Hunt for the Apartment: Failure is NOT an OPTION! [Private, w/Tatsuo]

[Samsara Saito]

Waking up early as usual in their hotel room, Saito had been reading that nature book by the time Tatsuo arose. This particular day had the boy excited, even more than most days: today they were going to get an apartment in the city! The hotel room was nice but the boy, full of energy, found it hard to stay contained there. Doing his best to not bounce around and break anything they'd have to pay for took its toll.

"Morning, rise and shine!" the boy chimed as the Chuunin sat himself up, closing the book he'd been patiently reading as he waited for the older boy to wake. They'd packed their bags the night before and Saito had checked them out of the hotel earlier that morning. "We find an apartment TODAY! Hurry up and drop your logs!" he beams brightly at Tatsuo, the boy's excitement starting early.

The boy still had presence of mind to give Tatsuo his time to wake up, holding back the talking and questions until breakfast. There, over the mountain of food they required every morning, Saito laid out his plan.

"See what we want to do is, we have to have a backyard! A BIG one, for training! AND it should be close to the gate so we don't have to travel far for missions!" The boy pulls out a scroll and unfurls it on an empty section of table after most of the plates had been emptied and cleared. It's a hand drawn map of Konoha, done in crayons with vibrant colors. It's clearly done by a child but is actually quite accurate. Several spots on the map had been circled, emphasizing some level of importance to the young cloudie. "Here's where my research tells me we should start looking, Sensei! Within the budget!" he continues, pointing to those circled spots.

 

[Tatsuo]

"No logs to drop off today." he said sleepily as he wiped his eyes and scanned the room, his gaze finally settling on his always excited student. Tatsuo couldn't help but smile, while he was usually a cheerful person, Saito took it to another level and Tatsuo couldn't help but appreciate it. The work and life of a shinobi was tough, facing the dangers and woe of battle at any time took a toll on anyone who lived long enough to think about it what they had seen. However no matter how dark things could get, as long as there were people like Saito in the world. It would always be worth fighting for.

Kicking his legs out of bed and sitting for a moment, sort of listening to what Saito had to say and also wishing he could just go back to sleep but the day had to start somewhere. Letting out one final yawn before standing up and stretching to the ceiling he walked over to see what Saito was working on. He nodded along as he explained all the things they needed in the apartment and for the most part he agreed. Rubbing his chin as he thought and mostly as an excuse to look like he was paying attention when he was actually struggling to stay awake he finally shook himself awake and smiled. "Yeah kid, looks good to me. I've got the money sorted out, I've been doing a few missions here and there to save up a bit, unless you're looking for a mansion I think we'll manage."

Saito really made a great asset considering most of the things he had already considered were things Tatsuo didn't even begin to imagine of, he would hate to see him go. If he were to ever lead a squad he couldn't imagine anyone else he'd want on it. An analytical mind would do him well as a shinobi and if anything it made him more comfortable knowing his student was as competent as he was. "Alright, i'm going to get dressed you do the same and we'll go look around." With that, Tatsuo went into the bathroom with a handful of clothes and came changed in a casual t-shirt over some sweat pants. Grinning as he came back out he shrugged his shoulders. "Don't need to look that good, we're only buying a house." he laughed before sitting on the bed, waiting for Saito to get ready.

 

[Samsara Saito]

All of Saito's other movements freeze as he turns wide, incredulous eyes to Tatsuo. It's as if the older boy had shockingly insulted someone's grandmother, or taken candy from a baby. The boy's voice, when it comes, sounds crestfallen. "What kind of missions have you been going on without me, Shinrin-sensei? Any neat adventures or anything? Seeing amazing stuff in the world? Does your spirit blaze bright?" he asks with a quiet sniff. Looking down, the boy seems genuinely hurt for a moment, sighing before purposefully attempting to shake himself free from any despondency, exhaling harshly as if to expel any bad feelings. "Don't worry, sensei! I'll keep training until you think I'm good enough to go with you! Just wait until you see the apartment we get! Then I'll train hard and impress you enough to take me on missions, okay? Will you take me on adventures then?" he pleads. I've gotta try harder to get sensei to notice my power! Then he'll take me with him! the young cloudie thought, now more determined than ever to train and get stronger. A year wasn't very long; he knew now that he would need to train much harder in order to spend more time with Tatsuo. But first that means getting the apartment!

"Uhh... so like I was gonna say..." the child pushes forward, a last sparkle of unshed tears reflecting off large blue-green eyes. Clearing his throat, the 9-year old continues. "Shinrin-sensei, you can't go in sweats, you have to look like you make a steady income, not like a couch potato. We've gotta get in our gear and look like competent ninja." With that, the child starts getting dressed as though he's going on mission, his gear just as meticulously checked and prepped. His bouncy and excited nature seems a touch forced, and he largely goes through the motions with a similar sort of listless accuracy one would expect from ninja many times his age. Ninja that have seen too much death.

