Starring:
Date: Unknown (log received September 23, 2012)
Summary:
Goh stops in Sunagakure where he begins to sell his veggies. Chiyoko, Itami and her mother Kotone stop in for a visit where they discuss the goings on of the village.
Poster's note: Profanity filtered in obvious places.
"A Regular Stop for Revitalizing Veggies"
Village Center
It's certainly nice to be in Sunagakure! Rapidly becoming one of Goh's favourite haunts, the Village surrounded by desert is as it always is. Dry, with a bit of sand blowing through the area rarely. Though for those that are used to it, it's certainly not a big deal. In fact, you could argue that right now it's a wonderful day. The sky is blue, the sun is out and shining. And for those who are seeking a meal at lunchtime, it's the ideal weather to be out in the Village Center.
One of the many stalls setup in the square belongs to the blonde merchant known as Goh. Having travelled far and wide, it seems that the male has setup a more… permanent looking structure. Well, not super permanent, but certainly more solid than his usual setups. While he still sits on a rug on the ground, the walls erected around him look to be a bit more stable than those you can merely setup in minutes. Yet he's still selling the same things, a collection of pickled vegetables in ceramic pots on display in front of him. Each sealed and labelled clearly.
He's getting some business, though it seems there aren't too many interested right now.
The scent of business…sure is unusual today. Whatever that smell was, it wasn't typical to Sunagkure, but there were some who were familiar. One in particular happened to be a certain Council Member and she wanted to get her fill…
. "You can't just go anywhere you want to go. This place isn't exactly home…" Itami stated to someone. "I'm well aware it isn't home. I'm not a fool. I knew exactly what I was doing." The person responded, sounding mildly aggravated at this discussion. "So why did you just wander into the back of the fabric store? It's off limits and there's a reason the person doesn't let anyone back there." A shrug was offered at the comment. "Quite frankly, their fabrics were terrible. Nothing like mine. I thought I'd try to give the store a chance, but it's clear I made a mistake…" The voice trailed off, "What is that smell?"
Itami and her mother would show up in the center coming from the road leading to Tsuukai. They'd had a bite to eat together and finished not too long ago, but now it was time for a snack. "You'll figure it out. It might not smell all that appealing, but they're good. I promise." The councilwoman offered to her mother Kotone who seemed reluctant. She figured her taste must be poor.
Yes, the scent… What /IS/ that sandy scent?! Trying to figure out what it is, Chiyoko steps out of the Administration Dome and starts looking around. She blinks a few times and starts to walk the direction of the scent. Walking through the crowd, she finally comes to Goh's stall where Itami and her mother are blinks as she looks at the jars. "… So, that's what that stench is," the new Councilwoman says, wrinkling her nose as she looks at them. After a moment of looking at them, she looks over to Itami and lifts a hand to wave at her. "Hi, Itami-san." She then peers back at the jars before looking to Goh thoughtfully. After a few moments, she finally asks, "… Do you not have any kind of jars for these things that are smell-proof?"
"Hmm?" Goh looks up as a pair of women approach his stall, his head tilted in curiosity. One figure he recognised, that being Itami. The other… not so much. "Good afternoon, ladies." Goh greets in a friendly manner, still sitting cross legged on his soft rug. "Tam, great to see you again! I hope your trip back from Kirigakure was safe? Man, you wouldn't believe what happened to me. I have this killer story for you." A wide smile follows from the pickler, who gestures at the items before him. "So, what can I do for you today? After some good stuff, I assume? Just standard collection of goodies I've got here. I'm sure you know the drill by now." Goh lifts his arms up above his head to stretch, and what follows is a bit of a yawn. He does look a bit weary. Tired even, despite the fact that he is still showing commitment to his wares.
It's not long after this when Chiyoko arrives, the stranger collecting the gaze of Goh as he just looks at her for a bit. And then, when she talks, his eyebrows raise a little bit.
"Excuse me?" Perhaps it's the tiredness, or the fact he's getting a bit older and more mature. But he did seem a bit offended there! "You should be happy to smell such a divine smell for lunch. Your nose must be broken if you think otherwise. Most of my stuff here is pickled with the herbs that surround this very Village. It's all locally sourced, and ontop of that, simply awesome. You could even say that it's pure awesome."
"Always a pleasure. Making yourself comfortable as usual?" Itami chuckled quite the opposite of Kotone who doesn't seem all that enthused. She looks to Chiyoko and winces somewhat. She was an unusual one. "My trip was safe, yes. I may have run into a snag or two along the way, but otherwise, I'm fine. So, what's this story you have for me, hm?" She wonders.
