There once was a ninja....

[Kaede Soshi]

Now...He didn't believe in magic, Hell Kaede barely believed in alchemy but he had seen that with his own eyes....But he had to admit that what some of these girls could do with a few powders, lotions and odd bottles of face paint was pretty damned close!! With but a few carefully applied lines of makeup, a few dabs of powder they seemed to become completely new people!! But why? Wasn't who they already where good enough? Did they feel a need to escape? Or was he reading to much into it? Maybe it was just to feel pretty...He could understand that!! Hell he wanted to feel pretty some days as well....But society kinda frowned on men in makeup so he had to find other ways to....Prettify...And those usually involved rather expensive cloths that he always seemed to loose track of!!

Like tonight!! Some how..between his seat and the stage his shirt had wandered off! It was a common enough occurrence that it really didn't bother him but it was still damn annoying. So there he was, a seven foot tall, scarred, tattooed man on stage...in front of an audience...Shirtless. Well the only thing he could do then was shrug, smile and lean over and tell the DJ what song he would be singing!! He was there to have fun and let loose, to let the rigors of the past few days wash away. It was during this time he could forget about work, forget about death, forget about the suffering he saw every day. The stage was no place for that...Ohh no!!

So he looked out over the crowed a smile on his face, his good eye surveying them and giving a wink to any pretty lady he happened to see. Then almost suddenly he turned back to the DJ. "Hit it!!" Ohh yes the show was about to begin!

The music started, and Kaede started to tap his foot in time to the music."Something in the way she moves! Attracts me like no to her lover! His voice wasn't perfect by any means, nor was he the best singer that nigh, but it didn't matter! This song was all about passion! About love! and he had enough of both of those to spare! "Some where in her smile she knows that i dont need no other lover!!" He didn't sing to any one woman that night, he had brought no one special, but he didn't need any one person to be the object of his affection ohh no!! He moved and swayed to the music, he could feel it in his vary soul, and suddenly as fast as it started it came to its end. "I dont want her to leave now, you know what i believe and how!" He stood there for a moment his good eye looking at the gathering and smiled before offering a deep deep bow and skipping off the stage a huge smile on his face and a spring in his step, singing always lifted his spirit!!

((OOC: So the song he sung was Something by the Beatles if you didn't already know x3 soo heres the song :3))

[Guest]

Osamu watched as the burly man sang that odd Cretan song. She understood the words but she could just as easily block it out, due to the language being not her first. Her violet eye caught the many drunkards staring at her. Either for some company after she got off work or for another drink to drown their sorrows in as if to run away from the man's horrible Cretan accent. Either way she needed to keep up the pace. Her short bobbed hair that usually fell over her right red eye was pinned back with two black clips. Her purple left one clashed with the other to make her the easiest bartender to be seen in the dimly lit room. She loved the smell of oil polish that was made for the hardwood floors, tables and heavy set doors. It seemed more like a hideaway than a place to socialize.

As apart of her job and overall ethics, she learned about the variations of the deep drink. Her vest was pure white to make her even more noticeable in the dark room. Though she remembers that in the Cretan era when alcohol was banned, they had secret hideouts with heavy set doors and small plaques. Where people would have fun or simply meet a shady friend. It was a booming business that soon turned legal due to the amount of money that could be made if it was controlled. In the back of her mind she remembered that the same thing as if to repeat itself was happening in Creta again, though this time it was with marijuana. A guy asked for a Bloody Mary that was on the far side of the bar. She mixed up the toxic juice with tomato paste and a dash of celery and slid it down in a flash.

