Chapter 24
Sunagakure
Ryoma, Jonin
"You're still wearing it?" Supervisor-chan grumbled at him as they walked through the streets, towards the entertainment district. She had shown up at his door again, saying that Captain Gentai asked her to pick him up for Karaoke Night.
He wasn't expecting an escort, but he didn't really mind it either. "Yep. Asked the guys in Security if it was alright, they gave me a thumbs-up." He explained casually, eyes roaming around to memorize the route.
"Hmp. Then I won't say another word about it- if you asked." She huffed, arms crossed in front of her chest and head raised high. She had a peculiar way of walking, with her upper torso so straight that it leaned back and her legs kicking up relatively high with each step. It was like she was trying to burn extra calories or something, each bootfall resulting in a quiet but noticeable 'click' as her heels hit the paved road.
Ka-click, ka-click, ka-click, ka-click.
"That's a cute little character trait." Ryoma commented with a half-smile and a lazy gaze.
She turned a slightly baffled eye towards him. "B-whuh? What the heck are you talking about?" Her arms spread out in front of her, again as if to shield her body from his gaze.
"The goofy little heel clicks you do when you walk." He pointed down at her tall boots, still making the noise he was talking about.
"G-goofy?! I- that's just how I walk! There's nothing goofy about it!" She pulled back slightly, glancing down at her boots before turning back up to him.
He shook a hand at her. "You can't pull a fast one on me- I've studied this exact thing for at least thirty years now. I know the difference between a normal walk and a goofy walk, and that's most certainly a very goofy walk. It's downright silly. Humorous, even."
"You've studied the difference between funny walks and normal walks for thirty years?" She asked in a dry and annoyed manner.
"Yerp." Ryoma nodded at once, eyes closed and face scrunched up for emphasis.
"40-064. You're one year younger than me." She glared. "You're not thirty years old." Judging by her tone, she really wanted to call him an idiot.
"I never said anything about being thirty years old- that would be ridiculous. Don't put words in my mouth."
"You couldn't have studied something for thirty years without being at least that old!"
"Nuh uh." He denied it in a very serious and mature manner. "I learned it fast."
Supervisor-chan's face was flushed and scrunched up in frustration, staring up at him with eyes narrowed into little slits and nose all scrunched up. She turned towards again, growling in frustration and speeding her pace. Her fluffy black hair bounced as she broke into a power-walk to get ahead of him.
Notably, she was still walking in that goofy heel-clicking way. Ka-click, ka-click, ka-click.
He let out an amused exhale and increased his pace fractionally, his long legs letting him easily keep pace with the short powerwalker. Shortly after the Karaoke place came into view, looking a lot like any other building in Suna but with a large sign saying 'Koboyashi Karaoke Hall' and the picture of a drunken songbird.
Honestly not bad, top tier advertisement mascot. Supervisor-chan glanced back at him in a short-tempered way, making sure he was behind her, before stepping forwards to push open the doors and enter. The interior was relatively dim, with walls and roof painted dark brown and floors painted white.
"Hallo! Do you have a reservation?!" A bubbly girl at the door greeted them. Brown hair, brown eyes, and a cropped geisha-dress on.
"Two more of the Puppeteer Corps." Supervisor-chan stated plainly, politely nodding at the girl. The girl bounced, nodding and stepping over to point at a section of the interior.
"Right that way!" Greeting-girl bounced, limbs practically made of springs with how energetic she was being with a relatively mundane task.
Supervisor-chan nodded absentmindedly, walking past and towards the room in question. Ryoma made sure to smile with his eyes and nod at the serving-girl as he walked by- never hurts to be polite to the customer service.
"She must be new." Supervisor-chan mumbled with a glance backwards. "I've been here too many times before. Most know us already."
"Supervisor-chan loves karaoke, I see." Ryoma teased.
"My name is Toyoko!" She snapped, face scrunching up at him. She was about to say something else, before thinking better of it and pushing the door open. This was accompanied by a little frustrated huff.
