Who Needs a Princess, When You Can Have a Queen?
Silver's Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. This chapter is more of a transition chapter than anything else. There is a lot of lightheartedness and fluff and Sasuke gets to show off a bit. There will be a few more transition chapters, but Fairy Tail will show up relatively soon. Expect a couple timeskips in the near future. Happy reading!
Chapter 3
Many hours and a long carriage ride later, Bob takes them to meet the rest of the guild. Sasuke blinks rapidly at the strange sight before him. There were so many bright colors flashing before his eyes that it nearly blinded him at the wrong angles. From the whispers and the people racing around, it seemed that today some of the members of the guild were doing something called a 'photo-shoot'. Which apparently meant they were taking a lot of pictures. Mostly of pretty older girls in barely any clothes.
"Well...in hindsight, I'd say that dealing with a few goblins wasn't so bad." Shisui was blinking right alongside Sasuke though for different reasons. "If the end result is this." He glances at Itachi with mischief sparkling in his eyes.
"Where did all their clothes go?" Sasuke tilts his head to the side curiously. He'd never seen anyone wearing that little. "Are those supposed to be swimsuits?" They must have gotten the wrong size. "Because they're really small."
"Yes, aren't they just darling!?" Bob smiles happily at the sight of his hard-working little wizards. "Our ladies have been looking forward to this shoot for quite a while now. Sorcerer Weekly is doing their yearly wizarding calendar. Our girls were chosen for the summer section! Swimsuits only."
Eyeing the skimpy clothing, and casting his eyes away, Itachi covers Sasuke's eyes with his hands. "So this is some of the work that wizards do?" It was not what he was expecting. Not at all.
"Among other things, yes. Many of our female wizards compete with other young ladies for Sorcerer Weekly's centerfolds and interviews." And Bob was ever so proud when they landed them. And he was always more than happy to encourage them to do their very best.
"Itachi!" Sasuke grumbles at his eyes being covered. "Why did you do that?!" Adults did that a lot to him for some reason!
Shisui wasn't really sure what a centerfold was, but if that meant the women wore those outfits regularly...well those were the kinds of missions he could fully support! "Yes, they are rather stunning." He smiles at Bob . "You must be so proud of your villagers." He figured Bob as a Guild Master was something close to a Kage in this world.
Bob blinks bemusedly at Shisui's language. "Well, they're not my villagers, they're my guild wizards. Something like…my children. But yes, I am very proud of all of them, whether they make their livings posing for magazines, hunting down nasty monsters, or everything in between."
Sasuke tilts his head to the side. "People pay you to have your picture taken?" That sounded suspiciously easy. What kind of mission was that?
"Ah yes. Well you'll have to forgive our language, I'm afraid." Shisui shakes his head and sighs. "As we said earlier, we're from...very, very far away. It's going tog take us awhile to get used to your customs."
"Oh yes, of course." Bob's eyes dart around, landing on a teenager with light brown hair and dark, indigo eyes. He waves his hand at the sixteen year-old wizard. "Hibiki, could you come over here please!"
The young wizard glances over, nodding as he finishes his interview with one of the reporters, and excusing himself with a charming smile, before sauntering over to the older man. "Yes, Master Bob? Are you finished with your vacation, Sir?"
Bob laughs and pats the boy on the shoulder. "Yes, and it was wonderful." He smiles at the three foreign boys kindly. "And fruitful. These three sweet boys appeared on my doorstep last night. They're foreign wizards and needed to find some work. Could you be a dear and give them a tour while I fetch a few things from my office?"
Hibiki blinks, his dark eyes falling on the three strangers. "Of course I can." In an instant, he smiles widely. "I'm Hibiki Lates, a guild wizard of Blue Pegasus."
Itachi looks him up and down, thankful that he's safe enough to look at as he cautiously uncovers Sasuke's eyes. "Itachi Uchiha. This is my cousin Shisui, and my little brother, Sasuke."
