His face was a mask of shock and indignation; fists clenched at his side. Momo wouldn't have done this, so who? He didn't exactly hang out with many people, meaning this couldn't have been meant with good intentions. His parents would have told him if they had something like this planned, as well. He just couldn't understand it, seething under his mop of red hair; his skin tone soon matching the color. This was a very bad joke.

He was talking, of course, about the little white bunny rabbit laid in a basket and blanket at the foot of his door. It was so cliche he could barely stand it, having more expected an orphan or something. This was just plain rude- giving him flashbacks of the bullying he endured in the Academy. More so, the beating Momo took for reaching out to him; God, it was all too much. It was just a stupid rabbit.

"Usagi." He hissed, frowning, before reaching down and scooping the docile animal into his hands. It didn't seem to care about the situation it was in, or even Nene all that much, at all. It looked around a second when picked up before curling into a ball and dozing off; leaving Nene to deal with it himself.

He could ask around if someone had lost a rabbit, somehow, and he fully intended to do so; after noting the fact that it was incredibly unlikely with how it was presented and the namecard that came with it. 'Rui' was its name, apparently, fitting for such a small and unremarkable creature. Still Nene had no intention to become close to the thing, knowing that it was likely just a cruel prank being played on him, and settled on getting rid of it as soon as possible. He wasn't a jerk, though, and it wasn't going to ditch it in the bushes or something. He'd find it an owner that actually /wanted/ it.

So he set off for the market.

party member acquired!;:

Satoshi walked around the market place with a smile on his face. Unfortunately, he was in the Kage garb, but that wasn't going to stop him from visiting with people like regular. He moved from stand to stand as he spoke to the owners, most of whom he was friends with, and bought something from each one. As Kage, money wasn't an issue, so he could easily buy things just to support the economy in the village. Plus, he hated being stuck in his office all day, so being out among the citizens rejuvenated him. Once his bag was full of goodies and food, he turned to walk back to the Administrative Office. However, he stopped when he saw a ninja whose face he recognized. Usagi Tsuguren was the man's name if he remembered correctly and the reason he remembered him was because of all the missions he had accomplished the past few weeks. "I might as well say hey and thank him." Sato said to himself before walking that way.

When he approached the man, he set his bags on the ground and smile. "I'm Satoshi Takayama-Jun Chi, the new Raikage. You're Usagi, right?" He asked just to be sure, as it would be pretty embarrassing if he was wrong. Hopefully, the ninja wouldn't think he was in trouble or anything. Sato wasn't really very good at the whole discipline thing. "I just wanted to say thank you for all the missions you have done for the village recently. You haven't gone unnoticed." Satoshi said with a friendly smile. Hopefully, the guy was nice and would continue the good impression Sato already had of him.

((OOC: For your hard work, I'm giving you a B-Rank Jutsu Freebie from the Bank! Feel free to app it and link to this post as my permission!))

It had been a good half hour of trying to pawn the danged creature off on other civilians with no luck. Nene was actually considering just giving up by this point; the rabbit had found its way into his hoodie, snuggled near the top with its head poked out. The joke was seeming less cruel and more bothersome by the second, reaching out to link his fingers together and pop them- finding himself in the middle of the market. The place was bustling, merchants and customers filling out the area and making noise; a lot of noise. Nene was way too tired to deal with this. Maybe Momo would want a rabbit, anyways, and she'd probably take it if he asked. God, he wished he had thought of that earlier.

He was turning to leave when someone approached him; an older male, someone he didn't think he had ever seen before-


Nene froze in his tracks, eyes bugging out and his muscles tensing; before he fell to his knees, bowing down low and pressing his head to the pavement. It wasn't his place to ask what happened with the last Raikage, and instead he trusted that he was who he said he was; the clothing he was wearing definitely helping his case here. Kage apparel wasn't something you just casually replicated and wore around. The whispering and looks directed towards them also made the Genin that much more aware of the situation. Rui took this chance to wiggle out of his hoodie and onto the ground, curiously looking around before thumping over to Satoshi.

