Secret Technique: Tofu

Daiko continued to listen, hearing this and that about the sage mode that Saya was talking about. Daiko remembered that she had shown him this before and it was... Pretty interesting, to be honest. Daiko had almost completely forgot all about it. He was thinking of a couple different ways that he might be able to utilize it himself, though he wasn't sure about how exactly he would do it. He had a couple of ideas jumbled about thinking about what he may be able to do if he were to utilize his summons in order to do so, though he also had a couple of things in mind that would work if he were to do so with his animals. He thought about Shambler. He was all alone for now, and Daiko knew that he would have to go searching for a couple more summons if he were to understand their power to a deeper extent. Realistically, it could be better if he was able to use it efficiently, however, he wasn't sure that he would be able to do so. He was still coming to terms with some of the powers allotted to him with the fine chakra control that he had currently, though he assumed that having one or two techniques that were capable of destruction simply was not enough. He would have to give this a bit more thought, but for now, he would focus on the lessons that Saya was currently giving to him. 

Daiko nodded his head, looking in her direction. "Ah, yeah. That makes a lot of sense. I see what you're saying with those... But yeah... No chidori for now. I'm trying to focus on a few things at a time for the moment, though.. I'm not sure what I'm thinking right now. Go easy for now, ahaha..." Daiko scratches his head and no sooner did his stomach growl somewhat violently. Man. He was really hungry. Not sure why, he remembered eating Tofu with Saya just about an hour prior but.. He was hungry. Maybe he would take her to the same wing shop that he had ended up going to with Niko. Stretching out, Daiko looks at the little dog head that had popped up next to Saya. The last time he had seen this little guy, it had chewed a piece out of that random rouge ninja that tried to kill her. Scratching his chin, Daiko moves a bit closer to the little dog and also gives it a small pat on the head. It was a cool, crisp texture. They really were made out of wood. Looking around for a second, Daiko takes the time to bring Saya into view again. "Man. I'm... Hungry as fuck. I know we just ate but like. I kinda wanna try something new to eat. Would you care to join me?" Daiko looks at her and puts his hand out for a moment for her and... The Freya puppet definitely wasn't left behind the last time they had teleported. "We can continue training afterward if you so desire." 

[515]
{5615}

"Yea that makes some sense I suppose. It can be too much for some people to learn a whole load of stuff at one time." And there it was. While she was generally elated to see someone with the same capacity for understanding as herself, she expected there to be a stopping point. Some blockage that she would have pushed through with the power of unending energy and sheer force of will. Was this that point, or was lighting something that he cared about? It was honestly hard to say. What was important was it seemed that there was a stopping point to daiko at current, and while that meant there was a limit to how fast he could improve, somewhere deep down in Saya's mind, it was a point of pride that this didn't exist for her.

"Oh. Uh. Yea. I love trying new foods! " She did not enjoy trying new foods. It was one of her least favorite things after probably... Being bored or like. doing work she was expected to do. Still this was Daiko, her teammate, her friend, and so she would endure a mean that was exactly zero parts mappo or tofu. AI would be thrilled.

"I have to warn you. I'm under strict orders that there must be 'variation in my diet including vegitables whose sole purpose isn't protein sorce and prefferably some fruits and other things too.'. Ai has been bugging about that really hard. Something about how unhealthy it is for me to eat the exact same meal breakfast lunch and dinner for months on end, but I keep telling her its not my fault the stall outside my house makes mappo tofu so yummy yanno? " She wondered what kind of food he was planning. She wondered if he'd even had a plan. It seemed pretty on brand for Daiko to have come into this situation with absolutely no thought about what to do if she'd said yes. Impulsive was a word she would definitely use to describe him. Thankfully our dear protagonist is not so similar. This is sarcasm.

While they walked towards wherever he planned to get food from, Saya thought through everything that she'd been practicing. She hadn't really learned anything new in ninjutsu in so long that it was a clear starting point, but she also wanted to expand her fuinjutsu knowlege. Hell. Ideally she'd be able to get some work done with puppets too, but that seemed impossible. It was like there was some invisible villian holding back the potential of her created family. One day maybe she'd find a means to cast jutsu that would help in the control and activation of her puppets, but for now she would focus on the two.

The more she'd thought about it, the more it seemed like her skill in puppetry was becoming obsolete. She'd let Ai borrow the Coach puppet so long ago that honestly she couldn't remember what it was like with him around. Probably still very quiet given he didn't really talk.

