Looking Around [Open]

A smiling girl bounced around the village with a smile. She was now a genin and needed to get more familiar with the shinobi specific parts of the village. Up until recently, she had never really been concerned with the idea of being a weapon in combat. However, if she was going to survive in the world of shinobi, she needed to get strong. She wanted be around a long time. Her brown hair sat neatly in a bun on her head. Her shirt and pants were both looser, making her seem thinner than she actually was. She didn't have many friends, so she didn't need to worry about dressing up to keep a reputation. She didn't really have one.

She would look up at the sky, feeling the heat of the desert beating on her skin. As a Kaneko clan member, she enjoyed heat and things like that. Plasma was intensely hot, so she became accustomed high temperatures quite quickly. Deciding to take a break from all the walking, she would leaning up against an abandoned building, taking a few minutes to breathe and enjoy the weather today.

Word Count: 192

Kouten was calmer than she had been in years. Real peace and serenity seemed to waft from the female. The people who had harmed her so long ago were all dead - and even on the slim chance that someone out there wanted to try and harm her again not only could she now take care of herself but she had her guardian as well as several strong shinobi from the village backing her. She officially had nothing to worry about - well, almost nothing. Her brother and the rest of her family had disappeared quite a long time ago, and while Kouten had not gone searching for them herself as promised, they had never returned - not something they would have done unless they were dead. Still, it was something she had come to accept and which she had put behind her.

For now she was waltzing her way down the desert streets dressed as she always was - long black hair a little too messy and worn down, a black spaghtetti strapped shirt worn beneath a red shirt whose thicker straps hung off of her shoulders, a pair of gray capris that were baggy, and a pair of standard black opened toed shinobi sandals. Both sides of her nose were pierced with little studs, and hoops and gems lined both ears going from her earlobes up to her cartlidge. Black eyeliner and black mascara 'perfected' this look, making her look like quite the bad girl despite the fact that she was so calm and tranquill.

Wandering behind her, currently having shape shifted himself into a perfect male replica of her Kouten, was Pyra - her guardian. He wasn't speaking, or making any noise, and was dressed almost like her - gray capris and a red tank top. He stepped in perfect harmony with her, though he remained several feet behind: as her guardian he was always on the look out for trouble, and prepared to transform at a moments notice. In fact, this new form was created simply to make others feel comfortable about him to make life easier for Kouten - otherwise, he would have looked like the hulking horrifying beast he was.

Kouten glanced to the side, noticing a face she hadn't seen before during her walks or even around the Holeman clinic which was where she spent the majority of her time: Pyra looked too as they neared.

As Rie was relaxing, she noticed a woman walking down the street. She was a very unique looking woman, but she had good style. The thing that really grabbed her attention was the stunningly similar giant man walking behind her. What was that all about? She couldn't help but glance for a moment, before looking away casually. She didn't want to be rude and stare at them. She took a deep breathe as she shifted her weight to the other leg. A simple smile was on her face as the two walked up. She had to stifle her surprise as the woman and man both looked at her. Was there something on her? She would look down to realize that she was okay, and then looked back.

After debating a few moments, she figured she would walk up and introduce herself. It couldn't hurt anything. She stood on both feet before walking up to them. "Hi" She would say with a polite tone. "I'm Rie Kankeo. I know it's odd for me to just introduce myself, but you two seem like you would make fore a good conversation." Her face was relaxed and pleasant as she awaited their response. She didn't blame them if they ignored her, but she sure hoped they didn't.

Word Count: 412

Kouten watched as the female began to walk toward them. Pyra, typical Pyra, began to shift as if he were going to put himself in front of her. However, at a touch of her hand on his arm she stilled him and he just remained beside her and silent. The female introduced herself as Rie Kankeo. Kouten glanced at Pyra once more who nodded encouragingly at her: a simple okay that it was alright she gave his name.

"My name is Kouten Nara, and this is Pyra." She thought about what else the female had said, about looking like they could make good conversation. Kouten wasn't exactly sure if that was really true or not - outside of a few people she really didn't socialize too much...

"Give it a shot...", he encouraged her softly.

"So uh... how are you?" She glanced at Pyra, attempting not to glare at him for throwing her under the proverbial bus.

Apparently, the girls name was Kouten. Her friend's name was Pyra, and she was a Nara. She seemed a little shy and socially awkward, but that was fine. Rie had enough niceties and social skills for everyone. "I'm doing well, just hoping to find something to entertain myself. I recently became a Genin here in Sabakugakure." She would respond with pride as she said her village's name. Her last village had not lasted too long after she joined their shinobi forces, so she hoped things were different here. The man behind Kouten would usually throw someone off, but Rie thought he was one of the more interesting things she had seen recently. To find someone that tall? It was a feat in itself.

