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fallen_kotetsu ([info]fallen_kotetsu) wrote in [info]fallen_leaves,
@ 2008-02-06 15:55:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:kotetsu, ryouma

Guy Talk (Closed to Ryouma and Kotetsu)
Set in Mid-December. Before Acid Dogs of War.

The ceiling was worn and dirty, the plaster lined with hairline cracks so numerous that they looked like spiderwebs. Oh. Wait. Not cracks, they were spiderwebs. Heh.

Kotetsu let his fingertips dust carefully over them, barely disturbing the thin threads of spidersilk so coated with dirt and grime that they looked like dark cracks in the ceiling. The plaster itself, if you disregarded the cracks, was greasy, and it was difficult to clamber across it without leaving marks.

Man, his fingers were going to be all greasy. Apparently it occurred to no one to clean the ceiling for poor banned hungry ninja.

He grabbed hold of the middle rod of the lazily spinning ceiling fan, curling into its shadow. Coast's clear. The Angry Chef wasn't in - out for a smoke, or at the men's room washing his hands, or something - and that meant he had a good five minutes at least to dart in and down.

He tensed, ready to pounce, when someone slammed open the door.

"Ngah!" His hand slipped and he crashed straight to the ground.

Falling through the fan didn't help - for the record, fan-blade slaps really, really hurt. Ow.

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[info]fallen_ryouma
2008-02-06 07:59 am UTC (link)
His neighbors claimed the HQ cafeteria was open 24 hours of the day, but at 0330--which was when Ryouma woke up from a vivid dream of apple pie, found himself gnawing on his pillow, and decided he might as well do something about it--the cafeteria was deserted. Fluorescent ceiling lights glared down angrily on empty tables and chairs, and the swinging doors that presumably led into and out of the kitchen were closed. There were lights on in the kitchen, though, and he could smell something cooking. It certainly wasn't apple pie, but his stomach rumbled anyway in response.

Maybe they would make him pie. Ryouma headed for the doors.

He threw the door open, got a brief and puzzling view of a massive and entirely empty kitchen with no motherly pie-baking cook anywhere, and then went straight for a kunai as something large and flailing fell from the ceiling and landed on the linoleum at his feet.

And there were absolutely no kunai in the battered combat pants he'd pulled on before padding down three flights of stairs--barefoot, bare-chested, and entirely unarmed--in his quest for pie. Crap. Maybe this was another of those nightmares, after all.

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[info]fallen_kotetsu
2008-02-06 08:00 am UTC (link)
"Fuckdammit," Kotetsu muttered, then the presence of another person registered. Kotetsu bounced up immediately, going into ready stance - choppers were deadly weapons in the hands of a master chef, and Angry Chef was very much a maestro in the kitchen. "I was just going!"

... oh. It wasn't him. The blatant lack of angry aura and sharp pointy objects thrown his way - and death threats. Don't forget the death threats - clued him in.

Instead, it was a scruffy looking, touselled haired guy, much taller than Kotetsu, rangy and sleepy and looking terribly hungry. Heh. Anyone in the kitchen at this time had to be hungry as all hells, unless they liked braving the wrath of cooks who had no sense of humour and a distinct lack of appreciation for the potential of explosive yellow pudding.

"... oh. Hey. Um. You hungry too?" Kotetsu said brightly, dropping his hands and glancing out the backdoor. "If we're quick, we can grab food before he returns."

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[info]fallen_ryouma
2008-02-06 08:00 am UTC (link)
If this was a dream, it was getting weirder by the moment. Ryouma hooked his thumbs in the waist-band of his pants and stared blankly down at the scrawny kid in front of him. Beaten-up blue jeans, dark green tee-shirt, loose paisley shirt fluttering unbuttoned around his narrow chest. The kid was at least a foot shorter than Ryouma, and looked light enough for one kick to punt him halfway across the village. Not exactly the sort of dream-demon that usually figured in Ryouma's nightmares.