"Hi!" Sasuke smiles at him, happy that he could see again. "Are we going to get our pictures taken too?" Maybe that was supposed to be their job now.
Shisui chuckles and ruffles Sasuke's hair. "Well if they want any Bubble Eyes Editions, I'm sure that they know who to ask." He turns his attention to this Hibiki. "It's a pleasure to meet you and well, my cousin already covered the introductions. We're very curious to hear more about the kinds of work you do." He couldn't imagine that they were going to be 'centerfolds'. Serving was fine for now, but in the future they'd likely want to secure more lucrative employment.
"Of course, if you'll follow me…" Hibiki gestures towards the pinkish building, capped with a central blue dome. The crest of the guild, a horse's head with wings on either side, done in blue was the centerpiece on the flag that hung out front. "I'm sure that the three of you will fit in perfectly around here."
Itachi eyes the building warily. That…was a lot of pink. This guild sure seemed to enjoy the color. "Very well." He takes his little brother by the hand as he follows the rather cheerful young man towards the rather large building. It was even bigger than their father's police headquarters.
"..." Sasuke blinks. "Pink again?" What was with this place and pink? "They let the girls pick the color." He just knew it.
"I'm sure that you'll learn to appreciate the color more one day." Shisui chuckles at his baby cousin. "Especially when it's lace." He quite liked pink lace on a woman. Though the glare that Itachi shoots him only serves to make him chuckle.
Hibiki eyes the eldest of the trio with interest. "Did Master Bob tell you about any of the jobs we do here and what might suit you best?"
Itachi nods. "He said that there were serving staff, and other 'jobs' that we could take, if we were willing to take the risks involved."
Shisui nods in confirmation as he watches Sasuke eye the massive building cautiously. "Yes, that's correct. We'll forever be in his debt." He smiles at the 'wizard'. "He took in three strangers, after all."
The smile on Hibiki's face softens. "That's often the way of things, here. In several of the guilds, actually. You're lucky to have met Master Bob. He has a soft spot for kids." He pushes open the doors, revealing a lavish lounge, dotted with comfortable booths around circular tables, a raised VIP section, and a bar along one wall. And inside the large room, several well-dressed wizards were greeting, socializing, and even flirting with the guests. "Welcome to Blue Pegasus."
Sasuke looks around curiously. Well everyone seemed happy here and his brother didn't seem nervous about being in this strange place. So it must be okay. Surely Itachi wouldn't bring him to dangerous place without telling him about it.
"Where might be a guest-room that we could use?" Shisui smiles at Hibiki. "I don't want to overload Sasuke." This place was...like something out of a dream. A dream that one might have after they consumed large quantities of sugar anyway.
Hibiki frowns slightly. "Well, we don't have a guest room per-say, but we do have a private lounge upstairs for guild members only. If Master Bob is fetching what I think he is, then the three of you can feel free to use it for now. I'll look into finding you a proper place to stay after my shift is over."
"That would be most appreciated." Itachi squeezes Sasuke's hand reassuringly, keeping his little brother close by his side. "You said your shift…what is it precisely that you do here?"
"Me?" The wizard grins widely as he weaves through the crowd of people milling about, being seated, or rising to leave, leading the trio towards the back stairs. "Well, when I'm not giving interviews for Sorcerer Weekly, I'm one of the most popular hosts in the guild. I try to work weekends here, and take regular jobs during the week. It prevents me from getting stir-crazy."
"Ah well variety is the spice of life." Shisui nods in understanding. It would get boring taking the same kinds of missions all the time. "It does seem like a nice place though and we really do appreciate all this."
Sasuke nods. It was nice of them to give them a place to stay and he sorta understood what Hibiki meant by host. His mother was the Clan's Matriarch and sometimes they hosted other people at their house. "What's Sorcerer Weekly?" That was still bugging him though. Bob had mentioned it and so had this guy.
