A Day in the Market [Open]

Headphones blared with music (Fall Out Boy - Phoenix) as the young female sat atop of a building: it was nearly three in the afternoon and the sun was shining brightly with not a single cloud in the sky. She was in the market, perched up on one of many shops: this particular one selling a variety of books and creepier artifacts – black candles, fake skulls, shrunken heads. It was one of her favorites: the people who came and went were the most interesting that strolled through the market. Interesting people made for interesting art.

Which, was exactly what she was working on at the moment. She was seated on her bottom, legs bent at the knees and the bottoms of her feet resting on the slightly slanted rooftop. Her sketchbook was on her legs, acting as an easel of sorts. Resting against her flat belly was a small bag of pencils and other sketching utensils. She was dressed as she often was: black hair had red-fuchsia streaks in it, lips were 'painted' red, eyes heavily lined in black eyeliner that accentuated the ebony black angel wing tattooed by her left eye, and her skin was nearly deathly pale. She wore a black sports bra with a black fishnet long sleeved top over top of this – essentially allowing the latter to be easily seen along with the dragon that wound its way up her back, her spine, and onto both of her eyes. She wore black shorts with those; short, that just went to her fingertips. Her feet were in a pair of open toed, traditional shinobi sandals. Nearby her rested a black shoulder bag; what she carried her various art supplies in when she wasn't working.

She pushed her hair out of her way as she picked up another pencil and began to add shading to what was a skillfully drawn woman who was in the midst of putting a skull into her shopping bag. The woman had left nearly twenty minutes ago, but thanks to Josie Dupre's memory it was still easy to remember her and what she had looked like by simply recalling the image in her mind's eye.

The cold night was the least of his worries and instead he was enjoying it. The gentle wind breezed in through the half opened windows as the cold sunk its claws into Dray’s skin. He remembered when he was little and how anywhere he was always got cold. The night was short though it was perfect while it lasted. Rise and shine. The rays of the morning sun peeped in through the windows and past the curtains as it shone on dray’s face. For one moment he wondered why he heard no alarm but then he remembered having smashed most of them due to the blaring sound that they gave off each morning. He did not always wake up this late but the night had been too perfect so he decided to enjoy it while it lasted. Dray got out of bed and walked towards the bathroom. He was quick with his things though he always did them properly. He was done with his bath and was not wearing his clothes. He wore a black leather trouser over his boxer and buckled his black belt, a white leather armless coat over his white singlet and his black leather boots that had killer soles. He buttoned the coat and stopped few buttons from the top allowing the collar of the coat to stand smartly. He combed his hair that had a mix of white and silver as he looked around the room. He went over to his bed side and pulled out a drawer and in it were his vambraces, two golden cuffs that he liked to call the twin beasts. They not only served as a sort of fashion but their abilities were extreme. He put on the cuffs that had the length of gauntlets as he stepped out of the room. He did not feel like eating anything solid this morning so he went to the kitchen and had some snacks down his throat with a cup of lemon juice.

The joutenkage walked out of his home as he took the streets towards the administration building. He had completed most of the paper works for the week the previous day so if at all he was going to meet any at his office, it would not be too much. He knew the streets of amagakure like the back of his palm so taking a few short cuts, he was at the base of the administration building. He entered into an air shuttle that took him up to the floating building as the building’s entrance opened to let the air shuttle in. The shuttle landed safely and Dray got out of it as he opened another door and took the stairs up to the main buildings of the administration office. The shinobis of duty greeted the joutenkage as a sign of respect with him returning most of the pleasantries since he was not in a hurry to attend to a bunch of paper work. He got into his office and breathed out heavily as the temperature in the room dropped drastically due to the icy breathe that Dray had exhaled. He liked the temperature and he could well cope with it. He sat in his chair and looked at the cabinet opposite of him as he sighed. His predictions were wrong, he had thought that there would not be much work to do since he completed most of it the previous day but here they were, tons of paper work seated on the cabinet’s top. The earlier he started, the earlier he would finish so up he got to fetch the files. He began work on them as he held a pen in one hand and a stamp in the other. He approved the request that were worth approving, stamped the ones that needed his permission and denied others that did not meet the requirements. He went on non- stop for hours and around two o’clock in the afternoon, he could finally rest his back on the chair because he was done.’

