Dinner and a drink (IO)

Masashi had accepted Tsubaki’s suggestion of an after-mission meal by taking her to dinner. He went home first to get cleaned up, as their travel and proximity to the Jaws of Grima had definitely left him in need of a good shower. His clothing was fine, as the manipulated fabric was easily washed and could become any outfit he so desired. After getting cleaned up he chose to have his Manipulated Fabric become his standard look; it was fancy enough and most eateries wouldn’t dare to deny him on appearance anyways, by virtue of who he was and who he was related to. Freshly cleaned and re-clothed, he would leave and make his way to the center of Hoshi, to one of his favourite restaurants.

The Light of Hoshi was one of the nicer locations in the village to eat. They featured a variety of different cuisines and was fairly popular among locals and tourists alike. The Light of Hoshi was run by one of the Akari clansmen on his mother’s side, so it was easy enough for him to secure a table. Luckily for him, there was a booth at the back that was available which Masashi preferred. The Uzumaki Chuunin made sure to let the manager know that he would be joined and by whom, so that she could be led to the booth when she arrived.

WC: 229

Masashi had accepted Tsu's offer to go to dinner after they both had finished their mission infiltrating their camp. Masashi even offered a place for them to dine at, the Light of Hoshi. It was an expensive but delicious restaurant that Tsu had yet to try. It was generally a place for the high class. "I'll see you there." She would have to dress very fancily.

After returning home, Tsubaki went through her closet to see if she could find a dress that would fit well for something sophisticated. She dug through many small dresses and gowns, as well as causal until she would find what she was looking for. It was a red dress that traveled down to her feet. After cleaning off the dust from the years of it being in her closet, she would put it on. Miraculously, it still fits perfectly. She then finished by matching her makeup and heels. 

Tsubaki would arrive at the Light of Hoshi and look for her date. She had no idea what she was in for. 
WC: 166

Masashi had not been waiting long before his date was escorted to the booth by the restaurant’s manager. Tsubaki looked lovely; the floor length red dress and matching heels she wore accentuated her figure quite nicely. Masashi stood up as the two walked over and moved around the table to meet her. “Tsubaki my dear,” He would say with a smile, kissing the top of her hand should she offer it. “You’re looking positively stunning.”  He would turn to the restaurant’s manager, who advised him before leaving that their waiter would be over in a couple minutes. Masashi would answer this with a nod and a quick “thank you” before returning his attention to the exquisite company standing in front of him.

“Please, have a seat.” He would say, offering her either side of the booth and helping her sit down before taking the spot directly opposite her so that they could face each other to make conversation easier. “This was a good idea,” he would say with a chuckle. “I’m glad you thought of it.” He truly was glad; they’d worked well together on their mission and the Uzumaki Chuunin was interested in getting to know her better. “So why don’t you tell me a little bit about yourself?”

WC: 210
TWC: 439

Tsubaki was greeted by the manager of the restaurant and was escorted by him to the table where she would see Masashi. He complimented her wear, kissing her hand in a polite manner, and lead her to the booth. Tsubaki would seat herself on one side of the booth. She started looking around the dimly light restaurant. She had rarely seen this side of Hoshi. It seemed to be common for the wealthy as mostly everyone there was dressed in very fine clothing and held themselves to a mannerism similar to those of the 1%. It was intimidating to see all the wealthy folk in the same place. She was nowhere near as wealthy. She grew more curious about Masashi's lifestyles.

"I've got to say, when I suggested dinner, I wasn't thinking a place like this," She chuckled, "I almost feel bad I'm making you pay." She was lying, she was extremely grateful that this wouldn't be on her bill. 

Masashi then asked about her- what was something she could tell him about herself. "Well, what would you like to know? Like I would love to know how you know this place, what other things are you hiding and why you're a shinobi when this is one of your options? This lifestyle seems amazing!" She clearly had a lot of questions that rushed out of her head.

