The Advent of Christmas

The season had fully turned into winter, the mornings were dark, and the dark continued throughout the day, the sun rarely shining its light through the clouds. Ryuzaki arrived at the village gates, he was going to take in the festivities in all their glory. Social interaction had never been one of Ryu's strength, but today he would throw himself into the festive spirit and attempt to get involved in some of the village festivities, he was looking forward to good food and a joyous spirit that surrounded this type of year. Taco had joined him in his jaunt into the village for what felt the first time in an age. Rarely did the dog leave the perimeter around their mountainous home. The first thing that struck Ryus attention was the decoration on the village gates, they were lit up with colorful lights and other lavish decorations, a strange sight for such a militaristic village. Ryu entered through the gates, his trusty ninja hound to his side "Now where shall we try first boy", he said with a smile as he looked at his hound. He knew the answer, it would be anywhere with food, maybe even Taco would get some treats.

WC: 202

Despite the fact that he had thrown and extra long-sleeve underneath, Kira was still shivering a little bit - he was a real sucker when it came to the cold. He had his two weapon pouches but had left his sword at home not seeing any reason why he would need it. He walked down the streets looking up and down at all the colors, lights, and festive decorations that had been put up to welcome in the holiday season. Store and stall owners were all in advertising their food and wares with various holiday deals to try and woo their buyers. This left Kira really torn because he did have money, but he had also been use to growing up really poor and wasn't accustomed to spending money on what might be considered 'frivilous things."

As he approached the gate, he spotted another kumo-nin entering the village. Not only that, he had a dog with him! Kira had wanted a dog for a long time, but his sister Nabiki had been blunt that neither of them had enough time at home to be able to spend with one. Kira couldn't contain his excitement and went over with a brisk walk that was trying not to turn into an outright run. "Hey!" he said giving a wave. "Do you mind if I pet your dog?"

Ryu entered the village gates and came to a stop, his arm coming up in front of him and placing his hand on his chin "I wonder what store I should visit?" Ryu pondered. Turning to meet the sound of a new voice aimed at him Ryu saw a boy who was around his age, maybe a few years younger "Hi there" he replied, turning to Taco he made a gesture with his hand "This is Taco, feel free to say hello". Taco at the signal from Ryu dropped his guard and became the excitable pet he was at most times, he moved towards the boy and started to sway from side to side as he panted excitedly. Ryu also moved towards the slightly younger boy "My name is Ryuzaki" he said as he extended his hand towards the boy. Ryu took in the boy's appearance as he waited for a response, he was of average size for his assumed age, with green eyes blonde messy hair. Ryu noticed the Kumo headband, he had not made many friends or training partners with another village genin yet, so he was open to try and improve his social standing, he was assuming that the boy was a genin anyway, and not some child prodigy. 

WC: 212
TWC: 414

"Hi there Taco" Kira said at the mention of the dog's name. After Ryuzaki introduced himself and extended his hand, Kira returned the gesture and gave it a shake.  "I'm Kira" he replied with a smile and a nod of his head, then he went down on a knee and extended his hand for Taco to come toward for sniffs or pets. He kept his other hand in his pocket to keep it out of the cold. "I noticed that you came through the gates from the outside. Are you and Taco just getting back from a mission?" Kira's nose couldn't help but smell the foods from the vendors lining the street. There were lots of intermingling broths from different seasonal hotpots like oden, nabe, sukiyaki, and shabu shabu, to roasted sweet potato and beef from braised to stewed. And while he had a harder time smelling them, he could also pick out some of the sweeter aromas like fresh baked mochi cakes. They all just made him think more about food and get more hungry.

Ryu shook the boy's hand, firmly but not aggressively, As he bent down Taco bounded over to the boy and flopped on to the floor, his belly facing upwards, and excitedly looked towards the boy. "Nice to meet you Kira" Ryuzaki replied, "I actually don't live within the confines of the village, so we are just here for the festivities!"  Ryuzaki turned round to motion in towards the village. "We are going to go and find somewhere to eat if you would like to join us?" Ryuzaki was trying to stay calm, this type of social interaction not among his favorite things, though it was more the way his mind worked than the lack of effort or wanting. Since Ryu had not been assigned to a genin squad and lived outside of the village he did not get the opportunity to overcome his short coming s very often, he would make an effort with this seemingly willing and friendly newcomer. Taco began to wriggle on the floor if he were to be pet, after a few minutes of being petted he would then jump up and start to run off into the village, his attention is focused now on the food he could smell.

WC: 204
TWC: 618

Since he was showing his belly, Kira obliged Taco and gave him some belly rubs enthusiastically. He didn't remember Ryu from the academy and when he mentioned that he lived outside of the village, it made even more sense that neither of them had interacted with each other since Kira almost never left the village himself and only for some very short escapades outside that never really got far. He really wanted to make more friends, especially with other genin, so he was happy when Ryu invited him to get food. Kira got back up, rubbed his hungry belly showing he was just on the same thought train as Ryu and Taco, and nodded his approval. "Oh yeah, that would be great. I don't know how often you've got to try the festival food at this time of the year but there's lots of options for almost any kind of taste you can imagine." Since Ryu had made the invitation though, he would let him and Taco take the lead and decide where they wanted to eat first. Though it would seem that Taco would be the one doing it and he laughed in good cheer as dog went off. "Do you live very far from the village? And is it just you and Taco alone?"