Laughing at the question as they climb the stairs to the private guild lounge, Hibiki smiles at the child. "Sorcerer Weekly is Fiore's hottest wizarding magazine. It features articles on wizards, magical events, magical incidents, stories, photo-spread advertising, and of course, the bikini centerfolds that the girls always want to model for."
That was the first time that Sasuke had heard that word. Bikini. Little did he know at the age of seven how much trouble that one simple word could get his entire gender into. And that was how their first day at the guild went. They stumbled on a bikini photo-shoot and well, things never really got more normal than that.
Sasuke was sitting down in one of the booths in the lounge when he was approached by a blonde girl. He figured she was somewhere between Itachi's age and Shisui's. "Hello." He had been getting stared at by a lot of people. Sasuke figured it was probably because he appeared to be the youngest person there through and one of the most dressed.
Her long blonde curls bouncing around her shoulders and down her back, the girl smiles brightly as she crouches down towards the new kid. "Aw…who's a little cutie, huh?" Her purple dress flutters around her as she reaches towards him to ruffle his hair. "What's your name, Sweetie?"
"I'm Sasuke." Everyone here seemed really happy to see him for some reason. "Who are you?" Back in the District, he was usually an afterthought. When your big brother and older cousin were both prodigies, it could be hard to get noticed. So he was enjoying the attention enough that he didn't mind the silly nicknames.
"I'm Jenny Realight." The blue emblem on her arm stands out starkly against her pale skin. "Are you with the two other new boys?"
"You could say that." Shisui nods at her. "I'm Shisui and that's Itachi." His eyes flicker over to the other dark haired boy. Their looks similar enough that one could surmise they were related relatively easily.
Jenny's eyes almost explode with hearts and stars at the sight of the new hottie approaching her. "It's nice to meet you, Shisui. You must be one of the foreigners that the master mentioned were going to be joining the guild. He's just trying to get the club organized for the evening before coming up with the stamp."
"It's a pleasure to meet you as well." Though he had no idea what she meant by a stamp. "Forgive me, what stamp are you speaking of?" It seemed as though it had some sort of significance, if they had to get organized for it.
"Wow, you really must be foreign if you don't know what those are." Jenny turns over her arm, showing them the emblem stamped there. "All the wizard guilds do it. We mark our members so that other guilds and clients know who belongs to who.
"So it's your headband." Sasuke smiles cheerfully at that thought. "Does it hurt to get them?" It would be really cool to have a headband. Well that or at least a stamp, he mentally corrects himself.
"Well that does look rather lovely on you." Though Shisui wasn't really sure about someone as young as Sasuke getting what seemed to amount to a tattoo. "Does one have to be a certain age in order to be stamped?"
Jenny blinks, her eyes traveling back to Sasuke, as she notes the strange headband tied around Shisui's forehead. "Well…no, it doesn't hurt. And it's not like we let babies into the guild. I think the youngest member we've ever accepted was about ten. Most guilds won't accept anyone younger than that without rather special circumstances."
Sasuke smiles at her brightly. "I can already use the Fireball Jutsu." That made him an adult in his Clan's eyes. He didn't really know about here though.
"I know, Sasuke." Shisui nods at him approvingly. "But we should follow their customs. Perhaps in a few years, you can get a stamp. You likely wouldn't have gotten your headband until you were twelve anyway." Sasuke pouts slightly at this, but nods.
The youngest Uchiha in the room shakes his head. "They're nice, but we won't be here in a few years." After all, Itachi had said that his parents had agreed to let him come because he was on summer vacation from the Academy. "We won't be here that long."
Overhearing the conversation from near the job board, Itachi cringes, but well out of sight of his little brother. There was no telling how badly Sasuke would react when the truth came out, when he was finally told that they weren't going home.
Jenny tilts her head, frowning slightly. "But I thought you guy were here to join Blue Pegasus."
"For the summer." Sasuke nods. It never crossed his mind that they weren't going back home. "Why is it called BLUE Pegasus when everything is pink though?" That confused him.
