Grand Indeed

The day that Yuichi first announced that he wanted to start the Oosukashiba Society, he had no idea that it would take him two years to put the plan in motion. Really, he only remembered recently when he was doing the work to apply Dosan, and he decided on the name based on the marks that branched out from the back of his neck, just between the shoulder blades, and ran down his arms. They appeared as black branches or vines twisting around his body and forming symbols originating from a Hummingbird moth. The Oosukashiba.

Normally, Yuichi wasn’t a fan of tattoos, but it was entertaining to view the markings from his bathroom mirror. He was sure to cover the markings with the new Kimono he got for the occasion.

“Yes, you look very professional. May we go now,” Dosan said. It would appear the AI was getting impatient. It didn’t matter, he wasn’t going anywhere without Yuichi.

“You said it look dumb when I bought it,” Yuichi said.

“I said it was impractical, but you never do what’s practical.”

Yuichi popped in his earrings and looked in the mirror one last time. “Appearances are practical. How is anybody going to take me seriously if I look like a bum?”

After a moment of silence, Yuichi was relieved that Dosan was finally done complaining about him taking his time. He finished adjusting the way his robes were tied so he seemed like he knew what he was doing and made his exit after telling his temporary guests that he would be back late.

Kanara would be waiting for him outside, a gentle breeze pushing his hair into his face. He brushed it away using his hand and slid next to her. “It’s been a while. How are you?”

As he listened to her speak, they started making their way over to the Oosukashiba Society’s grand opening. The drinks would be free in celebration of his opening, but, really, Yuichi just wanted to create some joy after he had seen so much suffering.

[Drinks and food on the house. Obviously, drinks wont be served if you are under age. Even Yuichi can't drink here.]

Kanara would awake early today. After all, there were stuff to be done and that needed, like most things naturally did, time. Spending the best part of ehr morning with a bath, a strange thing in restrospect, seeing how metal in general had a rather unpleasant way with water. While Kanara per se wasnt completely metal, or maybe she was, she didnt know it herself, neither did the doctors she had consulted so far, the strange material that Kanara was made of now, certainly had its benefits, one of them being that it wasnt bothered by water in the slightest.

Stepping out of the bath now, another few minutes would be spent by her looking into teh mirror, staring at her long hair until he too up a pair of scissors and began amking it "wild" again, like it had been before all that. After all, straight hair didnt suit her at all. Being pleased with the end result, she went on to pick her clothes, namely being a black Kimono with the uchiha clan symbol on it. Come to think of it... Kanara hadnt really told anyone in her clan how she was now. How she died and still was walking, breating, eating... even thinking like she did before.

Shaking her head slightly, banning it from her subcontiousness for the moment, she would add a red flower into her hair as she made her way over to the bar. Their new buisiness. Yuichia and Kanara's new buisiness. Kanara had spent the better part of last week helping with the construction and decoration of the bar. While naturally they had hired construction workers to aid with those tasks, Kanara's speed proved to be valuable, especially paired with repetetative tasks that required high coordination, as well as delivery and fetch tasks, which would be done in minutes, as opposed to hours. The result as amazink to say the least, namely being a restaurant / bar combo that was centered inside the room, with a blue colored and shining fish tank around it.

The bar would offer sereval sitting places and comfy booths, paired with open tables and large, heavy leather armchairs and an amount of alcohol and Liquor that might have even be able to put an alcoholic to their eternal rest. A think that both areas sheared however was the dim light and rich wood flooring, as well as the "high society" feeling, evne if Kanara knew that shinobis would be welcome in general and their prices were nothing crazy.






Meeting Yuichi in front of the entrance now, she would give a sly smile and wave before she answered: "Mhm... it has been, yap! Im fine..." pausing for a few second, her gaze suddenly froze a bit before she added in a more quiet voice: "... as fine as i can be i guess...", before focusing back onto Yuichi. "What about you though? What did were you up to all this time?"

For Yuichi it seemed like so long ago that anything happened to Kanara that her response seemed a bit strange. Was she still recovering from everything that had happened? In many ways, they had identical experiances. Both of them had experianced something similar to death, with Kanara melting into a strange grey powder before reforming and the several strokes that occured when intigrating himself with Dosan. One difference, perhaps, was that Yuichi chose his circumstance while Kanara did not.