Kotone stalks around Goh's stall while looking at her wares, not bothering to introduce herself. "I'll have some pickled carrots again, if you don't mind." Her mother sneered softly. That just didn't sound good. "Forgive me if I don't find the scent all that appealing, but I have smelled worse things…" The red haired woman peered around with a piercing gaze at the selection. "I'll just have what she's having for the sake of. If she hasn't died yet, I'm guessing these musn't be all that bad."
Lifting an eyebrow at Goh as he speaks, Chiyoko wrinkles her nose again and shakes her head. "Divine?" she asks, finding his statement rather absurd. "Bleh." She shudders a bit and shakes her head again before turning to walk over to another stall. "… Got any chloroform so I can sleep 'till that smell is gone?" she asks before actually looking at the stall's menu. "I'll just have my usual."
"You know it." Goh looks back over to Itami, squinting again to her partner in crime. It seems to be… well, someone that looked a lot like Itami, actually. Save a few differences. His head cranes around to follow Kotone carefully, before raising an eyebrow to Itami. Perhaps suggesting, or asking whether he should be worried or not. "Carrot, huh? No problem."
Leaning forward from his seated position, Goh skims over a few of the sealed ceramic jars, before grasping one in particular. "You're in for a real treat, stranger! This one in particular has been soaking in good stuff for a while now. I love working with carrot. It's one of the best vege to combine with in terms of it's flavour, texture and general make-up." He offers the jar forth to Kotone. "So… uh, I'm sure you get this a lot, but you look a lot like Tam. Related, I'm guessing?" He looks to Itami, before handing her similar sized jar of ceramic. More pickled carrot.
As Chiyoko leaves for another stall, he frowns. Even looking a bit bothered. "Your friend is nice on the eyes, but man, what an attitude." Goh says to Itami simply. The blonde lifts a hand to wave, trying to summon Chiyoko back. "Hey! At least have the guts to try it! Maybe your taste buds won't be as broken as your nose, huh?"
Itami rolled her eyes, but made a note to let him know that she was safe, if not a bit stuck up if it wasn't already apparent. "She's my mother, Kotone is her name. She can be a bit of a prude," she shrugged. A glare was cast her way at that comment, but it's not like she couldn't argue that it wasn't true. "It took you long enough to introduce me. So…how did you get the idea to pickle vegetables?" She wondered, genuinely curious. "And yes, I have received these questions before…if that wasn't gathered from her answer." She took the pot in hand and looked it over with some curiosity.
"Chiyoko, I didn't know you ate these too. Must be a council thing, hm?" She chuckled. "How are you this day? And you still owe me that story, Goh. Don't forget."
As Goh tries to summon her back, Chiyoko looks back over to his stall and ponders for a few moments. "Eh…" While she thinks, she hands the person behind the counter at the stall she's currently at some money as she is handed a kebob. "… I'll give it a shot, I guess," she says with a sigh. "But let me finish this first so my stomach has something on it before I eat something so strong." With that, she begins to eat the kebob, remaining over at the other stand for now. Maybe the scent of Goh's stand won't be /as/ offensive once she has something on her stomach. Returning her eyes to Itami, she says, "I don't really… Well, may as well try things once, eh?"
"This is your mother?" Goh gets out in surprise, "You mean the —…" He shuts himself up, cutting himself off before he says anymore. He can still remember the conversation they had about her family, and opts not to bring it up in such a public forum. "Well Kotone, it is good to meet you. Tam has already told me a bit about you. Good to see you're keen on lengthening your spirit by having some of my wares."
"Hmm. How did I get the idea? That's a good question actually, and I couldn't possibly have the time to explain it. Super short version is that I was brought up with it. I guess you might even call it a family business." He does grin as she examines the ceramic pot. "I would recommend taking it home, sitting the jar on a table and just enjoying it. It's great to just let the excitement build up, y'know? But I can at least promise you that you'll feel amazing after eating it!"
"Chiyoko?" Goh queries, scratching his chin. Perhaps curious as to where he had heard that voice before. "..Chiyoko Chiyoko… oh! You're one of the new people on the Council! Right?" He looks to Itami, and then to Chiyoko. "Congrats on the promotion. I'll let you have one of my goods, free of charge! Show of good faith and all that."