"Yes, sir, Raikage-sama, sir. It-it's- Nene- actually." He mumbled, for once not faulting the other for messing up his name. He wasn't going to sit here and yell at the Raikage, of all people, for using his formal name.


The words caused Nene to lift his head, eyes bright and his mouth open just a little in shock and awe; before he promptly closed it, remembering his manners. His eyes glanced over the rabbit almost sitting on the Raikage's foot, and he made a mental note to grab him back quickly before it became a problem. "Oh, thank you sir! That means a lot- I mean- That's so kind of you, to recognize a Genin like me. I'm honored." He bowed again, slowly picking himself up from the ground and keeping his head lowered. He was obviously wrackingly nervous about speaking to someone such a higher rank than him, but the praise helped to alleviate some of his stress; he WAS making his village proud! Who'da thought.

"You're quite welcome, all things considered, Raikage-sama. Again, thank you." His words were spoken clearly, politely, mentally berating himself for the stuttering; while trying to stealthily nudge the bunny back towards himself.



(( Aweee, thanks darlin'. < 3 You're rockin'. ))

As Satoshi spoke, the man fell to the ground in a bowing position. Sato was caught of guard to say the least, as he didn't consider himself anything special despite being Raikage. "No need to be formal or anything, I'm not good with all of that. Sorry about messing up your name, Nene. I'll make a note in my file when I return to the office!" He said with a smile as the man got up and responded. "Every ninja in our village is worthy of recognition. Whether it's a Genin or a Jounin, each one of them provides a vital role to Kumogakure's success. I try to show that by not playing favorites." He said with a chuckle as he was enjoying the conversation. It was much better than being stuck in the office.

He noticed the bunny at his foot and reached down to scoop it up in his arms. It was absolutely adorable and he would bet that Alice would think the same too. He stroked it's fur as the bunny responded playfully. "What's it's name? It's a beautiful animal." He spoke genuinely as he continued to show it love. If Alice ever did meet Nene and this rabbit, she would try to buy it off him most likely. "If you ever need a pet sitter for it, I'm sure my daughter would love to play with it for a few hours. She loves cute animals." He said with a smile towards Nene. He hoped that the casual conversation would relieve the nerves that were evident in the man's face and movements.

Nene blinked a few time as his Raikage spoke; hands clasped behind his back and a look of both bewilderment and amazement lighting up his eyes. The other male didn't seem to mind that Nene preferred a different name; he didn't ask questions or ignore the request. That meant a lot to the Genin, mouth perked up into a friendly smile as the conversation continued. He kept flicking his gaze down at Rui, bothered by the rabbit messing with the ninja, what, five ranks his senior? However, it couldn't be helped. Whoever played this prank really thought it through, the creature being just adorable enough that he was already feeling attached to it- though he still planned to give it away to Momo the first chance he got.




Nene's ears seemed to twitch at this, his face only brightening more; hands digging at each other so he doesn't end up throwing them in the air and scaring Satoshi. "That's a wonderful philosophy, Raikage-sama. Thank you for saying such kind words. I do hope you bring the kind of light Kumogakure needs in regards to the recent hard times." His tone was friendly enough, trying to keep his composure in check; he was just so happy! He had actually met the Raikage today, who ended up being a pretty good person. He could feel himself overflowing with pride right now, spurned on by Satoshi's claim that everyone was vital and worthy of recognition.

An audible squeak left his mouth, however, as Rui was picked up; oh God, he wasn't expecting the animal to be that much trouble- and Satoshi was petting him, seeming happy enough with the turn in mood. Nene was perplexed, but spoke out his words clearly anyways- "Rui, sir. That's the name that came with him. Someone just left him on my doorstep... all dolled up in a basket with a name card."



Again he blinked, head tilting to the side and causing his hair to fall in his eyes; which he lazily brushed away with a hand. He was relaxing, falling into normal conversation- having unclasped his fists, though he still stood straight and respectful. "You have a daughter, sir? I wasn't aware- I suppose I shouldn't have assumed." Nene failed at all forms of social communication, but he never quite grasped that everyone had families of their own; even the elite shinobi. "Well, she's more than welcome. Let her know that. Any time she feels like, actually. Though my current plan seems to be to pass it off on a friend of mine."