Lunch with a Wild One [Open]

[Hoshirei]

"Kayo! Seriously?" Hoshirei exclaimed as she almost tripped over her horned fox summon yet again. "I know you want to remain near me, but being under my feet? You've been learning bad habits from Mouna, haven't you?" Her large, gray forest cat had the habit of entwining herself between Hoshirei's feet and she had almost tripped over the rather large feline a few times. However, Mouna was smaller than Kayo and caused Hoshirei to stumble much less often than the almost two foot tall fox.

Kayo huffed at her summoner, her silver and blue tail flicking in annoyance, "Not learn anything from cat. Knows I not like cat much." "Well you are behaving like her and you did not when you first arrived, missy," Hoshirei replied with a fond exasperation. "If we can make it to the Ichiraku's without you tripping me, I'll order a couple eggs and some ham for you. How's that sound?" Kayo's ears immediately pricked up at the sound of eggs and ham. "Sound good. Will hold to promise!" she said as she jumped excitedly before Hoshirei.

The Isaki clan head couldn't help but laugh at her summon's antics. It was times like these that she remembered that Kayo was still fairly young for a summon creature. Her glowing blue markings and eyes, not to mention her blue horns caught a lot of attention as they walked toward Ichiraku Ramen. Despite her bouncy excitement, Kayo refrained from almost tripping Hoshirei. Instead, the summon creature showed her delight at the eggs and ham in her future by zipping forward and turning bouncing circles as she chittered in excitement. They finally arrived and Kayo leaped into a seat on Hoshirei's left. The server looked at Kayo for a second before just shaking his head and taking their order.

The summon was nearly dancing in her seat as she watched the cooks intently as they put together their meals and Hoshirei reached over to grab the closest horn gently. "Settle Kayo, I know you are excited, but I don't want you falling off your seat, okay?" Kayo stilled as much as her excitement would allow and nodded repeatedly, "So happy! Eggs and ham! Best summoner ever!" Kayo said and headbutted Hoshirei's hand affectionately.
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WC: 374

 

[Nanjirou Soku]

Soku was doing her rounds as usual around the village when she had managed to escape from the paperwork, she grimaced at the stack that still awaited her back at the complex. She liked to get a breather every now and then, this was one of the ways she did that. Dressed in usual ANBU attire and the mask for added measure, after all, her brown locks of hair pinned up in a neat bun, the Captain took to the streets sighing in relief as the cool air greeted her. "Never though I'd see the sunlight for another day."The female said almost half-jokingly to herself as the girl made her way into the inner depths of the village stopping only to chastise a group of kids throwing fruit at a nearby building. She shook her head at the scene before resuming her patrols, they were getting worse. But then again, it did add a sense of livelihood and spark to the village life and that was always a plus to her. As the day progressed, soon, the alluring smell of ramen reached her nostrils and the ANBU stopped turning in the direction of Ichiraku's and for a moment stopped attempting to comprehend what she was seeing. Blinking a few times, she squinted in order to ensure that that were was quite literally a fox-like creature in one of the seats close by a woman. Soku had seen some crazy stuff but this...she shook her head.This village never ceases to amaze me. The scene interested her so Soku shrugged and decided to wander on over to the establishment, after all, no one passed up a good chance for some fresh ramen.

Approaching closer, she took the seat on the immediate right speaking first to the server."The usual."The Captain said sliding across some coins which briefly dissappeared. Her Sharingan pupils locked onto the woman and her fox companion briefly darting between the two before...that's it, she had to say something. 'Excuse me..."The Santaru started, her tone gentle."I just had to inquire...but it's not often people bring along their pets for an trip to Ichiraku's or so I've seen."She said humourously grinning behind her mask. Okay, bad attempt at a joke but she had to start somewhere. Besides, the fox was not your ordinary looking fox if it even was a fox, it had those horns and these strange markings, still, it was an interesting creature. "Does it have a name?"She added as the steaming bowl of ramen arrived before her. The woman herself, Soku judged she was older than her, possibly the shinobi type? She wasn't ANBU, that much was certain. There were no black haired ANBU who roamed the village with a strange, blue, fox. That much she was sure of. This was going to be an interesting converstation indeed.

 

[Sazuki Nao]

It was a silent day today... and Kotori was walking around, wearing something slight more traditional but still a mix of her own clothing. A mask was hanging on her belt, just a casual one she used for this whole lunar event. For her it was amazing to be back. She enjoyed every single second of it.Slowly she started to stretch out her arms. The scent of some deliscious ramen were getting ot her and her stomach started to make a rumbling sound. Slowly but surely she directed the path from the usual path towards the tiny stand. "One cannot hurt..." Yet the devil on her shoulder already started to snicker. "And tomorrow, and the day after." Were jibril to mention. A grin would be shown on the devilish face of the Yokai. Slowly Kotori started to sigh, this was something she had grown used to over the years. "Alright alright..." She said and would walk furhter.
Once inside she saw a set of faces. "..." This... might were a bad moment. She had heard of Jibril what had happened in the compound earlier and how she had been there. "Alriiight... Heya all." She would say, she had changed her hair once more, as of right now she had long hairs, loose hanging instead of her usual up in a ponytail.
Jibril was behind her and started ot wave rather innocent. "Heya soku, hey miss isaki." She would first attempt to jump hug her, sort of sister and then gentle bow towards the female beside.

