Cracks in The Glass

[Takes place after the Main Event thread]

"Hmm.... they... they were nice...." Irui murmured cheerily as he peeled away from the party with a stumble to his step. He held a fizzing glass of who-knew-what, and damn was it delicious; acidic and frothing, but ice cold with the slightest kick. He pressed the rim of the glass to his mask, and immediately felt it dribble down his front.

"Oh right... hah...." He pulled the mask up a touch.

"You know what I should make...." He said to no one in particular as he wandered down the street, passing party goers and shinobi. "We need to make a mask that you can.... Can drink through that would be nice." He shuffled to a stop, with his mask slightly ajar and shoved it back into place. "Sssshh I'm sneaking."

A passing Waiter stopped and offered him a smile. "Sir, I think you should probably stop while you're ahead. Let me call a tuk-tuk we can get you to your room."

Irui scowled and advanced forward-- Until he stepped on his robes, and face planted into the cobble stones. Glass shattered.

"Fffff......" He hissed from the ground.

"Sir, you really should call it a night."

Dramatically, he held up his finger in protest. "No, no, itss.... itskay, see, I got beat up by this old lady... And mmmm Anyways...." He made a talking motion with his hand. "Yadayada this will wear off soon. I'm fine."

His hand dropped to his side and he lay there on the cold stone for a moment, watching the feet pace him by. "Mister nice waiter, are you still there? Hello?"

"Uh-- I-- Yes, yes sir, I am."

"Has anyone told you you're a nice waiter man?" irui asked, and let out a sigh. "Being a shinobi is hard. I wish I could be a waiter on a magical floating rock."

"You mean the Heavenly Emporium?"

"Yeah. I was a tourist here once," Irui continued, gathering his unsteady feet beneath him. He fell back onto his rear  and slumped forward. Dejectedly, he looked at the broken pieces of mask on the ground. "Oh man... " he moaned,  fingering the gash in the mask's face, "I liked that mask...." He sighed heavily again, and gripped the nearby gutter to pull himself up right and leaned up against the wall.

The mask hung loosely now around his face, and he fumbled to tighten the strings. Occasionally he could see the party through the fracture as the light passed through.

"Yeah...." Irui mumbled and snatched another drink from the waiter's tray. "You don't want to be a Shinobi." He took a sip of the rum-and-whatever cocktail and pushed off from the wall. "Its hard. Sometimes you get beaten up by old ladies like her," He mumbled and jammed a thumb over his shoulder at empty space and shuffled down the street. Already he could feel his body orienting itself, his steps regaining coherence and the spinning had stopped.

"See!" He called back to the waiter. "I'll be fine!"

Diana was not a big drinker, but the few times she had most liquor didn't do much to her. Not that she couldn't get drunk, no she had found that out the hard way when in the land of waves back when she was...thirteen? Fourteen? The memory was there, but ever since coming out of stasis her older memories were getting foggy again. Well, whatever it was she found that she could drink weaker spirits without much worry of getting drunk. She assumed it was the Kotōshura side, but wasn't too interested as it only stopped weak liquor.

Today was no different. With the party having gotten her to come as it provided ample business opportunity, she had (very reluctantly) tried to mingle with the folk around thanks to Titania's recommendation. It went... okay, she met some people who asked about Iwatomics, a few trying to hit on her, and a few who were just having some genuine fun. It was all...nice was the best word. And eventually it led her to here, sitting at a table drinking from a korikane crystal glass she made and a weak wine that she could enjoy as she waited for Titania to get back from...well whatever she was doing.

And then the sound of a glass shattered as well as a thud pulled her into reality, unconsciously sensing for threats.

It was a teenager who looked like shit.

Diana just sat there, staring at the boy as he rambled and bothered the poor waiter. It was kind of pathetic, yet she understood how a person could get to that point given the whole 'shinobi war' that just happened. Really, she knew she shouldn't get involved, yet...a drunk shinobi was a dangerous shinobi, and he was showing an element she hadn't seen before which intrigued her.

As the mysterious semi-masked man got up, Diana decided to make what was probably a foolish mistake and followed him; finishing the last of her liquor and dissolving the crystal back into the air. She followed for a good fifteen seconds or so, keeping an eye on his location with her sensory before approaching, carefully getting his attention by moving to his front-left and giving a small wave.

"I cannot help but agree with you back there masked one. Why become a shinobi when there are other ways to help people, such as making masks that allow for drinking? Yet you seemed to have stuck with being a shinobi from your tone, why is that?" While she was trying to make sure he didn't do anything rash, her question was genuine. Those who were intoxicated often spoke more then they'd like, and asking why someone did a specific line of work shouldn't get close to that mental barrier.

---

185/185 CP
Sensory Tech; -0.5 CP
184.5/185 CP

"Im gonna to kill her. I am. Throw some water at her real good."

