Ernie's Butchery

Spoiler:

Shimiko waited in front of Ernie's Butcher Shop. She was not wearing her usual formal clothes but instead opted for a t-shirt and black pants. They would be provided with butchery clothes when they went inside but Shimiko decided to not take chances with her nice clothes. The girl folded her arms and waited for her mission partner to arrive.

Kasuo had also made his way in-front of the butcher shop, coming across the pig-tailed girl that is supposedly his partner for the mission. "Hey, you're my partner?" he bluntly asked, which was straightforward enough. Kasuo was only wearing casual clothing, a purple shirt, black shorts and black boots. Regardless of the answer the girl would give, Kasuo entered the butcher shop, looking to get this mission over and done with.

Shimiko looked and saw that her mission partner was boy with indigo colored hair and dark bags under his eyes. He looked a bit ill from her perspective but she realized he had the same hair color as Natsuru. It was an interesting coincidence but a coincidence nonetheless. "I am! My name is Shimiko Chinoike. What's yours?" she asked with a pleasant smile as she followed him inside. The butcher's shop was about the size of your typical deli storefront but Shimiko knew that all the action happened in the backroom. The butcher who who owned the shop was named Ernie and he knew Shimiko because the girl had often come in with her mother or older brother to buy meat for a family meal. Ernie was a large heavy set fellow with an apron stained with blood. He had aftershave and wore a funny looking hat on his head.

"Oh ye ello dere" he said in a queer accent. It appeared all sorts of strange immigrants liked coming to Kumogakure. "De aprons are in de back. Instructions on how I want ye to cut da meat are on dat dere chalkboard. Don't do nothing fancy just roughly follow that guide and ye should be good. Shimiko don't be making off with me goat aye aye aye!" he hollered.

Shimiko nodded and smiled at Ernie. "Haha, not today Ernie. Duty calls!" she said before leading the way to the back of the shop. In the back they'd fine some plastic raincoats along with aprons. Massive butcher knives would be on the counter along with two dead hogs.

Kasuo had lightly slowed down advancing into the shop when he heard Shimiko introduce herself, especially hearing the last name Chinoike. "Why does that sound familiar..." Kasuo's in a somewhat tired state, he can't really think clearly as to focus on the bell that rang in his head when he heard that very name. "Questions for later, I suppose." after realising she had asked for his name, he quickly cleared his throat and apologised in advance. "Sorry about that, Kasuo Hideaki, happy to make your acquaintance." the introductions were cut short when the heavy fellow with a peculiar started to talk.

The purple-haired individual simply nodded to most of what the man had said, the entire time showing a zombie-like face that hasn't moved to a smile or a negative face of sorts either, just a cold, calculating vibe excluding from how he looked, and how he's feeling currently. "Got it, thank you." Kasuo said in response to the man's instructions, soon following Shimiko to find the aprons, raincoats and the butcher knives, especially noting about how big the knives are. "That's a bit excessive... oh well, if it gets the job done, it gets the job done." he usually doesn't tend to judge on professions or jobs that he has no experience about.

Before he would start putting on the attire Ernie left them, the back of Kasuo's mind had kept searching for an answer on Shimiko's last name. He decided to give up and straight up ask her. "Excuse me, are you apart of a clan or anything? Chinoike sounds familiar."

"I'm pleased to make your acquaintance as well Kasuo" she replied gleefully. The boy seemed tired and had a vacant expression on his face. Shimiko wondered if he was just sleep deprived or on some kind of drugs. What was it with Kumo boys always acting so bored and disinterested in everything around them. Shimiko guessed it must have been the latest fad in the village. She walked over to the raincoat and starting putting it on. Kasuo remarked that everything was a bit excessive which caused Shimiko to chuckle lightly. He had never butchered an animal before and so she guessed that he was unaware of just how much blood he'd be spilling. Most Chinoike youth tended to butcher an animal at least once a year as per tradition. Some did it every month and a few did it once ever five years but generally speaking if you were a Chinoike chances were you had cut open at least one animal. Shimiko was tying the apron around her waist when Kasuo asked her an interesting question. He asked if she was a part of a clan and mentioned that it sounded familiar. Shimiko nodded a bit surprised at his ignorance but she did not take it personally. Some people just weren't as update on village politics as others.

