New Hope [Open][No Combat]

Since she got back to the village, Ayame has been madly craving Ichiraku's ramen. It had been such a long time since she had tasted the delightful delicacies that were served there.

The memory of an awkward young boy reading a genjutsu book and being rather kind to her rat flooded back to her as she passed the shop. A soft smile covered her lips as she hesitated to enter. She wondered where Orokana was now, and hoped he was well.

Ayame peeked her head inside the shop and noticed that it was relitively empty, so she took a seat that gave her plenty of distance between her and the others at the noodle bar. Aya silently ordered her meal by pointing to the little menu. She was still embarrassed by her stutter and lack of ability to remember words. This caused her to shift uncomfortably as she waited, trying to stay calm.

As her ramen arrived, she closed her eyes, remembering her friend, and  wishing that somehow he could be there and share a meal again, and deeply inhaling the scent of her seafood ramen, with oysters.

**Fu enters from this topic- still inebriated in the search for food. ** 




Fu would find herself at Ichiraku’s ramen shop with a savage case of the ‘drunchies’- also known as drunk munchies. She was in luck- she was the only sad soul who dared to venture into the cold alone tonight to eat ramen. Fu did not care for she was starving. Fu took a seat at the bar and ordered one bowl of ramen to start. Fu could feel herself swaying in her seat as she waited for her meal. After what felt like 30 seconds- the worker would return with her ramen and she would pick up her chopsticks and begin to dig in.

 

After a while- A girl peaked her head in and then entered the establishment and looked around before taking a seat. Where she sat made it feel as though it was done purposely to avoid being near Fu, but Fu did not blame her- she would have done the same thing.

 

Fu used her chopsticks to gather enough noodles for a mouth full and continued to side eye the girl. One of the workers approached her to take her order and she simply motioned with her hand to what she wanted, and the worker hurried off to prepare it.

 

It remained awkward for about another 30 seconds before Fu decided to break the ice. Fu would place a handsome amount of Ryo on the bar table- catching the attention of the worker immediately since there was all of 3 or 4 people in the place. “One bottle of Saki please for me and my new friend.” Fu would say. Normally she was not this friendly, but due to the occasion and fact she was already drunk, it made these sorts of interactions easy to come by.

 

Fu would slide down the bar to get closer to the girl. Fu could not tell at first whether the girl was a shinobi like her. “Hi I’m Fu.” She would say, introducing herself. “I hope you don’t mind, but you looked a bit lonely over here. I figured we could use each other’s company.” The worker would return with a light green bottle containing a milky concoction and two small beige colored glasses. He would pour the first two drinks and Fu would grab her portion and raise it to the girl before drinking it. Fu waited to see what she would say as she placed her cup back on the bar counter ready for another round.

twc: 422

Aya felt the stares of the younger genin beside her. She avoided eye contact as much as possible, feeling a little flighty, unsure of what to do besides pretending that there wasn't anyone there. So Ayame began to eat a little, readjusting her new chunin flak jacket.

(im gonna ooc say that her old one was destoryed and she had to buy a new one upon returning)

Suddenly the unfamiliar girl ordered some Saki, and when Aya looked up from her food, she realized that the young lady had referred to her as a new friend. Aya quickly waved her hand, trying to dismiss the drink as Ayame doesn't much care for the taste of alcohol, but her motioning seemed to be ignored by the bartender.

When Fu had moved down closer to her, Ayame shuddered at first. She really hoped the girl wasn't going to touch her. Even the closure of distance felt uncomfortable due to being alone for so long. Ayame felt a familiar soft feeling in her heart when the younger explained herself. She finally opened her mouth as the bartender brought the alcoholic beverage around. "C-c-comp-pan-ny-ny?" 

She flinched at her own stutter. Perhaps her fear of stuttering around people made the actual thing worse. As the bartender poured her drink, again she tried to dismiss it with a "S-s-sorr-ry-y" however this was likely misconstrued as her apologizing for her stutter.

As the younger of the two raised her glass, Ayame felt embarrassed and slightly off kilter, feeling the 'being hunted' feeling. She looked over her shoulder quickly. When she saw the girl waiting for her to do the same, Ayame thought a moment about trying to argue her way out of it, but due to the stutter she was unable to argue well. She decided to just give in to the pressure, raise her glass to the younger and gulp down the foul-tasting liquid. 

Of course she probably made a funny, disgusted-looking face after the drink, as this was the first, non-fruity drink she has had. But she shook off the taste by drinking some of her broth.

"T-thank y-you for for for the sh-shot" She said quietly, feeling insecure. She tried to remain polite and gave the girl a kind, but slightly trembley smile, afraid that she would make fun of her for the stutter. She wanted to remain polite and kind, but she was inwardly kicking herself for not just staying quiet.

Fu watched as the Kunoichi hesitantly accepted her offering of Saki and raised her glass just as Fu had done. The two glasses clicked solidifying their new friendship. Fu’s eyes drifter to the girls Chuunin Flak jacket that she had been fidgeting with just a few moments prior. ‘It looked new’ Fu thought to herself. She wanted one- kind of. The color of the jacket was the traditional leaf green which made Fu believe that she was indeed a shinobi too.

“Are you a Leaf Shinobi as well?” Fu would ask. If she responded, Fu would continue to say, “I am a Genin even though I am already 17. I don’t care much about rank though. My only goal right now is to make enough money to buy the weapons I want. I’m going to be one of the best swordsmen around! Just you wait.” Fu found herself in a very familiar place- all riled up talking about her ambitions all while forcing some pour soul to listen to her rant. If Ayame hadn’t discloser her name or shinobi rank by now Fu would flat out, ask as it was imperative to know to see how best Ayame could suit her.

