"So... what are we doing outside this building?"
Kai looked around uncomfortably. The air had a foul odor in the less established parts of the village hidden in the grass.
The arena was having a few days off for renovations. They were planning to add more seats and more functions as well as larger gambling capabilities.
This also meant that Kai and Kyoto had a few days off. Money was not a huge issue, they had more than enough for food and water. The only issue was sleeping space. They used to sleep in the heated stands but now that was off-limits. Hence, they were forced to seek shelter in the benches again.
Kyoto had his arms crossed across his chest. His entire body felt like cold steel.
"We're getting a goddamn house. I'm tired of sleeping on public property."
Kai looked at Kyoto innocently.
"I don't mind the benches, rather it's more comfortable than a normal bed."
Kyoto glared at Kai.
"That's because you get the whale? There's not enough whale for the both of us."
Kai shrugged calmly.
"Still..."
"Why are we waiting outside of this building? I doubt the lease for it is going to suddenly appear before our eyes."
Kyoto's teeth rattled in his mouth from the cold. Although it should've been warm in the land of grass today had just been terrible weather.
"I told you, we're not gonna be sleeping on public property anymore. I've booked an appointment with some Kundo guy. He should be able to hook us up with some monthly-rent deal. We can probably split the Ryo and get a safe living."
Kai tilted his head slightly.
"I doubt we even have enough combined to pay off the first month. I mean, I have 4000 Ryo currently and you have..."
"3500?"
Kyoto nodded humbly.
"Probably because I've been buying us all the food."
Kai tousled his long silken hair.
"Sure... sure."
Soon, the door swung open and in the frame of the door, a well-fed man looked at the two with squinted eyes.
He had a huge balding head and a small outline of hair hanging on the outskirts of his forehead. He had a yellow pallor and his belly slipped under his loose belt. He was wearing a messy suit.
Though, Kyoto couldn't judge. He was still wearing black rags and Kai was wearing sky-blue robes full of holes.
"Can I... help?"
Kyoto sighed.
"I made an appointment with you yesterday. Kundo."
Kundo brushed his eyebrows with a bulky oily and quite a pale hand.
"Sorry, I'm quite the busy man. Memories get lost in this voluptuous head of mine."
Kai looked around the insides of a quite empty office.
"But your calendar is empty?"
Kundo scuttled forwards taking the calender and turning it around for good.
"That's my 2nd calendar. My business calendar could probably impend your mind if you saw the workload I have planned, boy."
Kundo put extra emphasis on the boy.
Kundo began strutting around his office, his body practically flopping into his grand-red chair.
"So, how can I help?"
Kyoto let out a wry smile. He had gone over all of this just yesterday.
"As I said previously, we're looking for property. Cheap but functional property."
Kundo who obviously hadn't listened to a word that Kyoto said began wiping his oily forehead professionally.
"Well, I'm afraid my services right now will cost you. I'm in the middle of an important business divulgence."
Kai thought this was a scam right away.
"But the calen-."
Kundo rose his eyebrows in a business-like manner.
He scoffed as Kai shut himself up in frustration. His face going a sour red.
Kyoto let out another hefty sigh. It truly felt like they were walking into the barrel of a loaded pistol.
"How much for the services?"
Kundo looked up slyly.
"3000 Ryo and 7% off your next purchase."
Kyoto stared down at Kundo wildly. His dislike was growing.,
"I don't even know what my next purchase will be. Give me a price tag then I'll start to consider it. I too, am quite short on time."
Kundo held a hand to his chin.
"Hoho? Well, I suppose I'll work out some business annotations whilst partially solving some of my other business divulgences."
Kyoto copied his actions putting a hand to his chin.
"I'll just briefly exit for a quick task."
Kyoto walked out mind-gnawingly slow.
"It's quite the business day after all."
Kai looked back and forth dead-panned as the two least-busy men in the entire village had a contest to see who could act the busiest.
Kundo seemed to have forgotten Kai's existence.
Kai looked at him as if he was a douche. Kundo was staring dead-straight into a piece of blank paper.
Kyoto was also sweating hard as he find himself out of options to do anything other than walk-straight out.