(TWC 5646)

Daiko nods his head, and it seemed like the two of them were off.. back to the village gates. There was a familiar path leading back up to the massive gates of Kirigakure no Sato, a path that they had traveled once before. It was interesting. Either way, they had made it back with no issue and were standing around at the sprawling area of the main plaza. There were a couple different routes to go, and Daiko decided to take one that he had known all too well. With his time here, he'd gotten a very good understanding of the layout of the village, and knew precisely how to avoid going near the Mappo tofu shop without having to take any sketchy back alleys. It was more of a scenic route, but it was more realistic for him to take that option off of the table rather than try once again to successfully convince Saya of trying some other food with him. He wasn't really one to judge though, as he had plenty of it stocked away in his storage displacement. He wondered silently if Saya had discovered that jutsu yet, though he declined to ask in case it prompted the materialization of another feast. Anyways.

Making it to the main food area in the village, Daiko looks around and lets the different aromas come in through his nose and awaken his sense. There were places frying fish and other seafood on open grills, as well as some places that had fine selections of meats and cheeses. Man... This place was really picking up. It seemed like every time he took several weeks to respond to something that Saya had said, the village keeps growing and becoming more vibrant than ever. Daiko silently wondered how much work behind the scenes the Mizukage had done, or if it was simply that little guy Ram who was doing all the heavy lifting. That was a question for another time. Looking around, Daiko points out a couple of different shops. "Alright, so. Here's what's up. We got... The seafood place... We have..." Daiko makes a gesture to a stall that looks to have few customers, along with a big sign with a skull over it, "The place that Niko and I would always eat..." Motioning back to the bustle of larger restaurants and stalls, "and we have stuff that I haven't gotten to try yet." Subtly standing at an angle in front of Saya to block the small corner of the Mappo Tofu shop's sign farther down the way, Daiko looks at her.

Blinking once, Daiko makes the potentially unwise decision to ask. "So, out of these ones that you can see here. Which seems the best to you? I don't really care what we end up eating. I'm just hungry as fuck. Feels like weeks since we last had that Tofu." Blinking again, Daiko waits to see what her response would be before continuing with any more dialogue. They had made it a long way from where they were originally, and he was waiting to see if she had anything to add.

[520]
{6135}

The trip back through the village gate went fairly quickly. Saya knew the way just as Daiko did. They'd traveled it together and separate so many times they could definitely do it in their sleep. That's when things got a little wierd. The path Saya expected to take was shifted drastically in order to dodge any sight of the mappo tofu stall outside of her house. To someone more perceptive, the route would be almost immediately obvious, but fortunately our dear protagonist is alot of things, but perceptive generally isn't one of them. That's what she has Ai for anyway. Yes. I am fully aware of the irony of suggesting that her puppet who does not posess eyes that can see is the perceptive one of the group.

As they stopped in the village square where food carts and shops lined the roadway, Saya was equally surprised by how bustling it was. While it would not behoove me to make a comment about how the village seems to become more lively after each stent in which Saya had to wait impatiently because a certain Tau teammate consistently makes the decision to just stand idly away from character in an act that is clearly just to torture our dear protagonist and myself, your humble third person narrator, It is helpful to note that while Saya has been effectively locking herself into either the training hall or her mansion in order to focus on one specific thing without breaking concentration, It does seem that the economy has become condusive to quite a bit more buisiness. Yea. Smooth.

"I dunno if I like seafood. What place do you and Niko eat at? Is it good cuz I only like good food. I'm not a huge fan of trying new stuff generally..." One by one, she responded to the suggestions in a way that was genuine to her character, if a little bit negative. Without her puppets to step in and make the choice for her, she found this whole situation much more dificult than it should be. And then she realized where she was. She glanced directly Daiko's direction, but couldn't see the Mappo tofu cart. Shifting to one side and then the other, she grinned as she tried to catch a glimpse of her favorite place in order to sneakily add it to the list. Assumably Daiko easily followed her movements in order to block her view. If this happened, they would spend a solid several moments seeming to dance to and fro as she fought to catch just a glimpse of that sweet sweet tofu cart.

"Honestly, I don't really care either. I mean they all just look so good how could I even choose yanno? I'm just so excited to try new food that i've never had before and don't know if I like or not!" The expression was emphatic and excited. THe tone.... tried to be? She was definitely putting on a brave face as best she could, but the girl has and always will be pretty transparent. Still she knew this was going to end in not tofu and she'd resigned herself to that.

