One of those days (Private)

[Kawakami Hotaru]

It was never a good idea to pass out in the middle of the Susukino district, but our young woman rarely had good ideas floating around in the back of her brain. Only idiotic sentiment that swirled around like the mightiest of typhoons, it was a miracle that she was still kicking about as she found herself doing, but she was alive none the less. Rubbing the sleep from her eye the young girl eyed her surroundings as the sound of trash being thrown into a dumpster crashed through her cerebrum, looking up she realized that she was propped up against the green trash canister in what appeared to be the back of a shop of some sort. A feeling of cold washed over her with an unsettling quickness, her feet, well the right foot in particular, felt soaked and damn near frozen and it became apparent why as she noticed she was only wearing one of her two shoes. What the Hell had happened the night prior? Raiden only knew, her propensity for getting pissed and blacking out seemed to grow by the day and the night previous was no different.


Standing proved difficult but not impossible as pins and needles shot through her lower half causing a groan and a grimace as she stood trying her best not to step in anything too terribly unsavory in the back of whatever this place was. Her fingers pressed against the brick siding of the building as her other hand blocked the beating sun from her gaze, first thing first she needed to find another pair of shoes. Wrapping her arms around herself the young girl found herself back on the main streets of the Susukino district, cold and tired as she spotted a young man with a similar build passing with a fairly nice looking coat. Digging her fingers into her pocket Chiquita yelled to the young man, quickly gaining his attention as he swiftly turned swinging his shaggy black hair and exposing his chocolate eyes in a look of confusion. "1,000 Yen for the jacket." Pulling the cash she waved it toward the man who still looked fairly confused, though he did approach her with the timidity of a frightened hare unzipping his dark windbreaker and extending his hand for the money. Clinching down upon the coinage he stared at the tired woman for a moment with a look of slight concern, "Would've given it to you fer free, if you would'a asked." jerking the jacket away from the man Chiquita smirked exposing an already growing set of smile marks around the edges of her lips, "Nothing's ever free, now get going." quickly waving the man off and wrapping the jacket around her shoulders.

Finding shoes seemed as easy as finding the jacket as a man sat on the ground aside from a series of his wares, leather boots ingrained with intricate designs, the sign that sat beside the fellow marked they were 500 Yen a pair, and while not quite her cup of tea two shoes were better than one. Digging back into her pockets she handed the man his money and was greeted by a quick thank you as she doted on a pair with what appeared to be a turquoise heel, as good a pair as any she figured tossing her old shoes out to the strange looks of several passers who had also seen her buy a jacket from a man off the street. Throwing on her newest pair of shoes and avoiding the strange looks of the people around her it seemed Chiquita was ready to start her day. Well, maybe after she cleared her hangover.

 

[Osuteno]

Osuteno had a pack on his back from where he had once again disobeyed orders not to train and spent the night in the woods creating new clearings everywhere he went. It was purely ninjutsu training, and he wasn't actually putting any strain on the leg which was the cause of his training ban, but he knew it might not be for the best to let anyone find out.

In fact, Osu should not have even been able to walk with the leg, though only a couple people were aware of that fact. On his last mission the bones in it had completely shattered when he got stuck inside a giant heart. It was rather painful to move it admittedly and at first he wasn't able to do much besides limping, but he was still able to use the leg despite this, however that is a different story. What was important now was that he was currently having to duck into alleys because it seemed every hospital employee who wasn't at work was out and about in the Susukino district this morning. If even a single nurse saw him there was little doubt in his mind he would be spending the rest of his "indefinite" rehabilitation period strapped to a hospital bed where they could keep an eye on him... This situation felt a bit similar to something he had experienced before...