Takano Uzumaki had decided this well and truly: his sister had clearly been replaced by some sort of mischievous devil, and it was important to terminate her as quickly as possible. Sure, she hadn't pi] forced [/i] the glass of sparkling wine into his hand, but she hadn't exactly stopped the waiter from doing it either. What none of them had expected however, was that the Uzumaki was so incredibly bad with alcohol. He only had a half a glass before a light buzz had fallen around his surroundings, and another before his aura of mistrust had uncharacteristically fallen away.

The big shinobi stumbled instinctually away from the light and the noise, some small part of his brain telling him that being around people while this impaired was bad. The small bathroom stall he found himself in a few minutes later was not nearly as pleasant, but at least the sensory overload was slightly lessened. Takano slid to the floor, admiring the way the flickering torchlight refracted through the glass. It had been....so long since he had been able to truly relax, since before the end of the War. Perhaps....everyone was right. Perhaps even a failure and a recluse such as himself deserved a day off.

Takano's pity party was interrupted however by raised voices in the alley just outside of his stall, causing him to reach for his kunai holster out of sheer muscle memory if nothing else. Unfortunately, the drunken shinobi had forgotten that his coordination.....wasn't quite up to par, causing him to instead bark his knuckles quite solidly on the concrete.

The Uzumaki swore explosively, launching himself to his feet and ripping open the door. Rounding the corner, Takano was vaguely able to see two other people in the roadway, one female, one male, but his alcohol-dulled perceptions prevented him from examining them further as was his custom. Their conversation, however, was a different matter.

"Cause it..cause it's the only thing we know how to do." Takano said thickly, drawing level with the woman and mimicking the same half-wave that she had given a second earlier. "You work sooooo long to learn and master and learn and master..,,,life feels empty if yuh abandon that." Takano himself had gone through something similar as he vaguely recalled, trying to quit the life to find other jobs to support his family. Better paying, more safe. But something about the life just drew you back in.

"Drive price fallacy or somethin its called. It'll be ok though friend." Takano said, reaching out in an attempt to pat Irui on the shoulder[/color][/b]

Irui shambled forward, slowly closing and opening his eyes as he basked in the fading buzz.  Here and there his world would regain its sense of balance, the floor would stop spinning, and for the briefest of moments everything would come into focus.

He steadied himself against a drain pipe, gripping it hard as he doubled over. There was a tightening in his gut and throat; a slickness to his mouth. He bit it back and swallowed the nausea roiling through him.

"I cannot help but agree with you back there masked one." Said a woman as she caught up to him. He turned to look her way, and drew himself upright on unsteady feet. He blinked several times, squinting through the mask at the blurry figure with dark hair. Tsuki? He thought. Tsuki is that you?

"Why become a shinobi when there are other ways to help people, such as making masks that allow for drinking? Yet you seemed to have stuck with being a shinobi from your tone, why is that?"

But it wasn't her. This was someone new, someone from a distant land.

"Cause it..cause it's the only thing we know how to do." Said another, and Irui turned now to this figure, slurring his speech and waving drunkenly. The man stumbled forward, and continued: "You work sooooo long to learn and master and learn and master....Life feels empty if yuh abandon that."

Irui's eyes shifted to the girl, to his shoes, then to the man. It was either the strangest drinking game in a dark, mysterious alleyway, or maybe these two were like him. Lost, confused, and stumbling through life, unsure of what the future held for them. The man clapped him on the shoulder, joining their mutual miasma of alcohol.

"Drive price fallacy or somethin its called. It'll be ok though friend."

"What's driving?" Irui hiccuped and returned the gesture with a lazy pat. "We just get so caught up in jumping through trees, what else is there to do?" Irui wondered aloud and looked down at his vaguely cool drink. He looked up at the lady again, and considered her question through the boozy haze.

"I dunno..." He said and sipped through the straw. "I guess I wanted to see the world. S'no fun living yer life in....In...." He fumbled for words, and drew a circle with his finger in the air. "Y'now.. the places... " He made a zigzag for a roof. "Why are they called villages anyways... S'more like a fish bowl."

"Why can't it always be like this. With err'wun getting along...." He pointed to the bar up ahead, proudly selling that port Gyo had described. "We should go there. I hear hornpipe music. Sounds fun."

With the arrival of the new shinobi talking, Diana was a little caught off guard and did a quick scan of him out of habit, noting the differences in his chakra but nothing dangerous coming from him. She'd still keep it up though, no risk in being able to prepare for a drunk technique she could potentially stop. She listened to the man's words though, and he gave some good insight.

