House Hunters [OPEN]

[Kato Hana]

Manzo walked down the street, he had the look of someone that was both lost and amazed. The area had really built up since he had been here last. He held a newspaper in his hand with several items circled on it. He was not really moving with a purpose but instead just taking in the sites.

Today was about finding a new home. Or at least a place he could sleep in relative comfort. The previous night was the first time in a while that he had been able to sleep in a bed and take a hot shower. He loved the outdoors but hot showers without having to do strange jutsu work was a thing of beauty. Today he actually felt like a normal human. Well his clothes were still travel worn and thread bare but he could fix that soon enough.

He sighed to himself, the things that he needed was quickly building up and he knew that he was going to need to do some missions quickly just to support himself. He might not have had a hot shower regularly but he also didn’t have to worry about money. He had lived off what the land provided.

Hannya was always disgusted by it but she did have to say that it kept him from eating poorly. She was always concerned that his weight would return. He still remembered the argument they had about him returning to the village. She seemed to think he would start to overeat again now that he was back. As far as Manzo was concerned as long as he didn’t do something stupid like mess up his chakra network again he should be fine.

Eventually he stopped in front of a building and looked up. This was the next place he was going to check out. It was not in the best neighborhood he was told but the rent was cheap enough and right now that was what he needed.

[MFT]

 

[Uchiha Asuka]

"You have to." Rayne smacked Asuka on top of the head as they watched the new comer slowly walk by. Asuka frowned and made a sound that could be interpreted as a complaint. "I did my job." She counter-argued. Rayne sighed and pinched her nose, her identical twin really didn't have the time for this. "By being a dick, that right there is a subordinate."

Asuka turned around and moved forward to the next rooftop, making sure Manzo wouldn't see her. "I didn't know who he was. For all I knew he could've been a Cloud spy." Rayne did nod slightly at that. Asuka did have apoint on that, but hers still remained as well. "But know that he is with you, go. Apologize." With that Rayne pushed Asuka from the roof, Asuka screeched in panic as she got her bearings and used her feet to stick herself to the side of the building. Turning up to Rayne she clinched her teeth in disgust.

Of course she didn't notice that Manzo was coming towards her. If she tried to run he would for sure notice, that Rayne.... being as sneaky as always. Asuka waited for Manzo to come closer before waving, a nervous smile on her face. "H-Hello." Asuka scratched the back of her head. "So what brings you to this parts?"

[Topic Entered]

 

[Akechi]

Maple Town… a perfect allegory for the dichotomy of intra-culture between Leaf’s indigenous people. Half of the town was paved with maple-infused cement, filling the area with the intoxicating aroma of maple syrup and overindulgence. The other half resembled a gentrified ghetto; the hodgepodge of idealistic, upper-middle-class aristocrats that wanted to reform the area into an inferior copy of those more fortunate and the disenfranchised lower-class incumbents that attempted to ‘exist’ as they built overtop of them. As if it were by design, a hint of maple dusted the air as the sweet aroma was pushed downwind from the industrialized area. Akechi didn’t frequent the area much, but rumor has it that a haze of maple was visible under the twilight, if viewed from the ghetto. Light reflected off of granular sugars that were expelled into the air, creating an illuminating effect that looked like a bridge into a completely different world – or something like that. The Uchiha didn’t know for sure. He could only confirm what he had heard from a bartender and one of her chatty customers. Perhaps said the customer was doubling as a suitor, and his attempt at poetry was his attempt at wooing her. No word on if he succeeded or not…

But that wasn’t the point of this story. A couple of days ago, the Main Branch Sennin dropped somewhat of a bomb on him. The village was locked down, the Outervillage areas were off-limits without special permission, and a Cold War had begun between the Villages Hidden Within the Leaves and Amongst the Clouds. What she didn’t know was that Akechi still lived on the outskirts of the Konoha. It was cheaper, and he was able to come and go as he pleased by way of the Void. Honestly, that was still an option, but with so many Uchiha around, he wondered what would happen should one of them get lucky and wandered into the Void while he was traveling. Surely, it wouldn’t go well for him…

So, here the forgotten Uchiha was, avoiding the Uchiha Clan House in favor of something a bit more rustic and less fanatical. After all, Akechi truly felt like a foreigner or an outsider… even amongst his own people.

Speaking of which, his casual stroll and search for housing came to a halt as his eyes came across a familiar figure. “Asuka-sama? What are you doing out here?” He asked quizzically, walking over to the trio, clad in blue jeans and a black hoodie with an Uchihan crest visible in the middle. “O, I’m sorry. I should’ve introduced myself earlier. My name is Akechi, Uchiha Akechi. How’s it going, folks?”

 

[Kato Hana]

As the twins approached him Manzo turned to look at them. He did not seem surprised to see them but he did smile at them. It was a warm smile that made it seem that he was genuinely happy to see them.

