Dinner For Two [Private, No Kill, Hayate]

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Clothing Description (Taken from previous thread):

Boom. Boom. Boom-boom. The cadence of the taiko drums thrummed through the night as dancers and jugglers took to the street. People thronged between market stalls, impromptu stages, and the various activities that dotted the island village. It was Azami’s first time being on this island, let alone during a festival. The streets were lit with lines of paper lanterns that crisscrossed overhead, their flickering lights making the shadows dance alongside the people. It was all so very chaotic for the girl who was already on pins and needles. She quickly chose the first place in sight, a soba noodle bar with stools lining its counter where patrons could watch their noodles being prepared while they waited to eat.

Azami ducked slightly under the curtain, taking one of the last two remaining seats that were left open by a couple who had left moments before. She settled onto one of the stools, face flushed from the cool night air as she looked over the signboard of the restaurant. Besides soba, various tempura dishes were on offer beside local caught fish and pickled vegetables. Normally it wouldn’t have been her type of place, but with the day’s training behind her, she would have eaten just about anything. The kitchen just behind the counter bustled away merrily, one of the cooks shouting his greeting to her, letting her know he would be by in a moment to take her order.

She did a quick mental count of the coins she had on her, adding up the prices of the dishes she wanted to order as she waited happily, feet swinging ever so lightly from atop her stool. Thankfully, thoughts of food had finally overcome the anxiety that had been nagging at her, letting her forget for the moment that any of the people she saw could be her shark toothed instructor in disguise.

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Finally.   Hayate looked at the new cassette tape in his hands, turning it over a few times, barely paying attention to the crowd sas he threaded through the familiar street.  The first two days of the festival had been crazy, with meeting Kether and everyone out by the sailors shrine, and then running into Yata - who knew she wasn't so timid outside of his mothers tutelage?

But today.  Today he was once again clad in the blue jinbei, shaggy blonde hair free in the night air, and his mind felt just as free.  He had just wandered, on his own.  He got to go to his favorite music stall, stocked up on the latest releases.  He would head over for a simple meal, but one of his favorites, and then just do.... nothing, before finally getting to snag that red bean paste taiyaki to end the night.  A relaxing festival night, the way it SHOULD be.

The 15 year old noticed there was only one seat at the end of the cart he was heading to, and quickened his pace.  He ducked under to see a girl about his age, black hair, in a rather fancy kimono occupying the next stool over, and the rest filled with older adults.  The smile on her face, the outfit, and she didn't have any food in front of her yet.... she had to be waiting for someone.   He almost faltered, but a push from his stomach urged him on -

"Is this taken?" He asked, tenatively, gesturing toward the seat.

Should the girl say no, he'd hop onto the seat, putting the cassette on the bar in front of him.  He'd lean up on the bard call out the cooking chef by name in a friendly manner, asking for the spicy udon special with red broth.  They chef would smile and wave him off, saying "sure sure, after her" and nodding toward Azami, the continue cooking.  Satisfied, he'd  ease off the bar and sit back down on the stool, glancing over at the girl the chef indicated.

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Sure, her kimono was fancy, but her hair was somewhat more casually done up. A pair of chopsticks held the messy bun in place, exposing the back of her neck above the collar of her kimono. As Hayate spoke to her, a chill shot up the back of her neck. Surprises, normally she was ecstatic about bumping into someone she knew or meeting someone knew, but nothing had been normal for her since arriving in Kirigakure no Saito.

She jumped ever so slightly in her seat before turning to face the young man, her legs crossing while her arms followed suit over her chest. Everything about her posture spoke of guardedness and apprehension. She looked him over, eyes nearly undressing him as they looked for signs of weapons or any tell tale mark that he might be someone in disguise. Her eyes narrowed, the hamster running on the tiny wheel inside of her head as she considered her choices. She could lie, certainly… She’d likely have to do that no matter what choice she made. Okay.

“It is now. Please, sit.”, she said, forcing the smile back to her lips, letting her arms uncross as she worked to restore a more welcoming visage. As Hayate called out for the chef by name, she knew she had made the right decision, although now she felt pressured to reduce the size of her order. It wouldn’t look good to order half the menu the first time she was eating in front of someone her own age from the village. She ordered soba noodles with a side of the tempura vegetables, having to raise her voice just the smallest bit to be heard over the sounds of the kitchen.

“Do you come here often?”, she asked the boy beside her, trying to make polite small talk. Besides, she’d need to make new friends sooner or later. She might as well try for sooner.

The way the girl twitched and guarded against him at first, he almost thought he was going to be in trouble for something.  But then she relaxed.  Just nerves, i guess.  He could understand, the way things had been going recently.


