The new Snow, both looks and taste

"Ichiraku ramen. Thank God." Snow arrived at the legendary noodle shop, anxiously anticipating his soon to be meal. He walked into the shop and all of the familiar smells would return to him, inviting him in closer to the counter to order his marvelous meal.

Before walking up to the counter of the ramen shop, he would go to the restroom to wash his hands. When he walked into the bathroom, there was a mirror. Snow was shocked when he saw his own appearance. He realized that he hadn't actually looked at himself quite yet after he took the aging pills. 

His hair was much longer, and to his surprise it became an even deeper red then it was before. He hadn't grown too much taller, but he had filled out from being the scrawny kid he was before. He wasn't a meat cake, but he had far more muscle mass than he had before. He quickly realized that he no longer looked like a child, he certainly did look to be a grown man. 

"Please, sir. I would like an-" Snow would begin, but only be able to escape with so much before being interrupted. "Snow! I will start making your order right now. On the house as a welcome home present!" the cook would yell out with the sight of Snow. Snow would smile and thank him for the offer, but he would certainly pay.

Snow then asked for a bottle of Shochu, the strongest alcohol sold in these parts. The cook would whip his head back towards Snow. "How old are you again?" Snow was unsure how to answer due to the nature of how he had grown. "I thought you looked quite a bit different. I just figured I had gone crazy. But yours is a face I will never forget. I see you've taken some of those aging pills they've got in one of those ninja shops, crazy folk sell all kinds of trinkets and gadgets in there." The cook would then finish the bowl of ramen that he was making and would hand him the bowl, and a large bottle of Shochu. 

"Here you go, Snow. Do make sure you are responsible with this stuff. Could kill you." Snow simply met the man's gaze, and with the smallest smile he would take the bottle the man was offering. "Thank you, sir. I will." Snow responded as he popped the top of the bottle and took his first swig. 

As he began eating the ramen that had been set before him he wondered if he would find himself in the company of any of his old comrades. 

WC:442

Akki Senju walked into the ramen shop. Her mind was whirling she had so much going on! Going back to Volcano after so many years, but it was what happened with Yen that sat heavy in her heart. The real secrets hidden in her heart, one was the fear she still had for Sephora. Subconsciously she touched the scar under her shirt. The memory of Sephy stabbing her shoulder still haunts her.
She walked into the ramen shop and sat down next to Snow. She ordered a drink and sushi rolls.

Snow sat there, sullenly looking into the bowl that stood before him. He wanted nothing more than to understand what it was that Yen wanted of him. "Does he want me to die? Is that why we are to go back to that place?" Snow would speak quietly, loud enough for only he and Akki to hear. His emotions had long died, but the events of what had happened in Volcano would relive in his mind. "Maybe I do still have some emotions left inside me after all." He would think as he asked for his fifth bottle of Shochu.

Snow would sway slightly as his vision would begin to blur. Gripping onto the bottle, as well as the counter to keep himself up. Lazily he would tilt and turn his head to his right as he heard a woman coming up to the right of Snow. She would be holding her shoulder with the look of fear in her eyes. Snow would continue to relive the moment in his heart, the ice as it formed around her body, knowing that she had treated him so well. "What happened to me? I just went black." Snow would not be able to tell what it was that he would be saying within his mind and out loud at this point, or some combination between the two.

"He would greet the woman as she sat. "Hey Akki." Each of his words being harder to squeeze out than the one before. He stopped and took another long swig from the contents of the bottle that he held in his hand. Three bowls of ramen in front of him. "Listen Akki, I wanted to say that I am sorry about Sephora." Snow's grasp on the bottle would tighten, trying to keep his brain from reliving the events of that night. The night that he had caused another person severe mental trauma equal to that of nothing that he had ever done before. He would sit there, leaning against the counter doing his best to hold himself up, pushing himself to hold a conversation. He would take one more swig from his bottle as he waited for Akki's response.