"Yes I am. We Chinoike are a shinobi clan. My older brother Seigi Chinoike was the Second Raikage of the village" she had grown weary of explaining her relation to her dead brother because having to mention him at the height of his power only to remember that he was no longer around depressed her. She gave a sad sigh and walked over to the table where the hog and massive butcher knife lay. At least she could be productive with her feelings of loss. She was partially angry at Kasuo for bringing it up and mad at herself for still being affected by his death. It had been over a year now and she had to move on.

"He was a great warrior and the best big brother a girl could ask for"

A light, moved shocked face had shown itself on Kasuo's face when she had to talk about her clan, more so on the apologetic side when he could clearly see he made her saddened in bringing up her deceased family member. "Oh... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to-" he had just shut up now, believing he would make it worse. He tried to ignore that little bit of awkwardness and started to put on the raincoat, while putting it on along with the apron, her situation had reminded him of a riddle he had learned about a couple weeks back, though he had kept it to himself as he didn't want to seemingly make light of such a situation.

He put on both the raincoat and apron well enough, grabbing the butcher knife, seemingly ready to start the actual mission they were both assigned for. "I can't say I relate, I'm the only child of my family but anyone who earns the title of Raikage definitely deserves respect, you have my condolences." though... he is a bit surprised he's been assigned to a mission with such an interesting individual, but he wished his mind was in a better state then a tired one, otherwise he would've surely remembered the last name of the second Raikage. He felt like a total idiot now for it, a wrong impression to give considering his personality.

Kasuo kept getting a feel for the massive butcher knife he was given, trying to get a feel for it. "So... you've done this before?" he asked Shimiko, while trying to change the gloomy mood of the topic they were previously on. He's led to believe she has some sort of experience or some form of expectation as she doesn't seem grossed out on the idea of butchering animals.

"Its okay really" Shimiko assured him as Kasuo expressed regret almost instantly. She didn't want him to feel guilty as it wasn't his fault that her brother had died. She appreciated his empathy though despite his spacey demeanor. He said he was an only child but that he still respected her brother. Shimiko accepted his condolences with a nod and gripped the knife firmly before getting to work on the beast's shoulder. Shimiko's fingers moved nimbly and quickly, slicing and cutting the shoulder according to the specifications outlined in the chalk board. She had done this occasionally growing up with her parents and alongside her fellow worshipers as well. Shimiko continued to hack at the meat moving quickly and efficiently. She barely heard Kasuo as he asked if she had done this before. Shimiko turned to him and smiled grateful for the change of conversation. "Yeah! Most Chinoike butcher an animal once a year and usually during family celebrations. It has to do with some of the traditions that our forefathers had started back in the countryside before Kumogakure had been founded. Its all about working to live and not being afraid to get your hands dirty to feed those you care about" Shimiko slowed down and started chopping more methodically so that Kasuo could copy her technique. "Have you never butchered an animal before?" the question did not mean to come off as rude or condscending. She was genuninly curious if he had handled a dead animal before. Shimiko doubted they would send only one experienced genin on a mission like this.

Kasuo appreciated Shimiko slowing down a bit as she was cutting the pig, so he could take on her technique to when he would start cutting, meanwhile he listened to her answer of actually cutting animals before, unaware that her clan had such a tradition. "Ah... interesting." he said, as boring as that might've sound when he said that, it's just his tired state making him seem uninterested when in truth, he is. He's just focusing his energy with the mission on-hand. Kasuo took a quick glance at the chalkboard and read most of the instructions relatively fast, understanding most of it but actual experience and seeing it first-hand tends to be a better teacher sometimes then just reading or listening on how to do something.

The boy gave a light shake of his head to her when she asked him about butchering an animal before, he gripped a nearby beast not too far from where Shimiko is butchering her own animal, to which he started to cut the shoulder according to how the chalkboard told how to do it, as well as picking up on how Shimiko had done it. So far, he had shown to be indifferent about doing such a bloody task, not in a psychopathic but he was indifferent about it, he doesn't get much pleasure from killing animals but it really doesn't bother him that much either, while the cutting of the beasts shoulders started to become a bit of a menial task for Kasuo, he started to mutter something to himself. "Right... what's a good riddle to use here?" Kasuo liked to make riddles of certain situations he's in, but there's not much material he can use considering the job is butchering animals, especially since he hasn't done it before or bothered to study much on the field of it. Maybe based on a particular animal, maybe like a pig or a cow? he'd have to think of something good though.