Her eyes looked around for an open shop as she felt her stomach growl with hunger. "Would you like to get some food with me? Apparently, I'm hungry." She said with a giggle as she was a tad embarrassed. Hopefully, she wasn't being too nice and overbearing. She tended to that.

Word Count: 591

A mysterious individual came walking into the village from the desert wasteland. He had a large straw hat on his head in the shape of an umbrella, and a black scarf covering everything below his eyes. This drifter had a cloak covering him that was the color of the sand, in order to avoid the heat from the sun. Something was poking through the cloak behind him, hinting at a weapon of some sort.

His first visit to a village on this continent. Jubei's curiosity got the best of him, and he decided that he'd had enough of roughing it, and it was time to check this place out. He was impressed with what he was seeing so far, and could sense the presence of several powerful individuals here. The most powerful had to be coming from the biggest building in the village.

Jubei didn't plan on attracting any attention, but if someone here had any sort of sensory abilities, they had to notice that someone who'd never been here before just entered the village. Jubei wasn't a troublemaker, and didn't plan on doing anything to cause any. Perhaps there were some job opportunities around; there was always something that needed fixed, someone that always needed found. Jubei wasn't above being a bodyguard either.

Like usual, Jubei attracted eyes; the eyes of the scum and the low lives that inhabited all villages. They looked as if they were sizing him up, or licking their lips at their next meal. He liked to avoid confrontation, but he could always use the exercise. Ears that could hear things that Humans couldn't could hear the conversation, and sensory told him that he was being followed. Well... there was no avoiding it now... unless he went to the authorities. But Jubei wasn't the type. He'd try to avoid killing them if he could...

318 + 337 = 655

Pyra was rather amused by Kouten's glare at him: her guardian knew she meant no hostility by it but was simply annoyed at the moment if nothing else with him. Still, Pyra was doing what he thought was best for Kouten which was simply getting her further out of the bubble she had put herself in so long ago. Holeman and his family had helped with that a great deal, but Kouten still had issues when it came to dealing with strangers which was exactly what Pyra was trying to solve: though the method he was implying at the moment was a sort of 'throwing one under the bus' one. Still, he sensed no danger toward Kouten so he had no reason doing just that if it helped.

Kouten meanwhile had stopped glaring at Pyra and had shifted her attention back to the other female while listening to her speak. She mentioned she had recently become a Genin which Kouten think of her own promotion to Special Jounin, the female than inquired as to whether or not Kouten would like to join her for some food since her growling stomach clearly indicated she was starving. Kouten thought about it for a moment, figuring it wouldn't do any harm, but before she could open her mouth to speak something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. Someone was being followed by a group of what looked to be thugs. Kouten frowned slightly, watching and not responding for several seconds.

Pyra too looked over in the direction of the stranger and those following him, automatically shifting himself to where he was standing between Kouten and the possible danger - not exactly in front of her but off to the left a bit. For now he kept his 'hidden' appearance, remaining the same height, nearly the same weight, and exactly the same look as Kouten. But, if things turned violent he was likely to change at a moments notice - not that anyone but Kouten and those who knew her well enough would know that.

Kouten bit her bottom lip, wondering if the stranger knew he was being followed or not. She didn't want to call the thugs out and cause problems, but she also didn't want to see someone harmed when it could have been avoided. She was a Special Jounin of the village after all.... "Hey... what're you guys up to?", she called out, making sure that her village hitai-ate could be seen clearly. "Why don't y'all go on somewhere else?" Pyra, still close to her, began to tremble not from fear but from the beginning of the changes he was currently holding back: but which he was willing to throw himself into at a moments notice.

"Mind your business, girlie!" one of the thugs said in response to Kouten. "This has nothin to do with ya!"

Jubei didn't change the pace in which he walked, knowing he was being followed by 6 individuals. He turned off the main street that had a large traffic of people, moving between houses and buildings to look for somewhere out of the way to deal with them. The 6 behind him noticed this and picked up the pace, some laughing as they figured Jubei was trying to get away from them.

Jubei moved between houses and buildings until coming to a space large enough to fight in, where there was no one else. The 6 quickly caught up and surrounded him, blocking both ways out of the space, all laughing and cracking their knuckles. All of them were taller than the relatively short Jubei. "Looks like this one has been around a few places," one of them said, a little bigger than the rest, so Jubei had him figured to be the leader of this band of scum. "Looks like you might have some nice loot under that rag too, that a sword at your back?... Been lookin for me a nice weapon. I doubt you even know how to use that thing. Tell ya what... i'm in a good mood today, so how's about you just fork over the sword and whatever other goodies you might be holding onto, and we'll let you walk out of here with all of your teeth. Sounds fair? I think it does..."