As he climbed, ducked, weaved and hid Osu really couldn’t help but think how much he would have scolded someone for doing exactly what he was doing a few months earlier. He knew better than most the importance of following a doctor’s orders and what could go wrong should they be ignored, but he couldn’t stay locked up in his room all day long. It had given him more time to study, which had been nice at first, but day in and day out he began growing impatient and antsy. He needed to run, train, and somehow spend all that energy inside of him. It had only been made more difficult that he had spent most of the time… well, grounded from leaving the estate grounds. Weeks of begging had finally convinced enough maids and most importantly the head butler that he needed some fresh air so he could sneak out without any of his relatives finding out.

Since then he had made an outing like this one about once every week or two, and he was unsure if each time he did so he felt more or less guilty. “You worry far too much for someone as dumb as yourself,” said a very annoying voice in his head. Of course Uso approved of all of this sneaking around, and anything she approved of instantly gave Osu warning flags.

“Oh do relax, it was boring reading those medical texts all day and every day. I’ve never hated our room so much. It is wrong to keep a ninja locked up like that. If you want a different point to argue from, it’s genetics. For a good hundred generations our clan has selectively bred warriors and they suddenly expect us not to fight? That’s madness.”

Like any other moment Osu found himself agreeing with Uso, he felt a combination of shame and frustration. He needed to think about anything else right then. Was that Onee-San?

It had been a while since Osu had seen Chiyoko but his first impression was that she was looking rather disheveled, sick even. Of course he knew a little better these days after helping a good number of people in the same situation. Rather he helped doctors who needed the relief only to watch them turn around and tell patients they should get their act together when they sought similar treatment. It was a rather hypocritical and annoying scene to watch. Why did people drink if it made them feel so terrible afterwards anyway?

As he got closer he began smelling her night of adventure. She smelled like the bottle itself. He really did wish she took better care of herself. A warm green glow bagan surrounding his hand as he approached her from the side, stood on his tip toes, and directly applied the pain relieving and restorative chakra to her forehead. "Good morning Onee-Chan, I see you have been having fun lately." Osu said in a nonjudgmental fashion.

 

[Kawakami Hotaru]

The feeling of warmth was slowly returning to the young girl as she stood in her new found shoes trying and failing to remember the events of the night previous, feelings of nausea rested in her stomach as she wished more than anything that she could vomit as to purge the feelings from her inner-being, but she had no such luck. Digging through her pockets Chiquita searched for a stray cigarette and was once again without luck as they seemed to have disappeared at some point or other, perhaps it was a sign from the celestial beings that she should at least put one of her addictions to rest, but she was hard headed and was having none of that, making a note to stop for more at some point during the day, though her thoughts were soon broken by a young woman, wait no, young boy who she hadn't seen in a fair while. Well since that one time when they had been detained by Kumogakurian officials only to be released and removed of treason charges. His dainty fingers pressed against her and for a moment she felt uncomfortable, only to once again remember who was pushing their digits in her face, her good eye traveled briefly to stare toward the boy who, she at least assumed, seemed to have grown a bit since their last meeting.

A slight groan escaped from her lips as she listened to his comment, lamenting the fact that she may have been having too much fun over these last few months, "Fun's never ending." she remarked with a certain sarcasm that she carried around in her back pocket at all times. His touch was pleasant and soon the feelings of her migraine began to subside, though her nausea seemed to persist. "So, how have you been doing since everything went down? I didn't think your family would ever let you out of their sight again after all that." from her brief moments around the Chigokai's family she had gathered they weren't the type to let the whole, 'treason charges, thing go. Hell, she had caught a beating for the whole affair and couldn't possibly imagine what he had been through, half expecting that they had locked the boy in a tower like a princess from one of those old stories.

"See you're growing a bit, sure you'll be giving the boys hell soon, or girls, shit probably both." Have you ever realized that she doesn't think much before she speaks? Yeah, that's like one of her key characteristics... Though the young woman couldn't help but let out a light chuckle brushing the fingers from her forehead. It was best for one to remember, at least some of, the feelings after drinking, if you didn't feel the consequences of the next day the night previous was far less fun. "I can see it now, you'll be Kumogakure's next idol, like one of those Mochizuki, and I'm going to be your manager, pulling in all the money while you deal with the perverted fans." Her mind was taking odd turns, but that was nothing out of the ordinary for the young woman.

