First Day of Work at The Monkey's Uncle

Page made his way through the village, following the directions given to him by Raleth when he was at the gate, stopping first at a food stand to finally fill up his stomach after his cohort snagged that was offered to him by the kind man who greeted him back when he first entered Sunagakure. He strutted up to a barbecue shop following his nose over his eyes, drifting like a cartoon character to a tasty pie. He saw a portly man standing behind a simaring grill and asked the former farmer asked him, "Hey, what's cooking today? Whatever it is, it smells goddamn fantastic."

"Thanks for the compliment, cooking up some pork barbecue kabobs if you want any, got a real fair price on em," the grill master said, "If you buy one, I'll even throw one in for your pup there."

"Well thank you kindly, I'll take one for me and one for my dog then" Page responded, grabbing two kabobs from the man before continuing down his path to the tea shop Raleth told him about. He started on his pork kabob finishing it quite quickly then offered the other one to Sheffield, who took one sniff of it, then whipped his head away to the air, visibly rejecting it. That's strange, Page thought, knowing the dog to never deny food, I suppose he must just not be very hungry, my slices of watermelon must have filled him up, the dirty dog, but I suppose that is a tad strange. 

Eventually, however, Page made it into the tea shop Raleth had described, finishing off the second pork Kabob before he entered and, strutting up to the first employee he could find, asked how he could about seeking employment at the establishment.

"Hey, my name is Page, I got told by a big guy with white hair over at the gates that if necessary I could get a job here and yall would put a roof over my head until I found my footing in the village, and, well, it sounded like a good deal so I'm here to see what work I could be doing," Page asked, awkwardly scratching his head as it had been more than a little while since he asked for a job.

WC: 379

The traveler, Page, would offer his companion, Sheffield, a pork kabob, the wolf would smell the side-street-meat and think on eating it. Another scent would catch his attention, the nin-wolf would turn to the direction of the aroma: away from the kebob offered to him by his friend. The traveler snacks on his food, his companion turns down the main road, and travels a sand-stone side street nestled between two buildings. Sheffield tilts his head up, towards a humble set of wooden stairs, and a dark-wooded, open door. The aroma of petals, herbs, citrus, and berries would waft from the inside, the wolf's ears would twitch to the sounds of voice communicating. A familiar tone can be heard thrumming along with a soft-hearted, kind voice. As the two come close, their conversation can be heard. 

"Take as long as you need to grieve," thrums the basso-voice of Raleth, "the shop will be in great condition once you come back."
"You don't understand," says the light tone of Mrs. Harushuno, "I'm leaving Sunagakure, and Wind Country. The tea shop is already in your name, before Kaminari passed we..." the mention of her late husband, Kaminari Harushuno, chokes the words from Ms. Harushuno, she takes a moment to collect herself. "There is on one else better than you, we agreed on that." 


"!!?..."sounds Raleth as he tries to reason with the grieving widow, before stifling his words as he knows he can't convince the strong-hearted business-woman. Footsteps near the door, the wooden door moves as someone grabs the handle on the other side. "I have a favor, Mr. Raleth. Change up the place, the Uncle's Dragon left with him." Mrs.Harushuno opens the door, and bumps into the traveler and his companion. 

The kind-faced woman stutters, not expecting someone to be at the front door. "Oh, no I don't work here. But, uh, the owner is inside."
Mrs. Harushuno rushes past Pageboy. In her haste, the heavy outfit she wears shifts. If the traveler is perceptive, he would notice that Mrs. harushuno wears expertly-tanned, metal threaded leather armor under her clothes, and has a few daggers sheathed on her person. Before he could react, the kind-faced woman leaves the vicinity of the tea shop.

With the door open, the immense, ashen-haired chuunin can be seen leaning with is back on a table in the center of a jade-green tea shop, and holding his temples with one hand. The situation that fell on him has been taxing to say the least, the death of his neighbor weighs on his heart. Mr. Harushuno was exemplary, and his tea was extraordinary, the kind-man helped refine Raleth's brewing skills, and was the one to take in he and his ward, Zaine, when the two first fled to Suna after the destruction of Konoha. He sighs, and says a small prayer for Kaminari Harushuno.

Sheffield barks at the sight of the man who fed him, the Sarutobi looks up to see the traveler from the gate. He smiles, and raises his hand.

"Yo!"

