The Aftermath

His body still recovering from the aftermath of his spar with Snow and Sai, the scarred Meijin had found himself looking for something to help speed up his recovery. Asahi's fatigue had reached its peak and his muscles were aching like they never had before. When he thought what the best way would be to replenish his energy, he quickly came up with two options. Resting and eating. Both would aid the young shinobi in getting back to health in no time. You can't fight on an empty stomach was the saying after all. And Asahi knew there was a possibility that something like that might happen in the near future. 

And so the teenage boy was walking around the streets of Konoha, looking for a suitable place to both recover his strength and fill his empty stomach at the same time. Killing two birds with one stone as they say. Usually he would go for some grilled meat since that was probably his favorite food. But this time the teenager decided to switch things up and to pay a visit to the Ramen shop where he could relax while enjoying a good meal. Having arrived at the Ichiraku Noodle Bar he would take place at one of the seats available. "This week's special please." It was his first time eating ramen so he decided to play it safe with his order. 

While he was waiting on his order Asahi would begin to think about what Snow meant when he said they would be meeting again soon. There were many different scenarios starting to play off in his head but none of which he was certain. What he did know for a fact was that no matter what it was going to be, he would have to be prepared for anything. The scarred Meijin began to wonder if he would be up for the task. He started to doubt himself, uncertain if he would be strong enough. During their spar he was able to improve himself quite a bit. He had learned a couple of new techniques but would that be good enough for what was going to come up ahead? Asahi would be lost in thought when his order of ramen had arrived.

(WC: 374)

It was been a good while since the red haired vixen had met up with her teammate Snjor, but she couldn't help in having something nagging at her thoughts. Not long back she had done a mission with them where she met a new face. One that held the characteristics of what seemed to be some sort of burn upon their face. It wasn't mew to come across a stranger within the walls of Konohagakure, as the population seemed to be thriving at the most. What caught her attention was the tension between the boy and her buddy Snjor. . . and why was that? What caused them to feel uneased between the two, in the sense that Snjor felt the need to apologize himself to the scarred boy? There was many curious questions running through the woman's thoughts. ". . . was it . . ." Akira didn't finish her thoughts outloud. The presence of her darkling self was starting to reappear once more within her conscious mind.

Then something suddenly brought her out of the cimmerian state of mind, just before it almost set in. A nice marble bowl of steamy noodles and broth was just set in front of her sight. Topped off with a pair of wooden chop sticks for eating. Akira couldn't help but feel the widening of her ember fox eyes as she took in the lovely sight of food. Nice golden pale noodles with shrimp broth and plump pink baby shrimp sprinkled on top. Her mouth was watering as the seafood aroma filled her sense of smell. With a swift movement the woman proceeded in taking her chop sticks in hand and prepared for the lovely meal that presented itself before her perspective.

With a few noodles twirled within the grasp of her held chop sticks, Akira brought the ramen to her soft lips. Giving a brief blow before nomming on the delight. The amazing food had almost completely left her forgotten of her previous thoughts, but then the figure that decided to suddenly stand out from the corner of her sight tugged the thoughts right back. It was the new boy from before. . . the one that had a fall out of some sorts with Snjor. Then the vixen remembered the delightful attitude this one had when she first encountered him. No doubt in her mind, this kid would be a very entertaining individual if it wasn't all just a front. She took the time to allow herself to sip some of the cloudy shrimp broth from her bowl, with the tip of her fingers carefully holding it. Here soon she planned on disturbing this man's evening .
{WC: 436}

Sai sat in his shower using the water to calm himself, he had been sulking over his most recent loss to Snow. He had been sitting in his shower for the last hour replying the fight between the three of them over and over in his head. The uchiha wasent accustomed to loosing and he really didnt know how to accept it. It would of been different for Sai if he had lost to someone else but to lose to the person he considered his rival, caused an anger to build up in Sai like one he had never felt before. 