[MFT]

 

[Osuteno]

Osuteno smiled as he realised the intended humor of Chiyoko's initial comment. Why did people not simply say what they meant was beyond him but hr did understand the humor behind it. She wouldn't be disappointed though, he had grown several inches since she last saw him though he had hardly put on any weight at all. He was training and studying far more than he was eating for and it showed with just how thin he was.

Her next comment drew a grimace from him though. For a couple weeks the only times I managed to get out of my room was when I went for checkups at the hospital, was handed directly over to Kitsune-Sensei and that day the clan head snuck me out so I could enjoy the festival. Aunt Manane, my guardian, eventually had to let me continue my duties at the hospital." He grinned sheepishly. "In fact, right now I am about halfway through a double shift and far too busy to come to the front desk for calls." OSU didn't understand exactly why but upon his return to the hospital after his long absence the nursing staff seemed more helpful than ever and that was saying something.

He didn't know what she meant by giving people hell though. "I'm not sure I follow, I don't intend to cause anyone trouble. Rather I do my best to be helpful for everyone. " she seemed a bit better ad she brushed his hand aside but knew she was still feeling some nausea as she chuckled, the signs were all about her. Still, it did little good to treat people who didn't want it... How come he felt he should have been annoyed by that chuckle?

" I'm not sure I am your best candidate for show business though. I once went to the Mochizuki's talent search back when I didn't have facial expressions down as much as I do now. Did not go very well." They hadn't liked his standup comedy very much at all. Something about his tone if he remembered correctly. "Though I doubt any fan of mine could out pervert Saeko Onee-san. Rather if they managed to it is already well past criminal action. How is Saeko Onee-san anyway? I haven't seen her since our mission either." Last time he saw them together he thought of them as nearly inseparable, so he doubted they hadn't spent at least one night out on the town partying together.

Of course with Osu's luck it was at that moment he noticed a mednin casually walking down the street towards them. While most of the hospital staff knew about and assisted with deceiving his Aunt as to his work hours, he actually was not being entirely honest about how he spent his time. It wouldn't be good if they saw him with the very obvious appearance of someone who had camped for the night and had been training rather than spending the night at a friend's place.

"Uhh Onee-Chan can we head, uhm, that way?" He asked pointing down a random alley while staring at the woman who thankfully hadn't noticed him yet. "Let's go this..." At that moment the doctor began turning their head towards where Osu was standing and he dove straight into a pile of garbage to hide. Yup nothing conspicuous about that. He stayed there silently as the doctor paused by the shoe stand, shook her head, and kept on walking. He didn't dare peek his head out until she was out of sight and then he pulled himself up out of what had thankfully turned out to be mostly paper and cardboard. Then he looked back at Chiyoko not quite sure how to explain his actions just then. "So... How does breakfast sound? I'm starving myself." It was a rather bold attempt to completely sweep the entire moment under the rug.

Continuing with the trend of being as inconspicuous as possible and proving that Go Contract Summoning and Hachiashi Solitaire would be the only card games he would ever succeed at with his absolutely terrible poker face, Osu pointed in very near the opposite direction he pointed previously and said, "There is a place over in that direction that serves a wonderful miso and has an excellent variety of pickles. I would highly recommend we go there if you haven't tried it before." There was always the possibility that Chiyoko could just chalk the whole thing up to a spur of the moment thing. There was no need for her to learn about his injury and being banned from training. The less anyone knew, the less likely they would stop him for his own good. It was an odd way to think but he simply had too much energy in his body to spend an entire day without using it much less weeks and months.

