Tea with Youta, Z, and Dante

Joro's eyes opened to the gentle light of dawn filtering through his window. He took a deep breath and let out a contented sigh, feeling the cool air on his skin. As he rose from his bed, he felt a tingle of excitement at the thought of exploring a new café in the city.

Joro dressed in his usual attire - a light purple shirt and black pants, paired with his trusty running shoes. He grabbed his backpack and headed out the door.

The city was alive with the energy of the morning rush. Joro weaved his way through the crowds, his eyes scanning the busy streets for the café he sought. He was drawn to a quaint corner spot, its brick exterior adorned with a colorful mural. Just a few blocks from his apartment too, maybe he would be visiting more often.

As he entered the café, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and the sweet scent of pastries filled his senses. The atmosphere was cozy and inviting, with warm lighting and plush seating arranged around low tables. Soft blues music played in the background, adding to the café's charm.

Joro made his way to a table near the window, drawn to the golden glow of the morning sun spilling through the glass. He settled into a chair and took in the surroundings, feeling a sense of relaxation wash over him.

The café was a melting pot of people, each with their own story to tell. Joro observed a group of friends sharing laughter over brunch, a young couple lost in conversation, and a solitary writer hunched over a notebook. Joro was a bit of a writer himself and took out his notebook to write a couple of things down he saw on his morning walk. The eclectic mix of people added to the bustling scene, creating an atmosphere of community.

As Joro sipped on his steaming cup of tea and savored the buttery flakiness of a croissant, he felt a sense of contentment. He was glad he had decided to break away from his usual routine and explore a new place. He felt energized and ready to tackle whatever challenges lay ahead. As he wrote in his notebook, twirling his pencil round and round. He felt as if someone was watching him, he turned to see who it was and found someone. He would of course wave and respond in kind as that was his usual manner with new people. And with that, he would wait for the person's response.

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Youta who had been up for most of the night worried about a letter that he had received. He would get dressed for the day exhausted from the night before. He would then suit up grabbing all of his stuff he didn’t really have much to do today but he did not want to sit too long and maybe get some training done today. He would go down to the main level to see his adoptive parents but everyone seemed to be in a rush to get out the door so he decided to just go get a coffee from the local cafe. He had some ryo jingling in his pocket.


He would go out to the city and it seemed to be extra busy today. He was not really sure why but it seemed to give him a little extra energy just from the lively atmosphere around him. He would see markets open and yelling trying to sell their wares and get people into their shop. He would maybe sneak into a few places looking at weapons and armor trying to get an idea. He had been practicing this more and more. But he was still exhausted even if he was distracted by all the stuff around him when he would see the cafe and would think Tea and a good breakfast pastry.

He would walk in and order a breakfast tea and a muffin and would look for somewhere to sit. He would see another shinobi and would walk over with his breakfast and say “is this seat taken? Do you mind if I sit here” If he said he did not mind he would sit and say “Joro right? How are you doing buddy? It has been a minute.”

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Ah yes, late nights and early mornings suck! He had been up late the night before simply trying to prove a point! What point do you ask? Simple, he's a rebel. He will do things his way, if he wants to stay up late he will, if not he won't and no one can make him do otherwise!
Sadly it came at a price, because he was tired. He saw the tea shop and decided to drag himself into the shop and get some coffee before school. Tea shops sell coffee too, at least this one did.
Zatoichi walked in and ordered the strongest coffee, added four extra shots of espresso and extra sugar and cream. He needed to get some energy before school. He noticed some people at a nearby table and he decided to join in, maybe the chatter would help keep him awake.
”This seat taken?” Zatoichi asked as he sat down. He yawned before introducing himself. “My apologies, I'm Zatoichi, but you can call me Z or Ichi. I go by either!” He said as the barista brought his coffee and donut to the table. He was having trouble keeping his eyes open at the moment!

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Dante finally got some sleep, but sadly had a severe hangover! Unfortunately his day off meant he had other things to tend to, this meant he needed something to kickstart his mental functions! Tea worked better for him than coffee. Maybe he should try that teahouse down the road!
He got dressed and ran his hands through his hair. Done! He walked out the door and headed to the little tea house, it wasn't a very far walk. As he approached the place he could smell the sweet scents of baked treats! He'd kill for a croissant right about now! As he entered the place the smell of green tea mixed with honey hit his nose. And that's just what he ordered, with two croissants. He looked around the place only to notice two familiar faces, Zatoichi and Youta. He didn't know the other guy, but if they were sitting with him, then he had to be a friend not a foe! Quietly he walked up behind Zatoichi, looking at the other two he held his finger to his lips to let them know to be quiet. He came up behind Zatoichi and clapped his hands loudly to scare the kid!
“Aren't you supposed to be going to school Ichi?” Dante laughed as he sat at the table with the trio.
Dante held out his hand to Joro as he introduced himself. “Dante Hyuuga, Ichi is my cousin.” Dante said as his team and croissants arrived at the table. “Nice to see you again Youta.” He said saying hi to the other person at the table!

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“Is this seat taken? Do you mind if I sit here? Joro right? How are you doing buddy? It has been a minute,” said the young man.

Joro would look up at the man about the same age as him, "No, no it isn't, please sit," he would say to Youta in a kind, comfortable tone, "Yes, I'm Joro," letting out a small chuckle. "It has indeed been a minute. Great to see you!"

A boy would come by he had to be in his preteens maybe? ”This seat taken?” the young boy asked as he sat down. He yawned before introducing himself. “My apologies, I'm Zatoichi, but you can call me Z or Ichi. I go by either!” He said as the barista brought his coffee and donut to the table.
Zatoichi huh? Interesting name Joro thought. Seemed like a nice kid though.

"No, please sit down, the more the merrier," he looked observing both of his new tablemates, "It's very nice to meet you, I'm Joro, Joro Shokku."

“Aren't you supposed to be going to school Ichi?” Dante laughed as he sat at the table with the trio. Dante held out his hand to Joro as he introduced himself. “Dante Hyuuga, Ichi is my cousin.” Dante said as his team and croissants arrived at the table. “Nice to see you again Youta.”

"Ah makes sense, I can see the resemblance. A good amount of Hyuuga in the village these days," he would say in a joking manner, " It's very nice to meet you, Dante. Again, I'm Joro, Joro Shokku."

Now that everyone was acquainted or settled in. Joro took a sip of his tea looked around the tea shop. "I've been coming here for a while now, but I haven't seen you guys around. Do you come here often?" he asked, trying to keep the conversation going. "What do you guys usually get here?" Joro asked, curious to know their favorite drinks.

He would wait eagerly for their responses from the three of them.

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Youta would take a seat and then continue to try to talk to the others who had come to enjoy a coffee or a tea. But he would continue to talk to Joro “Thanks buddy,  it’s always good to run into a fellow shinobi even in a simple place like a coffee shop. So any Big plans for the day?”   As everyone would start filing in YOuta would talk to each of them.  So the first was a young boy who had come up from the academy.  “Hi Ichi,  how are you? Are you sure you are old enough to drink coffee?” he would laugh a little and then continue “So Ichi it looks like you are new to this shinobi thing.  In the Academy?” he would turn to Joro “Remember your Academy days?”  just then Dante would appear he had just met him the other night at the bar with Typhon briefly.  “Dante right? I think we met the other night and you and my friend had a good time?”  as Dante would be scolding the young academy student  Youta would just laugh and continue “You all sound like a fun bunch you hyuuga. Right Joro? But Dante has a point you should probably get to the academy.  I do not know who the Instructor but if it is anything like mine from the clan you will be running for hours. I do not know what the rest have but if you would like some company i am game to walk with ya.”

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“To be honest it's actually my first time here!” Zatoichi replied with a slight yawn to Joro. The guy seemed pretty cool even though he just met him. Zatoichi took a sip of his coffee and sighed as he listened to the conversation he began to slightly nod off when suddenly a loud clap startled him as he heard his cousin Dante speak up!
“Seriously Dante!!! What the f- frick!!” He said, trying to calm down. Now something strange happened…for a split second his vision changed almost as though…nah couldn't be happening yet. No one else would have noticed because it was that quick! He heard Youta speak. This guy was cool! He had white hair like he did and looked young like him!
“Would you mind walking with me?” He asked Youta as he stood up and punched Dante in the arm. “That's what you get!”He said playfully. “Punk ass bitch!” He muttered under his breath as his eyes flashed again. Luckily if anyone saw it that time it would be Dante, but he was doubtful cause it happens for a quick second! Now he had a headache he wasn't sure if it was the caffeine, lack of sleep or his eyes causing it.
He waited on Youta to join him before leaving.
“Nice to meet you Joro, thanks for offering to walk with me Youta, fuck you Dante!” He said in a nice friendly tone, even to Dante who he was frustrated with at the moment. He'd get even with his cousin later!
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(Potential exit following Youta)