He really needed to wake up. He scrubbed a hand over his stubbled face and through his hair--emerging more tousled than ever--and even tried touching a jolt of chakra to the soft skin behind his ear. No dice. The kid and the kitchen stayed there, and he was having real difficulty making any sense of this right now.

"Is there pie?" he asked finally.

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[info]fallen_kotetsu
2008-02-06 08:02 am UTC (link)
"Dunno," Kotetsu said. Riiight. The guy looked real sleepy. And off his centre. That was alright. People who were starving were like that. "I hope so, but this guy, he's not good with desserts, you know? Screamed like a little girl when that pudding... um. Right."

Kotetsu grinned at the guy - poor man, he knew exactly how being starved felt like - and headed for the fridge. "You can stand guard while I get us food," he said, conspiratorially, starting to raid the shelves. "He don't cook much, not at this time, but it means there's only him I hafta get past." He gave a covered bowl a considering look. "Want curry?"

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[info]fallen_ryouma
2008-02-06 08:03 am UTC (link)
"The world is a dark place," Ryouma muttered, "when there is no pie."

He padded forward anyway, because he was quite likely to fall over if he didn't start moving, and reached past the kid to wrench open the door of the giant walk-in freezer. The blast of icy air hit him like a jolt of adrenaline, raising goose-bumps and alertness at once. He blinked, shook his head, scuffed one bare foot against the frigid metal floor, and then translocated in and out again so fast that he was sitting cross-legged on a wide stainless steel counter before the freezer door started to swing shut. He was also cradling a 5-gallon bucket of ice cream in his arms. He hadn't checked the label--it was way too cold in there to spend five minutes puzzling out an unfamiliar word--but labels had pictures for a reason.

This one, he discovered when he pried off the lid, was Rocky Road. Almost made up for the lack of pie.

"Toss me a spoon, kid?" he asked. And then, finally registering what the boy had said while Ryouma was still mostly asleep, "Who'm I guarding against?"

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[info]fallen_kotetsu
2008-02-06 08:03 am UTC (link)
"Angry Chef-man," Kotetsu said patiently, pausing in his rummage for food to scrounge up eating utensils. He found a drawer full of steel spoons, and picking one at random - a spoon with a large wide bowl - he tossed it at the other guy. "And I'm not a kid. He's really pissy at this time of the day, throws knives and cleavers every time he sees me."

He set down the various bowls of foodstuffs he'd found on another wooden counter. "You know, he's gonna get pissed at you too, sitting on his counter like that. Gets buttmarks all over his shiny steel." And in immediate response to his own words, Kotetsu hopped up, leaning over next to the scruffy guy. "That ice-cream? Sweet. Can I have some?"

Ice-cream trumped nearly everything he found - though it wasn't particularly healthy, it kept exceedingly well in the freezer, even on long missions.

Ice-cream was the ideal shinobi food.

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[info]fallen_ryouma
2008-02-06 08:04 am UTC (link)
"'m wearing pants," Ryouma pointed out indistinctly around a mouthful of chocolate-and-marshmallow goodness. He swallowed, eyed the kid, and then graciously tipped the mouth of the giant bucket in the boy's direction.

...Actually, sticking it between them might be a good idea. His lap was starting to get really cold.

"Scoot over," he said, lifting the bucket in one arm and balancing it on his thigh. "How come the chef's throwing cleavers? Isn't this place supposed to be open all hours?"

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[info]fallen_kotetsu
2008-02-06 08:06 am UTC (link)
Kotetsu enthusiastically dug into the tub with another shiny spoon, scooting close enough he could feel the cold radiate out towards his own leg in frigid clouds. "Mm? Thanks man, ice-cream's a life-saver."

He waited till his own mouthful of ice-cream - chocolate chips rocked - had melted enough to talk around. "Angry Chef-man's really easy to piss off, if you wanna know. I didn't mean to blow up the pudding, it just happened. But he really has it for me and I'm banned."

He leaned forward, looking around the guy to check the door. "Throws heaps of pointy things if he sees me even in the cafeteria, let alone the kitchen."