 

[Tatsuo]

Tatsuo's face went blank for a moment, he looked at Saito for a few moments listening to him and watching him carefully. Hearing these things really made his heart hurt, at no point did he felt like he neglected Saito but he understood where he was coming from, in order to pay for the both of them, especially without a lot of money saved up beforehand he had to go on missions a bit too dangerous for Saito. However he didn't realize just how much it effected the kid. Letting out a deep sigh he nodded and sighed, "You know what? You're right, I should've offered to take you a few times. There'll always be missions that you're just not ready for yet, but the ones you are, consider yourself invited." He offered him a grin, hoping to raise the spirits of his student just a little bit. He thought back to his own interactions with Kaji, which other than the occasional request in doing a chore.. were brief. It always hurt Tatsuo a bit, but he never really made a point of talking about it, however he felt absolutely terrible for doing it to his own student.

When Saito requested he to change, he groaned a bit and shook his head. "Nah kid, you gotta realize if they think you're rich they're going to try and treat you like you're rich. You gotta seem cool and act like you got nothing to lose." Mostly he didn't feel like putting on real pants today, but might as well make some excuse to sate him. "I'm ready when you are." he said as he opened the door, holding it open for Saito to follow.

 

[Samsara Saito]

"That's for other things you want to buy or rent, sensei, like items. Not property... when buying or renting property you want to look like you can actually afford it. Especially considering where we're looking... here, here, here, and here have a lot of demand for them because they're good! We only got an interview because you're Tatsuo the powerful Leaf ninja coming home from the Cloud with his exchange student protege... Stronger than ever? Rare jutsu? Shoe-in for Jounin? Unshakable Will of Fire? That's who you've gotta be today, Shinrin-sensei! You've gotta look the part!" Saito countered, pointing at the apartment locations circled on his hand-drawn map before jumping up in Tatsuo's way from getting to the door. If Tatsuo wanted to open it, he'd have to move the little ninja tyke. Not that difficult for Tatsuo probably, but the kid looked ready to wrestle over it and unless Tatsuo went really hard against the child the older boy would have an interesting fight on his hands. He seemed really secure in his planning though -- so secure that the child had actually contacted the places beforehand and already sold them the story they'd be following through with today. "Just trust me, sensei!"

Somewhere in the aftermath of their showdown (whether Tatsuo insists on wearing sweats or capitulates), the child recovers his happy attitude at what Tatsuo said concerning going on missions. "I'll go with you every time when I can, Shinrin-sensei!" The child simply wanted to travel freely, his heart out in the world finding new things to discover, try, read, or eat. If the boy's feet were not roaming the countryside, they needed to be at a table eating or somehow training... and Konoha granted him all three. The thought of an apartment in and of itself, the child realized, had made him slightly itchy -- he thought they'd stay in a treehouse! But adaptability and trust, endurance and hope lead to the treasure at the end of the dungeon... or that's what his mother said. Fine, an apartment it is, Saito allowed, just before doing all the legwork thereby controlling the choices. Just wandering around the city without a plan would've been so troublesome...


[MFT]

 

[Tatsuo]

After the insistent protesting from Saito he finally changed into something a bit more respectable, the typical Chuunin gear however he forwent the flak for today. Opting for a thick gray woolen jacket over it, before tossing a similar one to Saito. "It's getting cold kid, can't have you getting sick. That'd really put a wrench in your training." he said with a grin as he let out a yawn and rolled his shoulders before stretching to the ceiling. "Ya' know, thanks for doing all this." he said pointing to the plans as they walked out of the door. "I would've just settled on some plain ole apartment, but i'm sure now we're going to get a great steal." he said another grin appearing on his face as they made it out into the street.

The day was cold and forced Tatsuo to tug his jacket closer to him, the slightest sprinkle of snow had began to coat the land. There were children playing with some of the quick to form snowballs, nailing each other as they shot them across the street Tatsuo and Saito walked past. They were a few years younger than Saito but seemed to be having the time of their lives. Tatsuo looked to them and had to dodge a snowball here and there, going to push Saito down before one particular ice-ball would've hit him square in the face. However one of the kids, who seemed to be their leader, with whatever authority that comes from a bunch of kids he told them to hold their fire until the two passed. Tatsuo gave him a respectful nod and soon they passed the street allowing the kids to play once again.