Jubei didn't move. He dropped the cloak to the ground, but he didn't hand over anything. "...Or, we can just beat ya and take it all," said someone behind him. "And trust me, i'd rather take that route. So please try and resist, small fry--"

Jubei went into a back flip. While he was upside down he delivered 3 quick kicks to the individual speaking behind him. the first kick landed to the face, the second landed on the shoulder, and the third landed to the chest, knocking the wind from his lungs. He was sent backwards crashing into 2 others and all 3 fell down. Jubei landed again on his feet, standing as he was before he flipped.

"...So you wanna do this the hard way then," said the leader, putting on what looked to be a home made pair of brass knuckles. "That's fine with me little man. Don't say we didn't warn you..."

424 + 655 = 1,079

Girlie? Those words just didn't fly with her: if anything they fueled her into wanting to involve herself even more. As if Pyra was reading her mind - which he could do fairly easily - he let out an audible groan: he had been hoping to avoid confrontation and trouble today. Kouten glanced at Pyra with a small smile. "I'd say you could just go home but we both know you won't do that.."

"You'd be correct. I won't leave your side again, I swore it." Pyra responded, eyebrows raised.

"Looks like you're involved then." Kouten would comment before bending her knees and launching herself into the air. It might have been rude to just bail out on someone in the middle of a conversation - especially when that person had just invited you out for a bite to eat - but this was the more pressing matter since she had no idea who this guy in the traveling cloak was or if he would be able to handle the six thugs that were clearly following him.

Kouten would land on a nearby roof, and jumping one to the other she would make her way over to the area where the traveler and the thugs were. For the moment she remained on the roof in a crouching position, watching. Pyra came to a stop nearby her less than a second later and took a position similar to hers. Kouten ignored the babble going on and the threats being thrown around, and instead focused her attention on the element she was unsure of. The traveler didn't respond, though after a skillful looking back flip he did seem to shut one of the thugs up who had been running their mouth.

"It would seem he doesn't need our help after all."

"I'm not leaving just yet, Pyra. I want to make sure... "

"I expected nothing less." Pyra responded with a chuckle, both sets of gazes locked onto the fight going on down below. They would watch, but not participate for the moment - stepping in only if needed.

Punches came towards Jubei. Even with the big umbrella-shaped straw hat he was able to easily avoid them. Jubei had the goons around him estimated to be around Genin or Chuunin level strength, with mediocre street fighting skills. The punches were wild and predictable to a seasoned fighter. A couple others joined in from the rear, and still, Jubei was able to avoid every blow. He diverted the path of the fist wearing the brass knuckles into the face of another, knocking the goon out cold. 2 were down so far.

Another goon swung what appeared to be a piece of wood from the construction of the nearby building at Jubei's head, causing him to duck underneath it. Another swing was countered, and the goon disarmed. Jubei extracted the claws on his right hand and slashed the board into several pieces, much to the surprise of the remaining goons.

"What the fuck--"

A hard side kick was delivered to the mid-section of the board swinger. He was knocked backwards to slam into the wall of one of the building, then crumbled forward holding his ribs; several of which had been shattered like glass. 3 down. Another attempted to grab Jubei from behind, making him go low and roll backwards. While rolling his feet met the crotch of the man, causing him to scream. Back on his feet, a roundhouse kick met the side of the screaming man's head, causing him to crash roughly to the ground on his face. 4 down.

#5 managed to get a hold of his sword and pull it from the sheath. Jubei didn't really take any action. Grinning, he and his brass knuckle wearing leader were the last one's standing. "Got your pig sticker now, little man!" he taunted. From the way he held it, Jubei could tell he had no skills with Kenjutsu. He formed a few hand signs as he turned to face them. "What you gonna do about that, huh? It's mine now! All mi---"

There was a trap built into the handle, for just such an occasion. Jubei built it himself, in the event that someone managed to get a hold of his prized weapon. It was triggered when hands other than his grabbed the handle, and didn't let go of it after a certain time. The goon didn't, and now he was the the newest victim. Barbs exploded from the handle, causing the goon's hand to be reduced into a red colored mush. While the high pitched scream and the fountain of blood began, Jubei blew something dark colored into the face of the screaming thug. Next came fire, which would cause a small explosion and set his clothes on fire. Besides burns, it would be nothing too severe. The explosion was enough to flash and burn both the remaining thugs.