MFT WC: 813

 

[Kawakami Hotaru]

Sounded as if Osu hadn't been having nearly the amount of fun she was in these past months, as she had first expected he had been put on a bit of a tight leash of late, nodding in silence she listened as he spoke of his recent tribulations and that he had been able to, at least to a degree, enjoy the festivities of late. The festival had been quite fun, it was a bit of a shame she hadn't been able to see the boy during the time, though she did remember briefly seeing him at the ball, unfortunately she was too busy with others to speak with him, well one person in particular actually, though she put that out of mind quickly. "I figured as much, all work and no play, good to see you're out and about for a little while at least. Sure you can piece together what I've been doing." Well some of what she had been doing of late, with a drought of missions she had also had time to see about the family business which lead to no end of trouble for the girl. Payed well, though.

He was as adorable and clueless as ever, Chiquita's grin remained firm as the boy noted he tried to be as helpful as possible, which was a standard affair for the young man. It was truly odd how well they got along together with such different personalities and views on life, he was helpful and she, well, she was not to put it nicely. "You're going to be helpful in more ways than you might think, Nee-Chan. That's all I was getting at." With the boy's help her hangover had began to subside only to be replaced by the urge to get back on the saddle, it wasn't like she had plans for the day. Still, even a degenerate like herself couldn't help but feel a bit bad about thinking of getting sloshed while in the company of a boy, or perhaps it was that she knew he wouldn't be drinking with her and there was very few feelings worse than sitting and drinking alone while your companion silently judges you whether intentional or not. Drinking would be saved for later in the day...Maybe.

She couldn't possibly imagine the stoic little bastard before her standing up on the stage to perform stand up, something about the thought seemed more entertaining to her than seeing someone genuinely funny ranting on stage. Soon the conversation turned toward her Senpai, that crazy bitch, exhaling loudly Chiquita thought back to the last time she had seen the woman and the fact that she was trying to run some hungover git through with a blade for touching her favorite Mochizuki's dangly bits. "Crazy as ever, last time I saw her she was trying to duel some girl in the street --" Before the girl could finish her thought she was cut off by the young boy asking to go down an alley, "Uh, sure." she remarked noticeably confused.

Her confusion grew exponentially as she watched her Nee-Chan dive into a pile of garbage on a moment's notice, obviously something was going on that she wasn't entirely aware of, the diving in the trash deal seemed like something she would do if she didn't want someone noticing her, very inconspicuous, especially all the loud rumblings of wading through cardboard and paper. Of course as soon as he found his way from the trash the young boy attempted to take attention away from the fact he had just waded through an assortment of trash for a few seconds, "So...We're just going to ignore that?" she questioned eyeing him with a mixture of confusion and suspicion. Still, it really wasn't any of her business what he was hiding from and it didn't seem like he wanted to chat about it. "Uh, alright. Breakfast sounds good." Her eyes followed the little one's fingers as he made a 180 to point somewhere entirely different, "Guessing you saw someone you didn't like, none of my business, weirdo." she fully recognized the irony in calling him a weirdo for diving into a pile of garbage when she had effectively slept in one, but hey she had a drinking problem that he did not, thus it was justified...Sort of...Not really...She really needed to stop drinking.

Miso and pickles, breakfast of champions. Anything would do at that point, all she really wanted was some liquid in her system still incredibly dehydrated despite the chakra session she had endured minutes before her friend dove into a garbage pile. Shinobi sure are weird. "Lead on, Nee-Chan. You're paying, though." That was a given, it was either that or she would skip out on her bill which would no doubt lead to fighting another giant-ass demon thing again and I don't think anyone wants that. It seemed that she could continue her story now, well until they had to duck into another alley in fear of her favorite Nee-Chan enduring a spanking from an angry Chigokai, or Raiden help us, Kitsune. For an older woman she looked like she could pack a wallop in those arms. "Anyway, so there was this drunk Seki district bitch up in Aion's fountain, being the nice person I am I was talking to her for a couple minutes and out of the blue Senpai comes running up brandishing two dueling sabers and a couple flintlock pistols demanding a duel from this woman, claiming she had been touching her Mochizuki's junk. And of course I get dragged into this, crazy bitch saying that I was her second in the duel. Managed to talk her out of it before Saeko got violent, Raiden knows she has a temper that is only matched by her craziness...Honestly I'm a little afraid to talk about her in fear she's going to pop up and sexually harass me." Checking her surroundings Chiquita checked that her Senpai wasn't anywhere around, luckily not.