When she offered him the seat he thanked her and took it, putting in his order and then waiting as she put in hers.

He swiveled over to face the girl to answer her question about coming here often.  "Absolutely.  This place is the ONLY soba stand that actually gets the spicyness right.  No one does the red broth like him".  Hayate jerked a thumb toward the chef busily working away on their orders.  "Plus, it's pretty close by, and not too expensive."  He grinned a little sheepishly.  Soon he was going to be expected to make his own money, once he reached genin, and that was coming up right after the festival.  For now, though, he was just an academy student living on allowance.  

Hayate subconciously reached for the tape and tucked it into his jinbei pocket, reminded of what he spent part of what he had up for the festival.  He didn't have much left, but then again, he didn't have many goals left - after all, the taiyaki with red bean paste center wasn't expensive, and lying on the roof listening to the festival in the starlight was free.

He snapped back to reality.

"How about you?  Are you just down this way for the festival, or local as well?" He asked.  After all, it was impossible to know all the people in this busy part of the town, and he knew the multi day event drew in a lot of crowds to sell wares or pay respects or just come relax and have fun.  And Hayate seemed to think the girl probably did need to relax a bit.


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“Me? I guess I’m not really a local, not yet at least.”, she said, considering just what she should reveal to him. “I just moved in a few days ago, actually, so everything is still new to me.”

What he’d make of the timing, she didn’t know. Heck, she didn’t know if it was public knowledge that the delegation had returned with hostages. What wasn’t asked though, she didn’t have to tell. Azami reached out for the jar of chopsticks on the countertop, plucking a pair in their paper wrapping for herself. She laid the neat bundle on the counter in front of her before looking back to Hayate.

“Oh, you must think me so rude. I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Azami. It’s nice to meet you.”, she rattled off, giving him a small bow. That was really all that space would allow, given the tight confines of the restaurant. Normally she would have given her clan name, but things seemed somewhat more precarious here in the Hidden Mist village. It was probably best not to raise that sort of question. Besides, many commoners didn’t have a clan name, so it wouldn’t necessarily mean that she was hiding something from him.

After Azami bowed, Hayate returned with the same stiffled movement and greeting in the cramped space.  "Hayate.  Hayate Seiteki.  My dad runs Seiteki repairs, just over there a way. "  He pointed off diagonally to the street with an arcing motion, indicating at least a few steets over.

"Well, anyways, welcome to Kirigakure no Sato!   It's not that different from most of the other island villages, just a bit bigger and the storm gate makes it a bit more foggy.  Oh, and the ninja, i guess."   It felt odd to Hayate to consider a village without them.  He had grown up all his life around the ninja, his mother being one, his grandfather, him expecting to be one, and the village being full of them.  He couldn't imagine life without them everywhere.

As he thought about it, the chef put down Azami's food and then Hayates own, apparently assuming them together since they had been talking.  Hayate's broth was, true to his order, a light but rich red, with flakes of pepper floating among the thick noodles and other ingredients.  He thanked the chef for the meal, separating his own chopsticks

"See?" he pointed out to Azami.  "Perfect every time.  If you like spicy food."  He then looked around for the chef, and upon seeing him on the other side, whispered conspiratorially "although if you're in it for the seafood, theres one two streets over with way better fish"

He dug into his first bite, wrapping up a long noodle, with a bit of vegetable and some pepper, and carefully bringing it to his mouth.  He chewed it for a second, savoring the flavor.

"So.." he finished swallowing the last of his bite "So you're planning on staying then?"  He let out a short breath, appreciating the heat already building in his mouth.

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If there was a single thing that teenage girls were good at that got a big reaction, it was the giggle. Simultaneously, it could make someone feel witty while another person felt ostracized. Like any good weapon, it had two edges and could be wielded for whatever purpose the user desired. In a way though it was more like a flexible weapon, able to hurt the user or unintended bystanders if used carelessly. Azami was aware of this, leaning in close and stifling herself with a hand over her mouth as she giggled at Hayate’s conspiratorial advice.

“Well… I’m usually more of a sweets person than a spicy person, but I’ll give anything a try once.”, she replied, sliding her chopsticks from the paper wrapper before breaking them in half. She quickly positioned the sticks in her fingers, showing a certain dexterity that most commoners didn’t have. Holding near the back of the sticks she plucked a battered and fried green bean from her plate, running it through the dark dipping sauce before popping it into her mouth, chewing and swallowing before she continued.

“Yeah, at least for now I’m here on a kind of permanent basis. I don’t know when I'll return. That’s how it is with these sorts of arrangements though. It’s all kind of above my head, actually.”, she went on, gesturing gently with her chopsticks before gathering up a small amount of the soba noodles to dredge through their own sauce.