He stood up from his chair and walked towards the water dispenser in his office to get a cup of water. He took a few more cups and went back to sit down. He pushed the intercom button on his table and spoke to his secretary. ”Bring me the results of what I requested yesterday.” He had asked his secretary to find him a good tattooist. It did seem weird as to what he needed one for perhaps for fashion some would think. He was not new to tattoos since he previously had a tattoo of a large bird on his back and two that of sparrows on both of his arms. This tattoos were manifested right from his childhood when the berserker demon that killed his mother was sealed inside of him by his father but once he was purged of the evil beast by the monks of the Kazako temple, the tattoos disappeared thereby relinquishing the control of the demon over him.
The reason why he needed a tattooist was only known to him and once he had found one, he would go ahead and meet with him. The secretary came into the office and spoke to Dray, Here it is, she said as she placed three files on the joutenkage’s table. Dray opened the first file to see the picture of a muscular man with long beard and rings on his eye brows. He wore no shirt and his whole chest was covered in tattoos. He looked quite experienced as Dray read his bio and all the information gathered on him. He put the file aside and moved to the second one. The second file had the picture of a young man in his early twenties, he was the sorta guy for the job. He was young, good looking, not too muscular, Dray was sure people would patronize him. I’ll go for this second one. Dray would say to his secretary while looking at the file some more.

Dray- sama, you haven’t checked the last file yet. The secretary would say as Dray would then open the file to see what it contained. He looked at the picture and the person in it was a young female. Her make up was unique as Dray had not seen any like it in amagakure. He could also a tattoo by her left eye but he quickly stopped looking at the picture and started going through the information gathered on her. Her name was Josie Dupre and shockingly, she was a shinobi. There were shinobis in amagakure that Dray had not met either because they were on missions or most of them just graduated from the academy or for some other reasons so it was not his fault that he did not recognize her. Attached to her file were some pictures of tattoos she had drawn and Dray was impressed. Thank You. Dray said to his secretary as she took the first two files and left the room.
Dray looked more into the files and found interesting information. He called a shinobi from the history department in the administration building and he asked that Josie Dupre’s history file be brought at once. The shinobi got to Dray’s office and gave him the file. There were some unhappy news in it but still, the girl had turned out to be a fine shinobi and she would be perfect for the job that he wanted. He looked at the clock in his office and it was already past three in the afternoon. He got up from his seat and left the office. He was out of the admin building and unto the streets walking towards Josie Dupre’s tattoo shop. He got to the shop but she did not seem to be around. He met her brother though and he told Dray a few places where his sister could be found. Dray headed to the first location but she was not there so to the second he went. It was the market of amagakure so for a better view, Dray jumped unto a roof top and landed lightly on it. He walked atop buildings surveying the area and checking for signs of this young shinobi and there she was, he had found her. He walked up to the top she was seated..

I was told I might find you here, Josie. Dray would say as he would see the image she had been sketching.

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Josie had been in the middle of the shading on the woman's face when the voice behind her caused her to jump, startled. Okay, so she didn't pay the best attention when she was deep in her art work – it took a lot of focus to make sure you drew this properly, and she was a perfectionist when it came to her lively hood. So, when she looked up she was expecting some onlooker interested in looking over her shoulder, not the Joutenkage.

She jumped up immediately; her supplies shifting into her hand so that they didn't drop and fall off of roof. She bowed lowly, respectfully. As she straightened up she shifted her headphones down around her neck – thankfully they hadn't been loud enough that she couldn't hear him speak. “My lord. How may I help you?”, she asked respectfully. He had said he was looking for her, though she couldn't think of exactly why. Surely out of everyone in the village she was the least gifted – or so she figured. Given the amount of time she dedicated to her art her skills sometimes suffered for it.

