Tanzaku Gai [Destroyed]

[Valentine Valtieri]

Vincente noticed that a question was being directed his way, and characteristically, he shrugged before answering it. "My family is nothing special. My mother is...a bit strange, I think. She shares my eyes. She's overbearing at times, but I appreciate her trying to protect me." Vincente rubbed Blaze's head before hoping on to the wolf's back. He looked to Kana and held his hand out in case she wanted to sit up on Blaze as well. "It's kind of embarrassing to talk about though." Vincente replied, a nervous laugh passing from his lips.

"And I have a little sister...she's cute, but troublesome. She's blind, deaf, and mute, but she picks up on words. She wants to be a shinobi too, but I don't think she's quite ready yet. Since my dad is...well..." Vincente shook his head, shrugging once with a sigh. "I do the most work out of the entire family. Mostly for my little sister's sake. If she wants to do it when she's older, fine, but until then I'd like her to rely on me a little longer. As a protector and brother both." Vincente laughed a bit, a soft smile reaching his face.

 

[Jai Bait]

███████████████████████████████████████████████

Kana| Hatake| Shikotsumyaku| Chakra Points: 120/120

Kana's smile widen when she started to hear about his family, her eyes twinkling after hearing about his little sister. He seemed like the type of guy that cared deeply for his family. Her smile faltered for a minute as he hesitated to speak of his dad, but resumed to act like she wasn't concerned. His dad... she noted that to be a hard limit before opening her mouth. "You're a mama's boy?" She giggled, staring ahead of her as she walked. "You definitely seem like the type..." The joking tone was intent, but there was a secret hidden intent that she hid her voice. "But your family seems to rely on you, which means trust." She smiled warmly to him, the city looming in the distance. They would be there within ten minutes, and she was excited that they'd finally get this done. Kana opened her mouth to say something," My..." Her mouth shut almost right away, cutting herself off.

███████████████████████████████████████████████

 

[Valentine Valtieri]

Vincente rapped his knuckles across the top of Kana's head once, and quickly. "And just what are you trying to say, Ms. Kana? I happen to love her very much if you're curious." Vincente replied, a light-hearted laugh escaping his lips as a result. Blaze trotted along ahead of Kana, not breaking in to a full sprint, but upon seeing their destination wasn't very far away, the alpha decided that it was time to move a bit faster. When they slowed down again, Vincente shrugged upon Kana saying his family relied on him. "It goes beyond family sometimes. Then again, maybe the people closest to me are family too."

Vincente pounded his bandaged fist in to his open palm and nodded firmly upon saying that. It was a habit he took with him from the original NUR which meant "I mean what I say" in Vincente's unique language. There were, after all, others that meant something to him. "In the end, if trust and a tight bond makes us family, then I want to consider everyone in Konoha family. It's something invisible, inexorable, and it connects us all the same. The same way my bonds allow me to trust them, I hope that, in turn, they trust me."

When they reached that point where town was barely a few minutes away, Vincente heard Kana mutter something, so he was curious as to what she was saying. "My...? Is something wrong? Vincente, being the person he was, wasn't going to force her to say anything she wasn't willing to. She sounded as if she wanted to speak before she shut herself up, though, and he found himself curious. Blaze could feel it too, although he was just an animal, there was always that certain apprehension that all beasts had. Both he and Vincente were of a like mind when they wondered exactly what Kana was about to say.

 

[Jai Bait]

███████████████████████████████████████████████

Kana| Hatake| Shikotsumyaku| Chakra Points: 120/120

She listened to him talk about trust, and made a weird face. She trusted Konohagakure with her life- hence becoming a shinobi- but there were certain people in that village that she wouldn't hand her life to, no matter if they were family or not. Kana's eyes drifted towards the ground as he asked to know what she was saying. "My..." She paused again, a small grin on her face. "My brother was a lot like you. Strong, dependable type." The memory of him dying flashed before her eyes, but what saved her from the memory was the wall. They were there. The doors were opened, with shinobi guards there probably to fulfill a mission. She waved to them, smiling and headed on in. Taking out the paper, Kana was quick to point them in the correct direction. The store was also a candy shop, and was located near a nice hotel. She pointed towards the shop. "You wanna talk to the guy in there or should I?"

███████████████████████████████████████████████

 

[Valentine Valtieri]

Vincente frowned upon hearing her speak of her brother in past-tense. In that way, Vincente knew that the worst had come to pass given both her body language and speech patterns. He resolved not to pry, and would instead focus on the mission at hand. Vincente jumped off of Blaze and patted the massive wolf's side while they walked. When asked which of them was going to complete this leg of the journey, Vincente stared at the shop and nodded. "You can leave it to me. This much I can do." This was going to be interesting.

