A NEWBIE'S FIRST DAY AT WORK (FLASHBACK)

Kuro had just graduated a couple years back and by now he had finished training in the theory behind his clan's bloodline and thus, was ready to enter official duty as one of the newest batch of Kumo genin. However, before he could start on his sojourn through the long, meandering, and undoubtedly dangerous life path as a ninja, he knew he needed the right tools for the profession. Fortunately for him, he had learned that a certain shop affiliated with the Academy or perhaps the Raikage's Office was bestowing some manner of starter packages unto genin such as him. So, off he went in search of said establishment. It took him a little while to track it down, but finally track it down he did, after which he entered the establishment. Once that was done, he surveyed the area to take in the details with his usual impassive and inscrutable expression before heading over to the counter. Upon arrival, he cut right to the chase

"Greetings. Allegedly, this establishment is distributing starter packages to newly minted genin? If yes, and any are still remaining in the inventory, I would like to acquire one as well."

He said, revealing his voice to be a baritone, melodious  and resounding one. After that, he fell silent and waited for the attendant store clerk to fulfill the request made, and in the interim, he cast his obsidian gaze about, still with that same blank face and tried
to memorize all the sights around him.

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OOC:

Text Legend:

• Italics, Unbolded, No Quotes: Kuro's silent thoughts
  
• Bold, Unitalicized, Quotes: Kuro's out loud speech
  
• Unbolded, Unitalicized, no Quotes: Kuro's actions
  

Appearance: (Minus the shinobi gear but with the rest of the depicted clothing instead.)



[1]

Darhk Unlimited, the first shop Damien was able to build for his company. It's placement within Kumogakure had been extremely beneficial for the male, not only did it get him an alliance with the village it was also his first official deal with his name on it, his first development. His father started the company, but Damien turned it into more. It was his creations that brought the company out of the gutter that his father had put it in, and it was through him that Moonspire was founded as well as the shop. Because of this it was this shop that Damien displayed all of his work, every prototype of working models on the market would be displayed here. From Kunai and Shuriken to armor and flamethrowers would be on display in the open floor of the shop, the counter sitting at the back of the large shop would have a single man standing behind the counter with a doorway behind him. A large sign would be posted upon the wall with lists of the items that were on display as well as their price, additionally a list of poisons and potions would also be listed on the services the shop provided. The shop was truly a one stop shop for all shinobi needs, which was why Damien chose to call it what he did as the possibilities were unlimited.

"Ah yes welcome, welcome. I have just what you need right here." Came the deep voice of Hiro from behind the counter, to the male's question of the gift package. Hiro would then pick up a small parcel from beneath the counter and place it on the counter in front of the male. Inside the parcel would be a headband, five Kunai, ten Shuriken, and twenty Senbons. The small items would look like normal steel with a slight more shine to it than normal. "Have you ever handled Kaminari Steel before?" Came a voice from the doorway of the shop, if Kuro were to look behind him he would see Damien standing at the doorway wearing his normal suit. It was clear he was not what one would expect from a shinobi, much more business and high class life. "Ah Mister Darhk, what a pleasant surprise. I wasn't expecting you today, figured you had your hands full at Moonspire. The lad here came in for the Genin package." Hiro stated from behind the counter, if it was clear by the name Hiro had called the man at the door that he was the boss. The way Hiro was acting would surely give it away, the fidgeting and awkward moments that one would see from an employee when the head honcho showed up unexpectedly.

Damien would walk through the shop toward the counter with a pompous aura about him, as though he thought he was the most important person not only in the shop but in the world. "Yes, well I found myself some free time and decided I would accompany the new shipment of Drones from Moonspire to see how things were going here in the new shop." Damien stated finally responding to Hiro, after he reached the counter he would look at Kuro intently analysing the male that stood in front of the counter. "Chinoike, am I right? You look a bit old to be a Genin don't you." Damien retorted in his typical arrogant tone that he had when he wanted to seem like the smartest person in the room.

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OoC:

Kuro fully analyzed with S-Rank intelligence 0 posts required

Kuro had been waiting patiently while examining all the wares displayed in the shop when he heard an older man's voice sound and noted the anxiousness in thr desk clerk's demeanor.