The man sat down at the table and remembered that he came here the same time around a week ago, though it wasn't for a drink. It was to bust a man in his cop uniform. She remembered that he looked like a Hemingway fan. He may not be a big drinker, but this was enough for her small plan. She sidled on over, her small form like a sliver of light in the dark musty atmosphere. Smelling of oil, alcohol and old times past. She threw a mixer into the air as she pulled up fruit juice and rum. She then caught the mixer on the inside of her elbow and poured the two liquids inside as her right hand -which was free- slid over a bucket of ice and a blender. As she shook the mixer like a maraca, she tossed some ice cubes into the machine. " You know how Hemingway created the old man and the sea?" Osamu took a glass and placed the rim into some vodka that she laid out for martinis. " He was an old drunkard in Puerto Rico, just off of Creta and had an odd drink." She took the glass and dipped it in some small edible crystals. " It was a martini dipped in salt, with lime sloshed rum..." She picked up the blender and poured it into the shimmering glass. His reflection showing within for just a second and then disappearing beneath a mass of shining green. " And a slice of lemon. He had six of these a day and hadn't even written a single page for his new book. Which was the reason he was in Puerto Rico. Though after 2 years of staring within that drink, the first chapter of the old man and the sea spoke of a glimmering green liquid off of a old boat surrounded by the morning mist." She placed the martini in front of him. " In which they named his famed drink, the Hemingway." She stared at the man whom had lost his shirt. Whom would be her ticket to getting what she wanted, though she dare not show a single muscle of depravity towards him, for she was in a men's bar and all she was was a simple female bartender.

[Kaede Soshi]

IT was time to sit back and relax, it was time to drink and make marry! But he couldn't drink all that much(Sadly) He had work the next morning and the one thing you couldn't do was show up for your shift with a hang over....He had done that one time before and in all honesty he didn't care to repeat the experience....Kasumi had way to much him messing with him,...And truth be told she didn't need any more reasons to do that!! He honestly rather shock himself with his own tazer then give her any more ammunition!!"God thats all she needs...."He shook him self before siting down at an unoccupied table and began to rube his temples. He could hear it now, her teasing voice,the soft chuckles, the out right laughs. Hes was the senior officer!! She should show more respect....But she didn't and if the truth was known he wouldn't have had it any other way. The comradeship was....nice. He honestly couldn't think of a better descriptor....It was nice having a friend to watch your back, not just a partner.

Ahh well those thoughts where far...far to heavy for tonight...He was out to forget about his troubles....his work...his life...he was here to have fun!!! Not to sulk like a teenage boy!Now all he had to do was stand up, get a drink and mingle....That should be fun!!Maybe next time i should invite Kazumi-Kun... She seemed to enjoy this type of thing, and hey they could be each others wing man!! He had to chuckle about that....

Before he could even manage to stand though a woman walked over and handed him a drink!! Well it looked like mind reading wasn't a lost art after all....At least not where (rather cute) bartenders where concerned!! Huh....want an interesting looking drink...he wasn't sure what it was....But it looked tasty!! He smiled and looked at the bartender about to thank her before.....She went into over drive and told him the history of the drink he was currently holding. He could honestly say he had never heard of Hemingway but it was interesting none the less. Maybe drinking served more purposes then getting one intoxicated, maybe they opened the mind to creativity otherwise unexplored...maybe....But he knew that wasn't the case for him. When he drunk he got naked(Well completely naked seeing as he was usually in some state of undress one way or another) and started hitting on anything that moved and some things that didn't. It was...kinda embarrassing to say the least. But on to better thoughts....Like this young beauty before him!!

"I've always been told that drinks go down a little better with some learning mixed in.." He takes a drink and smiles a little his eye almost aglow with pleasure."And i see that they where right!!" He took another sip closing his eye im pleasure as he felt the cool slush slide off his tongue and down his throat. It was a remarkably refreshing taste...and it helped cool him down some, the club was remarkably hot."By the way i have got to thank you!! This drink arrived in the nick of time! I was about to pass out from thirst! You must be a mind reader!"He winked at her then and set the drink on the table next to him."Now lets see if you can do it again! Tell me...What am i thinking?" Ohh what a silly thing to say...but he was in a silly mood so it fit him rather well right then!!

