[Tenka Yujukumono]

But it says "I Owe You" right here in bold letters, you can trust me! It would be these words that would lead to the cap wearing boy getting some choice words thrown at him before being thrown out of the merchant stall, his attempts to buy candy with an IOU slip instead of real money an abject failure. It wasn't that he didn't get an allowance for the work he did for his clan, it was just that somehow it seemed like the moment he got money it seemed to immediately disappear. And he was definitely responsible with money, it was just that there was always something important to buy! Like those hard candies oji-san Baku kept, with a taste that he was pretty sure adults called distinguished. He thought it was fancy speak for gross, and when he'd first tried them they were! But he kept finding himself craving them after that initial disgusting try. Somehow they'd grown on him.

What a cheapskate...I only wanted a few. It wasn't like I hadn't promised to pay him back eventually... He mumbled to himself, acting like a wronged victim, like he'd actually planned to pay back the man instead of 'conveniently' forgetting. But it also meant he was I the market district of the village with no money and a lot of time. And that was never a good combination for someone as mischievous as him.

[oriko]

Oriko is walking through the city of Amegakure with his mind somewhat wandering, a rare thing for him when he's normally so introverted, and he happens to be walking near the candy stall that some small, strange boy gets tossed out of, calling the apparent shop owner a cheapskate, though from what Oriko had seen, he thought the small boy might have been the cheapskate in this particular instance. After all, there was no guarantee that someone so young would be able to make enough money to pay back the stall owner for the attempted purchase. It was actually a bit surprising that the boy was even shorter than Oriko, which was fairly uncommon in his experience. Standing at only 5'4", most people were taller than he was.

Oriko looks down at the young stranger for a moment as rain pelts down over the top of both of them, with the water seemingly having little effect on Oriko's bright blue hair and making rivulets over his body, nearly all of his skin covered in a thin black biotech second skin, with some plastic plate acting as protection for his chest. Even the bottom half of his face was covered in a gas mask, though it held no more than the most basic of internal filters that barely has a function beyond assuring that no bugs were able to slip into the mask. His gold-colored eyes looked over the smaller stranger before he turns to the stall owner and slaps down a few ryo for gummy fish.

When Oriko turns back towards the younger boy, he gives him the closest thing he's able to make to a smile, his eyes closing upwards as he extends the bag of gummy fish towards the child in an offering for him to have a few. His voice comes through the filter, only reminiscent of the sound of a human voice.

"Come. Take."

[Tenka Yujukumono]

Water dripped off the brim of the young boys cap, protecting his face from the non-stop rain that always to be falling in the Village Hidden in the Rain. The young boy didn't understand why a cap wasn't part of the official uniform, they were great and so versatile. They not only kept your head dry in the Rain, they kept your head warm, and kept ones hair tidy. It was the perfect accessory. However, the boys long hair didn't manage to be fully covered by his beloved cap, so he was still dripping wet out in this rain. But he was at least dressed for the occasion, with a striped short sleeved shirt and Capri pants. Perfect clothes for wading in puddles, for standing in the Rain, minimal clothes to get wet. Which is why seeing the next person walk up caused him to do a double take of sorts.

Yuju had never seen a puppet before but he'd heard of them, how they could look like humans. And the long haired boy was almost certain that's what this was when it approached the stall, an almost human looking puppet. With an outer layer of clothing that creepily resembled skin, a mask covering its face, armored plates covering its chest with the symbol of their village plain to see. And then this puppet, this puppet that walked like a human, looked so close yet so distinct from a human, bought candy. This puppet, this uncanny human-like figure that seemed to be more technology than man, was human. A human who bought candy, just like him. It was bizzare to the young boy who's never seen anyone like this person.