 

[Hoshirei]

Hoshirei and Kayo were not alone for long, quickly joined by two fellow shinobi. One she didn't recognize, but caught her name when Kotori said hello. She smiled at Kotori, but Kayo couldn't sit still in her chair, shifting in mild agitation. Kayo decided that she was exceedingly glad her fellow summons taught her how to speak the human's common tongue. "I not pet. I summon," Kayo said in a bit of a huff.

Hoshirei reached over and rested a hand on Kayo's flank. "It's okay, Kayo. Soku didn't know." "But not normal looking fox," she hung her head a bit in a pout. Just then, the server set down Kayo's bowl of eggs and ham and she said thank you before turning to her bowl and starting to nibble. "I summoned Kayo after finding a fox contract in our family vaults. She has decided to stay with me for as long as she can. It has been some getting used to for both of us, but has been good."

The Isaki clan head's bowl was sat down in front of her and she nodded in thanks. "It is good to see you again, Kotori. And it is nice to meet you, Soku, was it? I'm Hoshirei of the Isaki clan."

 

[Nanjirou Soku]

A fox summon? She raised an eyebrow in question. Those were rare around these parts, or at least they were to the Santaru. She decided to relent nevertheless and smiled at the canine creature."Pardon, I meant no offense by my words..Kayo."She said grinning. She would probably have reached out to pet the animal if it wasn't so capable of tearing her arm off. She had always held a general distrust of wild predators, domesticated or not. Her thoughts were interuppted by another arrival and Soku smiled upon seeing who it was laughing slightly as she ruffled Kotori's hair in a playful manner."Hello to you too. What is one like you doing out and about snooping around?"She asked flagging down the server as he passed."One more bowl, please."She said sliding over an additional coin. Her attention reverted back to the older kunoichi. Isaki...Soku frowned as if trying to ponder whether she'd heard the name before. It didn't trigger any bells but she filed the name down for reference. She nodded confirming her own name."Santaru Soku."The ANBU replied extending a hand to shake. Hoshirei...a new face was always welcome around the village. The second steaming bowl of ramen arrived and she slid it across to Kotori winking at her in response."Enjoy, it's on the house."Soku grinned. It was times like these that she felt most at home. No conflicts, no potential enemies out for their heads. But, there would always be those who sough to disrupt the peace of the villages.

Summon..clan head...this woman was almost certainly a shinobi. No mere villager would even have the capability of controlling such a beast."Would I be correct in assuming you serve in the shinobi forces."She inquired eyeing the woman with a curious eye. It was something Soku had a knack for doing, she was curious by nature and more times than not, she was direct and straight, asking the questions that were needed. She blamed her old mentor for that, but it was a good trait to have. "I have a summon too."She added speaking to the fox."Though, she is not as peaceful as one might imagine so she's not really great at making friends."Soku frowned at that. The thought of her Youkai having to mingle among others was a nightmare within itself. She shuddered at the thought.

 

[Sazuki Nao]

Her eyes glance towards the creature that was talking... It... was talking. Slowly she started to inch a little closer, but just noticeable. "Uhm... that is a funny creature... My name is Kotori by the way." She introduced herself towards the pet and heard that the costs were on them. "Just a tea please." She commented. She was hungry but felt bad for the fact she was going to eat up everything.
She decided to be more of a listener this round instead of one to talk, just having an day where she didn't rreally feel like talking.

 

[Hoshirei]

Kayo basically preened at the attention she was given despite being called funny. She knew she looked rather different than most foxes, even those who ended up being summon creatures. Hoshirei smiled softly at Soku when she ordered a bowl of noodles for Kotori though her brow furrowed when Kotori asked for just tea instead. "Kotori, you know as well as I do that even if Soku here couldn't afford to pay for your food, I can. I don't care how much you eat either, I'll cover it, okay? What kind of adoptive aunt would I be if I let my niece go hungry, eh? Can you imagine Maki's face if he knew you were refusing food?" she said as she gestured for the bowl of ramen to still come forward.

"Oh, if you want to pet her, just ask," she gestured toward Kayo before taking a bite of her ramen. Kayo's head shot up from her bowl, looked at Hoshirei before sizing up Kotori and Soku, "Can pet, but no touch bowl." Hoshirei shook her head and chuckled at her summon's antics. After a few moments, she turned to Soku to answer her question. "I am a shinobi. In fact, I'm now the Head Jounin under Asuka. There has certainly been a bit of a learning curve, but I am enjoying the challenge."

