[Kuishinbou Kuebiko]

Another late night shift at the hospital has come to an end, yet despite the tiredness in his bones Kuebiko does not feel ready to return to the clan compound and go to bed. He changes out of his hospital garb into his more casual wear, a red top with interesting bead work as trim, and sets to the road.

The summer air is still warm, but it is starting to shift, autumn on the horizon. The crickets are starting their song, hiding beneath houses and vendor stalls. He takes a breath of the calming night and smells food on the wind, though less than he would during the day. He follows the smell all the way to his favorite izakaya, the one he most often frequents on nights like this. It's a bad habit, but a soothing one nonetheless, and when he settles into a table near the back of the bar and orders sake he feels more at rest than he has in days.

A few drinks deep, he decides to take out a sketchbook from his bag and flips it open to a new page. He glances around the smokey room of the bar and begins to sketch idly, working on capturing the vague silhouettes of other people in the establishment under the warm, yellow light. His head is too fuzzy for him to notice if anyone spots him people-watching.

[Deleted]

Akira had never known alcohol to taste like shit. And yet, everything he tried - he hated it all. Everything he would have drank before was utter garbage. He had taken to rewarding himself for finding the poor man's flat - and what food he had left had rot. He had thought to celebrate with finding a secure, but meagre supply of money inside the tiny one bedroom apartment. For what that was worth, he had thought to enjoy it.

But no, apparently the body he inhabited was allergic to anything that had ethanol in it. A poor man's drink, it seemed. On the other hand, pubs, clubs were always full of the sort of people Akira intended to befriend and defile. Akira had currently to talking about world politics with a group of about five other Shinobi, mulling over their drinks. Of course, he kept quiet for majority of the time to allow for the larger personalities to keep talking. And, they were more than happy to do so.

Just being around them, Akira's effect was stronger than he gave them credit for. It brought those emotions to the surface which ordinarily stayed out of view. It enhanced the existing ones, so someone annoyed would feel more annoyed, among other things. They were loud - and as his fingers ran rings around the cusp of a full glass of cheap liquor, he continued to converse sparsely.

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[Kuishinbou Kuebiko]

While copying down the visages of the various patrons in hazy sketches, Kuebiko spotted a somewhat familiar face. Not someone he knew in especially much detail, but one who had been of minor concern of late. A formerly-missing person, though one recovered quickly enough that Kuebiko himself had not been sent out to aid in that search. He had also not been the one to give Junichi Sozin a physical on return and he knew little of the man's status, since the doctors at the hospital prided themselves on preserving patient privacy and avoiding gossip.

That made him something of a mystery. Where had he gone to? No big stink about nukenin had been raised, so it can't have been that he was held captive. He looked mostly fine and wasn't still in hospital, which meant if he had sustained any wounds they had been treatable with ordinary medical techniques.

And he was here, at the bar, drinking and... making merry? Not so much as his compatriots. It seemed like he was being quiet relative to them, enjoying their company and conversing. Kuebiko frowned and took another sip from his cup, contemplative.

Now that he thought about it, maybe he was watching too closely. He didn't want the man to get the wrong impression. Just because he was a compelling narrative with lots of questions to be answered didn't give Kuebiko the right to stare. He quickly tore his eyes away, back down to his drawing. The group was getting a little rowdier, no doubt emboldened by the drinks, and despite himself he continued to sketch the little entourage, almost hoping he would be noticed. He wasn't social, but that didn't mean he didn't crave conversation.

[Deleted]

Like the fly on the wall, Kuebiko would have the front row seat to the unfolding loudness; as did the other people. Of course people were listening while enjoying their own day. It was not particular of any event, even if Sozin had been missing for a time enough to be noticed, because his punctuality had always been noted: and there lack of was of concern quite quickly, and he had been found quickly by the unlikely sort.

But Akira knew the other purpose of being out here; that was to entrench the new him into common society. Being visible was being high profile - and it was something that Akira himself had experience in. "Gods are just- you know, merciless. Fuckin'.... you know what I mean? High society ain't give a crap about - Sozin, you saidja follow a god now?"

His ears perked at his cover being spoken about. Akira did not know what they were trying to get at. But, he supposed, this was a good way to get into it. "Yeah..." he was, but even Akira believed what he believed in. "but wyh, they don't care about you?" Akira supposed that was correct. "We have different beliefs, which might account for why-" "But how can'ya profess to a god you've only known a few days?" "-I didn't realise you could see inside my mind," Akira sharpened his gaze at him. Insinuating it had been there for longer than he thought. They were getting into hot territory. "To refocus, Matsu-san, you said you'd picked up a new hobby?" The deep husky voice was commanding, just as he himself had been. It was showing that he'd been listening and that Akira didn't push the narrative hard to seem inconsistent.