For a moment, he thought that maybe he would lie to her, but if anybody was going to understand his situation it was her. Just one more thing they had to vent to each other about. Still, he would tell her some other time, for now, they made their way over to the bar in relitive silence while considered another answer to give her.

Outside, a small crowd of shinobi. several of whom knew Yujichi from childhood, gather outside of the building. He certainly couldn't talk about it in front of all of these people.

"I'll show you in a little bit. For now, though, I would rather keep it to myself," Yuichi said. He made his way through the group, a few of them cleared a route for him to get to the foor. He spotted his dad in the crowd and waved at him from the door.

"Alright, so, I... I'm not real good at this kid of thing but... um... welcome to the Oosukashiba Society. Drinks and food are on the house for the night. For now, we wont be selling any shinobi supplies, it's all about celebrating!" At this point, he pushed the doors opewn, reveiling the interior to the crowd.

"That was an embarassment," Dosan said.

Circular booths seperated the space for people who wanted to have an isolated conversation. They were made of polished hardhood and leather. The open space and high ceilings made the place look big, while clever archeteture suppressed the noise so the place would stay quiet even with a crowd. Everything was polished to a perfect, handsome sheen.

Dosan would poke a bit of fun at him. "I would have thought you'd demand it was pink."

The bar itself, behind which stood a good friend named Hisashi expertly mixed any drink that one could name. Yuichi couldn't name one. Yuichi joined him behind the bar. He had no intention of mixing drinks, but it seemed fun to watch Hisashi do it, and from it would be a great place to watch as people entered the bar. The pianist in the corner could be heard starting up some clasical music. He continued his discussion with Kanara.

"I have been trying to get back to it I guess. I was honestly thinking about quitting, a-as a ninja, I mean, but then something convinced that it was the right place for me right now."

You mean that I convinced you," Dosan said.

Kanare would give an understanding nod to Yuichi. After all, if it was important, he would come to her, and if it wasn't or he simply wasn't interested in talking, he wouldn't tell her anyways, even if she pushed. Not that Kanara was the pushy type, to begin with. "Wakatta! Whenever you want!"

Following Yuichi towards the bar now, and seeing the crowd of shinobi around her, she stayed a bit away from the crowd and watched Yuichi give his speech. It seemed adequate. After all, the people that came here, were invited to the opening, and knew beforehand what they were getting into, as enough information had been printed onto the letter.

Following inside now, Kanara would watch how people took their place, with a portion of the people wandering off in the direction of the restaurant, checking it out. Judging from the faces of the shinobi, the interior had the effect she predicted. Some people seemed thoughtful about large walls made out fo glass, and the water behind it, others were amazed and amused, Rushing subtly to get spots as near to the glass as physically possible. Maybe they just liked to see the fish.

Giving a smile and shaking her head slightly, her gaze would wander around until it set itself onto Yuichi again. "Target locked" , she thought to herself as she beelined in his direction, taking a spot on a bar chair on the other side of the counter. Listening in to Yuichi, she would comment in a thoughtful voice afterward: "Well, you seem like you have changed, you know?" Pausing for a few seconds, she would ask him: "Would you mind passing me a water? Also... why did you think of quitting to begin with? And what convinced you otherwise?" While her face still was looking rather innocent during the questions, her eyes were giving open the curiosity behind the questions. Something that an Uchiha surely would notice.

The sound of ice being placed in a glass punctuated Kanara's comment about him. She was as observant as ever. Sadly, Yuichi found himself in a possision where he had to keep his condition a secret. He got to know Dosan well, but he still had no idea if he was a threat. Having a voice in his head left him somewhat distracted.

"You know I'm not the only thing about you that's changed," Dosan said.

Perhaps that was true as well. Yuichi pulled two glasses from under the counter and filled one with orange juice and the other his water. Passing on over to her as he responded with, "like... in a bad way?"

Hisashi, a bar tender, would snort hearing his answer.

"What?"

Hisashi just moved to the other side of the bar, still smirking about something as Kanara asked question was difficult to answer without the context of Dosan. Well, one part of it was simple. The world they lived in was a violent one. Her face was full of curiosity, too, and he couldn't find it within him to lie to her.

"I guess I'm just not built for it, you know. Like, um... I remember Heaven's Imporium. While the whole place was falling I just crawled under a bed and threw up all over myself. Some hero, huh."