 

[Osuteno]

The entire time Osu avoided looking Chiyoko directly in the eyes. He had to do something, he was a shinobi after all, a master of deception. There was always the possibility that she hadn't caught on to the fact he was hiding something. He still had a chance... He just had to lie with every ounce of his ability, it couldn't be that difficult... "Guessing you saw someone you didn't like, none of my business, weirdo." At these words Osu's eyes went wide, his brain was reaching for excuses in a nervous panic, and he started looking around nervously for anything to distract her from his own oddities.

But then she continued saying that she would come along if he paid, which he was fine with. It actually reminded him of how he met Chiyoko after she got caught dining and dashing which turned into a chase that involved a giant monster... Yes perhaps it would be best for him to treat her. Osu looked around warily as they traveled down the road towards the restaurant and as Chiyoko told of yet another ridiculous event involving Saeko. He almost felt like commenting on the fact that he happened to live in the Seki District but let that one pass as she mentioned Saeko showing up with a rather... well aristocratic dueling said if Osu thought so himself. He had met a few of the Mochizukis and believed the one mentioned now would be... Tomo if he remembered correctly. Goodness Saeko jumped between men rather quickly from what he had observed. She really had little right herself to be taking such actions but then again it was a very her thing to do. He was of course, also afraid that she might pop out from behind a corner to sexually harass him should he comment.

They finally made it to a nice little place that had no name or sign aside from the one saying what meal was currently being served. It was simply known as Hisa Obaa-San's place because Hisa and the restaurant had been around before most people's memories. Some old people now claim that she was already old when they were young which was likely exaggeration, but it took little away from the fact that every morning at the crack of dawn the ancient woman was already finishing the preparations of the first meals and she kept it up until even the drunks were heading to bed. No one could say they remember a day where she hadn't done just that and often joked that the day she didn't would be the day the mountain moved itself from under the village.

The restaurant was different for another reason aside from the age of its owner and operator. Primarily in that you didn't really order your food. As they stepped in a small chime rang and the old woman looked out her little kitchen window to eye them up and down before grumbling about exactly where their diets were lacking and went back to work. For Osu, as usual, she made comments about being far too skinny and not enough muscle for a young man, though her eyes lingered on his injured leg longer than he was comfortable with. The first time he came in he heard the one and only positive comment he had ever heard from the woman, that he had good circulation and never paid it any attention ever again. She was incredibly unfriendly and often served him more than he could really handle while expecting him and everyone else to clean their plates and not a bite less or more, but as a doctor however, he appreciated the Obaa-san's work. She was about as knowledgeable as a trained dietician from what he had gathered over his visits though certainly a better cook than any dietician he had met. He would simply never make the mistake of coming in while looking sick again, that had been nightmarish what she had forced him to eat to improve his health... Wait... He stared at Chiyoko as a nervous waitress lead them to where they were to sit. Chiyoko was still looking a bit under the weather still.

It was a bit late to really take into account that today might not have been the best day to have Chiyoko try the restaurant Osu took a quick glance around him as he took the pack off his back and was thankful for his short stature as the booth was now the only thing preventing an orderly he was familiar with from spotting him. He realized he probably was appearing suspicious again, to which a very sarcastic Uso commented. "Brilliant deduction there detective, I am sure she was only just now about to realize something was off with you today." She had a point though. He had to say something to not just seem insane or suspicious.