Ryuzaki turned and started to walk after Taco as he ran into the street directly opposite the village entrance, the rounded, red buildings were lavishly decorated with lights that had decorative lanterns hanging around them, giving off scenic glows. Wire hung from one building to the other with decorative flags. "Yes, this is my favorite time of year" Ryu replied. Taco was sitting at a stand, his tail wagging from side to side along the floor, Ryu walked up to the stall and peered in to see what they were selling. The stall sold Takoyaki, it was made from a light Japanese pancake batter, shaped into round, bite-sized balls with small pieces of cooked octopus inside, using a special iron grill. It was topped with takoyaki sauce, katsuobushi, and dried green seaweed. Ryu ordered three, he forked over a few ryo, then the owner handed him the Takoyaki and Ryu handed one to Taco he gulped it down in one bite, then looked up again with excitement in his eyes, his tail still wagging. Ryu then turned to Kira and offered him one. "Yes, I live about 2 hours walk from the village in the mountains near the border" Ryu continued as he turned from the stall, if Kira would take the Takoyaki, he would continue to eat his, if not he would split it in half and feed half to the dog and consume the other half himself. "What about you? do you reside in the village?"

WC: 248
TWC: 866

Kira followed Ryuzaki as he went after Taco who went and sat patiently with an excited tail wag. Kira had a love for seafood, especially sushi, and right away recognized the takoyaki being made in the stall. It was a treat that his Nabiki brought home sometimes from her shifts at the teahouse, and Kira thought to himself how Taco had very good taste when it came to food. When Kira asked the question about Ryzaki living outside the village, he expected the response to include a parent or guardian figure of some sort - instead Ryuzaki only mentioned him and Taco which made Kira wonder if he didn't have parents either.

When Ryuzaki offered him the takoyoki, he put up his hand and shook his head a little to decline. He might grab some later, but he was feeling for something a little less salty right now. Up a little ways away, there was a food cart with a large steam pot built into it cooking one of his favorite holiday treats: snow crab. While they were technically active all year round, their fishing season from November to March was when the meat was at its sweetest and when they were sold the most.

"That's a bit of a ways" Kira commented about Ryuzaki's distance from the village. "I live in an apartment with my older sister, near the center of the village by the Raikage's office." They reached the food stand and Kira ordered a bowl of crab legs, which were delivered in a small cardboard box hot and steaming a minute later with a small cup of buttery dipping sauce. He blew a little on a piece and dipped before popping it into his mouth, then did the same and extended his hand down to offer the piece to Taco. "Now that I'm working as a shinobi though, we should be able to afford a new apartment that's a little bigger and in better shape." He offered up the box with a smile in a show of invitation for Ryu to take a piece if he wanted one.

Ryuzaki pulled his hand back and split the snack into two, chucking it up towards Taco, he jumped and snapped it out of the air, Ryu then placed the other half in his mouth. Kira then turned and approached the different stall, Ryu turned and followed him. "Yes it makes coming into the village when necessary a slight pain" Taco turned his head and took the snack from Kira's hand, his tail wagging at a momentary higher pace. Ryu took the offered snack and dipped it lightly in the sauce, he then held it in his hand as he continued "But it suits me well for my other activities, I enjoy the remoteness" Ryu then began to snack on the food. "Your location sounds very convenient for missions, is your sister a ninja as well?" He asked genuinely interested in finding out more about his new acquaintance. Taco then suddenly took off down the street, something apparently drawing his attention more than the current food on offer. Ryuzaki started to follow after him slowly, the street now starting to fill up with more and more villager enjoying the festival.

WC: 189

After giving them both some food, Kira followed by Ryuzaki as he went after Taco. There were more pedestrians filling the street, so he had to be a little more attentive as he weaved though the foot traffic with dips of his shoulders while still holding onto the food. He looked to try and see what the dog might have been interested in, but couldn't get any sort of clue. He was sure Ryu knew better though so he wasn't really troubled.

"No, my sister works as a server in a teahouse" Kira replied. "Our parents were shinobi but Nabiki was always a sweet soul and she never showed any interest or aptitude for being a shinobi. While many parents would have said tough and forced their profession on their children, they were understanding and let her decide to pursue her own dreams. This is what she's told me though because she was fifteen when my parents had an "unexpected" child that was me and they didn't make it back from a mission shortly after I was born - my mom had barely recovered from childbirth." He'd told his story so many times, but that pain of not knowing his parents and only hearing about them from others still got to him. The fact they had not been able to take off more time to spend with their kids was something that frustrated Kira and was another sign of the lack of humanity that was in the village and the way that it was run.