Normally things like this intrigued him, he liked weird. But this was definitely pushing it, just what type of person was this? Why all the gear, could he even take off that skin-looking clothing? It was bizzare, and he'd be caught staring at this person when they'd turn around to look at him. Look at him with human eyes, a glittering yellow. At least that part was normal, even almost reassuring when they narrowed. Not in anger, but in joy. And while his voice didn't quite match, the words were quite encouraging. An invite to come have some candy. An invite from a stranger, a stranger who'd only seconds ago made him rather unnerved, a stranger he knew nothing about except what he could see in front of him. And he approached this older boy the moment the offer was made, the chance for free candy overriding any survival instinct.

And he'd be testing this offer almost immediately, not going for a more polite couple pieces, but instead an entire handful. Well I definitely won't turn down an offer for candy~ But I definitely wasn't expecting to get candy from someone looking like you. It was kinda creepy at first. The boy didn't even try showing tact, and if he was still allowed to take his handful of gummies, half of them would end up in his mouth.

[oriko]

If Oriko felt insulted by the suggestion that buying candy for the other boy, and by extension that he himself, was creepy, he didn't show it. Not that much emotion shows when someone only has half of their face visible, and then only the upper half, in any case. He does tilt his head, showing a bit of confusion at the fact that the other boy was still accepting the candy with barely any hesitation after personally admitting that it was a bit creepy at first. It was an odd response, for certain, but Oriko had been called creepy quite a few times before this, and it certainly wasn't the first time a child had called him creepy to his face. He'd learned to ignore it, to let it roll off of him like water off... well, off his second skin.

"Skrrrk... Well, I guess it's only fair that you wouldn't expect to get candy from someone that looks like me. Skrrrk. I suppose I don't look like most people you've run into anyways."

The strange sound from Oriko's gas mask is actually the sound of the short young man drawing breath through the filter. He smiles more as he watches half of the fish gummies actually end up making it to the other boy's mouth, and he's actually a bit worried that the younger child is going to end up choking on one of them in his haste to get them in his maw. He decides he'd better keep an eye on this strange child, since he'd already tried to give an IOU for candy before, and who knows if he might have gone further, even to thievery, if he was given enough incentive to do so. He shrugs nonchalantly and then goes into an introduction of himself for the stranger.

"I'm Oriko, a Genin for Amegakure. Skrk. Who are you?"

[Tenka Yujukumono]

Yuju had both an appetite and a sweet tooth, a combination that often led to him gorging on anything within hands reach. And when combined with his complete unreserved personality that made him more than willing to talk with his mouth full, the blue haired teen was actually right to worry about possible choking. It wouldn't be the first time it'd happened. But this time at least, he did swallow successfully before talking, being one less stressor among many stressors revolving around this young boy. Woahhhh. That voice makes you even more creepy! Have you thought about fixing that, try to use someone else's voice maybe? You can even use my voice if you want~ Everyone says it's charming~ It was becoming hard to tell if the notably high pitched child was naturally impertinent or if he was doing this on purpose at this point.

But either way, he'd continue to stuff his face as the teen introduced himself, rank and all. Howch formal. He hadn't swallowed this time, his comment muffled and garbled as he talked with his mouth full, making him even harder to understand than the mask wearing teen. But he'd at least swallow before continuing. I'm Yujukumono. I'm the Academy's top student, all the teachers praise me and say I'm sure to be the next lord. Even oji-san, The Second, has taken note of me. The boy flowed his tale together, to where it became hard to tell where the truth ended and the lies began. Even the name he gave was long and complicated, and while it was his real name it wasn't what he went by. It was simply another tool to play jokes on people, the cap wearing boy smiling up at his masked partner.

[oriko]

Oriko only blinks at the response that his voice made him sound even more "creepy", as well as the suggestion to have the vox unit in his mask fixed, perhaps to use the somewhat grating voice of the young boy that he himself described as charming. He wonders momentarily who everyone was and if they were in the streets with them right then. He doesn't say anything aloud, of course, as it would have been quite rude, and Oriko knows enough about bedside manner to keep the rude thoughts internal and to only let them out with those he could trust not to repeat it back to anyone. Of course, he had no nurses working with him, anymore, but he was still able to use part of this bedside manner to his advantage.

