Meeting under the sun [Private]

[Keiji]

A strange note. Practically unreadable for the unsophisticated and the untrained in the arts of calligraphy. Keiji being neither had difficulty deciphering the estranged note he had received a few days prior to this day. The only words he was able to catch from it was meeting on the aforementioned day, and the x's and o's. Whatever they would be referring to.

Spoiler

Coincidentally the very same day he was asked by his dear friend and tavern owner Otis to pick up some groceries for the kitchen at home.
So being the lucky dreaded guy he was he had a chance to hit two birds with one stone, two nails with one swing, and hopefully figure out the origins of the note.
And the meaning of these x's and o's.

The streets were jittering with running, smiling, dancing and lollygagging street urchins, making venturing through the streets rather tiresome and stressful. The very air reminisced one such as Keiji of his own childhood, dealing with a noisy and rather pesky little brother. His honest opinion was that he would have preferred not to have left the house this very day. The sun seemed utterly unforgiving making small sweat pellets appear on his darkened forehead reflect the sunlight.

The stores located on every side of streets he walked on reflected the mood of the very people that were found upon it, shouting and wanting to grab the attention of money filled pockets.

He sighed to himself as he approached the epicenter of the many streets. The great fountain made the air slightly cleaner around it enabling Keiji the benefit of a greater sense of smell, which merely made his face disgust as a cart carrying rotten and old meat sacks of killed poultry drove past behind him heading down the very path he had just walked.

Placing down his small bag of apples and a various selection of fruity snacks he sat himself on a bench located right by the fountain. Take up an apple he took a bite. And as he the delicious fruity midday snack was being devoured he leaned his head back and looked up at the sunny, blue, and cloudy skies above him.

 

[Takaki Saeko]

Countess Nagamasa Kotone was pissed. In fact, she was super pissed. It had not been more than a month after their fated encounter on the bloodstained ramparts of her father’s castle under siege, and the cute, dreadlocked boy shinobi she had claimed as her own had the gall to pretend he didn’t know who she was!

She had wasted no time in coming to find him, initially. It had been a few days of sailing and riding until she was able to reach Raiden’s Eye, staying the nights in safehouses and estates owned by those sympathetic to her father’s cause (and who could profit from her inheritance of the lands), and from there, it had been a few more days to attend the next assembly of the Council of Nobles and formally claim her father’s titles. True to her promise, the Chancellor had not protested when Kotone had put forth her petition, and by the end of a fortnight, the Nagamasa family was once again in control of the castle and the surrounding lands. She had remained formal and polite when dealing with the same woman who had ordered the execution of her father. After all, it was business, and in the world of the landed elite of Lightning Country, business sometimes involved a lot of blood and death. But mostly, she was able to maintain her composure and concentration because of her overwhelming desire to see the object of her affections again - the boy who had rescued her from the Chancellor’s torturers and in the process, stolen her heart. The big problem, however, was that she still didn’t know his name! Still, how many tanned young men with dreadlocks could there be in a shinobi village in the frozen northlands?

Hence, when she had been granted entry to the village, and saw him, she had rushed over immediately, clasping his hands and barely resisting the urge to throw herself into his arms and immediately proposition him to retreat to a more secluded place. And yet, the bastard had the audacity to raise an eyebrow at her, shrug, and tell her something like: “Yo, girl, you got da wrong homeboy here,” turn around, and leave*! The rejection had so stunned her that she had simply been left jelly-like and pale, unable to form more than stuttering syllables of words.

Now, she sat on the edge of the fountain, fuming silently with embarrassment and despair. Damn him, she thought. I knew it! I was just a…a fling for him! A trophy! I shouldn’t known he’d do that to me! No boy that pretty can be trusted to be faithful! ARRRRRGGHH!!!! she ground her teeth. I wonder which of these hussies he’s sticking it in right now! Ooohh! When I run into him again, I’m going to punish him so hard. I don’t even care if I get thrown out of this damned village! It broke my heart!