Shisui bites back a groan. His innocent cousin had no idea what he was doing. "At least for the summer. The mission might take longer." He pleads with Jenny with his eyes to go along with it. Perhaps, he would explain things to her later or at least come up with a more elaborate justification for everything that was true, but not the whole truth. "One never truly knows about these sorts of things."
"I…see…" Obviously, there was something else going on, and Jenny's wizarding instincts were tingling. Obviously, there was something that the kid didn't know. And she'd be sure to get to the bottom of that later. "Anyway, the pink is all Master Bob's idea. It's called Blue Pegasus because blue flying horses are something of a theme here. Our emblems are blue, and we're even working on making a flying battleship shaped like a flying horse." She smiles widely. "It's called Christina. And no, its not pink."
Sasuke thought about asking how you could tell if it was a girl horse or a boy horse, but decides against it. "That sounds pretty." He smiles at the thought of a blue horse. His father would probably think such a thing was silly. Mother might like it though.
"I'm sure that it will look beautiful." Shisui nods, mentally sighing in relief. "As does everything else in this place." This was especially true when it came to the women.
Jenny giggles, swatting at Shisui playfully. "Oh, you'll fit in great with the hosting staff. The girls are going to love you."
"That's very kind of you to say and I'm sure that I'll return the sentiment." He smiles at her warmly. "You are a wizard as well then?"
Sasuke didn't really have much interest in the flirting that was going on. He might have only been seven, but he knew what it meant when girls started giggling for no reason. "What kind of jutsus do you use?" He looks at her curiously. The young child was far more interested in than that than who Shisui wanted to play Kissy Kissy with, as some of the Academy Students said. (Sasuke never said that though because that just sounded stupid in his mind)!
"Jutsu?" Jenny blinks bemusedly at the child, before deciding that Shisui's question makes more sense. "And yes, of course I'm a wizard. You have to be a wizard in order to join one of the magical guilds. I use Take-Over Magic and Transformation Magic." Her cheeks flush a little. "But I'm still working on controlling my take-overs, though."
"Take-Over Magic?" Shisui was almost certain he understood what Transformation Magic was, but the other one was a bit perplexing. "A most interesting name. What does it take over?" It seemed there was a lot to learn about this new world.
"Well, I can use my magic to absorb the properties of machines, and use them in battle." It was something that Jenny was very proud of, since it was a rather rare kind of magic. The only others she knew of who used that sort of magic were members of Fairy Tail. "For example, I can make battle armor out of it, or even use it to shock or stun people. And it makes me a whole lot stronger, so if I kick someone, they go flying! Sometimes I'm the one who can fly!"
That sounded vaguely similar to Puppet Master in his view. "Well I must confess that I find myself a bit envious. The closest I get to flying jumping through the trees or summoning my crows." That was one ability that certainty eluded him.
"You can fly?!" That got Sasuke's attention back. "Wow! I don't think even Itachi could do that." And his big brother could do everything!
"Yeah, when I really try." Jenny hops back a couple of steps, her body starting to glow. "I'm not very good at it yet, but I'll try and show you what I mean." The glow grows brighter, wrapping around her body like a second skin as her dress flutters and disappears, being replaced by plate of hard metal, tubes arching from shoulders to wrists as the white, purle, and dark pink envelops her in a light layer of machine-like armor. All except for her midriff, left exposed, along with her face. "This is my Machina Soul. Cool, isn't it?"
Shisui nods dumbly. Cool was one way to describe it. "It certainly look rather nice on you. Though I assume you use it more for practicality than the delightful aesthetic appeal?" Sasuke just claps in response.
"What, I can't do both?" She winks coyly at Shisui. "Though, I only ever use it if I'm strapped for cash and need to take a harder job. Modeling is usually enough to get by, though. And I'll be joining the hosting staff soon enough, so I'll get paid more than the serving staff. It's expensive to rent apartments in the city"
"I suppose that's a fair point." Well she was certainly flirtatious. "Still one would think you'd make more money modeling. Well more than just enough to get by." Not that he minded. "You must be one of these centerfolds, I keep hearing about?"