"Oho, so I get to meet the renowned Mr. Darhk on my very first visit, eh? How very intriguing. Regarding your query, however, the answer is unfortunately no. That said, I have been regaled with many a tale about this special steel unique to Kumo and of course, of your equally famous ninja tool product lines. Thus, I am looking forward to utilizing these ninja tools."

Then, he paused to collect his thoughts and afterwards resumed

"Indeed, and it would seem you are quite the perspicacious one, Mr. Darhk. That is most impressive, indeed, especially considering that my dojutsu is not even active at the moment. Now then, regarding my age, you would be correct, I am certainly older than the average Genin by a fair few years. However, that is because my parents wished for me to be conversant with not only the arts of the shinobi and of course the clan's secret ninja arts, but also with the various facets of high society life. Additionally, I do admit, perhaps it could br said that I became a little too engrossed in the study of my powers and thus lost track of time. Hence, my official entry into the Kumo shinobi forces was delayed more so than it would be for others."

He responded thus, revealing his voice to be unusually rich and baritone in nature but with somewhat melodious undertones to it, considering that he was just 18 years old. Then, he fell silent, wondering what the response would be to his revelations.

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OOC:

[2]

The fact that the male knew who he was or his wares wouldn't be of real surprising to Damien, as you'd be hard pressed to find someone within Kumo who had not heard of him. Still the male knew how to play to Damien's ego, something that would earn a smile on his face which if one knew Damien, they would know how rare it is to see upon his face. Damien would look to Hiro and waved him off, "I'll take care of this one Hiro." Damien remarked to which Hiro would quickly bow out the door behind the counter. He would then turn his attention back to Kuro, "well now Mister Chinoike, my shop offers a wide variety of wares, anything to suit your needs." Damien would state while continuing to size the man up, his statement of his study as well as the fact that he is a fresh Genin meant little in Damien's eye's but showed the male's character and that meant something. "Now we have many items here and even more in production, did you merely come for the gift or was there something else you are seeking?"

[2]

Kuro's words had apparently made an impression on the man called Mr. Darhk, judging from the fact that he had decided to attend to Kuro's purchases personally rather than allow the desk clerk to do it in his stead as was the usual protocol. Then, as Kuro listened further, an explanation was given to him about the services offered by the establishment and finally, the man had finished by asking what exactly Kuro was looking to obtain, whether it was simply the free package or something more

"Hmm, initially, yes I had come here to claim my Genin package, but now...perhaps that special Kumo style flak jacket over here and those special Kumo fingerless gloves over there would also be a prudent investment as well. Now then, I fully realize that, being a mere Genin, maybe I am not entitled to them just yet and thus, this request is rather presumptuous of me. Nevertheless, I am willing to pay for them if it means that I gain the benefit of somewhat greater viability in any battles which I may be expected to engage in henceforth."

Kuro said with a thoughtful expression on his face while pointing to flak jacket which was displayed on the wall to his left and then to the fingerless gloves which were currently hung on the wall behind him. Then, he fell silent for a few minutes to collect his thoughts, and then resumed

"Hmm, beyond that, perhaps one primary major weapon and one auxiliary major weapon? That is, if you have any in your inventory at present. If not, then maybe it would be possible to place a custom order for them? So, what say you, Mr. Darhk?"

With that, Kuro fell silent once more and then waited to see if the man would consider his request and sell him the gear therein.

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OOC:

[3]

Damien had to give it to the boy, what he lacked in experience he made up for in knowledge. It was surprising to see a Genin with such plans for the future, but considering the fact that he spent so much time in his study it's no wonder that he was a planner. Damien's face would show no emotion and he said no words, he would simply stare at the male for several minutes before finally a smile would cross his face once more.