[Guest]

Osamu didn't move a muscle. She knew that she now had his attention. What should she do next? She had intrigued him with her female gender and delicious drinks and was now asking if she could read minds. An idea popped into her head. She could do something that she usually had to do when she was going to lead a political party into a private bedroom and then shoot him in mid-coitus. Flirting. She let out a small smile from her thin pink lips and leaned away. " If I could read minds than I wouldn't need this job." She began to mix drinks for other people as she talked to him. He hands working fast. " Though if I had to guess, you were here to relieve a certain stress?" She blinked her odd-colored eyes at him. Why else would the man sing a Cretan love song? It had to be about a dominant woman, but to what relationship it was to him didn't effect her plan. She set some plain conversation going for breath control and then she tossed in a hot coal. " Though to what I see from here, I don't think you would have any trouble in that area." She smiled as she chopped a few pieces of fruit for a coconut and lime martini for a young lady down a ways. Osamu may be new at full-on flirting but if she could keep a distance she would be able to work just fine. She gleamed. " Relieving the stress, I mean."

She knew that he was a high-end cop and that week ago, she gathered information from her drunk customers about the cops. Whether it was from the latest Joe, from a cop, or from a Yakuza underling. With all of that she knew that Kaede Soshi was an elite cop that had a hard time with his underlings and was one of the types that weren't under the thumbs of the Yakuza. Though he was said to cut corners, to be blunt, to resort to violence and the undressing of his person and even more so when drunk. She wouldn't dare think of the many ways she could take advantage to this, but to also find out where her dear cousin was.

Osamu had heard that a little girl had joined the Yakuza not long ago and was just as ruthless as her adoptive father, Makoto Kishiyono. The leader of the Yakuza. It was said the girl had already killed three cops and two civilians before she was even inaugurated into the gang. Who knows how many she had killed now with the Yakuza covering up the bodies on the shores of Aerugo. One may think that even the people who were not apart of the gang were bowing down to them due to the fact that even the youngest child of age six was so ruthless. Osamu wouldn't believe it was her NIN if the rumors all added up to this: It was a 6 year old girl with blood red eyes and snow white hair occasionally splattered in the blood of her enemies. That sounded like a child of The Community.

She moved back to the conversation to the man. " Though you are a bit known to go off gang hunting once in a while." She winked. Motioning to several people who were blabbering about the latest news in their lives. " Bars are places where people talk about the oddest of things." She placed another glass in front of him. Though this time it wasn't a heavy alcoholic drink. It was watered scotch with fresh cut ice to mellow out the harsh acidic taste of the drink before. Melting them together to create more of a clean-tasting syrup in his mouth. It used to be made as a tonic for those with toothaches. Too bad doctors couldn't prescribe it anymore. It was a wonderful way to loosen one's lips. If you know what she meant.

[Kaede Soshi]

Flirting? Was this flirting? He wasn't really sure....It could have just been her remarking on his physic....but most days that WAS considered flirting....So Ya that's what she was doing!! Interesting....He had seen her around the bar once or twice when he had stopped in to deal with one sort of trouble( Or get into it) Or another. He hadn't noticed her take in particular interest in him before...he was sure he would have noticed such...well not tender gazes...but gazes none the less. It could have been the fact he was shirtless....But he could remember 2 other times he had been there with even less cloths and she hadn't shown the slightest interest.....Eck he was reading to much into this....It was never a bad thing to have the attentions of a pretty lady. So why the hell was he looking a gift horse in the mouth?"Hahaha well you'd be surprised how hard it is to...relive stress most nights!! I just have...so much of it!!" And that was true!! His beat was...tedious to say the least....and his little night time jaunts took a lot out of a guy....It hardly seemed like he had any time to rest and relax any more.

Ahh well it was all worth it in the long run, if a little stress meant he could help some old lady out...Well he would gladly go through any number of sleepless nights. He had to smile then....The satisfaction of helping others...well its what made all his work worth it....Well that and the tiny bit of recognition he received from the people who meant the most to him....He had to admit he loved the attention!! He was a big enough man to see his own faults...And his need for others to appreciate him, and give him attention was one of his biggest.