Jenny sighs, shaking her head. "No…not yet. The centerfolds make the most money, though." Despite that, she grins widely as her transformation wears off. "But I'm going to do it, just you wait and see! Someday, I'm going to be the one doing the bikini photo-spreads in the center of Sorcerer Weekly!"
He nods at her encouragingly. "I'm sure that you will." Bikinis were apparently what those tiny swimsuits were called. Such a marvelous invention.
"Oh, Jenny Honey, it's good to see you!" Bob pops up behind them, smiling at the girl. "Are you all done for the day?"
The blonde smiles happily. "Yeah, my shoots are over, so I'm just taking a break before my shift starts."
"Oh, such a good girl." Bob's wings flutter contentedly. "Now, I think we're missing someone. Where did young Itachi get off to?"
"Itachi!" Shisui turns his head towards the job board that had so enthralled his cousin. "Master Bob wishes to speak with you!" Honestly, he was going to have to have a look at that thing soon.
Ah, that's right, they were meeting with the guild master over a stamp soon. Itachi very nearly scampers over to the others, well, a graceful scamper anyway. "My apologies, I was simply looking at the request board that Hibiki showed to me." It was truly a marvelous thing, really. A board that covered the entire far wall, and was plastered with an enormous variety of job requests and other wizarding work.
Some jobs dealt with big tasks, like hunting criminals or monsters, while others involved protection or delivery over long distances, and others still involved fetching items or helping with regular, everyday tasks. Even things as mundane as construction or working at events or in shops. Still other were more specialized, dealing with curses or texts in other languages, or various other tasks that required very specific skill sets. The pay ranged from what he assumed was very little, to monumental amounts of money.
The currency, from what he could tell, worked much like their own, with small jobs paying anywhere up to ten or twenty thousand of these jewel, and the most dangerous of them paying as much as several hundred thousand, to over a million jewel. If one worked under the assumption that, like their ryo, small trinkets were often one, two, or even a few hundred units of currency, then he would guess that to rent out any kind of living space would likely cost them a hundred thousand jewel or more. Less, if they were extremely lucky. But he doubted that such luck would follow them. Needless to say, they would have to get to work soon if they were to have any hope of finding a place to stay quickly.
But that could wait until after their meeting. "Now, what was this about stamps?" He had taken note that there was a common theme in this place, an emblem of a blue horse head, and two wings encircling it. It seemed to be something of a guild crest, if he understood Hibiki correctly.
Bob holds up a small square box about the size of his outstretched hand. "Here in a magical guild, so that our members can be identified and allowed to work, we stamp an emblem somewhere on their body to prove that they're a member of the guild. Official member ship in a guild gets you all sorts of opportunities and benefits that you normally wouldn't have as a lone wizard."
"It's their headband." Sasuke nods knowledgeably as he watches Itachi speak with the guild master. "They're probably going to stamp Christina on you." He was pretty sure that's what Jenny had called the blue horse.
Jenny snickers as Bob chuckles at the child. "No, no, Christina is the ship we're building. This is just a stamp of a blue pegasus." He holds up the stamp as the bottom of it starts to glow blue. "So, who's first? You can choose to get the stamp wherever you like."
Shisui barely manages to suppress a snicker of his own at that. "I imagine the men have chosen some rather creative locations." Though he certainly could easily imagine the women putting it on their lovely breasts as well. "I suppose I shall go first. The shoulder seems a common choice."
"Alright, then, roll up your sleeve." Bob smiles cheerily as he raises the stamp. The shoulder certainly was the most standard choice. Easy to conceal easy to reveal, and not in some of the more exotic locations that some more daring members liked to put theirs. Not quite as daring as some of the Fairies in Magnolia, but he digressed.