As soon as the door opened, the sounds of laughter and commentary could be heard.
"-swear to it! As soon as they realized I was under them- Boom! Eyes boggled out of their heads! They looked like this- Booo-wooohmp!"
"Hahaha! You're exaggerating!"
"I'm serious! Bwwuaaahh-omp!"
"Captain- your daughter is here. She brings a boy with her." A feminine voice drawled.
The inside of the room seemed relatively stereotypical for a karaoke place. A sort of 'C' shaped couch surrounding a short table covered in drinks and snacks. Two projectors were mounted above, pointing at either side of the walls and displaying a 'select your song' menu.
Sitting around the table were a number of what Ryoma presumed were his fellow puppeteers. Captain Gentai was present, sitting on the corner and legs bunched up tremendously to allow the giant of a man to sit in the normal-man sized seats. The only difference between his current and normal outfits was that his flak vest was currently unzipped.
Sitting next to him was a woman with well-tanned skin and dark pink hair tied back into a long braid. She wore a long-sleeved variant of the Suna flak vest, opened to reveal a chest bound in bandages and exposed stomach, which ended in a tight black pants that went all the way down to sandaled feet. As the voice was feminine, Ryoma was assuming this was the one who spoke last.
On the other side of the table, a lanky man with long white hair and a crooked grin sat. He wore the sunagakure headband down enough to cover his eyebrows with an extension that came back to cover the top of his head entirely. His flak vest was worn loosely over his shoulders, body covered by a tight black bodyglove that came up far enough to cover the bottom of his chin.
The last present at the table was a bulky man who was well into the last stages of balding. A total disappearance of any hair on the top of his head, all that remained was a section of shortly-shaved hair that ringed around the sides just above his ears. This bald dome was embraced with the elaborate tattoo of a scorpion plastered upon it. He was dressed in a similar black bodyglove as the previous man, save that his was covered in a layer of old-fashioned samurai armor with a tan coat folded up and draped across his lap.
Their laughs trailed off and their gazes turned towards the two of them with curious expressions and toothy smiles.
Gentai nodded sharply. "Toyo, Jonin Ryoma. I'm glad that you've arrived!" Despite his bombastic claim, his face was still locked into a serious glare and scowl.
"Hmp. You didn't tell me what a hassle he was, Papa!" Supervisor-chan click-stepped her way over, Gentai and the woman stepping out to allow her to slide past and take a seat.
So she was the captain's daughter, huh? Neat. Ryoma meandered his way over as Captain Gentai raised his brows. "A hassle? Jonin Ryoma has been diligent and reserved in all my interactions with him!"
"She's telling the truth. I've been a troublemaker, a rabble rouser, and all around entirely too rambunctious for my own good around her." Ryoma shook his head in faux-regret. "She called me a dog the other day and I started barking."
"She did?!"
"That didn't happen! You liar!" Toyoko slammed her hands on the table, pushing herself up and pointing dramatically at him. "I never said so much as one rude thing to you!" She hissed, slapping herself on the chest.
"You didn't take your shoes off when you entered my apartment." Ryoma smirked, giving her a side eye. She froze, staring at him with a shocked expression. He sighed and shrugged. "After I invited you in and cooked breakfast for you too, it's just heartbreaking really."
"T-that, b-buwh, that's not-" She raised her hands and fumbled through words before the heavy laughter and soft giggles of the strangers present cut her off. She practically melted into her chair, retracting in on herself in a seethingly embarrassed manner.
"I see!" Gentai announced with a firm nod. "It's good to see you getting along well!"
His daughter let out a miserable whine as she planted her forehead on her knees.
"Hey now, Ryoma right?" The bald man declared, sticking a hand out for him to take, a grin on his face. Ryoma took it, shaking the man's hand with a firm and curt motion. "Nichibotsu, call me Nichi! Captain told us about you!"