(TWC 6172)

The bobbing and weaving was quite the site to behold. Even though that he was.. Much slower than Saya, he was fortunate enough to have a stark height advantage when it came to blocking off the sign to the mappo tofu shop. It had felt like all of his training and all of the hearts that he had ripped out of the people who did and didn't deserve it culminated to this moment. It was kind of funny, to be entirely honest. Daiko was too powerful to allow line of sight to his foes. Though it was somewhat existing having to time his much slower movements to keep up with Saya's... Faster movements. It was those damn puppets or something, he could've sworn. While he was focusing on his chakra control and the power behind each of his techniques, it seemed that Saya had just been getting faster and faster. Oh well, he'd figure it out eventually. 

Daiko slowly glances around at the different options that they had to eat. Honestly.. If nothing else, Daiko was really in the mood to try out different seafood. Seeing everything, even at this distance, spread out on a grill ready to be picked out and served up just as soon as the thought would come to one of their minds was... Appealing, to say the least. Scratching his chin, Daiko decided that this would probably be the best option. There were plenty of places that they could try, and maybe in between this lunch and perhaps a later dinner they might be able to try out one of the other places, if not get to try everything all together. Stretching out, Daiko looks over at Saya and gives a slight smile. "Okay, I think I've made up my mind." Pointing to the place with the nice looking grill, Daiko nods his head, and begins to take a few paces towards it, turning back to Saya. "This is the one, yep. This... Grill place. Yeah." For some reason, he was unable to see what the name of it was, though it was probably just because he didn't care enough to see or find out. He would.. Figure it out, or something like that. Either way, this was the place he wanted to go. 

Daiko nodded his head, continuing to walk towards this new restaurant so long as Saya would be following close behind. "Alright... This is the place. Looks good to me." Making his way through the small assortment of people, Daiko finds two seats next to each other and pulls one chair out for himself, and sits down. Leaning slowly back in the chair, Daiko lets out a quick sigh, happy to be off of his feet for the time being. It had seemed like they were walking around and training all day, and he wanted to take a moment to take in the different options for food that were laid out in front of him. This was the most idea situation at the moment. 

[500]
{6635}

Dang. Daiko was good. about four or five bobs and weaves in, Saya had to seriously consider if her teammate had been practicing their taijutsu specially for this situation. She knew he'd been spending some time with pinochio recently, so that probably had something to do with it. She continued for what would seem to most as far too long, at least five or six minutes, trying desperately to add the tofu shop to the list, but every time she shifted left, there was his big ole forehead blocking her view. Finally, she'd give up, resigning herself to a fate that she would find later would be quickly becoming a consistent trend. What was it with her friends making secret plans to take her to different restarants? It was almost as if someone in her team had been directly expressing the need for several wee--ooooh. Yep. There it was. This was clearly Ai's fault.

She was drawn from her internal monologue when Daiko broke the silence, suggesting he'd decided on where to eat. That was good at least. If she didn't have to make a choice it at least made this tragic situation a bit more bearable. She glanced about when they got to the restarant, looking for a long couch. Were there a fainting couch, this would be the perfect opportunity to go into a huge dramatic expression of her fear of trying new foods, and while generally it is my job as your humble third person narrator to provide her with the rediculous things that she needs to keep up with her day to day by pure happenstance; yanno what? I'm not going to this time. It's just a meal so she can toughen up buttercup. Don't tell her I said that.

"Grills sound... Good? I suppose grilling is an ideal way of cooking food and stuff.... That doesn't involve frying it in a big ole wok with lots of spicy sauce." It was a shame that she hadn't brought the puppets. THis would be just about the point when Ai would give her that look, convincing her that she should stop pouting and make the best of it.

There were quite a few people here, which was impressive, though they were still able to find seats next to one another. Almost immediately she motioned to a worker to request a table for five before reailzing that a. It was just the two of them and b. There wasn't actually a front of house to seat people, and so she would follow daiko as they seated themselves.

"So uh. What kind of grilled food is good? Have you had alot of grilled food? THis is a new place I assume, like you haven't been here before?" The small talk was a bit awkward as she glanced about the menu, hopelessly searching for a grilled mappo tofu. Of course it didnt exist. That would be silly and far too plot convenient in the favor of our dear protagonist. Instead she would read each one by one, trying to find one that seemed the least bit scary.

