sunshineverse | [open] Chasing him down

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[open] Chasing him down

Where: Konoha
When: May 25th
Notes: After the auction.

Sitting at the table, Abel calmly sipped his tea as he waited for his food to arrive. After having lost out on his two bids at the auction, he decided to cut his losses and treat himself to dinner. A few questions posed to one of the guards at the auction had brought him to this nice restaurant where the various shinobi could 'let their hair down' so to speak.

He gazed around at the other patrons as he thought back to the auction, and he had to wonder what that one shinobi's problem with Abel was. He had never seen the man before, but the features were close enough to Itachi's for him to have been a clan member. Perhaps the other was just highly protective of Itachi. Anyway, Abel hoped that he could get a message to Itachi to see if it was possible to get together to just talk before the Chunin Exams when everyone and their sister were going to be busy in Konoha.

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It would probably serve Shsiui right if Itachi had a meal with the foreign shinobi Shisui had been trying to keep away from without the man having to pay for the time. Itachi might even arrange to pay for Abel's meal. Itachi slid into the seat and tried not to grimace.

"That was my cousin." Of course, cousin could be a very broad term for someone in a clan. Best friend/honorary older brother would have been more accurate. "He is slightly over protective." Perhaps for good reasons, but Itachi was a little injured Shisui didn't think Itachi had learned his lesson. Hopefully Abel had missed Sasuke and Shisui almost coming to blows later in the bidding.

"Please do not take that as the accepted attitude towards strangers here," Itachi added.

"And all he saw was a foreign shinobi bidding on his cousin," Abel remarked with a nod eve as a trace of wistfulness flashed across his face. He tried to forcefully shove the 'what ifs' to the back of his mind where he might entertain them at a later time in private.

He chuckled. "I hope someone to your liking managed to win your time?"

Itachi nodded. He caught the flicker of emotion, but didn't chase after it. He didn't know Abel well enough to pry into anything.

"Well..." Itachi ahd mixed feelings about Sasuke actually bidding on him. He knew Sasuke hadn't meant it that way, but it felt like a reproach for how little time he spent with his brother. "It was my younger brother." Itachi wondered how dysfunctional that made his family sound.

"Then I salute him for a sneaky way to get time away from both your duties in able to spend some quality time together," Abel said with a laugh.

He cocked his head and looked at Itachi. "How much time do you have free right now?"

Itachi doubted that was what Sasuke had done at all, but he wasn't sure he wanted to enlighten Abel about how awful an older brother he was. "He's always been clever."

Itachi considered. He really had nothing to do until his "date" with Sasuke, evidently this was the calm before the storm. He expected everyone would be intensely busy in the upcoming weeks.

"My evening is open." And the night to, if he didn't feel like sleeping tonight.

"Then why don't we put these aside," Abel suggested, tapping the hitae-ate he still wore. "Along with our positions as shinobi of our respected villages and talk as two men who may be advancing from acquaintances to possibly friends?"

It was an offer of comrade re as well as one to not speak of any missions or training that might dance into 'classified' or 'forbidden' territory.

Itachi hesitated. He had no reason to. Ame and Konoha were friendly at the moment, so there was really no reason not to talk or even be friends with one of her shinobi. Still, he'd just been burned by getting to close to someone he enjoyed talking to. He was hesitant of making connections that weren't purely business at the moment.

All the same, he could not, as the Hokage's cousin and the Uchiha heir, be unfriendly to a visiting shinobi.

"I think that would be a very welcome break," Itachi admitted. It would be, and he would just have to watch himself.

Smiling, Abel reached up and removed the hitae-ate before folding the straps and placing it on the table next to him. It felt strange to not have it on when he was away from a bedroom. He signaled for the waiter to bring over a drink for Itachi.

"As you are my guest for this meal, feel free to pick a topic to talk about," he invited as the waiter brought over another cup for tea and the menu, handing the later to Itachi.

Itachi took the menu. Actually, after the month he'd been having, philosophical discussions probably wouldn't help his state of mind, but he couldn't refuse. Maybe it would help him clear his head.

"I will have to start by insisting you're the guest, and that I owe you a meal." Itachi did, and while he doubted Abel could or would demand anything for that meal, he'd feel better when that small debt was paid. "And then I must ask you how you're liking your stay in Konoha, and make a comment on the weather, which is probably much to dry for you."

Abel laughed softly before inclining his head. "As you wish."

His smile turned into a small smirk. "I suppose after Ame, any place might be too dry for a person, but it is nice to dry out once in a while." He wrinkled his nose a bit. "It's rather nice to walk around without my shirt clinging to my back."