"Follow me Mister Chinoike," was all Damien would say before moving behind the counter and opening the door and grabbing a walking cane that laid against the wall next to it he would move through the door. He would move without waiting for Kuro to reply or check to see if he was following him, it would become obvious that if Kuro wanted to do business he would need to follow the man. Behind the door would stand a long decorated hallway wide enough for two to walk beside each other, that was not exactly as extravagant as the outer shop, however still more than one would expect from an area where only the employees where at. On the left a few feet beyond the door would be a single doorway, as Damien walked through the hallway he would stop at the doorway. Without looking into the room the male would state rather loudly in his same tone he had with Kuro, no anger or attitude, simple lack of emotion as this was business. "Hiro, I am taking the guest to my office. Have the bell fix on the door right away, can't have customers entering unnoticed like I did, it's bad for business." Damien would then continue down the hallway, to what would look to be a dead end. If Kuro looked into the room, he would see Hiro in a large storage room as if he had been taking inventory only to scrabble to heed his master's request in a timely manner. Damian would stab the cane into the floor twisting it as he did so, this would cause a chain reaction of the wall in front of them opening up revealing a small spiral staircase. At the top of the staircase was a pair of large double doors opening the doors revealed extravagant office, the entirety of the wall on the right was a large fish tank full of exotic fish from around the world on the left from floor to ceiling, from wall to wall were books. The wall opposite the door was a large window looking out into Kumogakure, in front of the window would sit a large desk behind which would sit Damien's chair on the opposite side of the desk set too comfortable looking chairs for any guests that Damien might entertain. Above the doors into the office sits a large painting of Moonspire from a distance at night, Darhk Tower visibly stretching out to the moon painted in the background. It's placement in such a way that Damien could look to it from his seat at the desk, but unless one looked behind and above them as they entered the room, one wasn't likely to see the painting until they went to leave. despite the office being completely clean except for a few papers scattered upon the desk Damien went to state "please excuse the mess" as he took his seat in organized the papers.

Once that was taking care of Damien, assuming Kuro had followed him, would motion for the boy to take a seat before reaching under the desk and pull out a large package, "these is the prototypes of the weapons, armor, and gloves that you saw down below. They are just as effective as the ones on display, with the exception of course that these are free of charge. No strings, no requirement, and no debt to be paid. They have been sitting here in my desk collecting dust, they would be better served if they were put to use," Damien would pause a moment allowing his words to sink in before he continued, "As for your request for other weaponry I'm afraid Ryuko has purchased All of the weapon I had in stock. However, if you tell me exactly what kind of weapons you are looking for I can have them too you within a few weeks. There will of course be a charge for the weapons in question, however I am sure that we can work out a price that we each find to be fair."

[3]

Before long, Mr. Darhk had instructed Kuro to follow him, so Kuro did just that and then, was led through to the doorway behind the counter, then through the decorated hallway immediately beyond that, where they paused briefly for Mr. Darhk to give Hiro, his employee, instructions on affixing an entry alarm bell to the shop door. Then, upon reaching the end of the hallway, Kuro watched on as Mr. Darhk activated a hidden mechanism to reveal a spiral staircase and then followed him up the staircase to the office that awaited them at the end.

Interesting set up, indeed.

Kuro had thought silently as he let his senses take in everything around him, but he did not let the impression show on his face, but rather just kept it impassive as per usual. Then, he was led through a large pair of double doors into a lavishly furnished office, so he looked about with a smirk on his thin, firm lips before turning his attention back to Mr. Darhk, nodding at the brief apology for the mess.

"But of course. This is quite the distinguished setting and the ambience is equally noteworthy indeed."

With that, he fell silent and took a seat when motioned to, after which he saw Mr. Darhk pull out a sizeable package and lay it before him with the explanation that the equipment therein were prototypes of the equipment he had seen below in the shop, and that said prototypes were just as good as the officially sold equipment. Apparently, these prototypes were completely free of charge, a revelation which surprised Kuro, though again, he did not show it on his face. Instead, he merely gave a brief smile and nod while responding

"That is rather magnanimous of you, and so you have my gratitude for that."

Then, the topic of their conversation moved on to the main weapons that Kuro had mentioned earlier whils downstairs in the shop and he not only learned that they were unavailable, but also that he could simply place a custom order and have them made to his specifications for a negotiable price.

"Ah well, no matter. I will just describe my specifications for you and of course, the we can discuss the price of services rendered at a later date, once the items have been crafted and I have had a chance to inspect them. However, before that, what sort of materials do you have on hand from which you can craft these for me?"