”I did not expect to see you two here, or really anyone I recognized down here if i must be honest but it is always nice to see friendly faces“ He held up the newspaper, with circles written all over it. It had the appearance of the classified section.

”I really can’t imagine that the village would look to highly of someone sleeping on the street or in the doorway of an establishment so i need to find a new place to live. My old place is long since gone after all.“ He had sold off most of his belongings before he left. His position had afforded him a nice enough place but he had no idea how long he was going to be gone for so putting things in storage was very impractical.

As he said this another figure approached them greeting Asuka, Manzo let them have their moment trying to be polite. He was a bit out of practice for social graces so he was working overtime to try and over correct.

”Three Uchiha in this part of town? This is not exactly the best part of the village, did something happen to the Uchiha compound or is this just a coincidence?“ He sounded genuinely concerned that something might have happened but his eyes watched the newcomer. If there were three of them that “happened” to run into the newcomer that arrived with no documentation, chances were he was being followed and investigated. He had nothing to hide per say but old instincts started to kick back in. Was this an ambush?

 

[Uchiha Asuka]

Asuka waved at the newcomer with a smile on her face. From what she could tell the duo here were nice and wanted to have a conversation. Asuka was happy to ablidge. Having said that, she turned her head slightly to look at Rayne, who simply threw daggers at her direction. She knew what she had to do but was a bit uncomfortable doing it, although it was the right thing to do. With a sigh, she smiled looking at Akechi. "I was walking around when I saw Manzo here, I remember him from the gates so I wanted to say hello." Rayne sighed and headchoped Asuka on top of the head, Asuka didn't have to look back to know what she needed to say.

"Manzo I wanted to apologize for my behavior at the gates. Should've contacted Yukio before giving you the ultimatum." She laughed nervously "In all honesty I get nervous around strangers and tend to jump the gun." She moved closer to see the circles in the newspaper. She recognized the places that he was choosing. "Coincidence." Asuka replied looking at the paper. "I live around here with my little sister, although Takeshi-sama has offered me a place in the Uchiha compound my apartement has too much sentimential value for me to abandon it." Asuka clapped her hands together. "I know! Why don't you stay with us while you're looking for a place Manzo? I don't have am extra bed but the couch is quite comfy and spacious." Rayne was visibly displeased with the suggestion and took Asuka by the arm, turned her around a few seconds. "Are you nuts! You don't know this idiot." She whispered "Who knows what he willd do?" Asuka counter-argued "Least we can do for a comrade. Be nice for once."

Asuka turned back to Manzo. "So how about it?"

 

[Akechi]

“Do Uchiha not frequent this part of town? It’s almost like the once persecuted Uchiha had become the aristocrats of Konoha. Envied and hated by all while they sat on ivory pedestals in the sky, staring down at the rabble as they scratched and clawed their way toward the scraps that they left behind,” he said to himself, a confused look visible on the Uchiha’s face as his brow furled into a small frown. It seemed that the older Uchiha was much more of an outsider than he believed. He was like a stranger to his clan and a stranger to the village as a whole. How long was he out and what had changed since then? Eventually, he would have to confide in someone to get the answers he eagerly sought, but now wasn’t the time for all of that. The last thing he wanted was for these people to see him as “unreliable” when it felt like the current regime was stamping out the undesirable. It was better to feign strength than allude to weakness.

“You know, Uchiha are just like everybody else. Not all of us stay at that compound,” Akechi replied, smirking as he casually pointed in the general direction of the Uchiha Compound. “Some of us just like being among the people, ya know?” His tone was as calm and jovial as the playful shrug he used to seem disarming. Clearly, the boy who decided not to trade introductions was a bit put off by the Uchiha, but Akechi would simply remain calm. He wouldn’t get offended or go into a tirade. The only thing he needed to do was shrug as if “he” wasn’t the problem, but Manzo’s fear was.

“I didn’t realize you were a twin,” the man would comment simply, his eyes scanning back and forth between Asuka and the other one. After all, this was his first time seeing her, and it seemed to be a bit “unprofessional” to allow her sister to miss the “All Hands” meeting just because it was her sister. “Seems like the new rules have everyone feeling a bit displaced. Just how many people can you fit on that couch?” Akechi joked, winking at Asuka’s sister as if he were inviting himself to stay at her apartment. He wasn’t… but it was always fun to tease.

 

[Kato Hana]

Manzo simply smiled at the apology. ”Let me assure you, you have nothing to apologize for. I was a vagabond walking up to the gates with no identification. I did not think of your request as an ultimatum but a fairly reasonable request. “ He leaned a bit closer and spoke in a conspiratorial fake whisper ”to be honest I expected to spend some time behind bars until things were sorted out. Having Yukio show up was just an added bonus. “ He leaned back to his normal stance.

