Honey Pudding (P)

It was morning when Aiko found herself outside, on the rooftop of her apartment building.

The cool, refreshing air gave off a pleasantly fresh scent, while the wind came into contact with her face, forcing her to slightly squint her eyes. It ruffled her hair and caused her clothes to sway back and forth. But overall, she considered the breeze to be relaxing against her body. And from her sitting position atop her apartment building, the raven could look out to see Hoshigakure and witness just how busy it was, even at this time of day. Little dots in the shape of people were traveling in the streets below her, and the occasional shinobi hopped across buildings to get from one place to the other.

But perhaps if she was more social, maybe if she wasn't so shy, she wouldn't have to be experiencing such a view by herself... She should have came to terms with this long ago, especially when she's been by herself for years, but the thought always seemed to return no matter the situation. It slightly dampened her mood.

Then again, she did manage to encounter some people, for once, on her trip to the library. With recalling that time, her thoughts traveled to their different names and faces. They were nice to her, and she enjoyed their company. She could say that she liked them a lot.

In fact... didn't one of them give her a card?

Staying in silence for a moment, Aiko then got up from her little spot, quickly returning into the building and walking back to her apartment. If Shouhei gave her a card, that meant he expected her to contact him, didn't he? And she wouldn't be a bother? After finding said object, she headed out her door once more, but this time into the village, trying to locate the address written out for her. Admittedly, it took a few minutes considering her sense of direction was not the greatest out there.

By the time she reached her destination, Aiko was beginning to doubt her decision. What if he wasn't there, or turned out to be busy? Then what would she do? She quickly shut her eyes and shook her head, attempting to get rid of her rather negative thoughts. The raven proceeded to take a deep breath before knocking on the door of the building and waiting for someone to answer it.

[TWC: 403]

Ninja sandals, a set of gym clothes easy for running was all he was going to need today for the easy task of being a courier. Well okay, not an actual courier with a title, but Shouhei would just help out his uncle with deliver cleaned clothes. A similar deal as with that day when he meets Kyousuke sensei for the first time. So, in short: He would deliver it and get paid pocket money worth his time.

Without eaten breakfast – he could simply get something in a food wagon – he left the Sato compound early went to his uncle’s business early. The business itself was located a bit away from the compound, not so much because there wasn’t any property available nearby but because it needed to be closer to the middle class since that was where the money in that bracket were.

The building itself was one of those long ones where you could have the tools and a washing hall for people to use. It was also slim though, so it only had two rows of washing machines, and some dryers in the back. All of that was easily noticeable from the window. Now what they couldn’t see was the workshop in the back, and the living spaces above the shop. And that was where his uncle came down from together with a son of his. Opening the door, he said. “I hope you didn’t have to wait long.” He smiled rather regularly.

However, before she could explain herself too much Shouhei came around the corner. “Oh sorry, uncle. I think she is looking for me.” Shouhei waves to them both. “Hi there, Aiko. You look absolutely honey today.” He teased her a bit. His uncle went back into the store trying not to comment too much on the situation – a little teasing never killed a woman – but before he did, he noted that Shouhei had about three hours with the small load they had today

Notes wrote:Word Count: 329.

When the door had opened to reveal a man that definitely was not the person she was expecting, Aiko almost jumped in surprise. However, she managed to calm herself mere seconds afterwards, despite worrying that her temporary "fears" had come true. Maybe she could just return to her sightseeing for the rest of the day? "Oh, no! I didn't. But, um—"

Thankfully, before she could truly say anything, a certain head with orange hair found its way into her line of sight. A smile filled with relief and happiness reached her pink lips once Shouhei waved, and she was glad to know that she was fretting over nothing. (There was also the fact she would no longer have to stutter herself into oblivion. That was always good.)

His next comment though... Her brow raised in mild confusion as she placed a single finger over her mouth in thought. "Honey?" she spoke aloud without realizing it, although her tone remained low and gentle. Was he implying that she was sweet just like honey... ? The color red dusted over her cheeks at the notion, and she racked her brain on how to respond. Eventually, the girl settled on light laughter, shyly looking elsewhere as she did so. "H-hi to you too, Shouhei."

Her golden eyes began to drift back to the inside of the building, taking in all that she could. "Is this where you are most of the time... ?" she questioned out of curiosity, "W-when you aren't doing genin stuff, that is." She had noticed the dryers and washing machines on her way over, and wondered if he did some occasional work for the man she met at the door, who was his uncle apparently. In her mind, it would certainly make sense if he did. However, if that was the case, wouldn't it also mean Shouhei was preoccupied? Maybe she should have started out with asking if he was available...

