Starring:
Date: March 11, 2013
Summary:
Goh convinces Satoru to try his experimental pickled vegetables.
"Stunned at Pickled Vegetables"
Sunagakure
It is morning in Sunagakure, and the desert heat has yet to reach its peak. A fairly large crowd has gathered in a circle to watch a street preformer juggle swords while riding a unicycle.
Satoru stands at the edge of the crowd, his left arm in a sling. He occasionally tries to stand on his toes, trying to get a better view. Every time he does so, however, he seems to wince a little. He looks up at the sky, where his falcon circles the sky. Someone has a good viewpoint at least.
"It isn't that impressive anyway," Satoru remarks sourly to no one in particular. "I could do it easy."
Another to be watching the festivities is Goh. The pickling wanderer, who had temporarily stopped in Sunagakure to re-charge and re-stock, had a keen interest in this sort of stuff. What could possibly possess a man to juggle swords while riding around on something so unstable? Sheer madness! Which is probably how he could draw such a big crowd, Goh presumed. On anyrate, due to the various shufflings and such, he ends up standing not too far from Satoru.
His physique is quite different to that of Satoru. While the young teen was still growing, Goh had finished. Not only tall but well defined, Goh's clothing seems to represent experience and many adventures. Everything from his worn boots to his tattered black cloak.
As Satoru tries to see over the crowd of people by standing on his toes, Goh's attention is drawn. "Need a lift, kid? I can sit you on my shoulder if you want." He chuckles then. "You could do it easy, huh? And have all of your limbs in tact?"
Satoru looks up at Goh, then shakes his head. "Nah, I'm not that interested anyway," the boy lies. "I'm sure I could! I'm a trained shinobi!" He notes defensively, his voice cracking under the weight of his faked certitude. He looks up at the taller man. "I'm Hayato Satoru of the green spiral brood," he announces. He starts to offer a bow, yells, "ah!" and stands up straight again. "Uh. Sorry."
"You aren't?" Goh queries, folding arms across his chest. "Such a tough guy, huh? Heh heh." He squints a bit when the boy bows and yelps. "Don't worry about it. Satoru, huh? Of the Hayato clan?" Presuming that the falcon is still circling about, Goh will spot the bird with a casualy glance up into the sky. "I was wondering about the falcon, actually. Thought someone of your clan might be around. Yours?" He then looks back down to Satoru. "I've had some dealings with the Hayato in the past. Not many of them around anymore, which sort of sucks. I always liked clans that had animal companions."
"I'm Goh, travelling pickler. I'd offer to shake your hand, but it looks like your arm is busted. What happened?" His brow furrows. "Weren't trying to juggle swords on a one-wheeled bicycle, were you?"
Satoru motions to the bird, who dives out of the sky and on to the boy's opposite shoulder, the one not in a cast. "Yeah. We're together. Baizo, this is Goh, Goh, this is Baizo." The bird opens its beak and screeches at Goh.
Satoru shakes his head. "There was a sword involved. But it was a lot bigger. And someone else was holding it."
Goh winces when Baizo screeches directly at him. He almost takes a step back even, clearly not expecting the loud greeting. "Hi there, Baizo. Good to meet you too." A pinky digs into his ear, as if to check that his ears are still functioning.
"Really? Then you did well to keep your arm in the first place. They sure do breed them tough in the desert." He rubs a chin, before turning to face the street performer once again. "Do you know who got you? With the sword, I mean. Or is that all in the past and stuff? I know shinobi don't like taking revenge and all that jazz."
"Uh," Satoru looks down at the ground, concealing his entire face behind his wide-brimmed hat. He shuffles nervously. "You know, it really isn't all that important how it happened. Just some things got out of control," he answers vaguely. "And yeah, I guess. It was a pretty big sword. Not very sharp, though."
"Spose that makes sense on why your arm is in a cast rather than… I dunno. Bandages. Casts are usually for breaks, aren't they?" Goh shrugs. "I'm no Doctor or anything, so I'm probably wrong. But!" He lifts up a finger, as if he suddenly had a great idea. "Hey, why don't I help you out a little bit?" He beams down to Satoru with a twinkle in his eye. Not quite an evil twinkle, but one definitely with some thought behind it.
"Why don't you try one of my new experimental pickled vegetables? It will help ease the pain. Free and everything." Without even waiting for Satoru to answer, he turns about on his feet to exit the crowded area. "Follow me!" He bellow, beckoning for the Sunagakure shinobi to trail after him.
"My shoulder, mostly… Uh," Satoru responds uncertainly as Goh offers him experimental pickles. He looks over at Baizo, who cries softly. "Well… How bad could it be?" Baizo cries something soft into the boy's ear. "Wow. Yeah. That is definitely the worst case scenario. Way to be an optimist." The bird makes another noise. "Well, whatever. Might as well see what it's all about. Watch my back." The bird takes off to the sky again and Satoru follows the strange pickler.