He tilts his head again when he's told that his introduction is formal, and he wonders what was formal about it. He'd only given his first name, after all, and hadn't given himself the doctoral title that his previous job still entitled him to use freely. the other boy does eventually introduce himself, and at least now his mouth wasn't fully of the gummy candy that had made his speech rather less clear. He has another rude thought about whether oji-san had taken note of the young boy because of annoyance and not due to any level of skill. He still keeps that one down; if the boy thought he could make Oriko trip up, he'd play his own little joke of taking him very seriously to a patronizing degree. This type of game wasn't unfamiliar to him.

"I see! I wonder why I have not heard of the great Yujukumono. Skrrk. But if I used the voice of Yujukumono for my own, would that not be creepy as well, to use a small boy's voice as my own? Skrrk. And I would be called out for using the Academy's top student's voice as my own, as though I am trying to take Yujukumono's status and apply it to myself."

His tone of voice is fully dry and straightforward, and his expression is completely straight, which wasn't really a difficult thing, since he could not give a real smile. Most of his facial expression had to be displayed through his eyes and his brow, which of course made his real emotional state difficult to ascertain from appearance alone.

[Tenka Yujukumono]

The boy took off his cap, causing his bangs to unravel and fall to his eyes, feeling the rain run through his longer hair. And he had an even bigger grin than he'd had before as the blue haired boy played along. Though the wet haired boy didn't give any knowing signs that they were in a dance of lies now, instead just shaking his head a bit to get some of the rain out. And that's because the young boy didn't know, and quite simply didn't care, if this half-machine half-teen was going along with it cause he believed him or for his own reasons. That he was going along with it was enough for the result driven boy.

Well I guess I could vouch for you, but you're right. Everyone would assume you're just trying to mimic how great I am. He'd finish off the rest of his worms, only a bit left and thankfully only slightly muffling him this time. And that's how I know you're gonna go far in this career. He swallowed once more, though while he might be out of gummies now, his eyes were straying back to the bag. Cause you're able to recognize your betters. He ran his now candyless hands through his now wet hair, moving his bangs out of his eyes that seemed to be a little darker than before.

How about this? You can use another students voice, Habiki. He's an older kid too like you want, and a total flunkie. No one would notice if you were using his voice. In fact, you could even make it so that you're the only person with his voice. The boys darker eyes narrowed, yet his grin remained as if smiling at his own cruel joke. That'd be pretty funny It was clear that while he might be top of his class, that didn't mean he got along with everyone in it.

[oriko]

Oriko himself has played this game before, though not with this Yujukumono fellow. He was also often the butt of the game, so he'd learned to play it on a much harder difficulty and without letting his emotion show through. Although he'd sometimes been seen as something of a doormat for most of his career as a shinobi, it didn't mean he didn't know how to dish it out, deflect it, or redirect it at his whim. He just also knows that sometimes you don't just play along to get along, you sometimes have to take it. In this case, however, he knows he doesn't have to take it from an Academy Student, top of his class or not; Oriko outranked him, and had outranked him likely for a long time. The suggestion that he takes another student's voice, and in fact remove his ability to speak, struck Oriko as particularly cruel for such an innocent looking boy, and he can't help but think to himself a reflection of Yujukumono's own previous statement:

"That's how I know you're gonna go far in this career." Indeed.

He was careful not to voice this reflection aloud, and instead he played the game as best he knew how, and that was by twisting the previous game back in on itself so that Yujukumono's idea was a poor one after all.

"What good would it be to give myself the voice of a total flunkie? Skrrk. Besides, if I take Habiki's voice, how is he going to be able to talk about how great Yujukumono is? Skrrrk."

Oriko doesn't really need to use as many words to get his ideas across, but that's moreso a necessity of his unfiltered gas mask. He reaches over and buys another bag of gummy worms from the shopkeep, keeping Yujukumono fed. While the cruelty the younger boy had shown was somewhat perturbing, he knows that cruelty could turn around to him in an instant, and it seemed that food was an effective motivator for him. He'd have to keep that in mind, if it came down to it.

