The Trouble "Twins" [IO, NK]

It was hot as usual, but he didn't mind.

Jiro was in a more secluded part of the village, sporting a white sleeveless top with green shorts. Rather than sneakers, he had on a pair of open toed ankle boots, blue in color, serving it's purpose of protecting the bottom of his feet all while keeping them cool. As for comfort when working... that was debatable. At the moment, Jiro was hammering away at an unfinished shed, with multiple nails and boards on the ground next to him. Of course, he could have been training for the upcoming genin exams. He could have been trying to actually learn and master the required academy jutsu. He chose not to. That was mostly his brother's job, practicing and whatnot.

The blond was doing something that he considered more important anyhow, and that was building the shed in front of him. He'd found it a while back, probably six months ago, and decided to seize the opportunity of a free place to relax. There was his house, yes, but seeing the same thing over and over again... that grew tiresome quickly. He'd only started repairing it over the course of a month, and inconsistently; anymore than the time he was spending and no doubt his parents would become curious. The only person Jiro leaked to about his plans was Ichiro, but even then he didn't go into depth... He readied himself before hammering at a different nail, cautious in not mashing his precious finger.

But, speaking of his brother, he wondered where the taller blond was. Disregarding it for the time being, he continued to add boards onto his shed, occasionally standing back to check on how it looked.

What time was it? At first it seemed like the early morning but that was until Chi actually got up to check the time to only find out it was the afternoon instead.

Doing his usual "morning" routine he got up and cooked one of his spectacular firework explosion extravaganza meals and headed out. It was a calm start for him as the usual banter between him and Jiro was missing. So where was the shorty anyway? So much to do rather than go look for him for example Chi has to open up shop at that ramen place, train, study, prep dinner, shop around, help out at the hospital...yeah what a lovely busy day. Chi went ahead to open shop to keep the happy customers happy and then proceeded on with his day regular. It was until later he decided to look for Jiro to use him to try out his new cookie dough cake he made.

Chi yawned as he scoured the village for his brother as he carefully carried the cookie cake making sure it was still perfect in everyway, avoiding hungry animals and icky insects and even certain people along the way. It was until then he decided to check at that one place he told him about. Chi arrived there shortly after with the cake secured perfectly in his arms. He kept silent as he watched his brother fix up this old shed and wondered if this was him doing charity work for some old man. If he would had known Jiro would be out here working in the heat, he would have brought more appropriate healthy snacks to re-energize the shorter blonde. Chi waited for a few minutes to make his prescense known and with narration of course. "On such a hot day there stood a young boy in the midst of working as he slaved himself over working with much effort on a once nice shed which is now nothing more but a dust covered broken down sort of thing...er anyway taking brakes from time to time he wiped the sweet off his forehead and thought of how he could make an old shed into something more...something useful. What could he do..what color should he paint it? We will find out later on our next epsiode right after our sponsors...and done." End of narrator voice. 

Walking up to Jiro with a smile he held out the cookie dough cake to him wanting him to try a piece. "Jiro! I need your taste buds to try this cake! Please I promise over one hundred percent that it is nothing like that horrid squid pie from last time just please try it!"

It almost frightened him to hear another's voice, considering how immersed into work he was. But upon listening closely to not only the words, but the sound of the voice, he immediately realized who it was. Jiro allowed his brother to finish the narration before saying anything, seeming like he wasn't listening as he did so.

"Yeah, yeah... 'Hey' to you too, Chi," he said with a small chuckle midway. But he kept his eyes on the shed, adjusting one of the many boards only to move it elsewhere. He intended to be almost done with the construction before sunset, or an hour afterwards at latest. Of course, such a thing meant he was to put utmost focus into his self-assigned "job" for most of the day. Jiro wasn't sure how he felt about that fact, but decided he could always ponder his choices after, and only if, Ichiro left. Speaking of...

The blond eyed the cake warily as his sibling recounted the last "taste testing session." In all honesty, he wasn't sure why Chi made something called "squid pie", and he didn't exactly remember how he was talked into trying it. That day, he almost killed himself eating the darn thing...

"Well, it does look good this time," he replied, pausing his work and then leaning over to inspect the cake, "As long as it's not gonna brutally murder my taste buds, which both of us need, then..." Jiro drifted off, apricot eyes narrowed at the dish. It was clearer than water just how skeptical he was about eating some of the cake, not wanting a repeat of last time. He'd admit, Ichiro was a talented chef, but... some of what he made was... Jiro often wondered if his brother was secretly trying to poison him. And for that reason, his thoughts would switch over to question what he did in life to garner such a punishment.

Whatever. If I die, it'll just be his fault, Jiro thought to himself, grabbing the fork not too long after. He poked it into one of the many slices, carefully lifting it. His face was scrunched up and eyes were closed as he, hesitantly, pushed the cake into his mouth, chewing slowly in case he was to spit it out. But... "Hm?" he hummed in confusion. The boy then swallowed the cake, blinking from slight shock.

"It's... good...." he mumbled out, caught off guard from having enjoyed it, "Wow Ichiro, you did it right."