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"Oh? What'd he say?" Ryoma asked with a raised brow.
"You were that kid ol' Sasori hung around, before he turned traitor anyhow." He laughed. "Heard you did pretty well for yourself last war, Jonin in three years ain't shabby at all!"
Ryoma huffed in an amused fashion. "I spent a lot of time in the academy."
"Hehe- that only accounts for so much- here let me stand up so you can scoot on in." Nichi huffed, pushing up and standing so that the lanky man next to him could follow. Ryoma scooted his way over, taking a seat next to the scandalized looking Toyoko with a grin.
The lanky man offered his own hand, which Ryoma took. "Tsuyumaru, heh, anyone who can get Little Toyo all flustered like that is good in my book."
"I'm not flustered!" She growled in a flustered manner.
"It's a lot of fun." Ryoma nodded to confirm the statement, releasing the hand and turning towards the last stranger.
The pink-haired woman leaned forwards, offering a graceful hand with a smirk. "Yukita Sakura, darling, glad you could join us."
"Glad to be here, I suppose." Ryoma drawled, shaking the hand with a nod before letting go and leaning back. He was probably just going to call her 'Yukita', he thought of someone else when the name 'Sakura' was mentioned and it would just get confusing if he didn't keep them separate. "I wasn't keeping anyone waiting, was I?"
"We do not begin until nineteen-hundred. This gives time for any other member of the Puppeteer Corps who wishes to join Karaoke Night to arrive." Gentai explained with a firm nod. "Most usually find themselves preoccupied with their various projects."
"It's only us Jonin that usually show up to these things." Nichi explained with a rumbling tone. "Used to ol' Sasori joined us from time to time, but the Chunin? They're convinced they don't have the time to waste on a little socializing! Hahah!"
"You're looking at every Jonin in the Puppeteer Corps, kid." Tsuyumaru huffed, leaning back and crossing his legs. "Except Toyo there, and Tooru who's on a mission right now."
"What was he doing again? Something about wiping out a bandit band?" Yukita asked , rubbing her chin with a thumb. "Vagrant types."
"Something like that- the pickings have been getting real thin ever since the war ended." Nichi sighed in a rueful manner. "Used too I was getting a new elimination job every time I finished the last- I haven't had a good raid in months now." He reached down and poured himself a saucer of sake, throwing it back before pouring another- this time sliding the sake jaw over to him on a chakra string. "Go on and pour yourself a glass, Ryoma, ain't no need to stand on ceremony here."
Ryoma exhaled through his nose, making his veil kick up a bit as he took hold of the jar. He went ahead and poured two saucers, pushing the other over to Supervisor-chan and setting the jar down. "Every Jonin but one, huh? For some reason I thought we'd have more." He commented, reaching up to take off the veil so he could drink.
"Used to- There were maybe twice as many of us before the third war started." Tsuyumaru let out a rolling chuckle. "Pretty sure one of them was your teacher- You were Jin's brat, weren't you?"
"For maybe a year, yeah." Jin, his Jonin-sensei and another puppeteer, a freaky-looking bald guy with an unusually thick neck and unnatural smile plastered on his face most of the time. His puppet of choice was one that looked like a baby, that could make baby noises and had a concealed knife inside.
Nothing else. Ryoma wasn't sure why he never upgraded it past that.
Ryoma also wasn't exactly sure what he had learned from the man while assigned to his team, mostly just a bunch of random buddhist sayings and directions to the poison market. The most substantive thing Ryoma got was the man's own straw hat before he ran into Jiraiya the Toad Sage and got obliterated.
Honestly he wasn't sure what he was expecting from a Jonin Sensei, he supposed that was about the best he could've hoped for. The sake gently burned down his throat, filling his chest with the distinct warmth of alcohol. The taste, like the taste of all alcohol, was kinda weird and he wasn't really a fan. He wasn't much of a drinking kind of guy.