The young lady stood up as she noticed Dray. He was probably not the one she was expecting to see, not every shinobi expected to meet their kage unexpectedly. As she stood up, he was able to fully take everything in- her appearance. She had black hair, her lips were painted red, her eyes were lined with black and Dray could well see the tattoo of what looked like an angel by her left eye. Dray observed calmly the rest of her attire as he looked at her. She removed the headphones that had been keeping her company as she spoke to Dray with respect. She asked how she could be of help to him and Dray was certain that the girl was probably wondering what she could possibly do for Dray. He knew it might have been too much for the young girl to take in as this was their first meeting but he could not have it any other way. Ever since the beginning of his life, he had not really had any awkward so he could not well say that he understood what the girl was feeling. He knew that he was the strongest shinobi in the village but that did not mean that his shinobis should fear him. There is a great difference between fear and respect and people often confused themselves with it. He was a high ranking official in the village and as protocol demands, the people are to respect him and not to fear him as if he was a god. He could not deny the fact that he admired Sozaemon, one of the loyal shinobis that the village haboured. At a younger age when Soza had no place to go, no food to eat and nobody to turn to, he stumbled upon the village hidden in the heavens and he was accepted in return for his loyalty to the village and because of that, Sozaemon did not consider Dray as a kage but rather as an employer. It was a funny sense of thinking indeed.

Dray would motion to Josie to sit down where she was before he came as he also would take a seat beside her giving enough space for air between them. The view from up there was perfect and he could now see why this was one of her favorite spots like her younger brother had said. Seeing the market from her was like seeing the whole village from the administration building. The view from up here is perfect Dray would say to the young lady. She was definitely wondering what it is that the Joutenkage wanted from her so Dray was not going to keep her waiting. I was making some findings about the different tattooist present in this village and I found you to be one of them.. Dray would pause while reaching for his pocket and taking out a folded sheet of paper. What could a man like him need a tattoo for was a question to be asked by any curious person but he was still keeping it to himself now and perhaps he would let the young girl know if she could keep it to herself because he was going to need a lot of tattoos until he found a way to draw them on his body be himself since he was a quick learner. I want to request your services, Josie and I don’t want anyone that doesn’t need to know to know about it so do you think you can draw something like this on my body? Dray would say to her while unfolding and holding out the piece of paper to her. He was hoping she would be able to. On the paper was a drawing that resembled an ancient marking but still it was a drawing that he would want her to make some modifications to it and he believed that if she saw what she needed to draw then she could. That was something he knew about skilled artists.

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Before Josie would have a chance to really say anything at all the sound of her young brother, Eli's, voice filled the air. He was standing down below with Josie's partner tattoo shop business partner, Nyx. “Josie! We need you! Something's happened..!”, Nyx called out. Josie looked down, spotted both her brother and partner and then looked to the Joutenkage and bowed. “I apologize, but I must go. They wouldn't be interupting unless it was an absolute emergency.” With that said she jumped off the roof and took off after Nyx and her brother who were both speeding back towards Afterlight – her tattoo shop.

[Exiting]

Oo.{My apologies for cutting this short but my other thread has progressed quite a bit with Amatsu: it would seem Josie is about to bail out of the village and head back to Hinowa with him. I didn't want to leave this thread hanging in the meantime.}

The conversation between Dray and Josie had just began when a voice was heard below. Both Dray and the younger female looked downward to see who it was and Dray recognized that it was her brother who he had earlier met at her tattoo shop. He seemed to be in a hurry or better still, he was panicking because from where Dray stood, his facial expressions weren’t clear so Dray could not make anything out of it straight away. The young girl told Dray she really needed to go and he understood straight away seeing how her younger brother was behaving. He believed that they probably had one issue or the other to settle or something more. Anyways, he had somewhere else to go to so Dray would simply take off from the roof top and use this medium as travel till he got to where he was going to. At the very most, he had met her so he could always check back at her tattoo shop when he was ready. The minds of people would continue to metamorphose each and every day that goes by and a mere human would be unable to fully understand it. Jumping and landing on roof tops, while watching where he was going Dray would still be able to see what was going on below as his mind would wander to what else he could do to satisfy the village. He could not deny the fact that the previous joutenkage had done the best job but ever since he, an orphan had come in power, he had tried his very best to put the village in the best condition and make the villagers benefit from it. So if at all there was anyone threatening this peace, then such person would have to face what he or she was getting at. Dray would land at the front of a building but instead of simply going through, he would turn around and go in through the back door. The one he needed for this assignment resided inside and Dray was as punctual as ever.
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