A meeting of chance (Part 1)

Okaru sat at a bar, as usual, in the Mist Village. This was one of his favorites. He sat back and tried to drink back the ever growing other thoughts at the back of his mind. He sighed. They were getting stronger and stronger. But it was his body, dammit, and he was in control. He contemplated his bottle for a second, it was empty. He reached into his pocket for some coin for another beer. He had nothing better to do tonight. Business was slow. He sighed again. He needed a job.

Kousetsu walks into the bar, holding his stomach with a pained expression on his face. Sitting on a stool, he rests his head on the counter. "Food... Now... Anything..."

Okaru raised an eyebrow at the new arrival. The man looked familiar...but he couldn't say where from. He glanced at his armor. He could sell that for a pretty penny. But for now... "Barman, some steak for this guy. And a beer for both of us." That said, he sat back, and racked his brain for where he had seen this guy before.

Kousetsu lifts his head up and pulls off his helmet with a sigh. "Thanks... I haven't eaten... since breakfast..." Still holding his stomach with one hand, he pulls a small sack of various gold, silver, and copper coins from his waist and sets it on the counter. "Lots of food..."

Mask off, Okaru knew he saw him somewhere...but where...then his eyes spied the coin. So he has money..."Breakfast, eh? Must have been a long time ago..." He sat back, going over his options. He would probably have the best chance in here, he was good at close quarters combat...but he liked this bar. Outside, the guy might show some strength...but if Okaru could get him drunk..." He paid for another beer, and passed it to the man, who had already finished his first one.

"Yeah... About five hours ago..." After looking at the beer for a moment, Kousetsu hands it back. "No thanks..." Looking up at the bartender, he grins. "Do you guys have any tea?"

"Fine then. More for me." He chugged the beer, and reviewed his options. Getting him drunk wouldn't work...there was no use for it. The man would have to die here. What a shame. He could hardly show his face here again. Some thought at the back of his mind bothered him for a second, thoughts of not to kill him. He pushed them aside, waiting for his chance. "So...not many people wear armor like that, nowadays..."

Kousetsu grins. "Nope." He sets his helmet on the floor and looks back up, drooling as he watches the bartender cook his steak. The floor groans at the helmet's weight, until it gives way and the helmet leaves a crater in the basement floor. Looking down, he frowns at the hole. "... Damn... I forgot how heavy it gets without chakra... Now I gotta go find that..."

Okaru stared at the gaping hole in the ground. Hmmm...something told him this wouldn't be easy. He grinned a silent grin. Good. He liked challenges. "...Wow. That's quite the armor...how the hell can you carry that?" He honestly wanted to know. Part of him was curious, but another part wanted all the info on the warrior possible.

Kousetsu shrugs. "Well, it's a couple pounds lighter while absorbing chakra... I dunno. I just carry it."

OOC: ...really, zet? give me something to work with.

"So what are you here for? Job? Love? Revenge? What brings you to the Mist Village?" That feeling of recognition kept growing, but Okaru pushed it down. There was money to be made here.

OOC: I don't know! This wasn't my idea! I never even really agreed to it! XD

"Food." Kousetsu grins. Who was this guy, and why did he care so much? "Maybe a job. Depends."

OOC: well, how were we going to meet up then? you told me to make the topic.

Okaru sighed. This was getting nowhere. Looks like he wouldn't be coming back to this bar for a long time...He activated his kekkei genkai instantly, and drove a shadow fist at the man's jaw, while another arm came from behind aiming a blow to his neck. He wanted this over quickly.

The fists make direct contact with Kousetsu's chin and neck... But neither move an inch. Grinning, he laughs to himself, then raises his hand. "Bartender- Give me a beer, after all. Cold." The bartender nervously hands him the beer, which Kousetsu takes a drink from while glancing sideways at Okaru, fists still on his chin and neck. "I'm afraid you'll have to try much harder if you want to hurt someone like me, buddy."

Suddenly, Kousetsu's wakizashi is unsheathed in his hand. "Actually... Maybe you just don't know..." Chuckling, he picks up his beer and takes another drink. The shadow hands simply dissolve as they slide in half.

Okaru let out a little chuckle as he felt the blade flow smoothly through his shadow arms. While he could feel the cold steel slide through, he did not feel any pain, and calmly watched as the man took another drink. He himself took another swig, and put it down. Well then. Looks like this will be a challenge, he thought, going over his options quickly.

As he finished, he sighed. The bar would probably be destroyed. A shame, too, this was a good one. Hopefully he had insurance. With a simple purple glare, Okaru gave the bartender good reason to get out. Hopefully the others would follow him.