Shimiko noticed that Kasuo was more intent on the task at hand than making conversation judging from his response to her question. He had never butchered an animal before but he was learning fairly fast. Shimiko noticed how his technique had improved after only watching her for a little bit. Shimiko remembered that when she had first butchered a creature of this size the endeavor was filled with all sorts of mistakes and incorrect incisions but he was more or less doing a decent job for someone who had never done it before. Shimiko guessed that the mission coordinators had purposefully put them together. Her job was to teach and his job was to learn. In turn they'd get the job done in a decent span of time. Shimiko grabbed the pig by its hindquarters and heaved it to the side with all her might. She grabbed its stomach and began roughly into its ribs. The beast had been disemboweled and its entrails removed. That was the most disgusting part of the job but it never had bothered Shimiko much. Whereas Kasuo had a more silent and detached look about him as he worked, Shimiko was doing her best to suppress a grin and it was not all that effective. Blood splashed against her apron and around her as she worked. She enjoyed this quite a bit despite being a girly girl.

"So you like riddles?" she didn't want to distract him but the silence was making things awkward.

Kasuo kept glancing back towards the chalkboard, as well as keeping a steady eye onto what Shimiko was doing with her own pig that she's butchering, meanwhile Kasuo isn't much of a practical guy and sometimes kept to his books, his learning initiative was still quite there, even in his tired state and picked up on doing specific activities easy enough once given the general notion of it. After he believed he did a good enough job with the shoulders he had cut upon with his own pig, he moved onto cutting into the pigs stomach, using a similar amount of might Shimiko had to use when pushing the pig to its side, just for Kasuo to start cutting into the stomach, with a light pause on his end to realise what he had to cut out. "I guess I can do that... I just hope it doesn't smell." after cutting open the pigs stomach, the entrails of the pig were removed and the sight did start to make Kasuo react a bit, making him step back but he's still holding himself together for it.

After such a process, the thought process of creating that riddle had been lost to him, until it was brought back into his head when Shimiko asked her question. "Oh yeah... I love them, it gets the head thinking, riddles are short and sweet to the point compared to reading pages upon pages of a particular word or subject. It's basically a semi-paragraph, even less then that and the message is still just as meaningful and beautiful." he had stopped himself there as he felt like he went on a bit too much, though with Shimiko showing a curiosity to this now from what he believes, he might not shut up about it now. "Did you know there's a ridiculous amount of riddles based on the answer of love? I know about... four or five of them to heart." he didn't say anymore though, as he doesn't know if he's practically lose Shimiko at that point or it's weird to hear so much about riddles.

Shimiko was glad to hear that Kasuo was passionate about something. They boy seemed so fatigued and lethargic that she was worried that might keel over. He perked up at her question and launched into an explanation for why he loved riddled. Shimiko found herself nodding at his explanation although she disagreed with parts of it. The girl slowly pried the ribs out of the animal and used the butcher knife to hack them apart, creating individual ribs that would be sold to customers. Shimiko had read plenty of religious texts and she found them to be beautiful even though they weren't particularly short or to the point. Still though there was an undeniable beauty in the simplicity and humor of riddles. What really surprised Shimiko was when Kasuo started going on about riddles based on love. She looked at him strangely and laughed nervously unsure of how to respond. He really did have a thing for riddles.

"Hahaha, I didn't know that. I'll have to tell my boyfriend about that" It was an awkward thing to say but Shimiko threw it out there anyways. She didn't really have a boyfriend at least not yet in her mind. But the way this conversation was going it was better to nip any uncertainty in the bud before it blossomed. Kasuo wasn't her type and his segue into love riddles wasn't particularly smooth. "I think riddles can be great ways to exercise the mind" she added slightly changing the subject. Shimiko enjoyed butcher's work to some extent but she did not find discussing love while butchering to be something she wanted to be known for doing.