Vincente left Blaze with Kana, upon which the giant beast slumped to the floor and huffed once. Vincente looked around, entirely casual in his approach...mostly because this was the kind of store he'd rather find himself in if he were ever trapped anywhere. "Can I help you?" Was the question being asked, and Vincente was all too happy to respond, his tone calm in contrast to the jovial voice of the owner. "Actually, I was here hoping that I could help you. I have a proposition for you that I think you may enjoy."

Vincente borrowed a sheet of paper and began his explanation. He spoke in length with the man, showing him that chosen plan that they were to follow, and how it was to be done. "It's a simple idea. The path between these points here are secured and protected routes, which means trade can flow through here with ease. After confirmation of the status of other roads, more will be marked as secure, which means trade will flow between these places, upon with you can partake of whatever funds you will based on how you conduct your business. You're limited without more routes of trade, yes? With a sufficient amount you'll find yourself better off before long."

Vincente explained, in detail, the way things were meant to play out, and didn't relent until he was certain that he was able to secure an agreement from both Point A and Point B together. If that much was done, then all they had to do was make sure that things went well in their other destinations and return with an updated scope of how trade would begin to flow between the multiple points. "Also...I'd like those things there. And there, too." Vincente might've been there on strictly business, but he couldn't completely control his sweet tooth. That much aside, Vincente was happy. He enjoyed the progress so far, and the journey as well, so why not add it? It was only a little bit of an addition after all.

Vincente left with two full bags of candy, and a pocky stick in his mouth. It was hard to tell if he was pleased or not given that he looked incredibly tired, but that was just a normal expression. "Kana...did you know these come in strawberry flavors?" Vincente asked, remarking on the pocky he was casually chowing down on, rather than his progress with the shopkeep. "I got a few...you should try one." Vincente remarked, his voice slightly muffled since if he completely opened his mouth he'd drop his pocky stick.

 

[Jai Bait]

███████████████████████████████████████████████

Kana| Hatake| Shikotsumyaku| Chakra Points: 120/120

She was delighted to know that he would be going in for her- she wasn't good with negotiating and she would have screwed things up if it was up to her. She watched his broad shoulders disappear inside, she was blushing a bit. Kana admired his large size, happy about something for some reason. "Hmm..." The girl smirked, looking down at Blaze. "So he's a good master? If not, I'll kick him where it hurts so you can bite his ear." She said it playfully, as a joke, and tried to put her hand near the dogs snout so he could sniff and become familiar with. She had heard dogs warmed up to you after getting used to your smell, though in the back of her mind she knew that Blaze was a wolf. "Shut a strong boy..." She gushed, then looked up when Vincente joined them back. He was adorable, the way he was oblivious to the fact that there were strawberry flavored poki existed. She laughed, a genuine laugh that lasted for almost a whole minute. She had to bend over, hold her stomach, and when she was finished she had to wipe her tears. "Yeah, I've known for a while." His pleased voice was music to her ears. "Alright, well, we shall be off?" She asked, slipping her hand into the bag and taking her own box. She stuck a stick her mouth, smirking.

███████████████████████████████████████████████

 

[Valentine Valtieri]

Blaze made a sound that sounded very similar to laughter when Kana said "master" when she spoke of Vincente. "Hah...he's just a child, nowhere near a master. I owe his father a debt, so I'm dedicated to protecting this child. I'd rather be doing anything else, but that foolish child still needs me." The wolf knew Kana didn't understand his language like Vincente did, so it spoke through the use of Morse Code when speaking to her. Blaze might've laughed at the connotation that he was inevitably linked to Vincente through a pet's bond, but it was still very similar to that since he was pledged to protect Vincente. Although Blaze was far from the same as Vincente, he treated the boy with a great deal of respect in secret.

Blaze stared at Kana for a moment when she moved her hand in front of her, only to turn his head away. Unlike Vincente, Blaze was much harder to know given his state as a wild animal. He could've very well been quite destructive, but so long as he knew Vincente, he kept himself in check. His natural intelligence further attested to that fact...he was, perhaps, better off with Vincente anyway. When Vincente returned, Blaze stood up and shook the dust away from his fur, having rested enough for the time being. Vincente didn't look happy at all, but Blaze could tell that Vincente was pleased with the results.

Vincente noted that Kana was suddenly extremely happy as well, although she was likely laughing at what he'd just said. Vincente nodded upon Kana saying they should get moving. "Yeah, let's keep moving on. We've made some real progress now." Vincente remarked, noting that they only had to do this for a bit longer before they could return to Konoha. Vincente was ready to leave the area, and when he got the chance, he wanted to learn the skills he had taken with him. Practice made perfect, after all, and he wanted to come back with perfected abilities.

 

[Jai Bait]

⓶ Years Later All conversations that were unfinished can be finished in Pm. Please make sure to update your character. heart