not be helped by our recent defeat (though at least we didn't hurt Kei, hopefully).
It's true, we know little about her but part of what we do know is that she still cares about Keiko and would like for her to become strong independently from the Mori or Nara.
This is actually boon for us because our clan, and by extension all of it's members, is the thing Keiko would rely on to become that so Ami should not be opposed to helping us unless the opportunity cost is much too big.
Losing would probably be the best thing that could happen long term. For one, Keiko has a better chance to win against Shikamaru. And second, if Hazou loses his radical speech before the match gets blunted by Keiko - who symbolizes the more conservative faction. Regardless, the message would still be out there and people who'd be interested in Uplift know whom to contact now.
