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Devil's Nest, Wednesday Night 9/26

Kabuto was (mostly) satisfied with the cleanliness of the bar. Enough, at least, that he wasn't feeling the undeniable urge to clean. As long as his OCD wasn't acting up, the place was obviously clean enough. So the ninja felt no remorse in settling back behind the bar with a drink recipe book. Call it studying.

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He might just be flipping through to find all the drinks that are purple.

Ino was cranky because her ~~handwavey~~ attempts to finish a letter to her father had failed miserably. And she hadn't even had classes to take her mind off of it. Giving up on it for the day, Ino had headed into town to take her mind off it and wandered into the bar without paying attention to where she was going.

Blinking around at the place, Ino swallowed. If her dad ever got wind of this she'd be dead, whether or not she'd meant to come in. Ino wondered if they'd kick her out.

Kabuto, hearing someone come in, looked up from the book. He smirked slightly, enjoying Ino's obvious nervousness about the place. However, of all things, Kabuto was not rude. "Good evening, Ino-san. Are you lost?" It was obvious the blonde ninja wasn't there on purpose.

Closing the drink book, Kabuto stood up and leaning his elbows on the bar. "Welcome to the Devil's Nest."

Ino eyed him dubiously, but it didn't seem like he was mocking her. Then her eyes flickered up to his forehead protector and she remembered what he'd said to her about Hokage-sama, and her frown deepened, "The Devil's Nest, Kabuto-san?"

It figured that he'd work at a place like this.

"Yes. Owned by the Devil Himself, strangely enough." Kabuto smiled. "He's very similar to Lord Orochimaru in some ways." He smiled politely. "Though there is a carding policy here, so I'm afraid I can't serve you alcohol. If you'd like juice or something, however, I'd be happy to get you what you need."

... the Devil Himself? A few weeks ago Ino would have dismissed that without a second thought - obviously a joke, right? Now though... "And you think being similar to Orochimaru is a good thing?"

She sat down moodily on one of the bar stools. "What kind of juice?"

"Well, it depends on your views of what's 'good'," Kabuto replied vaguely. "I find it to be a desirable trait." He turned, surveying the juices they had on hand. "What kind do you want? We've got just about everything ~~you can handwave~~."

"... what trait do you find desirable, exactly? Ambition?" Ino felt compelled to ask. She paused and fiddled with her hair, "Do you have anything with mango or peach in it?"

"Power," Kabuto answered honestly, his smile never faltering. He poured Ino a glass of mango juice and slid it across the counter. "And confidence, of course. But after seeing the rest of your squad, I can see those aren't things you really much care about."

The mango juice was ignored for the moment. She bristled, "Leave my team out of this!" Ino said with furiously, struggling to keep her voice from soaring with her indignation, hands clenching in her lap, "Power and confidence aren't everything, you know!"

They were, however, two things Ino wished she had more of. She stomped on that trail of thought.

She took a disgruntled sip of her juice, "Teamwork is more important."

"Teamwork is great, but even a medical ninja needs to be able to fight for himself - or herself." Kabuto shrugged, picking up a glass and cleaning it. "You can't rely on other people for everything."

"I don't!" Ino objected to his implied criticism, "Yamanaka jutsu are more useful to a Chuunin or Jounin though." D rank missions didn't call much for mind control. "And all the working out in the world isn't going to give me enough strength to match up to most of the boys."

Kabuto gave her a very flat look. "Your current Hokage is Tsunade," he pointed out. "Yet you're saying that you don't think girls can be stronger than boys. Do you need people to point out the obvious to you as well as fight your battles?"

"Not everyone can match up to the level of a Sannin!" Ino said fiercely, "I didn't say girls can't match boys - don't you dare put words in my mouth! - I said that I'm not likely to match up." She crossed her arms over her chest, "My teammates don't think I can either."

Stupid Shikamaru and his leaving her behind had made that quite clear.

"Maybe your teammates aren't worth defending, then," Kabuto said mildly, gleeing inwardly at her quick temper. It was possible he would be taking up the sport of Ino-baiting more often. "Is that the way Konoha ninja are? Or are you just someone who gives up easily without trying?"

"I do not give up without trying!" Ino slammed her hands down on the counter.

"So you know from experience that there is no way, no matter how hard you try, that you can be strong?" Kabuto tilted his head to the side, studying her. He had valid points, even if he was being a jerk.

"I was near the top of the class in the Academy! First for the girls!" Ino protested, "I train at least four hours a day at home! But everyone keeps getting stronger faster than me."

"And, of course, whining will help," Kabuto said, checking the glass in his hand for any missed spots. "Every good ninja knows that."

That, that - jerk! "I'll show you what kind of a ninja I can become!" Ino said shrilly, her eyes bright with fury, "Then what will you say?!"

"I say show me," Kabuto replied, looking her straight in the eye. "Prove you can do it."

"I will! You just watch!" Ino tossed her head proudly, "Yamanaka's don't just give up, you know!"

She sipped her juice determinedly.

"Good." Kabuto put the glass down and picked up another, eyeing it critically. "You wouldn't be worth fighting, otherwise. I'd like to fight you sometime when you're strong enough."

"Strong enough?" Ino finished her juice, setting the glass down firmly, "Just how strong are you?"

Kabuto was all innocence, setting his glass down as well. "Oh, strong enough. I would have to be to keep my position."

Ino was totally not convinced. "Right." She glowered at him, "Don't supposed you'd give me an answer I can actually use."

"Do you know of Naruto's 'rasengan'?" the older ninja asked innocently.

"The rasengan?" The name sounded sort of familiar and Ino wracked her mind for a moment before gaping at Kabuto, "Naruto can use one of Yondaime-sama's signature jutsu?!"

"Of course he can. It's Naruto." Kabuto rolled his eyes, a rare moment of showing his true feelings for something. "But it's nothing terribly special. It stings a little, that's all." That was a gross understatement. The wind attack had pretty much blown a hole through Kabuto's stomach, and it had taken all of his energy to regenerate it.

...

Ino gaped at him. "That's, that's..."

And she'd promised to get good enough to give him a challenge? Ino cursed her big mouth.

Kabuto smiled at her. "That's a true medical ninja."

"Ugh!" Ino made a face at him, "You're such a boy." She stood up to go, "I'll prove my strength to you."

"I hope you do," Kabuto said earnestly. "I haven't had a real challenge in far too long." He waved at her. "Get stronger, Ino. I look forward to fighting you."

Ino studied him for a moment, unsure if he was making fun of her or not. She smiled faintly, "It'll be interesting either way. I'll see you around, Kabuto-san." Then she slipped out of the bar.

Lounge-y. And clean.

Music? What music?

...Can I win the lottery so that I can quit my job, plz?

Now I've got to come up with some reason for Aziraphale to just trash the place on Friday.

So he's fond of the noble sport of Kabuto-baiting?

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Devil's Nest, Wednesday Night 9/26

The Bar

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The Lounge

The Dance Floor

OOC

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