At that moment, Keiji happened to walk by. She instantly bolted upright, drew back, and slapped him square across the face.

“Y-you! You cheat! You swine! You man-whore! How dare you just brush me off like that and pretend I ‘got da wrong homeboy?!’” she hissed.

*: For those of you who don't get the reference, Kotone had previously run into Burrakupowa Saizo, who is apparently the only other person in the village with dreads. The dialogue is probably an inaccurate transcription of what he'd say, and is coming from Kotone's own haphazard recollection of events. Apologies to Saizo, of course!

 

[Keiji]

"Wha.." Dumbstruck and with a reddened almost spiking cheek he just stood there, silently staring at Kotone.
She-sh-she slapped me?

What was it Otis always said? Girls treat their loved ones the worst? Or how did it go? A smile appeared on his lips. Regardless of how stupid he looked with his smile as he caressed his cheek, he stared at her with a happy and empty mind, like an oblivious child unaware that he had done something bad in front of his parents as they would stand, staring down at him.

"Ko.. Kotone!" His voiced squeaked slightly out of proportion from his normal much darker voice for a split second as he said her name.
"How'd yo-?" He cut himself short in his question "When did yo-?"

He quickly set his hand in his pocket and pulled out the folded note he had received a few days before and held it in front of her. "Was this.. You?!" His voice seemed slightly frustrated and confused at the same time.

Then within a second he crumbled the note in his hand into a ball and threw the ball up in the air. With a small distraction thrown up in the air, her eyes would've hopefully followed it, and if that were the case he would take a quickened step forward and extend his arms and hold her cheeks and neck followed with him pushing his lips onto hers.

Then releasing her from his grip shortly after he would whisper "I've wanted to do that properly for all this time, damn you for making me wait!"

 

[Takaki Saeko]

She huffed as Keiji pulled out the note she had sent earlier.

“Oh, NOW you remember that I sent you word of my arrival! Well, ‘Homeboy,’ you’re not the first shounen who’s tried to pull a fast one on me and then pretend you’re completely innocent! What was the matter before?! Were you trying to get your other girlfriend dressed and hidden away in the closet right when I saw you, and you had to buy a little time?! Don’t give me lame excuses! I know a player when I see one! Hey! Don't crumple that up!! I’m telling you right now-“

Her loud and public tirade was suddenly interrupted by his kiss. Kotone’s eye widened in shock, but her lids quickly sagged as a wave of delicious weakness washed over her being and her knees grew weak and cheeks grew flushed. Yes, it was her shinobi love, alright – this was the man she had fallen for on the battlefield. This made up for everything, she thought, wanting only more of his embrace, more of his contact. Keiji broke away first, leaving Kotone breathless (or rather, holding her breath to the point where she was turning slightly blue).

“I've wanted to do that properly for all this time, damn you for making me wait!" he said.

“Wait…what…but you made me…wai-“ she mumbled, growing alarmingly faint as she stumbled backward. “Who was-“

She never got to complete her sentence before her legs finally gave out and she fell backward in a heap. Of course, this was a shounen-romantic-comedy-of-a-thread, so in appropriate fashion, she fell in such a way that the hem of her yukata rode upwards above her hips, and with her legs splayed out, Keiji earned a very nice view of her pantsu. They were sea-green with lace, tied on either side with a cute little white bow, and of course, hugged her...features...tightly.

 

[Keiji]

“Pffffssttt!” Out of Keiji’s mouth pushed a pressurized watery liquid making him lose his balance. But right at the second he lost it, he regained it while falling forward, regaining it he quickly set his foot out in front of himself enabling him with a quick movement with his arms outwards to catch Kotone in his arms. “Woah woah woah!” His words would flutter like his own mind were having difficulty in finding its balance.
His nose running slightly out of pure lewd excitement. His eyes kept going from her pantsu to her eyes, as he wasn’t sure which ones to divert his attention towards.