Mist Blaze:

chakra 690

Small Fire:

chakra 680

The hand less goon took off running, burning and screaming. The leader was hurriedly patting himself down, putting the flames that had leapt onto him out. Jubei was picking his sword up again when it felt like something bit him on the arm. A kunai dug into the flesh of his upper right arm. Jubei spun with the momentum of the stab and executed his trademark move, the "Litterbox Kick." The remaining leader  goon was slashed by the claws on his foot, his clothes ripped, and bloody gashes torn into his stomach, chest, neck and face. Furthermore, he was thrown into the air along with a cloud of sand and dirt, to slam against a building wall and fall motionless.

Litterbox Kick:

Jubei pulled the Kunai out and felt a tingle along with the pain. He sniffed the blade and smelled something other than metal: he'd been poisoned. This wasn't good... Sheathing his sword and picking up his cloak again, Jubei began to feel drowsy; his legs were turning into rubber beneath him. It was becoming hard to stand. A headache began, and his vision became blurred. What sort of poison was this? Would it kill him? Jubei cursed himself for letting himself be caught as he was.

He stumbled from between the buildings and back to the main street. He didn't want to go to a hospital, but at the moment he had no choice. Jubei only hoped he could make it there before he lost consciousness...

1,050 + 1,079 = 2,129

Whoever this guy was he could definitely fight. One after the other the goons began to fall like dominos in a line. It was definitely clear to both Kouten and Pyra that this was a seasoned fighter the goons were dealing with: the skills vastly different between the goons throwing wild punches that seemed more a waste of energy than was needed, while those punches were dodged with ease of skill and knowledge. This was only further proven when one of the goons ended up knocking the other out with what appeared to be a homemade pair of brass knuckles.

Pyra leaned forward more excitedly after seeing this; her guardian had a bit of a bloodlust, and enjoyed a good fight as much as the next 'hot blooded' person - even if he wasn't warm at all. Kouten glanced over to her guardian and then returned her focus back onto the fight just in time to see a board sliced to pieces with the strangers... bare hands? That was odd. How had he done that?

The fighting continued, each goon continuing to fall while this stranger seemed to take no damage at all from their attacks. While Kouten was happy she had followed just in case it seemed like her and Pyra would not be needed for this. That is.. until a kunai came flying out of nowhere and struck the stranger. Normally, that wouldn't have been too major an issue - compared to other weapons at all. However, as the stranger began to stagger and act off it became clear to Kouten that the kunai must've been poisoned - her basic medical knowledge she had begun to learn telling her that much at least.

Thinking quickly she jumped off of the roof she was perched on - Pyra following after her - and landed nearby. She kept a good few feet distance from herself and the stranger, not wanting to be taken as another threat against him - especially since it was common sense that the faster his heart pumped the faster the poison would act. "Look... I don't mean any trouble. I know you don't know me but I can tell you are posioned because I have a bit of medical training. A friend of mine named Holeman is nearby, he runs a medical clinic. It's closer than the hospital. I think it'd be best if you go there instead, yeah?"

Kouten would wait, Pyra too, to see if this stranger just shrugged her off and ignored her while continuing on toward the hospital or if he gave a sign of listening to her. If he showed interest she would continue on. "Come on, follow me and Pyra. It's just up this way." Provided that the stranger could walk on his own still she would lead the way toward the Holeman clinic while calling out "Holeman" knowing full well he'd hear her even though she was outside: a sort of heads up that someone was coming in who needed his help.

"Already ahead of ya."

Holeman had been watching ahead of time. He'd seen everything. A strange person came walking in from the desert; a person who'd been out in the Yasei for days, living off the land and looking towards Sabaku every so often, as if he wasn't sure that he should visit the village. He was unlike anyone Holeman had ever seen before, because he didn't exactly look human. So for the last few days, he'd been keeping an eye on him, not knowing if he was planning an attack, or just unsure on coming to the village.

Today it seemed he couldn't contain himself any longer, and entered the village, just to be harassed by 6 idiots who'd gotten what they deserved. This was probably one of the reasons he was hesitant on coming here. The guy didn't kill the idiots, so he wasn't a bad guy; he'd only defended himself. Unfortunately, one of the morons managed to get a hit in on the guy with a kunai, and Holeman could see that he'd clearly been poisoned.

The hospital would poke and prod and make a big fiasco over this guy, which would probably lead to a lot of trouble. the poison in his system wouldn't kill him immediately; he'd seen this kind before, found from a beetle out in the Yasei. If left in his system for an extended period though, the results could be crippling, and in some cases, fatal. Holeman could remove it easily enough...