He asked and then fell silent, and while waiting for Mr. Darhk's response and elaboration on the crafting materials, he let his jet black eyes meander over the various exotic fish he could see in the aquarium and over the collection of books in the office.

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OOC:

[4]

A smirk would form on Damien's face at Kuro's words, "well, well Mister Chinoike, you are an interesting fellow aren't you. Most Jounin come in here looking for a weapon they give no regard to the materials, they say give me the best and then walk away with the expectation that their weapon is what they wanted. However, you come in as a Genin with a mind of a strategist far beyond his years." Damien would stop talking, reaching towards the desk, pressing a button under the desk a part of the bookself would open up revealing another smaller and not extravagant at all room. "This is one of my private Workshops, I use it from time to time when I am in town. I have one in every village I hold ties too, each stocked with the same thing" He said as he stood walking to the bookcase door, with the expectation that Kuro was perceptive enough to follow him without needing to be told.

The workshop would be extremely hot, despite the coolness of the office in the next room. This was due to the heavy insulation that made up the walls of the workshop, the inner wall of the workshop would be plain a major difference from the shop, hallway, and office. A small forge would sit in the center of the room, the source of the heat within the workshop. Along the wall to the right of the door would sit many different tools and equipment used in the crafting process, an anvil and worktable as well as grinding stone each positioned in different parts of the room. The other walls would be lined with small shelves with drawers, on top of each would set a single unit of a material that filled the drawers below it. Damien would motion for Kuro to have a look around at the different materials, as the male would stop to look at the different materials Damien would describe them. To the left of the door and working around the room Kuro would be able to see just what materials he has. Common metals in order starting from the left of the door and working around Lead, Copper, Brass, Bronze, Iron, Steel, Titanium, Gold, Jade, Ebony. Then Kuro would get to the not so ordinary materials such as the Vibranium that makes up the Kaminari Steel weapons, and Platinum a unique metal that seems to be attuned to enchantments. There would be several other materials within the room, however since Kuro was asking about weapons Damien decided to focus on the metal of his supplies. Once Kuro had a chance to look at them all, Damien would finally ask. "So, Mister Chinoike. What material would you like me to make your mysterious weapons from?"

[4]

Kuro smirked again in response to Damien's remark about his intellect and strategic acumen and nodded while responding

"Indeed, and that is yet another reason why my age far exceeds that of the average genin. That said, it is rather surprising to hear that veterans in the field, Jounin that is, do not care a whit about the meterials that comprise their gear. If anything, it would be only expected of them to do so. The old adage does propound that one must never look a gift horse in the mouth, but...nevertheless, in my opinion, while it is true that gear is only as good as its wielder, the converse is also equally true...that is to say, a shinobi is only as good as his gear."

With that he fell silent and watched as Damien revealed a hidden part of the office by pressing a button and then he was into what Damien referred to as his private workshop. Once inside, Kuro followed along while calmly taking in the sights, scents, and other notable aspects of the workshop. Interestingly enough, he did not show even an iota of reaction to the sweltering heat that pervaded the workshop but just kept his face impassive and nonchalant and even his body was only covered with an almost imperceptible sheen of perspiration instead of sweating bullets like any other lesser man would in similar circumstances. Finally, the tour ended and towards the close, he was shown various metals. Of all the ones he was shown, he was attracted most to the platinum. So, when Damien asked whatmaterial he wished his weapons to be made of, he replied without missing a beat

"Platinum for both of course, and regarding the weapons themselves, my specifications are fairly straightforward. The primary main weapon is a scalpel, but one that is the size of a standard warspear. On it should be an enchantment which allows the wielder, that is me, to extend or retract it on command. The auxiliary main weapons are a pair of standard size trenchknives which bear an enchantment which, on command, synchronizes them in such a way that if a jutsu or any such ability is channeled through one of them, it will occur automatically on the other without the user, that is me, having to cast the jutsu an additional time to achieve this effect."