Snow's vision would blur slightly still, he would continue to sway as his equilibrium was continuing to fail him. The woman's words struck him in an odd fashion, "Thank you?" He thought to himself. "There is nothing to thank me for. I permanently wounded that woman, even if they are to heal her. Hell, even if they are to give her brand new legs and connect the nerves and give her the gift of mobility again, I wounded that woman. The look of fear on her face as she froze. The small sounds she made when her body lost it's ability to move!" Snow could feel his emotions growing larger, shifting rapidly from sadness to anger, feeling as though he was in a state of fluidity of his own feelings.

"Sorry. I am still having a hard time handling what had happened. I thought my emotions were all gone. I thought I had killed them, but I guess I still have a few to freeze away. Snow would lean against the counter. The cooks now looking upon Snow with a look of pity and sorrow. "Some people freeze in their fear, it is nothing to be ashamed of. As shinobi we all have different methods of dealing with our emotions. For me, I buried mine long ago. But when the emptiness came about my mind, I would do this." Snow would lift his shirt, showing the X's that he had carved into his own waistline.

She would speak of the new mission, to bring Akki to the land that he had just came from. "I am not entirely certain of that. The idea of returning to that place right now. With having both sorrow and shame in my heart. I just don't know what is going to happen. I do have a slight reassurance within my heart being confident that they will not hurt you. The mission is not to return safely, so if this mission is to end in both my and Kinzoku's death, that will not be the worry, at least not in my mind or in my heart. As long as we can escort you successfully to those gates, then that will be all the accomplishment I would need.

Akki would then show him a gesture of affection, she would hug the man that critically injured and almost killed someone who she knew in her life, while their relationship was one of ambiguity she still spoke of her with both respect, yet fear. A relationship that Snow could respect. Her arms would wrap around his body. Snow would flinch slightly, within his mind he was sure the woman would bring upon her wrath to him. Wrapping not her arms around his body, but her hands around his neck.

Snow would not move, Snow would only sit there. He would stare at the bottle, more specifically the emptiness of it. With the woman's arms still around his shoulders, he would sit frozen. He hadn't been embraced in such a way in such a long time he had forgotten how to react to such a gesture.

Akki knew the boy had a problem with what he had done. At least he had some emotions. Akki herself was a kind and gentle soul. So she could relate. Akki had a fishnet net shirt on over her tank top. Maybe she needed to remind him what Sephora had done to her. Not only had Sephy kidnapped her, she had stuck her sword Rebellion through her shoulder in a major artery while holding her captive! She sat her shirt on the counter, she took the boys hand and put it on the scar on her shoulder if he allows said move to go through
“She took her sword and stabbed it through my shoulder! I have to live with a permanent reminder every day.” Akki said after she put his hand on her scar. She then took a big swig of her Sake, “You know, having feelings makes you a human, there is nothing wrong with that. I like that about you.” She said even though she had just met the guy!

It was quite the beautiful day in Konohagakure. There was a clear blue sky filled with white clouds and the sun was shining, leaving its gentle touch on Asahi's skin. The weather was rather pleasant, so why wasn't it reflecting on the young Meijin's mood? Under normal circumstances he would be enjoying these kind of days, but lately there were things that didn't allow the scarred shinobi to be in higher spirits. Nothing really happened or stood out that could have caused him to feel this way, there was just a certain uneasiness which left him with a sour taste. It was possible that there was just something missing, that extra touch that would turn a good day into a great one.

As he was walking under the clear blue sky Asahi was making his way over to Ichiraku Ramen, one of the most famous places in the village. For many years had this shop been the reference for the best noodles in the Land of Fire, even someone like the fire Meijin who wasn't even that big of a ramen fan, knew how to appreciate everything they prepared. Although he already had the same for dinner yesterday he decided to repeat it once more as he walked in and took place at the counter. As he walked in he started thinking about what to order before greeting the owner of the shop.

