Open Bountiful Bread [Req Hayashi]

[Kimari Bōmu]

'Crap.' It had been quite a while since Keniwa had started at the academy, he had went on several missions. Several private tutors, almost a dozen of new friends he had met at his time there. Even meeting a talking shark which he befriended, his life had been at it's peak in a long long while. With home life looking better as the days go on and Keniwa gets stronger, as Keniwa had been working hard as a student he hadn't had to go on daily errands. His mum was finally allowed to leave the house of her own free will, thanks to Keniwa's increase in strength his father had actually began to fear him. This morning he locked eyes with him each of their auras practically duking it out and to somewhat of a surprise Ikari would whisper something over his breath as he turned to the side and storm out of the house, his will had grown far stronger than the previously mighty blows from his despicable father. 'I'm glad mother didn't have to see that, she wouldn't be happy to see the two of us fighting.'

And as if it was on cue she would gracefully walk out of her bedroom dressed in a beautiful Kimono which covered up most of her stomach's disfigurement, a calm expression on her pale face alongside a gentle loving smile. "Good morning mother! How did you sleep?" Keniwa just like a lost puppy would eagerly greet his mother beginning to pour some green tea which he had prepared for her for when she would awake. "Good morning Keni, thank you for asking it was a restful sleep, i'm going to the shops today it appears we are running low on bread. I'll be back in a little to make you some breakfast!" And that's when it hit him, he'd ditched his only friend before he joined the academy. The only one person he could ever talk to about his troubles, his joy his social skills weren't great before the academy but they'd be practically zero without him. 'Crap.' He blanked out for a moment as his mouth slightly gaped and his eyes would stare off in to space, as the sound of the front door opening would snap him back to reality.

"NO! .... I mean don't worry mother you can just go have a lovely breakfast there is this nice stand which has great maple ham. I'll buy the bread with my own money." He would frantically scramble too get his wallet from the table before wasting no time sprinting out the front door. As his mother would giggle seeing her little man enthusiastic and energetic as she would also slowly make her way to Red Oak District. He dashed straight out of the Kyoujouran complex ignoring any and all sorts of conflict which his fellow clan members would ignore, even barging straight through a couple other Kyoujouran. 'Hayashi it's been so long... Theres so much I need to tell him. I wonder how he's doing!' Taking the fastest route in to the Red Oak District, he had memorised this route after taking it hundreds of times, running across the walls of alleys and keeping out of the way of any obstacles with unmatched speed ofr his age. Not only had he become a lot more confident since their last meeting a couple years ago, his strength had also increased dramatically. Finally landing right down in front of the somewhat famous family run bakery.

Pankesu's Pastry, five minutes before it'd open it was best to arrive early to get the freshest of bread. Which was their star's speciality and his oldest friend's. Slamming his fists on their door, despite the closed sign hanging above the door, a large grin forming on his face as he eagerly calls out. "Hayashi!! Get out here! It's me Keniwa! Did you forget me!" Hayashiii!" Placing his face on the window of the door with his palms as well his breath slightly steaming the window, simply overjoyed to hopefully reunite with his best bud.

 

[Pankesu Hayashi]

Being a baker is a surprisingly large amount of work: Waking up hours before everyone else in order to proof and bake bread by the shops opening time, cleaning and maintaining the shops few chairs and tables, hanging around in the steaming hot kitchen for hours at a time. Not to mention the occasions where he would too eagerly reach for a tray of bread from the oven, only to realise he wasn't wearing oven gloves and burn himself. But it was Hayashi's dream job, helping out the family business whilst providing food for the community was his calling. Business was booming for the Pankesus, thanks mostly due to the tireless work of Hayashi as both of his parents were distracted by raising his sister who was turning out to be a real handful.
On this day in particular was just finishing making a batch of raisin buns as part of the shops 'bread of the month'. He was just placing the raisin buns in pride of place on the counter, when he heard a commotion coming just from outside of the shop.

