Emporium Aglow (Kaida, HE Event Thread)

Valen moved through the crowded streets clad in his black yukata with red sash. He had been waylaid into buying it from a store owner earlier in the day so he could wear something ‘suitable’ for the party that was starting soon and so Valen had let him. He had been measured and fitted and before long was prompted to dress into the attire. It was made of black silk with a satiny finish along the hem and ends of the sleeves. The red sash was simple enough and on the back the Kirigakure symbol was emblazoned upon it in black satin, allowing it to stand out against the black silk as a shine. He wore simple sandals and his hair was left as it was. Spiked and vertical, as it seemed to want to do. He had been told to come check out this party to see if he enjoyed it. So here he was, he was given some advice, like buy his hotel room early, which he had done, and to have fun. Which he didn’t know if he was having yet.

He moved through the crowd, various games situated along the boulevard. Lanterns adorned the sky as lines went across the way to attach themselves between buildings giving the entire place an orangish glow as the night sky came upon them, casting all but the Heavenly Emporium in darkness. Everyone around him seemed to be smiling and happy. He himself was simply looking around curiously at everything. Drink and food flowed through the streets and he himself had bought a skewer of some kind of festival food that he was idly eating as he moved through the crowd toward one of the games. It was a sort of balloon popping game that involved bean bags rather than darts. The balloons were set up against a board with clothespins holding them in place. Underneath the balloons were thumbtacks attached to the wood panel. The point was to strike the balloon with a bean bag so that it struck the tack and popped. Two players came up and competed against one another to see how many balloons one could pop. Which was counted based on how many clothespins didn’t have a balloon attached. Valen moved up to one of the positions, eating the last of his yakitori and tossing the skewer into a nearby trash can. Then he would face the booth operator as he waited for someone to compete with.

[1]

Kaida sighed as she decided she would attend a festival, she wasn't used to being so girly but at times it was good to get out. She had been isolated her entire life so she needed to get used to social situations. She was wearing a Yakuta with red roses it was white in color with a gold-colored sash, quite fancy but she figured she wanted to stand out and look good. She saw many games to play but nothing really got her attention until she saw one that had balloons to pop, she smiled as she knew she would be very good at this one. A male appeared to be waiting for a challenger and she was more than up for it. She would look over at him and smile briefly as she waited for the contest to start.

"Hello let us have a fun time now, I won't go easy on you, if you win I will give you a kiss seems like a fair trade."

She knew he had no chance to win but it was nice to encourage him to think he had something, plus it was fun to tease boys, she sure could not do that in Kumo. She had no idea what she even wanted in her life but she wanted to enjoy the childhood and fun she never got to have.

Valen would wait patiently before someone arrived next to him at the other competitors stand. Turning to face her she would be a bit taller than him, although that was no surprise given his diminutive stature of 5'1. That was due to malnutrition when he was growing up of course. Either way though, she was a bit taller than him and had red tresses cascading down her back. She wore a white yukata with red roses upon it and a gold colored sash. The white and red matched her pale skin and red hair flawlessly and the gold gave her a splash of color that drew the eye. All in all she was very pretty. When she stepped up to the other side she would smile at him briefly before laying down a challenge at him. If he won, she would give him a kiss? He tilted his head to the side in curiosity. That seemed interesting, she was certainly pretty enough. He wouldn't mind kissing her, hell after what Sayuri had shown him he wouldn't mind doing anything the woman might want. But still, he had figured out, painfully, that one didn't simply ask women such things. Apparently one had to feel that out and it wasn't always an available option.

Valen didn't quite understand that, but still. He was not one to risk his neck twice unnecessarily. Either way he would speak to her, his tone curious. "So does that mean if you win I give you a kiss?" He would ask, he wouldn't mind if she wanted to set terms to the game that was outside of simply picking a prize from a shelf of stuffed animals and other such things. Hell if he won he was just going to ask her what she wanted anyway. He had no use for such things. Either way he had no issues with having some fun in anyway someone might want to. Be it in flirtation, physical, or simply enjoying themselves at a festival.

