After running into Mamoru and kicking out whoever was in his bed, Keisuke prepared for whatever mission he'd be going on next. He tugged on his pants and the mesh he usually wore as a tank top before pulling on his vest and gathering up his kunai. He was a light traveler, usually relying solely on his taijutsu to get him through assignments. If he needed anything else he'd make sure to doubleback to his apartment before leaving to grab it. Once he was ready he headed out without even bothering to lock the door behind him. There wasn't anything of worth in there. If someone wanted to steal from him they could go right ahead. Keisuke wouldn't miss it.
As he walked through the streets he pulled out his cigarettes and he held the front end of one to his mouth. Then he puffed out a small amount of ash, no larger than a droplet of water, and ignited it. The white paper caught easily. That was a personal little trick of his that he was quite proud of. Because after losing three different lighters it was a more cost affective measure than anything else.
Despite living at the other end of the village, Keisuke arrived at the Ninja Academy rather quickly. Most of the time he spent walking passed him in a blur. He didn't pay much attention to those sort of things.
"Keisuke-kun!" A voice called behind him.
He turned, knowing full well who it was. "Yo, Mamoru. Twice in one day, hunh?"
Not really realising what he was saying, Mamoru quirked a brow at his former teammate. "What do you mean?"
Inwardly Keisuke groaned, outwardly he snickered. "This is twice in a single day we've run into each other. I don't remember seeing this much of you since the chunin exams!"
"Oh." Mamoru too snickered. "I guess you're right!"
They both smiled at each other and headed into the Academy together. Mamoru waited down the hall with the guards while Keisuke headed in to meet with a certain knucklehead. Sitting at the centre was Naruto Uzumaki. To his right and scrutinising his work was Sasuke Uchiha, his left, Shikamaru Nara. A close friend of Keisuke's. All around them were several people he didn't recognise nor cared to. He just wanted to get in and out as quick as he could.
"Keisuke." Naruto said, looking over his glasses up at the chunin in front of him. And though his gaze was kind enough at first, it quickly soured. "... no smoking in here."
Looking down at the cigarette between his lips, Keisuke laughed. "Says the Hokage with a frog ash tray?" He said as he motioned to the ceramic bowl with his chin.
"Keisuke..." Shikamaru groaned. "Why can't you learn to keep your mouth shut?"
Clearly not in the mood for Keisuke, like he ever was, Naruto glowered and began shuffling through the papers in front of him. "Alright. I was going to give you a nice A Rank mission to a neighbouring village but I wasn't in a good mood when you came in and now you've pissed me off. You'll be going to Yukigakure. And it's a B Rank mission. You're going to infiltrate a bandit hideout and retrieve the ancient artifacts they stole. So I hope you enjoy the cold, jackass."
Like Keisuke cared where he was sent. He just preferred A Rank missions to count towards his jonin qualifications. But not wanting to incur the wrath of either Naruto or Sasuke, the former granting him the loss of three of his teeth requiring him to obtain fake ones all for picking on the latter, he just rolled with it. He shrugged his shoulders and headed out the door.
"Tell whoever you assign with me that I'll be at the North Gate." Keisuke threw over his shoulder.
"You shouldn't be so disrespectful to the Hokage!" Some random jonin called after him.
Keisuke looked at the shinobi and said smugly, "Like I give a rat's ass."
That caused a bit of an uproar. Keisuke chuckled to himself as he left and walked down the hall. The only thing he really enjoyed anymore was riling people up, cigarettes, and getting laid. And he did all of that in that past twelve hours. He was having a good day.
As he came closer to Mamoru he nodded in greeting. The older shinobi moved to go to receive his mission with questioning eyes as he neared closer to Keisuke.
"I caused a bit of trouble in there, sorry if they lash out at you." He said as they passed each other. "I'll be back in a week, so I'll see you around, Moru." He finished with a smile.
The two former teammates waved goodbye and went their separate ways as they always did. Keisuke went back to his apartment to grab a small pack and a sleeping bag. When he was done with that he headed for the North Gate, as he said he would. But he didn't expect to see the person who was waiting for him. It was Kimiko.
"Oh fuck me." Keisuke groaned as he got closer to her.
He didn't know if she heard him, but she looked up a second later. "Looks like we're heading out together, Keisuke." She taunted as she stared him down thoroughly.
Kimiko was one of the many women Keisuke had taken to bed. And he didn't treat one any different from the next. The second he was done with her she was out on her ass. It was a system that usually worked for him. No feelings, no soft landings, just sex and clean breaks. Unfortunately though he sometimes would run into them in the village and get slapped. He deserved that much. But he'd prefer it if the entire village didn't know he was sleeping around. He was a very private guy. And some of them would make a scene and that was when they usually ended up in Keisuke's bed again. They'd give up after the second time he threw them out naked at five in the morning. Kimiko was one of those girls.
So Keisuke raked a hand down his face and reached for a second cigarette, lighting it the same exact way he did the first. After taking a few puffs he looked Kimiko in the eye and groaned. "Why do I feel like you're going to let your feelings get in the way of carrying out your mission."
She rolled her eyes at that. "I might not be as heartless as you, Keisuke Sarutobi, but I'm fully capable of performing my duties as a shinobi despite looking at your face for the next few days." She paused to look over Keisuke's shoulder. "I think that kid's with us."
Curious to who he'd be working with, Keisuke turned around to see a very familiar head of white hair for the third time that day. "No way..." He muttered.
"Keisuke-kun?" They questioned as they neared.
"Moru-chan." He returned, happy enough to see his old friend again, but irritated that he'd have to pretend to be sunny, cheerful, and overbearing, all at once.
He sighed, knowing that his mission was going to be a long one.
END
This is something Moru and I are doing, just read along. Only he and I are responding.