"Hey! Hey! we aren't open yet! Cant you read the sign!" He shouted from the counter before sauntering over to the window to see... Keniwa! Hayashi hadn't seen him since he had entered the academy. "Oh! Hello! Long time no see eh?" He said in a joking tone as he unlocked the door and pulled him inside and sat him down before bombarding him with questions. "How have you been!? Bet you missed spending time with the most interesting guy in town right!?" Before Keniwa could answer Hayashi had already thrust a raisin bun into his hands. "Here try one of these, I made them specially!" After the torrent of words had ended and Keni could get a word in edgeways, Hayashi sat down expectantly and waited to hear what he had to say.

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

'Where the hell...?'

It certainly wasn't the first time Keiyaku had woken up to find his little brother missing; the little guy liked to have a good long morning stroll through the woods before risking being dragged onto any official duty. Something was telling the boy that the Shiba puppy hadn't followed this routine though; for one thing, his scent was nowhere to be found around the back area of the Inuzuka clan complex which lead out into the woods. Not wanting to risk waking Kiiromaru and worrying the old mutt, he searched for any clues around his room, moving his bed, the furniture, pulling off his sheets.... Oh... there....

'Pankesu Pastries...'

It was a flier for some sort of bakery bearing the establishments name, followed by a list of their opening hours.

'Little shit, Moru, they're not even open yet,' he thought, figuring he best find the Shiba puppy before he did something he'd have to hand over his wallet for.

⁂​

Morutobu, meanwhile, the aforementioned Shiba puppy, was bounding briskly down the street, dutifully clad in his ANBU battle gear, all alone. Nose twitching in the direction of his quarry, he followed his senses until he finally arrived at a big closed sign. He shook his head in disgust, letting out a great huff. But then! He remembered!

'Wait! I'm cute!'

Without Keiyaku being around to work the magic of possessing opposable thumbs, he fell back onto Plan B. He began to let out a pathetic little puppy whine while scratching desperately at the door, hoping someone would investigate, at which point he could hypnotise them with his big, round eyes and squishy, fluffy face. As the situation got still more dire, he took to jumping up and down, trying to see through the window of the door into the shop. Likely, Hayashi and Keniwa might glimpse a disembodied dog head bounce into view on every second beat.

 

[Ayeka]

Aria's eyes slowly opened only to take in a wooden roof being illuminated by the small cracks of natural light coming from underneath a nearby door before she closed her eyes again. 'Huh did I not go home last night.... What was I doing again.' Aria's last memory was training in the forest late at night with Yousai but she had over done it and almost completely drained her chakra leaving the ravenous girl to wander into the village looking for food in a half delirious state, with the last vague memory being of her using a wood jutsu on something.

Opening her eyes once again Aria looked left and right to take in her surroundings and she found herself laying down at the back of small room on what she figured was a bag of flour judging by the leaked contents as she shifted to get up. Lining the walls were shelves containing different kinds of baked good as well as ingredients or should she say there was stored baked good as it kind of looked like a bar got loose in there. Storage seals had been broken open leaving half eaten baked goods strewn about the floor and shelves but what really confused Aria was that she had even eaten bits flour and yeast in her hunger driven state. "Wow I must have been hungry." Aria checked herself over and found a couple of bread rolls sitting in her hair which without a proper brushing had turned into a wild mane that stuck out in all directions behind her making her look like a hedgehog. Fortunately she had clothes on and they were in a good if slightly dusty state from flour so they girl didn't bother cleaning herself since she didn't have anything to fix her hair here and she could use a snack for later.

Heading for the door Aria heard.

"Hey! Hey! we aren't open yet! Cant you read the sign!"

Freezing like a yeti being caught on camera as she opened and stepped through the door Aria caught sight of Keniwa coming through the front of the shop that Aria found herself in, as he was confronted by another boy whom she assumed was the owner of the shop. Aria just stared at Keni as she was obviously in the boys line of sight but hadn't been noticed by the unknown kid yet as her eyes eventually drifted over to the small flash of colour from the back door window which had a small Shiba face bouncing up and down. Fortunately for the little dog the back door was next to the pantry door the Senju had come out of so with a simple movement Aria opened the door like she lived there and instantly recognized the little puppy to be Moru. Not saying anything as she recognised another hungry mooch just like herself she simply let the pooch in up before walking further inside and simply jumped up onto the counter so she could sit there crossed legged and watch the two boys while she encouraged Moru to sit with her so they could munch the raisin buns that sat on the counter. Hayashi if he turned around would be greeted by the sight of a thirteen year old girl dressed her ninja attire smeared in flour and minus her head piece which was stored away for the moment, with bits of bread sticking out of a wild raging mane of hair going down her back while she sat crossed legged with a Shiba pup possibly next to her while this weirdo ate his hard earned backed goods. If Hayashi did look back Aria would simply stare back at him and say. "Sup."