 

[Nanjirou Soku]

She waved away Kotori's hesistation gesturing to the bowl in front, a determined expression on her face."Nonsense, don't be so modest. How else are you going to grow big and strong ?"She chuckled a bit at the thought. The Captain nodded at Hoshirei's introduction though her eyebrow shot up at the other comment going far into her hairline. Head Jounin? Now, this was interesting. She had known Asuka had been revamping the Main Branch but never really interacted much with the Academy instructors or even the shinobi under Asuka that much though she would teach a few students here and there from time to time."Asuka...she is like a sister to me. You are lucky to have her as your Sennin."She smiled thinking of the girl and her foolish antics shaking her head at the thought. It really was a sight to behold. The Santaru presumed her ANBU garb would give away to what it was she did and decided against speaking of such things in a public place. After all, sometimes, it attracted unwanted attention. The offer to pet the fox creature was enticing as Soku battled against her inner voices. She rather preferred to keep all her fingers attached, the thing did look harmless enoug but it was still...a fox after all.Stop being an wimp and pet the damn thing. You have faced worse than a blue looking fox thing for crying out loud.Shrugging, she gently reached out a hand and let ir rest on top of the animal's head slowly moving her fingers through the fur softly back and fro gently before lifting her hand back."She's a beauty."Soku added to Hoshirei smiling watching the fox busy itself with the food currently present.

Wait, did the woman just say Maki? Their Maki? One-eyed, armless,former ANBU Sennin Maki?"You know Maki-sama?"The kunoichi inquired lifting the straps on her mask to eat revealing her features,a gentle, white skin tone and those dull red-Sharingan patterned pupils that flicked around every now and then."He is quite the warrior, he is."She added recalling the incident at the gates. The man had been through so much and yet, he still retained a terrifying persona. That was one person Soku was not forgetting anytime soon, how could she? Falling silent for a moment as she digested some of the ramen soup enjoying the taste of it, Ichiraku's never failed to impress."How's the food, good?"She bapped Kotori gently on the forehead. She rather enjoyed the girl's companionship, firstly, she wasn't as mischevious as Asuka and the fact that they worked together in the same unit made it easy to get along."So, how is Asuka? I hope she doesn't pull as many pranks on her subordinates like she does with her sisters."The Captain added drumming her fingers on the countertop. Those never got old but it had a knack for getting on her nerves.

 

[Sazuki Nao]

Kotori was watching them as she slowly started to eat. "Kotori, you know as well as I do that even if Soku here couldn't afford to pay for your food, I can. I don't care how much you eat either, I'll cover it, okay? What kind of adoptive aunt would I be if I let my niece go hungry, eh? Can you imagine Maki's face if he knew you were refusing food?" She didn't want to be a bother towards them both, but Hoshirei had a point. "Yeaah... I rather not see uncle angry.. I still remember that one training..." Her words died as she looked towards her food bowl, her mood seemed to drop by the flashback she was having... Her first-time water training where she eventually tried to get out of it by setting up an Ice clone... That didn't end too well with her uncle in that state. She visible swallowed for a moment as she started to eat further, hoping no one noticed. yet the bob op her head brought her back here. Slurping down one of the ramen lines she looked up, swallowing and get caught in a couching spree. "Oi oi! I just joke around, last time I did so I got stuck in the timeline! Alright... also because I couldn't control my own powers with Asuka's mixed up... But... I learned... .somewhat... maybe..." A sweat would drop. "I tried to place a fake spider in Yukio's mug maybe a week ago... he is never scared by my pranks..." She soon would be found pouting upon those words.

Once she heard that title of the other her chopsticks fell back into the bowl. She was fighting with such a high rank?! She flashed back towards the time she had been fighting with her to those other children, around the same age as hers. "W-wow..." She stuttered and excused herself for that sudden behavior. "I would have never figured!" She would sound further and it was kind of rare to be of that of herself, yet she herself didn't wear her anbu get-up in this case. Slowly she started to eat further. So much for just listening in and not doing much...

 

[Hoshirei]

When Soku's hand met Kayo's fur, she blatantly ignored it for a moment until it felt so good she couldn't any longer. When the hand left, she whined a bit, wanting it to come back, but she knew the human had her own food to eat. Hoshirei just chuckled at her companion before rubbing in between Kayo's horns. The food was as good as always and made her try to remember why she did not come very often. Perhaps it was so it remained special?

"The food is good as always, but that is Ichiraku for you!" she said with a smile. "And I would hope I know Maki. He is my husband after all." Her smile faltered a bit before she continued in a quieter tone, "He is just so tired of fighting. I think stepping away from active duty has been good for him. He isn't having flashbacks as often and when he does, they aren't nearly as bad as they were that day at the gates. I worry about him sometimes, but I guess that's a spouse's prerogative, eh?"

Hoshirei fell quiet and turned back to her bowl, allowing food to distract her for a moment. Kayo noticed the dip in her mood and headbutted one shoulder before hopping down from her stool and looking at Kotori with an almost puppy-like look on her face. Would this person pet her too? She could really get used to the pets.

"As for my rank, it's a pretty new thing. Asuka was the head jounin until Kenshin retired after all. And she hasn't pulled any pranks on my yet, though we have more of a professional relationship. I have sparred with her once, it was enjoyable, though we both ended up a bit burnt," she chuckled softly as she pushed her now empty bowl away. "Perhaps once she and I grow a bit closer she might try to pull a prank on me. Or perhaps I'll try one on her. It has been years since I played one."
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WC: 339