Kotetsu pouted. It would be almost pathetic, if he hadn't just stuffed a spoon full of ice-cream into his mouth. "And I get hungry and I can't cook."

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[info]fallen_ryouma
2008-02-06 08:06 am UTC (link)
"I meant, move over that way," Ryouma said, tapping the ice cream tub against the kid's leg to prove his point. "It's freaking cold." He could have moved himself, of course, but he was bigger and older, and he'd been there first.

"I'd probably be throwing pointy things at you myself, if you blew up a pudding at me," he added. He sucked on another spoonful and added thoughtfully, "Course, that depends on what kind of pudding it was. And who else it landed on. Saw these two kunoichi on the stairs yesterday--totally stacked--you ever seen Jello wrestling? I bet they could do it in chocolate pudding, too."

Mmm. Why couldn't he dream about that, instead of non-existent pie or scrawny kids who fell from the ceiling? Even if said kid apparently wasn't a dream.

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[info]fallen_kotetsu
2008-02-06 08:08 am UTC (link)
"'tis boring," Kotetsu said, pouting as he edged away so the guy could put the tub between them. Kotetsu proceeded to attack it like there was no tomorrow. In fact, tomorrow was already today. Heh.

"Jello, I mean. And the pudding was yellow and icky but I wasn't intending to do anything to it! I was just wiring up the kitchen that was all... Guy sure hit the roof. Anyway, why do guys like jello? And on girls? Girls are totally too squishy to be any fun watching. Jello's too messy to be eating anyway, it's all water and colouring and tastes like ick."

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[info]fallen_ryouma
2008-02-06 08:09 am UTC (link)
This time, Ryouma's sideways glance was a little more dubious, verging on scandalized. "The Jello's not for eating, it's for-- You say squishy like it's a bad thing."

Was there something in the water (or in the ice cream? He cast his spoon a wary glance.)? Granted, he hadn't run into many members of ANBU yet; counting the girls in the staircase, this kid made five. He wasn't sure about the girls--or about Namiashi, come to that--but Shiranui probably counted enough for two. Well, as long as it wasn't catching, it wasn't a problem. Less competition!

Still, surely this kid was too young to be so prejudiced. "Girls aren't boring," Ryouma assured him. "Furthest thing from it. Bouncy is good."

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[info]fallen_kotetsu
2008-02-06 08:11 am UTC (link)
Kotetsu gave him a distinctly unimpressive look. "They bounce. Which is a bad thing." He considered this for a bit. "But it's okay for hugging, I suppose. But guys are better looking." He continued eating the ice-cream unconcernedly.

"So what's the jello for then, if it's not for eating? I knew that they fed us that in the hospital to poison us." Kotetsu shifted, angling his spoon. Being ninja - he had to assume the other guy was ninja too - they'd finished practically half the tub in record time. Maybe he didn't need a quarter of what he'd taken out from the fridge. He could give that to mystery guy here instead.

"... oh, yeah, who're you? Are you new to ANBU? I haven't seen you around." Not, of course, that he'd been around much in HQ, but it was cooler sounding.

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[info]fallen_ryouma
2008-02-06 08:11 am UTC (link)
"Moved in yesterday," Ryouma said. He tapped his left shoulder, just above the shiny new tattoo. He'd taken the bandage off and slathered moisturizer on before he rolled into bed--hell, he hadn't needed the tattooist's advice; he had three already and he'd taken perfect care of them, thanks very much--and it was healing well already. He'd have to re-bandage it before he went out in sunlight for the next few weeks, to keep the red ink from fading, but fortunately the days were cloudy enough recently that it wasn't too much of a problem. He added, "Name's Tousaki Ryouma. And like I said, the Jello's for wrestling in. Like mud-wrestling, only, uh, jigglier."

He inhaled another spoonful of ice cream and said critically, "You've got some weird ideas if you think guys are better looking. Stubble and chest hair?" Fortunately he didn't have too much of the latter; the intricate dragon tattoo coiling in red and blue and green across his pectorals shone out clear and proud over his heart. But shaving every morning could be a real pain--especially on a mission, when you sometimes had nothing better than a sharp kunai and a puddle.