 

[Kimari Bōmu]

He could already see his friend complaining at him through the window as he would snigger and laugh, as he could see him angerly walking towards the window. And when baker of a friend's expression changed to a surprise, Keniwa matched his in attempt to make fun of him slapping both his hands on his cheek making a shocked face. "Long time no see! Yeah you are completely right! How have y-" Being cut off as he is dragged in to the soon to open Bakery, the savoury aroma creating a cosy atmosphere that would remind anyone of waking up to a delicious breakfast in bed. Practically launched in to a chair he would sit excitedly being bombarded with an onslaught of quizzes and questions, to which he'd be no more than glad to answer. "How have I been! ... How have I been? ... How have I been..."

He would pause for a moment taking a bite out of the delicious raisin bun which radiated and rekindled his previous enthusiasm. "Well! A lot and I mean a lot has happened. I've made so many new friends, I can't even begin to describe all the adventures and things we've faced. One of them lost an arm, I was right there when it happened and we spent a lot of time working past it and growing and now we are closer than ever, we are brothers! I've met some amazingly strong and powerful individuals, you never told me how cool the academy was you graduated a few years ago right?" Giving him a chance to get a word in he'd continue to go on about some more finer details one would only discuss with their closest of friends.

"And... and... I have missed you Hayashi. I'm now much more available than I was due to the time at the academy so I can't wait to hang out way more! I hope you can take some hours of the job every now and then to meet with me. But... Hayashi I've met a couple people who've made me feel a way that I've felt with no one else. I'm not even that close to them but can you keep a secret?" Not even waiting for him to respond he knew that he could completely trust his oldest friend. "I've met these two people. I am not sure if they know who I am. But I think about them some times, one is this girl she looked really tall and beautiful her hair shimmered in the sun it was like gold. And I thought we were about to kiss! But... she bit my shoulder and she broke her tooth. It got even worse when she fell over and I went to go help her but I chickened out and ran far far away. I haven't talked to her since it happened. And there's this other boy he's really kind, he always has showered me in compliments even in the small amount of time we've know each other! He even helped me with..." He actually didn't know whether to show Hayashi what was underneath his wrapped hands a conflicted frown being formed as he looked down at his hands which sat on his lap.

Although as he peered up he could see a small shiba jumping up and down outside the backdoor window, it couldn't be there was no way. 'Moru?! Wait that means no he can't be.' He slightly gaped his mouth looking at the scene which would begin to unfold in front of him, Aria would let him in stealthily as he could see her munching on a bunch of Hayashi's baked good. Throwing the table cloth on top of the table over Hayashi trying to distract his vision "My hand slipped! Hold on Hayashi." Dashing straight towards Aria with a furrowed brow and a scowl as he witnessed her completely covered in dust, bread buns all over and inside of her hair. He would grab her by the hair clenching the strands in his fists as he would reel her out through the back door, chucking her down. Before pointing at Morutobu disapprovingly and ushering him outdoors with an angry scowl on his face.

He would cross his arms disapprovingly as he looked down at Aria, or up depending if she had finally stood up. "Alright you have a maximum of 10 words to explain yourself before I decide what to do with you." Looking down at Moru if he decided to join them. "And you! You should be the responsible one out of you and Aria. I'll be letting Keiyaku know about this shortly..." His catch up with an old friend wasn't about to be ruined by these two's antics.

 

[Pankesu Hayashi]

Hayashi listened intently to Keniwa's stories, a whistle stop tour of all his latest adventures, both physical and mental. "You've really been through the wars eh?" Said Hayashi genuinely before quickly adding on a teasing tone, "Must be a lot for someone sooooo young" and giving Keni a condescending pat on the shoulder. He paused as Keniwa spoke of his romantic aspirations, and Hayashi couldn't help but laugh at some of his misadventures "good grief" He said, stifling a laugh, "And I thought I was bad with that sort of stuff! Anyway, one out of two isnt bad! good going little bro!" He said giving Keniwa a reassuring pat on the back as Hayashi clearly saw himself as an authority on the subject of dating. Although, the validity of that belief is questionable at best.