"...Sunk cost fallacy, not drive price." It made sense, the more she had spent on her projects the harder it was to pull herself away from them. It couldn't be just that though, if it were just the loop of learning and mastering, there were always more activities one could do that wasn't just fighting. She herself was a living example of that, being a crafter while still able to fight if need be. Maybe it was because they didn't know how to ween themselves off of it. It was hard to tell though if the man wasn't just talking from intoxication, or if it was actual insight. Either way she couldn't say it was untrue.

Then the clearly drunk one spoke about driving, which if Diana wasn't concerned for the man's mental state likely would have found funny, and he continued on about wanting to travel, which Diana understood greatly. She herself had been feeling the desire of wanderlust for many months now, but her need to improve her craft took priority in her mind. She was on the verge of...something, and needed to complete it. Hopefully she'd figure out what it was that she was working towards soon enough. The fish bowl comment was also funny, but like before no chuckle came from the half-blood.

"I guess sometimes people just disagree enough that they just keep escalating to the point of war." Was her response to his semi-question, semi-statement. She had never put much thought into why people fought herself. She just either tried to get away from the fighting, or make something to last long enough through it. "But if people did not fight, we would not be having a conversation like this now, would we?"

Seeing him point to the bar was a little concerning as he could slip deeper into the drunken state to where he could possibly poison himself, but if it came to that she could make sure he didn't die from it easily, so she wouldn't stop him from heading that direction. "Hornpipes are indeed entertaining, I might as well join in with you, if you do not mind."

---

184.5/185 CP
Sensory Tech; -0.5 CP
184/185 CP

As much fun as she was having, strange as it was, out of the corner of her eye Diana spotted what looked to be Titania, and after a quick sensory check confirmed it to be the case. While Titania wasn't the one running the shop today, it was a small surprise to see her anyways. It took her a few seconds to spot the twin bloodliner, but as soon as Titania saw Diana she perked up and made her way over, though the look on her eyes made it clear she wasn't happy at this moment.

When Titania got closer, it wasn't just the eyes, but the posture also spoke more then what she was going to say, which for her old friend was a surprise to Diana as the forgemaster normally kept her emotions in check. "Sorry to cut your mingle time hon, but we just got a letter calling us back home. Som'thing that requires the both of us to be in attendance." Diana took a few moments to process the words, then frowned a little. She was having fun, and yet...she'd have to end the night early. It was a shame, but Iwatomics came first, as it was her current lively hood. Maybe that was why Shinobi couldn't leave. Something to ponder later on the way back home.

Signaling one of the staff who looked to be more sober then the rest over to watch over the two shinobi, she took a moment to give a half-apology. "My apologies, but I must be off. I hope the both of you have a wonderful night. If you ever need your mask repaired, I am sure you will find a way to get in contact with me, if Okane does not get to you first that is." She gave a neutral chuckle, Diana herself unsure if it mirthful or gloomy. It was his emporium after all. Duty had called her though, and with a small bow the two ladies made their way to deal with the new situation that had bloomed in their absence.

{Exit}

Irui smiled beneath his mask and spun away from the two as they departed. He held up his drink, splashing it across the ground and dramatically waved to the woman as she left. "Ah, well then, duty calls!" He said all too cheerily, and sauntered off down the alleyway. Irui watched as she vanished down the street, and spun back towards Takano. He dropped the glass on the ground with a shatter.

He drew a hand to his mask, and pulled it up, flashing the boy a smile.

""Let's go for a walk," Irui said, his demeanor finding its balance. "They say alcohol makes you only more .... you. Its been ages since I've been able to chat with anyone from the islands of the Hidden Mist."

[exit]

After delivering several other prizes to people attending the Festival, Kara found her way to one Takano Uzumaki. The man was clearly drunk, stumbling about in an alleyway yelling about something or other to do with Shinobi life she guessed. She could understand the rage, she saw it often in her profession as a doctor. She did not agree with the way such things were handled, but then again, it wasn’t as though she had the opportunity to do much about it. In her own company she treated her employees fairly and made sure they were well taken care of. If what she saw walk through various medical rooms was any indication; the same could not be said of the military.

Doku was there with her, as well as Priya and an entire retinue of servants carrying various bundled weapons, so Kara was not concerned for her own safety - even in an alley. Approaching only within ten meters of the Uzumaki, she would draw his attention to the Trench Knife she had bundled up for him, laying it on a nearby ledge. “Takano, I’m Kara Darhk here to deliver your raffle prize. Congratulations on winning, and thank you for attending the Festival. I do hope that you enjoy your time here, and should you ever require medical assistance - physical or otherwise - please come and see me.” She had put heavy emphasis on the word otherwise, indicating that she also dealt with mental health as well. She had found that many Shinobi were less than pleased about that being brought up in name, so she implied it in order to save his pride. She would then turn and leave the man to his privacy, check another name off her list and then head back into the Festival.

[Exit Thread]

Notes: