Service with a.....Surprise?

Mission: Tea and Crumpets

They put her in a skirt. Her fists were clenched. Her teeth were gritted. Her mother was watching from nearby, half in anticipation and half in preparation. Fuse took a very long, deep breath in through her nose and held it. The blood rushing through her was already boiling. It felt like time stood still for the few moments she held that breath. As her heartbeat became apparent, she slowly released the breath out through her mouth. She felt a soft wave of tiredness flow over her as she closed her eyes. "Why...the heck...am I wearing a skirt!?" She nearly yelled at her mother.

Her mother just shook her head and said, "You are a young woman, dear. Wearing a skirt is completely natural." Fuse shook her head, facing her mother head-on as she strode towards her in their kitchen. "I don't care what I am! I do not wear skirts! Skirts are for primped-up little girls who like to skip through the flowers. Not for ninjas who need to always be ready to fight!" Her mother raised an eyebrow slowly before asking, "And just who are you planning to fight here?" She slowly waved her arm out across the kitchen. Other than one of their fat tabbies sleeping on the upper shelf, the house was mostly empty.

"I mean... when I go out on this mission! What if we get attacked? I need to be ready to return their attack, blow for blow!" Fuse said, one fist raised in front of her. Her mother had yet to lower her eyebrow as she rested one finger on Fuse's hand, gently pressing it back down to her side. "We have a village full of ninjas here. You are still a Genin. If anything strong enough penetrates our walls to reach where you will be working, I am pretty sure they would want you to avoid the fight, rather than dive headfirst into it." Her mother shook her head in disbelief at the idea of her daughter fighting when she had yet to even make Chunin.

Fuse stomped one foot, pivoting on that foot, and marched out, teeth gritted once again. She knew her mother would always try to look for her, but in that smothering kind of way that kept Fushon from truly being free. She knew it was in her best interest to not get too far ahead of herself. But still, They had put her in a skirt!

With each step, Fushon marched down the road from her home, leaving small boot indents in the dirt. She had agreed to this mission only to ensure her mother was not pestering her about how she handled the wildlife in her last mission. Each time she went, it was either because her mother had signed her up for something, she was running away from something her mother had signed her up for, or she had found something fun. At least this time she was just helping with food and drinks or something.

While many villages celebrated ancestors and traditions, the small neighborhood Fushon lived in seemed set on celebrating celebrations. She felt like it was almost a contradiction to even celebrate the act of celebrating, as then it becomes some kind of cycle of enablement. At least, that is what she heard her father say when he declined to join the last time they asked. Fushon figured it just meant that people who celebrate too much miss the point of the celebration in the first place.

Either way, Fushon arrived at the gathering area just in time for the small band to begin playing. The man running the event motioned her over and instructed her to make drinks for each guest based on a list of 5 favorites he had invented. Fushon was a bit lost, so the man simply handed her a laminated piece of paper with imagery showing the steps for making each drink. The names were clearly labeled, and it was set to stick to any surface she pressed it to for easy visibility to carry.

At first, she ended up tripping over her own feet trying to manage all the ingredients behind the small bar they had set up. The patrons were very kind and even chuckled and helped her remember which step she was on. After a while, she found it was easy to juggle many of the smaller ingredients, like lemons or ice while pouring the actual liquid in. She became more confident as the hours passed and even struck up conversations with the guests as she was making their drinks. The man in charge had at first kept a firm eye on her but relaxed as she got into the flow of work.

By the end of the night, she felt confident in her abilities as a bartender serving non-alcoholic drinks. She had served a good forty or so people and she even suspected a few of the guests had just come to get drinks. The man in charge had handled some of the more adult drinks and had seen several people head her way as she made more of a show of her drink mixing. She felt kind of bad but figured it wouldn't hurt his ratings.

As she headed home, she felt a bit lighter. Almost like there was one more thing she could do now that she had not considered before. With that thought in mind, she wondered how many other skills or abilities might be waiting for her.

{Exit}
TWC = 918
Rewards: 1000 Ryo + 5 AP
Stats Maxed, +18 AP
Jutsu Learned:
918/1250: C rank - Lightning Release: Raijin's Flying Fans

Fushon wrote:

{Exit}
TWC = 918
Rewards: 1000 Ryo + 5 AP
Stats Maxed, +18 AP
Jutsu Learned:
918/1250: C rank - Lightning Release: Raijin's Flying Fans

Approved