She was so pretty when she blushed that Shouhei could hardly contain his admiration of her features. His eyes shined for a moment as she greeted him back, and he looked down a bit not quite meeting her eyes. But in the end, he raised his eyes back again and smiled at her. “Aye of course it’s nice seeing me.” He responded somewhat clumsily.

As for her question, he uttered a little huff. “Nah I got more things to do with my life. Between my hobbies – that’s reading, explosives, and mechanical tinkering by the way – family business, and my profession as a shinobi, I have enough to do. I’m only here about three times a month for the pocket change, but I probably have to stop soon due to other obligations.” He sounded somewhat proud at the last part, but never really let on what he was onto.

“Maybe you should apply as a courier once you are further into your training? That’s why I got it. They don’t need a dedicated one, and I can deliver if faster even without me running on walls or jumping roof to roof.” He put his hands into his pockets. “But I take it you’re here for me, and not my life’s story. Ya interested in my offer to teach you then or was there something else?”

Notes wrote:Word Count: 224.

She listened with interest as Shouhei responded to her question, tilting her head at the mention of explosives and mechanics. He was quite the active guy to be invested in so many things, wasn't he? Even if she preferred to be antisocial from time to time, Aiko knew that not many people took up hobbies involving explosives or mechanics. It was cool to say the least... really, really cool. She'd most likely have to ask him about it when she could. His statement about having to stop his trips also intrigued her, considering his tone of voice. However, there was no need to be intrusive.

The suggestion of working for the store certainly offered food for a thought. She hummed for a moment, pondering on whether or not it'd be a good decision to give her current part time job. Or, if she was able to, try juggling both of them at once. Well, if she was truly ready to put in the effort...

"That's not a bad idea... I just might try it out," she mused, her gaze temporarily moving upwards. Fortunately, she was brought back down to earth when Shouhei had asked about her reason for visiting.

Perplexed, the girl blankly stared at the genin, until she remembered exactly why the business card was given to her. She grinned sheepishly as a result, not sure if it was alright for her to say that she only wished to see him. "Um..." she started out, beginning to play with her fingers out of slight nervousness, "Y-yeah! Yeah, I wanted to learn something, i-if that's okay." Yeah. That was definitely it.

Either way, she'd be able to spend the day with a potential friend, and that was fine with her.

[TWC: 1013]

That wasn’t quite the response Shouhei was expecting. Plus, he could take her out for a ride when it came to pranks because of the very vague way she asked to be taught things. In addition, from how she handled her fingers, he knew that something was up. His knowledge about nervous ticks told him that Aiko could be lying and trying to gather strength to talk, or she was just the nervous type. A scenario he found more likely with how she had responded to him back when they had their short meeting at the library. Jeez he should get out of his courtly mindset, but with the sight of his uncle before he couldn’t help getting reminded to do that. It certainly wasn’t her clothes that did it, as she was this close to wearing more relaxed clothes than him.

“So you want to learn? Well we can start teaching you to roar like a lion. Your fingers are a bit finicky when you talk to me. Almost like a youngling talking to an elder or someone with bad people experiences.” He started to walk and waved her along. He of course knew what she wanted to learn. For he had seen the book she had borrowed from the library about chakra control and offered to teach her the basics just before he left her and Hikari.

As for the road they were walking on, it was moderately trafficked with people walking back and forward to the different shops in the neighborhood and a few carts with wares being pulled about. Just another average day of a city as big as this being busy.

“If it is indeed a past problem with people you have my sympathies, Aiko.” He added. “Or maybe you want to learn something ninja related? Of course, it was that.” And he turned either to his side or behind him (depending on what pace Aiko had decided to follow him in), and smiled to her. “Sorry. Now I am talking at you instead of to you. In any event however, I’m just taking you to a nearby courtyard if you were wondering about our destination. Just outside my uncle’s shop is not the best place to practice and he doesn’t have a backyard there. So, was there any specific things about ninjutsu you wanted to learn? I know a few things here and there with the most complex one being…” he thought for a second, “How to summon this nasty honey badger called Zviad. Nice guy, but be careful about making a deal with him. He have a habit of lying by omission for his own entertainment… Okay that won’t be relevant I guess unless you make a summoning pack with him like I did."

Notes wrote:Word Count: 461.

[Exit]

Notes wrote:
Total Word Count: 1014.
Claiming Stats: 5 (1000 / 2).

Approving Exit. Are you trying to claim 1014 WC towards Mind eye?