Itami bit her tongue as Goh nearly mentioned their conversation about her and she ended up choking on the carrot in her mouth. "…Oh, these really fill up the senses…" That taste going from her throat and into her nose and eyes made them water and caused her to sniffle from the burning juice. She'd eventually recover, but that was intense. "Oy…" She lifted a hand to her eyes to wipe away the tears. Kotone was growing more reluctant to try the carrots after seeing what Itami went through, but she decided she'd suck it up and reach inside for one. "Lengthening the spirit…" She repeated before slipping one into her mouth to chew. At first, the flavor hit her like she received a kick to the face, but after it subsided and mellowed out, she hummed with a bit of satisfaction. "I can appreciate a family business. Itami didn't try to take on my business and went her own way. I can't say I wasn't disappointed, but I guess working with glass is just as good…" She remarked as if it was a lowly form of art.
Itami grumped. "Anyway… So this is your first time? Well, we might have to get together and pool some money sometimes to keep these vegetables on hand for the both of us. They're really good," she nodded. When Goh offered her some free goods she grinned saying, "Well lookie there. You get a free choice…" She paused. "Give it to me."
"That's me, yes," Chiyoko says with a nod. Perhaps she was a bit rude at first for being a diplomat of sorts, but yeesh… As the free choice is offered, she glances between goods and blinks. "Oh… Thank you." The smell is so stout, it's really hard to make a choice on anything. Itami's offer to make the choice is a bit of a relief. "Sure, sure, you know what to choose better than me," she says with a smile before glancing between the goods again, glad she doesn't have to make the choice.
"Give it to you?" Goh gets out, looking at Itami carefully. "Now now, I'm sure I've already given you plenty of free samples over the years!" He sticks out his toungue to Itami in a playful way, before leaning back on his seat. "Don't take it to heart, Kotone. Tam has become a pretty tough chick, y'know. You'd be surprised how popular she is. All around the world, in every Village, I keep hearing people talking about her. In a good way, of course." He coughs at that last part, before watching the elder swallow the pickled vegetable. "That's right. My vegies are fused with rare vitamins and minerals. They charge the soul, lengthen the spirit. Fire you up to fight for days and days, provided you have the right batch. How else do you think I have survived so long on the road? Evading bandits, fighting for my life with the caravan. The vegies help, of course."
"You're gonna let Tam choose?" He queries. "Hmm. I guess that's alright. I got a few different sorts. Potato, carrot, tomato and celery to name just a few." He then pauses and narrows his eyes. A shadow almost falls across his face. "…I even have a … top secret mixture … ready to try for the bravest of all. My special pickled ginger. That should fire you up."
"What? Choose? No, no, I meant actually give it to me," Itami laughed at Chiyoko. "But I suppose I can choose for you. I'll go with something simple…" She paused, "Cucumber." She nodded while winking at Goh regarding the free samples. Kotone slipped another carrot into her mouth to enjoy, waiting to finish so she could speak to Goh once more. "I didn't think she'd get very far…" She remarked with a certain coldness in her tone. "But it appears that this isn't the case." Her whole disposition has changed at this point as she stands out as a bit of a rain cloud. The taste of the veggies became a bit bitter to her at the moment and it showed in her face, but the expression soon left.
"Pickled…ginger?" Itami asked. Even that bothered her. That seemed kind of extreme and she wasn't sure if she wanted to take the challenge or not.
Chiyoko cuts her eyes to Itami and gives a 'shh' motion with her lips discreetly before looking back to Goh. "Sure, cucumber will be fine," she says with a nod before reaching to pick up a jar of just that. She opens it and takes a bite of one of the cucombers, wincing just slightly and forcing a smile. "Hmm, pretty good, but I'm full now," she says before handing the jar over to Itami. "You can have the rest. Wouldn't want them to spoil while I work on my puppets. Lord knows I'd forget about them as much time as I spend on that."
"Yeah." Goh comments, gesturing a thumb back behind him. Roughly in the direction of East. "With all the heat coming onto Kirigakure and Konoha, I figure it was time to start doing up some special… I dunno. War-time vegies. Stuff that can get you through battle. I'm sure we've all been in a situation where we have faced a foe where we wished, at some point, 'gosh… All I need is that extra edge. That extra push.'" Goh nods in a confident manner. "That's where the pickled ginger comes in. Get it down, and you'll have enough strength to destroy even the Mizukage! Ha!" He throws his head back to laugh. "Obviously not for usual daily use. I don't even keep it out here."
Clearing his throat, he turns back to Chiyoko. "Anyway Princess," Seems that Goh has already given the new person a nickname. "Cucumber is a good starter, that's for sure. Not too much of a punch, but still does the trick." After Chiyoko gets the cucumber and chews, swallows, then hands it over, Goh's eyebrows raise again. "Heh. Watch as the addiction grows! You hand them over at your own peril." He grins widely. "Anyway, Chiyoko, right? How have you found Council-ship? Fun stuff?"