Kasuo didn't show much of a shock to her having a boyfriend, suggesting that Kasuo wasn't really in the game for love. The only reason he really brought that up is throughout his texts of learning riddles, love is a common topic among riddles for some odd reason, and not in a half-ass attempt to impress Shimiko in some way. He realised her sudden topic change back into normal riddles though and did notice pretty quickly how awkward talking about love riddles were, and like her, decided to move past it to move past that weirdness. "Exactly... sophisticated thought without being so sophisticated, it invites the mind to a greater level of thinking." Kasuo felt like he could've thought of a solid riddle about these pigs at this point, but he's just not in the right mindset and he keeps getting sidetracked into conversation with Shimiko, which he doesn't mind.

He followed the technique once more that Shimiko had used, and started to cut and pry out the ribs of the pigs that he could see in the inside, really getting his hands and apron bloody now but he still seemed to be somewhat unaffected by it, oddly enough the insides had reminded him of one of his favourite riddles to ask people. "Okay... here's a riddle for you if you don't mind, and don't worry, it's not about love." he still noted the awkwardness on that before, so he'd just leave it dead and do his best to not bring it up again. He stopped prying the pigs ribs for a few seconds just to tell this riddle. "You always use me, yet you never hold me. If you have the wit, you'll use me well. What am I?" he knew that Shimiko would figure out the answer, as most people would. He was mostly curious as to how fast they could figure it out.

Shimiko laughed when he mentioned this riddle not being about love. He was self-aware at least, that was a good thing. He posed another riddle to her and paused to tell it. Shimiko continued to work as she listened to the riddle carefully. She was thoroughly working through the pig's lower back now cutting large slices of bacon from it and splaying the meat to the side. Shimiko thought for a few seconds before giving a quick response. "A brain." she said fairly confident in her answer. The interesting thing about riddles is that you could sometimes be right just by virtue of giving an unanticipated yet creative and accurate answer. She doubted this was the case though Kasuo had probably chosen a simple riddle to see if she could get the hang of them and to make a point. It was nice that he didn't throw her anything super hard at her to begin with.

Kasuo gave a light smile to the answer she gave, there were several answers that could be used for that very question. "Nice, not bad... not bad." he said, quickly returning back to his work to continue prying off the ribs of the pig, placing them gently on the side, cutting whatever ribs he's able to see inside the pig and still following the instructions of the board, as he stopped watching Shimiko on how she did it and rather started to do it on his own, it seems he started to pick up on it well enough. "Some people answered differently, but it's a riddle that has multiple answers really, when I saw the riddle at first I thought the answer was tongue." he's glad to share his little hobby with someone else, as weird as it may seem.

He quickly took a breather when Kasuo had cut out what he believed to be enough meat for now, during which he decided to give her another riddle. This time, it's to bait her into thinking the answer is love, which it might be if interpreted in a specific way but it's not the answer he's looking for. He cleared his throat once more so she could hear him loud and clear. "I can fill an entire space or just one heart, others can have me but I can't be shared... what am I?" it's a bit harder than the last one, especially since he's looking for a specific answer.

As she suspected this was a riddle that had multiple answers. The tongue one was interesting, she didn't think of that but it did fit as an answer to the riddle. Kasuo threw another riddle her way, one that was much harder than the last. The Chinoike's brow furrowed as she continued cutting up the pig doing a more thorough job now that the meat had almost completed been severed out of the deceased animal. Shimiko continued to make precise incisions to get out all the meat that would be enjoyed by the patrons of the establishment. Hmmm...I can fill an entire space or just one heart, others can have me but I can't be shared.... "Darkness" she said after an eerily long silence. She didn't think it was correct but it was the best she could come up with at the moment. If there was one thing she could say about the previously vacant boy it was that he seemed to come alive when riddles were being discussed. This caused Shimiko to wonder if there was stuff that Sora and Simon got this excited about that she had yet to discover.

Kasuo kept ripping out the ribs of the pig, thoroughly getting most of it out and is nearly complete butchering the said pig, but he lightly paused when he heard Shimiko's answer to the riddle a bit of surprise showed on his face as he started to think on what might've drawn her to such an answer. "It's not a bad guess, but it's not the answer I was hoping for." he would give her a couple of seconds to think it over if she wanted to, otherwise if she gave up on it, he would just give her the answer to the riddle. "Loneliness." he said, he could understand darkness being a proper answer with how he worded the start of the riddle but the rest of the riddle would throw off that specific answer entirely. "It's not a bad answer though, I can see what led you to that answer of darkness."