[2]

She waited for his answer as he asked if he won he would kiss her making her laugh, this sure was an interesting guy. She was not sure if he was joking or a player either way it was a good answer. She would only smile toward him as she would move her lips closer so he could hear her whisper.

"If you can beat me you may get more than just a kiss."

She would continue to smile as she prepared for the game, she was sure she had no chance to lose fairy anyways. The fact she fought Shimiko every day made her certain she could handle someone weaker than Shimiko quite easily. As the contest was starting she began her hand motion, she doubted he would even spot her hand moving to throw. The speed of the throw was also quite fast as she was sure her aim was perfect. She would turn and smile at him not even watching to see if it would strike the target.

When he spoke she would give him a smile and move herself closer to him so she could whisper. She whispered a potential future if he did win. Something more than just a kiss. This would cause Valen to tilt his head to the side. The shorter individual didn't understand flirting. Indeed did not even realize this was flirting. His lack of social interactions due to his enslavement had not prepared him for such things. Although thanks to Sayuri he knew what a kiss was, and what would be construed as 'more' after it. This of course just led Valen to believe that she was offering sex as a prize for winning. Which was of course welcome in his book. But if she was offering it as a potential prize, did that not mean she wanted to anyway? This would cause him to blink in confusion once or twice before finally deciding to settle the matter simply and easily. "And if you win, perhaps you will as well." He would say, a small smile coming to his features as if he had solved the riddle.

Still though, Valen was competitive by nature. That did not mean he hated to lose, he did not care one way or another if he lost or won. He just enjoyed the challenge, the contest. So it was as she smiled and picked up her bean bag that he would look to see how well she could throw. Then suddenly the balloon she had hit with the beanbag would pop, hitting the tack beneath it from the force of the blow. This would cause Valen to blink a couple of times in confusion, he hadn't even seen her hand move. Although that was not all that occurred. Due to the force of the throw, the board that was holding the balloons tilted forward, and fell forward. The front of the board hit the ground, much to the chagrin of the game operator. The sound of every balloon popping would be heard as they all were crushed by the sudden pressure of the ground and the board. This would of course cause Valen to blink a few times in bewilderment.

After a moment or two he would shrug, tossing down the bean bag he had been preparing to throw before turning toward the red haired woman. "Well, I guess you win, and since you won in such a spectacular way you can pick. Kiss, more, food, or all of the above?" He would offer to her as a prize. Of course this would be quiet enough only she could hear, mostly because of the surrounding crowd. After he spoke the game operator would come over and give her a choice of a prize from the various animals on the shelves. She had after all popped all the balloons, even if it had been a bit more unorthodox than he would have liked.

[3]

Kaida would smile at his first response, she clearly was going to win as the entire board would fall forward with her showing a victory sign. As the man would offer her the animal of choice she would pick a penguin plushy. She would simply smile at Valen as she would motion for him to follow her, he may seem excited now but he would run if he saw what her body actually looked like. Maybe with a little food or a kiss, he would be distracted before running away in fear of her.

"I think you owe me a meal as someone not from this area nor having ever been here you choose the place to eat at. We can discuss other things later if there is a later. You know I do wonder what clan you are part of, I am a Yuki quite famous in Kiri village it seems. I am a bit of an outcast with my hair color and other issues."

She would continue to follow Valen if he moved, she was worried would he be so scared he would never see her again if he knew what a freak she was. She had such a hideous body but she would do it again all for the sake of her vengeance. It was a small price to pay to make sure she took out the trash of the world, to end the era of men like her father and hold them accountable for their disgusting acts.

Her smile as she won would simply cause a simple shrug from the shorter individual. People had a right to enjoy winning. It was in itself an enjoyable thing, finding out you won at anything seemed to bring a contented kind of elation to someone so he certainly did not begrudge her any smile she would make at the victory. Her choice of a penguin plushie would bring no real response from him. He was simply a stuffed animal, although he would extend a hand out to offer to carry it for her if she wished. He had seen men doing that for women so he should too, right? Her motion for him to follow her would cause him to do so, after all what else would he do? So he would begin to move through the crowd with the red haired woman and as they moved he would listen to her speak.