"Ah, that's right- he ran right into the Toad Sage didn't he?" Nichi mused with a half-grin. "Ah, well easy come and easy go. He'd probably say one of them idioms and throw back a bottle if he were here."
"The invitation is open to any- but the Genin and Chunin rarely show. They're too nervous to perform in front of their superiors." Yukita smiled, strings reaching out to pour herself a cap and bring it to her lips. "As if karaoke is indicative of their abilities in the field- they're silly little ones like that."
"I'd bet most of them are better with karaoke than they are with puppetry." Tsuyumaru laughed. "I didn't see any Sasoris hanging around in the most recent batches, let's just say that."
"You don't need to be Sasori to paint the sands red." Nichi waved a bombastic hand. "Besides- Kids are great killers! You just need to give em a chance!" He pointed a thumb back at himself. "Just look at me, I was a kid once and my kill count is in the triple digits! Gahaha!"
"You've been bragging about hitting three hundred for months now, Nichibotsu, when will you give it a rest?" Yukita sighed, changing the orientation of her crossed legs.
"Now there- I never mentioned my kill count. That was you! Heha!"
"Hey now- what's the new kid's count?" Tsuyumaru asked with a tilted head. "Ryoma- you keep track of your kills, or is that just something Nichi here has been insisting we do?"
Ryoma took another sip, considering the question for a moment, smacking his lips in thought. "Uh…" His brows furrowed, before he shook his head. "I'd have to check my file again- I don't remember."
"That's a great sign!" Nichi laughed. "If you're already at that point- Captain, what's the kid's count? I know you read all our files!"
Gentai nodded firmly. "Over the course of his three year career, Jonin Ryoma is directly responsible for the death of two hundred and six enemy shinobi-"
Everyone at the table stilled and paid closer attention to the captain as he spoke. "-And has directly participated in the deaths of four hundred and sixty two more."
Ryoma licked his teeth, trying his best to remember. A lot of the third war was a bit fuzzy to him, a combination of strain, constant missions, and the faint high of chakra pills made it hard to keep track of the little details. "That sounds about right, probably." He slowly nodded, scowling in consideration. "A lot of those were incidental-"
"Holy damn!" Nichibotsu roared with a huge smile. "Why the hell are you pouring your own drinks! Toyo- Get this field-cutter another! Ahahah!"
He raised an amused brow, glancing over at the unusually quiet Supervisor-chan. She glanced at him, before coughing into her fist with a scowl and pouring another drink into his saucer. The lack of grumbling and growling felt a bit strange. "Thanks." He said as an aside, making her nod stiffly and set the jar down.
"That's six hundred and sixty eight." Tsuyumaru declared, a finger tapping on his chin and an impressed whistle in his tone. "That's about one kill every one and a half days."
"It sounds a lot more impressive than it is." Ryoma denied with a shake of his head. "The Wood Dragoon is good at clearing battlefields, and bad at everything else. Most of those kills were just from frontline incidentals, shrapnel and the like."
"Wood Dragoon… Is that your puppet? What does it look like?" Yukita asked, uncrossing her legs, putting her hands in her lap, and leaning forwards.
"About three meters tall, humanoid, with a large oni-mask on the front." Ryoma waved a hand in front of him.
"Wait a minute!" Supervisor-chan shot up, leaning forwards to look him in the eye. Well, as best as she could from her seated position. "You're That Guy!"
There was that nickname again. He reached a hand up to scratch at his cheek. "...I'm going to be honest with you- I didn't know I had that kind of reputation until someone told me about it last month."
"You didn't?" She asked with a slightly baffled expression, waving a hand at him. "Tha-that's-"
He shrugged helplessly. "I don't go out that often!" He explained with a slightly annoyed tone. "I got work to do, and eating out is expensive!"
The table of Jonin puppeteers laughed at him for nearly a minute, something he endured with good humor and another drink.
Karaoke night wasn't too bad- he'd probably come back a time or two.