Nourishing The Soul [Private]

[Nakata Dai]

Green grass, fresh air, and hard working friendly people. These were the things that Anatsu had not seen in a very long time. Being out in the open was not a common thing for him to begin with. As for being seen with the Hokage himself? It was a little bit frustrating for the man who had been living in the shadows for over a decade. The good news was that he did not look like a stranger in these lands. He was among his own people, for once.

An ordinary man would be going through many emotions right now. It was the first time walking the streets which he had grown up on. Well, sort of. Konohagakure had changed so much over the years.

Anatsu wasn't sure what level the Hokage was at. However, he was confident that he could land a successful genjutsu on his men if he needed some alone time with the new Hokage.

For now, that would be unnecessary. Anatsu tolerated this walk without showing any emotion. It was an average day in Konoha. The people of Konoha greeted the Hokage with welcoming cheers. The ramen booth chef was shocked to see the Hokage and offered him food for free. Anatsu had seen this many times growing up. The one unusual thing was the eyes of death which accompanied the Hokage on this trip. Anatsu's presence stood out in ways he didn't want it to. The average citizen could sense the intensity of thirst for blood. The average shinobi could sense the intensity of his chakra.

"Takeshi-" started Anatsu, no longer calling him Hokage-sama as they sat on at the ramen booth.

"I am not here for a fight." started Anatsu as his eyes gazed over the ramen menu, not making eye contact with the Hokage.

"My first statement was truthful."

If the Hokage wanted him dead, he could start a fight in the public. If he wanted Anatsu thrown in jail, he would comply. Anatsu had killed many and could not repent for his sins even if he tried. However, his skills were still very useful and Anatsu knew that.

"Shinobi are tools and I can be a useful tool to Konohagakure. " whispered Anatsu to the Hokage.

There were some missions which did not belong on the books. Anatsu hoped that the Hokage understood his offer to work for him as a mercenary, off the books, without having to say it.

-MFT-

 

[Uchiha Takeshi]

Takeshi allowed himself to sit in the small booth in those few seconds, he allowed his eyes to glance to the man that kept his down and pondered the first words. It seemed that he needed a name first at the gates away from everything names where not normally given. But he was here at a ramen booth with someone considered dangerous by anyone’s standards and he was not going to call for protection. Some conversations needed to be had in the private of this glancing at the menu he smiled to himself. Wondering in the future how many conversations would take place here.

“Well at least you told the truth from the start, that’s always a good position to be in if I am honest with you”

Takeshi allowed himself to order Ramen in those few seconds, he decided to go for the traditional ramen in a couple of seconds. He allowed the waitress to take the order before going back to the conversation deciding that this was the best way to speak about things that needed to be discussed in private and in the conversations.

“So, you want to be hired, want to be some pawn that we can deny knowledge off if anything goes wrong? Well why I must accept that idea has merit, also I have to ask why you cannot stay inside of the village. I mean is this not your home. Is this not your place to stay, would you prefer to be the wandered the person that allows himself to go place by place with no place to call his own.”

Takeshi leaned back in the seat, deciding to not provoke anything when it was not needed. He allowed himself to sigh slightly in those few seconds, he wanted to know what the situation would be and would not try and start anything without any need for it.

 

[Nakata Dai]

Home was a difficult concept for Anatsu to think about, or even rationalize. He had detached from his emotions long ago. It had been long since he had a place to call "home". In fact, he didn't really have a place to call home long before he fled Konohagakure as a teenager. Anatsu's experiences helped shape the shinobi he was today. Therefor, it was foolish for him to look back and have any regrets. When it came to being a text book shinobi, Anatsu was just that.

Along his travels, he did learn one valuable lesson. The only way for him to survive was to keep moving forward. Complacency was the death of a shinobi. Forward progress was essential to any shinobi's survival. This was a world which belonged to the survival of the fittest. The concept of "home" sounded like an offering of complacency or to be extreme, a death sentence.

Anatsu did not flinch or turn his attention towards the Hokage at any point throughout their conversation. The ramen was brought to Anatsu he took a moment to take it all in. Of all the beautiful things Konohagakure had to offer, the smell of ramen was the sole thing which touched Anatsu's heart. It had been too long since he had the best ramen which the great shinobi nations had to offer.

While Anatsu did appreciate Takeshi's offer, he would not articulate it in words. It was not like Anatsu to ever show gratitude or emotion as many took it as signs of weakness. Anatsu's character did not have any weaknesses. His Taijutsu may have, but not his character.