"BOOM" 

Was all you heard as Sai punched a hole into his wall, not being able to hold in his frustration anymore. Realizing he needs to control himself, he attempts to calm down as he gets out the shower. He flopped down onto his bed after drying off and getting semi dressed. Sai knew sitting in the house wasent going to make him feel better, but he wasent in the mood to go out and train just yet. He couldn't think of much besides getting his revenge fight against Snow, but Sai knew he wasent ready and that what hurt the most. After laying in his bed for another ten minutes he decided to get out of bed and find something to do.  

He made his way out the home after getting dressed, with no plan on where to go. As he wandered through the village he could smell and hear the laughter coming from none other than the ramen shop. Sai walked towards the famous eatery, more hungry than what he was when he left his home. As he entered the spot to his surprise Akira and Asahi was there. Sai wasent in a great mood so when he seen his friends he decided to keep his distance, not wanting to ruin their time there. As he waked to his seat all he would say was, "Hey guys", as he walked over and took a seat away from them. "Suprise me", is what Sai said to the waitress.

With his chopsticks in his left hand and the bowl of ramen in the other Asahi wasn't able to get rid of his earlier thoughts. The doubt filling up his mind started to grow even bigger with every minute that had passed. Was he strong enough? Would he be able to overcome his fear, his past? What if something terrible were to happen and he failed in protecting what he held dear? "What have I been doing these past 17 years? It's like I almost haven't changed at all." Thoughts of uncertainty pulled the scarred Meijin away from reality. Luckily for the teenage boy he was brought back by the obvious sound of someone slurping, meaning he wasn't alone at the ramen shop.

When he looked over to see who exactly was producing those sounds he would notice a familiar face. "Hello little fox, fancy seeing you here. Did you come here all the way just to see me?" Sitting not far from him was the red haired young woman he had met during one of his missions. If his memory served him right her name was Akira, and she was quite the tease. Maybe her company was just what he needed to get his mind off things. "So what brings you here? Surely you didn't miss me?" Asahi would tease her as he took a little sip of his bowl of ramen. 

The warmth of the noodles had quite the effect on him as it gave him revitalized energy. Feeling better and better the young Meijin remembered he never introduced himself properly. "Now that I think about it, I never gave you my name. You can call me Asahi, but I'm sure you'll be able to come up with some kind of nickname for me." Joking around once more he gave Akira a little wink, showing two could play this game. Talking to her had helped him forget his troubles, even if only for a minute. The redhead was a teammate of Snow and Sai, so he figured she was used being around boys. Which could be the reason why she was good at making other people feel comfortable. 

Not too long after Akira had arrived a second familiar face would show up at Ichiraku's. This time it was Sai who he had met during the spar earlier. The Uchiha still seemed angry and disappointed with the outcome as a simple greeting was all he could bring out. Not sure whether or not he should say something Asahi decided to greet him back. "Hello Sai, how have you been?"

(WC: 430, TWC: 804)

Sweet, tender, and full of the flavor of ocean delicious. The shrimp broth coaxed and caressed the vixen's tongue as she sipped and swallowed the aromatic liquid. She delicately plucked one of the baby shrimp from within her ramen bowl and pushed it through her lips. The little pink seafood was definitely juicey. . . and so was this man's words towards her. Akira took the time to get one last sip of her broth before setting down her ramen bowl. Her eyes was directed towards the one who introduced himself as Asahi. The woman's eyebrow raised and she lowered the ramen bowl. "Now if I did so happened to come here cause I missed you. . ."

In a very graceful maneuver, Akira rose from her spot as her hands brushed down along the soft velvet fabrics of her ruby dress as she sashyed her way towards this Asahi. ". . . I wouldn't be telling you. But if you'd like I can definitely become your personal stalker." The vixen purred the words out like a seductive kitten. It was obvious that she was trying to worry the poor boy, and wondered how he would take such a straight forward response. The corner of her lips curved into a devious little grin. The sharp edges of her canines revealing themselves as a taunting demeanor. 

