Starring:
Date: August 7, 2012
Summary:
Goh arrives in Sunagakure where he takes some time out to relax and have a chat with Itami. They cycle through a number of subjects, landing on one regarding one of Suna's very own. A young boy by the name of Kazeodori.
"Late Night Chat"
Village Center Area — Atop a domed building.
Late at night in the Village of Sunagakure. Most of the citizens have gone to sleep by
now, leaving only the night-owls awake. There's a cold wind that sweeps through the streets and
pathways, the temperature having rapidly decreased over sunset.
One figure who remains out on his own is the blonde wanderer. Sitting atop a dome-like
roof that overlooks most of the Village, the ex-Jounin sucks upon what looks to be a large-ish
pipe. Holding it gently between his fingers, Goh exhales some of the lovely smoke of the leaf,
before taking a long look up at the stars. They looked different from here. Clearer, perhaps?
It's hard to really tell. Just different.
The long, thin three-inch long wooden pipe tilts a little as Goh sucks in another
breath. He seems to hold the smoke in, gazing into the distance. Thinking thoughtfully, before
exhaling. There were still a few lights on it seems, but not too many. Being this high up sure
provided a nice view!
Itami was ready to go home after a long day's work. She may have rested some of those
hours away, but the majority of the time was spent doing what she usually does. Now it's about
finding the time to wind down. She can be seen strolling down the steps and into the village
center, perhaps slightly tense as it's chilly out and conditions she isn't quite used to. She
pats herself down a few times and rubs her clothes gently to ease up to heat. She thinks she'll
have to learn to warm up a bit better.
Goh appears to just continue staring, almost in a trance. Alone in his thoughts, as
smoke whirls about his head. But just like that, he snaps out of it, spotting a lone figure
walking through the village center below. His eyes look down, before he clears his throat.
"Ahoy, Itami!" He greets loudly, lifting a hand to wave from up on the dome-like roof. "Room
for one more if you want?"
If Itami will flicker or jump up, the first thing she will notice is that Goh is
actually quite warm. Warmer than normal for a human, anyways. Part of his whole.. fire-
Salamander thing is that he appears to generate much more heat than usual. It won't quite feel
like sleeping next to a fire-place, but it's certainly not far off.
"Out for a late night stroll?" He asks, presuming she's up on the roof. Smoke continues
to seep out from the end of his pipe, the special leaf slowly burning away.
Itami looked back toward the voice and up to the dome where she offered a wave Goh's
way. "Night stroll? Not likely," she called back with a smile. She'd eliminate the time it'd
take to jump up to the dome by flickering from her spot and up to the top so she could sit down
and relax. The amount of warmth up here was unusual, though. Just what she needed for an
evening like this. "See you're enjoying yourself, hm?" She chuckled. "How goes it this night?"
"Oho! Welcome!" Goh greets in a friendly manner as she flickers all ninja-like up onto
the dome. "Heh, I guess you could say that." He twirls the pipe around, before offering it to
Itami to have a puff. "Sunagakure is nice to… I dunno, take in at this time of night.
Everything seems at ease, y'know? Compared to the hot busy day." He shrugs a little.
"You? How were the baths and such?" He asks simply. "You still look a little weary.
Busy day? I imagine being a Council person must really suck." He grins. At least he's honest.
"Dealing with bothersome people all day can be trying!"
Itami looks at the pipe for a few moments before taking it in hand and sniffing the
burning leaf. "Hmm," she places it to her mouth and inhales the smoke, releasing it through her
nose. "This isn't bad…" She pulled the pipe back… "Where'd you get this from?" She wondered
while handing it back. "I've been…busy, but yes, the baths were relaxing. I really needed
it," she rubbed her neck. "The life of a Council Member is always full of despair and agony
with trace amounts of happiness in between, but maybe that's just my experience." She laughs.
"No, no, I love my job, it's just that it can be tough like any other role of my kind. I'm sure
the same happens in Konoha or elsewhere."
"There's always some truth in jokes, Tam." Goh grins, moving his hand to rub her back a
bit. Perhaps trying to loosen her up, or just in some sort of friendly affection. His hand then
goes back into his lap.
"You don't really need to explain to me about it. I know you love what you do, but I'm
sure there are sucky parts. There is for any job." Taking back the pipe, he looks at it
carefully.
"It's a leaf that grows near my home in the Land of Fire." That might be news to Itami.
Goh had rarely referred to any place called 'home' before. "So I harvested it and here it is.
Pretty good stuff, if I say so myself! It grows next to all my other herbs and spices, so it
has plenty of strength in it."
"Oh, uh, sorry about the heat." He admits, perhaps forgetting about it. "Part of what I
do and who I am now. I generate way more heat than normal. Keeps me warm at least!"
"So, I know we were talking about him, but tell me more about this Kazeo kid. Parents
in tact? Or orphan? You said you don't know much about his skills yet? Or focus areas?"