Bringing his hands up to blow into them he glanced around as they finally arrived at the apartment they were seeing first, supposedly the realtor would've been here but he must've been caught up by the weather. Looking down to his student he asked, "You excited to get somewhere more permanent to stay, eh? I'm just hoping we both can get a bedroom, so I don't have to smell your feet every morning." he said with a playful nudge on his shoulder as he kept his eyes open for the realtor.

 

[Samsara Saito]

After Tatsuo looked at least respectable, Saito moved himself from blocking the door with a big grin for his teacher. "You're the best, sensei! " Saito cheered, and also cheered again when Tatsuo pulled a thick gray coat -- just Saito's size -- out of nowhere and threw it to the young cloudie. When did he even get this? It's kinda perfect! the child thought as he slides it on.

When Tatsuo thanked Saito for his hard work, the boy's happy mood -- already well-recovered upon hearing about Tatsuo's missions -- shot through the roof. He appreciates me! I knew it! Keep working hard and he'll show you everything!

"It's no sweat, Shinrin-sensei. I like doing stuff like this," the cloudie said as casually as he could, considering the spike in happiness Tatsuo's compliments gave him. He'd contained himself well. But from that point on Saito's smile could not be quickly erased from his face, nor could his happiness be taken from him easily, for the rest of the day.

As they walk in the cold, snow-flurried air, Saito looks up at Tatsuo on several occasions and smiles happily without even speaking to the Chuunin. The boy had really lucked out with the leaf ninja, he'd realized as they trudged through the peaceful snowy streets of Konoha. Tatsuo was kind, genuinely liked Saito, and protected him instinctively, whether it be snowballs or real damage. Tatsuo was also very dedicated to the child's training -- and upkeep, he realized, considering he didn't pay for literally any part of anything, including the nice warm coat in just his size currently on his body. Shinrin-sensei does so much for me! What can I do to be more appreciative?

And after a few moments of thought... I'VE GOT IT!

"Hey Sensei, I'll be right back! I'll meet you closer to the first apartment," Saito chimed at Tatsuo, leaving the Chuunin his map with the location of the first apartment firmly circled in red crayon on the colorful, handmade picture before speeding off. Running back in around 10 minutes with the first apartment full in view, Saito returns with boxes of prepared food from the market. "Tough to apartment hunt on an empty stomach! We have a little time, the realtor isn't even here," the boy pants from his run, offering Tatsuo one of the food boxes and gesturing to a nearby bench.

"We definitely have our own rooms, sensei," Saito threw back at Tatsuo, giggling at the nudge to the shoulder as he looked up at the Chuunin, swallowing a mouthful of rice. "My feet don't smell nearly as bad as your logs!"

[MFT]

 

[Tatsuo]

Tatsuo had been rubbing his hands together in a faint attempt to get some warmth back when Saito suddenly scrambled off. Shaking his head he didn't follow but just waited a few minutes for the man to come back. Luckily Saito told him all the information before he left, however the boy managed to return before the realtor arrived. With lunch even! Tatsuo grinned, nodding to Saito, "Yeah, an empty belly is no good. Thanks for the grub, kid." he said going to pat him on the head before taking a seat on the bench near the sidewalk. Taking out his chop sticks he began to pick at his food, listening to Saito talk about the apartment as he ate. "We better, i'm getting tired of your snoring too." he said teasingly before rolling his eyes when questioned about his logs. "Oh c'mon my wood jutsu isn't that bad." He broke into a roaring laughter which filled the otherwise quiet street.

After sharing some food and banter, the time waiting for the realtor seemed to fly by. The realtor finally arrived, a young woman a few years older than Tatsuo arrived wearing a large gray coat. She had a folder in her arms and smiled to the both of them, "Tatsuo and Saito, correct?" The woman was quite attractive and spoke softly. Her black hair was tied up in a bun with a few pencils sticking out of it. "This is the first apartment we're seeing today, we've got a few others but i'm sure you'll love this one." She said as she stuck her hand into her pocket, retrieving a key with a tag on it.

As she made her way to the apartment, Tatsuo stopped and nudged Saito making a quick joke about the woman's appearance. "Wonder if she comes with the apartment?" Tatsuo said, hoping the joke would go over the kid's head, but it was too good to not say. Taking the lead Tatsuo followed the lady into the apartment. The apartment had a small hallway at the entrance, where you could keep your coat and shoes. It lead into a living space, with a dining room and kitchen connected to it. Granite counter tops, stainless steel furnishing, the works. "There are three bedrooms and two bathrooms, one master." She said as she smiled and lead them around the home. "Considering the proximity to the gate and the size of the apartment it is quite expensive but i'm sure for two skilled shinobi like yourselves it's nothing." she said trying to put on the salesman charm.