Despite Hayashi's cheerful and carefree demeanour he was slightly saddened by this meeting as it felt as if Keni 'the little brother that Hayashi never had' was all grown up and mature now. What role could a snarky older brother figure still play in Keniwa's new life of adventures?! He thought to himself. But he wasn't thinking for long as his attention was soon back on Keniwa who had trailed talking and was now looking at his bandaged hands with a furrowed brow.

Before Hayashi had even thought of some sort of light hearted comment to make about them, Keni's head snapped up and Suddenly, it all went black....

Because Hayashi's head had been unceremoniously covered by a tablecloth. From under this white cotton tablecloth he heard the slightly muffled movements of someone running across the room at a blistering pace before banging into something and continuing out behind the counter to the back of the shop. Recovering from the brief shock of momentarily being turned into a child's idea of a ghost costume, Hayashi pulled the tablecloth from off of his head and began to walk tentatively towards the back of the bakery. The butterflies in his stomach soon gave way to a feeling of utter bewilderment as he stepped into the kitchen/ storage room for the shop. There was bread everywhere.
Bread being everywhere is quite common in a bakery, but this was different! It was like there had been a 'bread-splosion'in the small room, rolls, loaves and buns littered the floor. Free standing Baking racks had been knocked over like dominoes. Sticky iced buns were stuck to the ceiling and the walls like someone had been throwing them like darts and thick layer of flour coated the ground like there had been a blizzard!

All Hayashi could hear was a ringing in his ears as he processed the scene, slowly he began to recover his faculties and he walked to the door which had been kicked in from the outside. Keniwa was standing over someone who was assumedly the culprit, he was speaking but Hayashi didn't really register what was being said. "What has happened here!?" He demanded, talking to no one in particular, "Do you know how much this would cost to replace!? Because I don't! This is possibly the worst event to ever befall Pankesu's Pastry!" He continued ranting and raving for a few minutes before defeatedly sitting down in the alley with his hands on his head, when a surprisingly apologetic looking dog came out of the bakery's back door... holding a bread bun in its mouth. This was the final straw for Hayashi as his vison blurred and he passed out right there in the alley.

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

The moment he felt the presence, Moru slowly turned around to see who had just come up behind him and received a little bit of a shock. The ninken was beginning to think Aria was some kind of agent of chaos who simply manifested wherever there was the faintest opportunity for events to take a side-road to the fuck-way. What on earth had she been doing? Hey, at least she had opposable thumbs and could open the door. The little pup was hungry, excited to munch on some bread, but when he entered via the backdoor, he froze. The state of the place... He slowly looked up at Aria as she headed for the front of the shop, following behind her, but with a much different attitude than the one with which he entered. He was super excited, but now seeing what had been done to this small business in the span of one morning... It wasn't like he was going to steal food; he had money in his pouch, but would he even be a welcome customer now?

Then, there was Keni. Moru's eyes darted between him and Aria, the former now attempting to drag the other out by her hair, making Morutobu feel his position was even more precarious. His tail was wedged firmly between his legs, his ears folding back as Keni started berating him, chastising him for his lack of responsibility. He gave Keni and Hayashi a look as if to say 'I didn't even know she was here! I just wanted to buy some bread!'

Cocking his head to the side, he gestured to a coinpouch that was sticking out of one of the side-pockets of his battle gear. He awkwardly yanked out the coin purse with his teeth and looked up at Hayashi with a big sad look on his face. He wasn't so sure though... the poor kid looked like he was going to faint... If only Keiyaku were here.... big brother was always better at mediating these situations than he was.

