Lost and Found [open, Tentsuke, Gaia]

[naruko_npc]

Many people, upon meeting Maito Gaia, would dismiss her as a lunatic - a grinning, amiable idiot, who was jounin due only to her freakish physical capabilities. Others, more paranoid, decided that no one could POSSIBLY be that eccentric and strange, and that the whole thing was an elaborate, complex facade that hid Gaia's true plans - which were

Comments

Ooooh, shiny~

[tenblades]

Tentsuke had experienced a momentary pang of -- sadness? Regret? -- he didn't quite know -- when Hinaji moved away. Where was his new friend going? But as Hinaji moved out of sight, he moved similarly out of Tentsuke's mind, and soon enough Tentsuke had forgotten Hinaji had been there.

(Those white eyes though, he wouldn't forget those white eyes.)

He followed behind Sachiko because Sachiko was pulling him, and he had no reason to say no. At first. And then they passed a small, gaudy shop on the main street, with shiny things, and Tentsuke pulled away without a second thought. He plastered himself against the window like a small hungry child peering at a candystore, and drooling about as much.

It wasn't a real weaponshop, it was a tourist trap designed to prey on the incredulous and simple awe of people who were overwhelmed at being in a 'real ninja village!'. The proprieter wasn't a Konohan bred and born, and he'd held all kinds of jobs before discovering what suckers tourists and country-bred clients were for 'ninja souveneirs'. The ironic thing was, Tentsuke, one of the top weaponsmiths in Konoha, had held the man in violent loathing and contempt when he remembered who he was.

Right now, though, he was as eager a mark as had ever crossed the store threshhold. He stepped inside while a cheery bell jangled a greeting/warning, and headed straight to a basket full of mismatched 'kunai' that no self-respecting ninja would take on a mission.

But aren't these bad shinies?

[chicks_dig_dogs]

Most Inuzuka weren't really very big on sweets, except for maybe the occasional cake or cupcake. With the bulk of candy being chocolate, and chocolate being bad for dogs, they just didn't go for it. But Kiba had a cousin that love these sugared gummies, and she'd been having a rough time in the academy, and the older Inuzuka didn't think it could hurt to give her a pick me up. She'd just come out of the shop (stealing a gummy for herself, they were good after all) when she saw what she thought was a familiar person slip into the weapons shop next door.

Blinking, and barely registering Sachiko, she waved to Akako and then trotted after the dark haired young man, listening to the jingle of the door. As her eyes adjusted, Kiba realized that she'd been right. There, standing over a basket of rather terrible kunai, was Tentsuke, looking terribly fascinated and a little thin. But, he was back.

"Oi!" She greeted, tucking the bag away, and moving over to the young man with a grin. A hand clapped into his shoulder and she grinned even wider. "S'good to have you back Tentsuke. But what're you doin' here, I figured you'd be back at your forge already instead of this crap shop."

The shopkeeper behind the counter glared at her, but she paid him no mind.

Shinies? Bad? I can't imagine such a case

[tenblades]

Unfortunately, and completely innocently, Tentsuke paid as much attention to Kiba as Kiba did to the shopkeeper, not even glancing up when his name was called. Instead, he was wholly riveted upon the overly-shiny (obviously not made of the combat-grade metals ninjas demanded in their weapons) kunai of the display, picking one up and turning it over in his large, thin hands, displaying an unconscious deftness as he admired the play of light along the blade.

With a quick flick of his wrist he flung it upwards, eyes wide as it flipped end over end and laughing with pure, artless glee as he caught it easily by his fingertips, rolling the kunai over the backs of his knuckles like a cardsharp playing with a deck of playing cards.

Sometimes, shinee is simply shinee.

[redeyedavenger]

Maybe Sachiko was keeping too close an eye on Tentsuke if Kiba could slip into the shop and clap the guy on the shoulder before Sachiko could pull her to the side. So much for getting him to Tsurude as quickly as possible. First Hinaji, then distraction by weapons, now Kiba. (Well, if nothing else, her eyes hadn't lied to her about his physical appearance, and Kiba's nose also helped lend credence that this guy was Tentsuke.) And since he seemed to be ignoring Kiba, Sachiko reached out and yanked the Inuzuka back away from him.

Kiba: "... wat? I was just sayin' hi!"

Sachiko: "...guy's not got his memory. I'm trying to get him to Tsurude. -sama."

Kiba: "... oh. Well then. Come on Ten! We'll get you some bubble tea on the way."

Sachiko: "... bubble tea later?"

Kiba: "... he's back, he's gotta celebrate somehow, even if he's got no memories."

Sachiko: "..." *just has this bad feeling. can't explain it, but it has to do with Tsurude*

Kiba: "... (what's up Sachiko?)" *so soft*

Sachiko: "(I've just got this bad feeling, is all.)"