"Not bad, there. Not many have the speed to do what you just did. Looks like I made quite the find today."

"Nope." Swishing his hand a little, his helmet floats up next to him in a blob of water. Taking the helmet, the water falls onto the floor. "Actually, you've found nothing..." Kousetsu puts on his helmet and walks to the door. "...Nothing at all. Sorry. It's better that way- For the both of us."

Okaru simply stared at the man as he walked into the night. Alone in the bar, his grin stretched, it even touched his eyes. He hadn't really smiled in a long time. But tonight. That man was something. Shame he thought he could just walk away like that.

Calmly walking after the giant of a man, hands in the pockets of his jacket, quick strides covering the distance without effort. He didn't attempt to hide, nor did he want to. This man...he insulted Okaru. Normally, he would let something like this go, but he had to maintain an image, or people would stop hiring him. And then where would he be?

"Hey", he called from behind, stopping, feet planted. "You forgot to pay for your beer. Not a nice thing to do."

"Mm..." Pulling another bag of coins off of his belt, Kousetsu walks back to the counter and places two gold coins down. "Thanks. I forgot." Walking back to the doorway, he stops and looks over his shoulder. "Look, buddy- What do you want? Not another big-shot out to kill me, are you? Do I have to show you what I did to the last one, or are you actually smart enough to leave me alone?"

Sighing, Okaru pushed some stray hair out of his face, and looked up once again at his quarry. "Big shot? Me? No, of course not", he responded, holding out his hands in a slightly mocking manner. "It's nothing personal. It's just that business has been slow for a while, since things have slowed down, and I could use some cash." He shrugged, and brought his hands back into his pockets, his entire demeanor relaxed. However, a look at his eyes showed that he was serious. He wasn't backing down, no way.

"Heh... Heheheh... You could use some cash, huh? I suppose that makes you a shinobi for hire... Pathetic." Raising his hand, Kousetsu waves a two-fingered farewell without looking back. "Tch... Take care, buddy." He ducks through the doorway and into the misty streets.

Okaru sighed, and closed his eyes, a pained expression on his face. "Don't throw me in with the rest of the trash wandering the roads, killing for coin", he spoke calmly, before looking up once again at the giant. With a wolfish grin on his face, he finished, "I'm in a whole 'nother league...", before gathering the dank, evil chakra of the Yatsubi around him. It began at the floor, seeming to be seeping up through the ground, before rising around Okaru.

Turning back, Kousetsu gazes at the man through his helmet. Unsheathing his nodachi, he sets it on his shoulder and taps it lightly against his armor. "Mm... I see... You too? I suppose I should be impressed..." His own chakra slowly forms a misty blue miasma around him. Around them, the air grows suddenly colder, and Kousetsu's breath comes through the slits of his face-mask as a mist. "Demon or no, trash is trash. You'd better have more than that, or this'll be boring."

"Well, what're the odds?", Okaru chuckled at the mans display of his beasts power. As his chakra coiled around his body, getting more intense by the second, his mind put together the pieces of the puzzle. "Wait...", he said, grinning, "You're...Kousetsu, former Mist ninja, holder of the Sanbi, if I'm correct." Cold smile never wavering, he continued, "You've got quite the reputation. And if I remember correctly, you've got quite the bounty on your head. Not only that, but you've got quite the cahones to come back to the Mist Village for a drink. But tell me really. Are you truly as formidable as they say? Because from here, you look just like the rest of the trash out there.", he finished. Purple eyes never straying from the man, found himself amazed that he actually wanted to fight. Normally, he would rather it just be done and over with, but this man...he was different.

Nodding, a faint smile appears behind his helmet. "Oh, so you do know who I am? Well, I can't say the same. I have no idea who the hell you are." Sighing, he looks towards the cloudy sky. "Then again, it doesn't really matter. Your kind come and go every other week. Always get cocky..." Shaking his head, he looks back down at Okaru. "And I wouldn't know if I'm as powerful as they say. Seeing as I'm the basis for the rumors, I'm not really in the circle."

"Well, I have to say I'm a bit offended that you haven't heard of me. While nowhere as high and mighty as yourself, there are a few rumors going around about me. Some of which I started, granted. Fear is a powerful tool, especially if used properly. But I suppose you wouldn't be swayed by that kind of thing, would you? Ah well, no harm done. By the end of tonight, you'll remember me." As the beast chakra fully formed around him, his hair grew shaggier, his hands turned claw like, his teeth grew serrated, and his pupils turned to slits. "I plan on being here for a long, long time. But what's life without a few challenges, eh? What do you say? Care to show me if you really are as tough as they say?"