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[info]fallen_kotetsu
2008-02-06 08:14 am UTC (link)
"Sweet. Was here for a month at least." Kotetsu continued digging for marshmallows. The pink ones were the best, because they were just a little sweeter.

Kotetsu's eyes were drawn to the ANBU-tattoo when Ryouma tapped his arm, then he realised the guy wasn't wearing a shirt. Weird, cause he'd thought he was wearing one with a cool embroidered dragon.

He drew back, sucking on his spoon to check. Oh hey. It wasn't a shirt! "Hot shit, that's so cool!" Kotetsu pointed at Ryouma's chest. "I mean, that's wow." Swirling down Ryouma's skin, all clear and dangerous in touch-me-not colours. He didn't quite lean over to touch it though - some guys were touchy about touching, especially guys who liked girls. Meh. "You yakuza? Man, that's just so cool."

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[info]fallen_ryouma
2008-02-06 08:15 am UTC (link)
Ryouma grinned, wide and cocky. "Shinobi are even cooler than yakuza--so how come we don't get awesome art, too?" He ran a fingertip up the swirling black abstract design that ran from elbow to wrist of his left forearm, then nodded at the crimson spiral on his shoulder. "I mean, ANBU does, yeah. But I got these before I was even planning on ANBU, though I was out of my gang by then..."

He dug into the ice cream again and licked slowly at the new spoonful. The tub had been about three-quarters full when he'd rescued it from the freezer; it had barely half a gallon left in the bottom now. It was a good thing he had New Recruit Training scheduled all day tomorrow; he'd probably have worked it all off by mid-afternoon. "You planning on getting any ink?"

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[info]fallen_kotetsu
2008-02-06 08:16 am UTC (link)
"Nah, not into ink..." Something had been niggling Kotetsu about the way Ryouma spoke, and then the mention of gang clinched it. "You were in a gang. Right? Gang... One of them street-gangs?"


Kotetsu wasn't a street-kid, not when he had had his half-sister and Moriki taking care of him, but he'd run on the streets often enough to get to know quite a number of them, who to avoid, who to follow, who would fight dirty and who'd steal his food. And the particular way Ryouma's words were clipped, rough, and the grammar meant...

"Canal street? Canal street, or really close, right? If not Canal street gang it's prolly... Maybe Market Street? But you don't seem quite like the type..." Ryouma's speech patterns didn't quite fit, but that might be because he was grown up. And while he was scruffy, Market Street gangers were much more vicious feeling. It was difficult to explain.

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[info]fallen_ryouma
2008-02-06 08:18 am UTC (link)
Ryouma's lip curled in derision. "Market Street? They talked big, but when it came to fighting..." His hand-gesture was succinct and obscene. "You hit the target the first time with Canal Street. I was the top brawler before I was ten." He licked his spoon clean, considered going for more, and decided against it. Instead he leaned forward, elbows on thighs and hands in his lap, and twirled the spoon between his fingers in a dazzling silver spin. "Actually, we were rumbling with the Market Street gang--and winning--when some shinobi stepped in. Back on medical leave, I guess, but it didn't slow him down any. Broke my arm." He tapped his right arm, wincing in remembered pain and humiliation. "Then he tossed me a couple ryou and told me to go to the Academy when I'd healed."

He glanced over at the kid, curious. "How 'bout you? You know something about the street."

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[info]fallen_kotetsu
2008-02-06 08:19 am UTC (link)
"Wasn't street," Kotetsu pinched the ice-cream, since Ryouma looked like he wasn't eating it anymore. "Fuuko-neechan woulda skinned me if she caught me out in a gang, and Moriki'd tanned it if he could have caught me."


He curled his legs up on the counter, apparently uncaring of the scuff marks he was making on the polished metal. "You were Canal street? If I hadn't had her - Fuuko-neechan - I woulda wanted to try for Canal street. Good gang. They don't steal your food if you don't mess with their territory, right?"