Of course, he also unlocked his sharingan and killed countless zenobeasts. Even two years later, he still had scars from the burns that their acid blood left on his skin. The only kunai he left with was in a cupboard in his house as a sentimental item. "I was so scared the whole time, and looking back, all the friends I had are gone or dead. I don't want to be the friend that disapears. But I work in a career known for violent deaths."

Dosan would mock Yuichi a bit, "drama queen. Your just scared of dying."

"Whats wrong with being scared of dying, anyway," Yuichi said. Finally, he moved on to the topic of what convinced him to stay. He glanced around the bar. Everything seemed to be going smoothly. The guests were happy, drinks and food were being prepared in a timely manner. Yuichi and Kanara could step into the lab for a moment ofr this discussion. He circled back around the bar and stood next to Kanara. "Well, I could certainly show you, if you'd be willing to follow me a short ways."

Kanara would listen in to Yuichi up to the point where he would ask her if he had changed in a bad way to her. As wrinkles appeared on her forehead, Kanara would lower her voice and answer with disarming honesty: "Well, you seem more... quiet somehow. Like your words are in the same loudness but seems hollow, if you get what i mean...."

While those words may have seemed strange at first, especially in the way they were spoken, they had an easy meaning behind them. Kanara was bad at reading people's emotions, but more than willing to help Yuichi, more than willing to help her friend. After all... he was there for her when she needed it. When she thought she seriously was on the ground with no hope left. For now... the threat that threw its shadow over her was still omnipresent, but she had an ace up her sleeve.

Taking a sip from her water, Kanara would eye Yuichi as he explained the heavens emporium and how it changed him. The place had changed her as well. How much it had changed her. Shaking her head slightly, her mind raced back to the day when she burnt up. When she reformed. How she rose again, like a phoenix. "I didn't notice it that much. I saw how strong you were when fighting those... things... How much pain you shrugged off and kept fighting, you know?"

It was clear that she was not mentioning the fact that indeed she remembered Yuichi fleeing at some point though. This wasn't the time to mention every minor detail anyways.

"You know that I would tear earth and heavens apart to not let you disappear, right?" Kanara would afterward laugh out loud, in response to his comment. Though, she could understand his concerns. At least Yuichi wouldn't lose her, she thought.

By the time Yuichi questioned her to follow, Kanara would finish her drink with one last, big gulp and then get up, waddling behind the smaller man in a way that appeared that she was rather slow and sluggish. A view that was far away from reality, however. "Sure... just lead the way!"

Even from across the bar, Hisashi could hear her answer and responded by loudly stating, "that's because he's trying to act cool now. Gotta make an impression, right?"

"I only keep you around because I suck at paper work. I could find somebody else." Although it was obviously a joke, Hisashi didn't respond and Yuichi thought the maybe he had been too mean. "I- I'm only joking."

Hisashi chuckled and shook around some ice in a metal cup. "Obviously."

Turning back to Kanara, they quickly moved on to the next topic of their conversation. Why Yuichi almost quit a while back. She was telling him about how much courage he desplayed during the Heavenly Imporium. They both remembed events very differently. Yuichi took out his frustration on the xenobeasts, and when he tired out, he fled. After almost a full year or supressing his feelings he imploded. He thought of himself as gentle, once, but he learned how dangerous he could be.

"But it took so long for me to find the will to fight. When I did, all I could think about was my mom. I didn't do it to protect anyone. I was just killing them because I didn't know what else to do."

Dosan began to say something, but his attention was diverted by what Yuichi said next, "sometimes, I don't even get why I'm still sad. Like, even as mean as she could be, she was still kind of my hero, you know?"

Kanara told him how protective she was of him and it made him smile a little. The image of somebody, say, litterally carrying him out of the way of danger was a pretty silly concept. He had no doubt she would do it either.

"It is very hard to take you seriously sometimes. Do you want somebody sweep you off your feet and carry you off in their big, strong arms?" Dosan said. It made Yuichi blush, but he tried to ignore Dosan's comment.

"Umm... I - I would do the same for you," Yuich said. He tried to move on from the topic quickly, or Dosan would continue tormenting him.

Kanara wound follow behind him. He called out to Hisashi as he neared the storage room, "I'm gonna be gone for a moment, you know where to find me if you need anything?"

"Are you my babysitter? Just go," he called back.