He paused here to collect his thoughts and then resumed with his smirk back on his thin lips

"Now, is this within the realm of possibility and of course your repertoire? What say you, Mr. Darhk?"

Then, he fell silent once more and waited to see what Damien's reaction would be to his answer.

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OOC:

[5]

Damien's eye would flash with a glint of light as the young Chinoike describe his weapons, his request would be easy for Damien to fullfil. Enchantments like forging, comes as second nature to the male. It insulted the man that Kuro even questioned his ability to perform such a meager task, had it not been for the fact that he had been learning to control his outbursts of aggression when someone insulted him, he might have thrown the boy out of the shop on his ass. However, luckily for Kuro, Ryuko had insisted on such restraint training after his outburst in her office when she had insulted him. Still a flame would be visible in his eye if the boy made eye contact with Damien as he spoke, "Don't insult my skill by questioning my ability to crafts such simple tools, and do not insult my intelligence by questioning if I am capable of such a simple formula enchantment. You are new so I will give you a pass, but understand that I am the best crafter in this village and one of the few that are capable of placing enchantments on them. I do not take kindly to insults of this nature, and you will do well to remember that." Damien's tone would remain the same calm tone it had been before, however there would be a sting of anger on his tongue as he spoke.

Damien would allow a silence to fill the workshop after his words, as if to add more awkwardness for Kuro for his question. Finally Damien would break the silence, "platinum is a very rare and expensive alloy to use in the weapon making process, adding to it the price of the enchanting process." Damien would pause as he considered the price, he was originally going to give the Chinoike his choice of a weapon for free however after the male's insult he was not so sure. "It's going to cost you 200k Ryo for your request, half of which will be paid upfront before the work begins. I assume that will not be a problem for a man such as yourself from a well prominent clan, of course if that price is to high you are more than welcome to try to find another that can fill your request as cheaply as I can." With those words Damien would exit the workshop and take his seat back at the desk of his office, pouring himself a glass of whiskey as he waited Kuro's decision on the ultimatum in front of him.

[5]

Kuro had listened calmly with an impassive, nonplussed expression throughout Damien's tirade in response to his query from earlier since he was fairly used to such tirades from his grandparents and so, both his mind and his outward body language were not really fazed in the slightest degree

So this man is one with a significant modicum of pride in himself and his repertoire, eh? Well then...

He mused silently and once Damien had fallen silent, he followed him out of the workshop and back into his office before replying in a perfectly even tone as the one he was using up till now

"Oh, very well then. You have my sincere apologies for causing you such mental anguish with my tactless remarks, Mr. Darhk. Your warning shall be taken to heart in every way, so you can rest assured that this affront shall not occur again."

He paused for a few moments to collect his thoughts and then resumed, moving the topic of discussion back to the equipment in question

"That should be simple enough to arrange for, methinks. We have ourselves an accord then, so now the only matter remaining is that of the method of notification regarding the completion of the equipment order placed by me today. So, what is your usual policy in these matters, if I may ask?"

He asked and then fell silent once more, wondering how the rest of the conversation was going to proceed henceforth.

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OOC:

[6]

Damien would swirl his glass of whiskey in his hand, causing the ice to clink against the glass as Kuro asked about how he would be notified of when his request would be filled. Damien would take a swig of the whiskey setting his glass on the desk before he grabbed a small black book from his breast pocket and wrote something down, he would then grab a blank piece of paper from the desk. "You will need this," Damien would reply as he held the paper up for Kuro to take it. "It is very important that you keep track of that paper, normally I could have your request filled without that long of a wait however with the fact that this is a newly founded location with multiple orders to fill. I am afraid it will take me some time, that paper as a special formula seal placed on it. It is linked to this book now, and when I've completed your order I will activate the seal formula and send a message to you on that sheet of paper." Damien would show Kuro the page opened in his book, like the sheet of paper it would be blank with the exception that at the top of the page was written the words 'The Chinoike'. This wasn't in an attempt to be rude to Kuro, it was merely that the male had never given him his name. Damien was able to deduce that he was a Chinoike, and it was left at that.