He blinked at having to mention his sister, and stared down at the ice-cream. "She. She took me in, when Kaasan and tousan passed away. Paid for me to go to the Academy, but I never stayed home much, needed to run. And climb and... m' mother always said I was an active brat." He grinned at Ryouma. "So hey. What happened next? Market-street's gone now, I think. Haven't been back to check."

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[info]fallen_ryouma
2008-02-06 08:20 am UTC (link)
"I have." Ryouma tossed him a fleeting half-grin that faded into a thoughtful frown. "Military police wiped 'em out at the end of the war, I think, when they could finally spare the attention. A lot of the Canal Street kids got rounded up and stuck in the War Orphanage, too, but there are still some of them down there... I see 'em every so often. It's not much of a gang anymore, but they're doing all right."

The kid had left off with the ice cream, too. Might be 'cause he'd had his fill of it, but the way he'd looked just after he mentioned his sister--very young and a little lost--seemed to have something to do with it. Ryouma spun his spoon once more. "Sounds like you've got a good sister. What's she think of you ending up with the Black Ops?"

It was entirely likely that the sister wasn't around to object anymore... But in that case, Ryouma was even more interested in seeing how the kid answered.

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[info]fallen_kotetsu
2008-02-06 08:28 am UTC (link)
"Exactly the same as Moriki," Kotetsu said, grinning. He'd said entirely too much already, and he didn't want pity. He thought he could detect it, a sort of rough pity under Ryouma's words, and he didn't want it. He didn't need it - he'd been taking care of himself since he was eleven, after all, for all that Moriki'd been providing him a roof and board still. "Hadta prove m'self first, 'fore I could go into that sorta thing, 'm mother says."

His speech patterns were roughening up. That was never good. Kotetsu dug into the melting ice-cream to distract himself and shrugged casually. "Moriki's proud enough, I guess. He doesn't say much, but he tries to make me weapons. He's a weapons-smith, from Grass. Got the cutest pair of brats. And now I'm in ANBU, can't be there to lead them astray, yes? Just be a good example to Tenten and maybe teach her how to throw kunai. She's got talent - moreso than me at her age. She's cute and smart."

Babbling now, Ko? Shuddup, not everyone wants to know about your entire family.

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[info]fallen_ryouma
2008-02-06 08:30 am UTC (link)
"Handy havin' a smith in the family," Ryouma remarked. He licked the bowl of his spoon, placed it gently on his nose, and gazed cross-eyed down at it until it fell off. He caught it in the air and spun it through his fingers once more before he took casual aim and threw it into the sink.

The clatter was a lot louder than he'd thought it would be--louder than their entire conversation so far. And apparently, just loud enough to awaken the man napping comfortably in his tiny office beyond the pastry kitchen. Alerted to the presence of intruders in his kitchen, the cook came stumbling out of his office, rubbing his eyes as he called, "Be right with you!"

"That your Angry Chef-man?" Ryouma wondered, just as the cook opened his eyes properly and let out an outraged yell.

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[info]fallen_kotetsu
2008-02-06 08:31 am UTC (link)
"Yeah," Kotetsu started to say, then he bolted upright as he heard the man start yelling from the office. "Oh shit."

He vaulted off the counter, narrowly avoided dropping the ice-cream on the floor, and snatched at a good two armfuls of the foodstuffs he'd left on the counter.

"You damn brat!" the chef bawled, "You have the gall to show your face!"

"Gotta go!" Kotetsu yelped, and skittered out, kicking open the cafeteria door. "Nice meeting ya, Ryouma, see ya around!"

The door swung shut just as the cleaver embedded itself in the wood, head-level.

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[info]fallen_ryouma
2008-02-06 08:33 am UTC (link)
"Huh," Ryouma said thoughtfully, staring at the cleaver vibrating in the door. "He wasn't kidding about that."

Then he glanced back at the chef, who stood trembling and red-faced with fury just short of the walk-in freezer. "Good to see you," he said, and held out the ice cream bucket. "You're running low on Rocky Road. D'you have any pie?"

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