The way the little Kitsune approached the man screamed out mischievous foreplay. Her ember eyes taking their time as she looked over his form. Soon enough Akira would be a few feet from where Asahi sat, and Sai appeared from the shop's entrance. "Don't bite off more than you can chew darling~ I may be more than what you can handle." She added in her last sly remark to the boy, feeling the urge to torment the soul if she had the free will to do so.

But one of her teammates had made their presence known, and for the most the Kitsune may try to behave herself. At least just for now. Her hues turned towards the dark haired uchiha as he announced the chef to surprise him for this evenings meal. Wondering if maybe her teammate would want to join in on the company, that Akira had just weaseled herself into. "Good evening Sai~" She spoke smoothly. Realizing to herself that the red haired kunoichi had smoothly took advantage of Asahi's offer of giving him a nickname, as darling was a common one she used for anyone.
{WC: 407}
{TWC: 843}

Sai smile and gave a slight know to both his team mate Akira and Asahi. He wasent ready yet to talk not after how the fight went. He wasent ready yet to be the fun loving guy hat everyone knew, he had to sulk some more first. It didnt take long at all for the chef to have on of his staff bring back some nice hot teriyaki steak and broccoli placed beautifully on top of a bowl of ramen. He could smell all the beautiful aromas from his and everyone else food, it had been a while since he had the luxury of being around such beautiful smell food, not to mention the beautiful staff that the shop had. He had to commend the chef on being able to bring out three complete different dishes with such quickness and efficacy. Sai was never a big fan of the ramen shop but surprisingly enough Sai had been to the shop so many times he was becoming more and more comfortable, like it was his second home. 

As Sai began to eat his food, he could hear the conversation between Akira and Asahi. He thought it was a pretty cool coincidence that both of their names started with an A. He always thought little things like similarities in two people names were always cool. Sai couldn't help but become more relax and less tense as he ate his food. The ramen had a soothing effect to it, that was even able to sooth all of the anger and resentment that had built up in Sai. It didnt take long for Sai to realize that being angry and sulking wasent going to change the result's, only harder training and more fighting experience would help. He smiled, feeling more like his old self he got up. He walked over to Akira and Asahi, bringing his bowl of ramen with him. He sat beside Akira and gave her a smile, "Long time no see team mate of mine", he said before beginning to eat his once again. 

Sai was curious to see how one of his partners in crime was doing, it had been a minute since they last talk. He was also curious to see how Asahi was feeling after going out against Snow like that with him.

As she came closer to Asahi the little vixen had already begun her counterattack towards the young Meijin. Their conversation would go just like he had anticipated, going back and forth with their teasing. He would use this moment to fully grasp Akira's beauty since he noticed she was rather easy on the eyes now that she sat this close to him. "My stalker? I guess it wouldn't be so bad having you follow me around." Curious to see just how far the redhead was willing to take her teasing the teenager started to smirk once more as he truly enjoyed her company.

It didn't take her too long to come up with a nickname for Asahi. Not that he would mind since he was the one encouraging her to do so. "I didn't know I could bite you, little fox. That changes everything." Teasing the red haired vixen he would grab one of his chopsticks and use it to give her a soft tick on her forehead. "Seems like darling will have more than his hands full with you." While the two of them were teasing each other Sai had joined their company as it looked like he finally started to feel better. Now that the Uchiha sat with them they could enjoy their bowl of ramen together.

Asahi couldn't help but notice there were only two people of Team Zero present, Snow being the one who was missing. "Will he be joining us later?" He would ask, referring to the Yuki. It would be at least a little strange for them to hang out without Snow. The scarred Meijin was aware of the Yuki's latest behavior, but he figured Akira and Sai would be the ones who knew him better since the three of them formed a team. "So, what's going on? Don't tell me the team fell apart?" Maybe if they put their heads together they would be able to figure out what was going on. Not only with Snow, but with the village itself as well.