After a second of recovering his breath, Keiji quickly pulled down Kotone’s yukata, disabling others the privilege of the view.
Looking straight in her eyes he awaited her to awake in his arms, and if she didn’t awake in the next few seconds he would lift her up with his arms and place her calmly on the bench behind him.

Awaiting her coming back into consciousness he would extend his sleeve as much as possible and wave it at her beautiful face.

“Ko-Kotone-chan?”<i></i> He would say calmly to her.
“A-are you okay?”<i></i> He had a troubled air about his words like he wasn’t sure what exactly he should do. He’s dealt with people fainting over seeing blood, too much pain, or simply fainting due to heat. But this, this seemed weirder to him? What was the cause? Stress?! Heat?! What could possibly be the reason? It wasn’t THAT hot in the air.. And it surely wasn’t too cold. Maybe he was going experiencing too much stress over just figuring out the reasoning. He took a few deep breaths as he awaited her immediate awakening.

 

[Takaki Saeko]

Her eyes fluttered open, although her world was still in a hazy fog. Strong, wiry arms cradled her in the fashion of a lover’s embrace, and beams of sunlight washed across her face, broken up by the undulating pattern of his hair as he gazed down at her, a concerned expression on his face. At this moment, she felt immeasurably content. Slowly, she reached up with a free hand and cradled Keiji’s face.

“My dreadlocked prince…” she murmured dreamily. “…Your nose is bleeding,” she said a second later, coming around to full wakefulness. At this point, she realized that her clothing felt a bit funny, and that her yukata was hiked up way more than it usually was… Wait, had he seen her pantsu? Had he been groping her this entire time?! Was that the reason for the certain…dampness she was experiencing there!?

“Hey! W-w-w-were you d-doing something perverted just now while I was passed out?!” she demanded, breaking away from his grasp and pointing at his accusingly. “I m-m-mean, you’ve already seen these without asking my permission!” she said, gesturing toward her breasts, which bounced slightly for emphasis. “Y-y-you can’t just grope a lady in public, you know! I-i-if you wanted to go to third base already, I d-d-don’t mind, and in f-f-fact I’d love to molest y-, I mean, get to know you better, b-b-but just not in p-p-p-public like this!” she stammered, blushing and turning her knees inwards. Finally, she took a deep breath and regained her composure somewhat.

“Hmmph, in any case, shounen, I will forgive your earlier behavior just this once. After all, you are merely a man and you have natural desires. I will not begrudge you the occasional carnal contact with other women, but do not presume to hide your affairs from me or pretend not to know me,” she stated imperiously as she started to fan herself. “Now, as I have said before, it is your job as my retainer to entertain and serve me. I have the desire to experience the entertainment that this village offers. You shall be my guide. Now, where shall you take me first?”

 

[Keiji]

A sigh escaped his mouth. What have I gotten myself into? his mind wandered for a while as Kotone's words continued, like a rambling rambler of rambling proportions. Why couldn't I have dated a mime? He thought to himself as he covered his eyes with a palm.
"I did no such thing.." He said calmly with a sincere voice in response to her accusations.
"Plus, I was told not too long ago that I am apparently not the only one in Kumogakure with dreads, y'know?" He said in a firm and accusive manner.

"Also, if I were to do anything, I would've just dragged you away to a public place.." He said with a massive hint of sarcasm.
Helping her to stand up like the gentleman he was he smiled calmly. Holding his one hand behind his back, and the other in the manner of a butler presenting his wrist in an attempt to make her realize he was asking her to grab his arm like a madam would grab her date for a formal occasion, or at least a noble would whilst bowing forward with a smile.

Hopefully she would understand the reference, and hold his arm.
This would then be followed in the manner of Keiji standing up straight again and begin walking with her at his side.
"I do think we should look at the market place, I know the commoners might not be of the biggest interest of the Countess, but I believe personally that even this area holds its beauty, especially around the festival that should be arising in a faraway land. But it should still prove to affect the village, if anything then at least in a slightly positive manner."
His posture and acting had changed from brash and being his usual self to a playful, yet mature manner of speaking and understanding towards her position.