“What sort of repairs does your families shop do? My apartment isn’t in the best of shape. The previous tenant wasn’t much for taking care of this place. Maybe I can talk my landlord into doing a bit of maintenance…”, she trailed off, of course making the insinuation that perhaps there could be some work in it for Hayate’s family. She really had no clue he was a ninja. To her, he was a repairman’s son.

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The giggle made Hayate feel like he had actually gotten through to the girl a bit.  The shared laughter seemed to ease over any leftover stranger awkwardness, as did a nice, hot meal.

He nodded sagely at the "above my head" bit, or as sagely as a 15 year old could manage on a stool.  He kinda got that - there were things you didn't get to know, and had to trust that those in power were doing the right thing.  Your parents, the village, - the authorities you placed your hard earned trust in.

Speaking of parents...

"Oh he does all sorts of appliances, electronics, gadgets and whatnot."  Hayate waved his hand dismissally.  "I never really got all that stuff - I went to the academy instead, like mom.  But if you've got like a busted washer or radio or something, yeah, he's pretty good."

Hayate lifted yet another noodle (the bowl was dwindling somewhate quickly), dripping with the red tinged sauce, and blew on it gently, then lifted it to his mouth.  After this mouthfull, he had to reach for the glass of icewater - not too fast, mind you - and take a big swig, the cubes clinking around as he set it back down.  He really enjoyed the heat, but cooling it off was just as good.  There really was nothing like a solid spicy meal.

The girl was pretty relaxed company, once she opened up, as well, it was a nice change of pace.  he weight a bit more company with the quiet evening he had planned in his head


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“Oh, well I’m afraid I don’t really have a lot of electronics or appliances… Of course, I have a fridge, oven, stove… that sort of thing, but nothing fancy.”, she went on, making casual conversation between dainty bites. She never spoke while her mouth was full, eating small morsels so that she could finish them completely before it was her turn to talk again.

“You’re a ninja than, like your mom? I’m afraid I don’t really know much about the clans or ninja in this village. How long has your family been involved with the village?”, she asked, wanting to seem interested without sticking her foot in her mouth. She nearly asked about his clan’s stature but caught herself before she possibly embarrassed him. After all, no one wanted to admit their family was just a blip on the radar. Not everyone could be born an Uchiha or a Hyuuga.

“I’ve always been more into home keeping myself… But I suppose it takes a village, as they say.”, she finished with another giggle, pushing around a tiny bit of food that was left on one of her plates with a chopstick. Finally, she set the pair of chopsticks down, digging into her obi where she kept her small silk pouch of coins. She dug out payment plus a tip for her meal, setting the small stack of coins on the bar before looking back to her companion for the meal.

“Well, I suppose I should be headed off. It was good to meet you, Hayate-san.”, she said, climbing down off the stool, favoring him with another smile as she expected him to do likewise. Of course, she could always be surprised. Whether that surprise would be pleasant or not was completely up to him.

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Hayate finished the last of his meal, leaving a little of the red broth left in the bowl.  Just drinking that stuff straight would be dangerous, especially as his glass of water was nearing the bottom.

"Well, not yet, but my exams at the end of the week, and I'm pretty confident."  His eyes glanced up toward where the stars would be would be they weren't blocked by the stall's roof, in petition to ....whatever might be there, that his confidence was rewarded.  He just HAD to make it.  "And no, it's not one of the clans you'd have heard of - though theres been at least one or two Seiteki serving the village as far back as I know."


He didn't want the girl to think like he was bragging, so he quickly followed up.  "Ahhh but it takes all types, right?  Like, you gotta do what you do best, and help the village that way, right?  Fisherman fish, repairmen repair, ninjas go on missions.  Ya need em all to have a safe, working village with stuff to eat, no one can do it all.  Home keeping stuff is good too."  He nodded in a way he hoped was reassuring.  He really wished for his half mask right now, he felt more confident and sure of himself in the everyday gear, but it would be totally out of place at such a festival.


There was a pause in the conversation as the girl paid for her meal and Hayate rooted around in his pocket for coins.  He felt around the cassette tape for the loose money, putting his own payment on the bar as well.  The silence extended a  litter longer, just to the point of being awkward.  Hayate was about to open his mouth to speak about something to break lull, about what yet he didn't know, maybe the taiyaki shop he would head to later, or the spot he would relax at by the water first, just anything.  But Azami spoke first, excusing herself.


He stood up as she did, not wanting to be rude, and he was done anyway.  

"Oh yeah... ok.  I understand.  I hope you enjoy your stay!" 




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