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[Kuishinbou Kuebiko]

The conversation continued and though he felt a bit guilty eavesdropping, there was also little to be done about it in a public place unless he wished to cover his ears or make his own racket. The topic was religion now, specifically the following of gods. Kuebiko himself had never been a very spiritual person. He had too much to worry about in his physical life to even begin to think in terms of a beyond. Most people he knew were vaguely naturalist or polytheistic, not ascribing themselves too closely to any particular god or belief. The shinobi way of life was a faith practice all its own, right?

It seemed like Sozin had recently... converted? With the way he snapped back, it may not have been so recent. Still, it didn't surprise him. Stressful events could often lead to a shifting of faith. It was something he had seen in hospitals before. A sick family members dredges up a desperate plea, a shinobi who isn't quite ready to die may cast out a prayer. Kuebiko had personally never seen any answered, but he knew, vaguely, that there were religions out there that connected very closely with their gods.

The topic shifted again anyways. Clearly Sozin didn't want to discuss it. Who could blame him? No one wanted to talk philosophy with someone so drunk. Speaking of which... Kuebiko reached to pour himself another cup of sake and managed to spill some on his sketchbook. Good job. He cursed under his breath at himself.

[Deleted]

Matsu had begun to speak when the noise of a drink spilling caught most people's attention. He trailed off on the opposite side of Akira didn't need to look in a different direction- causing Akira to do so as well.

There was a slight lull in the noise with a drink being spilled, Sozin had turned his head and seen the individual who had spilled their drink. Nobody made comment to it, other than there being the silent agreement it had actually happened and the man briefly watched with the one eye as it got cleaned up. They couldn't have been too drunk, given that he could see there being the use of a book and pencil: homework, perhaps? But at a bar? Akira didn't know.

But, it did seem to ignite a chain of events.

A bell rang throughout the bar, a deep tone thrice knocked and reverbing as the sound curbed off. "Last calls," The person behind the bar announced. Akira breathed a sigh of relief. The drink he'd been nursing had barely moved a millimetre in the hour it had been there, and he couldn't stomach trying to finish it. He couldn't wait to leave the bar, and figure out a better approach than to drinking - because although he would gladly fulfil his God's will, he wanted to do it in the parameters of acceptable use.

"I'll... be right back." Sozin spoke casually. The man sat himself up, out of the seat, taking with him a provided single-use cloth, but not the drink that accompanied it and meandered his way in front of Kuebiko, who would have seen him a mile away. As he neared, Kuebiko's enhanced smell would be able to pick up a natural musk of sorts, of spice and wood. There were some less savoury aspects of that smell, indicating that perhaps this individual had not washed in a day or two?

But, Akira offered the man the item in hand. "Do you need some help?" he asked gently.

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[Kuishinbou Kuebiko]

Well, that was a broadly humiliating reaction. A hush fell over the room as if no one had ever spilled a drink before. The bartender even announced that the bar was to closing up soon. It was late, and perhaps the man was tired of people making messes, so Kuebiko could hardly blame him, but it was disappointing. He was hoping to stay a little longer - he wasn't even drunk, had just been a bit clumsy in his distraction.

While he was moping at his own misfortune, Sozin rose from the table and crossed the room, which made Kuebiko's stomach knot with anxiety. Sure enough, the man's destination was Kuebiko's table. He arrived with a small cloth and Kuebiko quickly planted one hand over the damp face of his sketchbook, trying to cover the fact that he'd been sketching the bar and, specifically, Sozin's table. That would be one too many humiliations for him to deal with in a single night.

"I- I'm alright," he said, trying not to sound as miserable as he felt. He was an alright actor, but not a great one. "I just work with my hands all day, so I suppose they were rebelling." His hands were quite exhausted by the end of a shift at the hospital, so it wasn't really a lie.

"Thank you, though, I appreciate it. I didn't mean to interrupt your... night." Whatever was going on over there.

[Deleted]

While the shuffle in one direction as people took to the countertops of the bar to get their last drinks in, Akira had shuffled to Kuebiko's table; not that he knew the man by name. Still, overnight work was slim pickings, it certainly didn't appeal to Akira himself. It was likely then that this person was... Ops, Security, Medical, or Janitorial. He didn't know anyone yet who did, and even in his former life janitorial duties were usually a consequence of misbehaviour. Akira would not pry.

But still, he had offered the cloth and would place it down for Kuebiko to take, should he have chosen to. It did not fall on lost eyes that Kuebiko wanted to hide whatever was in the contents of his book, but Akira would respect the privacy and had wished he could've at least glimpsed at whatever it had been, since it had not been in his own interest until it had become secret.