Kiba: "(About what?)"

Sachiko: "(... not so much Tentsuke, but that he's going to end up being the catalyst.)"

Kiba: "(.... for what?)" *frowns at her*

Sachiko: "(If I knew, I'd say. But I just want to get him to Tsurude so that maybe we--he can figure out what's happened to him.)"

Kiba: "(... he'll be fine. He will.)" *firm*

Sachiko: "(......you missed it earlier. He called Hinaji by his cousin's name.)"

Kiba: "(.............. he's not THAT girly.)"

Sachiko: *has to snerk* "(His androgynousness aside, I think it was the whole white-eye thing.)"

Kiba: "(Weren't they like, dating?)"

Sachiko: "(....you're asking me? I made it a point to never ask him about his personal life where it concerned Hyuuga.)"

Kiba: "(I just... you know. I don't know. It'll all be fine.)"

Sachiko: *watches Tenstuke roll the kunai over the back of his hand* "(... I hope so.)"

So shine on, just shine on~

[tenblades]

At no point during this conversation did Tentsuke even twitch or show that he in any way realized that he was being discussed. Instead, he was mooning over the kunai like a lovestruck fanboy (which is exactly what he was), and was - at this point - idly juggling three kunai in the air with one hand, using the other to examine a shuriken more closely.

It's good to see he's still got his dexterity.

[redeyedavenger]

An eyebrow lifted at his juggling, but Sachiko conceded that it probably had more to do with muscle memory. He was a complete weapons fanboy.

"Tentsuke, we gotta go. Plus, you don't want that touristy shit." She knew about this merchant and what he did to get his weapons. She also knew enough about Tentsuke to know that he'd rather melt down an inferior weapon rather than sell it, even to a civilian.

It probably still be better if he stopped juggling.

[chicks_dig_dogs]

.... hadn't even responded. Still wasn't really responding. Creeeepy.

Kiba could see now, watching critically, how he was changed. His face was off, his gaze far away. His body was too thin- he needed to be fattened up. And he was still not really responding them, going on autopilot almost. It hurt Kiba for a brief moment, but she shook it away. He would be fine- she had to believe that, and did believe that. They had Tsurude, and Kureno, both of whom could help. They just had to get him to Tsurdue.

"Yeah, fun to play with, but no good," Kiba grinned to him, hand lightly touching his shoulder. "I'm Kiba by the way."

Okay, he will~

[tenblades]

Tentsuke jumped when Kiba touched him, proving he really hadn't been paying attention to the two girls, and the kunai dropped with a clatter. More damningly, he cut his palm with the edge of the shuriken - a shallow cut, but something so clumsy that it boggled the mind. Tentsuke, Weaponsmaster of Konoha - had cut himself on a cheap imitation shuriken. Just like a clumsy amateur - just like a _civilian_.

He dropped the shuriken too, and stared at Kiba with unrecognizing, wary eyes.

Great. Who brought bandages? --wait, I do.

[redeyedavenger]

The wariness Sachiko could understand. It didn't make it easier to see. Moving up again, she put a hand on his arm to draw his attention back to her. "Let me see that." Fortunately she had just come from training, so she had a bandage roll in her hip pouch. A focus of chakra along a one finger for a single chakra claw let her cut two smallish piece that she used one to wipe away the blood oozing up, and the other placed atop the laceration to absorb any subsequent blood before she wrapped his hand and tied the bandage off.

"You bleed on it, you buy it," the shopkeeper informed them.

Sachiko fixed him with a vicious glare. "Here's a thought, Owner-san," she began as she put her bandage roll away. "You can either be paid what it's actually worth, or you can keep it and call it a 'blooded weapon' or some shit and jack up the price even more." She didn't care if blood was a biohazard, but she wasn't paying his inflated prices for junk.

Re: Great. Who brought bandages? --wait, I do.

[tenblades]

Tentsuke actually whimpered a bit as Sachiko put pressure on the wound, not really out of pain - he'd endured worse in the fishing village, honestly - but more out of a sudden _wrenching_ feeling. It had felt nice to be playing with the shiny knives. It had been easy, it had been fun and comfortable and _familiar_ -- something he was no longer accustomed to. And now it was all gone. He'd slipped out of that dreaming halfworld, where knives flowed easy as water from his hands, and where words like Nejiko and Konoha and shinobi held MEANING for him, and he was back out here again, where he had nothing.

He eyed the new girl, the one who had touched his shoulder, warily, hunching his shoulders slightly like one of Kiba's own dogs when it was unsure of itself. Unlike with Sachiko and white-eyed Hinaji, there was no bleeding-over of memories and emotions, so all he saw was a stranger. (the pain may have had something to do with it.)