[Don't worry, Moru's no thief ]

 

[Ayeka]

As Keniwa threw Aria to the ground by her hair, the girl seemed to spin like a bowling ball as she hit the ground and continued her momentum until she slammed into the nearby wall of the alley leaving her in a pile of hair, limbs and bread as her eyes seemed to spin from sudden assault leaving here helpless as Keni stood over the groaning Senju and demanded answers from the girl that she herself didn't have. From Aria perspective she had just woken up in the bakery store room surrounded by half eaten food and her recollection was hazy at best. "I dunno I just woke up in that storeroom." The spinning coupled with all the food she ate didn't sit well with Aria as her face took on a green tinge as her eyes refocussed only for the girl to spin quickly and begin being sick into a nearby bin with heavy retching following soon after. "Ugh why the heck was their sooooo much bread? And why did I eat soooo much?.....Though it was good." Aria looked back at the building she had been ejected from only to see a nice wooden exterior with no further marking as was normal for a business. "Why does that guy like bread so much anyway?" She said as watched Pankesu walk out of the building like a zombie before bonelessly slumping to the floor as Moru tried to make the kid feel better unsuccessfully. At this point Keni may come to realise from his previous interactions with Aria that the girl had no income and relied on the academy for basic needs almost completely which meant that the Senju had no concept of money or commerce in general and the only interaction she had ever had in a place of business was when Keiyaku took the girl to a restaurant and he had paid for everything. So the white haired girl just looking up at the scowling Taijutsu master and just cluelessly asked. "What up with him? Did I fuck something up for him?" Before the colour green once again reinstated itself and Aria resumed being sick in her slowly filling receptacle.

 

[Kimari Bōmu]

He could hear his poor friend stumble out of the backdoor completely in shock and horror of the white haired devil's actions. Leaving him some time to rest Keniwa would listen to Aria's pathetic excuse for the damage she had caused, cracking his knuckles together as his facial expression only grew more and more sinister. Although her being physically sick he would tug on his emotional strings, his anger would slowly fade and simmer whilst he wanted to teach her a painful lesson he couldn't help but feel a bit bad. "Alright once you are done throwing up I'll talk to you stay there!" His attention switching to Keiyaku's brother he'd prepare for his retribution as well however it would just be another sad sight, the poor shiba's face couldn't help but draw more sympathy from the Kyoujouran. "You guys I just look okay y-you can't just argfzbmstfbg FINE!" Spewing out a bunch of gibberish as he clearly couldn't lay a finger on these two.

Quickly making his way back in and out of Pankesu's Pastry he would grab a warm bun of soft bread, which carefully wrapped round a tender piece of beef, taking a quick peek at the prices. '450 yen...' Making his way back he would gesture his hand with the pasty on his palm, taking the current amount of yen out of Moru's pouch and placing the bun on the ground in front of the pup. Now for the real perpetrator to be sorted out it appears as most the green has left her face now probably bubbling disgustingly inside of the nearby bins, "Yes you did mess things up for him. A lot. And you will be working everything you owe back. I want to see you hear 8am-12 working here 4 days a week. Starting today, once you finish your.... lunch break get to cleaning immediately. And maybe just maybe, if you pay it all back you could even get a job here. Don't even think of running. I will hunt you down." Viciously glaring at Aria as he'd demand this of her, this childish behaviour of hers would contain consequences. No one would hurt a hair on his friend's head whilst we has around. Well... kinda.

Calmly walking towards Hayashi's unconscious body he would begin casting a very basic electric jutsu. "Sorry buddy. Lightning Jutsu: Storm Bolt." A small zap electrocuting lashing out of his fingertips towards Hayashi in a hope to wake him up.

 

[Pankesu Hayashi]

With Hayashi's head resting against the cool floor of the alley, he dreamt a strange dream. He was walking though a field of beautiful wild flowers, the sun was high in the sky and the field was spotted with all the bright colours of the flowers. Red, yellow, purple and blue splotches dotted the green landscape with ornate butterflies swooping in and out of the flowers looking fort their next meal. The young baker would often visit this place when he slept, although he wasn't sure why, and it he felt a deep nostalgia for it. Hayashi lay down in a grassy clearing in the plain and rested with his hands behind his head for what seemed like hours, but when he opened his eyes again the sun was setting. It cast a beautiful deep red glow which Hayashi was distracted from by the sight of... smoke? In the distance, great billowing clouds of smoke that grew the longer he looked, absorbing more and more of the horizon as it spread. In all the time that he had spent in this dream world, nothing had ever happened before and it filled Hayashi with a sickening sense of dread.