Such was the nature of curiosity, he supposed.

"You're fine. I'd only hope that a neighbour should offer their support to those in need." The man confirmed his reasons for Akira interfering into what might've been an otherwise perfectly contented man and his quiet night alone - a silence that Sozin might've just disturbed.

"I'm..." Hesitation, on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't figure why it didn't come out of his mouth. "Junichi Sozin." He finished after a few strange seconds of silence and confusion plastered to his face, though he didn't remember who he was. Only Kuebiko who he was facing would have saw it. A quick sigh of exasperation and look of embarrassment followed. "It's been a long day for me as well." he tried to play it off.

That was an issue he'd need to reflect on later, why it was - who was he again? The man thought to himself. Perhaps the juxtaposition was overwhelming, but as quick as that thought had come, it had gone and Sozin carried on speaking as his brain subconsciously dealt with the inconsistency by rearranging his attention span. "Can I ask it is what you do?" It was easy to frame the Councilman as being caring, when it was greatly in Akira's interests to simply develop knowledge about Kusagakure, to support the theory his mind had always been there.

Not the truth, but he wished to make it so.

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[Kuishinbou Kuebiko]

Kuebiko noted that quiet hesitation. It seemed like he was almost hesitant to say his own name. Troubled still from the time before returning? Or perhaps hesitant to share his name with someone who might be perceived as a drunkard in this little bar? He didn't seem so judgemental as to care about that, though Kuebiko couldn't help but feel a bitterness at the possibility anyways, ever the pessimist. It left Kuebiko uncertain, like he couldn't quite anticipate what the man's motivations were. Sozin then tried to play it off, shifting to embarrassment.

"I am Kuishinbou Kuebiko," he introduced himself in return. His own expression went sour for a second, though he was even quicker to smooth it over. "I work night shifts at the hospital. I'm an emergency response medical nin. They need people at all hours, so I often end up volunteering to work late." And then coming to the bar even later. Anything to avoid going home as long as possible!

Kuebiko took Sozin's napkin and used it to dab at the sketchbook. It smeared some of the art, but maybe that was for the better. He wouldn't want to remember this moment anyways. He closed the book, which might've given Sozin a brief peek at its contents. Then he put it in his bag, preparing for when the bar was inevitably cleared.

[Deleted]

A Kuishinbou - one of the clans. Like the woman. The woman from before. The one that got murdered. Akira remembered it vividly. Still, the man appeared to work an important role - Akira had received a lot of treatment prior to being let out, but he hadn't come across Kuebiko. There were a lot of Shinobi though, just like Iwagakure - so there were faces and names he'd already forgotten. "That's honorable. Good on you" Akira started out, but there was a burning question. Akira had remained standing - he could feel eyes on him from behind, assuming that he had been noticed talking to another individual.

"Do you have the hunger like the rest of the Kuishinbou?" He asked, knowing that they were voracious: insatiable. Kuebiko did not appear to be that, though he hadn't paid attention to the man and didn't know of his prior existence, he noted that they had the single glass - Satsuko was ... an unfortunate death, but had made it abundantly clear their appetite, their sense of smell. She had even been the lord of Kusagakure, for a small time. It was Akira's fault that she had even died in the first place, had it not been for his hubris.

Sozin had been interested in glancing at the contents of the book but his perceived angle just wasn't good enough, other than to tell it wasn't writing - but that satisfied his curiosity enough for the time being. "I'm sorry if that's rude. I'm still relearning my manners, apparently, I had just come out of the hospital with some memory difficulty." All true: but an exaggeration and a play on his manners. It was something he'd be repeating for the forseeable future as he relearned his way.

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[Kuishinbou Kuebiko]

Ha. The hunger. That was one way to describe it. That insatiable urge to feast, the bottomless stomach. Try as he might, Kuebiko had never actually managed to shake his fear or disgust of it. Those who had it couldn't help it, so it was unfair to feel that shiver up his spine when he thought of them, but the attitudes of many of his clansmen did nothing to help him there. He thought of stories they told of consuming enemies on the battlefield and felt a little nauseous.

So he scoffed. Then he realized that was probably a rude reaction in its own right and cleared his throat, making bad cover of his own response. Perhaps it would be easy to play off as a social faux pas on Sozin's part, but it wasn't right to lie to and exploit use of the fact that Sozin was having memory difficulties. (Which was troubling in and of itself - his injuries must have been more extensive than Kuebiko had assumed.)

"It's not a rude question, don't worry. I don't have it," and thank all the spirits of the world for that. He's not sure how he would stomach it if he did. "It's an adaptation mostly held by female members of our clan. Actually, it's a quite interesting medical phenomenon that we haven't studied very extensively. It seems to be hormone based, so theoretically any Kuishinbou clan member might have a shot at developing it if exposed to the correct - I won't bore you with that." No reason to go on an extended medical rant.