"True, very true. I wasn't lying when I said it, but it's not as bad as it sounds…
Despair and agony is a rare thing, thankfully," she hummed. For the village, at least, but her
personal issues might lean in that direction. "Agreed, though. It is sucky, as you say, but
only sometimes," she shakes her head. "Wish I could just up and travel, though. Oh well. One
day, I will, but now isn't that time. So, that leaf…" She starts and looks at the pipe. "It
grows amongst your herbs and spices? I think I might need more of this leaf. Oh, oh…I'm
getting carried away," she coughs and clears her throat. "About Kazeo…well, I wish I could
say more, but he's just so bright. That's the main word that comes to mind. He has a unique
vigor and interest about things…like a kid should be, I think. I feel happy to be around
him…around any of the kids, really. They all have different perspectives and lives that just
make them so interesting. He falls into that crowd well."
Goh hands the pipe back over to Itami for a little bit when she suggests she would need
more, the blonde grinning as if he'd won a small victory. "Yeah, that's right. Have as much as
you want. I have plenty for myself, really. And I can't just spend all night smoking, I guess."
His eyes roll a bit. He probably could, but he won't.
"So you don't know about his parents or anything?" He asks, as if curious to how the
youngster was brought up. "I can try and find a little bit more out about his skills and
abilities when we're out on the dunes. Not that I think you'll turn him into a super soldier,
but like I said, there's plenty of potential to work with I think. But you're right — he does
seem to be smart. Pretty innocent, too! I'm also glad that the near death experience hasn't
changed him too much. You never know how those things are going to impact on a kid, y'know?"
Itami takes the pipe back and begins to take another puff out of it. "I can…" She
smiled about smoking all night. Not that she'd need to or would. She's never done that much
smoking, but she knows someone capable of doing so. "I don't know about his parents, no, but it
appears that the kids here seem to be missing at least one parent…" She shrugged softly. "I
would like that, though. Whatever you can find out on him, I'd like to know. I could ask
myself, but I don't get a lot of time to do things. I hadn't any idea he had a near death
experience. Whatever happened must be serious which only adds to the frustration that I didn't
know. Honestly…" She huffs.
"But you're a super responsible Council member that needs to mentor the kids and settle
Village disputes." Goh replies with a wry smile, sticking his toungue out to finish off the
little jab. "No staying up all night for you, missy."
His head tilts. "I mean the puppeteer attack on him. From what he was saying, it's as
near-death as he's ever had." He shrugs, "Don't feel too bad about it, Tam. Even you can't know
about every little thing going on at once. And if you did, that would make you a bit of an
oddball. Or creep. Whichever. What matters is that someone reported it to you. System is
working still, y'know?" He seems amused.
"I have a plan, actually." Goh says, in an almost mischievous tone. "Set him up for a
big adventure. I might even bring Wanryo into it somehow." He pauses. "Wanryo being my battle
partner. He's pretty big. Might make the situation more exciting. A type like him, you'd think
he'd be more into Genjutsu. The smart ones usually are. Or maybe like you. Smart, quiet and
lethal. Seems unlikely that he's going to be more my sort. Bash'n'crash."
Itami laughs at the jab to her position. "Staying up all night? I don't know the
meaning of those words," she teased. "But even if I can't know everything, something as serious
as that shouldn't have gone past my notice. I suppose it may make me a bit of an oddball or a
creep, but if it's necessary for the protection of these villagers and shinobi, then I'll do
it. I think the system could use some improvement, though…" Her voice trailed off as she gave
that idea some thought. She lifted the pipe to her lips and smoked the elements once more. "It
works, but not well enough." She paused. "So what's this plan you have, hm?" She questioned.
"Oh, an adventure. I think he loves those… Bash'n'crash…I dunno. He did almost wreck your
veggie pots at Kyuusen. I think he might have a chance there," she laughs.
"Yes well." Goh huffs, the thought of Kazeo wrecking his things still fresh on his
mind. "I probably would have had Wanpo eat him, for good measure. Not a deadly eat, mind you.
Just spend some time in the stomach, and then back out." He grins evilly, before laughing like
a villain. "Ho! I won't shed any more light on it. I'm still coming up with the specifics.
Should be something cool, anyway." His arms fold across his chest, the blonde eyeing the pipe
warily. Itami sure was into that!
"If it's any consolation, this sort of problem would not have even been reported in
Kirigakure. And in Konoha it probably would have gone through the pipeline for 3 months before
being acted upon. And then Kumogakure… well, I have no idea who I would even tell." He seems
confused. "Each Village has its quirks." He opens his mouth to yawn, as he gets to his feet.
Perhaps feeling tired.
"A ha…" Itami found that wickedly amusing. "But I see…" She took a few more puffs.
"I'll await whatever you have developed for him. We can work together on this and I can filter
my agitation into something positive!" She pulled back the pipe and blew out a few rings from
the lingering smoke in her mouth. "I learned from the best, you know. I think I picked this up
from watching my sister…" She tilted her head. "I never knew each village had it so bad, but
that only inspires me to do better for this place."