The large animal runs toward the large man, and stands its front paws on it shoulders, a daunting sight considering Raleth's height. The Sarutobi chuckles, and pats the dogs neck. "It's good to see you too, Shep! I'm glad you led Page here." Raleth returns his attention to the travel-weary man as he finishes the last pork kebab. "A friend of mine, Kabib, sells a mean beef kebab. His buisness has been doing well, a few days ago we sold some tea and food together." The large animal releases Raleth, allowing the Sarutobi to go toward the kitchen. "Care for some tea? Have a fresh kettle on the stove." His voice rings out from the back as he pours cups of tea. "Apologize for any mess, you've caught me at an interesting time," chuckles Raleth as he comes out from the kitchen, holding two steaming clay cups of tea. He hands Page his cup and sits at a table, and gestures for the traveler to sit. He looks to Sheffield, and raises a curious brow. He goes back to the kitchen, and brings back a small bowl of steaming tea. He sits back down. He grabs his cup and breathes in the aroma of the tea, the scent of mangoes, peaches, and root tickles his nose, he takes a calming sip of tea. The sweet, salted taste trickles down his throat, the stress of the past few days ebb away. He returns his attention to Page.

"As of now, I have no work to offer you, I've just become the owner of the shop before you. Though..." Raleth scans the area, the walls, ceilings, tables. Ideas spark behind his eyes, he returns to the traveler, "could help me with some renovations."  

[[797]]

Page saw the old woman as he entered, quickly moving out of the way as to let her passed, holding open the door but peering at the woman to get a read on her. She had a fairly large bag that drew the former farmer's attention, but what really caught it was the fact that she was wearing armor and appeared to be armed. Hm, not every day you see a lady old enough to be a grandmother walking around ready for battle, he thought, attention quickly shifting to the massive moving object running through the now open door. The giant blur of fuzz pranced onto a face Page recognized, the same face he met at the gate, the same face that had offered him food, the same face that had welcomed him to this village and set his new life into action, offering him a place to stay, it was Raleth.

Page let out a big sigh as he saw Sheffield pounce on the big guy, but seeing a positive reaction quickly changed his tune, no harm no foul."Hey," Page replied, "How you hanging, was that lady there one of your neighbors?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sheffield has a knack for leading me to important places, can't say they are always good but they are always interesting and I do have a good feeling about this," Page said, his dog returning to his side. "Didn't catch the name of the guy I bought this from but it was pretty good, be glad to try some of the other places around here, maybe we can stop by Kabib's sometime and grab a bite to eat," Sheffield's master continued, "Maybe even Shef would want to try em, some reason he didn't want to eat the pork."

Stretching out a bit before realizing just how parched he was, the former farmer answered the large ashen haired man's question, "I would love some tea, that sounds quite frankly wonderful and the perfect remedy for my dry throat. No need to worry about the mess, shoulda seen some of the places I had to stay along my trip, messy wouldn't begin to describe it, plus this place ain't in too bad a condition." The traveler then sat down, joining the man for tea, first absorbing the full body of the tea with a heart waft before he started sipping, relaxing in his chair as he continued.

Page looked around at the walls, ceilings, and tables following Raleth's eyesight before he prompted him, to which the former farmer replied, "Sure can. I worked on that farm all by myself so I got quite used to patching up everything that could possibly need it and even building new structures. Hell, on the way here I even helped an old man fix up a tower in Rain country, me and shef 'ere make a great team when it comes to that kind of stuff and I'd be more than glad to help out." Page put the now empty cup down on the table, cracked his knuckles and said, "Now, where do you want me to start, best start early."

WC: 521, TWC: 900

Quite the momentous day had arrived as word had spread very quick about the passing of Mr. Harushuno, this news of course was saddening to all and brought Zaine his fair share of grief- still he made his way to the Uncle's Dragon tea shop in hopes to congratulate his long time friend and rival on his success and to pay his respects to the family that had given him safe haven when he first arrived to the village of Sunagakure. About 2 blocks out from the shop he would come across a familiar face, though the expression it carried was almost enough to bring him to tears- it was Mrs. Harushuno, the woman who had taken the place of a grandmother to him as he grew up and made his mark on the village. Without hesitation he approached her and halted her pace, "Long time to see Grams." He said with a smile from ear to ear- a smile that was met with more tears as the elderly woman gave him a warm hug and let loose her emotions. She spoke what little she could of the events that had taken place and that she planned to leave the Wind Country completely and even though he understood why this was necessary for her, it was still saddening to say the least. He bid her a final farewell and gave his respects after she gave him kind words, commending him on how he had grown into a respectable shinobi and updated him on the status of the Uncle's Dragons ownership. The confirmation now handed to him he could hardly contain his excitement as a bit of good had come of all this misfortune- picking up the pace, he found himself at the entrance to the tea shop.