Tatsuo was too busy looking around at things in the apartment to really pay attention to what she said, he quickly snapped his attention towards her and gave a quick nod. "Uh-huh yeah, shinobi." before going back to making sure the bathtub was big enough to lay down in. It was. Tatsuo shouted out to Saito, "I like this one, anything wrong with it Saito?"

 

[Samsara Saito]

Saito looked around the apartment, his expression for once not bright or buoyant as he normally carries himself, but actually quite modulated, especially for a 9-year old. The boy let Tatsuo draw the attention of the realtor as he toured the residence himself, examining the fixtures and the outlets, looking for dust on various surfaces, and otherwise investigating everything quite closely. When the realtor eventually returns her attention to Saito after Tatsuo called out for him from the bathtub, Saito is ready with comments and a bunch of questions. "This one is very nice, Miss! How much is the exact square footing?" After she tells him, he tsks. "The price you quoted is just about 25% higher than the average rent per square foot in this part of town..." he says, pointing to some documentation he's produced from a nice little black leather folder, coming out of nowhere. "Unless it's reinforced with steel beam support like some of the other ones around here? I wasn't able to find out..." the boy said with a smile, knowing that the apartment wasn't reinforced by steel beam support. Plus, Saito knew that the closer to the gate an apartment got, the less expensive it ran since it had greater risk of being affected by citywide attacks. Generally only shinobi rented them anyway, so her highlight of their being ninja seemed pretty empty. The boy simply smiled as the woman attempted to change the apartment's negatives into positives. It was okay, since they likely wouldn't take this apartment anyway, the backyard was too small for Saito's tastes, and he'd rather a bigger backyard than an extra bedroom if they could swing it.

Fortunately it seemed as though there'd be a lot more wiggle room on the price than the young cloud student had originally thought. If she cast it that high to start, then she had to be willing to negotiate it pretty far down from Saito's top figure. "I don't think so, Tatsuo-sensei," Saito said after he finished his questions with the realtor. "I definitely think we need a bigger backyard, and there are others better-situated I think... we won't cross it off the list but let's keep going," the child finishes, having mentally crossed the apartment off the list.

[MFT]

 

[Tatsuo]

Tatsuo was still sitting in the bathtub, stretching out his legs into it and imagining himself in a nice bubble bath as he heard the realtor and Saito's little back and forth. While she seemed surprised, Tatsuo didn't even flinch. His student was a bit odd for a 9 year old and it's something he liked about him, they made a good pair considering Tatsuo was too careless sometimes and Saito paid just enough attention to detail. The woman herself blushed and shifted on her feet uncomfortably as she looked to Tatsuo for assurance, however she would find none. Saito truly was the negotiator here, Tatsuo just wanted a place to sleep.

After a quick nod she pursed her lips and tapped a few fingers on her clipboard. She was not used to negotiating with children and definitely was not used to the 'adult', if you could really consider Tatsuo one, to have such a back seat role of this. "Would you like to go to the next house then?" Considering both of them would agree they would head back outside to face the cold once more. Tatsuo looked to Saito and said, "Well kid, I would like an extra bedroom if possible. A place to put guests would be nice, plus we could store some extra stuff in there. What if I get a girlfriend? Where will she stay?" he asked nonchalantly, as they followed the realtor to the next apartment.

This apartment, had a much bigger yard than the last. Almost twice the size of the house, Tatsuo looked at it and rubbed the back of his neck as he made a beeline for the bathroom. Despite having a lot of things that would be appreciated, such as a second story with a balcony.. the bathtub was much too small. The woman would give them the details as they walked through the home, "Hardwood floors throughout, easier to clean, the insulation is great considering it was replaced last year. The cabniets are a bit of an ugly color if you ask me." she said giving a soft giggle, if not forced, "But that can be fixed quite easily. It only has two bedrooms and shares a single bathroom but the backyard is quite large." she learned her lesson from the last time and mostly talked to Saito considering Tatsuo was trying fit into the bathtub and failing horribly.

 

[Samsara Saito]

Saito listened to Tatsuo's comment about wanting an extra bedroom, nodding his head at his sensei's words as he took careful notes. "An extra room will probably put the price up a bit higher than I was aiming for, Shinrin-sensei, but I really think she'll give us a good deal on whatever we actually like... just play it cool!" the child murmurs back to Tatsuo, his voice low enough for the realtor to not hear. He gives Tatsuo a big smile before checking his notes again.