(WC: 340, TWC: 1144)

The young man that challenged the little red haired vixen with his clever teasing comebacks was definitely catching Akira's interest. She enjoyed an individual that can fire back and keep her entertained. Especially since the little fox was easily to bore, and she hated being bored. Being bored is what caused her to withdraw herself and seek somewhere else for the attention she desired. Which in some cases could seem narcissistic, but she didn't care.

The man Asahi softly poked the kunoichi amongst the forehead with his chopsticks, and this caused Akira to stick her tongue out in a taunting manner. "Mmm I'll get you begging me to withdraw my presence, little one." She grinned as the Kitsune continued to provoke the little darling within her grasps of pervertive intentions. Afterwards Akira slightly attempted to detox herself from being too much on the presence of her teammate Sai, unless Asahi encouraged her further. With a sudden click of her tongue, the red haired kunoichi turned her attention towards the bars man and asked sweetly for an non alcoholic cinnamon drink to spice her senses. Joining in with the company of Sai by their side now, whom was enjoying his bowl of ramen.

Still no sign of her third partner Snjor. Akira wasn't much of a griever, but she couldn't help the nagging of curiosity in Snjor's frequent absence and change of behavior. "Doing just hotly over here. . . looks like Snjor not so much." Her reply to Sai came, just before she shrugged her shoulders at Asahi's question. There sas no telling what was going on. But a discussion will be needed soon. So that the team could know what next steps to take. If Snjor decided to drop out, they needed to know.
{WC: 293}
{TWC: 1,136}

"Another bowl please", Sai said as he raised his bowl upon completion. He hadnt enjoyed food like this in a very long time. The amount of pleasure he got from eating such delicious food , is what finally made him understand why the ramen shop is so popular. Sai was glad that he had friends who had shown him the place, cause if not for them he probably wouldn't of never went inside. Sai listen as Akira and Asahi continued their conversation, from what he could hear it sounded like some flirting between them was going on. Sai smiled, he knew his team mate was a beauty but he also knew the games she like to play with people. He just hoped that Asahi knew what he was getting himself into , if he was to continue pursing Akira. 

As Akira and Asahi conversation ended, Sai head Asahi bring up Snow. Even though he didnt say his name directly Sai had a feeling it was about him, and his assumption was confirmed when Asahi said asked about the team. Sai had paused for a second , making sure he used the right words for a situation like this. "Its complicated", Sai said with a smile. He wasent trying to be rude but after noticing Akira shrug he thought it would be best not to speak to much on it. He then turned his attention to Akira," Speaking of our friend Snow, I think its time we discuss his recent behavior. Its starting to get more and more interesting as the day's goes on". Sai said with a straight face. He was enjoying Snow's outburst , but he didnt want the other's to know that just yet.

The scarred Meijin noticed the little vixen sticking out her tongue, only to use it afterwards to order a drink. "Non-alcoholic? And here I thought you were about to show me how well you can handle your liquor." Teasing the little fox even further he would await her response. Asahi would then listen to Saizou's answer about the situation. "Complicated? That's the least you can say about it." He would refer to the word his Uchiha friend had used to describe what was going on with Snow. All jokes aside, they could no longer ignore the elephant in the room. 

Akira and Sai were far more closer to the Yuki than he was, so he didn't want to interfere in other people's business, but he felt like now would be a good time to discuss. "How long has this been going on?" It was up to them to decide whether or not they would answer his question, but it might feel good to get things off their chest now that Snow wasn't around. If they liked it or not, the three of them were still on the same team and had to work together with him. So it might not be a bad thing to talk about everything that had been going on the last couple of days. 

Asahi could only guess about the source of it all, maybe the other two might know more about where it could be coming from. "Did something happen that caused Snow to act the way he does?" Maybe he carried with him memories from the past, similar to what the scarred Meijin was dealing with. A shinobi's emotions are a dangerous thing. Once he had finished his question he would already move on to the next one. "How do you guys feel about our village?" Even though he said "our village" he never felt like this place was his home. Wondering if Konoha was the place for him he would try to find out if they felt the same way. 

(WC: 337, TWC: 1146)