"Alright then." He smiles and rolls up his sleeve. "I'm ready." They had said that it didn't hurt, but just in case it was better that he go first before Itachi.
Aiming the mark carefully for just above the boy's bicep, Bob presses the stamp to Shisui's shoulder, a few bubbles and sparkles leaving the stamp. There's an ever so slight tingle as Bob pulls the stamp away, revealing the blue emblem on Shisui's shoulder, having magically popped into existence. "There we are, all done."
"Wow." Sasuke blinks. "That's really pretty, Cousin Shisui." He smiles up at him and Shisui chuckles as he messes up Sasuke's hair and nods in agreement.
He turns towards Itachi. "They're right. It doesn't hurt." It was safe for the other Uchiha to get one, if he wanted.
So it seemed, though Itachi had a hard time believing that anything that shot out bubble and sparkles would hurt all that much. "Alright…?" Now…where to get it? The shoulder seemed traditional, but it was hardly something that would remind him of his choice. He'd allowed Shisui to drag him and Sasuke here, and thus, they were stuck. He had thrown away his old life, and he needed to remind himself of that. He needed this new reality to sink in. "Here." He tugs down his collar, revealing the place just below his collarbones. Easily revealed, easily concealed, and a place close to his heart, where it would remind him every time he looked in the mirror.
To Bob, it was a curious choice, but he didn't question it. "Alright, Dearie." He carefully positions the stamp pressing it firmly, but not painfully against the lean muscles of Itachi's chest. Sparkles, bubbles, and a little flash of light, and it was done. "Welcome to Blue Pegasus, Itachi, Shisui." He smiles fondly at the two boys. "I hope that you'll come to love being here."
"I'm sure that we will." Shisui smiles at him. "Right, Itachi?" They had gotten rather lucky. to find this place.
Sasuke watches the whole event curiously. "Is the mark permanent?" What were his parents going to say to Itachi getting what he figured was kinda like a tattoo?
"Well, yes and no." Bob smiles as he tucks away the stamp. "It's permanent unless you decide to remove it. But you only do that if you're leaving the guild. So don't worry, it won't wash off, no matter how much soap you use." Then he chuckles and crouches down near the boy. "Are you asking because you want one as well, Dearie?"
Well if it was going to disappear as soon as they left anyway, Sasuke supposed it didn't matter and this way he'd be a real ninja too! Kinda. "Jenny said that I was too young." Well she had implied it. She said they usually didn't take anyone under ten.
"Well, it takes a special kind of little boy or girl to be a wizard before they're even a teenager." Not that Bob was averse to having tiny wizards about, they just really weren't all that common. "Your cousin said that you can use magic. If you show me, you can have a stamp."
Itachi wasn't so sure that this was a good idea. Not because he thought that Sasuke would scorch the room. No, his little brother was still having some trouble making large fireballs, even if he was capable of it on occasion, but because Sasuke was just so young to be joining a place that was about getting work for wizards. Or ninjas, in their case, though he was beginning to suspect that there was very little difference, in the end. Then again, Sasuke would likely be getting a stamp eventually anyway, so letting him get it early wouldn't likely get him into any trouble. "Sasuke? Do you want a stamp?"
"Okay!" He smiles at Bob and Itachi. "We should probably go outside though." He didn't want to set the place on fire. Though it might be nice if they had to repaint the place. "I don't want to burn anything." That was a lot of pink.
"Oh, then this should be good!" Bob claps his hands together as his wings flutter, carrying him through the air and right through the wall, with the three Uchihas following close behind, only without the advantage of being able to walk through solid objects. "You know, we have a training ground behind the guild." He raises his voice so that the three boys can hear him. "The little wizards like using it to train some of their more dangerous magic. We'll probably find Ren out there, already hard at work."
Ren, Itachi took that to be one of the many guild members in this place. "And…what is it that he would be practicing?"He weaves his way downstairs and into the club, doing his best to keep the energetic guild master in sight.