Goh will lead the way out of the crowd of people to one of the market stalls. Goh's stall is a temporary one, and it shows. Quickly erected partitions acts as walls, with a cloth thrown over the top for some sort of make-shift roof. A rug is on the ground, allowing both Goh and visitors to sit on something under than the hot, hard ground. A dufflebag lies in the back corner of the small little stand.
Sitting down, the blonde pickler reaches into the duffle bag and withdraws a ceramic pot. It's sealed on the top, but not labelled. Goh places it on the ground before him.
"This is my pickled garlic, mixed with a few new herbs I found in the desert. All locally sourced, of course." He exhales slowly. "…and it should definitely help with your arm pain. You of course shouldn't use it, as the damage is still there, but it will stop the sharp little stings."
"Um. Okay." Satoru pauses. From the sky, Baizo calls out. Satoru looks up for a moment, shakes his head, and looks at the pot. He is visably uncomfortable at the idea of eating experimental pickles, but the pain wins out and he nods. "Alright. He picks up the pot. "Do you have chopsticks to eat it with or something?"
"Na. Just uncap it and reach in with your hand. They won't bite or anything. No need to be clean around here." Goh beams proudly, seeming very happy that someone finally has the courage to try something he's made. He can't really perfect on things if he can't trial them, right? Right.
If Satoru does uncap the jar, the smell wafting out will be very strong. Extremely bitter, to the point of even watering the eyes. Even for those that love pickled vegetables it's strong!
"The smell is a bit strong, I'll admit. But that just means it will work. Yep." >_>;
Satoru picks up the jar with his free arm, then stares at his sling. He offers to jar to Goh. "Can you, uh… Help?"
If Goh opens the jar, Satoru would turn away at the stench, before hesitantly turning back, reaching his hand in, and pulling out a small nibble, tasting it.
Goh will of course open it for Satoru, leaving him to taste it at his leisure. It will taste as strong as it smells, if not stronger. Lots of flavour is encased within the different chunks of vegetable, after all.
If Satoru will eat it, he'll feel a very warm fuzzy feeling erupt from his stomach and spread through his body. Similar to the feeling of when someone drinks a strong alcohol — minus the intoxicated affects of course!
As the warmness spreads, Satoru will find that the pain in his arm is at first dulled. As if the edge of the sharp pain is taken off. And then, in the next minute, it will vanish completely!
Goh is watching intently, keen to see a result. "Whatever you do or whatever you feel, don't move the arm. We don't want to damage it remember."
Satoru face puckers up at the strong taste. Then he inhales sharply, his eyes widening at the effect. He looks down at his arm. "Wow. That's a lot better." He stares at the jar, and then shakes his head. "What sort of herbs did you put in this?"
"I can't tell you that." Goh grins. "Secret recipe and all that. I'm one of the best picklers in the world, you know! Can't just tell how I do it to other people all willy nilly."
As the pickler finishes this sentence, Satoru will begin to feel a further change. The numbness was growing. At first it was localized to his injured arm, but he will start to feel it spread to other parts of his body. It may not be noticeable at first, but soon his legs will go, and his other arm. Then his face… Torso, followed by the remaining parts of his body.
Satoru can still move, of course. His nerves and organs are still in complete check. But it seems that this 'experimental' pickling mixture still needs refining.
Satoru won't be able to feel a thing, no matter what portion of the body it's on! Fingers crossed this isn't a permanent thing.
Satoru reaches up with his good hand to touch his face in alarm. After touching it several places, he looks over to Goh, his face contorting in anger. As he speaks, his words slur slightly through his numb mouth. "What did you do to me? I can't feel anything!"
"You can't?" Goh asks, sounding a bit surprised, though not too concerned. "Are you sure?" Noting the slurred mouth, the pickler then believes Satoru must be telling the truth. "Hmm. Well, that's a shame. It was experimental though, and you can't feel the pain, right? Heh heh." He rubs the back of his head.
"Don't worry. The affect will wear off in fifteen minutes. Give or take, depending on your metabolism. Hmmm. I wonder why it spread to your whole body? That's weird. It's not meant to do that." He scratches his head in a bit of confusion.
"Oh, and you don't have to pay me for it. Like I said, it's all free."
Satoru glares at Goh. "Yes. I'm sure I can't feel anything." He turns back to the crowd, but the juggler is apparently already gone. Satoru growls, though not directly at Goh. He turns back around and notes, "I'm glad you don't charge money for this."
"Relax. You can't feel any pain, right? And it's only for fifteen minutes." Goh is still grinning like a bit of an idiot. "If this has really bothered you, I can make it up to you somehow. Trust me. And it won't involve pickled vegies of any sort." He clears his throat. "But please come again. Next time, you should try and hit up one of my best sellers. Not numbness. Guaranteed!"