...But this guy didn't seem very trusting. He didn't seem the type to come along with Kouten quietly. After a few more moments, he was going to lose consciousness; even quicker if he got worked up or tried to run. Holeman, currently riding on one of his storm clouds with his legs crossed, his trademark grin o his face, rode along nearby Kouten and Pyra, waiting to see if the guy would come along, or keep trying for the local hospital. Holeman estimated that he wouldn't make it there before he was face down in the sand.

It was becoming hard to see, hard to think. Sounds came to him like his head was trapped in a fish bowl. Was this really the end of him? In a dusty desert town where he knew no one. Who was to say that the hospital would be able to save him in time?...

Someone landed nearby and started to speak, but he couldn't make out what they were saying or who they were. Jubei was in full paranoid mode, and trusted no one. Everyone around him was a potential enemy. Without thinking he grabbed a handfull of shuriken and flung them in the direction of the person, not really caring if they were to hit or not. It would create some space for him to continue on, and hopefully make it to the hospital...

Jubeu stumbled and crashed into people and things... They protested, but he didn't hear them. It was becoming harder to walk... his vision was growing darker, and the headache more intense.... He crashed into something else and went down. When he tried to stand again, it was as if there was a tremendous weight on his back preventing him from doing so.

So this was it... crawling on his face in the dirt, Jubei thought that maybe he should have stayed in the Yasei. Dying to a piece of shit like this, in the slums of a desert village... his ancestors had to be looking down  at him in shame. It became harder to even move while crawling, and finally settling for his fate, Jubei figured it was useless to struggle anymore, and fell still.

272 + 2,129 = 2,401

Holeman responded from nearby: apparently he had already saw the situation going on and had come riding along on one of his usual clouds. The sight of him sitting on something that shouldn't have been able to carry his weight hardly surprised her anymore considering she was now used to it. Instead, she focused back on the stranger who seemed to be having more and more trouble with each passing second.

The stranger didn't respond to her offer of aid, and instead flung several weapons at her. Pyra, over-protective as always, moved in front of her with the same sort of speed Kouten herself could move at and manifested his knife which he used to deflect all of the kunai. Kouten put her hand on Pyras shoulder, a silent warning not to transform. Kouten knew what it was like to be in the kind of position to where you were surrounded by strangers whom you really didn't know who were offering you help you probably weren't very sure was all that helpful. There was no need to add insult to injury by attacking the defenseless stranger for such an action.

Pyra calmed immediately and even gathered up the weapons that had been flung in Kouten's direction: he had no interest in taking them, but simply wrapped them in a white cloth Kouten produced and tied it into a sort of knot so that nothing would fall out. If the stranger survived the poisoning Pyra would simply give them back to him at a later time when he was well again. "I'll give them back later... when he isn't prone to throwing them at you again." Pyra grumbled as he cast the poisoned stranger a weary look.

Kouten looked between Holeman and the stranger after peering around the over-protective Pyra, sure he wasn't going to make it to the hospital though she had far less medical experience than Holeman did. She remained nearby all the same, ready to help if needed though knowing Holeman it wouldn't be nessecary.

The guy tried to attack Kouten, but Holeman could see right from the start that it was a blind, desperate attack. He probably didn't know anyone, and after just being attacked, he didn't trust anyone either. Add that onto the poison in his system that had to be blinding him and slowly wearing him down too, he was likely paranoid. He prepared to hop off of his cloud to stop Kouten and Pyra from attacking the guy, but apparently they could see what the guy was going through as well.

When he collapsed, Holeman hopped down from his storm cloud and apologized to the people he crashed into for him. Holeman even gave ryo to some. When they saw who it was doing the apologizing, they weren't so mad anymore. Holeman explained that the man was a new visitor to Sabaku, and had been attacked and poisoned by morons. Holeman produced another storm cloud beneath the guy, lifting him from the ground, to the amazement of many villagers. He began to guide it back towards the clinic, with several people following.

He was still bleeding somewhat from the cut on his upper arm, so it saved Holeman the trouble of making an incision for what he was about to do. Ordinarily someone would have to be still to do something like this, but Holeman had practiced so many times that he could do this in his sleep. "You said you wanted to be a med, right Kouten? Here's a free lesson, pay attention, watch close..."

Green colored bubbles appeared on either gloved hand. He put his left on the guy's shoulder while the right seemed to begin pulling something. Holeman was able to pull the poison right out of his system into the green bubble on his right hand, resembling a balloon. Some of the villagers following them had never seen such a thing before, moaning and clapping in surprise.