Upon entering he noticed there were two other people sitting at the counter, a man and a woman so he figured it would be one of those lovey dovey couples enjoying their dinner together. His mind was currently occupied with other things so he didn't really bother with his surroundings. "I'll have this week's special please, and some soda as well, thank you" he ordered with a friendly smile. The teenager wasn't really paying attention to what was going on around him but he could hear the other two were having a lot to drink. Maybe they had something to celebrate, or maybe they needed the liquor to get their mind off of things. 

(WC: 347)

As everything went on and people enjoyed their orders within the noodle bar, a woman possessing brilliant scarlet hair would walk through the doorway. Her long hair was naturally unkempt, yet still clean. Giving herself a wild appearance. Akira’s fox eyes scanned the area, there was Asahi. At first the female got excited about the fact that now she had the chance to toy with the familiar friend of hers. He typically got along with her flirtatious habits just perfectly.

But then her eyes caught the sight of Snjor, who was being embraced by an unfamiliar woman. At first. . . her expression softened. But then it grew into a dangerous look.

The red haired she - vixen stormed her way over to Snjor. Her movements were slightly staggered, but not too noticeable. She marched her way to the two, the unknown woman and Snjor. Halting close enough to her teammate / possibly ex teammate, just before grabbing a handful of the chest of his shirt.

Usually Akira wouldn't get in the way of such a moment. By the looks of the woman embracing the woman, and Snjor’s acceptance of it. It must have been important for him. But Akira couldn’t stop herself. She was acting on aggressive impulse and also didn’t exactly know what she was doing. She intervened in their interaction, and expected a negative response to it.

“I told you that I was gonna beat your ass when you returned, who knew it would be this soon.” Her words growled out through clenched teeth. A scary smirk played upon the corner of her lips as her sharp canines flashed. Her actions displayed both angry yet devious intentions. Akira was mad. . .and yet she wasn’t. Anyone who saw her actions would probably assume she was jealous, but no it was something else. She was happy to see him but didn’t know how to express it. There was something else she was looking for as well. . .

And on top of it. Her cheeks would be blazing red. With the hint of alcohol lingering upon her breath. After drinking with Asahi that one day, the Kitsune was starting to pick up a little bit of a drinking habit.
{WC: 364}

Snow would sit there, still staring at the counter when the soft voice of Akki would ring through his ears. Snow would feel her pull at his hand as she spoke of the scar that she had received from the very woman that he had crippled. The woman had tortured this woman, an realization that he was not expecting. Snow allowed his hand to lift from the counter as she pulled it closer to her body. Under the sleeve of the woman's shirt he could feel the rather large scar that had been placed on her shoulder. Snow could tell from his time helping with the medical core of the village just how nasty this wound would have been upon her receiving the wound. 

"That must have been horrible." Snow would say as he finally turned his head toward Akki's face. Akki reminded Snow that allowing himself to feel his own emotions was something that made him human, and it wasn't something to be ashamed of or to run from. But what Snow knew that he was concerned that Akki didn't, was the fact that feeling those emotions was something that hindered a shinobi's abilities and performance. Feeling the emotions that you build up would do nothing more than cause you to grieve and to regret the actions that they must take. But before he had the chance to respond he felt a handful of his shirt being pulled the opposite direction, away from Akki. 

His hand following him as he was pulled to the side, feeling the alcohol messing up his equilibrium, but still coherent enough to keep his balance, while albeit leaning on the counter as he stood before a friend of his, "Akira." Snow would utter as he gazed upon the fiery woman standing before him. Her breath smelled of alcohol, far stronger than his own. This sparked his brain to fire off the first sentence that he could after the woman would growl to Snow, a threat of an ass beating. Snow would smile as he placed his hand on her face. "You haven't changed a bit, Akira. I'm happy to see you." Snow wasn't sure what her anger was towards, was it towards him? Herself? Or was Snow being the target of misplaced anger altogether? Snow didn't know. But he did know that he was happy to see Akira, the very first woman that he had interest in within the village.

Mid thread claims:

+25 AP
+1250 towards Jotunn (Completed) (Previous Progress)