Dante snickered as Zatoichi punched him and cursed at him! He couldn't help it, it was hilarious to him.
“That wouldn't have happened had you been where you should have been instead of here! Get to school kid…” he said as Ichi got up to leave. How nice someone offered to walk with him and make sure he got there.
“Thank you for escorting him, at least now I know he will be where he should be.”Dante said, nodding his head towards Youta.
“I had seen this place a couple of times since we moved here, however this is my first time trying anything. I do love a good Rosehip Tea!” Dante said as he took a sip of the drink the poor waitress nearly dropped because of Ichi’s fit! It was in reply to Joros question.
“Sorry about him, he's stubborn…kids…” Dante said, handing the waitress some extra ryo as a tip for getting caught in the middle of Ichi's tantrum!
“I wonder if Sephy knows about this place, she likes tea as well!” Dante said as he looked around. “We really didn't have many places like this in Volcano Village.” He said making conversation with Joro as they sipped tea.

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Joro sat in his chair, blowing on his tea. As he got a response back from Youta. “Thanks buddy, its always good to run into a fellow shinobi even in a simple place like a coffee shop. So any big plans for the day?”

"No problem man," he would turn his attention to the Shinkou, "always, especially when the tea is good!" he said with a cheerful smile.

Youta mentioned the old academy days, with a sense of nostalgia. Joro replied saying, "Of course! How could I forget, good times," he would say with a chuckle thinking back to his academy days, "Having no worries was nice. How about you, Youta? Fond memories?"

Joro let out a soft chuckle as Youta commented on the Hyuuga cousins. "Yes, they always are!"

Ichi mentioned it being his first time at the cafe, "Same, it's my first time as well! Very good tea and the food ain't half bad," as he continued to sip on his tea.

He would watch as the two cousins had a quick exchange. Kids got a mouth on him that's for sure. Joro chuckled at the exchange, Ichi seemed like a good kid, and Dante seemed pretty chill too. He was a just bit older than Joro, he seemed pretty well respected, both him and Youta. Joro was still making a reputation for himself, as a new Genin, he had been doing plenty of missions and training, and he hoped to make Chunin in the coming months.

It seemed that Youta and Ichi were leaving, with that he told them farewell responding to Ichi. "The pleasure was mine, always nice to meet new people. Hit me up once you're out of the academy for some missions and training," he would say with a calm, joyful smile.

In response to Dante, as he sat down it was just the two of them at that point. Joro said, "Yeah it seems like a nice spot. I don't think I've had the chance to try that, Rosehip Tea? I'll have to try it next time I'm here."

Dante brought up Sephy his twin sister whom Joro had met before, they had met in a cafe, similar to this, funny how Joro seemed to meet people in cafes, drinking tea.

"Sephy, yes, we met a little while ago, she spoke very fondly of you. We met in a cafe similar to this one, across the village. Owned by a lovely older couple, they have been working in the cafe for quite some time. I've been back a few times since."

He would give Dante some time to take this in, he wasn't sure what he would do with this information. Joro wondered if Sephy told Dante about meeting him or not.

"Volcano Island sounds interesting to me, where is that exactly, and who all was there? I haven't been to many places, but I'm hoping to, I want to do some traveling when I feel more comfortable as a shinobi."

He would eagerly await Dante's response. And then have the conversation flow from there.

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“Breakfast is always better with friends am i right?” he would then turn to the two Hyuuga and say “let me finish my breakfast then we can head to the academy and make sure you get to class.  Its important to learn what you can before getting thrown on a team.  Missions can and usually are fairly dangerous so you have to make sure you are ready for them before you get sent on any dangerous missions. But also learn from others the classroom can only teach you so much.”  youta would sit and enjoy his breakfast and then he would say “Would you guys like to join us going to the academy, the more the merrier?”  he would look at the others to try to guage their interest in going to the academy.  “Oh ya I do not know much about volcano country. But i love a good tea in the morning.  Sephy? I do not know if I have met her but oh well. I have been away for a while now on a mission that was honestly stressful.”  he would then turn to Ichi after eating his breakfast and finishing his tea “We better get you to class before you get into too much trouble. I’ll escort you but you’ll have to tell the instructor why you were late. I ain’t gunna lie for you. That is not one of my jobs.” he would laugh a little then wait to see if any of the other shinobi were going to join them on the journey to the academy.

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