Chiyoko tilts her head at the explanation of the pickled ginger. Does this guy really believe his vegetables superpower shinobi? Maybe he should have his head examined… The nickname brings a blink from her. Princess? That's a new one… At the mention of addiction, she smirks slightly and gives a nod. "I suppose I'll just be at risk for now then. Being a Council Member is a definite change of pace, but a nice one. I get to be more of a part of the inner workings of making the village great now."
Itami smirked at Chiyoko before it waned into a reserved grin. Kotone is disappointed. Hm. After taking a bite of the cucumber, it appears the fellow councilwoman didn't really like them, so the pot would go straight to Itami instead! Huzzah! Though that was her excitement in her mind, it was stifled by her mother's current 'mood'. "Thank you. I'll treat these well," she stated with a devious glint in her eyes. They were all hers now!
"I understand what you mean, though…" She started in reply to Goh. "We might need to stock up if that's the case. Wartime is always something to be prepared for nowadays…" She sighed softly and tried to press a grin to relieve the weight of this situation.
"Yeah?" Goh comments simply, looking at Chiyoko with a sense of amusement, before looking back to Itami. "Oh to be young again, hey Tam? to have that sort of enthusiasm about such important stuff would be pretty sweet." The blonde moves to stand up, stretching his legs and getting the blood circulating again. "Certainly not saying that Tam here doesn't have the same passion. Far from it in fact. It's just… I dunno. Makes me smile when I hear that sort of stuff from people new in the position."
Still stretching out a bit, he nods to Itami, before looking over to Chiyoko. "Of course they help. Similar to how solider pills help shinobi, my pickled vegetables work with that sort of same concept. Only my way is far more natural. Tastes at least a million times better, too. But yeah." He frowns. "Stuff along the border starting to feel tense again. It really grits. Which reminds me, Tam, Princess," He gestures, looking at both the Council women.
"Is is true that you guys have allied with the Misty nins?"
Blinking at Goh's words, Chiyoko lifts an eyebrow and snickers a bit. "Young? You're not exactly middle-aged yourself, buddy." She listens to his explanation about the vegetables working like soldier pills, but doesn't bother to argue anything. May as well let the guy be delusional. At his next question, she pauses a moment and glances over to Itami before giving a nod. It's not exactly a secret. "Yes, we have."
Kotone, thinking that she's had enough of being around people decided to dismiss herself from the stand, carrying with her the pot of veggies that she was enjoying. She had work that needed to be done and so removed herself from those gathered. Itami watched her as she left, but said nothing except other than sighing. "To be young again? I'm still young," she chuckles. "But it is refreshing to hear that vigor every so often. I think it's easily let go of when one has been serving for so long…" Her voice trailed off and she looked east toward the Land of Water. "It's true. We're allied with them," she states. "Nothing has happened yet, though. Not that it should…"
Goh laughs at Chiyoko's reply. "That's true, I guess. But I'm closer to middle aged than you are, Princess. That means I'm also infinitely more wise … and stuff." He's still grinning like an idiot, making it difficult to tell whether he's being sarcastic or not. Moving to sit back down, his head tilts a bit when the young Council member acknowledges that they have.
"It's good to hear it from someone in the know. And not just through words on the wind, y'know?" He clears his throat a little, "At the risk of sounding like an idiot, may I ask why you did that? I mean, I get it. New Mizukage trying to turn the Village around. A time of peace. But don't you think that it's a big step to make? Especially for a Village like Sunagakure that has been so neutral in the past. And with stuff heating up… do you really think you could launch an attack on Konoha? Just sounds so… I dunno. Different."
Chiyoko glances back and forth between Itami and Goh as they speak, pondering. At his words, she shrugs and says, "We do we see as best for the village. It may not be the most popular decision, but it is best." Folding her arms under chest, she turns toward the Administration Dome and says, "I need to be getting back to work. You two have a good day, hmm?" With that, she begins to make her way back toward her office.
Itami folded her arms while gathering her words to explain the situation. Chiyoko's words are nodded to and she decides to continue from where she left off saying, "It is a big risk, I admit and I do things with the best interest of the village in mind, but make no mistake, alliances come with costs. Being joined together with them can not only benefit us, but allow us to watch them closely. Know what they know," she states. "Granted, the same could be said for them knowing what we know, but that means I'll just have to be careful about what is revealed."