Did he scare him? Nah its no way Jiro would get frightened from such good narration. Chi chuckled at the brutally murdering taste buds bit as it is a bit of an understatement of the catastrophe he cooked up..one of many one might add. Such as the strawberry fish, lemon pepper Soufflé..not really his fault more like someone gave him the wrong ingredients, the infamous Squid Pie and even the worst off all...the extremely horrible failed attempt at making sour gum drops which were beyond sour...almost deadly even...those he still carried on him as despite its deathly sour face puckering taste it was a quick boost of energy which Jiro really needed didn't he? Those drops seemed to have a faint glow how and why is unknown as this was one of those late night can't remember food experiments.

Anyway he was quite pleased with Jiro's response to his cake which was evident with the smile on his face. "So i see your working hard and all...just wondering how far you got with your training because you know becoming top ninja and possible our Lord's right hand man is the goal remember? Also to protect the village from invaders and such. Life Goals ya know?" setting down the cake on a bench not far, Chi then slid up his sleeve revealing much writing and scribbling on his right forearm which were all recipes. Then reaching in his bag Chi pulled out a small bag which contained the sour glowing gum drops and tossed the bag over to Jiro. "Eat those...they're good for you ya know and any ideas for dinner?"

Taking a slice of the cake he then wrapped the rest and perfect put it in his bag which will eventually get smashed later...not like it matters but hey...he can always make more!!! "So how was your daaaay?! Found any cuties around lately? You should definitely get a girl or boy...seriously whatever you prefer man..not judging one bit."

Jiro was actually contemplating sneaking in another slice of the cake, wanting more of the cookie dough goodness. It was sweet and soft in his mouth, reminding him of the ice cream version. Perhaps he should suggest that idea to Ichiro, making an ice cream cake for the next time? It was certainly a thought–

"Oh, training? Uh..." he said, listening to his brother's inquiry, "Haven't really been doing much of it lately..." He looked off to the side while he talked, as if he didn't wish for the hint of guilt on his face to be seen. However, his body language spoke volumes for him. To be honest, walking down the path a ninja was never in his original agenda. But, after seeing how passionate Chi seemed to be about the occupation, then why couldn't he simply join the ride? While his sibling intended to act as some kind of village protector though, Jiro wasn't sure about his path. Such a thing was rare for someone like him, but understandable in a way. "It's not like I'm falling behind in any classes though."

Even if he did, they were so easy he could probably make his grades rise in mere moments.

However, his attention was shifted upon seeing the taller blond roll up his sleeve and reveal a plethora of writing. Considering who it was though, Jiro didn't have much of a reaction. What he did have a heavy reaction to were the glowing gum drops. He immediately caught the bag tossed his way, acting on pure reflex, and similar to when he tried the cake Jiro kept his unique eyes narrowed. Surely there was a limit to the torture his mouth could endure? As he looked over the gum drops one more time, appearing mildly disturbed, he casually slipped the bag into his pocket.

"Eh, I think I'll try it later Chi, and no ideas for dinner yet, but... what the hell did you put in those drops to make them glow?" the boy's eyebrows were risen high with intense curiosity. His brother was certainly a mystery at times, a puzzle he struggled to figure out. Then again, if it was anything else, then he'd argue the Ichiro standing before him wasn't his sibling. Stuck in his thoughts for a second, the question on girls caught the blond off guard. But, he quickly snorted.

"If either of us, especially you, got with someone it'd be the end of the world. For sure. No other way to explain it," as he talked, Jiro nodded his head, visibly agreeing with his own statements, "Don't tell me you're just gonna talk about girls while you're here?"

Jiro peered curiously at his older brother, very much used to the narration (which he'd grudgingly admit was not bad, not bad at all), but certainly not comfortable with the story's content. It made questions arise, and his skepticism explode. Of course, there was the dash of curiosity - there was always the dash of curiosity - and Jiro found himself wishing to partake in his sibling's adventure. However, the blond didn't say anything as of yet and took his time thinking his possible decision through. There were only two negatives; no... there were three negatives he could think of. First, the chance of getting in trouble with their parents if they didn't return home on time. Second, the chance of him not finishing his shed if they didn't return home on time. Third, the risk of injury that would seem to come from their expedition, considering Chi's statements -

Wait, favorite?

The young blond stared at Ichiro, apricot irises slightly widened and his mouth stuck in a thin line. He noticed it. He caught a mere glance of the change in his brother's expression, and furrowed his eyebrows at the sight. Favorite...? What did Chi mean by such a thing? He couldn't be any favorite, not when their parents had been forced to... Jiro subtly shook his head back and forth, as if doing so would help rid him of the less than favorable thoughts in his young mind. He instead focused on the concern for his safety, slightly puffing out his cheeks and crossing his arms, as if he were a small child. (Then again he had the height to be one, much to his chagrin.)

"I'll be fine," he stubbornly replied, as if there was no alternative to his words. At his brother's sudden mention of the shed, Jiro's attention was once again shifted elsewhere. All this talk of a "Falcon Chef" would of course steal his focus, tearing him away from his actual task at hand. But, while such a thing was most definitely irksome, it was worth listening to his brother's ludicrous request. The blond proceeded to shrug, dropping the hammer still in his grasp onto the ground and turning to gaze at his work-in-progress, "Well, I'm actually close to completing it... was supposed to finish before sunset today. Guess my plans have changed, though..."

He then turned back to his brother, a glint in his strange eyes, "When are we leaving to find this plant?"

[Exit.]

[exit too]