The offer for a place to live truly did shock him. ”I appreciate the offer but it seems that your sister is not fully on board. I would not want to cause contention between you two.“ He did not have to hear the words the twin was saying to understand the tone or her facial expressions. He did not want to picture two sisters fighting while he was pretending not to hear or pretending it wasn’t about him living there. It did not sound like a good living arrangement. He did have a sudden image of Hannya trying to break them up. He suppressed the smile by turning to the other Uchiha.

”Sorry for my rudeness. My social graces are a bit rusty at the moment. My name is Manzo“ he said pointedly not giving a clan ”It has been quite a while since I have been in the village. While people have always been free to live where they want. In my experience most of the Uchiha tended to live in the same compound. Perhaps it was for security, there was a criminal ring that was hunting those with Dōjutsu at the time.“ His smile faded as if he was remembering something unpleasant as he said this ”It is good that people are branching out and not feeling the need to live within the same compound.“ He did not bring up that this was not the best of neighborhoods.

”Perhaps we should all get something to eat and get to know each other better, well i suppose it would be more you three getting to know me better since i suppose you all know each other“ there was a bit of jovial smile on his face as he said this.

”I would also be interested in hearing what these new rules are.“


[MFT]

 

[Uchiha Asuka]

Asuka didn't exactly appreciate Akchi's comment. The simple disregard for the Uchiha compound sent a disloyal red flag to her head. Although he was right that not every Uchiha lived there something less... dissmisve would be a lot better. "Although the Uchiha compound is used as a meeting point for most Uchiha's when needed." Asuka would giggle and Rayne would sigh once they were mistaken to be twins. Although they looked the same, it was different. "Rayne and I aren't twins." She answered shaking her head with a smile. "We're the same person." Although confusing, it was true. Rayne had come from Asuka's head after all. Or was it Asuka from Rayne? They both had forgotten who was the original and to be honest didn't really care since they still considered themselves one and the same while being different. Like stated, confusing.

"Not you." Rayne glared at Akechi on the grounds of the couch comment. Bad enough Asuka wanted to take one stray dog, two would be way too many people to keep tabs on, especially since Rayne didn't know how strong they were. Files could only say so much.

Asuka turned to Manzo and scratched the back of her head nervously. "Behind bars would have been a bit too much." Rayne snorted "Not that the idea wasn't discussed." Asuka sighed and waved her hand in denial. "Don't concern yourself with her. Rayne just has trust issues. She won't do anything unless you try something stupid aside from insults and petty comments" Rayne sighed and looked back "I do that with hella good reason." Asuka ignored her and continued. "So you are welcome to stay if you want."

Asuka smiled widely and pointed down the street. "Oh oh. There's this awesome Dango shop a few blocks from here. Best Tea and Dnago sticks in the village!" With a nervous laugh Asuka spoke. "The village is in lockdown at the moment. Cloud has been considered dangerous and every Shinobi has gate duty. I can explain the details while eating if you want."

 

[Akechi]

“Security, family, sanity… this world definitely gives us plenty of reason,” Akechi giggled, his eyes brief wandering toward the direction of the aforementioned compound. There was a time where Uchiha sought the safety in numbers to avoid being hunted by the people that constantly demonized and ostracized them. While other Kekkai Genkai users found themselves victim to someone’s twisted sense of gamesmanship, the Sharingan of the Uchiha were hunted to the point of extinction. Somehow, they had managed to survive, and eventually, some of them became leaders of the same people that hunted their ancestors. It was irony at its finest. “Right! A meeting point!” Not that he really knew. Akechi had only visited the compound once, maybe twice… from what he could remember anyway.

“Well, one side of you is pretty damn rude,” the Uchiha would comment, squinting his eyes in feigned annoyance as his eyes glanced toward “Rayne.” The revelation that Asuka’s “twin” was actually a fraction of herself was pretty weird. He had heard of mental disorders that caused multiple personalities, but this was the first time that he witnessed the physical manifestation of one of those personalities. It was interesting to him. Interesting enough for him to tag along with their lunch plans so that he could learn more about it. Perhaps something useful would come out of this whole thing.

“Tea and Dangos? Sounds like a plan to me. Lead the way!” Akechi giggled, triumphantly waving a fist in the air as if he had won some sort of trophy. “How about you serenade us with a lullaby about lockdowns and Clouds?” The man would comment, alluding to wanting some specifics surrounding the lockdown and its reasoning. Hopefully, Asuka was feeling a bit less cagey this time around.

 

[Kato Hana]

”You can’t blame Rayne for not wanting to trust people. This is a dangerous world we live in and you never know who might be dangerous. I do appreciate the offer, I might just have to take you up on the offer.“ It would be nice not having to worry about a place to stay for a while. A part of him wondered if this was just a way to keep an eye on him. Two halves of the whole means that if one was distrustuff of him, than the whole is distrustful. Right?