[Tenka Yujukumono]

HA! A sharp laugh escaped the boy at the mere suggestion the living butt that was that grey haired idiot might compliment him. He's not smart enough to know how to play nice with his betters, or recognize them. He even sucker punched me once! I wasn't doing anything and he did it out of nowhere! He actually managed to annoy himself just remembering it, and his face would reflect this, giving some backing to his actually truthful claim. Truthful in all ways except what instigated it all, how the boy had bad mouthed the dumb grey haired boy's equally dumb sister. Not that that had made him deserving of a sucker punch.

But that annoyance would soon be replaced as the blue haired genin savvily switched his attention, playing with the boys stomach as he proceeded to get more food. And Yuju would follow the boy like a dog being led by treats, appearing nearby and waiting for the bag to be opened. And once it was, the goodies would not be safe, Yuju not hesitating once offered, like before. You seem to be rolling in ryo~ Why are you using it just buying candy for kids? I'd be buying one of those high tech toys in the market if I were you.

The black haired boy didn't seem to understand the meaning of looking a gift horse in the mouse, wondering his intentions aloud, even as he partook in them, though he didn't really talk as he chewed this time, though only since he finished his questions before shoving the handful of candy in his mouth.

[oriko]

Oriko carefully considers the strange younger boy, who seems to both put himself high on a pedestal, but also brings himself low to the position of an innocent victim being attacked by another boy. Oriko, still aware that this dark-haired child that at least had given him his actual name was, in all likelihood, a bit of a bold deceiver, had decided that he would not comment further on a situation he was not aware of, and pretends to agree with his statement that he'd been sucker punched out of nowhere and for no purpose other than to cause harm, while actually answering the other statement, as though the initial claim of being attacked had not been made.

"The Village Hidden in the Rain compensates me well for my work, it's true. Both the work I once did, as well as the work that I do now. As for the high tech toys in the market... Skrrrk. I have no need for them. Amegakure has given me plenty of high tech toys to keep me breathing, and I rather like doing that."

Such a statement would likely catch onto Yujukumono's attention, immediately distracting him from the previous concern with Hibiki, although he thought that the younger boy likely wouldn't forget the slight of being attacked for long. It might allow Oriko to lead the conversation to something at least more productive. He simply watches the younger boy chew through multiple gummy worms at once, as though he'd starved until now, and the blue-haired Genin takes none of the gummy worms for himself.

[Tenka Yujukumono]

You need to learn how to have fun oni-san... The boy responded to the highly pragmatic answer in a predictable manner, finding such a minimalist attitude towards things boring. Though he did at least start addressing the mask-wearing teen with a title, though even this was done with an unusual casualness and lack of decorum. He was an only child, so oni-san wasn't a title that held much weight to the young boy, and instead was being used to butter up his blue haired counterpart with the appearance of acknowledging his seniority than him actually doing so. Another act, another dance.

He didn't offer any of the gummies to their rightful owner, why would he? If the genin boy wanted some he could clearly buy more, especially given how he used his finances. Perhaps the most famous trait amongst Yuju's clan besides their Hijutsu was their penchant for pragmatism, approaching situations with open minds on the best approach. So such an answer wasn't some wild notion to him, in fact it was the standard he was used too. A standard that he found himself at odds with repeatedly.

Still, the hidden motive of distracting the boy would be both successful and unnoticed, all the young boys attention back on his mysterious benefactor. I hope you weren't as boring during the work you used to do as you are now. Who cares if you can breath if you aren't having fun. I can't imagine living like that. Once again showing a disregard to his bluntness, Yuju revealed his priorities in life with another shrug. But as he looked back up at the mechanical boy, a sly grin formed on his face. While Yuju might not be a standard Tenka, he was a product of its values. He could be pragmatic when he wanted, and right now he was seeing a win-win situation. One where both of them could have fun. Hey oni-san~ Want me to show you how to have fun and play a game?~