Spoiler

"I'm not avoiding anyone from the hospital!" Osu stammered despite nothing of the sort being mentioned but he continued speaking at a rate he didn't. "Wh-why would I be hiding from them? It isn't like I left a note saying that I needed them to cover for me while I spent the night at a friend's house and instead went off to train. It-it-it isn't like I have been banned from training or anything. Who is supposed to be on bedrest? Ow I biht mah tongue." Admittedly this was going better than he thought it would. Maybe he could play that last bit off as a joke... on the other hand was it really necessary? It wasn't like Chiyoko was the firmest believer in following rules or orders and was among the last people who would turn him in to Kitsune-Sensei or anyone else at the hospital. Raiden, she would likely be much better at coming up with cover stories than he was, not that anyone could do a worse job.

"Okay so I might be banned from training but I am strictly practicing ninjutsu and hardly using my injured leg at all for anything aside from walking... and jumping into piles of garbage... and climbing... and occasionally running." Yes... he should never try to fool anyone from the hospital face to face, he would stick to notes.

A little more seriously he looked at Chiyoko, "Honestly though, it is nothing to worry about. That aside... I would normally wait until after food for such talk, but... it has been such a long time and I... I haven't been able to help but wonder... are you still planning on... well..." The last words that came out of his mouth were unnecessarily quiet in the noisy room considering that normal conversation could barely be heard the next table over. "Are you still considering an early retirement?"

MFT WC 1132

 

[Kawakami Hotaru]

The speed at which the young boy was mumbling about in conjunction with the haze of her hangover made it rather difficult to keep up with whatever it was he was talking about, something about training instead of relaxing. It wasn't like she was the type to scold the young boy on disobeying orders, still it was amusing to see what she could only think as the manifestation of guilt spill from the boy's mouth as he expounded on his situation at a rapid pace. "Calm down, kid. I'm not going to tell anyone you're out training. You make it sound like you're out there murdering babies or something, not that big of a deal." Of course it wouldn't be a big deal to someone with felony charges on their record, but very few people had such an absolute disregard for both civic responsibilities and general rules/laws as she did.


His question caught her as she let out a baited sigh pondering on her decision as she had done for the last few months, she had decided at the very least that she needed time away from the village, maybe travel to somewhere far a way for a while, maybe see the lands of Sand or of Stone, it didn't particularly matter where she went as long as it was away from here. "Yeah, at the very least I think I need some time away from here." Scratching the back of her neck the young woman peered over toward their waitress as she brought drinks, hers was black as the night and smelled of bamboo, what the hell was this place? She certainly hadn't ordered whatever it was sitting in front of her, though she did recall seeing the hag of a cook mutter something as they had walked past, clearly this being one of those joints where the chef cooked you whatever they felt like. Sipping the drink it took all of her willpower not to cringe at the odd sourness of the concoction, it was almost as if she had just bitten into a lemon that for some reason smelled like bamboo, as if it was just there to make the taste even more off putting, "Delicious." she remarked to the waitress wiping a stray tear from the corner of her eye.

As she left the table Chiyoko cleared her throat pushing the cup away from her and toward the center of the table as she continued her earlier thought, "I'm thinking of taking a trip, get out and see a bit more of the world, no fighting, no espionage, no government, and most importantly no bodies. It's all a bunch of bullshit in the name of a village that isn't even ours, what we're doing I mean." she thought of expounding on how she was near certain that if the villagers did not absolutely need the protection of the Shinobi they would have been long since ousted in the burning fires of the Tenouzan crusades against their kind, but that may be a bit too cynical a conversation for her young friend, or so she thought.

Soon their food came as Chiquita began tiring of such a macabre discussion, eyeing the ticket that came with her meal which seemed to be several hard boiled eggs floating in a clear broth of sorts along with a fair amount of rice noodles. The ticket promptly explained that her meal consisted of 19 day old fermented duck eggs in a broth of special herbs and spices...Fermented duck?...Putting the ticket down with a look of trepidation she cracked one of the eggs peering what was inside of it before immediately pushing her meal beside her drink, no shot she was eating that poor duckling. "So this is one of those 'medicinal' food shoppes, never been in one and now I know why." She gestured toward her dish which had previously smelled pleasant enough now wreaked of fermented egg. Not exactly her cup of tea.