 

[Takaki Saeko]

Kotone sighed imperiously as she took Keiji's offered arm. At least he had the good sense to offer her the courtesies due to a lady of her station, she thought to herself. He was the most beautiful boy she had ever encountered, but he was also a shinobi without noble background or training, and his knowledge of court protocol was abysmal at best. Still, the thought of having her own "fixer-upper" to work on excited and pleased her more than it probably should have.

"On the contrary, shounen, the affairs of commoners very much interest me, and I have never been in a shinobi village before, so this should be quite fun," she responded. "I am not completely ignorant of village life, just so you know - I have heard of things called 'fast food' and 'arcade games' and 'couples photo-booths' before, although at the castle I never encountered them personally. I would like you to show me these things if possible. Now, lead the way, my retainer."

She started to walk with him in the direction he chose, taking in the sights and smells. To be truthful, at this moment the rather dirty Dawnbringer's Plaza smelled more like rotting fish than anything else at this time of day, but she did not seem to mind, having Keiji as company. Partway through, in fact, she not-so-subtly reached across and grabbed at his ass. Where would this day take them?

 

[Keiji]

The day started out estranged and confused. But due to this meeting, the pace of the day had quickly changed. The surroundings they found themselves amidst wasn't a pretty sight to behold to say the least, but alas it didn't take long to leave the more unsanitary area and instead lead the date Keiji found himself with to a much more accessible and open part of town. The people there was to be frank, strange looking and seemed like a bunch of tourists and few locals were utilizing.

The passed fast food booths, with children tiptoeing to reach the salesman to get what they so desired. There were sandwich shops, hotdog stands, noodle shops, and even an ice cream stand. (Well, can't blame him for sticking to his job, and considering the weather is quite fitting for selling ice cream day out and day in.) all with wheels, smiling workers handing out the food they so carefully crafted.
Keiji did not stop walking, he had a specific stand in mind, just for the grins that might occur from the experience, and when this is his date's first time in these surroundings he believed he had to give her an experience befitting to boast about.

Stand after stand they passed, Keiji kept shaking his head for each of the ones that was the wrong one he had intended.
"There!" He said out loud as he nodded in the direction of the stand.
"My Lady, Kotone-san, this is the place!" He said as he lowered his arm from hers to let her follow him up to decide on the foods to pick.

In front of them both stood a large stand with wheels, in front were large metal grills on which were small meaty sausages, the man behind the counter smiled as he noticed Keiji "Ah! Keiji ma-boy! I see you've brought a lady friend! Usual?" Keiji's smile were bright as the man talked. "Oh yes! And make it double! I'm showing my dear lady here around town!" As he spoke the word 'lady' he bowed as he waved his hands in introduction.

The man behind the counter brandished a small bun of wheat bread and with his other hand he started adding different assortment of deliciousness from several different plastic bottles with a small and tight top after which he used a pair of large tweezers to pick up and place one of the grilled sausages and placed it into the bun, then on top he whipped it swiftly with grease from a pan.
"Here you go ma-boy! Two!" He handed Keiji two of the same sort of weird fast food resembling a misshapen Hot Dog.

As Keiji handed Kotone the Hotdog he smiled and began explaining some of the attributes of this delicious meal she was hopefully about to ingest.
"Y'know, here in the village you rarely meet a Hotdog stand that makes makes it's bread with water instead of milk. God knows why, proper Milk is hard enough to come by, and plus, the water in the mixture makes the bread all yummy and soft, making these kinds of Hotdogs super delicious for anyones taste bud!"


[OOC: Fact: in Iceland they usually always bake hot dog bread with water making the bread all soft and moist! VERY delicious!
Fact #2: Upon visiting my family in Iceland I ate aprox 18 Hotdogs at one Dinner where the rest of the family simply stared and happily served more!]

