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((The RP so far smile )

Ick. What a horrible waste of color... The tan-skinned Gehaka had paused his walk along the long path of street vendors to scoff quietly at the small crowd gathering before some of the latest paintings offered by a shop his family knew only too well.

It wasn't all that bad, really. A Haka of purple crouched over a pond of olive, watching a particularly large orange koi move along just beneath the surface. The art was fine, mediocre at the least, but it was the color that killed it. The artist could have just stuck with simple black and had a better result.

Maybe Kei was just sour, for it was this particular shop that was keeping his family's own from plummeting. It wasn't as if the ink they sold wasn't of the best quality -it was some the best, or so he liked to think- it was mostly because it wasn't manned its Haka as often as it could have. Therefor, it wasn't as well-known as it should have been and, from the shabby appearance of the shop, many never passed it a second glance.

And yet here was this painting -only made so vibrant by the labor of his kin- being bid on for money that could easily make the shop that produced its ink something more eye-catching. He scowled softly, but shook his head. It wasn't worth sulking over and he had a job to do.

Suddenly, Kei gave a small, delighted sound, making his way through the crowd in front of him. There, at the corner of one of the larger shops... dirt? From a pocket hidden in the folds of his rosette pants he produced a tiny jar and then crouched. This sand... with a little more grinding and some good oil, it would make the most beautiful russet orange. He could see this potential, but it wasn't likely many others wandering the streets could. How odd, for someone to be scooping dirt up from in front of a shop instead of entering it.

The Haka flowed down the street, poised and stable on even such unstable footwear, from years of practice. Reizo glanced around him boredly. He had no real errand, but he was scoping out other shop, to see what his fellow artists were producing. His family's studio - soon to be his studio, with any luck - was one of the better known studios, but one always had to stay on guard, especially with a business such as art.

Accompanied today by his younger brother, the artisan stopped by the gathering, miling crowd, a delicate eyebrow raised. Hm. He pushed forward towards the front with murmured - hardly heartfelt - apologies, surveying the work that he finally saw. Not terrible, surely, but it could have been done much better. The lines were not quite right.

Pulling back, he tossed artfully dishevled hair over one shoulder and made to continue on...stopped only by the sight of a dark-haired Gehaka kneeling in the dirt, for no apparent reason that Reizo could see.

Eyes... he could feel someone's vision against his back, though he surely wasn't offended. He knew how odd it was to see someone shuffling about in the dirt, but he didn't care- he was passionate enough at least in this. After he'd gotten enough to appease himself, Kei stood.

With orange sand still clinging to the knees of his pants, the Gehaka turned to look for the unfortunate soul who was still staring at him so he could send off a rather sassy remark. He'd expected odd looks, and thus had prepared responses. What he did not expect, however, was to connect eyes with whom he did.

A Haka. From his delicate frame and rounded features, he came to this realization rather quickly. Still, his eyes refused to move for a moment. He'd never looked into the face of a Haka this close and it was rather shocking to him. Finally, his metallic blue eyes lowered, taking in the looks of Reizo's sandals instead. Even their feet looked nice, he noted.

((Black- Kei
Olive- Reizo))

And here he was without any semblance of a marriage bracer and his taut, tanned upper half exposed for the Haka and anyone on the street to inspect. Maybe the dirt dusting his knees would throw the high-class Haka off? Yeah, right. One could only hope.

When the question was asked of him, a rather koi reply was brought to mind. If only there wasn't the fact this delicate creature only had to throw some money around and he'd be snuffed out. Kei bowed his head slightly, a respectful gesture even though he didn't know if he quite meant it. Well, at least he wasn't being scolded for looking upon a Haka's face.

"I was collecting colors." He replied, which was true, but still obscure enough for him to feel a little better about a conversation which -for once- he didn't have the upper hand over. When it was another Gehaka, he was free to pick at them or say what he pleased. Now? His blue eyes settled on the other's smirk, which was as high as his eyes could respectively lift. Ah, the Haka was... amused?

Kei didn't belong to him, though, nor did he belong to any other Haka by the looks of his strapless form. He'd wear and do as he pleased so long as he was getting in anyone's way and still carrying out the tasks he'd been instructed to. It was such a nice day out, he'd left his vest home. From the look of his skin, he probably did so pretty often.

"Well..." He took from his pants the container he'd used to confine the sand, pouring a bit onto his palm. He then held it up for the Haka to see. "My mother owns a supply shop of sorts and we make our own ink and paint. Things like the minerals in this sand here can be ground up and be mixed with other things to make paint or even a colored ink."

After he'd explained this, he let a bit of the grainy stuff run through his hands back into the bottle. "It's cheap, and the results are usually good.." Why was he even explaining? The Haka was probably snoring even as he spoke. He glanced to the other's chin just to make sure, listening closely for tell-tale slow breathing.

A possessive Haka was nothing new. He knew if he was married off he'd never have as much freedom as he did now, which was still quite limited to begin with. Kei didn't really crave social attention either, and in fact avoided most of large groups if he could, settling for one or two to mutter amongst. That was Gehaka. Haka made him so tense it was hard to talk, and like every other Gehaka he was wary of their temper.

This Haka was odd to him, though, in the way he seemed to actually be relatively nice compared to his snooty fellows. His own mother was a very trying person, often flaring up over some of the simplest things, so he was on guard. Maybe this Haka was just in a good mood. After all, it was a pretty nice day if one would disregard all the thick clouds hanging about, as if waiting for the right moment....