Upon entering the shop it appeared that not much had changed in aesthetic for the tea shop, this for the time being was to his delight as he took in a deep breath of the familiar and comforting aromas and exhaled- looking to his left he would see a tanned man who appeared to have seen his fair share of work throughout his lifetime and not too far from him was the man of the hour, Raleth Sarutobi who appeared to have found a furry friend. "Am I interrupting something Raleth? Just say so and I can give you a bit of privacy." He said in jest as he made his way towards his friend, giving him a firm pat on the shoulder and a congratulatory smile "I know it came with a bit of heart ache, but congratulations Ral. Noone is more fit to keep this place going than you and Gramps would be proud. Im sure he wouldnt have it any other way." With that being said, it was hard to ignore the sizeable beast that was no more than a foot or two away from him and it seemed that his owner was the man he noted previously. He would turn to the man, locking eyes with him revealing that he had his matured three tomoe sharingan active this entire time, "My name is Zaine Uchiha, nice to meet you. I assume you're a customer? Or maybe a friend of Raleth's? Either way, good to have you here on such a momentous day." Just by looking at the chakra flow of the man it was evident that he was a shinobi, but who was he? Zaine would patiently wait for an answer from either of the men as he maintained eye contact with this new acquaintance.

[WC=596]

"A neighbor, a friend, and the previous owner of the Tea Shop you stand in'" says Raleth as Page asks about the identity of the woman that walked passed him. The nin-wolf, Sheffield, after spying the ashen-haired shinobi, runs up to the Sarutobi and "hugs" him. A deep Ha! bellows from Raleth as Page mentions Sheffield's refusal of the kebab.


"No pork, huh? Have never known a dog who was picky with their food, but maybe Shef has a nose for quality," he says, patting Sheffield. 

The nin-wolf releases him, Raleth goes into the kitchen to grab the tea, he comes back with a kettle, 3 cups, and a bowl. He sits opposite Page and pours the tea as the man explains his journey from his farm to Sunagakure. "A soul with working hands is rare these days," says Raleth as he hands Page his cup, "and you'll be compensated for the work" Raleth empties his cup, the brew, the first one taught to him by the late Mr. Harushuno, eases the ache and sting of his loss. He looks around as the traveler mentions starting now, his head whirls and spins as he tries to figure out how best to start the renovations. As he does, a familiar cadence walks up the small stairs leading to the tea shop, Raleth turns to see a sight that makes him smile.

Standing under the doorway, smirking and walking with a swagger he's had since he was a genin, is the red-eyed jounin, Zaine Uchiha. He greets his friend and rival, Raleth, with jests and humor, the Sarutobi stands to greet his age-old comrade. The Uchiha congratulates him.

"Mr. Harushuno would have a few poetic verses if he could see me now," says Raleth in response to Zaine's comment, "as well as some harsh critique on my brew." Raleth shakes the mournful thought away, and offers Zaine a cup of brew as the Uchiha speaks to page.

"He's a traveler who wished to make Suna his home, from fire country, no less." Raleth smiles at the coincidence of fate, that another refuge would find sanctuary in the tea shop in sungakaure. He turns to page and gestures to the Uchiha, "you're looking at the Advisor to the Kazekage, and a former student. Don't let his eyes intimidate you, he's a steadfast ally and friend."

As Zaine and Page converse, Raleth scans the interior of the Uncle's Dragon. The jade green decor, once feeling like home, looks unwelcoming. The tables and chairs look abrasive, the chandeliers look tacky, and the railing on the stairway is worn down. Though the space is comforting, it feels drab and dusty. Raleth places his hand on his forehead and rubs his temples, easing the stress that builds iin his mind.

!!

Inspiration floods his mind as he looks at the two men before him, Zaine and Page.