"Takeshi-kun, I have no home." began Anatsu. He took a moment to smell the ramen once more as the steam touched the bottom of his face, reminding him of so many childhood memories. "I am most effective on the road. I have been traveling for years. Asking me to stay within the walls of the village is the equivalent of a prison for someone like me."['/b] Takeshi continued as he grabbed his chop sticks, and looked down towards the ramen.

The noise in the background helped provide privacy to their conversation, allowing Anatsu to speak up a little.

"Perhaps you should take some time to think this over... In the meantime, maybe spending some time in the village will help me be reacquainted with a place you want me to call home. "

Anatsu had an offer for the Hokage which was a little difficult to trust. Anatsu did not expect to wander the village without being watched. However, he did not know this Konoha. He did not know what he could do as a Konoha shinobi.

 

[Uchiha Takeshi]

Takeshi listened to the man speak as he continued to eat his food for a few seconds, it was clear that he still had a lot to discuss and a lot of work to be done with the change that was happening inside of the village. He allowed himself to eat the ramen for a few moments as he listened to the man speak it seemed that he still had a lot on his mind and Takeshi wasn’t about to interfere with any of that if he was being honest. It was the conversation that the two of them where having that had the Uchiha’s full attention right now.

“Everyone has a home, you have to come to accept that, a village walls are never a prison its always from those that wish to escape. Those that welcome it seem to look at the walls as a symbol of hope, something to look forward to returning to”

Takeshi allowed himself to take another mouthful of the noodles how he had missed home when he had been away, now he was back so much inside of leaf had changed, so much had become different, yet someone was back, and he couldn’t ignore that fact.

“I will consider your offer, in return though I want you to consider mine, we can eat here all we want and talk but I want you to interact with the shinobi of Konoha, see what has changed and see this village offers. You never know the changes are around and could see you enjoy yourself. Its been a while since you where here last, so I would have a look into it. So, we both have time to think. I would call that a fair deal, wouldn’t you?”

Takeshi allowed himself to wait for the mans response before he would continue the conversation. He would have to look at how his words would be considered before acting upon them.

 

[Nakata Dai]

A symbol of hope? Something to look forward to? It sounded like the Hokage was describing the road. Staying alive for the next job was the only thing Anatsu had looked forward to with each successful mission completion. The only way to stay alive up until this point had been staying on the move. Anatsu's home was the road.

Anatsu heard out the rest of what the Hokage had to say. It was a fair offer. Anatsu had already made up his mind that he would not be joining Konoha. However, he did decide to at least check Konoha out for a little while as the Hokage requested. The ramen was delightful. The conversation wasn't bad. The weather was great. It seemed that for the first time in a long time, Anatsu was in a place that wasn't all too bad. Perhaps this "new" Konoha had a little something to offer.

Anatsu would finish his ramen before slowly putting his chop sticks down and sliding off his seat. He left a couple valuable coins on the counter as he turned away from the booth and took a step forward.

"We have a deal Takeshi-kun. I will seek you out in a week's time to let you know my decision." said Anatsu calmly as he began to walk away. Up until this point, Anatsu had yet to make eye contact with the Hokage. Anatsu's sharingan had not made its appearance yet either. Attracting any attention to his abilities was not a smart plan for the seasoned veteran. He wanted to lay as low as possible, even if the village was well aware of his presence.

His next destination would probably be a familiar place. Perhaps the depth of the forest behind the Uchiha Clan's household.

Anatsu had a lot to think about.

-MFT-
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[Uchiha Takeshi]

Listening to the man as he finished his food it seemed that the two of them had come to terms on a deal, though he was not sure how long that would last. He wanted to make sure that the agreement was met, it seemed clear that Takeshi looked at the man as he left a small chuckle came to his lips. For a few minutes he pondered there at the reaction in those few seconds. Though he wondered what the man would get up to, a week seemed a good time to meet back up and even he had to admit it gave them both the needed time to consider each other’s words.

“I will catch you then, enjoy yourself”

Takeshi allowed himself to continue to eat, he watched the man pay for his meal a smirk on his lips. If only he stayed for a little bit longer and Takeshi would have paid for it himself, but it was what it was and there was no denying that one. He allowed himself to pay for his meal as he stood up he allowed himself to walk out of the shop. He allowed himself to smile as he whistled and joined the hustle and bustle of the streets once more.

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