Hayashi awoke with a jolt, or rather a volt, as Keniwa dragged him back to reality. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" Hayashi exclaimed, letting out the least manly scream you could imagine, before continuing "Oh... its just you Keni, you know you didn't have to shock me like that!" he grumbled, irritated and rubbing his sore, slightly burnt, arm. "How long was I out for anyway?" he asked as he shakily stood up. Keniwa answered, and then began to explain his 'Genius plan' to Hayashi. "NO! NO WAY! Who do you take me for!? In not giving her another chance to wipe out weeks of progress! There must be another way!" He shouted, almost not even believing what he was hearing! That girl, working in his shop!? After she had traumatised all the bread with her unprovoked attack!?! To put it lightly, Hayashi would take some convincing.

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

Now he could die happy; a quick change of coin and Moru was rewarded with a nice, warm bun for his very own. There was still a degree of worry though; he could hear Keni ordered Aria to be put to work and quietly worried he'd suffer the same fate.... he didn't seem to reason on the fact that he was a dog, and therefore a poor candidate for indentured servitude in a bakery. Hearing the scream, he bounded back into the alleyway to investigate, his purchased bun still hanging from his mouth. Keni had evidently zapped his friend a wake, but the boy was still quite hysterical. The Shiba puppy wanted to comfort him somehow, but again, that might've just made the situation worse, especially since, without Keiyaku to translate, he couldn't properly explain himself.

"Don't worry Keni, I'm comiiiiiiiiiing!"

The voice would be familiar to Aria and Keniwa, except, while usually laid back, this time it was filled with a hint of desperation. The feral-faced Inuzuka boy was running up the side street, pavement-pounding in the direction of the alleyway where the others stood, and he seemed to be holding something, as if ready to throw it. With a hefty bit of force, he shot-put the object he was holding, right at Keni, which, if the boy didn't move in time, would strike him right in the face. The object, upon closer inspection, was a wallet, heaving with coin.

"That should cover it. Where is he? What did he wreck? Is he al-"

He spoke at a million miles a minute, only breaking off when he spotted Moru, bun in mouth, looking rather stunned. Putting the bun down, the puppy tried to explain what had happened in a series of grunts and growls - Keiyaku seemed to understand this as easily as human speech.

"H-How.... what?"

He looked between the new boy, presumably an employee of the bakery judging by his scent; then to the flour-covered Aria, and Keniwa, looking thoroughly harassed.

 

[Ayeka]

Aria looked up at Keniwa from her now half full bin and just sighed as the whole scary thing really didn't work for Keni when it came to Aria even with the rocky exterior, or could be just that Aria was kind of broken as person. Instead the girl stood up and patted herself down as Pankesu snapped awake and begged Keni not to inflict Aria on him any further. The chaotic scene got even worse when Keiyaku showed up only to fire projectile currency at Keniwa leaving the alley in a general mess of chaos much to annoyance of Aria's throbbing headache who ignored the scene and stepped back into the bakery. "Ugh what's the big deal with those guys. It's just bread." Aria mused to herself as she stepped back into the storeroom and began to dig around. It didn't take long before Aria managed to find some left over grains that would most likely have been used to bake oat based goods before grabbing a large handful and headed over to the ovens.

What a lot of people didn't realise about the Senju was that not only could they control plant life with their chakra but they could age and grow dormant life by nurturing it with their chakra and that's what she did as the grain in her hand seemed to explode from their kernels into lengths of wheat before creating more kernels that feel down from between her fingers in a cycle that created a nice amount of material to use. Once that was done Aria using vigorous amount of chakra to help slowly but surely began to recreate the bread she had eaten using natural chakra to enrich the tastes. Thankfully the few times she had been taken to the Senju compound she had been taught to bake by the women their and Akio so she was pretty sure the taste would be pretty good once she was finished. Soon the sweet smell of fresh bred would feed back into the alleyway as Aria used one of the rare noncombat skills she was good at, Baking. Though despite the gesture of repairing the damage Pankesu may be horrified by this chakra infused cooking as the hygiene standards may seem a little lower since steps were glossed over due to her using chakra to control the process.

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

[Topic left due to inactivity]

 

[Kimari Bōmu]

[Topic left due to inactivity]

 

[Ayeka]

(Topic left due to inactivity)