Wait what? He was known to go off hunting? What exactly did she mean by that? Ahh well...He could figure it out later!! Right now all he was of a mind to do was finish this rather tasty drink...that he had left forgotten on the table. He picked up and took another small slurp surveying the woman in front of him. A bit on the small side it was true, but still with enough curves to be pleasing to the eye...And that hair looked almost died but he knew it wasn't...He had an eye for things like that. He chuckled some when she mentioned that bars where places where odd talk was often discussed, he had to nod his head vigorously then, the little bells in his hair jingling. Well wasn't that the truth...he heard sooo many interesting and tasty rumors when he just bothered to sit and listen.

When she made him another drink he nodded his thanks but set it aside...That last one had helped him reach his limit...He wasn't about to take another drink of alcohol. He had to maintain his self control."Just water from now on please, i couldn't handle another sip of anything stronger." It was to bad to...he was in one of his moods where he only wanted to get wasted and then go out and make a happy fool of him self...sadly...he just couldn't do it. "You seem to have taken an interest in me miss....And yet i dont even know your name!! I dont think i could live with my self if i left with out it!" It was true...he would be kicking him self on his entire trip home if he didn't manage to get at least that...and her number if he could manage!"Mines Kaede by the way if you didn't already know." He gave her a smile then and winked, he had a feeling she knew just who he was....What was her game?

[Guest]

Behind her gleam in her eyes was a quick wiring her moves together. Good, he now knows that she's onto him. She could tell it with his loose poker face. This man may be muscular and have very good instincts, but her edge is that he wouldn't use them well while he was filled with a toxic martini and a heavy beer. He was a hard working cop apparently and with those so many scars on his body...got less for it in terms of appreciation. Whether it was for his body or for his soul. Very admirable for someone who wasn't dirty. Per say.

As she made more drinks for others, he refused any more and requested water. Ah, he knew limitation. That would come in handy also. She slid him a glass of water with a napkin for a coaster. He wanted to know her name. Well, this man had some manners too. Osamu took a pin from her vest placed firmly over her heart and slid it to him. The button said " Akio Osamu" The Kanji was odd though. Osamu was read as "Logical" and Akio was labeled as "Glorious man". Akio being her last name. " Akio Osamu is a good name if fifty percent of the people you serve believe that you're a feminine man." She leaned forward, this time without a drink in her hand. " I know who you are. You are one of the few that don't have the yakuza gripping your jewels like bike handles down a cliff." Her glittering eyes looked down, middle, and then up at his eyes just as he was taking a sip of the cold beverage.

" Some may call that hanging your head out to dry. Others may call it bravery." She stared at his eyes for three long seconds and then drew back and started cleaning glasses. He knew she wanted something more than his body, but she wanted to lead him to the answer instead of dropping it on him. In case he said no. Why? Because even the most brave wouldn't want to experience or perceive what she was about to ask of him.

Not only did Osamu look a lot like the girl that was said to leave a trail of blood in her wake, but they were both related. She needed to get NIN back to the community for her own good and for Aerugo. If the Yakuza tapped into the ingenuity that the little girl was carrying in her bloodline that had been perfected for thousands of years. Not only was she supposed to bring back the girl, but the secrecy of their organization too. This man would be the power behind that attack against the Yakuza that would be disguised as an attack from the police.

[Kaede Soshi]

Akio Osamu is a good name if fifty percent of the people you serve believe that you're a feminine man."Well it looked like his parents weren't the only one with a sense of humor!! What an odd pair they made right then, a young woman with a name of a man, and a man with the name of a woman...It had to bring smiles to what ever god existed! If Kaede had believed in anything as uncertain as fate, he might have been worried right then, but seeing as how this was just random chance and no higher powers where directing his actions well...All he could do was laugh."I see my parents weren't the only ones with a sense of hummer!"

" I know who you are. You are one of the few that don't have the yakuza gripping your jewels like bike handles down a cliff." Ahh...welll...she knew about his little...well Big dislike then...It seems that this tiny woman knew how to doo research...He wondered just how much she knew? Ahh well it if she planed on hurting him in some way well...He would have to deal with it the, he just couldnt worry about it tell that time."Im not the only one by any means...but i am the most vocal....thats for sure...But thank you for the complement Osamu..." He smiled and looked around seemingly vacant...Where there any foot men for the yauza near by....was this a trap?


