The Advent of Christmas

Ryu continued to walk with Kira, taco running to and fro around them at random intervals when something would catch his attention, and then he would return to run either in front of them or behind them. "I will most likely stay in the village until the morning, I will probably take in the festival and relax in the village as long as possible tonight, so I will probably stay in the village," He said as an amused smile crossed his face "Besides, I'm not much in the way of a sensory specialist, but I don't know there would be many people capable of sneaking up on Taco," Ryu thought on it a moment "I'm not sure anyone capable of doing so would need to sneak up on us either". Ryu brought his hand up to his face and traced the scar on his face "Plus I learned that lesson when I was very young, this is the moment of that encounter" he said with a smile, remembering how that incident when he was seven years old kickstarted his rapid growth. If he had not been attacked that day he might never have progressed enough to move past the rank of Genin, not that he had passed that rank to this point.

WC: 212
TWC: 2420

The two genin strolled together in the seat while Taco running around them but not going too far ahead as he checked out the street. Kira was enjoying himself, but he was definitely picking up through their time together that Ryu had seen his share of things, and when he brought up the scar and ran his fingers along it, Kira could feel his gut sink in a bit as he inhaled from imagining what it would have been like to get a cut like that on his face. "Yeah, that's understandable" he replied with a little nervous chuckle. "I was thinking for of getting lost in the dark, but I guess that Taco's nose would be all over taking care of that."

Just after he said that, he noticed a ring toss stall they were walking by. Usually there were things like little toys or charms that you would try to toss the ring around in order to win it, but this vendor was more creative and he had a selection of different carbonized drinks and whichever bottle neck you caught it around you would get. While this might not have been that interesting on its own, all of the bottles were of various imported brands that you didn't get to see in Kumogakure's markets. Kira had his eye on a soda that was suppose to taste like vanilla ice cream. He approached the stall keeper who beamed as he approached. "How much for a ring toss?" Kira inquired.

"Oh, not much" he said nonchalantly as he pointed to the sign on the side of the stall and where the prices were listed. Satisfied, Kira handed over enough for three ring tosses. The old man gave him his rings and then stepped to side to let Kira start playing. His body assumed a stance similar to like when he threw shuriken but not as pronounced since the rings were light and likely to bounce if he threw them too hard. He threw the first ring too hard and it just soared overtop all the bottles and hit the back. After a slight grumble, he steadied himself and through the second ring - which bounced off the bottle he wanted but landed around another bottle that was suppose to be black cherry flavored. Kira's eyebrows went up surprised but lightly nodded to himself since he at least got one bottle out of it. Finally, he threw the third ring, and this time it made its mark swinging around the neck of its target.

The stall keeper passed him the two bottles and congratulated him for his win. Kira accepted them and bowed graciously, then he turned to Ryu and offered him the bottle of black cherry soda.

Ryu smiled at the thought of getting lost on the trail, it had been a long time since he had needed any form of help navigating the path, he had even reached the point of familiarity with the journey that sometimes he would complete it and have no memory of actually doing so, his brain flagging it as unimportant and saving space. Ryu waited as Kira played the ring toss game, and happily accepted the drink after he was done, "Thank you" he said politely as he tapped the top of the can three times and then pulled the ring and opened the can, taking a nice big swig of the flavored drink. Ryu enjoyed carbonated surgery drinks very much and quickly drank the whole thing, when he was finished he threw the can up in the air casually. Taco appeared from behind them and snatched it out of the air gracefully, "Remember to recycle" Ryu said in a firm voice directed at the ninja hound. Ryu continued to walk in the direction they were heading "So do you want to eat that meal?" he said casually, starting to feel like he could eat something more substantial than the snacks they had tried up to this point.

WC: 207
TWC: 2627

When Ryu accepted the drink from him, Kira gave a big hearty smile and raised his bottle in a 'cheers' motion after taking off the lid himself, then put it up to his lips and learne the bottom of the bottle up to drink. He felt the cold, fizzy liquid run over his taste buds and set off explosion of sweet vanilla flavour before continuing down his parched throat, tickling it with the carbonation. He gave a hearty exhale and minded to wipe a a few drops on the corner of his mouth with his sleeve. He almost missed Ryu tossing the can to Taco, and had to pause for a second to acknowledge the command. "You taught your dog how to recycle?" Kira said with an incredulous tone. Taco was probably the most impressive dog that Kira had ever seen in his life.

As though on queue, Kira's stomach gave another grumble right after Ryu asked about going for a meal. Kira gave a bit of a nervous laugh. "That would be a resounding yes" he said awkwardly as he scratched the back of his head sheepishly. He snapped out of his embarassment and took center of where they were in the village, then honed on in on where the hospital was before beckoning for Ryu and Taco to follow.

Ryu smiled at the thought of how well trained Taco was, not that he had much to do with it "I didn't actually train him, he was trained by my... father" he said with the slightest of pauses "The basics of the training are there but I have added on commands as it were, but down to the core I think its more like he is indentured to me, and as long as I keep up my end of the bargain he can pretty much be asked to do anything" Ryu smiled as he talked "Although I purely think of him as a pet". Ryu knew that this was not completely accurate but explaining the contract between them would be difficult. Ryu started to walk slightly slower as he turned to Kira "I don't think I know the place so I will let you lead on" Ryu fell in behind Kira and waited for him to take the lead. Taco then returned from wherever he had gone to recycle the can and now sat beside Ryu, the simple, pleased looked on his face, his tail frantically wagging back and forth, scraping along the ground and moving the dust from place to place.