 

[Osuteno]

Osuteno stared at a tall strange blended concoction that was placed in front of him which as far as he could tell was made from nuts, raw eggs, kale and yogurt (among other things) and mixed together, and eyed the fact that Chiyoko at least got a hot drink which apparently wasn't as harsh as he was afraid it might be. As he thought of a way to dispose of the protein filled horror and sipped on his complimentary miso as they waited for their meals, Osu listened to Chiyoko's plans for a trip out into the world.

"All in all this place is my village... but the no fighting or bodies part sounds nice," Osu said glumly. He had to deal with enough death in the hospital as it was without constantly having to kill for self-preservation. The kid didn't do himself any favors by keeping a bit of blood from every person he had killed... except those first two. It wasn't a practice Uso particularly approved of considering that the people they had killed were unquestionably criminals who would just as soon have killed them but it was wearing Osu down. He could understand that much, but he couldn't leave the village like Chiyoko. Unlike her every facet of his life was completely entwined with Kumogakure. He couldn't even begin to imagine what he could even do out in the world.

Rather thankfully their food came to change the topic, "Actually this place isn't quite what one would call a medicinal food shop," Osu said looking a bit intimidated a meal of meat, meat and more meat just piled up will a bit of greens and rice and a cup of more raw eggs. Why was she insisting on red meat? "The chef here has some... particular ideas concerning encouraging growth and uh health. Rather it was a mistake on my part to bring you in here looking the least bit ill. And another on my part for coming in here looking so… small..." There wasn't really a way for him to dream about eating a quarter of what was laid out in front of him... In a day. Oh thank goodness the rice did have some pickled foods in it at least. "At least the miso is good?" The tone made it into a question as this meal wasn’t going very well. At all. The conversation had been heavy, the food was not quite what either had been expecting, and Osu really didn’t have an idea of what he should do about any of it.

"I don’t suppose you would be willing to trade?" Yes, Osu had no idea what else to speak about or do with someone he had spent the greater part of a month in the company of. Probably in part due to his lack of social abilities aside from the few courtesies and manners trained into him. The situation seemed to be quickly turning quiet and he asked the first thing that came to his mind. "So… how is your family doing?" This was among one of the risker questions that could have popped into his head considering her family was a yakuza group and the fact he didn’t really have fun conversation topics in that department himself. Rather, he knew Chiyoko’s feelings on aristocracy and it would likely be for the best for that question not to be returned to him. "Or uhm… how is… your uhh… I have nothing." Osu folded. Carrying conversations was not one of his strengths and he might as well show his hand. "I have no hobbies or activities outside of my work at the hospital and the research lab or training, I don’t know how to speak to people who aren’t on a gurney, and honestly ever since our mission together I have an especially hard time speaking to girls." Huh he didn’t stammer once during that horribly strange and embarrassing thing to say. "Onee-Chan how does someone spend time with people? Because right now the only thing I can think about doing is more training and maybe checking to see if a tea specialty shop has any new interesting leaves in, before going to take a soak at the hot springs and heading home to study." Osu had just had to come to terms with the fact he was an 11 year old asocial workaholic.

MFT WC: 730

 

[Kawakami Hotaru]

Was this village really his, or was that the misguided thoughts of youth? She did not know, watching his glum expression she couldn't help but think on some level he wanted to get away from everything as well, though the boy had a much stronger sense of duty and loyalty than she possessed. "It would be nice to go a week or two without having to lob some poor man's skull open because he didn't pay his country's dues." She remarked as her miso sat in front of her cooling, though not for long as she slurped down it's entirety within a few seconds of decidedly unladylike behavior, incredibly hungry and still fairly dehydrated from the night before. Quietly belching the girl continued their topic of conversation, waxing on what it would be like to be normal, whatever that meant "Ever wonder what your life would be like without your bloodline, or our chakra affinity? I don't think I ever told you this, or anyone else either really, but when I was younger before my mother passed, I used to attend these stupid little etiquette classes. Y'know, the ones where they balance books on your head and smack you with a switch if you swore about it, how to curtsy and speak to your betters. Learned how to play the Shamisen, Shinobue, and a fair amount of the Piano. I hated them at the time, but now..." she couldn't help but pause for a moment thinking back to the days when was much younger, stubborn and difficult, unappreciative that she would never be able to get those days back. "I don't know, some days I miss them. I can still play a little, and I think it might be better to pluck the strings rather than use my hands for our work. Like I said, I don't know." turning her hands over the girl peered at her palms, the long scar upon her right hand and the many callouses that surrounded it, though she was soon saved from her thoughts by the arrival of their breakfast.