Masashi laughed at the comment regarding paying. “Even if I wasn’t the son of Countess Himari Akari, I’ve done well enough for myself that a dinner here is a drop in the pond, so don’t feel bad for me.” he said with a smile. “Besides, a small price to pay to enjoy your company.” And who said he wasn’t eloquent.

“To answer your questions, I would like to know everything there is to know about you; no detail is too insignificant.” He would pause for a moment. “As I seemed to have answered the first part of your second question already, I chose this path because I am skilled with medical ninjutsu and wanted to be able to support the village to the best of my abilities. The resources at my disposal simply mean I can live with somewhat more comfort.” Not to mention the manor he lived in gave him plenty of space to live and allowed him to keep his lab underneath when otherwise he likely would have needed to put it somewhere else in the village, or outside of it. Both situations would make it less secure and potentially easier to locate, neither prospect was something Masashi found ideal.

It was at this point that their waiter walked over to lay down a pair of menus and asked what drinks they wanted. Masashi would order a whiskey for himself, wait for Tsubaki to order her drink, and look over the menu while the waiter goes to grab their drinks.

WC: 252
TWC: 691

Masashi was quite the flirt, Tsubaki was impressed. He was able to get her to get in a fine dress and go out on a date to an expensive dinner. Clearly, he was doing something right. What drove Tsubaki in more was the questions she was asking herself about this man; he was very intriguing.

He explained that he became a shinobi because it was something he was good at- being a skillful medical ninjutsu user- while also supporting the village. "How very noble," Tsubaki commented with a light chuckle.
 
Tsubaki then sat back into her booth seat. "Well, I wasn't raised in luxury much. My parents moved here from Konohagakure for some religious freedom. They had joined this religion- well more of a cult," She spat and rolled her eyes. "So I was raised very religiously. When I started to grow up, I became talented with the Senju's Wood Release. They saw it as some kind of gift from the Gods and had me enroll as a shinobi to learn how to use it," Tsubaki smiled as she started to recall some good memories, "Thank god they did. It allowed me to get out of my bubble and become my own person. If I hadn't gotten out of there, I might be some strange zealous cultist," She joked. "So not only did I get good at using wood release, I got good with Medical ninjutsu as well." As she was going on, they had both gotten their drinks while waiting for the food. Tsubaki would take a drink. 

"Alright, you turn. What was you're childhood like?" Tsubaki would continue to take sips of her drink as she would listen to his upbringing. 

WC: 283
TWC: 676

Masashi chuckled as well. “I thought so, and my parents loved it too, because a positive image for the family is always nice.”

He listened attentively as she went through her childhood story; being born in Konohagakure, moving here and being brought up in the religious cults that normally demonised shinobi. ‘Perhaps they don’t mind those that can use jutsu as long as they follow their dogma.’ Masashi thought to himself as the pretty girl across the table continued her story. He laughed at the end about not being a zealous cultist, “and I’m very glad that you didn’t end up that way. The village is the better for it, and it also means I get to enjoy the pleasure of your company tonight.”

The topic of conversation turned around to him and his upbringing, which he was only too happy to share; “I was born here in Hoshigakure.” Was the beginning of his tale, “my family’s main estate is about an hour north of the village. My grandparents had already passed by the time I was born, so my mother not only had to take care of her lands and people, she wanted to have an active role in my care. Both of my parents were incredibly supportive and made sure that I had the best education they could get. It’s partially thanks to that where I was able to discover my love of medicine.“

It was at this point that the waiter had returned to deliver their drinks and collect their orders. The Uzumaki Chuunin requested a garden salad with their raspberry vinaigrette to start, followed by their Beef Teriyaki. Once the waiter had collected both of their orders and left, Masashi would continue his story. “Where was I? Oh, right, education. I had an aptitude for the shinobi arts as well, so they’d enrolled me in the academy here in the village. When I’d graduated I wanted to learn more about the human body so I was allowed to leave the village and study medicine at the Haven Country Medical Academy, making me a trained physician in addition to a specialist of medical ninjutsu. The house I live in here in the village was their gift to me upon returning from the medical academy.” The story covered a little more than just his childhood, but most of it was all related so he figured Tsubaki wouldn’t mind a slightly longer tale.

