Vices and Virtues [Open]

Nariko had been back in Kumogakure for a few days, having spent some of it visiting her parents, and some of it visiting her old haunts, reminiscing the old times. Still, she wasn't a young kid anymore, and hadn't really been considered one for years at this point. And in her time around, she frequented quite a few different bars. Since she hadn't been in Kumogakure in a while at this point, having been out on sustained missions that required her to be away for a long time, she hadn't actually been to one in Kumo.

She found one that seemed to be normal enough, relatively decent sized. It wasn't massive, but was large enough for a person to get lost in their drinking and fun. And she knew that, there, she would be able to find enough fun for a while. There was always a chance to gamble there, and Nariko could find herself some fun in almost any circumstance. She could make a gamble out of almost anything, and it didn't even have to include ryo, which was good enough for her, she was trying to save.

That said, she found herself in a rather interesting contest. A small ring of interested passersby had come around, to watch the ongoing shenanigans. Nariko had come into the bar, and immediately loudly claimed she would do a drinking contest with anyone there, and that the winner would pay for the other's drinks. Of course, being a girl, there were plenty of people intrigued, and willing to bet they could out drink her.

So far, her opponent, a larger man, more thick framed than a normal one, but not in a muscular way, obviously a regular patron here, had managed to keep pace with her relatively well. They were both numerous shots deep, and both of them were absolutely feeling it. Nariko had been doing much better than anyone had expected, but she was swaying a tad bit. The larger man though, was swaying much more noticeably.

Both of them grabbed another drink, slamming them back at the same time, and slamming the empty vessels down onto the table. It looked like another round was going to be happening, until the man grabbed a bucket next to him and hurled into it. Nariko stood up, shoving her chair back as she did so, and raised her hands into the air, shouting in elation. "HA! I win!" she declared, grabbing both her own pile of ryo and the man's as well. They'd been piling the drinks worth of Ryo on the table as they ordered them. Handing the Ryo to the bartender, Nariko took a seat at the bar, enjoying the nice buzz.

The rest of the night went by rather well, most of it passing by in a blur. Her blood alcohol content continued to rise throughout the night as the alcohol hit her more and more. There were flashes of lucidity to her as she found herself in the middle of conversations multiple times, but the time seemed to pass by very quickly.

Soon enough, she found that last call was being called, and she was starting to sober up a little bit. Rather than going home, Nariko decided to talk to the barkeep, and see if there were any rooms available. One of the things she always made sure of about the bars she frequented was that they also were inns. If she drank too much, she'd just rent a room, and then spend the night there.

It was actually a convenience on her missions, as she didn't have housing abroad, and would always need to check into a room anyhow, so, naturally having done so for years, there was no discomfort about asking now.

"Hey, any rooms still available? I'll spend the night here if there are." she asked, pulling out the standard fee already.

The barkeep nodded in response, putting down a glass that he was cleaning out and moved over to a cabinet, opening it up to reveal a row of keys. "Sure, we got a few. You'll be in room 4." he said, handing her the key and taking the fee from her. "Just make sure to have the key back by noon tomorrow. I suppose it doesn't matter too much, life hasn't been normal since the incident."

Taking the key from him, the Jounin somberly nodded. With so many dead or in coma's, everyone sought at least some form of normalcy, but there were reminders everywhere. The streets were so empty, and people just wanted to spend as much time doing things to try and forget that life was any different. That's why people came to bars after all. It was a place that seemed normal despite anything else. There would always be a call for drinks.

Leaving the bar, Nariko walked to her room, thinking to herself. There was next to no leadership anymore. Seigi, the raikage that had taken over for Calypso, had fallen into a coma, and Calypso was forced to come out of retirement. However, she'd left for a summit as Nariko had gathered, and hadn't returned. The leadership left behind was not immune to this, and many had suffered casualties. In this time of need, Kumo didn't have anyone really to look to to leadership.

Making up her mind, Nariko figured she'd have to come up with some sort of plan in order to help establish a new chain of command, at least temporarily, until Calypso returned, or someone could officially take over. It was her duty as a Jounin to see that Kumo still stood, after all, regardless of what befell it.

Locking her room, Nariko flopped onto the bed, and stared at the ceiling for a moment, before the tears she'd been holding back cascaded down her face. Everything was such a mess, and she was so overwhelmed by everything. Crying herself to sleep, Nariko finally settled into a deep but unsettled sleep.

[Exit thread]