If Ayame had disclosed her name and rank by now, Fu would say, “A Chuunin? Yes! Finally! I need your help. You see there are certain missions they won’t let me on by myself or with other Genin.. which is why I need you help! Plus, I’m sure you could use some extra money yourself.”

Fu found herself finishing off the rest of the bottle of Saki she ordered by herself. As the last drip left her glass, she made a sour face as she placed the cup back on the bar counter. She decided she was done drinking for the night. “I hope I’m not talking too much.” Fu would say, leaning closer and talking quieter, “Listen, if you think you can help me here are the details to the mission. Nothing crazy, but I’ve been searching for it on my own and can’t seem to find it. Don’t worry we don’t have to fight anyone or anything- I don’t think.” Fu slipped a piece of paper that was folded containing the mission's details. “No pressure, if you don’t help me, I will find it myself.” Fu would say stubbornly all while dearly hoping that Ayame would agree to assisting her in her search or money and hunter fame.

W: 411

**Kamari enters from http://naruto-role-play-rpg.forumotion.com/t42886-konoha-holiday-party-open-to-all#340959 already at the establishment before Fu and Ayame arrive, sitting on the opposite side of the bar with Mika**
Kamari was busy absolutely decimating his ramen like Naruto while his girlfriend Mika watched in astonishment.
“So, that Fu chick,” Mika brought up, mentioning their earlier encounter. “You’re not cheating on me are you?”
“Not even in a Genjutsu,” Kamari replied. Mika pokes his head like Itachi does with Sasuke before pulling him into a kiss. This was going to be a long night.
The two stat in silence for a while eating ramen and enjoying each other’s mere presence. After about 30 minutes, Kamari noticed a familiar and very intoxicated individual wearing a red cloak sit by an older woman and strike up a conversation.
“Speaking of Fu,” Kamari brought up.
“Yeah, that’s her alright,” Mika added. “Wanna prank her?”
“You know I do,” Kamari said.
He didn’t want to lose his new friend, so he decided to do something innocent that wouldn’t leave Fu mentally scarred. Kamari subtly raised his finger and waited for Fu to absentmindedly turn her head. As her eyes pass over Kamari, he casts Ephemeral, making Fu see a large group of Anbu dancing to Babymetal (or whatever the equivalent of that in the Naruto universe would be) with “Fu is awesome” written on their armor.
Kamari snickered to himself. “This is gonna be good.”
WC 234

(oof i thought each account was only allowed one character. Did that change while i was away o.o?)


“Are you a Leaf Shinobi as well?”  the younger girl asked, to which Ayame curtly nodded, chopsticks trembling slightly as she finally met the girl's eyes but then quickly looked away.

“I am a Genin even though I am already 17. I don’t care much about rank though. My only goal right now is to make enough money to buy the weapons I want. I’m going to be one of the best swordsmen around! Just you wait.”  Ayame smiled slightly at her ramblings. Boy did this girl remind her of an old friend.

"I... I d-don't disp...dispute-te that-t-t." Aya stuttered.

Fu continued on, by inquiring about her name and rank. 

"N-n-nezum-michi, Ayame. Ch-chu-chuunin of of of th-the Leaf"

“A Chuunin? Yes! Finally! I need your help. You see there are certain missions they won’t let me on by myself or with other Genin.. which is why I need you help! Plus, I’m sure you could use some extra money yourself.”

Ayame didnt really react to the girl trying to convince her to do a mission. She zoned out a little, as Fu continued to talk, but was abrupty returned to the moment when a piece of paper was shoved into her hand.

Ayame read over the mission. "S-s-sala-man-manders, eh?" she stated with a smile. It seemed like a type of mission she would do herself.  " Y-yes, I-I-I'd Love to to to j-join y-you." She said with a genuine smile. "It... it s-sounds like f-f-fun."

Ayame continued to eat her ramen slowly, hoping the girl might stay longer. She seemed like good company, and didn't really judge her, despite feeling like this girl was going to use her rank to her advantage.

Unfortunately for the trickster Kamari, Fu kept had kept her focus on Ayame for the time being as they engaged in conversation- hopefully his girlfriend would be enough to keep him entertained for the time being.

"I... I d-don't disp...dispute-te that-t-t." Ayame stuttered in return to Fu’s statement about being the best. This statement had made Fu immediately like Ayame- flattery is always the best way to make new friends, is it not? Now that Ayame had affirmed Fu’s intentions she went onto confirming her identity and her shinobi rank.

Fu did not mind the girls stutter. She was unsure if it was due to trauma or a birth defect, or maybe she was just weird. Either way, Fu accepted her just as she had accepter Fu’s destiny. Ayame finally got around to reading the mission details that Fu had slipped her. " Y-yes, I-I-I'd Love to to to j-join y-you." She would respond to Fu.

“Great!” Fu would shout- clearly excited. “How about we get started first thing in the morning? Right before sunrise is our best bet because no one else should be in the forest at that time so we don’t have to worry about anyone scaring them off. What do you say?” Fu would inquire chipperly.

wc: 210

The girl seemed to withdraw from the conversation and Fu had just about finished her meal. At this point Fu was ready for bed. It was late and she had reached the point where she could not benefit from drinking anymore. Luckily for Ayame- her lapse in conversation was something that went over Fu’s head due her current state of inebriation. She placed whatever she owed the shop for her food and drinks on the counter. “It was nice meeting you Ayame and I look forward to going on missions with you in the future!” Fu would say, giving the girl once last smile before turning and exiting the ramen shop.

Wc: 112

Twc: 1155

[Exit]

Claim:

5 stats towards Chakra = 47

243 wc towards hiding like a mole. 243 + 757 previous wc = 1k. Claim tech.

Remaining 912 towards Shadow clone. 912/1.5k

Approved