WC: 404
TWC: 1095

When it was Masashi's turn to share, he went a bit more in-depth. He explained to Tsubaki that he grew up in his "main estate" - admittedly a very wealthy-sounding phrase. Tsubaki grew more and more curious about his family's wealth. In the world they live in, jutsu and experience were some good ways to get power in the world but money was also a way to gain a lot of power - not to mention a lot easier. Maybe the next date they do would be at his estates and let Tsubaki observe who she was working with. 

In between the discussion, they ordered their food. Masashi would get a salad with some beef teriyaki. Tsubaki would order her favorite- Abalone curry with green coconut. Masashi would continue with his story after ordering. Ever since his parents discovered his unique ability in medical ninjutsu, they had him enroll in the academy where he continued his path from there. 

"Ah, so we have a similarity. Both of our parents saw our potential and wanted us to seek higher education. Smart parents make for smart kids- even if my parents are nuts." Tsubaki laughed at her own situation because she didn't think it was anything serious. At the end of the day, her parents helped her get to where she was and help her discover what she was good at- even if it wasn't what they thought it would be.

Tsubaki would take a drink before moving on to her next question. "What's your end goal? Kage? World-class doctor? An even richer man?" The last one was more teasing. As Tsubaki understood the world, if you weren't planning to go to the top of something, then there was no point to even try. 

WC: 290
TWC: 966

Tsubaki had ordered some form of curry dish that didn’t smell half bad, he might have to try it next time he came here. When he’d completed his story, she made a couple comments, ribbing her parents at the same time. Masashi chuckled and added his own commentary while she took a drink. “Exactly. Supportive parents raise the best kids, because for them, there is no such thing as a limit. And a failure doesn’t mean wrong in their eyes, it’s a lesson to learn for the next time.” He smiled, which grew larger at her question. “World Domination,” he would say with a shit-eating grin. “In all seriousness, I’m not sure I’m cut out to be Kage. I’ll eventually be Count as my mother obviously cannot live indefinitely.” He paused and thought for a moment. “At the end of the day, as long as the village prospers as a result of my actions, that’s all I really care about. I don’t mind being richer, but there’s no point to it if most of it simply sits there collecting dust. Perhaps I’ll find something for my money to do, invest it somewhere in the village.” He shrugged and directed the question back at his counterpart. “What about you, what do you hope to accomplish in the long term?”

WC: 218
TWC: 1313

Masashi noted that his parents were very supportive and that not even failure would stop that. "There is no such thing as a limit." Tsubaki liked that because she agreed; there were no limits to people. The only thing that could stop someone is themselves. Well, that or death. "Your parents were very wise," The Senju noted. Maybe she and his parents would get along. 

Then Masashi answered her question; What was his long-term goal? At this time, the servers would come out with their food and place the correct order in front of each of the Shinobi. Tsubaki would politely and silently thank the severs as Masashi talked.

Basically, the Uzumaki was going to inherit the count position from his parents. From there, he would just want the village to prosper and invest in the village. Tsubaki would take a couple of bites of her curry before replying. "It seems you have pretty general goals that are good for the village. But I asked what your goals are." She allowed Masashi to take some bites of his food before giving her answer to the same question. "My goals are to show my power, prowess, and potential to a world that might even dare to challenge them. Does that entail possibly becoming Kage? Yeah. But I won't treat the Kage role as the limit, I want to strive for more once I get there." Tsubaki was the type of person to never be satisfied, she always wanted to do more and be more every time. It was the kind of personality she gained from years of trying to impress people for their attention, like peers, family, or teachers. Tsubaki hoped that Masashi would understand what kind of question she was asking him when she initially asked him. 

WC: 297
TWC: 1263