"Air magic, it's his specialty." Bob slows down as they approach the back door. "This way, Dearies."
Shisui follows them outside in amusement. Sasuke had told them both that he could do the Fireball Jutsu now. He was rather proud of it as any Uchiha child would be. Honestly, it was probably the only Jutsu he knew unless the Academy had started teaching the children how to use the Transformation Jutsu earlier.
"Training grounds would be fun." Sasuke smiles at Bob. "We have those in our District." The District where his father had taught him this Jutsu. "You might want to stand back." It had taken a lot longer than Sasuke wanted for him to learn it and Fugaku had been close to deciding that Sasuke couldn't do it, when he finally managed it, but he had done it. "The fire can get pretty big..." And now, he was going to prove it!
"Alrighty." Bob waves his hand at a boy with darkly tanned skin, and even darker ebony hair half tied up in a ponytail. Air swirls all around him in fairly powerful gusts, making it obvious that his practice methods are very much by trial and error, rather than intense study. "Ren, Honey, why don't you take a break for a few minutes."
"Yes, Master Bob." He moves off to the side. "You're seriously testing that kid though?" Ren raises an eyebrow. "I'm not sure why that requires a training field. How much damage can he really do when he's still a squirt?"
Sasuke gives Ren a dirty look at that. He wasn't little! Well at least not in his class anyway. "We do too need the field! FIREBALL JUTSU!" He takes a giant gulp of air and blows it out in a great big gust, producing a fireball about the size of him.
"Oh my!" Bob cradles his cheeks as he watches the fiery display. "Such a talented little wizard!"
Itachi feels a sure of pride upon hearing those words. His little brother may still be small,but he was growing in strength by leaps and bounds. Or at least, so it seemed, until the fireball was mysteriously smothered by a sudden gust of wind. He didn't need three guesses to figure out who did that, as his eyes fall on the older wizard. He seemed to be about the same age as Hibiki and Shisui.
"Hey!" Sasuke grumbles and glares at the other boy. "You put out my fire!" And it had been one of his best ones yet!
"Yeah because I didn't want you to burn our guild down." Ren rolls his eyes. "Who is the idiot who is teaching the squirt to play with fire?"
"Our father." Itachi places his hand on Sasuke's shoulder, staring at the wizard who 'rained on Sasuke's parade' so to speak. "It's something of a rite of passage in our clan. I was also producing fire by the time I was his age."
"Well, then your clan is crazy. Who teaches magic like that to kids?" He couldn't believe it. "Teaching people to throw fire before puberty is a recipe for disaster."
"I can show you a disaster!" Sasuke puffs up at Ren. "I didn't need you to put out my fire and I'm old enough to make Fire Jutsus!" His father wouldn't have taught him, if he hadn't been!
Bob chuckles at the sight of his little wizards arguing. "Maki has a little fire wizard of his own. I've heard all sorts of stories during the conferences about him. Such a strong little boy."
Shisui watches the boy "picking on" on Sasuke. He was debating about intervening, but he doubted this Ren character was going to seriously try anything with the guild master right there. "Is fire a common ability around here?" He glances at Bob out of the corner of his eye while he watches Sasuke and Ren.
"Well, elemental magic is as common as any other kind of ability magic. But there always was something rather special about that boy." Bob eyes Itachi with a smile as Sasuke begins chasing around a hovering Ren. "In fact, I think he's just about your age."
"Sasuke!" Shisui shakes his head at the young boy who was trying his damnest to catch Ren. "You can't just blow fireballs at people!" It reminded him of a cat trying to catch a bird.
"Really?" Itachi ignores Sasuke's antics for the most part, as well as Shisui's admonishments. As far as he was concerned, this was god target practice. Largely because he doubted that Ren would be so easily defeated by a child half his age. "Then is it common for wizards to begin their training young?" He as getting mixed messages, really. They didn't seem to have many young wizards, and yet, teenaged wizards seemed to be the norm.