(TWC 6689)

Daiko nods his head. "Yup yup yup, never been here before. I think it's pretty cool that they just have like. Fire, vibing out and whatnot. But as for.. What's good. That's quite the question." Scratching his chin, Daiko himself takes a moment to look down at the menu, as well as make mental note of the wide variety of seafood that was sprawled out on an ice tray behind the food counters. It had seemed that this was one of those types of restaurants where you quite literally point at something, the item in question gets processed and seasoned to perfection, and there is a big yakitori grill in which the food gets placed on. Man... This seemed like a lot. There were so many different options that Daiko was able to pick from, and deep down he wanted to try them all. He had a few ideas, though for the moment he would return his attention back to Saya. "Hmm. Well, this isn't the first time I've had grilled food. When I was growing up, my favorite thing to eat was grilled rats." Motioning with his hand, Daiko does a little gripping gesture with his left hand, and a twisting and pulling motion with his right. "Interestingly enough, where I come from, all you really gotta do is grip the little head, and if you twist it correctly, you can actually pull the skull right off, and the spine comes with it. If you're extra lucky," Daiko makes a little gesture with his fingers. "You get out the ribs too. Those are like... The worst thing to chew on."

Scratching his chin, Daiko resumes looking at the menu for a moment, likely to give Saya some time to process what the fuck he had just said. Either way, they were in no rush. The subtle growling of Daiko's stomach certainly made him believe otherwise, though. "Okay, I'm.. Ready to order." Pointing his hand out, Daiko selects a couple of fish that look good. A red snapper, a good chunk of salmon, and for one of the sides he decided to settle on a steaming hot bowl of miso soup. Very nice, very nice. "Lemme get.. The red-looking guy, that little pink chunk, and... Uhh... Yeah, lemme get some of the soup. Please." Daiko nodded his head, and likely without his gestures, nobody in the building would've known what the hell he was talkin' about. Scratching his chin, Daiko leans back slightly and waits to see what Saya orders. Hopefully, she picks out something good. Either way, if she didn't eat, he plenty of 'fresh' mappo tofu that existed outside of time and space. It was very handy. Waiting a moment, Daiko is trying to see what Saya ends up ordering and is curious as to what her response would be to him bringing up that he used to eat rats. It wasn't really a notable thing for him, he assumed that as youths everyone did that. That just goes to show...

[505]
{7140}

"Right. Yea, no that makes sense. It's kind of fun that we get to try this together yanno? Like neither of us know if it'll be yummy or gross... No basis for comparison to let the other know that it's worth the taste and stuff... Cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool." This was quickly becoming a bit of a stressful situation. Similarly, it was starting to feel a little too familiar. It was almost as if another of their teammates had done the exact same thing only days before. Plus side: daiko hadn't cornered her immediately after coming out her front door with an already purchased parcel of foods that initially it would seem she'd had before, only to later notice that it was most likely a first time for the both of them and it only seemed as such because the friend basically enjoyed any kind of food. Downside: At least with the wierd grilled skewer she had been given the illusion that Kiku had had it before. It was a bit of a comfort to have thought this was her friend sharing something she'd already enjoyed, even if there was disappointment at realizing she hadn't. There was no such comfort in this new and extremely scary restarant.

They were both grilled though. SHe'd tried like. Three grilled things the other day, and she liked two of them. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad? She realized too late that she'd zoned out as they looked over the menu. Her mind came back to the present at the perfect point--and by perfect point, of course I mean the worst possible time. She wasn't sure what had been said before this, but she heard the word rat, and something about pulling a skull of. Her stomach immediately turned.

"I. Uh. Daiko. Wh.... I'm so glad we met so you never have to do that again. Normal people uh. Well. How do I say this without being rude." Instinctually she glanced over to her left, where her sister would be standing. At this point, she would already have given her a look to stop her comment to save face, but there was no Ai to stop her. There was no Ai to give her suggestion.

"Please don't eat rat. Ratty babies are hecking cute pets not food." Even as Daiko ordered, The twinge of anxiety traveling up her spine bubbled over, a shiver running through her body. Thankfully she had a fix for that. she sent a mesage mentally to Ai, the real Ai, ignoring the fact that she could have just talked to her through their mental link, and at the request she simply got a mental nod of understanding.

"Can uh. Can I get... Um. three foods please. The best you have?" She hadn't paid any attention to what was actually on the menu. She didn't recognize any of it, so it all kind of blended together until she couldn't remember one dish from another. Helplessly she motioned to the menu in hopes that the waiter would simply bring her something safe to try. There had to be a crowd favorite right?