So she wanted a meal eh? That was simple enough. He had plenty of money on him for such things now that he had decided not to pursue his whim of crafting weaponry. So he had money to burn and he was generally fairly frugal by nature. Growing up as a slave with nothing tended to make one not feel the need for anything beyond the bare necessities. Still, her question of his clan would cause him to tilt his head in confusion. Clan was..a family right? One's Ancestry? She was apparently from the Yuki Clan although she would mention she was an outcast due to the colouring of her hair and other issues. That would cause a shrug from the young man as he responded.

“I’m not from around here either. As a matter of fact I’m also from Kirigakure. As to my clan, I have no such family. I’m slaveborn, I’ve only been free a few years. Hell the brands on my back from previous owners haven’t even begun to fade.” He would say idly as he looked around for a decent place to eat. It was not easy given his height. The simplicity of the statement of his slavery and scars would make it clear that he did not care one way or another about whether or not people knew. It’s not like he could hide them, especially if this turned into something more later on. Eventually he would give up on trying to see over the crowd and take a moment to hop up on a nearby game stand. The game owner cried out in annoyance but Valen did not really seem to care as he glanced around. Finding a suitable place to eat he would nod toward it before hopping down and turning toward his crimson haired companion. “There’s a sushi place a bit down the road. Sound good?” He would ask simply, already moving toward it.

[4]

She would listen to his words and look over his body he did have many scars no shock if he was a slave. She hated the idea of slavery as she was held hostage for four years and certainly felt anger about this, her father had caused this but she did not like the feeling of being held, hostage. She did want to find out more about these slave traders, these were the type of people she wanted to slaughter, if she could free any others and take out this scum it would be a pleasure to her. He would offer to take her to a Sushi place down the street making her smile, it was her favorite food after all.

"I would gladly eat some Sushi, I do have some questions did those slave owners suffer the fate they deserved, or are they still on the loose. Any details you can give me would be great, any type of tattoos or clothing they used."

She was quite interested, she knew parts of Kiri were still rather wild, but with her around this would change quickly, she was a monster meant to destroy the evil of the world. She made herself a monster to hunt other monsters and did not regret it one bit. As the pair would continue to walk they eventually made it to the Sushi place. She would take a seat and begin to look over the menu, many tasty choices were before her as she seemed to become lost in thought with what she would order. She would smile however as she was going to force him to order for her, she would look at him with a wide grin.

"How about you order what you think I will like, lets see just how compatible we are, who knows if you guess right it may give you more points."

She would wait for his choices, she wondered just what went through his head, if he was a slave did he even understand her teasing, he likely did not but that did not bother her it simply made it even more exciting.

She kept hold of the plushie herself but that was okay. Valen was simply ambivalent to everything in most regards and tended to go with the flow of things. It wasn’t really on purpose, it just seemed like the best way to go about things in general. Once he had recommended sushi she would brighten up at the idea and accept. As they walked toward it she would ask questions of his former owners to which he would listen to as he led her toward the sushi place. Her question did not have an easy answer though as he had changed owners so many times the only way he could know for sure how many he had had was to count the brands.

“The pirate that owned me before I was found by Kirigakure was killed as well as the rest of his crew. Some others were killed during raids where I ended up with a new master each time. Those who sold or traded me away might be alive though. I’m afraid I’m unable to provide any more details besides each brand on my back being the pirate captain's symbol so it would be on their flag too.” He would say as they entered the restaurant and sat down. They would take seats and peruse the menu and she would decide to tell him to try to order for her.