The back storage area was meticulously clean. Boxes were stacked neatly and the area was kept mostly clear of dust. Yuichi slid a pallet aside a bit, which to a keen observer would reveil a slight indent in the floor. It after making a series of bang sounds on the ground, the cement floor chunk move. They stepped down into the basement, sliding passed a number of employees and entering Yuichi's personal laboritory. The place was a mess, there were boxes, paperwork, and stuffed animals all brought from home. His blue bear thing, Donut, sat on an unmade matress on the floor. "It's kind of a mess. I sort of started sleeping here."

He sat down in a rotating chair, gesturing toward another one nearby for Kanara to sit. "So, I took a kind of suvenier with me out of the heavenly imporium."

Kanara would take the interaction between yuichi and his friend, Hiashi, with a chuckle, Responding to the question asked with a smile: "Well, sometimes you do look a little bit lost..." to which a reply of same caliber came back. Understanding something along the lines of "bite me", Kanara would turn around swiftly, on the spot, and shoot him a smile as she said: "If i did that, you wouldn't even notice until got you!", before she turned around again and followed Yuichi.

Following him into the storage area, Kanra would watch him rummage through the inventory for a bit, until he opened a hidden door in the wall. Shrugging slightly, she would follow him into the hidden area, closing the door behind her. Seeing her employees there, she immediately thought of the struggle it would have been to get all employees in and out unseen at the start and end of each day, however, she quickly came to the conclusion that there had to be a different exit somewhere. If there wasn't however, it would be quite strange indeed, seeing how certainly people must have been wondering after a time, why people entered the storage, but didn't leave it.

Upon reaching Yuichi's personal laboratory, Kanara let her eyes wander around the area, stopping each time her eyes set onto a stuffed animal. "Why have you been sleeping here though? Do you feel lonely, Yuichi?" Kanara would comment and ask in a questioning voice. After all, if he indeed was lonely, he could have just dropped by. Kanara would have found a way to cheer him up for sure!

Being torn out of her thoughts now, she would take a seat on the offered chair and listen in to the start of his explanation. "Oh, you as well, huh... well. Is it like it is with me or...?"

Did he feel lonely? Sometimes. It was hard to say that to a close friend though. He didn't want her to worry about him. Well, worry more than she already did. She knew him well enough she'd probably know if he tried to lie, on the other hand, and would just worry more, so he came up with a response that would hopefully come of as somewhat more optimistic. "I mean, what can I say. I'm an unusual person. Shy, yeah, but thats not all of it. It's umm... complicated I guess."

It was harder to say than he thought. The truth was that he found intimacy, friendship and stuff difficult. Perhaps even a little undesirable. The concept of being anything but lonely was... well not scary... foreign perhaps was the right word. He couldn't see himself ever being in a romantic relationship or being a part of something that was not related to his job. If he wasn't in control, if he couldn't place himself at an emotional distance, he wanted nothing to do with it.

Dosan would interupt his train of thought. "You are actively making the situation worse as well. I help you acheive your goal because I have no choice, but you are driving yourself to insanity. Don't blame me, if you get suicidal or something, I am going to hack you body."

Strange to think, Dosan's mannerisms seemed to change somewhat since the time they met. He seemed more human somehow. It was the first time he picked up on it. He spun his chanir around. "Don't worry so much, I have goals that I *have* to achieive. I'm not going anywhere."

Finally, they were on to todays main topic: Dosan. "I wouldn't say that it is exactly the same situation."

I was rare that Yuichi would do such a thing, but he stood up, removing his haori and adjusting his Komono so that his upper body was visable. He was scrawny, almost frighteningly so, but that wasm't the moppst notable feature. Running along his arms were a series of tattoos, and turning around the image of a moth became visable as the centerpeice of his apparent body art. "This is a unique Fuuinjutsu. I call it the OS seal. It doesn't offer me any awesome powers or anything, well not as awesome as anything you got, but... I feel different somehow. I feel like I'm just a copy of myself sometimes. A shadow clone that just never died. Dosan, thats - thats the voice of the OS seal, keeps trying to reasure me, you know. Says I'm thinking too hard. I did the tests. I know it's true. Without Dosan I have nothing left. The neurons have been replaced, synapses burned. My mind, my whole life, is just on some fuuinjutsu intertwined with my nervious system. So, so, am I really even myself?"

After giving her a moment to respond, and listening to Dosan call him a drama queen, he added, "It's not like it really matters though. I'd die for what I have to do. You can't regret your choices when you have nothing to loose."

discontinuing and exiting this topic due to personal reasons.

[EXIT]