Delicate Illness Extraction technique:

"There still might be a little in his system that I wasn't able to get, but we'll handle that," Holeman said. By then they were back at the clinic. Holeman opened the door and guided the cloud inside. After waving to and being waved at by the villagers he went inside. Holeman guided the cloud into the back room and caused it to lie the guy on the examination table. Holeman had to take the guy's pack and stray hat off beforehand, allowing him to see cat-like ears on his head. Holeman could also see that the belt he wore wasn't really a belt, but a tail.

"Hunh... a cat-person. Never seen someone like this before, interesting!" he said, putting the guy's belongings on the floor near him. His gloved looked to big for him, and Holeman could see why; his hands were paw-like, with retractable claws. His feet were probably the same way. Holeman could see that his vitals had stabled out, so perhaps he'd come back around soon. he walked to the sink to grab a cup and fill it with cold water, then opened a drawer to take out several herbs grown in the backyard, mix them together in the cup and stir it.

Chakra: 880/900

Several people were bumped or crashed into by this stranger who seemed to be coming under the affects of the poison more and more to which Holeman apologized for him, gave some some ryo, and even explained what had happened and how the stranger couldn't exactly help what he was doing at the moment. Holeman even created a cloud like the one he normally rode around on to use to carry the stranger toward the clinic. When Holeman brought up how Kouten had been interested in becoming a medic, and to pay close attention, she did just that: watching everything that Holeman did with the kind of attention that would allow her to save it to memory for later on. She watched as he began to extract the poison out of the stranger without even having to stop. She recognized the technique as one used world wide by medics to remove poisons from their patients, but she had never seen it used in the midst of moving before nor had she tried it herself: it was definitely something she would focus later on on learning.

For now though they had made it back to the clinic and she and Pyra - who still held the strangers weapons - followed him inside. Holeman had mentioned that he had got most of the poison out, so she figured the stranger should begin to start feeling like his old self soon enough. She watched as Holeman removed the strangers pack and straw hat, revealing something that looked awefully like feline features; a cat person?

This wasn't exactly a surprise in a way - she had seen a few fox people from the Fennec clan wandering around the markets and hospital - but yet it was because she had never before seen someone with cat-like features. "I haven't either.", she commented thoughtfully after Holeman had mentioned he had never seen someone like that before. Pyra remained silent, but he tilted his head in a quizical way, obviously curious about this stranger too. Absently Pyra went and put the bundle of the guys weapons down next to where Holeman placed the rest of his stuff and then returned to Kouten's side - though he was now more relaxed than before considering they were in the clinic with Holeman so close by.

Jubei found himself slowly beginning to wake. Was he dead?... The pain was gone for the most part. He could still feel the tingles of a headache within his cranium, but beyond that the horrible feelings he once suffered were gone. Jubei reached up to rub his eyes, to find that his hat was gone.

He opened his eyes fully, finding himself on a bed, in a room. There was a small boy with something on his head covering his eyes, mixing something in a glass. There was another girl and a boy with her; they looked alike, siblings perhaps? The room they were in looked like an interrogation chamber. Where the hell was he?

Jubei jumped out of the bed and began to execute punches and kicks towards the boy with his eyes covered. Did he mean to imprison him here? Was this a jail of some sort? Jubei didn't know what happened, or why he wasn't poisoned anymore, but he would take this opportunity to escape from here before he found himself locked in any more cages...

181 + 2,401 = 2,582

The guy woke up...  to jump up and attacked suddenly. Yet the grin didn't leave Holeman's face. The guy was fast and more exact now, like when he fought those thugs in the alley, and with more training he would be deadly, even more than he was now. Still, Holeman was able to avoid, duck and slink skillfully around every blow. Even while avoiding the guy Holeman turned around and put up a hand to Kouten and Pyra, as to let them know not to jump in. He was able to dodge and duck punches and kicks even with his back turned.

"You're pretty good, guy," Holeman said, cartwheeling, tossing the cup as he did so and catching it, not spilling a drop. He jumped around and flipped, further avoiding blows while tossing the cup several more times, never spilling any of it. "If you're wondering where you are, you're in my clinic. We're a privately own business; we won't ask if you don't wanna tell. If you went to the hospital, they would have made a big hoopla over it all, and the kage would have gotten involved. Emiko prolly has enough to deal with as is. I saw those morons attack you in that alley and decided to come help out when you were poisoned. I got mostly all of it out, but there still could be some in your system, and you getting worked up like this could cause you to fall out again. This is fun and all, but you don't want to start feeling all nasty again, do ya?"

Holeman landed on the examination table in a crouch, holding out the glass to the guy, assuming that he stopped swinging at him. "If you drink this it'll flush the rest of the poison out of your system," he said. "...And seeing how you're dressed, I think you're trying to keep your identity a secret, right?... I imagine alotta people give you crap cause you're a cat man, yeah? I think it's pretty cool, so don't worry about me.... My name's Holeman by the way. What's your name?'