"Most wizards take time to pick up their talents, but there's some cases of young ones who start when they're barely old enough to walk." Bob sighs at the memories of his own days as a young wizard, many decades ago.
"Maybe, their chakra has a hard time manifesting until they're bodies can handle the pressure." Shisui ponders the matter out loud. "I doubt their physical training regimes are as intense as ours. They don't seem too focused on taijutsu, if it doesn't involve fitting into swimsuits."
"Perhaps." Itachi laughs softly at the sight of Sasuke starting to look like he's about to fall over. "But I'm sure that there are many kinds of…magic out there that we are still unfamiliar with." He looks to his cousin uncertainly, lowering his voice. "And it would be best for us to learn about them as quickly as possible, don't you think?"
Shisui nods in agreement. That seemed like a productive endeavor. "I agree. Master Bob, do you have a library that we might be able to explore?" That would probably be the fastest way to become acquainted with such things."
Bob sighs, shaking his head. "Not the kind of library to write home about, we're still updating it." They used new computer databases infused with lacrima crystals for those kinds of things, and Hibiki was still tweaking them. "But I'm sure that if you ask Hibiki, he should be able to use his Archive Magic to answer any questions you have. Other than that, I'd just suggest that you ask your guildmates. There's many different kinds of magic, and the only way to truly understand them is to ask someone who's been practicing it most of their life."
"I see…" That made sense. After all, Itachi could explain the powers of the Sharingan well enough, even to someone without it. But it was these other magics that baffled him. It did seem to be best to experience it all firsthand, if possible.
"Thank you." Shisui smiles at him. He was most eager to explore this Archive. "Well I believe Sasuke has made his point and I hope that he didn't singe Ren."
"Oh, Ren will be perfectly fine!" Bob waves his hand at the air wizard, calling him off. "Ren, Honey, your shift starts soon!"
"Pft. Kid thinks he's a hotshot with his fireballs." Ren smirks as he walks over to Bob. "I'm fine. Not like he could hit me anyway."
"Hey Ren!" Hibiki sticks his head out the back door of the guild. "Come on! We're on!" He was decked out in a dark suit and bright blue dress shirt, hair combed semi-wildly around his face. "The evening clients are on the way."
Sasuke blinks at the fancy clothes. "Strange place." But everyone seemed happy here. "Itachi, are all your missions like this?"
"No, Sasuke, not all of them." In fact, he had never been required to wear anything at all like that. Itachi was frankly bewildered by the choice of dress. Just what kind of place was this?
Bob chuckles at the sight of Ren nonchalantly racing inside. "Those boys are two of the most popular hosts in Blue Pegasus. They're always being requested by our clients."
"What...exactly do the hosts do for the clients?" Shisui blinks. Those were rather expensive looking clothes. "Those look a bit luxurious to wear on a normal mission."
"Of course, they're for wearing inside the guild. They're part of the uniform that the wizards wear when working with our clients." Bob toddles towards the door, smiling brightly. "I run the bar while the hosts socialize with the clientele. After all, the most important part of a club is its hospitality!"
Sasuke tilts his head at that. As far as he could tell, Bob was saying that people got paid to dress up nicely and entertain people? That seemed more like acting than being a ninja. Was there some kind of trick to it? Were they spying on these 'clients'?
"Ah I see." Shisui really didn't, but he would pretend he did. "Well I'm sure we'll catch on quickly enough." If nothing else, Uchiha had proven themselves to be fast learners.
"Good, then let's get you two changed and see how you do on the floor!" Bob claps his hands eagerly as he flutters inside. The boys were friendly and polite, and so very pretty. He was sure they'd do just fine.
"Itachi, I definitely don't think we're in the Leaf anymore." Sasuke looks around in awe of all the colors and well all the strangeness. Pegasi, wizards, and a strange little man named Bob could only mean one thing. "This is going to be one very weird summer." He might only be seven, but Sasuke knew that this place was nothing like home.