Okay so, Sensei wants three bedrooms, and I know he wants a big bathtub... and I want a nice backyard and a separate bathroom... I don't need a big bathtub so as long as at least the one in the master bedroom is big then we're good! the boy thought, carefully factoring his teacher's needs into consideration. As such, when they arrived at the second place, it too didn't really fit the specifications both Tatsuo and Saito wanted. This backyard ended up being a bit too big for Saito's taste as well, it would take too much effort to keep secure. Saito made polite conversation about this apartment and inquired a bit more about price to have a better idea of what his final offer would eventually be, but ultimately pushed for moving onto the next stop.

That first apartment is looking better in comparison... but we still have three more stops! the child thought to himself as they pushed onward, positive energy leading the group to the perfect apartment -- whatever it looked like!

 

[Tatsuo]

"T-three more stops...?" Tatsuo whined a bit, he didn't really feel like spending ALL day searching for an apartment so he hoped one of the ones coming was the perfect fit.

The next apartment they arrived at seemed good, at least, hardwood floors, clean carpets, a giant bathtub at Tatsuo's delight. An extra bedroom even, the backyard was the right size. Enough room to train pretty much anything but small enough to keep it well defended. Tatsuo himself liked the house, but he definitely was not picky. It was more Saito she had to impress. The realtor looked around, showing Saito the home while mostly ignoring Tatsuo who was more interested in walking around himself and checking out all of the small, somewhat meaningless details, he cared about.

 

[Samsara Saito]

Saito liked this one, fortunately... it had a large bathtub, plenty of bathrooms, and the extra bedroom was nicer. The child asked the realtor about the apartment, trying to not show too much interest in his voice as he checked his notes about the place. Close to the gate, it had actually weathered a few attacks on Konoha over the decades and had been no worse for wear. Well-made the first time, the apartment seemed like it would could stand quite the beating, whether it came from external assault or internal training mishaps. Not that there'd ever be any of those... he thought to himself, mentally whistling innocently as he talked to the realtor about the tree in the backyard. That was what Saito really wanted... a big, old tree in the backyard was very important! And this one looked pretty old!

Understanding what a good price for the apartment was, Saito casually threw a lowball offer just as the three of them were about to venture out into the cold yet again. Having caught the nice lady off-guard, Koho's son proceeds to calmly negotiate a very reasonable price for the apartment with her, well within the range the two ninja had discussed previously. Saito eventually went to go find Tatsuo to have him sign the paperwork, giving him a thumbs up while not in sight of the realtor. "I got us a really good deal, Sensei! So you won't have to go on as many difficult missions to pay some really expensive rent! Plus the kitchen is nice, and there's even a grill! This is the best one, Sensei!" he quietly enthuses.

 

[Tatsuo]

Tatsuo was perfectly fine with the home, it had a large backyard, an extra bedroom, decent price, and even a bathtub that was comfortable. It was truly some place he could consider his home base and Saito the ever charismatic negotiator was able to drive down the price with a shrewdness Tatsuo was definitely not capable of. All in all Tatsuo agreed that this would be a great place to stay, it had everything they needed. They could even stuff people in the extra room when they had visitors and it was close enough to the gates that they could get involved in any potential conflicts going on. Good for two people so eager to protect those around them.

When prompted Tatsuo looked at the paperwork and furrowed his brows. Shoving it to Saito, "So where do you think I should sign?" he said pointing to the papers, "I've never done this before." he said offering a cheeky smile to both the Realtor and Saito, however his face grew a cherry pink red. Filled with obvious embarrassment. "Just point to the lines.. if you don't mind." he said whispering to Saito quickly. He shuffled on his feet awaiting for Saito to show him where to sign.

 

[Samsara Saito]

Saito very nimbly wields his little black-and-red combination crayon, marking the places Tatsuo needs to sign on the document while happily chatting up the realtor, his sunny and happy side finally coming up to the surface. With Tatsuo's signature sealing the deal, Saito once more becomes everything expected of a 9-year old, happily bouncing around their new apartment. It's tough to know exactly where "Hard Negotiator Saito" lives in that head of his, or where the line gets drawn between him and the goofy kid Saito, but that serious person definitely left their new premises as soon as the boy approved the terms and conditions after a final buzzthrough. After a respectful bow to the realtor to conclude business with her, the boy kinda immediately forgot about her as he bounced off, leaving her talking to Tatsuo. No one would hold it against her if she found herself a little confused by what exactly had just happened that day.

"I CALL THIS ROOM!" Saito calls from up the stairs, his room facing out toward the backyard with the big tree in the middle. It was smaller than the master bedroom but it could fit a nice-sized bed and had a little bathroom all to itself! Sensei can keep his logs to himself! the boy thought with all sorts of glee. Now with the perfect apartment, there only remained one last thing to be done...