His offer of tradesies was well warranted as she pulled his pile of meat toward her, no pun intended, switching out her poor little ducklings. His loss. From what Osu was describing it sounded like they were in the very definition of a medicinal food shoppe, though she wasn't going to push the issue instead nodding her head and peering down at her new found meal, hoping the chef wouldn't come out and bludgeon her with her old lady strength because they had switched dishes. "If you insist." She gibed looking at her new found and decidedly more appetizing meal.

She couldn't help but cock an eyebrow as Osu questioned her on how her family was doing, they were doing the same thing they always did, things Shinobi weren't allowed to talk about in polite company due to site...Er, village rules. She did not bother a reply as the boy immediately sought a change in conversation, which was probably a good idea, mainly because that conversation would have no doubt ended with her bashing his family and that one gal who had insulted her at a carnival that one time, yeah she hadn't forgotten about that.

The next topic of conversation wasn't much better as she quietly stared at the young man who outed his troubles conversing with the living, and in particular women. She wasn't exactly the most apt at socializing with others, though she certainly seemed to be a bit better at it than her little friend, even though her social situations generally ended with her verbally harassing someone in some matter or other. Honestly, most of her positive social interactions were fueled with liquid courage, but she would at least try an help her antisocial workaholic friend. Scratching her head briefly the girl thought of how to reply, "Well. Uh. That's kind of a difficult question, most of my time is spent around Senpai trying to make sure she isn't banging vagrants, and the other portion of my life is largely spent drinking. well this wasn't off to the best start, but she was bound and determined how to figure out how to explain how to socialize with others. "I guess it's a bit different between us, I could give a shit less about studying or work really, so that sort of helps. I guess what I would tell you is to try to find something you enjoy outside of work, it sounds like if you keep up the way you're going now you'll end up in an early grave, sounds like you're burning both ends of your candle. Anyway, once you figured that out you can find other people who like the same shit, y'know. That helps. People are important man, we need connections with others no matter how difficult that is, you can't just keep talking to dead people. That's just, uh, not right." Chiyoko wished she could better articulate her thoughts, though she was unable to without resulting to slang and vulgarity as was her M.O.

As far as his issue with speaking to women, well it seemed like a dual issue of him simply growing up and the weird experiences of a certain woman to her, in a way that was at least sort of natural. "I can probably imagine why you might have a hard time with girls, you are a growing boy and all. That and the times in Roenesia with Senpai and myself probably didn't help. Uh, if it helps any I can tell you with one hundred percent certainty that there are absolutely no other women in the world like her or myself, talking to most girls should be like talking to any other boy." That was one thing she was certain of, there definitely weren't any other women in this village that would strip down with such a young boy in their company, it was at least 120 degrees on the inside of that goddamn boat, don't judge me! An odd thought crossed her mind as she stared at the boy before her, the conversation had so far been far too serious for her liking, a thin grin slipped the edges of her lips as she began to ask a question she knew the answer to wondering the little one's reaction, "Osu-Kun, have you ever kissed a girl? I think it may help with your women issues." it took nearly all of her willpower to avoid sounding as if her question was an obvious gibe. This should be interesting. She thought to herself, cupping her hands against the table and refusing to break her gaze with her Nee-Chan.