"Zaine, its a good thing you came when you did," says Raleth, waiting for a lull in the conversation between Page and the Uchiha to speak, "I'm renovating the tea shop with Page. I want to get rid if the jade green and dragon motifs, im thinking stone tables, dark wood, and monkeys: everywhere. Was going to go to the market for lumber and paint, but I want to get the stone from the mountain. Care to join?"

Raleth hopes his mentions of the mountain would spark Zaine memory, the the same mountain he went to when the Sarutobi and the Uchiha "remade" the grove.

"Oh, and Ms. Harushuno left something for you in the kitchen. She didn't say what, but said you'd know where to find it."

[[607/1404]]

"Yeah, the no pork thing came as a bit of a shock to me but I suppose that's just how he likes to act, er, more properly how he doesn't like to eat." Page would say, scratching his dog as Sheffield would return to his side. "Bah Raleth, your hospitality is already so great you don't have to compensate me for that stuff, it's my pleasure, really." Page would perk up as he smelled a new person entering the shop, noticing the smell before his brain could make the connection of the sound, he would turn around in his chair and take in the view of the skinnier man, his eyes needing a second to adjust from seeing the massive Raleth to the relatively diminished Zaine, before standing at his introduction, putting out a hand for a shake, Sheffield's ears perking up and head tilting to the side as his companion approached the stranger.

"Nice to meet you Zaine, you can call Page, and this ball of fluff to my right is Sheffield, me and him been traveling around recently and decided to settle in Suna for a while so to answer your question, I'm the new employee, although I don't know you particularly well, gotta say meeting new people is always a good thing," the former farmer would open up, trying to keep things both casual as well as respectful, keeping up eye contact. "An advisor to the kazekage! Wow I really am in elite company, jeez I feel unprepared for a meeting like this so early," Page would admit, scratching the back of his head showing his overpowering feeling of awkwardness.


Page heard the two talking about some sort of trip to the mountain, the mention of his name telling him that he would be joining Raleth on this trip to the mountains, hearing this he would stretch out as Sheffield would attempt to get close to Zaine in an attempt to introduce himself. Popping his bones for a second before resetting them, Page would grab some more of the food they were sharing, take a bite, whisper, "Here, Shef," and fed the excess food that was still sitting on the table to the wolf ninja. Brushing off his clothes for crumbs, he would finish his preparations and be ready, along with his gluttonous wolf companion, for the trip to the mountain whenever Raleth told him to go. "Just tell me when, and I'll be ready to set off"

WC: 411 TWC: 1311

Page would venture with the group to the mountains, keeping up pace as best he could with the two much more experienced shinobi among them. In his adventure with the two other men, he would start to grow very attached to the crew as they would scale the mountain, Raleth accounting for his students shortcomings as he would occasionally fall behind or even fall over the side, but whenever he needed him, whenever Sheffield need him, whenever the two couldn't help each other out sufficiently enough to climb up the precarious mountain, warning them of pitfalls along the path to retrieving the required precious stone to add onto the stair's railings.

As they marched and climbed and hiked and crawled their way up the mountain, they eventually reached the summit, Page and Sheffield panting up a storm as the human missing ninja among them would bend down to his knees and wipe his brow, sighing his exertion to the world as the other two seemed in good health and stamina at the end of this. Page would gaze at the other and be amazed that they managed to perfect their bodies to such a level that they no longer needed the rest after such a long journey. Looking at what laid before him, the former farmer almost threw his arms up and quit, but he buckled down, stretched out, grabbed one of the picks and started taking has way to the granite of the mountain, swinging and releasing at the apex to break into the stone further and further with time, cracking out large rocks perfect for use in the construction of the decorations, the decorations, and all the motifs.

He and Sheffield worked and worked until they broke into a stride of the work, working and working keeping up the rhythm while sacrificing a building of pain, that pain turned into grit and that grit turned into determination and he got right back into the pace of work with an added spirit, taking chunks of different sizes off to be used for different things, wearing himself off to exhaustion. Eventually he would take down all of the pieces, well enough for Raleth and Zaine's combined work to gather more than enough to refurbish the Tea Shop and restaurant, enough for the tables and boards to be entirely replaced with the stuff, and as Raleth and Zaine gathered the stone, Page would be found napping on the back of Sheffield, who would start his way with the best of them back down the mountain, tied down to his companion to keep him in one place. Eventually the Inuzuka would awaken on the back, untie himself, and walk along with the rest of the trip, now carrying Shef to give him equal compensation for the whole ordeal. They made it back into the village hidden in the sand without any problem, getting back to the market square and pulling all the material into the shop, one stone at a time, without any issue or flaw.