"When will he wake up---" Pyra had been in the midst of asking when the stranger suddenly opened his eyes and began to launch a flurry of attacks at Holeman. Holeman held his hand up to Kouten and Pyra, which they both took as a sign to stay out of things, while he went about skillfully dodging each attack launched at him - all without spilling a single drop of whatever it was he had been mixing together beforehand. Kouten was impressed, as was Pyra, as they watched from the sidelines.

Holeman went on to explain things while he continued to dodge; like about how he had removed most of the poison, but how if the stranger didn't calm down he would end up feeling real bad again due to what was left in his system. Kouten and Pyra exchanged glances, wondering if this stranger would calm down or simply run out the moment he had a chance.

Holeman mentioned he didn't have a problem with cat people, and introduced himself before asking the stranger his name. Kouten would wait for a second in case the stranger responded and then go about introducing herself and Pyra as well "I'm Kouten, this is my friend Pyra. Neither of us have a problem with you either. Holeman's right, the hospital would have asked way too many questions had you been brought there."

"Your weapons you threw at Kouten are over there in that bundle of cloth... didn't want them getting lost." Pyra said in a soft voice; one that lacked any sort of judgement. In fact, it would sound if anything understanding - as if he didn't fault the guy for acting the way he had under the effects of the poison, which was exactly the case.

Jubei... didn't land one hit. Even blindfolded, the kid avoided all of his attacks, and with ease. He even had his back turned at one point. This put a look of surprise on Jubei's face, what could be seen of it that wasn't covered in his scarf anyway; who the hell was this kid?

It was obvious that this kid wasn't just an ordinary kid. He had to have some other way of perceiving things other than with his eyes. He had a grin on his face, and that told Jubei that if he wanted to do him harm, he would, especially with how quickly he was moving. Despite not being able to hit the kid once, he complimented Jubei, and went on to say that he was in a clinic, not the hospital. They were private and didn't ask questions. The kid said he'd removed the poison from his system, but were he to get worked up he could suffer a similar situation as the one outside.

Jubei began to think that this kid had to be some kind of prodigy child. He could obviously fight, and he was a trained medic too? Jubei stopped trying to attack him. the kid, who said his name was "Holeman," handed him a glass of something, saying that it would flush the rest of the poison from his system. He was right in saying that he wanted to keep his identity a secret, and said he found it cool that he was a "cat man." Jubei had never been complimented for what he was before. Lowering his scarf, he took the glass and drank the contents, finding no reason not to trust him.

The girl, Kouten, and her companion Pyra, said they didn't have a problem with him either. Pyra said the Shuriken he'd thrown before were next to his bag and hat, both on the floor by the table. Slowly, Jubei felt the headache fading, and soon he'd be back to his normal self. "...My name is Jubei Neko," he said, handing the glass back to Holeman. Jubei took a knee and held one hand over a fist before him to Holeman; a sign of respect. "I apologize for attacking you, I wasn't myself. Many thanks for helping me, I am in your debt..."

399 + 2,582 = 2,981

Jubei stopped trying to hit him and took the glass, drinking it down. He told him his name after handing it back, then took a knee and apologized, then thanked him for the aid. Holeman hopped down off the bed laughing some.

"Hahaha, no need for all that formal stuff, come on, stand up," he said, trying to help Jubei back to his feet. "Don't worry about it man, i'm one of the medics of Sabaku, it's my job. No prob at all, come on, get up."

Holeman went and put the glass back in the sink. "And like I said, don't worry about anything, I can keep a secret, I won't tell anybody about ya. No need to feel wierd or anything either, as you can see, i'm not exactly 'normal' myself... you guys can keep it quiet too, right?" Holeman asked Kouten and Pyra. "I mean I know my man Pyra won't say anything, but Kouten might blab, hahaha." Holeman said this an obvious joking manner.

"So who are ya, Jubei? Just a traveler of sorts? Those were some slick moves you did on those idiots in that alley. Where do ya come from?"

In the end the stranger seemed to calm down and consider Holeman's words. He stopped attacking and even took the drink that Holeman had offered him without raising an issue. He drank whatever mixture it was that Holeman had made and then handed the glass back to him before introducing himself. He then kneeled down and offered up a sign of respect to Holeman before apologizing for attacking him, and saying that he was in his debt.