Goh nods slowly at that, watching as Chiyoko moves away. "Pleasant person, she is. Your mother too." He muses with a grin. "Sometimes I wonder if you're the only super nice person to come out of this Village, Tam." He chuckles, obviously joking. At least a bit! Standing up, the blonde begins to collect his things. "So yeah, I ran into Fuu on my way here. Do you know who that is? Fuu… Amuro. Really big guy with a red question mark on his face. Uses a special space-time technique to get around." He winces. "…it was… not very nice seeing him again." He clears his throat.
"Anyway, gave chase but couldn't track him down. So now I'm here."
"My mother," Itami puffed followed by a sigh and a chuckle. "I sometimes wonder that too, but I realize I'm not exactly as nice as I make myself out to be. I'm…cordial, perhaps is the better term and I do genuinely care for people, but niceness has been diminishing as of late." She placed her hands on her hips then. "Wait, Fuu?" She inquired, her demeanor changing some into a more serious form. "I know who Fuu is…Yes, with the mask and red question mark. He was headed in this direction?" She questioned. "What was going on? What's he up to?"
"I have no idea where the heck he was headed." Goh grumbled, rolling up his rug and putting some things away in his backpack. "As good as I am, I can't track people who can cross entire countries in seconds with their space time techniques." He pauses a bit. "I headed to Kusagakure in search for him. But the only base that I have tied to him was long abandoned. Hadn't been there in months." He rubs his shoulder a little. Perhaps a little stressed. He sighs long. "I don't think he's headed here. He was after Jinchuuriki, of which I don't think the Sand has any. Do they?" He gives her a bit of a look, before finishing his pack up.
"Hmm…" Itami wasn't sure she liked the sound of this. Going after jinchuuriki? "He knows we have one. He was responsible for the siege on Sunagakure…" She frowned and thought back to that day. Their jinchuu participated in it and it was…dangerous needless to say. Getting boiled alive wasn't something she was looking forward to… "I may have to take precautions about this just to be sure."
"Fair enough." Goh replies simply. "He managed to get the Kirigakure jinchuu, but it was… weird. He was telling her that she could learn to control the beast, rather than learn to work with it. When he finally left, he gave her a scroll. She opened it and got sucked in. Where I'm assuming she got sucked to his base." He takes a peek around. "Fortunately she ended up back in Kirigakure somehow. Not sure, but yeah. After Kusa, I headed straight here. Not sure what the deal is, but I wouldn't blame you for… I dunno. Keeping a third eye out to watch."
Itami nodded while quietly considering what's going on. She seemed very serious for the first time today and it wasn't easy to hide. She knows what that scroll is because she was sucked in to one at some point in time. She's familiar with a lot of these things that Goh has mentioned, though it appears he has some kind of other agenda at hand that she doesn't understand. Was it part of the same one he told her about? "It's good that she returned alive and well. Perhaps you'll learn more once you head to Kusagakure. I would like to keep an eye out on him. The things he's capable of just draws that sort of caution."
"Well, I already went to Kusagakure." Goh replies. "But I didn't find anything, like I said. I searched all across that country, both above and below ground. Nothing. Not even the salamander could find anything. So I guess at the very least, we can rule it out for a place he could be." Goh looks to Itami carefully, perhaps taking in her serious expression. "I know that look." He confesses, perhaps having seen it before on others.
"Don't you go and start doing stupid things now, Tam. Just because he's been sighted again once doesn't mean you should… I dunno, go looking for him. For all we know it could be a one-off. He may not even have this place in his mind." He pauses.
"But I agree. At lease some caution should be shown. If nothing else."
Itami rubbed her neck. "Alright, I suppose I shouldn't go looking for him. It was on my mind, but I'll keep myself contained. I can at least be prepared," she admits. "I don't mean to worry you, but I guess I have the tendency to go a little overboard," she chuckles. "That guy…he does have a way of getting around though. I don't think tracking him by normal means is possible."
Goh shakes his head. "Yeah… it grains. I have no idea what he does, but he… I dunno. Travels through some other world. I've never seen anything like it. The Salamander have told me a bit about it. They seem to think that there is some sort of other dimension that he travels through. How exactly he has access to it is beyond me. Simply put, that guy is a freak. One that has lived for way too long and gone way past his use by date." His nose wrinkles, as he steps away from his little structure.
"Guess I will head off then. Will no doubt see you around or something."
"Indeed…" Itami couldn't be bothered to figure out how he does it and probably won't, but if it's anything like the scrolls he uses then she might have an idea. "Hehe…" She laughed softly. "Lived past his use by date. That's funny, but yes…I suppose I'll see you later. I wish you the best of luck in selling your veggies and missions for knowledge. Oh, I suppose it should be mentioned, you might have to be a bit careful travelling around here since you're associated with Konoha. With the alliance, it might have people turning into…friendly enemies."
