sunshineverse | [OPEN]

Where: All over Konoha village.
When: From May 12th to May 24th (the day before the auction)
Notes: Open to anyone in Konoha during that time-frame.

It didn't take much for the Hokage to convince Gai to participate in the upcoming auctions. A few words about how Obito was joining, how it was good for the village, how Kakashi should do it too...and Gai was sold on the plan. Fundraising for the exams, where promising young ninja would show off their skills? Definitely a worthy cause. Besides, it would help to build bonds between the ninja and their comrades or the villagers! And perhaps even make a love connection or two! Ah, blossoming springtime affections!

Gai was excited! For his own part, he was only concerned with making as much money for the village with his own sale as possible, not with romance. His goal was to make more than Kakashi! Perhaps even more than the Hokage himself! He hadn't even given much thought to the concept of being bought. After all, ninja were sold like commodities daily, every time the village leased them out as soldiers/bodyguards/assassins for missions. Whatever his buyer was interested in, it was worth the funds for the village coffers.

But one man alone could probably not fund the entire exam, so Gai was running around the village (sometimes on his hands), enjoying the warm weather and enthusiastically trying to drum up interest in the upcoming event.

Buyers and potential participants would all get an earful on why they should be sure to attend--and help out with!--the auction!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Hey hey calm down there. You know I'm not going to be without the ANBU no matter who gets me." He absently flicked his hand upward to indicate they were being watched as it was. "I don't exactly have that luxury anyone calls 'alone time' you know."

He laughed but he didn't mind. He'd had plenty of time to get used to the idea that he always had someone's eyes on him, and it wasn't bad, not at all. Even if it meant that when he got into stupidly over the top spars with Kushina and it was a disaster that there was a clear record of the thing. Which sucked.

"So no matter who gets me should I promise you I'm not going to let them drag me into any dark corners to set your mind at ease there Gai?"

Gai knew. He could feel them watching now, even if he couldn't see or sense them. The Hokage could go nowhere without guards. Still, he worried about his leader, and his friend. Someone could definitely take advantage of this auction.

How did Obito even get used to this? Every time Gai had a chance to speak with the Hokage--Obito particularly, since they had once been peers--it struck Gai was impossible to feel comfortable. Even knowing the ANBU were on their side, it felt like being watched by enemy ninja. ...No sudden movements, no ill-conceived words...

"I appreciate that promise, though I would appreciate it more so from your ANBU guards," Gai said with a glance up towards where he suspected Obito's stoic stalkers were hidden.

They were at the restaurant now and Gai allowed the Hokage to seat himself before following suit.

"If you were to be bid upon, who would you want to win you?" Gai ventured asking, as innocently and unassumingly as possible. This was purely in the interest of conversation, of course! "Surely there must be a cute villager or fellow ninja you have your eye on?" Just conversation. But while he was chasing around, rounding up participants, it wouldn't hurt to make a few suggestions to certain parties, if it would make Obito happy.

The question left Obito visibly stymied. For all that he could charm and coax people with finesse when he felt like it... he'd pretty much given up on the idea of a date just for the sake of a date. The idea of Rin had long since been set aside, after all, and after that he hadn't really devoted himself to anyone, obliquely or not.

He picked at it for a moment, opening the door to the restaurant and stepping inside, holding it while he waited for Gai to follow. "Ah... hm. Not really. I mean. I guess I haven't really mentioned to you that I gave up dates a few months ago after the last one bailed before I could get there, did I?"

"Thank you," he said for the courtesy at the door before continuing. "Obito, you are in your prime of life! If you want a date, you should really not throw in the towel so soon!" So he was a little late... Obito had always been annoyingly, chronically late, but that was to be expected of him! "If you do not want to date, that is fine, of course, but if you do... Perhaps you are just not meeting the right people! I am sure this auction will be your chance!" Gai blinded any doubts with a reassuring grin.

He slammed his hand down resolutely on the table. "I will find you a date--an excellent one. If not for this auction, then soon! That is a promise!" Now what was on this menu...

He peered at him, bewildered why he was so invested in the idea. It's not like anyone would be happy with how little time they could get thrown at them from him anyway, and he knew it. He gave a little scoff and shook his head, checking to make sure his favorite was still on the menu.

His voice was dry. "Gai, the only people who even put up with my time issues are you, my team, my students, and a couple of my cousins. Everyone else just doesn't have time to try to see me around how stupid my schedule usually is. And out of that list, there's what, three? four? people I'd even look at twice for a date okay."

Edited 2014-05-12 11:04 (UTC)

Stupid?! The Hokage's schedule was not stupid! It was indeed problematic and restrictive, but it was important for his duties. Surely the Right Person would be able to appreciate that! Relationships had been made on less contact! Plenty of ninja spent long periods away from their significant other when missions overlapped and vacations did not.

"Obito," Gai reached over to pat his friend on the shoulder. He knew his insistence on this matter was surprising. It surprised even himself, but Gai had given it some passing thought after Obito convinced him to join the auction. Maybe a silly setup like this would be just what Obito needed. Or Kakashi! "You must not be so hard on yourself, or your schedule. The Right Person will understand your duties and support you in them, even if he or she cannot have you to themselves all the time! They will understand; that is part of what will make them Right. Just because you are Hokage does not mean you have to go it alone!"

It was right for the Hokage to settle down, find himself someone. Wasn't it? Obito's stability and family would be a symbol of Konoha's stability and family, and besides... Obito needed someone. Kakashi and Rin couldn't be around to support him, or weren't, not all the time, and being Hokage in times of Peace was difficult--if tensions were to increase between villages... ANBU would be little in terms of moral or emotional support; they were nothing but guards. Obito needed someone who brought a smile to his face, put confidence in his step, and would be a shoulder to cry on and an ear to listen.

Gai was determined to help find that person.

He blinked at Gai a few times, staggered, and not for the first time, by the man's protective insistence. It really did come off that way to him when this happened too. Protective, determined. It was one of the reasons that Gai was a close friend, now, even if when they'd been kids he couldn't wrap his mind around the loudness having substance.

He would readily admit that before the mission that redirected his life, he'd been a bit of an oblivious little punk.

So that's why he just gave Gai a wry smile and reached up to pat the hand on his shoulder. "Like I said. The list of possibilities isn't all that long. But hey, I'm okay. I'm not exactly young, but I'm not old yet either."

Edited 2014-05-13 05:19 (UTC)

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