Damien would sit the book down on the desk, grabbing his glass once more and leaning back in his seat. Swirling it in his hand as he had before, "So tell me Mister Chinoike, has the shinobi life been everything that they say it is? Of course military service is not for everyone, but with all your study perhaps you have a better grasp of it than most."

[6]

Kuro had watched as Damien pulled out a piece of paper and a book after which the method of notification of his order being completed was explained to him by the man. So, Kuro had listened silently and at the end, he perused the paper and then took a look at the book as well which had his clan name listed on the open page. So, he had nodded while replying

"I see, well that is certainly convenient. Furthermore, my given name is Kuro, in case your company policy requires my full name to be given to be associated with my equipment request. You already seem to have knowledge of my clan name so in full it would, of course, be "Kuro Chinoike"."

He said simply and then proceeded to address the query that Damien had put to him about shinobi life meeting or not meeting his expectations

"Well, the theoretical aspect certainly seemed straightforward enough, unless for some unfathomable reason, my mind has failed to grasp some of the salient concepts. Now, regarding the practical facet, that too was fairly easy to comprehend as well, at least whatever was taught to me both within the clan and later at the Academy. That said, to give a truly informed assessment of shinobi life and its various nuances, perhaps it would be prudent to do that once the village starts to assign missions to me as doing these would grant me the real-world experience necessary to perform such an analysis of the ninja way and ninja life in general."

He said while stroking his chin slowly with a thoughtful expression on his face and then fell silent, wondering what Damien would do or say in reaction to his words and actions.

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OOC:

[7]

Damien would simply body at the boys mention of his given name, though it wasn't needed for this task. Considering the fact that the papers were linked in a way that couldn't be tampered with, so as soon as he wrote upon the page in the book it would appear on the paper the boy had and no other. "Ah well then perhaps you can tell me a better understanding once you've served a few months, we can revisit the conversation at that time." Damien replied casually at his mention of giving a true informed assessment. It was an aspect of life that Damien wanted no part of personally, however he was still curious about it. To Damien knowledge was the key to the future, and the one with the most knowledge would be king. His way of life is often one that is right beside that of a shinobi, though if his job is done right then there is no fighting involved. Espionage was just another facet of business, and the fact that it was an important role in shinobi life is the only reason he made deals with them. The more deals he makes the more money he makes, but there was also the opportunity to gain knowledge and that was the one thing that Damien held above money.

"If there is nothing else, you can take this package from my desk and see yourself out. You can leave the partial payment with Hiro downstairs"

[7]

Kuro nodded when Damien had casually suggested that perhaps they ought to resume the discussion about the vagaries of shinobi life at a late date at which point he would have served in the official Kumo armed forces for a considerable length of time so as to have something substantial to bring to the discussion. Then, he replied with a simple answer

"Indeed."

With that the deal was sealed and so Damien had instructed him to see himself out and that he could simply hand over the payment for services rendered to the assistant Hiro downstairs. So, Kuro nodded once more

"Very well then, Mr. Darhk. Here's to a mutually beneficial business relationship between us henceforth. Good day to you."

With that, he fell silent, picked up the package on Damien's table, turned about on his heel and took his leave of Damien, heading down the stairs and then back out through the door which led to the hallway which connected the door to the counter outside in the public area of the store. Once there, he handed over the partial payment of 100,000 ryo for the gear and the custom order equipment that he had made an arrangement with Damien for and then, after thanking the assistant and clerk Hiro, he made his way out and then headed back to his residence in the Chinoike clan compound.

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OOC:

Kuro's Finances: 100,000 ryo spent, 100,000 - 100,000 = 0 ryo left in finances

(KURO'S EXIT)

[8]

Damien would remain silent as Kuro stated his goodbyes and the hopes of a beneficial business relationship between them, only time would tell if there would be more than just this simple transaction between them and Damien was not the kind of person to waste time with hopes and wants. He would begin the designs of the weapons Kuro had requested, he had told the male it would take him a little while but it truth it would only take him a few days. Still it was better to tell him it would take longer than to have him expect it and it take longer to make it than what was said. As he finished up the blueprint he would seal it and head back down stairs stopping at the counter to collect the money from Hiro before returning to Moonspire to continue working.

[8]

{Exit}