WC: 504 TWC: 1811
Claims:
Exit, all claims made with 25% stat discount
1,500/1,500 Imitation Beast Ninja Arts
125/125 Genjutsu release trained by Raleth
75/75 Memorizing Raleth Scent
75/75 Memorizing Zaine Scent
36/1,125 Camouflage

Approved

As the group, Raleth, Zaine, Page, and Sheffield make their way to the gates of Sungakure, the aged sensei recounts the many adventures he and his friend shared: to give page an idea the kind of shinobi he expects the man to become.

"The he won't say it, Zaine was born a prodigy. At a young age, his skill with the Uchiha's form of ninjutsu rivaled the jounin of his clan. And, he was skilled with a blade. When he was presented to me as a student, I sparred to test his abilities. One of his strikes cut my hair. I had been growing it since birth." An image of a younger Raleth standing on a mountain top with long ashen air flowing in the breeze comes to mind. "Upon first meeting, Zaine showed me he possessed the first Tenet of Being a Magnificent Shinobi." The name hangs with flair in the air, the name of the Sarutobi's training is revealed. As the group exit the gates of Suna, Raleth explains the First Tenet. "Have an incredible power to overwhelm your opponent, be able to fell them with one strike!"

Raleth shields his eyes from the sun and scans the horizon, looking for the shioulette of the cleaved summit. He spots it and motions for the three to follow. As they walk out of the chakra-made, climate-controlled barrier, the blazing desert conditions buffet them with sand and heat, the Sarutobi continues.

"After taking him as my student, we sparred again, though I instructed him to only use his blade and physical abilities. He protested, stating that if it were a real fight, such limitations wouldn't exist. The answer was simple. Because, 'you will encounter someone more skilled then you.' The world we live in is big, Page. There are shinobi that posses techniques we could not hope to prepare for. There are reasons we call them 'hidden arts'. When we sparred, I disarmed him and struck once. In hindsight, I was too harsh." An image of a young Zaine crumpled to the floor with a large Raleth looming over him, with fiery eyes and short hair.

"Since we cannot hope to prepare for our opponent's techniques. As such, it's best we keep knowledge of ours hidden. We may only get one moment to use it. That will be the moment that decides our fate. If our opponent's does not know what to expect, then we have won." The four pass an oasis encircled by palm trees, with flowers like fire sprouting between burnt-edge grasses. Nearby, is a towering mountain whose summit has been cleaved in two, whose split shadow splashes over a valley flanked by sand dunes. The four walk toward this mountain, Raleth continues. "On that day, I told him the Second Tenet in Being a Magnificent Shinobi, the greatest power you posses is yourself, the handseals needed to complete an incredible technique is thought to action!"

The four walk down the dune made valley, toward the mountain face with a massive crater in its side. As page and sheffielf take a break, Raleth begins carving out chunks of stone with his hands, using taijutsu to enhance his strength. He gives these chunks of stone to Zaine, who uses bukijutsu to shape them into smoothsmooth surfaced tables, chairs, and furniture. With their craftsmanship, the tables give of a pristine and rich air. As he works, Raleth speaks.

"We had many more sparring sessions like that. All of them ended the same. As such, I forbade his use of fire ninjutsu and bukijutsu. I wanted to improve his strength and resolve. I strapped heavy boulders to his body and made him hike a mountain with me." An image of a young zaine and younger Raleth, strapped with boulders their backs and legs, comes to mind. "The hike helped improve his will, the weight tempered his mind and attitude. When we finally reached the top, I saw the growth in him immediately. We sparred with taijutsu, displaying the Third Tenet in Being a Magnificent Shinobi, our best tools are the one we don't need to reach for!"

With the work done, Raleth uses his lightweight Boulder tehtetechnique to lighten the load, and conscripts page and sheffield to haul their load. With his story done, Raleth listens to the conversation between Zaine and Page, and laughs when he hears Zaine's perspective of their training. The four return to the monkey's uncle. Raleth sets the show room as Page lines the stairs banister. The rennovations are soon completed.
 [EXIT]

[[755/2159]]

Claims, 25% Max Stat Discount, 2195 WC

• Daytime Tiger - (995/3000) + 2005 (previous thread claim)
  

Using 100 WC for 1 AP

Approved