Young, Dumb, & Broke [ KOMON ]

Because of her absence Saya was left with nothing but the meager coins she had managed to accumulate during her trek back to Kumogakure. She sighed, letting the money slide into her pants pocket with a light jingle. There were many stalls lining up the market street with most of them selling cooking ingredients and the occasional street food like dango and takoyaki. Saya eyed the piping hot snacks and frowned; she didn’t even have enough cash to get a full meal.

And so the young girl was left to hover and wander around the market, torturing herself with the sights and smells of the market. Her stomach grumbled in protest. It needed sustenance. Saya pulled off to the side, watching the citizens come and go as she tried to come up with a way to make some quick money for at least one meal.

She supposed she could always busk around, sing and collect money that way. But with a shake of her head, Saya dismissed that thought. Singing was a private thing for her and using it as a way to beg for cash didn’t sit well with her. But… Oh, hello. Her amethyst-blue orbs trailed after a thin boy expertly weaving in and out of the crowd, and it didn’t escape her notice that his hands would also be doing some work.

A pickpocket.

Now there’s an idea. Saya could, possibly, just catch him and take whatever he’s stolen so far, but she was a kunoichi of Kumogakure and she did not do any petty activities. Another heavy sigh escaped as her tummy gave a loud complaint. Her body folded into a crouch. She wanted food.

WORD COUNT: 280

Komon wasn’t doing too hot on the money side either. Honestly he was flat out broke… Well, a little more than broke, the hyuuga was currently 6250 ryo in debt to his twin brother Komori from buying the warhammer on his back. Luckily however, he was friends with Amai, a girl that worked at his favorite local diner, and she had been helping him with the whole “Eating to survive” Situation.

Komon walked out of the diner with a plate full of waffles, eggs, and sausage, as he made his way through the streets of hoshigakure. It was cold, as to be expected in the middle of winter on a mountain top village. And snow was falling lightly, and just starting to stick. In order to protect his food from the falling white nuisance Komon would lean over his plate as he made his way down the street, with no location in particular in mind.

Today was a rare day where the jounin had nothing to do, and nowhere to go. That was at least until he saw the boy pickpocketing hard working citizens of the village hidden in the clouds. As he passed by the kid he’d simply make eye contact with him and discretely activate the temporary paralysis jutsu freezing the kid in the middle of the street before taking his pouch. “Nmt un mah wtch kyddo” Komon would say, his words obviously distorted by the waffle he was eating.

Swallowing his food he’d toss the pouch of coins to the old woman, he had last seen the boy stealing from. “I don’t really have the time to trace down everyone he stole from” Komon would say as he pointed towards the still frozen kid in the middle of the street. “So you can just have it” He’d say as he began to walk away from the scene, he had no interest in reporting the boy to any authority. Kumogakure was brutal, and the kid was probably just stealing scraps to survive. No need for him to be executed or anything like that.

Komon shuddered at the thought of it, remembering what Youka had done to lady Jiyo, and her head on the spike. All because he had been a little to loud in the library. As he began to walk away he heard a loud smack before turning back to see that the old lady had slapped the frozen kid across the face, and couldn’t help but laugh. With a smile on his face he’d turn to see a familiar person. “Saya?” Komon would ask as he picked up another waffle and took a bite out of it.

WC: 442

Saya wasn’t quite sure what she noticed first - the quick flare of chakra of a technique being used, the delicious smells of waffles and eggs and sausages, or the onslaught of Komon’s chakra. The scent of saffron tickled her nose and the flash of a white landscape had her blinking up at the jounin’s moon-like eyes and stuffed cheeks. Her stomach growled loudly in greeting. It almost sounded like it was calling out his name - Kooomooon.

”Oh, it’s the superior twin.” Saya stood up as if nothing was amiss. She even patted the nonexistent dust off her pants before turning her full attention on his person, trying not to let her gaze drift down to the plate of goodies being held to his person. ”Doing well, Komon?”

Her fellow Kumo ninja certainly seemed like it. Before she could stop it, her purple-blue orbs flickered to his platform of food. It called to her. And her stomach replied in kind, making a whine from beneath her abdomen. However, Saya persistently ignored the noise and moved her eyes to lock with the older shinobi.

It had been a while since the two had met and while Saya initially had nothing against him, she still felt quite annoyed when he had forgotten her name during his drunken state. Sighing at her pettiness, she waved it off and… Oh, jeez. His food looked just so good. Maybe, he could share? Again, Saya mentally had to shake her head from such thoughts. She was a kunoichi! She could procure her own meal and it would be training!

If the girl could think it as such then surely she could last until fell on her lap. Or something.