As Kyoto's hand descended towards the door in slow-motion a thundering voice boomed down the room.
"Wait."
Kundo wiped his oily forehead once more. His figure squidged over slowly.
"2000 Ryo."
Kyoto didn't turn back to meet his gaze.
"1000 Ryo."
Kundo cursed swiftly before preparing a counter.
"1800 Ryo."
Kyoto rolled his shoulders back. The prices were getting more acceptable.
"1050 Ryo."
Kundo replied without a doubt.
"1300 Ryo."
Kyoto's figure shook.
"1100 Ryo."
Kundo struck back thunderously.
"1300 Ryo."
The two had met a stand-still. Kyoto took a risk.
"1095 Ryo." For the first time, the price had gone down from Kyoto's end.
Kundo's eyes shut firmly. He needed to make a profit today.
"1300 Ryo."
Kyoto struck back.
"1000 Ryo."
"13-"
"1000 Ryo."
"13-."
"900 Ry-."
"Fine."
Kundo looked away in shame.
"900 Ryo it is."
Kai whistled unbothered.
From 3000 to 900, it was quite the save.
The two men then sat on two opposing chairs, Kundo's obviously being higher and grander.
"15,000 Ryo is as low as it gets I'm afraid. And even that's being stretched and yanked as far down as I can."
Kyoto met eyes with Kundo, uneased.
"And the first payment has to be right now?"
Kundo shrugged his shoulders whilst taking a bite of a whole loaf of bread.
"Gotta make a profit somehow."
Kyoto cursed bitterly.
"Nothing cheaper? Not even some back-street dump?"
Kundo yanked the bread from his mouth with a bit of a struggle.
"There is one place..."
"But I wouldn't call it an estate or even a residency."
"Heck. I might get jailed just for letting you live there and charging you on top."
Kyoto's eyes were shut from stress. He half-opened his right eye.
"How much?"
You could scrape off the straining in his voice with a spade. Kyoto had been just one straw away from using a genjutsu on Kundo for a while now.
But he had to keep basic human decency.
After all, he would be the one to save the world.
He had to set a decent example for his future followers.
Right?
Kundo spat out the price without a second of remorse.
"6000 Ryo, only because the land is fertile. You've got a good 10 by 10 at the edge of the village."
Kyoto sighed his face stoic.
"Whatever. We'll take it."
Kai shrugged. As long as the whale was present, every night would be a good one.
It was just becoming night. The two stood before a small stone structure. It was around the size of 3 toilet cubicles combined. Their pockets were unjustly empty.
The smell of hot gyoza remnated on their breaths.
It had a wooden roof and enough room for a bed and a cupboard.
Of course, it had neither.
"That's... it?"
Kai looked around in uncertainty.
"You know it," Kyoto spoke flatly as he walked up to an aged oak door. Using a rusted metal key it opened clunkily.
As the two entered, they realized that it was actually... far smaller than they had imagined. It turned out that there was a chimney shoot that connected to a fire stove.
From there, they had heating but they had lost a lot of space.
The two could probably barely fit themselves in.
Kai scratched the back of his head.
"How's this going to work?"
Kyoto sighed.
"I'm getting materials. I'll do a lot of things. But I won't sleep bunny-bunny with a guy with no comfort for months."
Kai shrugged making himself at home.
Kyoto put his hand down swiftly.
"Summoning jutsu."
The whale appeared.
Kai's face lit up.
"Bron!"
Bron and Kai embraced each other in their reunion as Kyoto left steadily.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
A deafening sound filled the stone structure. Kai looked up, frustrated.
"What's going on?"
Kyoto was hammering in a solid wooden board to in a way add a bunk to the shelter.
"I'll be sleeping up here."
Kyoto continued hammering away until 3 supported wooden boards found themselves nailed into the infrastructure.
Kyoto tested it and lay down in peace. His hard work had come off respectably.
"I guess we can sleep well now?"
Receiving no response, Kyoto looked down to see Kai sleeping peacefully. His heaven seal curse mark protruded on his neck like a sharingan.
Kai and Bron had fallen to the sooth of sleep long ago.
Kyoto shrugged and allowed the night to take him away.