Looking to Akechi he could not help but comment ”Just because you believe someone is rude dosn’t mean you need to comment on it. Pointing out rudeness in such a way only adds to the rudeness, You should always strive to be better than that. Remember Manners Maketh Man“ His voice had dropped into that of a lecturer.

As the moment passed he gave a brief laugh. ”Sorry I just remembered the last time I said those words. I am not sure i could restrain myself as much as I did if I have to deal with that puppeteer again.“ Sometimes he wondered if he had given him a proper ‘talking to’ back then if others wouldn’t have had the problems they did with him.

Hearing about the village in the Cloud he could only laugh. ”Things just don’t really change do they. We always seem to be fighting someone, or distrustful of someone. Hopefully the treaty with Suna still stands though. We went to a quite a bit of trouble to iron that one out.“ He looked expectantly to Asuka as he asked that. It wasn’t his treaty but he still saw how much trouble it had taken and it would sadden him if it fell through. ”It would be nice to hear about what happened to raise tensions. If everyone has gate duty that means I will as well and while knowing is not required it is nice to have an idea of what is going on.“

With a smile on his face he motioned for Asuka to lead on. ”You are going to have to lead the way. While the general layout hasn’t changed since I was last here, all the stores have.“

 

[Uchiha Asuka]

Asuka walked happily towards her destination once they all agreed. Remember the notorious blond haired trouble maker shinobi that for some reason loved Ichirakus's and pretty much singlehandedly made the ramen stand a fortune. This dango place was that to Asuka, she kept walking mumbling a happy town turning corners and some shortcuts while listening to what was being said. "Don't mind Rayne. She's just a Mrs. Gloom Gloom." Rayne on the other hand simply sighed and turned towards the two males following them. "As you can probably tell Asuka isn't exactly what you would call the ideal shinobi. Has the mentality of a five year old." Asuka pouted and shouted back "Growing old is inevitable while growing up is optional!" Rayne simply shrugged with a 'see?' look on her face and turned away as Asuka jumped up and stuck herself to a wall, running around like a child.

"Having said that, Manzo hit the nail right in the head. Unfortunately with a suicidal idiot to take care of it isn't exactly easy." Asuka could be seen running from wall to wall, holding her arms back and just jumping back and forth. "I prefer to live life one day at a time!" She shouted back. Rayne smiled slightly, the girl really liked being a ball of sunshine. "In all honesty, I'd rather be overestimated to the point people avoid me, worst case the reputation alone makes it so enemies are weary without knowing what we can do making it easier to escape. Being rude has that appeal." Rayne shook her head, god damn it. Asuka was getting to her head.

Rayne scratched the back of her head with a sigh as she tried to figure out how to exactly word it. Looking up at Asuka the girl simply smiled and gave her a thumbs up. "I can't tell you all the everything since the short version is long by itself." Rayne started placing her hands together. "Long story short. We got two different proclamations of a new Raikage, one of them claimed a missing-nin was being harbored in Kumo which sent some red flags. Takeshi sent some ANBU along with the Hokage advisor to find out what was going on. Apparently the current Raikage was sick, one of the author's was apparently fake and the other was a criminal who attempted a coup." Rayne stopped to look up at Asuka who was giggling jumping from one wall to the other unfortunately she wasn't seeing where she was going and she went straight through an alleyway, dissapearing behind a large wodden fence with a sigh Rayne continued taking one more left and finding the restaurant. She found a table for them and sat down. "Don't concern yourselves with Asuka, she will smell this place, so... where was I?" Rayne ordered the usual that Asuka took and a tea for her. "Oh right, but that wasn't the worst part. Apparently someone claimed to have sent a Leaf missing nin's remains to Leaf, when they hadn't. Problem was, the same missing showed up showing that they were lying."

Taking a sip from her tea she waited a few moments in case any of them had

 

[Kato Hana]

Manzo listened politely as Rayne informed them of the situation. He did not say anything letting her get everything out that she needed to say. As she talked it appeared though that his attention was drifting as he watched Asuka and her antics.

As they say he ordered tea as well, taking a deep breath enjoying the smells of civilization in a cup.

”I am curious, how long have you and Asuka been in the village, or shinobi?“ he asked after she finished talking.

He didn't even think about how the question could be considered rude, his social graces were off and he was finding that sometimes what he wanted to know did not come across as smoothly as it should.

”While I admit I didn't know every shinobi before I left I like to think I knew most and I can't say I remember either of you. The only reason I bring it up is bey I seem to remember a similar situation before. The Raikage was killed and an imposter used a jutsu to impersonate him. It has been a long time so I am most likely messing up some of those details.

It is interesting how often things change yet stay the same.

As for the missing min, has anyone tried to extract him out of the village?“

He paused for a moment to take a sip and think.

”I doubt I would recognize the name but who was the missing min? “