This would cause the diminutive genin to blink at her in confusion. Was he supposed to guess simply based on the brief interaction they’d had? Looking at the menu he would look over it carefully for a minute or two. A variety of things would obviously be best, hell he could order some of everything and win by default but he did not think that was the point of the question so he would consider things for a time before finally ordering. Turning toward the waitress he would speak. “Let’s start with some takoyaki and then get some Sashimi, Nigiri, and Uramaki, give us a variety of types of them and we’ll probably order more in a bit. Water to drink please.” He would say, taking a shot in the dark toward the order. If he was right then he supposed he would have gained some ‘points’ whatever that meant but if he was wrong he was not overly worried about it. The waitress would nod after writing everything down and going to take their order to the back. At that point Valen would turn toward Kaida and tilt his head to the side. “So, how did I do?” He would ask curiously.

[5]

After creating the consolation prizes for the Festival at the Heavenly Emporium, Kara was set to deliver them. On her list she had several names as well as several servants that walked with her and carried the prizes. Kara didn’t carry anything if she could help it, not simply because she wasn’t really strong enough, but also because being relegated to ‘pack mule’ was far beneath her. Along with her assistants, she also had her faithful bodyguard, Doku, and another one trailing not far behind in the shadows. It was easy to go unnoticed in a place such as this; the lights and music and revelry made for an excellent camouflage.

Checking over the list, the golden eyed woman in a ruby red gown would settle on one name; Kaida Yuki. Being that she was probably the most intelligent person on the planet, it wasn’t difficult to put together who was who, even with the vague descriptions given to her by the various staff and guards present. Entering a sushi restaurant that she had been informed that the young woman had entered, she would pass the small bundle of ninja tools to Doku and have the rest of her retinue wait outside. She spotted the girl instantly and was not stopped as she approached the table where Kaida and Valen sat. No one in the Heavenly Emporium would dare stop her; she was in part their boss after all.

With a warm smile she would address the white haired woman and place the neatly wrapped bundle on her side of the table. “Apologies for interrupting my dears, I’m here to deliver your prize from the Festival Raffle. Unfortunately you did not win, however in the spirit of the Festival I have specially crafted some Shinobi tools for you, they are of the highest quality and I do hope you enjoy these. Thank you for attending and helping to make this a most memorable event.” She would nod to the dark haired man and then swiftly turn and head back out into the Festival to continue her rounds.

[Exit Thread]

Prize:

With no response to his question he would simply wait for their meal to arrive. The time would pass a bit and a mildly awkward silence would fall. However before it could get uncomfortable a blonde woman with yellow eyes would come into the restaurant and approach their table. She would speak, informing Kaida that while the girl did not win in the raffle she would get some sort of consolation prize. They were apparently specially crafted shinobi tool that were of the highest quality. She would leave the bundle on the table, thank them for making the festival memorable and then leave just as quickly as she arrived. Now, Valen wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed but he was certainly able to recognize her from the descriptions he had heard thus far during the event. That would have had to have been Kara Darhk herself and she moved with a grace and poise many could only envy. Regardless though, the factor that mattered more to Valen was that she was a crafter and arguably the worlds greatest to boot. That meant he would want to speak to her about strong equipment and this seemed like the best chance to do so.

Turning toward Kaida he would smile at her briefly. "I'm sorry Kaida, I need to go try to speak with Miss Darhk about a possible custom order and I don't think I'll have an easy time tracking her down in the hugely crowded Emporium. I'm going to have to leave you. However I'll pay for your meal and leave your package with the manage so that you can pick it up from them and take it with you when you're ready to leave." He would say before standing and doing exactly that. When he stood he would pick up the package and move toward the bar and ask for the manager. Eventually the manager would arrive and Valen would inform that his friend was eating there and he wanted to pay for her meal and ask if the manager could keep her package safe in case someone tried to take it while she ate. The manager of course agreed and took the package safely and Valen left a great tip when he paid. Then he would leave, intent upon trying to catch up with Kara before she got to far away.

[6]

[Exit]

OOC Note: I only had Valen leave your package with the restaurant manager narratively so that no one would really have a viable way to just walk in and take it <3.