"The name? Do you mean the shop's name or," He paused, large ears swiveling. Quite suddenly, the Gehaka's right wing unfurled, stretching painfully over his shoulder so it could shade Reizo. "My whole family's proffession? My apologies, I didn't know how soon you'd like another bath.." As he said so, the stretched leather that was his wing trembled beneath the patters of raindrops, yet would not shift from the make-shift umbrella they'd become. A sun-shower, how delightful! Unless you were getting drenched by it, like he would slowly become. Usually he might have just let it come- he liked rebelling in that sort of way against the sensitive Haka, but he was having an admittedly pleasant conversation with this one. Spoiling such a mood would be a shame, but he may have already done so in moving his wing so suddenly.

"Aa. 'Sudaku Geijutsu-Kyokyu' is what it's called. We sell most of the supplies one would need for caligraphy, Ukiyo E, and any other form of painting. We'd sell more, but it's not a very large place..." He bowed his head slightly in acknowledgment of the thanks, the wing curling in an unconsciously bold move around the Haka that had stepped closer. In this way he was sheltering three thirds of the redhead, from both the rain and the eyes of street-walkers. Heat was radiating from his bare chest, even though many cold droplets were coursing over it. If he minded the rain, stretching his wing like so, or standing so close to the other he wasn't showing it.

The Gehaka lifted his head ever so slightly, catching the fumbling but just letting it go without a second thought. The Haka had succeeded in getting his full attention for the moment. "May I... accompany you to wherever you're going?" Well, now that everything was so drenched he'd be able to. As long as he came home with something, it'd be fine.

Kei waited patiently, curiously sneaking a peek at the other while he was looking so distant. He followed the other's hazel gaze, catching the umbrellas and quietly relishing the colors. Did the shop have this color or that one.. or?

"It's Kei, Sudaku Kei." He replied to the suggestive statement, bowing his head just a little bit. "If I may ask, do you paint, Honorable One? Please, allow me to escort you to our humble shop... I'm sure those of us that are there would be honored to have you." A potential customer? Oh, but the shop was so small, perhaps Reizo wouldn't be interested in it, or may be swayed by the Gehaka currently manning the shop. For some reason, Kei didn't really think it'd be so.

His right arm bent at the elbow and offered to the Haka. If the other didn't take it, he wouldn't be offended. He was a little wet, after all.

Kei's wing bent back in place rather smoothly, folding itself neatly alongside its twin. As the other mentioned his family's shop, his eyes widened quite visibly. "G-Gyarari-bijutsu?" He hadn't dared enter the place, but he'd often passed by on his errands and peeked in when the door had been left open. That place.. wasn't small at all. Even if he hadn't seen it, his reputation proceeded it. His arm shifted a bit and he cleared his throat in a rather lame attempt to regain his composure. One foot after the other, please...

"Akimatsu-sama, your family is indeed very well known. Though, I believe it is your Ukiyo E print I framed the other day for my mother's wall. It is an honor to meet you, as well as accompany you." s**t. If this man didn't like what the shop had to offer, there would be absolutely no chance of survival among the other Haka competing for their lot. And yet, his feet were guiding them at a smooth pace towards his mother's meager little shop and his arm had not loosened one bit. As for his growing respectful tone- it seemed hard to get Kei interested in anyone, and because of this he generally didn't bother falling over himself to be polite. When dealing with Haka, he used the bare minimum of formalities and went on his way.

He'd tried it with Reizo, in the very beginning. However, instead of reacting as hotly as he would have intended a Haka to, Reizo had either not noticed or ignored it. Sure showed him a thing or two about Haka, didn't it? He'd been allowed to talk so far without being reprimanded, though it was quite clear to him that Reizo would not just roll over should he say something extremely out of line. It's easier to catch flies with honey rather than vinegar, right? Kei tended to be more respectful around the people he thought he might like. The fact that Reizo was art-oriented and the fact the Haka was nothing less than stunning every time his eyes moved to the corners to glimpse him- well, that was pretty much the cherry on top of a pleasant evening.

"Here.." Kei had murmured softly as they drew closer to the end of the bazaar of sorts. The shop was nestled between two others, and seemed relatively normal from the outside. There was a wooden awning over the shop just for this occasion, which Kei attempted to lead him to now. This way he'd be able to put away the umbrella without getting soaked. There was a sign by the door, written in kanji for all to see that yes, this was small business run by the Sudaku family with help from other Gehaka.

It wasn't as if Kei minded walking in the rain, or he might have made it clear that he was uncomfortable. He was, in fact, more happy about the fact he wasn't being smacked in the head with the umbrella, for he eyed it warily as it twirled about.

The shop was small, but rather quaint; not hardly as bad as Kei thought it out to me. It was dry, free of dust, and was set up so many things could exist on one side of the shop while the other was used for more of a counter to receive purchases. Behind that was a doorway leading into the back. The shelves that were there we stacked pretty high, if only so they could be spaced more and give customers plenty of room to browse.

The front door had been open so one could observe all of this, though just as they were looking in a Gehaka had removed himself from behind the counter to shut the door. He paused at the sight of Kei, though trembled slightly at seeing Reizo. As if he'd forgotten about closing the door, he slipped back around the counter again. "Is there something I can help you find, Akimatsu-sama or did you just want to browse?" Kei offered, ignoring his fellow Gehaka for the moment.