Holeman clearly didn't want to be bowed to, and told him there was no need for that formal stuff. He said that he wouldn't say anything about Jubei, and then joked that he knew Pyra could keep a secret but that Kouten might blab. Pyra grinned and poked playfully at Kouten who squeaked - very ticklish - and jumped sideways, sticking her tongue out at him. "Hey now, no tickling, and I can keep secrets too.", she said with a giggle.

Both Pyra and Kouten looked back to Jubei, as they too were wondering along the same lines of Holeman. Was he a shinobi? Or had he simply picked up his skills along the way? And where had he come from if that was the case?

"Yeah, I was watching the whole time..."

"Me too."

"I thought you might need help since there were so many of them but you handled them all like a pro..." Pyra nodded, agreeing.

Holeman jumped down from the exam table and tried helping him up from the floor, saying all that "formal stuff" wasn't necessary. He said he was one of the main medics of the village, so healing him was his job. He didn't seem angry at all over Jubei trying to attack him. Holeman said he'd keep his identity a secret, and said that while Pyra would also remain silent, Kouten might blab. This was said in a joking manner that Jubei could see.

Holeman asked him who he was, and where he came from, complimenting on the performance that he'd given on the scum in the alley. Holeman, for all intents and purposes, had saved his life, so Jubei wouldn't mind telling his story. Jubei sat on the floor and checked the contents of his bag and the condition of his kite, seeing that it was still in perfect working order.

"...I'm from Clan Neko," he said, pulling down his left glove to show them the Neko tattoo on the back of his hand. "...I come from a large village, it was called Nekogakure. It was far to the north... My father and brothers taught me to fight, among many other things. The village was targeted by a clan of humans. They were afraid of the Neko and the powers they created... so one day they raided and destroyed the village. Myself and my family tried to fight them off, but their numbers were too great. My father threw me into the river valley that the village used as it's water supply... When I woke up, the village was totally destroyed, and my people scattered... so I roam the lands, hoping that I can find any of my family, if they still live, and also the surviving members of my clan..."

Jubei re-situated the shuriken he'd thrown at Kouten and Pyra in his holster. He gave a curious glance to Holeman then. "...A question of my own, if you wouldn't mind," he said. "You have your eyes covered, but you move as if you aren't blinded at all... How do you do that?..."

376 + 2,981 = 3,357

Holeman laughed some at Kouten and Pyra. Jubei went on to explain that he was from a clan called Neko, and that he was from a village far to the north, called Nekogakure. He learned how to fight from his father and brothers, and other things too. When the village was targeted by a clan of humans, there was a battle that resulted in the village's destruction. His father ensured Jubei's survival by throwing him into the village's river, and now he wanders in search of his family, friends and clan.

"Damn... bummer, man," Holeman said, not grinning then. "sorry to hear it, bro. We humans can be real idiots sometimes, but we're not all bad. If you don't have anywhere else to go, why not stay here, yeah? At least for now. My mom won't mind. We get visitors through here all the time, my family knows all kinds of folks."

Jubei asked a question that he was all too used to being asked by now, making him grin again. "That's my clan's specialty, the chakra radar," Holeman said, touching the side of his head with an index finger. "We have eyes that can see almost anywhere. That's how I could see you in that alley, and also out in the Yasei before you came to Sabaku. The Holeman clan has a long history, if you hang around i'm sure you'll hear about it sooner or later..."

Kouten and Pyra fell silent as they listened to Jubei begin to explain about himself. He was from a clan called Neko, who apparently had run an entire village. His father and brother's taught him how to fight, but one day it wasn't enough when invaders who were fearful of the clan came calling upon the village. Jubei managed to survive thanks to his father, and when he returned later he found the village totally destroyed and his people were scattered. Now he was hoping to find either a member of his family, or at least a member of his clan.

Pyra frowned somewhat; it reminded him of his very long search in trying to find Kouten in the first place since she had been taken far before he had had a chance to locate her and her family. Kouten meanwhile also had a frown on her face: such a story was tragic, and not fair for anyone to have to endure.

Then Jubei had a question of his own for Holeman which made Kouten grin somewhat: she had a feeling she knew what was coming and sure enough he asked how Holeman could see even though he was blindfolded - it was a question Kouten herself had had when she first met him. When Holeman answered him and explained about his clan's ability she turned her focus back onto Jubei, wondering if he'd take Holeman up on his offer and stick around, even if just for a little bit.

"Since we're all being a bit forthcoming on things... I should give you the heads up in case you're planning on sticking around.. I change forms; as I am not human. I'm Kouten's guardian, it's a contract forged between my people and her clan long ago. I just happen to keep myself looking like this mostly because my other form is... larger, and quite shocking to most people." Kouten grinned but nodded, glad that Pyra had brought it up just in case he had to transform for whatever reason.