(TWC 7213)

Daiko squinted. What the hell was wrong with eating rats? Yeah, they were kinda fatty and definitely greasy no matter how you cooked them, plus sinewy at best. But... People could say that the Mappo Tofu is bad. Why are you gonna cook soy paste that was already cooked? If anything, it was the broth that saved the entire dish... Take something bland, add something flavorful. Seemed like a common design philosophy. Taking the unintended diss from Saya healthily, Daiko shakes his head. "Nah, nah. The babies are the best.. As.. yeah, pets. They're great." Daiko grumbled to himself for a moment and then looked at what Saya picked out. It had seemed the chef was very set on the fact that 'everything was good', and continued to force her to make a choice on what she wanted. He wasn't going to lie, some things definitely looked better than others. There was a couple of fish that were so fresh that their eyes haven't even begun to gloss over, and he noticed one looked directly at Saya before it flopped. Laughing for a second, Daiko happily watches as his selected food items were quickly skewered up and put on the yakitori grill.

For those that are not proficient in outer world magic such as google, a yakitori grill is essentially a grate placed over a firepit that is filled with a special compressed fuel that is somewhat like... A log of flavored charcoal. If that makes any sense. But essentially what it did is it not only let the aromas of different fresh foods mingle as they are all cooked together and seasoned, but also gives off a slight earthy smell that comes from the wood. Probably not the coolest turn of phrase after Daiko had Saya had just spent that last couple of hours training up wood jutsu, but oh well. It was a really cool concept, and though it may have been a bit much for the young Saya, Daiko still had backup tofu that he would be able to pull out of his dimension if she decided to starve herself of the delicacies at this shop. Either way, Daiko was pretty happy.

Watching as his food cooks, he looks over at Saya once more. "Well. If you're still having trouble with what to pick... Usually, you want to go for anything that looks pretty. Not... Too pretty, but a couple of those ones there with the puffed-out gills? Do you see? Those ones can be.. Pretty good. I like to take them straight out of the ocean, but sand isn't really as good of seasoning as whatever they're serving here." Either way, everything was fresh. No matter what she picked it would essentially end up as just a special seasoned fish skewer that would have plenty of great vegetables and other neat things on it as well. With the speed and finesse in which they were cooked, Daiko thought to himself that he might have to find a way to cook food on his own. That would be good.

[510]
{7650}

While Saya's comment wasn't exactly taken well by her friend, She tried her best to move past it to the topic at hand. And then he repsonded. She didn't have the fortitude to respond to his comment for several moments. Her face turned a pale shade of green at the mere thought. She knew his life had been dificult before he got to kiri. She also knew that he wasn't given the social training that she had, which eased her own lack of socialization, but rats?! Why would he bring up eating rats at the dinner table. She felt the food that they'd eaten earlier churn in her stomach, and was thankful that the waiter had brought them glasses of water. she took the ice cold drink to the head, gulping it in gasping sips before taking a deep breath. She parted her lips to speak, hoping to find the words to explain her feelings in a way that wasn't insulting, but before she could actually make a sound there was a sound like someone clearing their throat.

"Miss. Someone dropped this off for you. She said it was important." The waiter hefted the Ai puppet, lovingly named PupAit forward, palcing her haphazardly at Saya's feet. Thank the godess. Threads immediately poured from her fingers as she lifted her puppet up, feeling the split consicousness take hold and the nauseating thoughts get passed where they belonged--well. Where they belonged given that Pinochio was no longer in the shared mental space.

"Daiko. I understand you circumstance, and am impressed at your adaptability..." Ai began with all the poise expected of the oldest senju sister. "But it is important to note that it is unusual to find endearing qualities in rats generally. Asside from domesticated rats, which are kept as pets the whole of society views them as plague ridden vermin, as such a quite descriptive analysis of the best way to eat them is often off putting to those who weren't in the situation where it was neccessary. It's nothing against you, but general socialization within a community can cause uh. " INstead of explaining the effects, she simply pointed to her little sister, emphasizing the slight green tint to her cheeks.

"Sorry if it was offensive, but I fear you've turned my little sister's stomach because we aren't quite as used to such delicacies as you are." It was so nice to have Ai back. Why hadn't she done this earlier?! THe anxiety melted away as she felt their connection solidify fully again. The waiter seemed to understand Saya's predicament, bringing a small plate with what she hoped was safe foods palced on the grill. First before her was grilled fish cakes basted in something that looked incredibly like her favorite food. Next was some fresh fish that she was pretty sure she'd eaten in the island country as a kid.

"Sand isn't.... " She paused, glancing at her sister for confirmation. She did not get confirmation. "Right. Yea The stuff here doesn't look... Too bad I guess. So you've had all this stuff before? I guess you probably fished a bunch before you got into the village huh?"

(TWC 7740)