 

[Takaki Saeko]

Kotone stared critically at the strangely-shaped, sloppy, and undeniably phallic fast food (say that three times fast) Keiji handed her. She sniffed at it, almost in trepidation.

"Well, my retainer, I have heard much about these 'hot dogs' from the servants at the castle, but I have never tasted one before. Will you assure me that there is no actual...dog in it?" she asked her dreadlocked paramour, who nodded sagely as she lifted the end of the snack to her mouth. As she bit down and chewed, her eyes widened in surprise and she swallowed hurriedly. "T-t-t-this is delicious!" she exclaimed, before wolfing down the rest of it with rather unladylike speed and gusto. "Why, it is like a traditional sausage, but less chewy and stringy, and the condiments on it make for an amazing contrast of flavor and texture! Why, even if it had dog in it, I would not care!" she exclaimed, gripping Keiji's shoulders with her hands and shaking him in her excitement.

I need about eighteen more of these right now! she thought, reaching for her purse, however the thought of gorging herself on hotdogs also made her blush. But aiee! I'm sure doing that will make me fat... And he doesn't seem like the type to love a fattie, either. I can't be any more disgusting to my lover than I already am! Damn you, shounen, you don't know how HARD it is for a woman to lose weight! she fumed internally.

"Ah, that was excellent, but I crave to see the other sights in your town! I have heard great things about an 'arcade' here. With 'video games' and 'photobooths' and 'whack-a-mole'. Do you know where we might find this place, shounen?" she asked him, tearing herself away from the temptation of the hotdog stand.

 

[Keiji]

Smiling widely as she happily swallowed the hotdogs, waving his entire body around in excitement he simply stood and took it, the weird experience of a nobility giving this kind of treatment to him made him simply grin in reaction.

"We can get them to-go y'know?" He said with a grin as he saw her reaching into her purse, presumably to buy more.

In reply to her questions about the Arcades and other sights, he pointed in the direction of a large flat building further down the street. "Yeah, I think it's down there, I don't spend much time in there myself, but sure, let's go." He said with the attitude of someone who felt what he was talking about was beneath him and wasn't of any importance to him, well, when you consider that he would usually train and not really have any actual "fun" with games it would be understandable.

Leading his date down the street he stood with her at the large and open entrance, the bustling noises of metallic and plastic materials bustling into each other combined with the beeps and the bloops of machinations that for only a few years ago was thought impossible and was now a normality in the Ninja village, was weird to consider what other possibilities these machinations had, but, regardless here they were, about to have "fun" if one would dignify the actions with the word. "Let's start out with something simple I suppose.." He said as he pulled out his wallet and took out a handful of coins as he walked in and over to a tall machine with plastic windows all around, inside were a set of stuffed animals and creatures of fantasy, as well as real world animals, above a hanging hook dangled down. He put a few coins in, and the beeps began, and with precision and quick thinking Keiji had grabbed the lever and had begun placing the claw in the correct position right above a large stuffed bear, not your average bear as this one looked more realistic than fake, and yet extremely fluffy looking. He pushed the button with his index and middle finger in a dramatic pose, and unexcitingly the claw slowly drops down, lasting several slow and excruciating seconds, his eyes staring intensively as the claw dropped down and started grabbing, slowly but steadily grabbing a hold of the arm of the animal teddy bear, then pulling it up from beneath the many other fluffy animals, lifting it up far above, then slowly it moved to the other side of the box where beneath a large gaping hole awaiting the drop.
"Bingo" He said with a self righteous and confident tone as the claw dropped the teddy.

Pulling the bear out he held it in his hands and extended it towards Kotone-san. "Uhm.. Here, for you.." He said as he scratched the back of his head as his cheeks grew slightly redder than usual.


[OOC: FINALLY this thread continues! I've been looking for some creative drive to continue it, sorry for the massive delay!]

 

[Keiji]

[Left due to inactivity]