[Deleted]

His head imperceptibly tilted at Kuebiko when they scoffed, more noticeable was Sozin's eyes narrowing as he trained his gaze on Kuebiko, only to nod with his eyes closed, thoughfully in recognition of the social nuance. It was a gender thing? Had Satsuko said anything about that? Kuebiko didn't explicitly state they couldn't, so perhaps it was just rarer. But, there were other pressing matters to attend to.

Though they seemed to have an understanding of Genealogy (neither of which Akira had interest nor expertise in.) "Sounds complicated," Akira lingered. Perhaps there was something else of value he could bring to their conversation? He had remained standing this entire time.

Well. He didn't want to delay his current audience and he didn't want to prolong what might've been a otherwise pleasant exchange of words; and it was better to leave it on something light. "Take care now, Kuebiko-san." Akira lightly smiled at the man, taking his leave from the conversation to rejoin the conversation that he had been missing out on; And he did anticipate that their paths would cross again at some point, not sure for a reason why but the people were still queuing to get their last drinks. He had returned to nursing a drink that was not being drunk.

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[Kuishinbou Kuebiko]

Had he bored the man so much he'd driven him off? Oh, he needed to stop it with all the negative thoughts. It was simple as the fact that Sozin was here with friends and had only come over in the place to be polite and express concern. He was under no obligation to linger at the table awkwardly, exchanging empty conversation with a tipsy stranger. It had been nice enough that he'd checked in at all, practically just his civic duty as a member of the council. It had been a nice conversation, even if a short one. Kuebiko should focus on that instead of being such a downer.

"You as well. It was nice meeting you," he returned, giving Sozin a light wave. He watched the man return to his group and his conversation, though Kuebiko was intent on not eavesdropping this time.

The bar was about to close for the evening regardless, so Kuebiko finished off the last of his alcohol - that which he hadn't managed to spill - and paid his tab. With that resolved, he would head out into the cool night, ready to let the cool night air ease his muddled head. He would just take the walk very slow and enjoy the faint stars before he had to make it back home. Despite how brief the encounter was, he did hope he would talk to Sozin again. It would probably do him some good to have friends outside his profession.

[Deleted]

They both said their pleasantries and went away. Akira had returned to his table and continued their conversations, where he had continued to not drink, and the others had continued. One, clearly too much. By the time the place closed, one of them was severely trashed, and as they filed out - Akira didn't realise how bad until the cool night air resounded through his body. The cold night air was nice.

But, his "drinking partner" was not so well. "Ja ne, Matsu-san." Akira waved them goodbye, holding with one hand on to a very drunk man, and would be the one to take him home. Despite being thin in frame he was still a Shinobi and so hulking a grown man over his back was a simple, easy feat. This man however, was extraordinarily difficult. In the attempt to pull him over, received a resounding set of no's and grumble, and Akira let the man crumple in front him on the floor. "The ski is so prette." "Alright. Let's get you up." He offered a hand and it was taken, only as he started to move to pull the man up, ended up in a feat of dragging dead weight behind him. Akira sighed. This would be a long night.

Kuebiko too hadn't gone home yet - he saw in the street. Akira waved again. "Dealing with a security issue." He tried to make the joke, poorly, but looked down at the floored man. "o'SIhtat dude you, heyyy how you doim?" they tried to include themselves too, only to turn onto their front, retching and causing Sozin's face to grimace. The smell was not nice, either.

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[Kuishinbou Kuebiko]

Drunk and disorderly. Kuebiko was glad he hadn't drunk that much, at least. It would be a real problem to stumble home through the streets like that, a problem Sozin had now charged himself to dealing with. Excess alcohol consumption was too frequent for how dangerous it really could be. Once an individual had reached the point of throwing up, they really were quite intoxicated. And dealing with someone who was on the verge of falling asleep alone was never easy. Difficult to conduct, difficult to avoid them getting injured.

"Here, let me help," Kuebiko said, voice soft with concern as he approached the duo, trying to help hike the drunken man up off the ground. Despite his own tiredness, he was never able to quell his desire to help others, an almost pathologically kind heart. He would pull the man's arm over his shoulder to help balance out the unruly man's weight.

"We don't want you to trip all over yourself," he would joke to the man. Then to Sozin, he would ask,

"Do you know where he lives? How far of a walk is it?" If it was very far, it could be difficult to get the man there. It almost may be better to get him to sleep before carrying him if that were the case, but that would be a challenge in and of itself. Kuebiko didn't have any techniques for knocking someone unconscious safely.