" Some may call that hanging your head out to dry. Others may call it bravery." Ahh well he knew people who called it something much much worse. But he wasn't gonna go there...now...Not happy thoughts...Not happy thoughts at all. Ahh well he smiled and leaned forward as she leaned back keeping the same distance between them." I think its a mix of the two...But some would say the only difference between stupidity and bravery is luck...and im a lucky guy." It was true, his luck had always held out...but what if it suddenly failed him? Well that was a risk every would be comic hero had to face!! And he was no different then all those other would be heroes.....

[Guest]

A lucky guy, mm? She never really believed in luck. There was always some factor or reason that they were lucky. An extra day in training, an extra piece of equipment or just somebody looking out for that person enough to make sure that nothing ever seriously harms them enough to think they have less luck than originally thought. She wondered who was looking out for him enough not to be dead right now for all of that complaining of the Yakuza. She smiled at him as she said the word "lucky". Well, if he was truly worth his starch she would find out soon.

Osamu thought of what she should do to get him to go along with her. She remembered all of those James Bond movies that one of her targets loved and mimicked to no end. She remembered saying a few lines of James Bond before shooting him in a dark alley. At least he died with a smile on his face, and a laugh in hers. She frowned inwardly at that. Was she getting a sadistic personality? Oh well. She shouldn't really lower her guard around this one. She had dealt with police officers before but all of them were really dull. Though with this one, she had doubled the alcohol in each drink by 5 and he was still sharp as a tack. At least he would remember their encounter.

She took a bartender notebook and scribbled down something. " Well, I think it's your lucky is up to the usual. Making your life a little easier." She slid the plucked note over to the man, with it folded in half. In it would be a time, a place and a simple sentence. "Look for my hair". Then the manager came along to relieve her of her shift. Since it was now 12 am. She went to her locker and picked up her coat which was of dark green and a plaid black and white scarf to accent it. She walked over and said. " two days from now, okay?" Without looking for any other acceptance. A nod, a sentence or facial expression she left the bar.

EXIT THREAD

[Kaede Soshi]

There was something a little off about this girl, the way she moved maybe...It was a little to fluid. Or maybe the way she spoke, it reminded him of someone who was trained in the arts of rhetoric. Giving you just enough information to hold your interest, but not enough to actually tell you anything. All in all it was more then slightly aggravating. Then there where her eyes, they seemed nearly detached, uninterested in what was actually going on, yet alert enough to catch most details in passing. All in all she was not what she appeared to be and even as he danced in his seat he couldn't help but note that.

Even slightly tipsy he could notice these things...And that to seemed odd. Was she broadcasting them? Putting him on edge on purpose? Maybe...Just maybe. He felt like he was getting played by this rather pretty young girl. Kaede didn't like getting played(Well there where some exceptions but...This wasn't one of them), so his hackles where raised some...Just what was she getting at?

Then she did something he hadn't expected, she passed him a note, quickly written with a time a place and one rather.... enigmatic sentence" Look for my hair." He sat their looking at this rather odd little letter for only a few seconds, but when he glanced back up the woman was already leaving and all he caught of her parting words where."Two days from now..." What the hell was this about?

Sadly....she had drawn his interest, which was what she had been trying to do during her entire brief encounter with him, it had all been made for this one moment, to make sure he would fallow after...To make sure he was at this one spot at that given time. Well it worked, and as much as he he could regret it(One did not go anywhere with random people, and that went double for people who where rather out spoken about their dislike of certain criminal elements) he knew he couldn't not go..The investigator in him wouldn't allow it. So with a sigh he slide some cash across the bar to the cashier and stood with a groan...Tomorrow was gonna be a long day that he wasn't going to enjoy in the slightest.....EX
Ahh well that night had been worth it....He walked from the bar with a slight skip in his step...These next few days where going to be interesting...of that he was sure!! Some where...some how between his chair and his door his lost his pants. He didn't seem to notice.

EXIT THREAD

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