WC: 202
TWC: 2829

Kira's wonder and amazement turned to mild confusion listening to Ryu explain his relationship with Taco. First he talked about him like he was an indentured servant, but then he said after how he was "purely just a pet" like someone who didn't want to seem to caring to the other person or in general. I keep getting the feeling that he's been through a lot, Kira thought to himself. He's friendly but a little guarded, like he's nervous about himself or other people around him. However, he didn't know Ryu nearly well enough to feel like it was the time to start poking at those spots.

"Yeah, it's northwest of here" Kira replied as Ryu let him take the lead. "Just another four blocks up and then we turn left." His right hand holding the drink brought it up for him to have one last swig of the bottle, and then placed it in a recycling container another block up the street. Kira tried to think of conversation, but his mind was racing thinking about Nabiki meeting Ryu. She was like a mother to him and she would sometimes get overexcited and fuss over him and the few friends he had brought over, sometimes letting slip stories that Kira would really not want others to know about. Trying not to let his nervousness show, he kept moving his head from one side to the other looking at the stalls.

Ryu continued to walk, a step behind Kira as he led them towards their evening meal. The night had now fully come in and that only natural light was from a full moon that hung in the sky. The streets themselves were still very brightly lit with the festive decorations of the village. Ryu wondered what sort of food they served here, he was looking forward to seeing the menu, he was going to order way too much and make a real meal of it. Kira had said that the food was good, but Ryu still could not wait to make that assassination for himself, he would make sure to get a takeaway bag for Taco as well, he could not be left out of the fine meal, even if he was not allowed to come in himself. It appeared that they were nearing where the restaurant was in front, Ryu could see that Kira was slightly nervous, which to Ryu was completely normal, after all, social interactions were the hardest thing in his mind, preferring to face down ten enemies than try and make a friend, but this evening was certainly tailored to social interaction, and the only thing that outweighed Ryu's social anxiety was his fear of stagnation.

WC: 210
TWC: 3039

They finally made it to the intersection and the party turned left. About six blocks down the street, there was a massive building about five stories high but taking up all the space of the block that it was on - the large billboard with a string of characters on it above the entrance displayed that it was the hospital. On the same side and across the street were countless other smaller shops and buildings painted different colors. Turning around to Ryu, Kira pointed to white building four blocks ahead of them built in the traditional eastern style with a wooden roof frame and black shingles. It was roughly square in shape with the long side perpendicular to the street. The windows were small dark brown boxes on the side, meant to help keep out exterior light.

"That's the White Lotus Teahouse" he announced to the pair. "Because of the proximity, a lot of the customers either work at the hospital or are visitors who stop by coming to and from the hospital. Also a lot of seniors who are in the extended care program." After giving his little introduction, Kira then continued forward down the street assuming that Ryu and Taco would be behind them. The party continued down the street until they had finally made the four blocks and came up to the entrance to the teahouse. Kira placed his hand on the sliding lacquered wooden door and pushed it to the side, revealing a hallway that ran parallel to the door with a small stand which had a middle-aged women with long brown hair. and wearing a black apron with a white lotus symbol for the teahouse emblazoned front and center like a star.

"Hello there, and welcome to the Whi - Oh, hello Kira-chan!" she exclaimed at the end upon recognizing him. This wasn't his sister - it was her manager named Megumi who would send people to seats and get another server to order. Megumi and Nabiki had worked together for years, and most of the staff would call him "Kira-chan" which embarassed him - he was now a full-fledged ninja and he didn't like being talked to like he was still a complete child. He couldn't help but grit his teeth and suck in air a little bit before going back to his boisterous self.

"Hi there Megumi-san" he said cheerily like he wasn't flustered at all. "Do you have a table for two available?"

Megumi then took notice of Ryu and Taco and she smiled seeing them. "Oh sure, I just need to go see which tables are open" she said a happy drawling accent. "Does your friend know that animals are not allowed inside?"

"I explained that on the way over and it's not an issue."

"Alright then, just give me a moment then." She then walked down the small hall about fifteen feet long and went around the corner into the main dining space area.

Ryu followed Kira down the street and listened as he explained where and how the teahouse conducted its business, as they approached the building Kira exchanged in a few words with the hostess and then wandered off, presumably to get a table ready for them. Ryu turned to Taco and pointed off into the distance "Wander" he said as he moved his hand away from the restaurant "You can't come in, I will bring you something out afterward" He said with a smile on his face but the usual firm tone. Ryu then waited patiently for the women to return so they could then sit down to eat. Ryu was not beginning to become hungry, the small snacks they had eaten in the past hour not satisfying him in anything other than taste, due to the rigorous training he put himself through he tended to burn calories very quickly, and like any other day he had taken the morning to train vigorously.

WC: 162
TWC: 3201

Mid-thread claiming +64 trained ap, 1500/1500 Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave, 1500/1500 Water prison. 201 for 359/1000 for Jab.

Approved