WORD COUNT: 286
TOTAL WORD COUNT: 280 + 286 = 566

The superior twin comment was nice, and Komon couldn’t help but grin at the sound of it. “Doing well, Komon?” She’d ask as she got up and patted off her clothing. He’d smile before replying “Can’t really complain, been a slow day except for that idiot over there” Komon would say as he gestured to the man that stood paralyzed in the middle of the street.
Komon had an above average sense of hearing, his vast experience as a shinobi had guaranteed the evolution of his five senses, so when saya’s stomach growled he’d hear it and take note of it, despite the fact that Saya seemed to be putting up her best effort to ignore it.
“So what are you up too?” He’d ask as he sat the plate down, balancing it on the flat top of a fence post resting beside him “Have you started your chuunin exam’s yet?” He’d ask out of curiosity, recalling his earlier combat trial with Renji Hyuuga, the two of them seemed to be around the same age, so he figured Saya would be trying eventually.

A distraction was given to her when Komon pointed out the person who she had noted as a pickpocket. Due to his immovable frame people had to adjust and move around him, causing quite a small spectacle. The busy citizens paid him no mind as they powerwalked to their next destination, but others who were simply strolling by would slow down and whisper behind their hands.

”Oh, him.” Saya shook her head at the boy’s frozen frame before replying to the jounin. ”Nothing really. Just… patrolling around the market.” A lie that had the tips of her ears reddening and a light pink blush adorning her cheeks. She didn’t like lying, especially when it came to those ranked higher than her. But at the moment the girl didn’t want Komon to know of her state of hunger. A prideful girl that she was.

Then the conversation turned towards the Chunin Exams. Saya blinked, not really comprehending what he had said. ”T-The Chunin E-Exams?” Her mind was drawing a blank as if that was the first time she had head of it. Of course, that was not true. Saya had been looking forwards to taking the exams since she had graduated, hoping to push herself and become one of the fastest genin to have achieved that rank just after graduating the academy.

Alas, Saya had let it slip her mind after leaving Kumogakure for the celebration. She sighed. It was such a disappointment that she had begun to berate herself in her mind. ”N-No. I haven’t. Thank you for reminding me.” Was her response before she cleared her throat in attempt to seem unaffected by the revelation.

”Is your offer still open, Komon?” She asked, hoping that it would be a “yes.” The best person that could aid her in passing the exams would be someone who had already gone through the process of moving up the ladder. Her stomach growled once more, reminding her of its demands.

Saya let out an exasperated sigh. She was done. Absolutely done. ”And would you mind if… ” Her head turned to the side and zeroed in on the ground at his feet. ”... If… ” She faked a cough and cleared her throat before rushing through her next words. ”... youcouldsharesomeofyourfoodwithme.”

The red on her cheeks deepened to a darker color, almost making her complexion similar to that of a tomato. Passersby thought it was a cute scene - a young girl was clearly confessing her affections to one of the well-known jounins in Kumogakure. She was definitely not asking for food.

WORD COUNT: 439
TOTAL WORD COUNT: 566 + 439 = 1005

Had saya developed a stutter? Komon didn’t remember her talking like that in their previous encounters, but it had been a while, and maybe he had simply forgotten it. “Always” she however didn’t seem too concerned with his answer, her attention was immediately drawn elsewhere, and her eyes moved to the food like magnets.

And then came the sigh, and the clearly embarrassed request for his food

Komon was generous, but not limitlessly so. He’d take the remainder of the bacon into his hand before giving the rest of the food to saya. “Yah, sure. I gotta get going anyways. It was nice talking to you” He’d say as he shoved the rest of the bacon into his mouth and walked away.

WC: 750
Claiming: 750 Words towards  Buzzsaw For a total of 3337 Words.

”Really?!” Saya blinked in surprise. Both at his answers. She expected more of a nonchalant agreement for one (maybe two) training sessions and a couple of waffles from his plate. ”Thank you!” The girl called out to him as she now had, on one hand, a plate full of food and her other waving at his figure disappearing into the crowd. Once he had gone her eyes quickly zoomed onto the food that he left behind for her. Ah, bless his soul. He probably didn’t know how grateful she was for the meal. Taking a whole waffle and taking a bite out of it, Saya began to walk towards the kage building with her thoughts revolving around the jounin.

Her meetings with Komon Hyuuga always seemed to be cut short. It was odd to her that she felt somewhat disappointed whenever the jounin would have to leave in the midst of their encounters. This one was no different as she internally beamed at his answer. “Always,” he told her. That meant she was welcome to bother him for techniques, right? Saya would have to take advantage of that. Especially now that she was going to try and get started with her chunin exams. It even prompted her to add her registration to her list of things to get done by that particular day.


WORD COUNT: 226
TOTAL WORD COUNT: 1005 + 226 = 1231

CLAIMING: 6 SP + 1000/1000 Chakra Anesthetic + 231 / 3000 Poison Mist

Imagine a seal because Im too lazy to grab the link. Approved.