"At least you always know what to expect." And those who specialized in water jutsu should have an advantage of ample water at any given time, either in the air or in the ground.

"I was surprised to see foreign shinobi participating in the auction," Itachi added. Then again, he had been surprised that Obito had even come up with an idea like this and implemented it. "Will you be staying long?"

"Word reached Ame, and I asked my lord if I might come to see what it was about," Abel remarked with a grin and a sheepish shrug. "And I'll be staying a few days. I may come back for the Chunin Exams if my lord wishes it of me."

It was, evidently, about showing off the crazier and more aggressive side of Konoha-nin. How many foreigners had won their auctions? Well, besides Obito's.

"Ah, then you'll have a chance to see Konoha being a little more normal. I hope you will enjoy your stay, and please let me know if you need anything." Hopefully Itachi wouldn't get yanked out of Konoha for anything in the next few days.

Abel softly laughed. "I will but where should I send my requests? The mission office or the Uchiha Clan house?"

He would hate to have his message delayed until after he was out of Konoha simply because it was sent to the wrong place.

"That depends on how many curious relatives you'd like staring at you, I suppose." Either way, Itachi could let someone know he was assisting one of the foreign ninja and should be tracked down when asked for. Actually, his family would probably raise a lot of eyebrows at him doing something like that, and while they might not decide to delay the message, Itachi was certain to get an earful.

"Perhaps the mission office would be most...expedient. I'll let them know."

Abel softly laughed, but there was a wistful tone to it. What would it be like to have a family related by blood that cared about you enough to want to question the strangers that dropped off notes.

He forcefully shoved those thoughts away. He was normally so good about letting the past remain there, but apparently this week, the past wanted to rear up and remind him of what he lost. "I'll be sure to remember that."

Itachi caught the wistful tone of the laugh, but he didn't want to pry into the matter. He'd only known Abel for a little while, and asking about someone's family could be considered rude. Itachi just had the luck of having a well known family, so it didn't seem to personal to talk about them.

Itachi also wasn't sure questions about Ame would be welcome either, which left him a little short on topics. "Had we no met like this, I hope you would have sought me out anyway. I enjoyed our talk last time."

"I enjoyed it as well. It's interesting to talk to new people," Abel said before nodding towards the window. "What's it like to live in Konoha?"

He grinned, a teasing tone appearing in his voice. "Probably don't have to worry too much about flooding."

"The river can flood if we get too much rain, but it's not normally anything that gets out of hand, " Itachi admitted reflexively as he pondered the deeper question of what it was like to live in Konoha. He'd travelled a good deal, but visiting somewhere wasn't really like living there. Still, Itachi often felt he'd was lucky to live where he did.

It was comfortable, green, and home. Nothing was home like sitting by the river with Shisui, or napping in the shade after a long morning. Konoha was peace and safety for him. His ideal.

Instead of that, he said lightly: "It's very nice, unless you happen to be allergic to trees."

"Woe to the poor shinobi that's allergic to trees," laughed Abel, shaking his head even as he raised his glass in a mock toast.

He grinned. "Ame isn't that bad once you get use to the rain. I have a small greenhouse in my apartment that I grow flowers in."

Itachi had to wonder if the flowers were poisonous. That seemed like the only reason to go through the effort of growing flowers in a greenhouse to him, but he wasn't a great gardener. Itachi tucked away the information that Abel might be a poisoner, and then realized he could ask.

"What kinds, if you don't mind me asking?" Thanks to his mother's gardens, he could pretend to know something about flowers.

"A couple of violets, a few tulips, and a small rose bush that I'm desperately trying to not kill," he said with a laugh. He didn't mention the foxglove or the lily of the valley as they were the more poisonous of his plants. Ironically, he grew them because they were pretty and smelled nice instead of for their more deadly properties.

"My expertise in roses is sadly limited to how much it hurts to fall into them," Itachi admitted. He'd tried growing tomatoes for Sasuke a few years and had barely managed such a simple plant, and Konoha was ideal for growing things.

"There's a fairly good market for plants in Konoha this time of year, if you're interested. Most of the vendors are civilian, but they have a varied selection of ornamental plants." Itachi only knew this because there were all different colors spread out everywhere whenever he passed through.

"I may have to look into acquiring a few to take home with me," Abel said with a bright smile. "Thank you for the information."

After all, he did have plenty of money with him since he hadn't won his auctions. ANd it would be interesting to see what Konoha offered in the way of ornamental plants.

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[open] Chasing him down

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