He really didn't have much else to talk about, and he stopped with the riddles there as he believed he's pretty much making her bored at this point. He didn't want to be seen as riddles being the only thing he's interested in. "So... now that you've dabbled in my hobby, do you have anything you like to do?" to somewhat change the topic but to keep the conversation rolling while they worked.

Loneliness. That was depressing. It appeared that her answer was a bit off the mark. That was okay riddles weren't really her thing. Shimiko chopped up the last of the meat and set aside finally glad that she was done. Kasuo asked what her own hobbies were and she smiled. Ritual murder and sacrifice. "I dunno...I guess I'm a bit of a Foodie. I can cook a bit but mostly I like trying out new restaurants with various dining atmospheres. I also enjoy a bit of community service. Sparring and training is also fun" she said. All of these things were interests of hers but in truth Shimiko was a Janshinist first and foremost. Taking someone's life and giving it to her God was the sweetest and best pleasure she had known over the past few years. The thrill and excitement of killing was a high that she had yet to match. The only thing in her "normal" life that came close was competing with Natsuru or chasing Simon's affection but both of those things had proven frustrating and damaging at times. Janshinism was pure for her in a way that nothing else could be. It was a shame she had to keep that part of her life under wraps. To others she was just a normal run of the mill genin that happened to be the Raikage's little sister. She wasn't especially talented or strong and her name didn't ring out to a large extent. Kasuo didn't know who she was but she was sure that in time he'd know. This made her curious about the status of his own shinobi career.

"Kasuo do you have a team? A sensei?" she wondered aloud. It had been quite awhile before she had gotten her own sensei and team. And while her squadmates were now practically her family, her first sensei had turned out to be a dud.

Kasuo had finished prying off the last bits of meat inside the pig and stashed all of the meat on a pile next to the pig, dropping the butcher knife on the table and letting out a sigh, finally relieved that he had finished that one through. "Man... that was something." he's never been introduced to that type of work, he isn't exactly glad about it but it didn't effect him too much either honestly. He was still indifferent about what he did to the butchered pig. He listened to the interests that she displayed, and he supposed he shouldn't of had the highest expectations, but he'd expect a girl to at least flinch in some way if they're butchering and cutting up an animal the way she was, thinking her likes would be a bit more diverse since she showed herself to be different in that regard.

The question came about whether or not he had a squad, to which he shook his head to in response. "No squad members or sensei, I'm a lone genin for now until they decide to pair me up with a squad." he felt like his process in becoming a ninja was slow since he didn't have a higher ranked ninja like the typical squad normally would have to go to for lessons, and to take their ways in becoming an excellent ninja, just for now Kasuo had to learn in his own way.

Shimiko laughed at Kasuo saying the butchery was something. She had done stuff like this before so it was no big deal but she was pleasantly surprised at how quickly he picked up the art. The girl shed her butcher's clothes and apron careful not to get any blood on her regular clothes. Kasuo mentioned that he had no squad members or sensei. Shimiko could relate to the uncertainty and annoyance of not fully being a part of a squad. She knew that it was a relatively common problem and that she herself had been anxious until she was officially made a part of a team.

"Don't worry I'm sure they'll put you on a squad that compliments your abilities. Your a quick learner and you seem pretty smart. I think you'll make a fantastic comrade and student. It was nice working with you and I hope we meet again soon" she said ending the conversation on a positive note.

Shimiko walked out of the back and Ernie called out. "Done already eh? Thanks for ye help! 50% off any cut of meat as a bonus for ye trouble have a nice day now" the butcher called out as she left the shop.

(Exit)

A light smile grew up on Kasuo's face when she had complimented him, thinking how nice she is but kept going back to how casually she had butcher the pig on her end... then again, she did say he did it as a yearly tradition so it's probably second nature to her a this point but still... he probably won't put too much thought on it. "I hope so too, this was a... curious experience, to say the least." it wasn't relatively flashy, but it wasn't by any means boring either.

After the both of them had finished their job, Kasuo started to put off the apron and the raincoat, seeing now why they were suggested to put it on with how the blood had splattered everywhere, so he's thankful for that. "I hope to see you later as well." after that, Kasuo soon left the shop after Shimiko.

[Exit]